Behold, friends, an entire post dedicated to the magic that is cinnamon. See, me and cinnamon went way, way back. I thought I knew knew the herb--good ol' cinnamon, you know: tasty with apples, fun in a smoothie, a secret ingredient in a handful of savory dishes, even.

Then came the day I threw a few cinnamon sticks (also called quills) in my herb grinder. That's when we really met, and I learned that cinnamon is less like a flavor of boxed cereal and much more like a small fire that burns sweet, a gentle sun ray spiked with electricity, or a languid kitten that dreamily pricks you with its tiny claws. Oh, cinnamon.

This transformation of the herb from familiar to delightfully powerful and somewhat exotic, is the effect of experiencing the plant in a more complete way. Grinding the herb right before using it eliminates the time that the ground herb sits around, all the while dissipating it's precious constituents directly into the air, or allowing light to break down the herb's natural chemicals. So, maybe cinnamon can serve as an example of how alive these fresh ground spices can be.

A couple years ago, I bit the bullet and bought myself a coffee grinder and dedicated it solely to herbs and spices (no coffee allowed!). The payoff has been all these super sexy new relationships with herbs I used to think were mundane. Mustard seed! Cumin! Black pepper, for crying out loud! Who knew black pepper had floral notes??

Grinding herbs at home isn't too complicated as long as you have a spice grinder (or coffee grinder, same thing) that you're willing to keep free of coffee beans. Just throw in your spice and press the only button on the machine!

In the case of cinnamon, it's helpful to break up the quills into pieces. Sometimes wedging a table knife into the slits of the quills is the easiest way to break up a tough one.

If I'm being meticulous, I'll wash the grinder between each spice (to avoid contamination of herbs with each other). I've also heard of grinding rice between herbs as a way of "cleaning" the grinder. Do you have any good spice grinder tips?

Ok, kids. I've caved. I've become one of those food bloggers who features bacon prominently and probably unnecessarily. It's a bit of a savvy blogging tactic, I think--a little pandering for clicks, perhaps. It's just that bacon is so sexy.

Really though, the meat of this recipe is the fact that it's super low carb, comes in a cozy little package and is very adaptable. As for the bacon, you can take it or leave it.

Variations on this recipe that I've tried include:

• Roasted Roots with Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage
• Winter Veggies with Sharp Cheddar and Pecorino Romano

Obviously, this can easily be adapted to fit your diet/lifestyle needs. I've included the pictured recipe, as well as a generic recipe below.

Big thanks to my colleague, Desta Golden, for supplying me with this brilliant low-carbohydrate idea via our Diabetes Management class. Watch out Virginia, Mrs. Golden is headed your way in a couple years!

Serving Size: 2 muffins
Carbohydrates: 7g
Fiber: 1g

Bacon, Feta and Butternut Squash Omlette Muffins (GF, low lactose, low GL)

3 bacon strips, uncooked, chopped
1 small onion
5 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt
black pepper
nutmeg
3/4 cup butternut squash, cubed and roasted with salt
1/4 cup feta cheese, some reserved for topping (I used goat milk feta)
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Fry the bacon and onions together until the bacon is fully cooked and the onions are clear or slightly browned. While they are cooking, combine the eggs, yogurt, black pepper and nutmeg and whisk together until completely incorporated. Fold in the squash and feta and set aside. Grease 6 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, then spoon the cooked onions and bacon, pour the egg mixture over this until the liquid almost fills each muffin cup. Top with the reserved feta and the pumpkin seeds and pop this pretty mess into the oven. Bake until the tops are golden and the center is springy, about 20-30 minutes.


Omlette Muffins: Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style (GF, possibly: vegetarian, low GL, lactose free)

5 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt
black pepper
nutmeg
1 cup cooked veggies (pick your faves!)
1/4 cup cheese, some reserved for topping (completely optional)
2 tablespoons chopped nuts or seeds for garnish (optional, but why not?)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Combine the eggs, yogurt, black pepper and nutmeg and whisk together until completely incorporated. Fold in the veggies and/or cheese and set aside. Grease 6 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, and fill them 7/8ths full with the egg mixture. Top with the reserved cheese, seeds or nuts and pop this pretty mess into the oven. Bake until the tops are golden and the center is springy, about 20-30 minutes.

The snowy dreamland that was Portland this past week prompted some delightfully cozy activities, like bundling up for long crunchy walks, mulling wine, napping all day, and of course, hot cocoa.

Ever since I started eating a little healthier a few years ago, hot chocolate repeatedly proved itself a disappointment. The coziness it could instill was never worth how weird and gross I felt afterward, so I was really ok with the idea of giving up hot cocoa forever. I figured I had outgrown it, the way I outgrew other childhood activities like watching other people play video games, or playing the impressively uninventive two-person card game called War.

Recently, though, my sister gave me a small package of stone ground mexican-style dark chocolate and told me how to make it into hot cocoa. I liked it, and aside from a boost in coziness, I felt totally normal afterward. But, I didn't realize just how good it was until a few days ago when I served it to a friend who "mmm"-ed over it and said, "Oh my god, I love you. This is so good." So maybe it's worth sharing, yes?

I'm not one for cooking from packages, in general, or certainly not showcasing it on the internet, but in this case, I think it makes some sense. A couple pieces of the Mexican-style stone ground chocolate, made by TAZA Chocolate, provides the cocoa and sugar in a refreshingly not-too-sweet ratio (while helping to keep us from over-adding sugar to the mix). Add this to boiling water in single serving cup with cream and it's as quick as a package of the 'Miss, but way tastier. I like to add cream instead of milk because it's easier on folks who are sensitive to lactose, like me and many of my guests.

The cocoa pictured below contains a dollop of cream that had just barely turned to butter in the carton. Yum!

Serving Size: 1 recipe
Carbohydrates: 4.5 g
Fiber: 0 g

Cozy Cocoa (GF, low GL)

1/3 oz Mexican-style dark chocolate (that's 2 chunks if you're using TAZA)
8-10 oz water (to be boiled) plus hot tap water
2 tablespoons cream, coconut milk or alternative milk
vanilla, chipotle, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne or nutmeg (optional)

Put a pot or kettle of water on to boil. In the meantime, fill a mug with hot tap water and set aside. Once the water is boiling, empty the mug, place the chocolate into it, and pour boiling water over the chocolate. Stir with a warmed spoon until the chocolate has completely melted. Add the cream/milk and any other spices you'd like and enjoy!