Next up is a dozen cranberry muffins. That recipe came from the Lighthearted Cookbook, but I've changed it a lot. I now use my "Better Blueberry Muffins" recipe that I got from a Robin Hood flour bag and reworked to include a lot of other ingredients, including rolled oats and yogurt.
On the right are 20 buns of the sort we've been calling "Nice Buns." They are made with cardamom and glacéd fruit peel. I've struggled with them all along. I used to make them with a sweet dough recipe, lots of butter and sugar. Lately I've started just using my basic bun/bread recipe that calls for 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar (for a sweet dough, otherwise 2 Tbs.) and 3 Tbs. canola oil. They turn out just fine that way, and we avoid too much fat and too much sugar.
They usually take forever to rise, and I've wondered if this was due to the cardamom. This particular batch I forgot to add the powdered cardamom to the dough, and they rose the way bread and buns usually do. They turned out lovely: soft and fluffy. With some jam, or honey, or cheese, they'll be a treat.
Our D.S.#2, DDIL and dear granddaughters (10 and 13) plan to come for a visit a week from tomorrow, so I'll be baking ahead again, as I did in March for DD#2 and her family. All this baking goes into the freezer, and is still lovely when it's thawed for use.
We've had a very cold and rainy June here. Hasn't felt much like summer at all. All the rain also boosted the mosquito population to high nuisance levels. This past Wednesday it started to rain and rained buckets for days. This morning was about the first time we saw any sunshine, and right now it's warm and sunny, a real treat! Calgary had more rain than we did, and the foothills of the Rockies got as much rain in some places as they do in half a year. There are two rivers, The Bow and The Elbow, that converge in Calgary, and all that rain upstream resulted in devastating floods. Altogether about 100,000 people had to evacuate their homes and go to friends, relatives, motels, hotels, and even strangers' homes. There is an unbelievable amount of damage. Go check it out on the web!
But, according to today's Calgary Herald, almost all people affected by this disaster are simply going forward, doing their best, and being helpful to each other and grateful to all the emergency workers who have come in to help. Edmonton sent 100 policemen to help patrol the evacuated areas. There have been no reports of looting or vandalism or any disorderly behaviour. The worst incidences are cases where people refuse to leave their homes and then have to be rescued.
One of the things that made this flood so bad, in addition to how much area was flooded, was the rapidity with which the waters rose. In many cases that was the cause of need for rescue.
On the whole, the response of the flood victims and of those who are involved in rescue and relief makes us proud to be Albertans. This is a good example of the "Can Do" attitude and the neighbourliness that Alberta is known for.
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