My first child was born in September, a week after his August due date. September calls to mind sharpened pencils, new backpacks, hopeful anticipation of the next thing. And yet, as those first days of September—my first days with my son—ticked by, I was not thinking about time at all. Each morning, I’d sleepily nurse him and stare out the big picture window into my backyard. The fence was heavy with morning glory vines, which unfurled their elegant blossoms early each morning and closed forever when the heat of the sun grew too intense. They were lovely flowers: trumpet-shaped, delicate petals, saturated in intense pinks and purples that seemed royal. My baby on my lap, those outrageous flowers opening every morning—the beauty of the world was too much.
Every beginning is an ending, too. Morning glories know this; their lifespan is literally part of their name. Parents come into this knowledge suddenly. Your baby is placed in your arms and what you carry is the weight of mortality. When you are a child, the forward motion of time is positive, life’s changes coming like stepping stones to something better or bigger. When you have a child, time still moves forward linearly, but feels less like a ladder and more like a freight train. Who’s to say that age five is better than five days? Or eighteen better than eight?
Much of the landscape is a blur in daily parenting, and there’s really no way to stop this from happening, but occasionally the blur comes into focus. You see what is, what has been, and if you’re lucky, a glimpse at what’s coming. That baby turns six this September, and when he does, he will be in kindergarten. For his first school morning, I will bake him morning glory muffins. Packed with carrots and raisins, fragrant with cinnamon, the muffins are wholesome and familiar, just another of many, many batches of muffins I’ve made him. He is tall now, and curious and kind, with searching, soulful eyes. The morning glories, as they do every year, are blooming again—a great spectacular show of color, lived just once but fully. The beauty of the world is too much.
Morning Glory Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
3 Tbsp. coconut oil (melted)
1 egg
1/3 cup whole milk
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
4 medium carrots, shredded
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup old-fashioned oats, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup raisins
Turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line the cups with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together mashed banana, egg, coconut oil, and milk. Add in the dark brown sugar and carrots and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, oats, and raisins. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring gently until just combined.
- Fill muffin cups with the batter and sprinkle the top of each muffin with dry oats and turbinado sugar, if desired. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 22–25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Serve warm with butter, or cool completely and store for later at room temperature in an airtight container.
Prep School
This muffin recipe freezes beautifully, so feel free to double the ingredients and prep a big batch all at once to make busy mornings a little easier. When ready to eat, thaw the number of muffins you’d like (overnight or quickly in the microwave), split them, and toast briefly in the oven, for best results.
