Rum Chocolate Muffins

Over the past month, I think, my partner and I have been searching for the just right replacement car for his old Subaru WRX (obviously, trying not to dwell too much on the hours wasted/arguing over this...).  A bit sporty, automatic transmission, roomy enough to fit his mountain bike, and new(er) model were the main concerns.

After much hemming and hawing (and perhaps some semi-ultimatums and threats to speed the process along), we decided on a new Volkswagen GTI.  Which, btw, is no easy feat as we are both varying levels of indecisiveness and worriers and overthinkers and just a bit Type A.  (Lovely combination when it comes to large, expensive purchases.)

Though we're both excited and relieved that this process is over, he enlisted the help of some of his friends/coworkers to view cars (including one that was 3 hours away!!), provide opinions on cars, and general moral support.  Quite commendable of them - and so glad I didn't have to participate in some of that process!

Thus...I spent today baking rum chocolate muffins as a token of appreciation and general peace offering for their time and efforts.  [THANK YOU for putting up with the crazy!]

Besides rum and cocoa powder - to make these extra special, I added spices (cayenne pepper included!), orange juice, coffee to bring out the chocolate, and a small pile of chocolate chips in the center (and a few dots on top) so that it oozes yum as you bite into them.

  ...But mostly, I just taste the chocolate and the spicy tingle of that rum in the back of my throat.  (And yes, I save a few for myself!)

Back to Cooking for 2...Tapas-style!

Fridays are my grocery days.  I do my research on the sales for the week, make my meal list, grab my coupons if applicable, and off I go.

I'm not sure how long grocery shopping takes you, but I tend to meander, compare prices, study the nutritional labels, go back and forth between the aisles for that forgotten item a few aisles back...so it takes me a few hours to get all my groceries.  By the time I get home, it's nearing dinner time - and I gotta start cooking.

Some days are more food productive than others.  Recently, I got this brilliant idea of throwing together several side items and calling it a meal - tapas-style, a.k.a. lazy dinners when it's too difficult to think about a coherent meal!  (For some reason, this feels like less effort on my part...hmmm, arguable!)

Here is one example, which is more Italian-based than Spanish:
- Steamed artichoke with lemon (lemon-butter sauce for dipping)
- Pan-fried calamari and brussel sprouts (lemon and marinara for spritzing/dipping)
- Crab rangoons (sweet and sour chili sauce with green onions)
[Looking back, this meal was a little fry-heavy!]

I think the tapas-style meal that happened after this one included the artichoke again, chorizo, whole grain pita chips and hummus, some nice crusty bread, and 1 or 2 more things.

Btw, does anyone else smell a bit of crisp Fall air lately?  Time to use the last bit of charcoal sitting mournfully in the garage...Maybe I'll grill this weekend!