Poppy Seed, Poppy Do!

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

I recently went on a long road trip, by myself. I don’t mind traveling solo. In fact, there is something therapeutic about facing the world and the road totally on your own, with only your thoughts and your actions to consider.

There were some sketchy moments, though. Stopping for gas after dark became a sort of Russian roulette. I had about six seconds to evaluate the safety of the gas station before I had to make the decision to exit or continue. Eating alone, even just for a quick lunch, always gets me sympathetic stares. I let people think that I’m some jilted lover, escaping my painful past. Or I just bring my laptop and try to look corporate.

The ultimate test of traveling alone (especially traveling as a woman alone) is finding a hotel in a strange town. I usually use some sort of online service, like Orbitz. The problem with an online booking is kind of like the same problem of dating online. A couple of pictures and a catchy description can make anyone seem amazing.

I booked a hotel in Roanoke, VA. I won’t mention the name of the chain here, but I will say that my door was actually crooked on the hinges (it squeaked, loudly, every time I opened and closed it). The side doors leading into the hotel weren’t locked or secured in any way. And the fitness room? The number one reason I chose to stay at this hotel? So I could wake up and work out early? Yeah, the fitness “room” consisted of a bike (broken) and a treadmill (broken).

After all that and after a half-hearted jog around the hotel’s parking lot and the nearby Lowe’s parking lot, I decided that a shower and a free continental breakfast would be the only things to redeem the day.

I love free continental breakfasts. Aside from the fact that they are free, there is something satisfying and comforting about baskets of bagels, fresh carafes of coffee, fruit organized on pedestals, and rows of miniature muffins. These days, though, I’m more likely to choose a package of instant oatmeal and a banana over a cinnamon roll. But when I was a child and still oblivious to things like “calories,” “saturated fat,” and other such boring phrases, I had no problem consuming several mini muffins.

My favorite were the lemon poppy seed muffins. Sweet, slightly tangy, and with the tiniest bit of crunch from the tiny poppy seeds, they started the day off just right. Even today, if I have the choice of something lemon poppy seed flavored, it’s a no-brainer.

When I started to research for a crockpot lemon poppy seed recipe, I suddenly had a moment of panic. What if I liked lemon poppy seeds so much because, gulp, poppies were the plants opium was harvested from? For a quick second, I wondered if I had spent my childhood contributing to the illegal drug trade.

Fortunately, that was not the case. There are actually three types of poppies that are well-known: field/corn poppy, opium poppy, and Shirley poppy. Seeds used for cooking are usually the Shirley or field poppy.

Poppy seeds have been cultivated for over 3,000 years. Almost every part of the plant is used: the latex for potent painkillers like morphine and codeine, the seeds for cooking and oil, and, according to some sources, the leaves of the young poppy plant can be eaten in salad. One cool fact about poppy seeds is that there are an estimated 900,000 seeds to the pound. That would make a lot of mini muffins!

Serves/Makes: 8

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• parchment paper
• non-stick cooking spray

***Topping***

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
• whipped cream