Glorious Morning Muffins.

When my husband and I first moved to Lincoln, we discovered that there is a fabulous farmers market here. (There's actually several, but we didn't know that at the time...) One of the things I looked forward to the most, besides the delicious fresh produce, and the honey, was this one particular muffin sold by a local smoothie shop stand. They called theirs the Morning Glory muffin, and I would purposely avoid eating breakfast so that I could enjoy this muffin that was the size of two normal muffins. Filled with carrots, walnuts, apples, coconut, and raisins, it also tasted healthy, if a bit rich. Here's the problem though. The farmers market ends in October, every year. Yes, I could drive down to the smoothie shop, but I never really want smoothies mid-winter, while I often desperately want these muffins.

Enter my bag of flour. Awhile ago I remember reading that I should check out the recipes included on the bags and cans and boxes that I buy. Many are gems, and they just get thrown away! This particular recipe came on the back of my Gold Medal Flour bag, along with another recipe, of which I have no recollection. This recipe eclipsed it in awesomeness. 

I now make these muffins somewhat regularly, though still not quite often enough, and I try to keep a few on hand for market mornings. Usually though, unless I hide them, all 18 are gone before I can set those few aside. Oh well, they're delicious. I can always make another batch.

Glorious Morning Muffins, from Gold Medal Flour

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

2 t vanilla

2 cups (Gold Medal) unbleached flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 t baking soda

2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (2 to 3 medium)

1 cup shredded peeled apple (I don't always peel it)

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup sliced almonds (we prefer walnuts, so I used those)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350ºF. Place paper baking cup in each of 18 regular-size muffin cups, or grease with shortening or cooking spray (or butter!). 

In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, milk and vanilla with wire whisk until well blended. Add flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in carrots, apple, coconut, raisins and 1/2 cup of the almonds. (Or all of the nuts...I don't bother saving any for garnish.)

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds over batter.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. (I removed them almost immediately with a spatula with no ill effect, but be careful, they may stick.)

Makes 18 muffins. Enjoy!

Bagels.

Bagels are a lovely thing. Made well, they are chewy, lightly browned, with a lovely light texture. Poorly made, they are so tough your jaw may just wear out before you finish eating them. Now, I do not claim to be a bagel connoisseur, I have not had the famed H&H bagels or anything like that, but I do know that I do not want to wear my jaw out on food that is supposed to be tasty. On top of all that, storebought bagels, the ones that are usually the worst offenders of the toughness issue, are much too expensive per bagel for me to justify buying regularly.

Normally, I would attempt to solve these problems by making them at home. You see, though, I've tried that. Back when I was a newlywed, still trying to figure out what I needed to learn in our little postage stamp sized kitchen, I attempted to make mini bagels. After several hours in a hot, steam-filled, noisy kitchen, (our smoke alarm was ridiculously sensitive - it went off every time the oven door was opened, no matter what temp it was set to!), the only passable results convinced me that bagels simply had to be purchased, not made.

Recently, I came across a few different bagel recipes that made me rethink my stance on bagels. Many called for ingredients I didn't readily have on hand, though, so I kept putting off the attempt. Then, yesterday, I found this recipe. I decided the wait was over and the same day began the process of making what resulted in delicious bagels.

My advice to you, if you choose to attempt these, (and you should), make sure you read through the entire recipe and consider how much time they take to make. They are very time consuming, at least in the "hurry up and wait" department. You work with the dough a bit, and then put it in the fridge. Then you pull it out, shape it, and put it back in the fridge. Then you leave it overnight, and then pull it out, let the dough rest for an hour, and then you begin the baking process. Consider yourself warned, but know that it's totally worth it. Enjoy!

Onion Pan Bread.

Here's another recipe for you onion lovers out there. This bread is impeccably moist, somewhere in texture between a very light biscuit and a somewhat heavier pancake. The onions are deceptively sweet, especially if you find yourself using all vidalia onions.  I'd actually recommend reducing the brown sugar that mixes with the onions and carmelizes them if you do use vidalias; too much sweet can, in fact, be too much of a very good thing.(Or so I'm told...) Regardless, this is delicious served warm to accompany a lighter meal, such as grilled chicken or a quick salad. It is best served warm.

Onion Pan Bread, from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients: 

3 Tbsp Butter, or olive oil
2 large Onion, sliced ¼ in. thick
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar, use less if using vidalia onions
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Milk
¼ cup Corn Oil, or any neutral oil

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350℉. Put 2 Tbsp of butter or olive oil in a med-large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted or the oil is hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Use the remaining butter or olive oil to grease a 9 in. round baking dish, pie plate, or ovenproof skillet (I used the same skillet as above and just greased the edges a bit). Sprinkle with brown sugar and spread the onions around the bottom.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Beat together the egg, milk, and neutral oil, add to the dry ingredients, and stir together quickly.
Spread the batter over the onions and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges. (You can invert onto a plate first if you like. Serve warm.

Cheddar Chive Biscuits.

(Bacon) Cheddar Chive Biscuits

I love these biscuits.  My husband asked me to make these this week, and, as my chive plant was getting out of control, and I do love to make yummy food for my husband, I happily obliged.

Of course, I had intended to simply whip these up on my own, as I have many times in the past. When my son learned that I was baking, however, he ran out of his room, leaving behind a half-built tower of lego duplo blocks, begging to help. And 'help' he did. First, he picked out which measuring spoon he wanted to use (the 1/8 teaspoon measure), then he proceeded to shove both hands deep into the flour and try to drop fistfuls into my outstretched cup measure. The flour exploded in a fine mist over everything sitting on the counter, coated both him and the chair he was standing on, and then finally settled in a small heap on the floor.

After we finished measuring the flour and moved on to grown-up parts of the recipe (chopping the chives,) he played 'drums' with measuring spoons and cups next to me while I worked. He also put all the dirty dishes in the sink, which included the measuring tools, ALL of them, the empty baking powder tin, and a few bowls and cups, not all of which needed washing prior to this. All in all, not the quickest of helpers, but still the most lovable, by far. :)

Originally, these were bacon cheddar chive biscuits, but my family doesn't eat bacon, so I leave that out. It affects the outcome not one bit, I think. In addition to leaving out the bacon, I also used colby jack cheese instead of cheddar, because that's what I had on hand, and also because I like it better. :) Enjoy!

Scones.

I love making scones. I used to buy this bag of 'just add water' scones mix, which was decent, but after having one expire on me, let's just say, never again. 

It was then I decided I needed to learn how to make my own scones from scratch. I've tried a few different recipes, most of which amounted in a large triangular brick. This recipe, however, only makes a small batch of round, not-quite-light scones. They are a bit denser than biscuits, but just barely. I make mine with currants in them, but the original recipe doesn't have anything added. If you like chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, or whatever else in your scones, feel free to add that. Just be sure to add a small bit of extra cream to hold the scones together if you add something.

Cream Scones, from The Winnie the Pooh Cookbook, by Virginia H. Ellison

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3 T. butter

1/2 t. honey

1 lg. egg

1/4 c. light cream (I regularly use half and half, though I've used milk before as well.)

a handful of currants, chocolate chips, raisins, or nuts, if you like. (Add a bit extra cream if you do.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or two knives until it looks like coarse meal. (The butter is smaller than peas.)

Stir the honey, egg, and cream together. Add to flour mixture and beat well, but do not overwork. If using, add any dried fruit, chocolate, or nuts and splash of extra cream now.

Pat the dough on a floured board or between sheets of wax paper until about 1/2 in. thick. Cut into rounds, squares, triangles, or whatever you like. (Or, simply skip the large rolling out and pull off chunks and shape into balls, as when shaping cookies, and slightly flatten.)

Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Serve hot with butter and honey.

Enjoy!