Brunch, or: the advantage of not being in the office
This morning didn't start with the usual crack-of-dawn breakfast shared with a stockbroker living half-way on European time. I had made a too good a dinner last night, and he was still moaning about having overate as I stopped listening and left him to it. So this morning I was on my own, and I grabbed the opportunity. Some early morning surfing, and then brunch.

Being on a diet where I try to exclude certain kinds of carbs (not very successful at the moment, too many temptations here. Damn you, Rocco's of Bleecker street and your orange cookies), I have been shopping for spelt flour and barley. Armed with this, I can make pancakes, bread or muffins that will let me keep the bloodsugar even while still eating the occasional bread product. And today's breadproduct is going to be muffins! So here's the recipe:

2 cups (250g) of an almost even mix of these flours: unbleached wheat, spelt (whole) and barley. Less of the wheat more of the others.
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup milk (250 ml)
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil (60ml)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan (60g)
2 teaspoons oreganon, dried.
(or any other spices you'd like to try, the recipe also suggests sundried tomatoes)

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices in one bowl. Then mix milk, egg, olive oil and cheese in an other. Mix them all together to an even batter. This makes for 12 normal sized muffins, 6 in the big muffin tins in this kitchen. Bake at 375 F or 190 C for about 20 minutes. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the tins before you remove them.

They are baking as I type. I will be eating them with lox spread. And I will bless my diet for working, and for letting me indulge in delicious things I otherwise wouldn't have had the imagination to make, lazy sugar addict that I am.