No-Internet Chocolate Chip Muffins

This morning I needed to bake muffins but I had no butter and I had no Internet, two ingredients that are usually indispensable for muffin making.  So, from the back of my mind I pulled out the memory of my favorite chocolate chip muffin recipe (online) and the fact (I thought) that they contained no butter.  Based on these reflections, I decided to try coming up with an oil-based recipe without using Google.

The kids declared them their favorite chocolate chip muffin, so I thought I'd jot down the recipe so I can make them again (assuming I have Internet access...).  Now that I DO have Internet access and can look at the other recipe, I see that it is strikingly similar to mine!  Either I have a better memory than I thought, or Emily and I have the same ideas of what makes a good muffin.  :)

Here is a picture, which I almost didn't include.  My kids, like me, judge a muffin by its appearance, and these are the two that were left after everyone had eaten.  That makes them the rejects.  The ugly ones.  :)

My gosh, I should totally be a foodie photog!

No Internet Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar (or 1/2-3/4 cup for normal, non-sugar addicts)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt or sour cream (I used 1/2 yogurt, 1/2 sour cream)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 heaping cup chocolate chips (I chopped 200g 45% dessert chocolate)

Preheat oven to 400.  Mix the dry ingredients, stir in the wet and add the chocolate chips.  Fill 12 paper lined (or greased) muffin cups (they will be quite full).  Bake at 400 for the first 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 for the last 12-15 minutes, or until golden on top (sorry, I rarely use a timer, so I don't know how long to bake them for.)

These had a great flavor, but, like every other "white muffin" (as Evie calls them) recipe that I've ever made, they were a tiny bit on the not super moist side.  But, obviously we still really enjoyed them.  :)

I think I'll also try them with blueberries, maybe with a streusel of 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup butter.

Slush

One holiday food tradition I grew up with has surprised most everyone I tell with it's weirdness. I still keep it, though, because I love it dearly, and really, Christmas is not Christmas without it.

Slush is a sweet concoction that is simple to make and delicious to drink. The weirdness is that it is an icy cold beverage that you drink throughout the freezing winter months. I don't mind. At all.

Slush (Tradition begun by Nana, my paternal grandmother, continued by my mother)
4 c sugar
6 c water
5 bananas mashed (immersion blender works well)
3 cups orange juice
2 lemons, juiced
1 quart pineapple juice

Dissolve the sugar in the water, then add all the other ingredients. Stir well, pour into containers and put them in the freezer. After a couple of hours take it out and stir it. Then stir every hour or two until it is rather slushy, being sure to scrape the sides. This way all your banana doesn't end up on the top (or bottom). Then let it freeze solid.

To drink, scrape as much as you want into a glass, add 7-up and drink! A very important part of this tradition is to drink it while eating potato chips and onion dip (especially while playing games or watching Christmas movies). The salty/fat and the sweet/tart/refreshing complement each other perfectly.
Note: Wash or at least rinse out the glasses right after you drink so you don't have to scrub them clean later. You'll thank me.