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..that is, if you’ve already spent a few stolen minutes – perhaps between hosting a play date of Nerf gun-slinging boys and deadheading your almost dead marigolds – whipping up a double batch of homemade, filled with good stuff, blueberry muffins.

For some, including me, homemade baked goods belong more in your fantasy household – you know the one that includes pets that don’t have accidents, kitchen drawers that always open no matter how many utensils are crammed in, and calendars that function down to the last minute (wait that’s only German me and not you?). What’s in your fantasy household? Maybe this not so challenging way to serve homemade baked goods for breakfast…or maybe stairs without creaks…

I have recently found, and I’m sure you’ve all always known, that there’s something magical about the smell of fresh baked goods wafting through the house on an afternoon just in time for an afternoon snack (I’ll get to break-FAST in a minute). I’ll be honest, when I was growing up my mom made pie in the afternoon – and shoot me now – I didn’t like pie. I thought fruit shouldn’t be warm-probably another weird German thing.My afternoon snack was whatever I could make out of the pantry and let me tell you, graham cracker crust, just the crust made with melted butter and sugar was a mighty fine after school nibble on more than one occasion. But, thank goodness I have shaken the baked fruit aversion.

I was inspired by the book from the woman who I don’t want to like but continue to make her foods. Conflicted. Gwyneth’s book offers two versions of blueberry muffins – her mom’s sugary, rich, let’s just call them cake muffins and this other recipe pulled together after her vision quest health food epiphany. And I love a food makeover that strives for the tastes we love, but attempts to abandon ingredients that have made us an unhealthier nation than we ought to be.

The recipe calls for spelt flour – both white and whole wheat. I popped for the white and used my own whole wheat flour. As I’ve learned in my new baking adventures, just whole wheat doesn’t contain enough protein to give the baked goods the proper consistency, so a blend with white is necessary for rise and texture. Spelt flour, made from an ancient grain, is finding its way into more recipes and products because it contains less gluten (not gluten free) and offers a nutty, rich tasted. I found several brands for it at Whole Foods. If you want to know more, this site went way deep in their spelt flour investigation.

The muffins, made this healthier way, are loaded with blueberries that fill out the tasty, soft pastry and melt in your mouth.

Now to breakfast. Really, not so complicated…First, make a double batch so you have plenty to save for later. Freeze the muffins. And on chilly mornings (or a snack-need moment), warm a few in the microwave in just sixty seconds. Serve with butter, fresh fruit and a giant glass of milk and those little chickens will start their Nerf day right. And you, can homemade baked goods make it from fantasy household into reality household…or would you just settle for live-in tech support? What’s in your fantasy household?

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