Better If Used By:

When snow blankets the outdoors I have a tendency to stay under my blankets indoors, which is exactly what I did today. After several hours of lying in bed, looking out the window, and wondering when someone would stop shaking the snow globe, I got up, made a pot of coffee, and enhanced it and my day with a little bit of Bailey’s.

 

Having finished the third season of Gossip Girl, and being waitlisted at the library for season four, I figured this was as good a time as any to read one of my recent library finds, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci. This book is brilliant. At times I felt as though I was reading my own journal – except for the fact that I don’t cook, I’m not Italian (although Alice and I did try to master the language once), and I don’t live in New York. Details, minor details.

 

Inspired by Giulia’s love to cook, I decided to head to my kitchen and bake up some magic. Luckily, I had just what I needed to make lemon poppyseed muffins: eggs, vegetable oil, milk and, hidden deep in the back of my pantry, a Duncan Hines baking mix (with a ‘Better If Used By’ date of 23DEC2010).

 

15-18 minutes later I was enjoying homemade muffins, a cup of coffee, a lovely fire (on my TV), my CO chair, and the warmth of my blanket. Once I finished the muffin I decided to research ‘Better If Used By.’ Safety is the main reason for providing this date, thus, even if years have passed, the quality of the product could still be good. One of the best ways to test whether or not the product is still good is to smell it.  Based on last night’s smelling, I feel safe in saying my muffin and I have a lot in common – semi-sweet, appropriate for one person, our ‘top’ is a favorite to many, and, even when the better if used by date is passed, we’re still a tasty treat to some.

 

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