A recipe full of sound and fury, signifying muffins

CARROT-RHUBARB and ORANGE-CRANBERRY MUFFINS
Makes 36 muffins (18 of each flavor)
NOTES:

1. Get everything prepped and measured ahead of time. I’m very bad at this generally, but it makes putting this big batch together a whole lot easier.
   
2. When stirring together the wet and dry ingredients to make your batter, try not to overstir, but also be mindful that there are no pockets of dry mix hiding in the bottom of the bowl or even among the batter. It’s easy to do with these big batches. I find a hefty rubber spatula and some elbow grease does the trick.
   
3. You will also need four large bowls, enough muffin tins for 36 muffins, and enough cooling racks to hold all of them when done.
   
4. The carrot-rhubarb muffins will be a little moister and larger than the orange-cranberry, meaning the orange-cranberry will bake a little more quickly. 
   
5. If the cups aren’t filled evenly, you’ll get uneven baking. Once you’ve distributed the batter, you might need to move some around to get them all roughly equally filled.
   
6. You can just as easily swap in different nuts in the carrot-rhubarb recipe, and different fruit like raspberries or blueberries in the orange-cranberry.
   
7. These are great fresh out of the oven, and/or with butter, especially butter with a little cinnamon in it.
   

INGREDIENTS
Start with
1 36-ounce bag FGHFG Maple Bran Muffin mix, split in half by weight (18 ounces each)

For carrot-rhubarb muffins
3 cups shredded carrot
½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup chopped frozen rhubarb
1 whisked duck egg or 1.5 chicken egg (whisk together 3 eggs and split with below recipe)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¾ cup maple sirup
3 tablespoons melted butter

For orange-cranberry muffins
Zest of 1 whole orange
Juice of 1 whole orange (approximately ¼ cup)
¾ cup sour cream
½ cup heavy cream
1 whisked duck egg or 1.5 chicken egg (whisk together 3 eggs and split with above recipe)
1 ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup maple sirup
3 tablespoon melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400℉.
   
2. Place split bag of mix in two large bowls. Set both bowls aside. 
   
3. In another large bowl, mix together carrot, walnuts, rhubarb, egg, sour cream, heavy cream, sirup, and melted butter until just combined. Make a well in the center of one of the mix bowls, then pour in the combined wet ingredients. Stir together until just combined.
   
4. In another large bowl, mix together orange zest and juice, sour cream, heavy cream, egg, sirup, melted butter, and cranberries until just combined. Make a well in the center of the other mix bowl, then pour in the combined wet ingredients. Stir together until just combined.
   
5. Grease the cups of your muffin tins with a little butter, then fill the cups with batter, loosely filled up to the brim.  
   
6. Bake all muffins together for 15 minutes, then check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. The orange-cranberry will likely bake slightly faster, so be prepared to take them out sooner. 
   
7. When done, remove from tins (they should separate easily from the sides when done) and cool on wire racks.
   
   

BACKSTORY/BLATHERING
Our farm is not certified organic, but the term “organic” is immensely important to us, in ways that transcend how “organic farming” is usually viewed. We use practices that would allow us to become certified, but for now, for our farm, the costs of that outweigh the benefits. 
    So what does organic really mean (aside from the snide detractors who love patting themselves on the back every time they note that the scientific definition of the word pertains to molecules containing carbon)? Despite the sincere and incredibly important efforts of many of our fellow farmers to initiate and uphold organic practices on their farms, the parameters of “organic agriculture” have been heavily diluted and twisted to fit a corporate model in the wider world of food production. And what’s lost there is not just the intended benefits to the health of soils, humans, and ecosystems, but the grander could-have-beens-and-could-still-bes: the ripple effects of that better health leading to stronger, more independent farms, robust rural economies, happier eaters, increased biodiversity, and a culture that deliberately centers food rather than sidelines it. 
    These muffins are the result of an organic community, a resilient network that emerges naturally from a combining of resources, talents, and willingness to share. We started making and selling our Maple Bran Muffin Mix after we found good success with our original pancake mix, but found we had an awful lot of good bran left over when farmer-miller Andy Hazzard sent our milled grain back to us. So, we developed a product that could use it and that we hoped people would love. After two years, it’s here to stay.
    But then things started shoring up around something as simple as a packaged muffin mix. One of our customers insists on having it whenever she visits her grandson in Colorado because they are his favorite. Other folks tell us that the package is actually too small; a dozen medium muffins isn’t going to cut it for a family, or just someone who loves muffins and is good at planning. And a lot of other people tell us all the ways they have been adapting the muffins, adding in fruits and nuts and all kinds of sprinkles and toppings. Our products are becoming a part of people’s weekend routines and holiday traditions.
    These recipes above, then, are an organic outgrowth of putting something into the world. The orange-cranberry recipe is from an idea sent to us by loyal fan and impressive home cook Laura Fox, who routinely works wonders with our products and willingly shares her knowledge. We knew we had to make them and share with the world. But then we felt compelled to try something that brought in all things local. We reworked some carrot muffin recipes so that we could incorporate the delicious, vibrant rainbow carrots grown by our good friends at PrairiErth Farm (ACTUALLY certified organic) and rhubarb we have had frozen from Katie and Jonathan’s parents’ house since last year. Plus, both recipes use local Kilgus cream and Above Normal duck eggs and, of course, Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup.
    We’re not about to say that these are organic muffins. That feels kind of weird. But also, we’re not farming so we can make muffins, exactly. We’re farming to make community, to make a place that feels like home, to preserve something beautiful. And we do that with you, growing organically season by season and meal by meal, towards a prosperity defined by gratitude and love. 
    That is all to say: thank you, eat well, and we would love to see you soon.​