So it goes (or why I really like plastic)

So after vacuuming today (including the kitchen floor), I was organizing my pantry (a part of my kitchen cabinetry design). Yesterday, I bought three small baskets for organizing three messy areas of my pantry: Brent's coffee and coffee accessories, my baking section (bags of nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc.), and snacks (granola bars, boxes of raisins, snack-size bags, etc.).

So I was reaching to the back of my "baking shelf" and I scooted the baking basket forward a little, which pushed one of those cute little trial-size glass jars of Dickinson's Maple Syrup that I had kept from a weekend away here a few months ago. And of course, it proceeded to fall to the floor with a crash and pool at the base of the cabinets.

Thankfully, Hadleigh and Nathanael were both finishing their lunch in their chairs. But of course, I was barefoot with syrup on the bottom of my feet, the stool I stood on, the floor, the cabinets, the cabinet across from the pantry.

Just so you know, it's one thing to clean up glass...but quite a different ordeal when the glass is in maple syrup. And it's one thing to clean up maple syrup, but quite another when there is glass in the syrup. I mean, glass was sticking to the wall and cabinets because it was coated in syrup. And it's hard to pick up and dispose of sticky pieces of glass. And you can't really wring out a syrupy dishrag when there are many pieces of glass embedded in it. So I just threw away the two dishrags I used. At least they came in a pack of about 15 for $3 from Target. Somewhat disposable, I guess.

So in the end, I managed to get it cleaned up and unstickied. I will go back in a bit to sweep again ... because broken glass on the floor always makes me paranoid. We are a barefoot at home kind of family.

I guess I should be thankful it was the Smuckers Maple Syrup and not the Smuckers Honey, huh?

So, with regard to the maple syrup fiasco, today's recipe is Maple Walnut Muffins, another recipe from my favorite breakfast cookbook, Stone Hill Inn's The Signature Recipe Collection.

Maple Walnut Muffins

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

5 tablespoons butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup (Dark Amber or Grade B)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, oats, walnuts, brown sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Beat the sour cream, butter, eggs, and maple syrup in a bowl until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

3. Fill well-greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean.

4. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Yields 12 muffins.