Blackberry Yogurt Muffins

I made you some muffins today.  I wanted them to be picture perfect for you; I wanted to entice you to make them too; and most of all, I wanted them to be perfect for me.  If you were here with me right now you would see a kitchen cluttered with ingredients.  With dried drips of scattered batter clinging to my kitchen countertops and a sink full of dirty dishes, I’m sitting here with my laptop staring at this beautiful mess I’ve made.  Although the thought of having to clean my kitchen after I’m done writing this almost makes me wish I hadn’t started baking at all, the scene at the dining room table moments earlier reminds me that it was worth it.  Baking something from a whole lot of random things and turning it into something deliciously satisfying is a small price to pay for muffins this good.  I was going to wait until next week to share these with you but I couldn’t.  They were so scrumptious and lovely I had to take a few moments and get this recipe to you now, as in today and certainly not next week -so you can make them tomorrow for your Sunday breakfast or brunch.

Blogging can sometimes be hard especially for someone like me.  More comfortable with taking pictures and developing recipes, writing (for public consumption) does not come natural for me. It is probably the reason why I haven’t been posting very often. It is a craft that stretches me and often times discourages me. I read books and blogs with eloquent words that transport me somewhere else if only for a few minutes out of my day. But I am often so critical of what I write, that I take the easy way out by not writing at all. So instead, I write a lot offline.

I write almost daily in my journal and I can write pages and pages without worrying if I’ll have enough to say.  I scribble down my thoughts as fast as I can –this is what I call (writing) deep calling out to deep.  When I write in my journal, I write for an audience of one.  I write down everything I’ve stuffed, buried deep inside my heart that I find freedom when writing in my journal knowing I do not have to worry about anyone else reading it – it’s a place of safety where I can find some release from what troubles me and lay it all down honestly with God.  It also affords me to be honest with myself without fear of rejection.  But writing on Savory Sweet Life is different.  I struggle to find the words that adequately describe what is happening around me in a way that is honest and true without having to “photoshop” my perspective in order for it to seem as if I live in a beautiful bubble where unicorns and rainbows are a daily occurence.

Sometimes I feel pressure to make it seem as if I live in a world that looks like an issue of Martha Stewart Living.  Perfect clothes, accessories, home furnishings, DIY crafts, and elaborate meals.  Oh my word – how I love Martha Stewart Living!  I buy the magazine because for one hour I can fantasize about this perfect way of living which is completely opposite of me.  I buy the magazine for inspiration and because I hope that Martha Stewart’s way of doing things will rub off on me.  It never does but I still love flipping through each page admiring the design, layout, photos, and content.

But if you were to visit my house you would see the only thing in my bedroom is a bed, 2 nightstands, and a tall dresser.  No photos or artwork and just a few small piles of laundry on the floor.  It is minimalistic – I like minimalistic.

After making muffins today I realized something.  When I sometimes feel sad it is only because of my perception of how I want things to be.  When I look through a beautiful magazine, I feel pressured by an unrealistic expectation that my life should look picture perfect.   Sometimes this way of looking at things can rob me of the joy of discovering the beauty of all that life has to offer, even in a messy kitchen.  Without messing up my kitchen this morning, how could I have ever made these wonderful muffins for you?

As you can see, I didn’t use muffin liners.  Normally I would use liners but I couldn’t find any – trust me I searched everywhere!  I knew I was taking a risk because blackberry muffins can be unforgiving if the fruit touches the pan or clumps together.  I wanted to give myself the gift of baking therapy so much this morning that I decided to just heavily coat the muffin tin generously with non-stick spray and hope for the best.  When the muffins were done I started to take the muffins out one by one.  Four good ones intact and 8 not-so-pretty ones later, I stared at the muffins with a quiet joy and an appreciation for the beauty in the imperfect.  They broke not only because I didn’t use a liner, but because they were bursting with yummy blackberries – only proving that insides should never be overlooked for the outsides.  How they looked did not change the way they tasted… and boy, were these muffins damn good.  In fact, I liked the broken ones better because they were so bold with flavor from the tender baked blackberries – the very reason why they broke when removing them from the pan in the first place.

So I hope you like the muffins – I made them for you.  They are wonderful and will brighten up your day.  Bake them for someone as an act of love.  Or just bake them as a gift of love to yourself– just don’t forget the paper liners.