Muffin, Muffin, Who's Got The Muffin?

Well, you might, if you read through this post. (Insert wicked giggle here)

As a favor to Mom, since she's got a zillion things going on right now (ok, so she bribed me by making carrot cake!), I offered to tell ya'll a bit about me and share my most favorite muffin recipe. It took me a lot of trial and error before it reached it's current form, and if I do say so myself, it's one of the best recipes I've ever created. So stay tuned for my special "Chocolate Cherry Muffins" at the end of this post.

On to me. I'm Wendy and I seriously hate talking (or writing) about myself. Probably because I get nervous and go on and on until I realize I've suddenly written half a book. (Insert silly grin here)

Okay. First, I admit I'm an adult and I live with Mommy and Daddy. It's been a great benefit for all of us-- when they've been off working the tournament every year, I've been able to housesit for them. And for me, well, it gives me a place to live. I'm the resident lunatic (okay, so my Doc says if I think I'm crazy, I'm not-- crazy people don't know they're crazy.) and disabled by panic/anxiety attacks, agoraphobia, depression, and a couple other little things tossed in. Long boring story that I won't go into, but it's a big part of the "why" I don't have a real job-- just the pittance that Social Security gives me for disability. (Oh, don 't get me on that subject-- I still see red over Social Security's rule about having to file and win a case within a certain time frame. All the years I paid in, and I filed ONE month past the deadline because I didn't want to give in and apply for what I saw as "charity". Again, another boring story. lol)

Let's see... If I were you, what would I want to know about me?

Likes:

Good books in the SF/Fantasy/Mystery/Intrigue genres, but will read anything printed if desperate.

Good movies-- Right now I'm into the "Twilight Saga", but the Shrek movies, Lord of the
Rings movies, and Harry Potter movies are favorites. I like the same sort of movies that I do books.

Games--- Pogo ( http://www.pogo.com/ ) games are good for just kicking back, but my favorites are role-playing type games. I love RuneScape ( http://www.runescape.com/ ), First Age - Avalon ( http://www.firstage.net/ ) the old version not the new one, and Kingdom of Loathing (http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/).

I like to write, never had anything published but have lots of bits and pieces of a book I may finish someday.

Orchids. I'm pretty passionate about orchids. They aren't all that difficult to grow and the blooms are awesome! My collection has diminished in size, but I'll hopefully be slowly adding to it during the warmer months of the year.

Loathes:     

TV. It pretty much blows chunks. I especially hate sitcoms and "reality" shows. I hate movies chopped up every 3 minutes with commercials, and the pay channels never have anything I'd enjoy watching. And those security system ads on evening programming bother the hell out of me.

Hmm, and I really, really, REALLY hate CSPAN, MSNBC, CNN and most of the time FOX news. My blood pressure is better off without them. And frankly, if someone blows up the world, I'll either know it since I'd be dead, or someone will tell me. (Insert wry smile here)

Oooh... "Disease of the Week" movies!!! And poorly made, plotless movies.

Heh, what else?
　
I have the temper that goes along with being a red-haired, green-eyed, Scorpio. Decided on my last birthday that it was time to start reversing the numbers since it's getting difficult to think of creative ways to say my age. So, I'm 25 again as of last October. Although... 25 was a really crappy year, so I may have to go back to saying I'm twenty thirty two. Or thirty twenty two. Or something. Rofl
Let's see, what else? Was married, now I'm not and haven't been for longer than I was. No kids as the Ex (I probably shouldn't give his correct title here, but if you want to guess it's "That Moronic A******") kept convincing me to put it off. So as an only child, I'm an Honorary Auntie to friends' children & grandchildren (another long boring story).

If I get around to having a decent pic taken, I'll let Mom post it. In an earlier pic in a previous post, you can see my hair is long-- well, it was longer than that when Mom was diagnosed with cancer. After they told her she'd be losing her hair to chemo, I had mine cut very short-- they took off a bit more than 24 inches--- and I donated it to Pantene's program that makes wigs for women cancer patients and donates them to the Amercian Cancer Society ( http://www.pantene.com/en-us/beautiful-lengths-cause/Pages/default.aspx ). Even after over a year, I'm still trying to adjust to having short hair since I think it makes me look odd. Vanity, thy name is Wendy!

I have two tattoos, which really freaked Mom out when I told her after I got them. (Insert mischievious grin here) They're really quite pretty. I keep telling her it could have been worse, I might have gotten my tongue pierced or something. Yuck.

Okay, you've been good and put up with my rambling introduction, so here's what you've been waiting for-- the ULTIMATE in Muffins!

CHOCOLATE CHERRY MUFFINS

4 ounces (1/2 package) of cream cheese
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of cooking oil
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (or more if you want)
Cherry jam or preserves
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of sugar until fluffy. Set aside.

In large bowl, stir together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, & chocolate chips. Mix the egg, milk & oil together, then add to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Batter should be a little lumpy. Put paper baking cups (like for cupcakes) in a muffin pan, and put about 2 tablespoons of batter into each cup. Next, put 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each cup, then about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each one. Cover each one with the rest of the batter. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

If you want a REAL sugar high, get some of the pecan-coconut frosting in the can and spread over the top of the muffins. This turns them into BLACK FOREST MUFFINS, like Black Forest Cake. If by some chance you actually have muffins that last longer than one day, I'd suggest refrigerating them because of the cream cheese. We've never had to worry about that though!

Enjoy!

~~ Wendy~~