Which Way To The Beach Boys?

I baked Pumpkin Apple Streusel muffins today because Angus has a bladder the size of a beach ball and Dean is clumsy.   

It didn't call for them but I added some walnuts to the recipe because I add nuts and raisins to just about everything I bake.  I'm not sure why I didn't add raisins to these muffins. I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't.  I hope that doesn't mean I'm getting sick.  Sometimes illness can cause bizarre behavior.  Like not adding raisins.  

I don’t usually put the streusel on top of muffins when I bake them because I’m lazy that part is usually filled with calories and fat.  But I added it this time because when I added nuts to the batter I let myself pretend like I was baking something healthy.  Mmmm....that streusel was well worth adding.  Dean actually said “tasty!”  

 Here’s the recipe if you want to give them a try.

PUMPKIN APPLE STREUSEL MUFFINS

2 ½ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup pumpkin

½ cup vegetable oil

2 cups peeled, finely chopped apples

Streusel Topping

In large bowl, combine the first five ingredients; set aside.  In medium bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin and oil.  Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened.  Stir in apples.  Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling ¾ full.  Sprinkle Streusel Topping over batter.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Serves 24.

Streusel Topping:    In small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon.  Cut in 4 teaspoons butter until mixture is crumbly.

I could have said I baked them because I had four halves of baked pie pumpkins in my kitchen, a basket filled with apples generously shared by a co-worker, and I had an extra hour of time to fill.  I wouldn’t have been lying.  Those reasons did figure somewhat in to my decision to bake this afternoon.  But in addition to the two reasons I previously stated, the ultimate reason I chose to bake muffins today was because I mopped my floors yesterday.  I mopped two bedrooms, a den, a kitchen, two bathrooms, a living room and a dining area.  Gosh, it feels so good to have a clean house.

An hour after I’d finished mopping, Dean dropped our container of kitchen scraps onto my freshly mopped kitchen floor.  It holds about half a gallon and was about half full of rotting apple peels, onion skins, pepper seeds, tomato parts, coffee grounds, and other future compost garbage.  He was not happy.  I knew he wasn't happy because I heard him very distinctly ― over the sound of my vacuuming ― yell something I probably shouldn't write.   I think the neighbors heard too.

A couple of hours after that, while Angus was chomping down his dinner, apparently he heard the call of nature.  One second he was intently emptying his bowl and I was blithely filling the dishwasher, and the next second he had unobtrusively left headwaters next to my foot.   Dean and I followed the trail of the river which meandered around the kitchen, the living room and the front entryway.  I was torn between disappointment that Angus didn't let us know he needed to go out, and pride  in his ability to do more than one thing at a time even though he's a male ― chomp, walk and piddle. 

While Dean grabbed a towel and started wiping, I grabbed Angus and headed outside intending to return immediately and help with the cleanup.  I didn’t think there could be anything left in the boy since he had already left a river in the house but I didn’t want to take any chances.  Ho ~ ly cow was I wrong.  The peeing continued outside for a solid 45 seconds.  He did his best to turn our house into lake-front property.

So that’s why I baked muffins this afternoon.   Within approximately three hours after I had mopped all the floors, they had been covered in kitchen waste and dog urine.  I sometimes drop a bit of flour on the floor when I’m baking but after yesterday, I figured I could dump a whole bowl of batter and it wouldn’t much matter. 

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Which Way To The Beach Boys?