Edible Performance Art

On Saturday, March 27 I took a jab at making my first Super 8 film. With a little help from my friends PSP and Stephen, I came up with the idea of taking VHA straight into the heart of our community,the intersection downtown. Around 5:30PM I began giving away two dozen Squash & Cranberry Muffins, along with the recipe, and within an hour I found myself holding an empty plate. I think I can safely assume that this process would have gone a lot faster if it was not overcast and -12C at the time.

The foremost question on everyone's mind was, "but why are they free?". Never mind that most participants asked this as they were taking a muffin, if not eating it already. There was also a girl from Moncton who asked, "are there any nuts in them?", which was less surprising.

This film and many others will be screened at the Super 8 Hotel taking place next Wednesday, April 7 @ 8PM at Struts Gallery (7 Lorne Street). Free popcorn is usually available and I'm considering whipping up another batch of these muffins...

Squash & Cranberry Muffins--tasty Vitamin C
Servings: 12 lrg. muffins or 24 minis
Prep time: 60 mins.
Cook time: 25 mins.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat is always acceptable)
1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup maple syrup)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup squash (or sweet potato) cooked, mashed
1 lrg. egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup milk or water
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen, coarsely chopped (use frozen if you want to avoid cranberry juice stains)

Procedure:
1.Preheat oven to 375F.
2.Cut squash in half and scrape out seeds, place cut side down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 mins. or until squash is tender.
3.While squash is in the oven, grease muffins tins or line with paper liners and whisk all dry ingredients in a lrg. bowl.
4. Allow squash to cool and spoon out required amount. Save the rest for another dish. Process in a blender/food processor or mash manually.
5. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs, oil, milk, and squash until combined.
6. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, do not over mix. Fold in cranberries.
7. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake lrg. muffins 17-20 mins, mini muffins 15-17 mins.
8. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the centre of a muffin--the toothpick should come out clean. Allow to cool for 5 mins. before transferring to a wire rack.