Book Report: Mudhouse Sabbath

Blog Sponsor: Sabbath Boredom 

Today is my sabbath. Paul had the morning off, we got massages, we lunched at our new favorite Pakistani restaurant, and we'll sneak off tonight to try a dessert at the new chocolate place across the street. I don't know any non-clergy members who take a day off in the middle of the week. It is all very indulgent isn't it? Only non-important people can take a day off. That's the cultural message. But, lucky for me,  I am used to challenging commonly held beliefs. 

That being said, I will admit that there is a point in every Sabbath where there is a pull to do something "useful". But, then I remember a quote from Lauren Winner's book Mudhouse Sabbath which I read on my Kur three years ago:

The funny thing is I don't really remember the context or what the lesson is, but she says that everyone on the Sabbath gets to the point of "toe-tapping boredom". While my ADHD brain doesn't like boredom, my rational self knows boredom is healthy for adults and kids. For starters, it boosts creativity. Thus, I present belatedly to you my most impressive culinary triumph of 2024:

Zwischen Den Jahren Muffins (based on these Pumpkin Spice Muffins by Sally's Baking Addition)

Zwischen den Jahren is the German Term for the days between Christmas and New Years. It's when you have a lot of half-eaten chocolate Santas, gingerbread house remnants, and unstructured hours with kids at home. This recipe takes all of these ingredients and makes them into something delicious. First a few notes:

My American readers might be kind of impressed that I do so much "scratch baking". Well, it's not because I'm a purist. It's because there isn't Trader Joes and thus no solid baking mixes. I have yet to even find canned pumpkin here. Thus, the first step is roasting a Hokkaido. Scooping out pumpkin gunk and separating seeds is a great task for little hands. 

The original recipe called for a total of 420 grams of flour and sugar mix. I only had 335 grams of cookies so I just added 85 grams of flour to make the right dry ingredients. Thus, I added the chocolate on-top to make sure they were sweet enough. The chocolate frosting could likely be omitted with more blended cookies.

The double boiler should be the last step, but the Santas were first used for chocolate covered strawberries. Without further ado, the receipe:

Ingredients:

• 420 grams of Gingerbread remnants 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
• 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) pumpkin puree 
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (dairy or nondairy)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). 
2. Scoop out pumpkin gunk and cut in .5 in/1 cm slices to roast for 30 minutes until soft. 
3. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.
4. Grind gingerbread in food processor. Once finely ground, mix in salt and baking soda.  
5. Real cooks would use two bowels but I just add the cooled pumpkin (skin on) to the food processor. After it's puréed add oil, eggs, and milk together until combined. 
6. Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top.
7. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21–22 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before enjoying. 
8. Once muffins cool, drizzle santa chocolate over the top. 
9. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
10. Tell me how they turned out.

Keep this recipe in your back pocket if you have cookies, chocolate, and hours to kill at Easter.