cheddar, black olive, and jalapeno corn muffins

 There it is Dawgs, the fixings to make a dozen boxfuls worth of corn muffins,  Probably way more than enough, but isn't more than enough a fine number? There will be cheddar cheese, black olives, and chopped jalapenos.  I was also thinking of adding sun-dried tomatoes and maybe something else, and maybe tweaking the proportions, but then in a rare flash of lucidity I realized maybe there is a reason the recipe called for so much of this and so much of that, and maybe I should just follow it.

I have a friend and a baker who once told me that cooking is just cooking, but baking is an art, so I emailed her and she told me that I had it exactly backwards.  Cooking is feeling and baking is science  is what she had said.  So, though sorely tempted, I shall attempt to stay on the straight and narrow.

But then we have a baker right among us and I have a question for him.  I can understand where if you are baking something for the first time you want to follow the straight and narrow path of science.  But after you have done that a few times, doesn't it get awfully boring?  When I am painting I never know how my painting is going to end up and my primary motivation to keep pressing on is to see what it will look like when it is finished.  If I knew what it was going to look like before I was done, I don't think I would bother.  Actually I think Old Dog just baked things once or twice and then in search of new culinary excitement he moved on to other, likely more challenging projects.  But then I am sure that he will set me straight on this whole project.

Speaking of Old Dog, he has tasted my corn muffins before and found them to be 'not too bad.'  There will be improvements.  Previously, not having cups for my muffins I just squirted the batter into those little paper cup thingies, and shoved them into the oven where the heat further deformed them and they came out in the shape of, well, dog turds.  But two Christmases ago my sister bought me two large tins that will contain the muffins so that when they come out they will be shipshape.  And in my zest to boldly seize the day, I always prefer something overdone over something merely done and in that spirit my muffins have always been some shade deeper than golden brown.  In truth that is how I prefer them but other people, not so much.  So this time I will keep a sharp watch on the time and make frequent peeks into the oven to make sure they are whisked from the heat just before they reach the tawny stage.

Very well Gentlemen.  I shall keep you informed.