Attention to Detail

The Northwest R/C Ship Modelers were on the dock at The Center for Wooden Boats last weekend for one of their fun floats.

The Official Mistral Muffin

We first encountered the official Mistral muffin long before encountering Mistral. It was, fittingly, at The Center for Wooden Boats, in 2001, as ten families were building ten Union Bay skiffs next door in the Armory. At the time, a group of recovering alcoholics that will remain anonymous was meeting regularly in the Center gallery. Afterwards, they would leave behind pastries and other treats in that way the Center can sometimes be like a vast socialist horn of plenty, at least where galley carbohydrates are concerned.

A box of goods, including several Morning Glory muffins, appeared at the Armory. They were a complete food – five servings of fruit and vegetable per muffin, a generous amount of fat and a dose of starch to hold it all together. Creamed coffee provided the protein.

We’ve since experimented with various web-based recipes, most of which are heavy on the grated carrot, and bought a fair amount from places like Louisa’s on Eastlake and Macrina in Belltown. A bag of MGMs fueled the Mistral crew on the first voyage to Port Townsend last year.

This morning, the Mistral skipper was thinking of laying into a pineapple ripening in the Official Mistral Support Galley and it occurred to him that a good shot of chopped pineapple would be nice in a batch of muffins. By coincidence, a friend emailed the recipe for the Macrina Morning Glory muffin.

A batch is now cooling in the OMSG. Feel free to try making your own.

* 1/2 cup seedless raisins

* 1/3 cup walnut halves

* 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

* 1/2 cup granulated sugar

* 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 1 medium carrot, grated

* 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated

* 3/4 cup chopped pineapple

* 3 eggs

* 1/4 cup canola oil

* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

* 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

* 1/3 cup coarse raw sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush the insides of a muffin tin with canola oil.

2. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let sit for 10 minutes while raisins plump, then drain and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. Set aside. Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then chop coarsely and set aside.

3. Sift flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix gently with a wooden spoon and set aside. In a separate medium bowl, combine raisins, walnuts, carrot, apple, pineapple, eggs, canola oil, melted butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and coconut, and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Add dry ingredients and continue stirring just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. It's important not to overmix.

4. Scoop batter into oiled muffin tin, filling the cups to the top. Sprinkle coarse raw sugar on tops of muffins and bake on the center rack of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The finished muffins will be deep brown. Let cool for 20 minutes, then slide a fork down the side of each muffin and gently lift it from the pan.

Puget Sound to Port

Sorry for the delay in posting. It's been a while as we were waiting to see the results from the Rum Run. They haven't been posted yet but it's clear from the latest 48 Degrees North that Mistral finished out of the money.
For those of you waiting with bated breath to see what would happen to the Mistral engine, a new coil and regapped spark plugs recommended by Pat's Marine Engine did the trick. Mistral motored out and back to Shilshole Bay without a skipped beat or sputter. Pictured above is Puget Sound as seen from a port deadlight. Note the classic Blanchard shape. Mistral is now largely under cover and snugly enduring record rains.