Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

I feel like I’m mourning the end of summer when it didn’t even really arrive.  While it has just started to be consistently sunny outside and the temperatures have managed to be over 20 degrees C during the daytime, I’ve noticed that the evening light has that watery quality that comes with the end of summer.  It’s crisp and cool out.  We haven’t had one really hot day.  I’m hoping that means we will have a lovely Indian summer.

Yesterday I got my hair done.  It was an exciting day.

No, really.  It was.

For the last year, I haven’t been me.  The manufacturer of my favourite shade of red for my streaks discontinued it!!! You can laugh if you want but nothing has been right since…

My lovely hairdresser, Lisa, has tried valiantly to source out a suitable replacement but to no avail.  We tried one that was barely noticeable in my already auburn-y hair, one that turned a brassy copper within a few weeks and one that smelled like those smelly grape markers we all had in grade school, but didn’t really do much that was interesting.  No luck.

And then… then… last week… Lisa messaged me to say they brought it back!!  Well not exactly back, but close.  It has a different name.  So we tried it yesterday… just a tiny bit to see how it worked.

And oh joy!  It was perfect!!  We were both so happy.  They’re the exact shade of the raspberries in this bowl.

I know it sounds silly and maybe a little bit vain.  But here’s the thing… I’m not the most avant guarde fashion plate. I only have the requisite single piercing in each ear.  No tattoos.  My red streaks were my one little nod to the arty creative girl underneath.  My little way of sassing the world.  It just hasn’t felt right without them.

One look in that mirror yesterday and I felt that little bit of sass come back.

Tonight, I took Sam out for a walk.  And oh my! The most handsome fellow I’ve come across in a while stopped to say hello to us while he was out running with his yellow lab.  I think I might have swooned.

I rarely swoon.

I’m pretty sure my brain stopped functioning.  At least, the part that allows you to make an intelligent reply to “hi” did.

But I’m pretty sure the whole encounter can be chalked up to Lisa and my magic streaks.

Also, probably Sam too.  Good doggy Sam.

Anyway, the reason for this tangent, besides the fact that the colour is just like these gorgeous raspberries, is that while we were discussing the outcome, Lisa said at my next appointment, we’d be a little more liberal with them now we know the colour is right.  And we mentally clocked when that would be.

October.

That’s right.  In 6 weeks, it will be October.   Sigh…

I decided to make some Chocolate Raspberry Muffins with some of the last of my raspberries  The recipe came from Kitchen Simplicity and I followed it word for word and they turned out perfectly.  Drop a single raspberry into the top of each muffin before baking, dust with powdered sugar afterwards and you have a muffin pretty enough and decadent enough to be dessert!

I apologize for the lack of photo information in this post but these were snapshots.  I didn’t set up – I was in a hurry.  The last two weeks have been hectic and I’ve barely seen the inside of my kitchen, even to make dinner.   I promise the next post will be more informative!