When I'm a bit blue, I have a number of comfort behaviors to cheer me up.

Depending on what's bringing me down, I'll do something different.
- If I'm feeling too full of thoughts and more tasks then time, I'll watch anime while I work- InuYasha tends to be my poison of choice (Probably because it's obscenely long...) 
- When I'm feeling neglected, ignored and passive aggressive about a situation, I'll play Super Smash Brothers (any system will do)
-If I'm REALLY down, I'll eat bakery things. I try and avoid that one now as it never really helps.
-If I'm figity and can't settle, I'll tidy and reorganize anything and everything handy
But if I'm a little of all, but not enough of any, I'll bake.

I found myself in that little of all and not enough of any situation yesterday. I have Worn Wild looming, and more garments to make then days to make them, I'd been forgotten when it came to pay day, and was now $640 short with only $6 to my name, hot bothered and figity and just generally unhappy.
So, I dusted off the Bakery book and found a recipe for muffins.  

The funny thing about my manic bakes is that I often need to alter recipes. I don't know if it's my creative side going haywire, or just pure self destructive impulses (my alterations rarely work) and the muffins were no exception. I wasn't keen on the white flour, butter and castor sugar they asked for, and had some handy dried apple pieces, walnuts and sultanas floating about, begging to be used.
And, in a rare stroke of luck, they worked out really well! 

They're too tasty to be kept to myself- try them yourself and see!

INGREDIENTS: 
1 cup of Wholemeal flour
Teaspoon of baking powder
2/3 cup of brown sugar
cinnamon to taste
2 eggs
tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence

(These are optional. You can add berries, cooking apple, banana- whatever!)
1/4 cup of chopped dried apples
1/4 cup of sultanas
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

METHOD
Grease a muffin tin and preheat oven at 180.

Combine all dry ingredients, (excluding nuts, sultanas and apple) Make a well and add eggs and milk. Mix until smooth then add olive oil and vanilla essence. Mix until they're combines and add the apples, sultanas and nuts (or whatever you like!) and mix in well.

Pour into the muffin tray and cook for a half hour or until cooked (I used a fan forced gas oven). Pop 'em out onto a cooling rack and wait until they're not absolutely fresh-from-oven-scorching to eat (this is the hard bit!)



Tada! Happy muffins! Give them a try and feel the happiness too!