Lime Muffins — When the Limes Are Already on the Counter

The last week of May is a week in transition. School is almost out. Hartford is almost warm. The cafeteria at the hospital is in its annual spring-menu rotation, which I planned in February and which has started executing, and the staff is handling it, which means I have a little less to do, which means I have time to sit at the kitchen window in the morning with coffee and stare out and think, which is a thing I rarely get to do and which is uncomfortable.

Thinking is uncomfortable when you have not practiced it. I am more of a doer. I chop, I stir, I serve, I plan the next meal. Sitting still and thinking is a discipline I do not have. But this week I sat. I thought about retirement. I thought about whether I am ready. I thought about Mami. I thought about Sofía starting nursing school next month — the way my youngest is about to be the first RN Delgado, the way my mother never went to college and I was the first and now Sofía will be the second generation in a row where education is assumed, and it is not assumed in all families, and it is not assumed on the island the same way, and I am proud of what I built here.

I made ceviche on Thursday. Shrimp ceviche — not a traditional Puerto Rican dish, but a dish I make in summer because it is cold and bright and takes fifteen minutes and requires no stove. Shrimp poached briefly, chopped, tossed with lime juice, red onion, cilantro, a minced serrano, diced avocado, a pinch of salt. Served on tostones. This is a food I made up, honestly, a fusion that has no abuela, and Mami would find it pretentious if I served it to her — she is a from-scratch, cooked-through, no-raw-fish woman — so I do not serve it to her. I serve it to Eduardo, who likes it.

Sofía came over on Saturday with her orientation paperwork for nursing school. Her picture is on the student ID. She handed it to me and I looked at my twenty-two-year-old daughter's face on a laminated card that says "Nursing Student" and I burst into tears. She said, "Ma, stop." I did not stop. I held the card up to Eduardo and cried more. Eduardo said, "She looks like her mother." That made me cry harder. The man is a tactician.

The nursing school starts the first Monday of June. Orientation is the 30th. I am dropping her off. I know she does not need to be dropped off. I am dropping her off anyway. I will hug her at the curb and drive away and cry in the parking lot and call Luz María from the car and tell her the baby is in nursing school and Luz María will say, "Of course she is. We knew she would be." The chain holds. Wepa.

I had limes on the counter from the ceviche — more than I needed, the way I always buy more than I need — and after Sofía left on Saturday with her orientation paperwork tucked back in her bag, I did not want to sit still anymore. I needed to do something with my hands. Lime muffins are fast and they smell like summer and they are the kind of thing you make not because anyone asked but because the kitchen is where I put the feelings I do not have words for yet. These are Eduardo’s favorite. I made a dozen.

Lime Muffins

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 28 min | Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2–3 limes)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease each cup.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
3. Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vegetable oil, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined — a few small lumps are fine. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
5. Fill and bake. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 16–18 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool. Let muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 195 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 190mg