A Muffin Pan Has Landed

I lied to my mum. It wasn't intentional. And I might clarify by saying it was more of an over-exaggeration really than a lie.

We talk about once a month on skype. Given her eratic nurse-in-a-hospital schedule and my equally unpredictable English-teacher-at-large schedule, add in the time zone difference between Wisconsin and the Czech Republic, and you've got yourself a monthly skype date.

During these long chats I sometimes gripe about the lack of availability of certain americanesque things. (Yes, I know, if I made the trip up to Prague I'd have better luck finding an array of international goods, but I live in Brno - the second city.) Like the time my hubs and I told her there are no crackers here (lot's of sweet biscuits for tea, but no Triscuits or even water crackers.) "Then what do you put your cheese on?!" she cried out in response. The hubs still gets a good chuckle over that one.

When we last talked, I mentioned that there were, like, absolutely no muffin pans to be found in this whole damn country. You see, it's not a lie, per se, but a gross over-exaggeration. They are simply not as prevalent in the shops as in Wisconsin, that's all. She emphatically gasped and said she could mail one right away. Now, the image of my mum spending more on postage than on the pan was enough to correct myself. "Well, I mean, they do exist here, of course, they're just a bit harder to find. And more expensive." There. Postage ripoff diverted.

Since then, I've had my eye out for a muffin pan. I haven't come across any great deals in the last month, so I finally sucked it up and splurged on what I feel to be slightly over-priced one at Marks and Spencer. Well, at least it's got the little silicone handles. But there are seams in the cups (it's not from one sheet of metal) which may prove to be hard to scrub clean post-baking. We'll see.

To break this baby in, I whipped out my much adored Nigella Express book and tried her Pear and Ginger Muffins. I think I may have discovered the perfect breakfast muffin. Not too sweet, but they rock that ginger/pear combo that I can never get enough off. Next time, I might try a subbing half the white flour with a nice whole wheat one for a bit more health. Maybe some ground up flax seeds too.




Muffin recipe in metric can be found here.
Muffin recipe in U.S. units can be found here.


And I'll be sure to reassure my mum that I'm able to find all my kitchen needs in my new homeland. Maybe I'll even get ambitious and try out the water cracker recipe I found recently. I wonder if they would survive the postal route to my folks' house. A little something for her Wisconsin cheese, perhaps?

Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy!
-- Jo