  Don’t you just love to go through old family albums, giggling over moments frozen in time through a cameral lens, stretching your brain to the limit while trying to remember dates, places, faces and what you were thinking when you were sure colorful striped bellbottoms with a plaid, ruffled shirt made you look like an Ives St. Laurent model? The camera had to be one of the best inventions of all time – well, next to chocolate. At my age, I’ve seen cameras evolve exponentially. Movie cameras too. Note: I have movies – 8 millimeter mind you – that show a third grade me dancing around with my sisters in our ’60’s dresses (we wore dresses alot back then) pretending we were the Three Little Pigs. There is no sound and every second or so a flash of yellow or green runs across the picture indicating aging film. Among my vintagge pictures are the 3″ x 3″ photos from my dad’s Argus camera, a heavy black and chrome metal invention, housed in a real leather case. He bought it when he got home from the army after WWII. I used that camera in college and now my daughter has it. Remember the Brownie cameras? – Oh! Oh! And the Polaroids. Now those were cool. The photographs were nearly instant and you didn’t have to wait a week while the film was being developed! There was such excitement, pulling the film paper out of the camera and counting the minutes before carefully pulling back the cover sheet to reveal a very over-exposed likeness of your cousin making faces. Polaroids went by the wayside and I can’t imagine why. Slides were a big deal in the 1960’s and it was every television sitcom’s joke for a family to be invited to dinner only to be imprisoned on the couch while the host presented a slide show of the family vacation to Disneyland. “Yep. That’s Carol kissing Goofy. No, that’s Goofy on the left. Carol is the one on the right!” The guests would endure 40 gazillion slides of everything from standing in line at the Flying Teacups to standing in line for an ice cream cone and then the guests would look at their watches and say, “Oh dear! Look at the time. We have to let the cat out!” I remember the projectors where the slides were placed one at a time in a rack and then pushed into the projector to view. Then came the carousel projectors and we thought those were amazing. They were even remote controlled. When my family got one of those, I thought we were Up Town.  My parents were so wonderful to take tons of pictures of our childhood and our family life in general. We really do have a grand collection of memories on film. One of my favorite memories includes a tea house that my family frequented many a summer. My father was a college professor and during many of the summers of my growing up, he taught at the University of Maine as a visiting professor for the summer sessions. He and my mother introduced us girls to a treat with which we absolutely fell in love – the Popover. The tea house at Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park was our first experience with these hot, puffy pockets of air and the eating was only made more fantastic by the rustic outdoor tables overlooking a gorgeous lake with mountains in the background. Hot tea, coffee or milk accompanied our orders, as well as fresh strawberry jam and fresh butter. Delightfully, the tea house is still in operation and we were able to gather there again during a family reunion for my parents’ 50th anniversary a number of years ago, making memories with our own children. Of course, at that point I had to learn how to make popovers so that I can now eat them anytime I choose right here in Okieland. I thought I’d share what I learned with a recipe and directions.   Of all the things my parents gave me, my memories with family are what have stay with me to this day. Those memories are made more vivid by the lovely photographs and movies taken by my parents and grandparents. They have been given to me and to my sisters to share recollections with our children and grandchildren, in the same way that our parents shared with us from their childhoods. It is a way to stay connected with our heritage. Take time to make memories with your family. Take trips, have picnics, sing songs and laugh together. All of the trinkets in the world will never be remembered like time spent together.
Preheat oven to 425º and lightly grease a 6 cup popover pan with either shortening or butter. You can find popover pans online and I found a very inexpensive one for you to check out here. JUST A NOTE: You CAN put all of the ingredients into a blender and just blend the fire out of the batter. But if you do not have a blender or would rather use the more traditional method, follow the directions below:  In a shallow bowl, add flour and salt. Set aside.  In another shallow bowl, break two large eggs that have sitting at room temperature  Add milk or half and half and melted butter  Vigorously whip the egg mixture until it is light and frothy.  Add whipped egg mixture to flour mixture  Whip the fire out of the batter!  Now here, you can try both methods and see which works best for you. Some people heat the popover pan in the oven for 5 minutes and then pour the batter into the hot cups. Or you can use a cold pan and evenly pour the batter into the greased popover cups 1/3 to 1/2 full.  Bake on the center oven rack for 15 minutes and then turn down the oven temp to 350º and contine baking for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven. Using a sharp knife, pierce the top of each popover to allow the steam to escape. Leave in the oven 30 seconds.  Serve immediately with butter and jam. Great for breakfast. |
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Archive for the ‘Breads’ Category
Popovers
Monday, August 8th, 2011
Eggs Benedict From Scratch!
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
 OK. Put on your white gloves and your pursed lips and practice your hoity-toity vernacular – you know, like “Raww-thuh!” and “Well, ah say!” and “Candlelight Suppahh”. It’s time to chow down – oops, I mean – partake in the breakfast delicacy called Eggs Benedict. I’m sure you know that ALL Oklahomans consider this to be a staple of Okie cooking. Why, just the other day I heard a camouflage-clad gentleman tell his wife, “Honey, I invited Benedict ta come real early fer breakfast before gettin’ out to the deer stand. Let’s have eggs.” Eggs and Benedict in the same sentence – what’d I tell you? This favorite-of-mine breakfast dish is also great as a brunch treat or a light luncheon surprise and Mr. Fix-It and I like it for dinner on 113 degree evenings!! I promise, if you fix this, your family and friends will think you’ve been sneaking out to the local culinary institute. They’ll have no idea that you’ve really been hitting the Dunkin’ Donuts across town. For the best flavor and the most impressive effect you must make this dish from scratch. However, if you are a weenie or tired or frustrated, have worked all day, have screaming children, did not sleep well the night before, have broken your leg or have just found out that the moon landing was totally staged, there is “store-bought” for most of it to make it easier.  The trick to any meal like this is to have your breads made ahead of time. Many people have “baking day” where they make the different breads, desserts and other baked treats that will be used for the week. Patrice Lewis at The Rural Revolution did a lovely picture study of her baking day of English Muffins, pies and quiches. For Eggs Benedict, you need those English Muffins. It’s ok if you want to use those old, sorry, dry, tasteless excuses for bread from the store, but if you want REAL taste, make your own. My recipe and picture directions are found HERE This recipe makes anywhere from a dozen to 14 muffins. Put them in a plastic bag in the frig and they are ready for you to use when you need them. First, I’m going to give you the recipe and instructions for the Hollandaise sauce needed, which can be used on more than just the eggs. Asparagus, broccoli and other steamed veggies are great with this topping. The recipe is easy and takes just minutes. Leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator or in the freezer and reheated with a little water to thin. However, if you are in a hurry, McCormick’s makes the best substitute and you can find it in most groceries on the mixes isle. (And it’s low in calories) Finally, I’ll give the instructions for putting the Eggs Benedict together.  So get out your chef hats and let’s get started: Serving for 4
 Melt butter in a bowl in the microwave or in a small pan on the stove. Set it aside to cool slightly.  You can use a double boiler and I have one, but I prefer to do a shallow, stainless bowl over a pot of boiling water because it makes it easier to whip the eggs and there are no crevices that can’t be reached. In either case, fill the lower pan to halfway with water and bring to a slow boil.   Place egg yolks into a bowl or into the top section of the double boiler. HINT: Freeze egg whites in ice trays and pop out when frozen, storing in a freezer bag. You can thaw them for meringue, to add to eggs for scrambled eggs or to use in recipes.  Add cold water  Scramble the eggs and water until light and frothy  Place the bowl or double boiler top over the pan of boiling water and immediately begin whisking vigorously. When the eggs start to thicken begin slowly adding melted butter, continuing to whisk to keep from lumping. If there are any lumps, just keep vigorously whisking.  Continue to slowly add butter  Whisk until light and smooth. Turn the heat down to low  Add lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time and continue stirring. Taste between teaspoons to check the flavor. You may not like as much lemon as I do.  Add chicken bouillon and stir until dissolved. Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and leave over warm water on low.
 Poach eggs. I am using a vintage Salton poacher here, but you can actually poach them by just pouring a large egg into boiling water that you have stirred quickly. I am only doing two eggs here, but there is enough sauce for four.  Meanwhile, using a fork, split English Muffins  Either toast them or butter them and place them butter side down on a hot skillet. Cook until golden brown. Place muffins on plates.  Fry Canadian bacon or smoked ham on a hot skillet for 15 – 20 seconds on each side and then place on one side of each English Muffin  Place egg on top of Canadian bacon or ham  Pour sauce over the center of the egg and down the sides of the muffin. Pepper to taste. Serve with fruit and other muffin slice, buttered and with jam if you like. |
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Making Bagels
Monday, August 1st, 2011
  This morning, I am munching on a toasted bagel with butter and strawberry cream cheese. Let me tell you. There is absolutely no bread on earth, in my book, that is more gratifying and fun than the toasted bagel. And the taste. Oh my. Crunchy/chewy on the outside and soft and yummy on the inside. The only thing that comes a close second for me is an Aunt Annie’s garlic pretzel!!! Once you’ve eaten a fresh, homemade toasted bagel, you will never go back to the store-bought ones again. They are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The fun thing about them is that they don’t take very long to make!! And the more you make, the better you get at forming them. Pretty soon you are ready for a window in front of a gawking crowd that’s watching you slap bagel ropes around your hand and wowing them as you deftly tuck the ends together to make a perfect circle, ready for boiling water. According to the Kitchen Project the legend about bagels runs something like this: “In 1683 in Vienna, Austria, a local Jewish baker wanted to thank the king of Poland for protecting his countrymen from Turkish invaders. He made a special hard roll in the shape of a riding stirrup – Bugel in German – commemorating the king’s favorite pastime and giving the bagel its distinct shape.” In Poland, bagels were given as gifts to expectant mothers and used as teething rings for the new babies. And in Russia, they were given as good luck charms with magical powers! Immigrant Jewish bakers brought the bread rings to North America and they were quickly a favorite. Today, while many bagel stores use automated machinery to produce large quantities of bagels, there are also stores where artisans ply their trade with the stiff dough and roll them by hand. That is the way that I do it. Below is the recipe for basic bagels and step-by-step instructions. Total time from start to finish is a little over an hour. You can add any of your favorite ingredients to his recipe. Oven temp: 425º
 Place 1 tbsp sugar into a 2 cup measuring cup and add 1 1/4 cup warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top of the water and shake it until yeast starts to sink. Allow to proof for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, add all of the other ingredients to a mixing bowl. Pour proofed yeast in with the rest of the ingredients and mix with a dough hook on your mixer or mix by hand with a wide spoon. Knead by hand for 10 minutes or knead with a dough hook for 8 minutes on low.  I reconstituted some dried blueberries overnight by pouring warm water over them and putting them in the refrigerator to soak overnight. I added these to part of the dough after kneading. I divided the dough, leaving part in the mixer and then added the drained blueberries to mix. You can add cinnamon and raisins or fresh blueberries, garlic and onion pieces, anything that you like in a bagel.  On a floured surface, divide the dough into 8 balls. I am using an Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™ here and it provides a wonderful surface on which to work with bagels. And cleanup is a breeze. Cover the dough balls with a warm damp towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.  In the meantime, prepare a large pot with water to be boiled and oil a cookie sheet.  Remove damp towel from dough balls and flour the rolling surface. Roll each dough ball out to the length equal to the width of your hands placed side-by-side.   Place one end halfway under your less dominant hand and pick the other end in your other hand. Wrap the rope over the top of your less dominant hand and bring the end under your hand to match the other end. I have a bowl of water nearby where I can dip my fingers in and wet the surfaces of both ends so that they will join easily.  I flip my hand over and gently squeeze the ends together. Or you can press the ends together by pressing down onto the floured surface. At this point, I place the formed bagels back onto the pastry cloth, but the pastry cloth has been put onto a flat surface like a cookie sheet or pizza board. When all bagels have been formed, I cover them with the warm, wet towel again and then place in the oven that has been warmed to 150º and turned off, to rise for 20 – 30 minutes. They should look slightly puffy when they are done. You don’t want them to rise too much, but just have a nice, full shape. Meanwhile, start your water to boiling.  When the bagels have risen slightly, drop them into the boiling water for 1 minute on one side.  Using a large, slotted spatula, gently turn the bagels and let them boil for 1 minute on the other side.  Lift the bagels out of the water and allow to dry for a minute on a rack.  Then place them on the oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 425º for 20 minutes. If you like your bagels to be crispy on both sides, after 10 minutes of baking, you can flip them over to the other side and bake for 10 more minutes.  Just to show you the difference in appearance, the two bagels on the left were not turned and the one on the top right was flipped in the middle of baking. Slice bagels and toast in a toaster or toaster oven and serve warm. Extra bagels can be stored in a plastic bag and refrigerated for freshness.  Bible study with a freshly toasted bagel slathered with butter and strawberry cream cheese accompanied by a nice cup of hot, Fortunes Blueberry Vanilla Tea found at the Shopping Page. |
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Blueberry Season In Full Swing
Sunday, June 5th, 2011
 The blueberries are coming in with a bang this year. They are so big and juicy! Oklahoma’s gonna compete with Maine, I’d say!! When I was a girl, my family would go to Cadillac Mountain in Maine and pick wild blueberries to our heart’s content. Wild raspberries and strawberries could be found as well. There was just nothing like standing on that high mound of granite that was covered in short blueberry bushes, loaded with small, ripe berries. The book Blueberries For Sal was a favorite of ours. Now, I harvest Oklahoma blueberries – large, plump and sweet. The bushes are much larger than those of the Maine wild blueberries. The berries are wonderful for jelly, muffins, scones and coffee cake and today, I thought I’d share a yummy coffee cake recipe that we like. Canned blueberries work fine in this recipe too. Enjoy! For Cake:
 Cream butter, sugar and eggs together  Add vanilla and either lemon or orange zest and mix  Add sour cream and mix in  Add flour that has been mixed with soda, salt and baking powder. Stir  Add fresh blueberries that have been tossed with sugar or use canned blueberries  Grease a 9” round or square pan with Crisco or other shortening. I use a paper towel to do this. I find that it covers more surface than a brush.  Flour the pan by shaking flour around the surface of the pan until all areas are covered. Shake out excess flour. In cookbooks, this is what is meant by “greasing and flouring “ your pan.  Meanwhile, melt stick of butter over medium heat and remove from heat  Add white and brown sugars and stir  Add cinnamon and stir until completely blended  Stir nuts into the batter  Add flour and stir until everything is totally incorporated. It will be crumbly and sticky.  Pour batter into baking pan and crumble topping over the surface of the batter  Crumble the topping all the way to the edge of the pan. Place in a 350º preheated oven and bake for 40 – 55 minutes. Test for doneness with a knife or a toothpick. It should come out clean.  Allow to cool for 10 – 15 minutes and sprinkle with Confectioners sugar. Serve warm. Leftovers can be cut up and frozen. |
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Strawberry Muffins II
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
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As in the previous post, at the request of OPC Facebook Fan, Melissa, and because the strawberries are rolling in, I’m posting two separate recipes for strawberry muffins. The first one is Mr. Fix-It’s favorite and is pretty basic while this one is more along the lines of a soda banana bread. They are larger than the previous muffins with a different flavor. They are quite light for muffins.
 Preheat oven to 375º. Place strawberries in a bowl and use 2 tablespoons of the sugar to toss with the berries. Set aside  In a batter bowl or large mixing bowl, place butter and shortening  Add flour and cut butter and shortening into flour until it resembles course crumbs  Add soda and salt  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and sour cream  Whisk until smooth  Add strawberries to flour mixture  Stir until strawberries are coated with flour  Add strawberry extract flavoring to the egg mixture  Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients.  Continue stirring until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over stir.  Mix Turbinado sugar and cinnamon in a small container  Evenly distribute muffin batter between muffin tins. Sprinkle tops of muffins with sugar mixture. Bake at 375º for 25 – 35 minutes on the center rack. Depending on your oven, 25 minutes is usually long enough, but test with a toothpick or knife for doneness.  As you can tell, these muffins are larger. They have a unique taste and are very flaky. They also may be frozen and reheated. |
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Strawberry Muffins I
Saturday, May 21st, 2011
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At the request of OPC Facebook Fan, Melissa, and because the strawberries are rolling in, I’m posting two separate recipes for strawberry muffins. This first one is Mr. Fix-It’s favorite and is pretty basic. These muffins are easy to freeze and heat up nicely. They are scrumptious with butter and if you really want to “gild the lily” get out some of that strawberry jam you’ve just canned and spoon some on!
 Preheat oven to 400º and grease two 6 cups or one 12 cups muffin tins with shortening. (I use a paper towel to get a good coat of shortening.) These are my favorite tins, as you can tell!! I use the shortening because nonstick pans and oil sprays do not give the same crisp outside texture that we like.  Toss strawberries with 1 tblsp sugar and set aside  Add 1/2 cup sugar to 1 1/2 cups flour  Add 2 teaspoons baking powder  And 1/2 tsp salt  Measure 1/4 cup shortening into a microwave proof container. Microwave until melted  Add strawberries to flour mixture  Toss until berries are covered and incorporated   In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk and strawberry flavoring.  Pour into the flour mixture, the milk/egg mixture and melted shorting  Stir well until all dry ingredients are moistened and incorporated. This batter is very heavy and stiff.  Spoon batter equally into muffin cups.  Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over the tops of each muffin, about 1 tsp each. Bake in 400º oven for 20 – 25 minutes on center rack  Serve hot with butter or butter and jam. Enjoy!! |
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Orange Scone Recipe
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
  Yep, that’s what I tell anybody who says to me, “A scone? What’s a scone??” when I am showing off the three scones mixes that I carry at the shopping page. The Victorian House Original Recipe Scones are especially good because you can add anything you like to them like 1/2 cup of white chocolate and 1/3 cup of Craisins to create “addiction from a bag”! They are handy because you can make them ahead of time and either freeze them raw for baking later, or keep them in the frig raw for baking the next day. And one bag makes 16 big scones – a bonus! Packaged scones are a great thing to have on hand for a quick tea with the neighbor, a relaxing treat for your afternoon or a wonderful “thank you” gift in a pinch. The Victorian House Scones are an authentic Scottish scone, made with buttermilk. But for those who like to say, “I make MY scones from scratch” – you know, the: “I grew the wheat, dried the wheat, ground the wheat, milked the cow, churned the butter, separated the cream AND got the eggs from our chickens” kinda gals – ok, so you got the ingredients at the store and put them into the mixer! Whatever – it’s homemade! – here is a recipe for you. These scones are fluffy and light and just keep you wanting more. This recipe is my own recipe that I have developed over many, many attempts at scones. And yes, if I should ever decide to market the mix, I WILL have to kill you. 🙂 This recipe uses the dried orange zest from a couple of posts ago. And these are the English type of scone. So here you go:
 Add flour to mixing bowl  Add Baking Powder  Add sugar or Splenda. If using Splenda add powdered milk.  Add dough enhancer – this is optional  Add salt  Cut butter into pieces  Using mixer or dough blender, cut butter into flour until the mix resembles small peas.  Add orange zest.  Add 2 -3 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate to the mix depending on how much of an orange flavor you prefer. Stir in  Add egg white and stir (you can use a whole egg if using Splenda for more moistness)  Add cream  Mix until dough just holds together   Place dough on a floured surface like the The Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™. Pat the dough out into an 8″ circle and cut into 8 triangles  Place scones on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper and brush with a mixture of the reserved egg yolk and 3 tbsp cream.  Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes depending on how fast your oven is. You want them to be golden brown. If you would like, dip the tops of the freshly baked scones in the following icing:
 Stir orange juice concentrate into melted butter  Add powdered sugar and stir. Add milk and continue stirring until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if it is too runny.  Add vanilla  Add pinch of orange zest. Stir and then dip the tops of the scones into the icing.  Serve warm or cold. The scones in the forefront are the ones made with Splenda. They are a little heavier and hold their shape. The ones in the background are made with sugar and are lighter and more puffy. Serve with tea and lemon curd and you are set!! |
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“Time To Make The Donuts”
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
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  My dear friend and reader, Mrs. B., did it again. Not only did she gift me with my wonderful Bosch mixer, but she alerted me to the newest post at one of my favorite and linked blogs, New Life On a Homestead with the recipe for donuts to mix in my new Bosch mixer. The recipe originated at Enola Gay’s Paratus Familia and then Kendra made an edition at her blog. The pictures of the donuts at both sites made Mr. Fix-It drool and since I was tired of wiping up spit from the kitchen floor, I asked him if he’d like me to attempt the confections. You know the answer! And so I did the recipe, as written, with one change. I substituted potato flakes for some of the flour. I used home ground, whole wheat flour that I sifted and sifted but added potato flakes because I know that is the secret ingredient for a famous donut. I figure, what could it hurt? I make potato rolls and bread, so why not potato donuts? The home ground flour works great, but all purpose is fine too. So that’s what I did and the following is the result. The recipe made 27 small donuts + 27 holes. Also, I used a thin glaze and only dipped one side to make them not so sweet. They were just right. We shared these gems with our neighbor up the road and one of the sons said that he loved them because they were not too sweet.
 I used my Bosch but you can use any mixer with a dough hook. Of course, you can do this by hand as well. Add 1 3/4 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar and sprinkle 1 Tbsp yeast over the surface, allowing to ‘proof’.  When the yeast water is bubbly,add 2 eggs…  …and 1 tsp salt  …and 1/3 cup shortening.  I added 1 cup of potato flakes.  Add two cups of the flour. I am using whole wheat ground from Prairie Gold Hard White Wheat.  Mix and scrape the sides.  Add another cup of flour and mix.  Continue adding flour by the cup until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl but is still nice and soft. I used a little under 4 ½ cups of heavily sifted flour. Continue mixing on low for 8 minutes to knead.  Let the dough rise until double – about an hour if it is in a warm place. Here, I am just leaving the dough in the mixer bowl, covering it with a damp cloth and then it is going into the oven which has been preheated to 150º and turned off.
 While waiting for the dough to rise, I made the glaze. Melt 1/3 cup butter in a saucepan.  Add 2 cups powdered sugar and stir  Add 4 Tbsp hot water. I added a little more water because I wanted a thin glaze. However, if you want a glaze that is thicker,1 1/2 or that you can spread, use more powdered sugar.  Stir until smooth  Add vanilla and stir until mixed. Set aside on a warm eye. I did it this way because I grew up with Krispy Kremes and have watched them glaze their donuts. The glaze is kept warm and thin and it doesn’t take much to glaze a donut. I decided to kind of replicate the process.  When dough has risen, scrape out onto floured surface. I am using one of the spatulas available on the Shopping Page as well as an Oklahoma Pastry Cloth™.  Roll out dough to about ½”. I used a rolling pin. Here I am cutting the donuts with a two part donut/biscuit cutter. It is wonderful because the center is removable so that the gadget becomes a biscuit cutter.  Place the donuts on the floured surface and cover with a damp cloth to rise until double.  When donuts have risen, carefully place them in oil that has been heated to 350º.  A wooden chopstick is great to turn donuts to their other side when browned on the first side.  Cooked donuts placed on a rack from the oil, waiting to be glazed  Using a chopstick or other utensil, place the donut in the warming glaze.  Lift the donut out of the glaze and place on rack or cookie sheet.  Don’t you just want to dive in? We did!!
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Grinding Corn
Friday, March 25th, 2011
 It doesn’t take much to thrill me. I’m one of those people who appreciates the little thngs in life! For probably 12 years, I’ve been grinding wheat to make our breads and other flour products and it’s been grand. I started out with a hand grinder – a Lil Ark – that has large, stone burrs to grind the grain. You’ve heard of stone ground meal, I’m sure. Well, we don’t have a watermill, but we still have the stone ground flour!  Mr. Fix-It, ever the mechanical genius, watched as I rotated ’round and ’round with the handle to the mill to get about 2 cups of flour for 20 minutes of work. Good exercise, but rather boring. He knew he could get a motor to do the work for me and so he promptly set out to do just that. Two fly-wheels, a couple of auto belts, some pine and an old trash compacter motor later and Mr. Fix-It had indeed fixed it! It isn’t much to look at, but by jove, it does an incredible job. It stays in the garage because it is huge and kinda messy.  And then I graduated. I got a Nutrimill…the grinder of electric grinders. What took my Lil Ark an hour to accomplish, the Nutrimill does in 10 minutes. All the more flour to bake with, my dear! These grinders can be found at a number of places online and they are sooooo worth it. Some online sources include:
 So all of this time, I’ve been making breads and such with wheat flour, but it never occurred to me to purchase corn and do my own cornmeal. Duh. Well, today ended that bit of ignorance. I purchased a sack of corn from Sonrise Whole Grains in Midwest City, and came home to experiment. I used both grinders and combined the results. The Nutrimill grinds the corn pretty fine, which is great for coating fish, while the Lil Ark makes a more grainy meal, which is good for cornbread. But together, it makes a-maize-ing cornbread.  As a result, for dinner tonight, I made cornbread by my recipe posted previously and served that with some home canned beef stew. Now THAT’S livin’! |
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English Muffins
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
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I grew up with English Muffins for breakfast. I think I heard it said that my mom used to make them from scratch, but all I remember are boxes of Thomas English Muffins or various other brands in tubular bags loaded with muffins stacked one on top of the other. We cut the treats with a fork and toasted them in the oven until the tallest points were crisp and brown and the rest of the muffin was warm and chewy. Eggs Benedict was a favorite in our house, with the English Muffin as the basis for that whole, yummy egg concoction. I did a little research, out of curiosity, to see where this muffin originated and got conflicting reports. According to Wikipedia, they originated in England and may have been around as long as the 10th century, however, they didn’t become fashionable until the late 1800’s. It stated that these muffins were and are served as a staple part of “tea”. But according to Foodreference.com The English swear that they never heard of them until these muffins were imported to England from America. It appears that Wikipedia may have confused English Muffins with Crumpets. Crumpets are a flatter, chewier, spongier version and really are a “tea” staple in England. Foodreference.com joked that perhaps a pitiful English baker named Thomas, messed up his mother’s crumpet recipe – probably added too much flour – and produced the English Muffin instead. Who knows. It makes a good story though! About a month ago, one of the active participants on the MaryJane FarmGirl Connection challenged all of us “Farmgirls” to a bread baking day. What fun. We were told to make something that we had never tried before. It was a blast reading recipes that were shared and seeing photos of the results. What a wonderful group of women. It was with that challenge, that I decided to try my hand at English Muffins. The following is the result and I must say, “Oh my!!” A pat of butter and some strawberry jam and you might as well leave me to meditatin’. These were very easy to make and I encourage you to give it a try. You will love the results. No more ‘store boughten’ for me!!!! 1 cup water 1/2 cup scalded milk 2 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp warm water 1 pkg active dry yeast [or 1 tbsp loose yeast] 4 cups flour 3 tbsp softened butter              I don’t care where these precious breads were invented or if they were just a mistake on the part of a bad English baker who immigrated to the US, they are delicious and a real treat. Next post, I’ll show you something that you can do with them that will thrill the kids. Until then…. |
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