Iris’s Acorn Squash Mini-Muffin
Recently while eating a meal at the common table at The Hog’s Head Inn, I heard talk about the new Free Pirate Talona the Red. How she captains the legendary ship The Sea Dryad, it was rumored to have been lost years before. The speaker also mentioned she travels with a SquirreLin named Thistle, a most unusual thing in this part of the world. Thistle was a novelty to many who first saw him as most Lins try to avoid notice in both North and South Dalron. Few people know about the SquirreLin settlements in the Forest of Mists.
Thistle was not the only SquirreLin to ever leave the protection of the Forest of Mists. Several hundred years before Talona’s voyages a young SquirreLin named Iris became obsessed with flavors and cooking. Iris quickly grew tired of the ingredients found close to her small SquirreLin village. As she grew older she began to move to the other settlements hidden in the Forest of Mists. Soon even that was not enough and she sought out rarer items, like the Hundred Year Mushroom. It was while she was alone searching for the Mushroom that she met a very lost human named Johrtam.
As Iris kindly guided Johrtam out of the forest, his nervous talk about all the different foods to be found in the wide world unintentionally lured her away thus Iris never returned home. Johrtam was the First Mate on the Free Pirate ship The Painted Lady where Iris got hired as the ship’s cook. They sailed to many of the continents around the world. At every port Iris was the first off the ship and into the markets to buy exotic food and spices, carefully keeping a seed to plant later. She drew many curious looks in the various ports but Johrtam was never far away, and his imposing figure kept trouble away.
When Johrtam retired to Drent’s Cape, Iris followed and opened a Bakery which had a very large and strange garden behind it. I worked at her bakery for the summer while I was with my Uncle that had moved to North Dalron, the twin kingdom of South Dalron, many years before. It was my first real job my next would not be until years later when I was old enough to join the city guard. I accompanied my father back there when my Uncle died a few years ago. Iris was still there grey just starting to touch the edges of her fur. She made me a batch of her special muffins and told me again some of the stories that had happened to her more than three hundred years ago.
1 whole Acorn Squash peeled cleaned and shredded (makes about 4 cups)
1 ½ cup flour
1 ½ cup rolled oats
1 Tablespoon baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 large egg
2/3 cups light brown sugar
1/3 Cup milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup salted butter (softened)
- Heat oven to 375°
- Mix milk, egg, sugar and spices in a measuring cup and set aside.
- In large bowl mix flower oats baking powder and baking soda.
- Add shredded squash and mix until blended.
- Add butter and mix until blended.
- Stir milk mixture and then add it to the large mixing bowl and mix until well blended.
- Grease a mini-muffin pan and fill each cup level (makes about 48 mini-muffins).
- Bake in oven for approximately 20-30minutes, until the to starts to turn golden brown.
From: My Life as a Royal Dragoon by Kehlin
Visit the home of Talona The Red http://www.freepiratesforhire.com |
