If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. -- Voltaire, "Epitres, XCVI"
Autumns Friend The Sunflower
I love this time of year. It¹s the time when autumn returns and with her all of her favorite friends: red, orange and golden leaves swirling in on the chilly breeze. Early sunset and crisp fall smell comes along with pumpkins, berries and tall corn. My favorite of all of autumn¹s friends is the tall beautiful bright yellow sunflower.
According to Greek myth, the sunflower originated with the sea nymph Clytie, Helios¹s lover until he deserted her and she died of a broken heart. After her death, Clytie changed into a sunflower, whose face always turned toward Helios, following him on his journeys across the sky. Sunflowers really do turn their heads to watch the sun cross the sky.
The sunflower has been identified by many cultures as a solar deity. To the people of India, the sunflower represented their sun god Surya. Incas believed that the sunflower was a representation of Inti, their sun god and the founder of the Inca race. The tribes of the American central plains and the southwest venerated them. The seeds were eaten roasted, raw or ground into flour and they were the only source of oil. Roasted hulls were brewed to make a drink like coffee; dyes were extracted from hulls and petals. The oil was used as hair oil, cooking oil and medicine, to treat everything from warts to snake bites.
The spiral design of the sunflowers seeds was the inspiration for the Pythagorean theory of geometry. Pythagoras was an ancient Babylonian mathematician who was the founder of a secret society dedicated to the study of numbers. Pythagoreans worshiped numbers and believed they had magical properties. They lived by the motto; "Number is everything." They believed that absolute happiness lay in the contemplation of the harmony of the rhythms of the universe. Pythagoras taught his disciples that mathematics is the language that explains the universe.
Sunflowers are used to produce cooking oil, medicine, paint, animal feed and biodiesel. They are also a very effective and inexpensive way to clean up toxins from the environment. After the 1986 Russian Chernobyl disaster, sunflowers were grown hydroponically. The roots of floating rafts of sunflowers were used to extract 95 percent of the radioactivity from the water contaminated by the accident.
Sunflower oil contains essential fatty acids needed for hormone production. Oils also make possible the absorption of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Sunflowers seeds, as well other seeds, contain calcium, protein, iron, niacin and thiamin.
Sunflowers are great for snacks or can be added to many different recipes. So, for this week here is a muffin recipe I used to make for my kids. They are wonderful for lunches or breakfast. The smell as they bake brings back memories of those chilly autumn mornings when the leaves are falling, those mornings when we¹d huddle around the oven to stay warm.
Crystal¹s "run-for-the-school bus" Muffins
- 1-1/2 cup flour
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/8 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup smashed bananas
- 3/4 cup raw sugar
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. lemon zest or 1/4 tsp. lemon juice
- 2 Tbls. real maple syrup
- 1 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 350 and put paper muffin cups into the muffin pan.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another. Mix sugar, oil and eggs well. Add smashed bananas and lemon. Fold wet ingredients into the dry then add nuts and cranberries. Don¹t over mix. Pour into muffin cups, bake 20 minutes.
Enjoy!