Date and Plum Muffins (no sugar)

1 cup organic rolled oats 
1 cup water

6 medjool pitted dates chopped

6 prunes chopped

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp of turmeric

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ginger

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup organic white flour

1/3 cup broken walnuts

2 eggs

1 cup full fat yogurt

1/3 cup grape seed oil

Put oats in pan with 1 cup water. Add chopped dates and prunes. Simmer for 20 minutes until water is almost absorbed. Add half a cup of water and continue to simmer until oats are soft.

In a bowl add flour, mix in spices and baking soda. Add and mix broken walnuts. Add oat mixture, yogurt and oil. Blend together. Add eggs breaking up yolks into whites and blend into the muffin mixture thoroughly but not in a mixer or fast mixing blender.

Spoon into paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

These muffins are made like a breakfast without sugar, although dates and plums are high in glycemic sweetness,  I think they may be still better for you than the store bought muffins. As well as the organic oats there's the added protein of eggs, walnuts and yogurt. 

I don't count calories but I do count carbs so would only have one of these muffins for breakfast or snack. It is food at least.

This space could be filled with

news about community newspapers closing, being funded by US hedge funds, racist groups growing in large numbers, women routinely sexually assaulted, harassed, sacked and dismissed, religions sold out to big business and  theology re-written to make profit a sacred duty, young children bullied into winning sports at any cost, homes no longer available to all but used as investment, wars created for the arms industry, wildlife dying all around us because of climate change, etc. etc. - but enough of that.

I don't believe that people are stupid and greedy - I believe that the system wants us to be greedy, stupid, selfish and cruel - but we don't have to be. That is if we have enough wealth to own or rent a home in a friendly neighbourhood, and enough food to eat.

Perhaps capitalism may get its due if we stop spending money on unnecessary things and focus on things that will help us build and support community.

Plan 30 years Ahead, Start Today

"Without community, politics is dead. But communities have been scattered like dust in the wind. At work, at home, both practically and imaginatively, we are atomised." George Monbiot

Many experience politics as an external force, ruled from above. Politicians that understand this and realize we have been duped, and who want to create a relevant government, are viewed with cynicism and suspicion. It's as though graduation into adulthood means you understand this and any conversation about how to improve our collective lot will be met with derision. 

"Extrinsic values such as power, fame and status" writes Monbiot, make love and peace redundant.  

Monbiot offers  examples of how we might begin to rebuild our shared future: Community shops, development trusts, food assemblies (fresh food directly from local producers), community choirs, free universities where people exchange knowledge and skills in social spaces, time banking where neighbours give their time to give practical help, transition towns, potluck lunch clubs, Men's Sheds where older men swap skills, temporary playgrounds on streets, fun palaces and technology hubs. 

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Apparently these are called "thick networks". They proliferate further ventures and potentially a dense participatory culture that attracts others who have not found the skills to become socially active before.

Think of a service or skill we expect our government and big business to provide and then work to build it in the community among volunteers.

It took 30 years to get from the complex democratic politics of Western societies to this proto-fascism.  We might look 30 years ahead in our conversations about how to reclaim a desirable future.

Bad Ass Muffins

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup gluten free flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sliced almonds
10 chopped prunes
1 cup plain full fat yogurt
1/2 cup grape seed oil
2 eggs

Blend dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and blend. Put 12 paper baking cups in a muffin pan. Drop muffin batter in the paper cups. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or longer if the tops need to brown more.

These do not rise a lot - they are heavy, solid and not too sweet. These are muffins with attitude - they are nutritious but won't win any baking contests.

Good for breakfast with a piece of cheese and fresh fruit.