I have always loved English muffins, toasted and with a thick layer of melting butter and honey they have to be on my top ten list.  Or, maybe not honey…maybe fresh, homemade raspberry jam…or maybe orange marmalade…or…

Anyway I have made English muffins before but they are too fussy and time consuming for me to make on a regular basis.  English muffin loaf on the other hand can be made, start to fragrant, steaming finish, in about an hour and a half.

It is a batter bread so there is no kneading and little mess and, best of all, you get that great chewy texture and open crumb that regular English muffins have.  Don’t cave to the temptation to slice it and eat it hot.  Cool it at least part way and then be sure to toast it.  It will be better that way.

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I love date nut anything.  My mom did not cook a lot but every Holiday Season she would make fruitcake and date nut bread.  It was, I think, the time when I felt our family was the most “normal”.

There is something about coming in on a dim winter afternoon, cheeks frozen from sledding, and smelling the aroma of date nut bread wafting out of the oven.  Not that I have experienced many snowy afternoons here in Texas, but growing up in Bucks County, Pa..well I had my share of Currier and Ives moments!

Making a sweet bread for breakfast means thinking ahead the day before and I don’t often do that much thinking ahead…at least not anymore.  So, whipping up these muffins for breakfast (total time 30 minutes) is simple.  Sweet and filling, these date nut muffins have big date flavor in every bite, with the faint woodsy-nutty walnut flavor coming in right behind.  Mix them up by hand so that you don’t over beat them—muffin murder.  Overbeating will cause muffins not to rise, and to be heavy and lethargic, somewhat like a teenager  at 7 in the morning.

Date Nut Muffins (from one of my vintage cookbooks, with adjustments by me)

• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour

Crumble together until it looks pebbly.

Directions:

1. Combine dates, baking soda, butter, and water.  Allow to cool.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together.
3. Beat sugar, vanilla, and egg until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients to the date mixture, alternating with the egg mixture.  Begin and end with dry ingredients.
5. Stir in nut meats.
6. Scoop into 12 muffin cups and top with streusel.  Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm.

12 muffins.

So, this morning I had the urge to fix breakfast…sort of.  O.k…so it wasn’t an urge exactly it was more like the sound of my children in the last, painful moments of starvation because it had been a few hours since they had eaten.

What is it with families and their need to eat on a regular basis?  My family, with the exception of me, has the metabolisms of hummingbirds on amphetamines.  Seriously.

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I got two pounds of bacon in the mail the other day.  Now, this isn’t a random happening as you may think.  I don’t just randomly get bacon in the mail.

No, this was planned bacon in the mail.

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I am loving the after Christmas clearances at the grocery stores.  I don’t know how it is where you are but apparently people around here did not bake, cook, or buy as much as usual because there are a ton of things clearanced.

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As I have said before, I love breakfast but I really hate making it.  Yes, I am a morning person, and yes I love cooking but the idea of getting up and having to cook is what does me in.

So, in my fantasies I am the quintessential 1950’s sit-com mom (no! Not Lucy!) with the apron, the coiffed hair, the pearls and high heels; but in reality I wear jeans, barefoot most of the time, and I almost always have flour or batter marks on my jean legs where I have cleaned my hands on them rather than being reasonable and wearing an apron.  There is nothing…NOTHING like going to the grocery store to pick up an ingredient you overlooked and realizing that you have two perfectly placed flour handprints on your backside.

Yes.  True confessions.  Oh, and that spot on my jeans?  Chili.

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I don’t know how many of you know about the cool rise method of yeast baking.  It was, as far as I know, one of those things that was developed in the 1950s or so to help the homemaker get her bread made more conveniently.  It is a process of using a little more yeast and sugar and then allowing the dough to rise in the fridge overnight.  I wanted to see if it would work for my maple pecan rolls so I made a batch of dough last night and stuck them in the fridge.

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Shiloh made these for breakfast on Sunday morning.  Actually she made them Saturday and the entire house was filled with the aroma of vanilla. It was incredible.  The girl can cook.

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About two weeks ago I attended a special party and I needed to bring something…Hmmm…I was in a rush, as always…what to bring?

SCONES! Read more

Yes, we had a wonderful day antiquing. Thank you.

I woke up tasting these. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make them but I had the flavor in my head from the time I opened my eyes.

I was absolutely not disappointed with these. They spread out a bit more than I anticipated, next time I will make sure the dough is firmer. The flavor is delicate and sweetly fruity..the white tea is a fantastic addition. Try these, they are seriously good. Read more