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!

Granola Bars (or loose granola).

A while back, we bought some granola bars to help tide us over for the long car ride home from wherever we were. Jonathan LOVED them. A bit later, we bought some CLIF bars to have on hand in case of 'emergency' (needing to leave right away and realizing we'd forgotten breakfast, or to help tide through an extra long meeting, etc.). Again, the one bar Jonathan had, he loved. And obsessed over. Nearly daily, he begged that his snack/breakfast/lunch/dinner/whatever could be a CLIF bar. This was getting out of hand! I decided that if he loved granola bars so much, I'd rather make them and know exactly what was in them. 

Then, for my birthday, Jonathan got me a new cookbook, and lo and behold, there was a granola bar recipe in it. It seemed destined to be. :)

Granola Bars, or Loose Granola, from The Supper Club, by Susie Cover

Ingredients:

3 1/4 c. old-fashioned oatmeal

1/2 c. flaxseed (recipe specifies golden, I used the regular that I had on hand.)

1 1/2 c. shredded coconut, preferably unsweetened (I used sweetened, what I had)

1 c. dried cranberries, chopped coarsely (ended up using raisins in second batch, ran out of craisins)

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

3 T. honey

3 T. maple syrup

2 T. canola oil (I used corn oil)

2 T. vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoons, not teaspoons!)

3/4 t. kosher salt

nonstick cooking spray (opt.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread the oats (and flaxseed, though I chose not to put it in at this point,) on the prepared baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden and aromatic, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together the coconut and cranberries. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until the brown sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is a smooth syrup, about 5 minutes. (I frequently walked away, and there were a few granules of brown sugar left in the bottom of my syrup, but they got blended in well in the next step.)

Pour the syrup over the cranberries and coconut, add the toasted oats (and flaxseed!), and stir and toss with a rubber spatula until everything is evenly coated with the syrup and blended well.

To make loose granola, discard the parchment paper and spray your pan with cooking spray. Spread the oats mixture in a single layer on the pan and bake in a 325ºF oven, until golden brown. (Recipe says 30 minutes, but I scorched my first batch black in that time...15-20 should be fine.) 

To make granola bars, lightly spray the parchment paper with cooking spray (or not, I forgot to!) and spread the oats mixture evenly across it. Press down until everything is one large, evenly layered rectangle. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes in a 325ºF oven. Let cool till only slightly warm, then cut into bars. Transfer to the refrigerator and let the bars set and cool completely, about 1 hour. Then, using a thin spatula, remove bars from the pan and serve. (I removed the bars from the pan when I cut them, and packed them in a container in the fridge to cool.) 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!

Cornmeal Breakfast Pudding.

Soon after I got married, my mom called me and said she'd found a couple of my grandma's cookbooks, and did I want them? I, who nostalgically cherishes almost anything that has belonged to my ancestors, and would collect cookbooks until my shelves were full of them if I could, of course said Yes! As soon as they were in my possession, I scoured them for recipes I could easily create. This recipe was one I made almost as soon as I saw it. (I believe I found the recipe and had it made within that hour.)

Since then, I've learned that a full recipe is much too much for my family to enjoy. I reduce the recipe by either 1/3 or 2/3, as it's simpler than trying to divide an egg. A 1/3 recipe will adequately feed two people, or heartily feed one. A 2/3 recipe will easily feed three to five people, and a full recipe feeds six to eight, depending on portion sizes desired.

Evelyn's Breakfast Cornmeal Pudding, from Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression of the 1930's, by Rita Van Amber and revised by Janet Van Amber Paske

Ingredients:

1/4 - 1/2 c. sugar or honey (I use the honey, and go a bit shy of 1/4 c.)

1 t. salt

3 T. butter

3 c. milk

1 c. cornmeal

1 c. milk

3 eggs

Directions:

Combine sugar or honey, salt, butter, and 3 c. milk, and heat to scalding. Combine cornmeal and 1 c. milk, then add to honey mixture. (VERY IMPORTANT: Don't add the cornmeal and milk seperately to the honey mixture, thinking it will combine and save you a step, it won't. Experience talking...)

Cook till thickened, stirring. Then cover, cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Beat the eggs. Very slowly, add a small amount of hot cornmeal to the eggs, till they are warmed but not cooked by the cornmeal. Pour egg mixture into cornmeal, stirring constantly. Cook on low heat, covered, for five minutes. Spoon into serving bowls, serve warm with a sprinkle of nutmeg and a splash of milk or cream. (I usually go with the cream.) 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!