Lemon Cherry Muffins

The thing about a vacation is that while it is great when it's happening, once it's over, it can only carry you so far before the pressures and stresses of every day life leave you hungry for your next one. When I first wrote this post, it was a couple of months after I had gone to Victoria with my husband. Now it's years and years later and it really seems like a lifetime ago.

While I may not be able to satisfy my vacation hunger at the moment, I can still try to create a mini-vacation-moment. People often say that smell is the sense most closely related to memory, but I think the sense of taste can be just as transportive, if not to a favorite place in the past, then to someplace entirely new. And before that first taste, there are also the oh-so-lovely, all-consuming moments of creation, of figuring out what flavors go well together, of making something new and delicious.

There is something about pairing a delicious muffin with a cup of tea that soothes my soul, that gives me a temporary respite, a small moment in which to hold the world and all responsibility at bay. If you, like me, feel in need of such a break, give these muffins a shot and maybe you can buy yourself a little time before the hectic week begins again.



Lemon Cherry Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix together:
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan sugar
Zest from one large lemon

In a smaller bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup vegan milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
all of the juice from 1 large lemon

Add the wet ingredients to the dry without over-stirring, and then gently fold in 1 cup of chopped fresh cherries. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and then bake for 16-20 minutes. Brew up a cup of your favorite tea and then enjoy.