Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Syrup Glaze (Rediscovering Rod Stewart)

I don't know how it happened, but suddenly I was standing at the checkout counter at the store with six lemons. I always have lemons in the fridge-had at least four or five in the "crisper" already. Something as simple as lemons can take over my mind in a nanosecond. Maybe it's the heat. Nineties already, and it's not even June. So, when I got home, I thought it might be fun to crank up the oven in the morning and whip up something lemon-y and poppy seed-y. After I baked them, and while I was patting myself on the back for a "job well done" in the baking of said muffins, I ate. . . two. This morning, I ate two more. Dr. Thyme had three for breakfast. I think I want another one before I go to bed here shortly. I thought if I wrote about these lovelies, I might not be as inclined to binge eat my way through my cake keeper of muffins at nine o'clock in the evening (which is sure to keep me up and extra hour). 

End of May has always had a feeling to it--for me, anyway. Trepidation. Anticipation of . . . dread? I am absolutely a "glass half empty" gal. No question. So dread seems to be the right word. Perhaps having to take cover in a dark, cool house during the longest days of the year, perhaps this is causing the pessimist to lament. Here we are, nearly half way finished with the year. Nary a snowflake fell all winter. And spring literally has been a blank canvas for summer. (Noting my tomato plants are growing two inches a day practically.) All is out of whack. 

I consider myself a music buff. I love all music. Our mother loved music. Her tastes ran the gamut. Like mother, like daughter, so do mine. So this afternoon I was practicing my guitar, from a song book for "beginners" with Pop Melodies. The book includes, Maggie May by Rod Stewart. (BTW, I love the name Maggie. Love it. If I could, I'd change my name to Maggie. I named one of our beloved rescued Pyrs, Maggie-Mae (with an "e"). Anyway, I am playing Maggie May on the guitar. . .  (no, seriously, I am) and singing it--because how could I not! Suddenly, I am ravenous for some Rod Stewart music. Dr. Thyme says, Hey, I thought you weren't a fan of Rod. I am like, Whoa. I may have said so once or twice, however, that was only owing to the soundtrack of my high school days bearing deep tread marks from such annoying Rod songs like, If You Want My Body and Hot Legs. Please. Never again. I opened my Kindle and the rest is really as you might expect. Within moments, I had downloaded an old classic and perhaps one of the best albums of all times by Rod Stewart, Every Picture Tells A Story. Be. Still. My. Beating. Heart. And none of the aforementioned tunes appear on this work of genius, thank god. 

So that is how DH and I spent our afternoon. We sat and listened and re-listened to this album (er, digital album) over and over again. Maggie May at least four times, then five more with me on guitar. Then, there's this beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace that creeps into the ending of the song, That's All Right (an Elvis classic). It stopped me cold. I could hear the melody change, it became very quiet and you heard this gorgeous, pure instrumental, then Rod's vocals. I turned up the volume. It gave me chills. I said, OMG! . . . I know HOW TO PLAY AMAZING GRACE! So, I got my guitar (again) and. . . with Rod singing (thanks, Rod) , I was playing along with him to this song. It was the best feeling in the world. This album saved me today. It saved me from my dreary, worried tendencies. It calmed my nerves. It made my heart fill with emotion, it brought me to tears, brought back memories. I already knew every song on this album. But not in the annoying top forty kind of way, in a very different, very real, very personal way. You must listen to this album in its entirety at least once. Then just try not to listen to it again. And again. Thank you Rod. I am so happy we found each other. . . again. 

Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Syrup Glaze

*Adapted from "A Passion for Baking" by Marcy Goldman 

makes 12 muffins

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup spelt flour (*optional, but really good!--of course you could use more of the AP flour)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/2 cup unsalted vegetable margerine cut into 1/2" cubes (room temperature)

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk mixed with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (*creating buttermilk) 

3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer Powder mixed with 4 teaspoons water

1/2 teaspoon canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract (*optional)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon (*use the same lemon, just zest it first)

Lemon Syrup Glaze (*optional, but totally worth it!)

1/2 cup water

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray your muffin tins with non-stick baking spray. Prepare your "buttermilk" by measuring out the soy or coconut milk and adding the vinegar to this. Set aside to allow the milk to curdle. In a medium mixing bowl and using a hand blender, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about three minutes). Add to this the Ener-G Egg Replacer, lemon zest, lemon juice, extracts and "buttermilk" mixture. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients--flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients using a large wooden spoon. Mix until the dry ingredients are well incorporated (a few dry clumps are okay). Spoon the mixture into the baking cups at least 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes. While the muffins bake, prepare the lemon syrup glaze (if using). Add all the lemon glaze ingredients together in a small sauce pan over low heat for about five minutes--long enough to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and aside to cool. When the muffins are finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about ten minutes. While they are cooling, use a pastry brush and apply the glaze to the top of each muffin. Remove the muffins from tins to a cooling rack. Store muffins under a cake keeper at room temperature for two-three days, or wrap and freeze and use within two weeks.We simply LOVED these!