Time to dye my hair, episode II

In a recent episode, I lamented all the "old guy" comments I've gotten in the past few years, not least from you guys, my beloved and adoring children. I toyed with the idea of actually dyeing my hair, having first broached the subject in jest more than three years ago. Since I hardly see anyone nowadays anyway, I figured it was now or never and asked Mom what she thought. Mom was so enthusiastic that she bought some platinum hair color the very next time she went to the grocery store and said she'd help whenever I was ready.

Well, today was the big day. While Brad and Cass were sleeping, Mom gave me lockdown haircut #3, then loaded me up with the hair dye. After rinsing it out, here's the end result:

Same face, unfortunately

Brad was the first one down for breakfast. He looked at me without batting an eye, nonchalantly said "nice haircut," and went about his business. Cassie's reaction couldn't have been more different. She was a little flabbergasted at first, then spent the rest of the day busting out laughing every time she looked at me. Which was pretty much the point of this—doing something a little crazy and totally out of character to break the drama and tension of going back to school, work, etc.

I was kinda going for the Billy Idol look, but Cassie said I look more like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I can certainly live with since he's one of the best characters on the #1 greatest TV show ever.

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But for the hair excitement, this episode would've been another "request hour." Dylan asked not long ago that I look into some savory muffins that he can make for a change of pace for breakfast. I poked around and found a few candidates. We first tried a muffin with ham and feta and it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either and it didn't keep well till the second day. This was my second try and it was a huge improvement. Everyone loved these and Cassie said she definitely wants them on the blog. I had already sent Dylan a variation on this recipe, which he tried and said was "bomb." The variation is noted at the end of the main recipe.

Savory Muffins with Parmesan, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Basil

Dylan's Savory Muffins with Parmesan, Prosciutto, and Chives

Savory Muffins with Parmesan, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Basil

Adapted from Heidi Swanson via 101 Cookbooks and Faith Durand via the kitchn, adapted in turn from Vegetarian Supercook (2004) by Rose Elliot

Time: 53 minutes

Because there is so little flour in this recipe, you can use pretty much any kind you want: all-purpose, white whole wheat, spelt (which is what I used), or some kind of gluten-free flour or gluten-free blend.

227 grams/8 ounces (1 cup) plain cottage cheese (low-fat is fine)
4 large eggs (~57 grams each in the shell)
60 grams (¼ cup) water
100 grams (1 cup) almond flour
30 grams (¼ cup) flour (see note)
57 grams (½ cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus 14 grams (2 tablespoons)
40 grams (¼ cup) finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, preferably oil-packed
7 grams (¼ cup) basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with muffin papers (you’ll only need 10 of them; leave the center wells open). Spray the papers with nonstick spray.
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cottage cheese, eggs, and water.
    3. Measure in the remaining ingredients, except for the extra 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, and whisk gently until no lumps remain.
    4. Divide the batter evenly among the 10 prepared wells of the muffin tin; they should be about ¾ full (a #20 disher works well for this job). Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan evenly over the batter.
    5. Bake until the muffins are set and golden brown and delicious, about 25 minutes. Transfer the tin to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack. Serve warm or let cool completely. Makes 10 muffins.

Savory Muffins with Parmesan, Prosciutto, and Chives
Omit the sun-dried tomatoes and basil. In step 3, whisk in ½ teaspoon smoked paprika with the other ingredients, then stir in 57 grams/2 ounces roughly chopped prosciutto and ¼ cup finely chopped chives.