There comes a time of year, usually right before summer. I start to feel restless and inconsolable. I have to bid goodbye to a lot of my graduating students and often a few peers too. I suck at goodbyes and I'd rather just pat them on the back, say "see ya" and drive off into the sunset. But people are not like that, they like to give me long hugs that make me want to drip from the eyes. This time of year, can trigger desires to feed the "emptiness." So sometimes a little comfort food can really go a long way. If you know this is something you need, make a plan. Don't go buck wild, make sure the thing you consume is really worth it. That it is high quality and worthy of a cheat. What better way to cheat, then to make your own ice cream. It's really therapeutic and to me, cool as hell. But I grew up in "everything taste good from Costco" household..therefore anything homemade to me is cooler then hell.

Gelato is not the same as ice cream. While its made with some of the same ingredients, the concentration of the flavor is much more dense. Gelato has a lower butter fat content but higher sugar content then American ice cream. In yellow custard based gelato egg is used to give it that silky pudding-like texture.

When I lived in Europe Gelato was pretty much a food group. I've searched far and wide for something in the States to satisfy my taste buds but nothing compares to a scoop from Italy and eating it on the Spanish steps. -move aside froyo movement. I'm going back to the stuff kings ate.

Summer Strawberry Gelato

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

I’m calling this “winter” strawberry gelato only because I’m making it with frozen organic strawberries. You can use sweet, fresh strawberries when they’re in season. The recipe is inspired by Sherry Yard, a pastry chef who taught me that you can make perfectly wonderful ice cream with no cream and no eggs. I make this one with 2 percent milk, but you could use whole milk. If you’re thinking of using skim milk, substitute water and make sorbet.

1 1-pound bag frozen strawberries; or 1 pound ripe, sweet strawberries, hulled

1/2 cup sugar, preferably organic fair-trade sugar

1/4 cup water

2 cups milk (2 percent or whole), Raw cows milk is great if you can get your hands on some

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1. Place a 1-quart container and one smaller container — for any extra gelato — in the freezer. Combine the strawberries, sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the strawberries thaw and become very soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and transfer half the mixture to a blender. Since the mixture is hot, just cover the top of the blender jar with a dish towel pulled down tight. Blend until smooth, and then add half the milk. Blend again until smooth. Repeat with the remaining strawberries and milk. Transfer to a bowl, and chill in the refrigerator.

2. Stir in the lemon juice and salt, and transfer to the container of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. Scrape into the chilled container, and return to the freezer for at least two hours before serving. If frozen solid, allow to soften in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Yield: Just under five cups, serving six to eight.

Advance preparation: This will keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer. The strawberry base can be made up to a day before you make the gelato.

Nutritional information per serving (six servings): 135 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 milligrams cholesterol; 28 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 44 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein

Nutritional information per serving (eight servings): 101 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 milligrams cholesterol; 21 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 33 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of "The Very Best of Recipes for Health."

Beef Carpaccio with Miso Arugula Salad

So I have to admit that this blog is one part rant and one part food and health. However I wholeheartedly hope it is 100% recipes for better living.

This one is dedicated to how much I hate people. Please don't misunderstand. I love my friends, my family and I'd die for them. Why? because the ones worth loving are wonderful and its what Jesus would do. I'm talking about those naysayers. Those who think they know you, the ones who give you bad advice about your hair because their jealous of you. PEOPLE STOP YOUR SHENANIGANS!

Living a healthy life is knowing when to say no to the "others." One thing I've learned is to be patient with those who supply you with advice, but ultimately to listen to your gut.

Being dependent on someone else's opinion of you can cause a lot of problems. Let's say you want to eat healthy and you've been given the know of what to eat to achieve this. I guarantee there will be some co-worker who will be the first to tell you that just ONE little bite of cookie won't kill you. Politely turn to this person and tell them to shove it.

An example of this is someone who recently said to me, "oh my gosh you are crazy, you are losing too much weight, your eating TOO healthy!" --ok stick thin person I no longer like, you just said its a crime to be too healthy..hmm...

YOU know whats good for you. And you know how to take care of yourself. So while at first it can seem lonely, to diet and exercise alone...but once you start to yield results you'll feel happy and realize there is nothing greater then to invest in one self. One last thing to remember is to always keep an open mind. Soon after I know you'll find new friends who will come along and give you the exact support you need. People who share your love for health and happiness...these are the people you need to surround yourself with.

I spotted this recipe inspired by this thought. The thing, is beef carpaccio is nothing new, but its not something people eat everyday--in fact most would stare at me and give me that " is that safe?" look..but I think the friends in my life, those I'd drive hours for? They'd share a plate with me. In fact they'd be the one ordering it.

There are many, many verities of this but this is the one I tried and loved. For those of you who don't know Carpaccio is the Italian's method of preparing a raw meat anti-pasta. \ dish was named Carpaccio by Giuseppe Cipriani, in reference to the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio, because the colors of the dish reminded him of paintings by Carpaccio

Beef Carpaccio with Arugula and Frisee salad

6 oz. beef tenderloin
2 tsp. olive oil,
a few drops truffle oil,
the juice of 1/4 lemon,
1 pinch fresh basil, chopped,
1 oz. Parmesan shavings,
1 tsp. sweet balsamic reduction,
salt to freshly ground black pepper to taste.
a hand full of arugula and sprigs of frisee

Directions:

This recipe is for one entree or two appetizer servings of beef carpaccio:

-Wrap the tenderloin in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 2 hours.

-After 2 hours, unwrap the tenderloin and thinly slice the beef into approximately into 1/8 to 1/4-inch pieces.

-Lay out sheets of plastic wrap and place each slice onto the plastic.

-Top with another piece of plastic and gently pound the meat with a meat mallet until paper thin. -Keep two dinner plates in the fridge and take them out before serving. -Arrange the carpaccio in the plates in the form of a flower - Mix together the olive oil, truffle oil, lemon juice, fresh basil, salt and pepper, and brush it over the carpaccio.

Top with the Parmesan shavings.
Drizzle some sweet balsamic reduction on the edges of the Carpaccio plate for decoration.

**some choose to sear the tenderloin first before slicing. this is up to you, i prefer the rawamazingness. But if its your first time and your a bit timid about raw beef, searing will def be a good choice for you. only sear each side very quickly...too much and you'll overcook it!

Salad:
Mix miso, sesame oil, salt pepper and lemon together and mix with salad, add some sliced almonds and. decorate your plate with your salad, shave Parmesan on top

enjoy!

The New and improved life: neither here nor there

So I want to take time to address what happens when you've lost the weight. Now what? How do you maintain this? Unfortunately our adult life is all about maintenance. You buy a car, tune up that car. Have a house I'm sure it needs a fresh coat of paint. I spent last Saturday driving all over town running errands, buying groceries, filling gas, cooking, cleaning--maintaining. Maybe I'm not the best example of "adultness" since I usually put all this off for weeks! Laundry (as I sheepishly admit) will sit till I drive back to my parents house for a visit...what can I say, their detergent just smells better ;)

So I went shopping with a friend today and she asked me what was smart eating. I explained that life isn't meant to be unhappy. Life is about love, desire and fulfillment. Its about fasting and good choices for the right reasons. What we do makes a statement about ourselves, and while no one thing could fully define the complexities of any single person...each decision needs to contribute to better. So those of you who say this, "its just one day" need to realize that today is all we have to change tomorrow.

Back to this friend, I'd ask her "what do you want to eat?" "I want to eat chips" she said. --Ok that's easy! Rather then regular chips that are fried and full of sodium, how about veggie chips with carrots, plantains, sweet potato's and casava? Low sodium baked or fried in sunflower oil.

"What do you want to eat?" "I want to eat cookies!"--ok how about brown rice crackers or rhye crackers dipped in guacamole? lower in carbs, higher in fiber and gluten free.

"What do you want to eat?" "I want to eat nuts"--Ok how about roasted walnuts, berries and raw almonds from the bulk bins, unsalted and organic. Walnuts are the super nuts of the nut world, high in antioxidants and contains the good fat that helps blast away free radicals. Berries help lower high blood pressure that plague many diseases esp those with kidney issues.

The list goes on and on...so I ask you, "what do you want to eat?"-- I promise you there's a better yummier alternative out there that will knock your socks off!

One last question was, "What can you eat to aid the oval office issues?" --well lets think of this, some wise fool once said, "you are what you eat." What he really should have said is you poo what you eat! Think about this, if you eat soft deep red and green colored foods, what color and texture will your junk be? If you eat a dense fatty hot dog, chances are your gonna have some dense, hard, dark floaters. So ask yourself, "is this item that I'm eating today, contribute to a better tomorrow?" If you really can't decide this on your own then just eat some prunes, and thank me in the morning ;)

--Now this is all in consideration for a relatively healthy individual. If you are already eating healthy and still have issues, then I'd have to refer you back to Dr. Nancy Le. Since I am not equipped to recommend meds or supps.

My healthy food adventures have been quite dull I eat the same thing everyday and haven't had any time to branch out to something new quiet yet. Therefore I have no recipes to blog about since I've not spotted anything. For this I apologize. However this blog is also dedicated to those who are wanting to know how to be healthy.

I can't stress enough that the first step is a desire followed by a good mental health. I've been playing games with myself and it showed up in my weigh in last week. Although I lost 4lbs of fat and gained 4lbs muscle in 2 weeks...my real goal is to loose wt and be healthy. If I keep evening out its a sign I'm doing something wrong. So I realized that sometimes there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. While you'll never hear anyone say "your eating too many veggies!" There is such a thing as eating too many nuts and fruits, so I really have to stick to my serving size and quit after. The trick is to pre-measure out food. It makes me feel like a OCD freak when I do this. I'll do it the night before, and the perk is the next day I don't have to think about how much and what I'm eating. I just grab my baggies and go.

And the one and only thing that could seduce me more then food?...don't be naughty, its SLEEP! so on that note...goodnight ya'll happy eatings!

Brown Rice porridge/ A day in the life of optimal health

So I apologize to anyone who has been following Recipe Spotting. This is the first time I've taken any days off of posting. I have never been so busy! I tried to make some gluten free cupcakes and failed miserably. My cupcakes taste salty and baking sodaish, my frosting taste like...I can't even say. I guess its more of a delicate procedure then I cared to admit. I was tired and felt worn out, baking was suppose to help relieve some stress. The ordeal made me want to give up....such an expensive endeavor to fail at. However I can't give up. It not in my vocabulary. So...I'll just have to figure out how to adjust and try again when things aren't so busy.

I've committed to trying to run and do Bikrim yoga everyday that I'm home. So far I did two out of 4 days. Not too bad. Considering two of those days I was in the hospitals PACU 24/7. I use to run this route at home in the summer. When I started it was 40 mins for 2.2 miles. by the end of summer my friend and I got it down to 30. Today I ran it and I made it in 20! I ran with my dogs and the poor pups barely kept up. I hope to keep going next time to see my potential for beginning my marathon challenges.

So with that combined with what my erratic sched's been like lately I've lost about 3lbs since Thursday. Maybe more I weighted after eating. If you want to know how to achieve some weight loss for yourself, check out Today's eating and workout sched, then ask yourself how serious are you about getting healthy? Because to be skinny is to be healthy and to be healthy, you have commit to moving and eating.

A student asked me yesterday, "How can I loose weight?" I told her to come back to me when she's serious. She adamently said, "BUT I AM SERIOUS!" So I began with my morning routine, immediately she complained. Then I said again, "Come back to me when your serious."

I'm getting sick of people asking me for advice and finding out that my advice is going to the back burner. I will no longer give my pearls to swine. I have given Dr. Nancy's info to sooo many people, and not one has called. so people, just come back to me when you're ready to commit...Cuz this girl don't do flings ;)

My Saturday Routine:

6-7am wake up Drink protein shake within 30 mins
8am Eat banana and strawberries (drink 8 oz water)
9am eat small handful of plantain chips (drink 8oz water)
10am Eat another banana and go to Bikrim yoga (100 mins of sweating your nuts off) drink 32
oz water
12pm Eat lunch, Spinach mixed with brown rice porridge YUM
130pm Run 3 miles (drink 16 oz water)
5pm Drink another protein shake
7pm Eat 1 Banana, carton of blueberries, and various other berries (drink 16 oz of water)

STOP EATING AFTER 6 OR 7pm!
RECIPE FOR BROWN RICE PORRIDGE

Ingredients:

Brown rice
Low sodium organic chicken broth
Green onions
Black pepper
1 Ginger
Cilantro
Chicken (optional)
Any other fun additives are welcome such as white onions etc.

Directions:

Wash the rice
Chop green onions and set aside
Chop cilantro and set aside
peel ginger and slice thinly
in a large pot throw in rice, ginger, broth and optional chicken. Bring everything to a boil. then reduce heat to low and cook for 30-40 mins or until at desired soft consistency. Stir every so often so the rice doesnt stick on the bottom.

**for my meal I mixed in spinach. This way the rice was not the star but rather an accompaniment to my spinach.

When I was young Vietnamese porridge was a treat. Only made for me when I was sick and couldn't hold down solids. Its so warm and comforting, it was a yummy treat that would always cheer me up. However I can't add all those salty ingredients that make it "Vietnamese porridge" but I'm still comforted knowing that I can still take something I love, and make it healthy. I feel lucky that I don't have to necessarily ax this from my life, but that I can modify and moderate.

Vietnamese porridge to a true Viet person is just as synonymous as Pho. I cherish this dish and its hard for me to resist porridge restaurants that server this stuff gourmet style. yum. Some photos below are not my own, they are a quick collection of various types you might find.

Sweet Potato mash with chives

I consider my health a gift. I consider weight loss as a happy side effect of being happy and healthy. So I was put off by a friend of mine who gushingly commented "ohh your life must be sooo different now. Everything changes once you slim down. Be careful, your WHOLEEE life is about to change."

Dear friend who subscribes to superficiality, your claim is warranted and some what true. But not entirely so let me explain:

I admit we live in a world the subscribes to the aesthetically pleasing. I am certainly one who may gravitate towards something pretty. However it has not necessarily rocked my world . I am truly convinced that your life is what you make of it. I use to go to the Glam Hollywood parties, and I never felt left out. Confidence and self assurance can take you just as far. I asses what is the core components in my life and no, being slimmer has not made me more God fearing. It has not made me more charitable, patient or kind. It has not made me love my family and friends more. It has not made me more driven or happy. I think I was always these things. The thing that it has done is make me more and more grateful for everything.

What my "new" life has taught me is to appreciate simplicity. So inspired by this I made this simple "go to recipe" on days I don't know what to eat but I want something simple and good. This recipe is an ode to the hidden super food. The sweet potato! Once I spotted this amazing food, I knew instantly it needed to become apart of my life. It's not as starchy as the regular potato. However it still has a higher carb count then a head of broccoli, therefore 1/2 a small potato per serving is more then enough. Accompany that with some grilled asparagus with salt, olive oil and red pepper flakes and you have yourself a healthy fun meal.

Sweet potato has more nutrition then spinach and is ranked higher then most green veggies. I serve this mashed and add 3-5 grams of butter for two reasons. One because it taste yummy. But you'll never guess that in order to better absorb the certain nutrients that are in the potato such as beta carotene you need some fat mixed in with the food.

Sweet potatoes don't have to take a long time to prepare. Cutting them into ½" slices and Healthy Steaming them for just 7 minutes not only brings out their great flavor but helps to maximize their nutritional value. And you can add cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or cloves for extra flavor and nutrition.

For more nutritional queries refer to WHFoods

Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

2 Medium to large sized sweet potatoes
1 bunch of fresh chives
1 dollop of butter
pinches of sea salt

Directions:

• Peel the potatoes and slice into quaters

• boil in water or steam for about 10 mins. When you stick your fork into it and it goes in smoothly it's ready to go. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Don't over cook, it'll be stripped of its goodness.
• Chop chives and add to the potatoes, pinches of salt, add the butter and mash until smooth.
  

Tips:

If you are eating this as your main course like I am. You might want something to give your mash some funk. I took out one quarter of a potato while it was undercooked. I minced in to cubes. It retains a slightly crunchy texture. Therefore when combined with the soft mash, it gives it some contrast. Almost as if I added crunchy bacon to it. Yum!

Honestly you can serve this warm or cold its all good! enjoy. Yamas!

Vanilla Cupcakes With Lemon Vanilla frosting

This blog is the beginning of my gluten free endeavors. So If you've been following the chronology, you'd definitely know by now that my biggest love, besides God, my dog and men in uniforms is CHOCOLATE! This time around I thought I'd proceed in order. I feel like on the 8th day God made Vanilla bean, and then He made chocolate don't you think? I say this because I think vanilla is by far the most popular flavor of all time. I use to regard vanilla as boring. It was the adjective I'd use in replacement of boring. In my mid 20's I discovered that I had been duped and really what I was consuming most of the time was artificial vanilla. Very rarely was I lucky enough to be graced by the appearance of real vanilla bean. Vanilla is native to Mexico and it grows in black pods. You cook with it by extracting the content inside the pod. It's potent and a little will go a long way.

Vanilla is one of the most expensive spices second to saffron. Despite this "Author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure, spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet.""

So what do you do if you can't find pure vanilla or can't afford it? Get the second best thing and find yourself at the organic food store and buy yourself some 100% pure vanilla extract. It may cost more, but you will use less since the flavor is more potent, therefore in the long run you might break even.

So I have never, NEVER made cupcakes from scratch before. I have always used Betty Crocker's box mix. After having had real cupcakes, I should call her Betty Crooker for having stolen my childhood from knowing the glory of knowing real goodness.

So this recipe is the one where I "Modified" because I was too lazy to go out and pick up the two ingredients I needed. BIG mistake. There is no "skipping" anything-substituting yes, but you have to be super subbing savvay. So, I ended up with muffins instead. Therefore for this baking experiment I did not modify anything. If you have been faithfully reading, hopefully you have been building up your gluten-free pantry along with me. To go out and buy every single thing needed all at once is indubitably overwhelming. However starting with just a few essentials and finding out how they work, will surely help build your baking confidence. In return, it will make shopping enjoyable and fun. Less of a headache, and more free flowing.

There are two recipes I'm about to share with you. Both are straight out of "babycakes" One is for the cupcake and the second is for the gluten free vegan frosting. I know it sounds questionable, how can you make frosting without dairy??? It's possible, I never knew I could be this healthy and feel this good but I'm doing it. I am living proof that anything is possible. Moreover you and only you are your own mind killer. I know it's cheesy but before we start lets do a few mantra chants shant we? I think this comes straight out of Tony Robinsons mantra:

Everyday in every way I will be healthy.

Everyday in every way I will be happy.

Everyday in every way I will be strong.

Everyday in every way I will loose weight.

Everyday in every way I will invest into myself.

Everyday in every way I will (add your own).

If you are thinking this is a bunch of rah rah crap, shut up! You don't deserve to be reading this. When I'm running my third mile, I'm feeling sick, tired, stressed, worried and unmotivated. When music on my ipod isn't working, and watching the TV is just annoying, when zoning out doesn't work and my legs just don't want to move anymore, what do you think gets ME through??? Sucking it up and believing in myself. Believing that I have made it this far, and giving up is never an option. I was born with short legs, small lungs and a predisposition to diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension. None of these things will mean anything at the end of the day. Let nothing define you, give in to no excuses. If you decide that today isn't a good day to work out. Then by all means stay home. But DO NOT make up a lame ass excuse.

Alright if you survived my rant lets get on to some good ol' cupcake bakin!

Vanilla Bean cupcakes with Lemon Vanilla Frosting

Courtesy of "Babycakes"

Ingredients for the cake:

2 Cups Garbanzo beans (bobs red mill)

1 cup potato starch

1/2 cup arrowroot

1tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp salt

2/3 cup melted coconut oil (omega brand)

11/3 cups agave nectar

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 fresh vanilla bean or 3tbs pure vanilla extract

1 lemon zested

1 cup hot water

I discovered the joy's of shopping in the bulk bins at the natural food store. Its sooo much cheaper. In these bags are whole grain spelt, white spelt and the little bag is arrowroot. YEY

This is used only if your making red velvet cupcake. I'll be tackling that next. =)

Directions:

• Preheat oven 325F
• need 24 cupcake liners
• in a medium bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients
• add oil, nectar, apple sauce, vanilla, and lemon zest to dry ingredients to combine. Stir in hot water and mix until batter is smooth
• pour 1/3 cup of batter into each cup, almost filling it.
• bake in center rack for 22 mins
• rotating the tin 180 degrees after 15 mins
• when the cupcakes are ready they will be golden brown and bounce back at the touch
• let cupcakes stand to cool for 2 mins. Remove from tin and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
• spoon about 1 tbs frosting on cupcake and frost away.
• store cupcakes in air tight container and fridge for up to 3 days.

Ingredients for the frosting:

1 1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk

3/4 cup dry rice milk powder

1 tbs coconut flour

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups coconut oil

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Add all the ingredients except oil and lemon juice into a blender for 2 mins on high. Turn to low and slowly add the oil and juice in until its fully incorporated. Fridge for 6 hours. lasts 1 month.

Ingredients for natural Color dye:

Pink/Red: cherry, raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate or beet juice

Purple: Blueberry juice

Green: chlorophyll, yes the same green pigment found in plants can be found in liquid form at the health food store

Yellow: turmeric or saffron. Just a pinch

Blondie Mini muffin

This recipe is my take on combining the dynamic of a Blondie and the wholesomeness of a muffin. This recipe is modified in part because I didn't feel like running out to the store for some missing ingredients. One of my students actually made this. It taste a bit like a bran muffin. I think its moist and not at all dry and crumbly like some bran muffins are. Its not on the sweet side because although I love pastries, I'm not a fan of things that reek of sugar. I've also trained my taste buds for the past 7 months to become sensitive to flavors again. So you make and feel its not sweet enough there are two things you need to know. First of all, you prob need to lay off the sweets. And the kinder approach to this is to add strawberries or some berry. the slight tartness of the berry will enhance the sweet of the muffin.

This recipe is spotted from my new favorite book "Babycakes" By Erin McKenna. Urban souffle blogger bought it for me and surprised me with it when it. Erin owns the amazing bakery "BabyCakes" in NYC. Growing up she had gluten, sugar and dairy allergies. Even though her cakes are not at all conventional, they taste amazing. If you can't get out to Babycakes NYC, do the next best thing and get her cookbook. Its very thoughtful and it much like my own cooking journey, she chronicles her search for the best of the best. I am honored to take a stab at Erin's recipes. So get off your lumpy butt and join me. Oh and one last thing, if you haven't realized by now, with each recipe, please read thoroughly and follow precisely. I know its painful but its very necessary to cook well. I've taken the time to painstakingly explain to you every detail, the least you can do is "DON'T SCREW UP!" =) As the Greeks would say "Yamas!" (Cheers and enjoy!)

The Blondie Mini Muffin
This recipe is gluten free

Ingredients:

3/4 cup agave syrup
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 apple sauce unsweetened or sweetened (used as a canola oil sub)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. preheat oven 350F
2. place rack into the center
3. 24 cupcake liners and place them in the tin
4. beat eggs and sugar in large bowl at medium speed for 1 min. Add flour salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, applesauce, milk, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 1 min.
5. get a 1/4 ice cream scooper and scoop into tin
6. bake for 20 mins or until center springs back to the touch. muffins will come out light brown.
7. cool for 5 mins, then remove from pan completely to cool on a rack. You can frost these of you wish or slice them in half, slice up strawberries and enjoy! YAMAS!