A Stick, Bulls and Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

When I was a seven year old girl I lived in the deserts of Nevada where only tumbleweeds blew and coyotes howled.  My sister Heather and I loved to go on adventures where we stuffed my mom’s soda cans down snake holes and caught horny toads for fun.  We owned an old metal swing set in our backyard, but that was about it.

Every season a local farmer let his cows and bulls loose, and they wreaked havoc on our property.  Nevada has open range laws that allows them to do this.  The big bulls weighed thousands of pounds, and walked through our six foot tall privacy fence like they were flimsy toothpicks in the sand.  Our green and yellow metal swing set was used as their scratching post, and it would end up in a tangled mess.  It was during these times that my sister and I could not play outside because it was too dangerous.

Early one Sunday morning I woke up and saw the bulls had tipped over my swing set once again, and they were ruining the landscape work my parents did in the front yard.  I was angry and I felt something needed to be done.  Those bulls needed to be taught a lesson, and I was the young hero the job required.

Quickly, I slipped on my white shirt and denim jeans, and tied the laces of my tennis shoes.  With my long blonde hair blowing in the morning desert breeze, I grabbed one of my father’s eight foot long surveyor’s sticks used to mark the corners of property lines.  There were several bulls in our yard, but there was a young bull around 1200 pound no more than twenty feet away from me.  With the stick in my hand, I ran with all my might screaming, “Yaw, yaw, go you bad bull, go!”  Startled from calmly eating the lush green grass, the young bull started to run as I screamed and hit his butt with the eight foot stick.

My sister Heather was only three at the time, and she had watched me hit the bull from our second floor deck.  She became worried and ran into my parent’s room where they were sleeping, her eyes as big as saucers.  “Daddy, mommy! Amee hit the bull!” she shouted.  My dad groggily said, “What!”  As my sister repeated herself.  My dad flew out of bed, and threw on his blue jeans, nearly falling face first down the stairs to run and find me.

I ran that bull all the way down our long driveway, and as I shouted at him he turned with nostrils flared to see this little girl making all the noise.  The bull was not happy with me, but I proudly screamed at him more.  I was the princess of this yard, and the bulls better know with whom they made angry.  It was my yard, and I was tired of being besieged in my own castle, and away from my swing set.

By this time, my dad was down the steps and ran towards me screaming, “Amee stop!  Get back here!  That bull could hurt you!”  I did not want to mind my dad, but as I turned around the bull started to paw at the ground, ready to trample me like a rodeo clown.

I will never forget the day I taught that bull a lesson, and thankful I had a sister tattled on me, or I could have been trampled.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups of gluten free all purpose flour of your choice (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons of melted butter, margarine or oil of your choice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of aluminum free baking powder
1 1/2 cups of milk (I use almond milk)
1/4 cup of ground flax seed (optional)
1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.

2. Grease a muffin pan and set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter or oil, egg, milk, and sugar.

4. In another larger bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, flax seed, baking powder, and salt.

5. Slowly add in the liquid mixture and mix thoroughly.  The batter should not be smooth, but be a bit bumpy and moist.  If it is too thick or dry, then add a little bit more milk.

6. Fold in blueberries, and fill the muffin pan about 3/4 full.

7. Bake 20 – 25 minutes until the muffins are done.

Tip: This recipe can work for any type of berry like raspberries, blackberries, or cranberries.

The muffins freeze well if you want to make a big batch.  They are great for kid’s lunches, as a quick breakfast, or as a daytime snack.

Makes about 12 Medium Sized Muffins

Happy Baking!

Amee