More Muffins (Over, of course)

[marguerite]

Had another meeting of my critique group with the member with celiac disease yesterday. The hostess made these fabulous muffins with a recipe she obtained from this site, which also links to many other recipes (as yet untried by me).

 

My friend substituted vanilla yoghurt for the sour cream and left out the xantham gum. They still came out great.

 

What better form of procrastination than baking Cinnamon Sugar Overmuffins? And in a weird burst of synchronicity, the woman who maintains the website has a husband named Alex (like Calli)! For a moment, I thought my friend had found Calli's site, but then I saw the woman lived in Philly....

 

Something else for Thoth to woo his lady love with. And speaking of Thoth, you were a clue in the crossword puzzle yesterday: head of the Egyptian god Thoth (answer: ibis).

 

Happy baking, and writing,

Marguerite

[Steve E]

Something else for Thoth to woo his lady love with. And speaking of Thoth, you were a clue in the crossword puzzle yesterday: head of the Egyptian god Thoth (answer: ibis).

Always glad to be of help.

 

Thanks for the link. Any suggestions on a non-sugar brown sugar substitute? The lady deserves a good wooing. (So why were you laughing out loud? Odd, that.)

 

And does Piers Anthony get a royalty on the use of Xanthan? (Historical note: Xanthippe, wife of Socrates. Didn't know he was married, did you? She called him "Porridge Head" (rough translation). He called her "Thippy".)

- Ibis Head

[marguerite]

Always glad to be of help.

 

Thanks for the link. Any suggestions on a non-sugar brown sugar substitute? The lady deserves a good wooing. (So why were you laughing out loud? Odd, that.)

 

And does Piers Anthony get a royalty on the use of Xanthan? (Historical note: Xanthippe, wife of Socrates. Didn't know he was married, did you? She called him "Porridge Head" (rough translation). He called her "Thippy".)

- Ibis Head

Dear Ibis Head:

I did know Socrates was married, actually. Wasn't his wife supposed to be quite the shrew? (The male viewpoint, of course: I suspect the poor woman bore a heavy burden, what with Porridge Head sitting around all day confusing students instead of earning a proper living in the agora.)

 

The folks who gave us Splenda have a brown sugar version, I think, although how it would affect the recipe, I'm not sure. Sorry, I forgot your lady love was diabetic, too. And I was not laughing out loud in the sense of dismissing your romantic quest (even if you did express said quest as "getting lucky": guys!). Think of it more as a friendly acknowledgment that an EAO is helping to subvert one of her own kind by providing overmuffin recipes instead of a tie.

 

On the question of royalties, no doubt Piers is discussing it with his lawyer.

M

[Steve E]

I did know Socrates was married, actually. Wasn't his wife supposed to be quite the shrew? (The male viewpoint, of course: I suspect the poor woman bore a heavy burden, what with Porridge Head sitting around all day confusing students instead of earning a proper living in the agora.)

Actually, Old Soc didn't have to make a living as he married very well, into Athenian aristocracy. The wealthy Xanthippe (an EAO if there ever was one) was said to be 40 years his junior. And, although she bore him three sons, never seemed to like the old guy. There is a famous (1607) print by Otho Vaenius that depicts "Thippy" emptying a chamber pot on Porridge Head's head.

 

It is perhaps telling that Xanthippe did not come to Socrates' defense when he was accused (and convicted) of corrupting the youths of Athens. But then, all we know about either of them is what Old Soc's students chose to write about them. So when you write about me, M, be kind.

 

A guy and proud of it.

- Thoth.

 

[marguerite]

Dang. She was supporting him, and she still didn't like him? Women! Great pic, though.

 

Back to the overmuffins: the brown sugar in the topping is not a problem. You can definitely use fake sugar for that. The one cup in the recipe will be a bigger issue. You could easily cut it in half, and use fake sugar for the rest, but beyond that you may have to look into fructose or apple sauce or something that would definitely require some work to make sure you weren't destroying the texture of the final result. Maybe better to woo this LL with sugar-free ice cream, instead.

Best,

M

[Steve E]

Back to the overmuffins: the brown sugar in the topping is not a problem. You can definitely use fake sugar for that. The one cup in the recipe will be a bigger issue. You could easily cut it in half, and use fake sugar for the rest, but beyond that you may have to look into fructose or apple sauce or something that would definitely require some work to make sure you weren't destroying the texture of the final result. Maybe better to woo this LL with sugar-free ice cream, instead.

Thanks M. You're a good friend. I would never have thought of apple sauce. I'll experiment with the muffin route first and use no sugar ice cream as a fall-back position. (Bryers makes some good ones.) Which desert flavors would you recommend for a beef Wellington entrée?

 

Dang. She was supporting him, and she still didn't like him? Women! Great pic, though.

Thanks.

It was an quasi-arranged marriage. Old Soc was something of a rock star of his day—a famous philosopher—and her family wanted into those connections. Plato described Socrates as shorter than Xanthippe, and not handsome, but Athens' young people adored him and he walked with kings. But it was politics and pride that did him in at the end.

 

"I drank what?"

-Thoth.

[marguerite]

If you use applesauce, you need to cut back on the liquid elsewhere in the recipe. I'd leave the eggs, because they keep the muffins from sticking and help them to rise. Ditto any oil/fat. But you can adjust the amount of milk/water/whatever to make up for the moisture you're adding with the applesauce. Maybe a diabetics' website will give some hints as to proportions.

 

Thanks for the info on Socrates and Xanthippe. Yes, in those days—and up to quite recently—marriage was all about connections and economics. Romance, if it occurred at all, was just a happy after-effect.

Happy baking,

M

[Steve E]

Could romance, as we know it, be a late-19th century invention? With all that 16th century Shakespearean love poetry I'd be surprised. The Ancient Greeks had love poetry too. Remember, Sappho predates Socrates. But you're probably right; romance and marriage had nothing to do with each other until recently. So what did they know that we don't?

 

I'm going to attempt an applesauce reduction rather than risk a lack of moistness. The trick is to avoid caramelization, even in a no-sugar-added sauce. Or perhaps a marmalade? We'll see.

 

Thanks again.

- Thoth.