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.

I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to buy this book that I had been hearing so much about, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

As busy as I have been I had been reduced to buying (gasp) store bread a couple of times a week and …ewww. I hate that.  I hate giving the family stuff that I know there is no nutrition to, but you have to fill them up somehow, right?

I thought that the idea of making ANY kind of bread in five minutes a day was amazing and worth a try…

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Jonika asked me the other day about the process of soaking grains before making bread. I don’t know how many of you are aware that I am a big freak when it comes to organics, whole grains and nutrition… even though you might not think so here.  We spent several years as wholefoods vegans and then vegetarians before choosing to return to a omnivorius diet.

Anyway, exactly what is grain soaking and why in the world would you do it?

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A few weeks ago Pillsbury contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their product for the blog.  I have never been one to turn down free food, right, so I said sure.

They sent me instant potatoes and eagle brand milk.

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I need my life to slow down..even as I am rapidly hammering away at the keys Kyrie is asking me to tie something…Nick is cranky about putting on a new shirt (touch sensitivity) and I need to leave the house in 5 minutes to pick up Matt at Driver’s Ed. Read more

Last week I went to a friends house to be her assistant bread chef.  She has amazing recipes but they are all in German so she translates and I do what she says. Read more

O.k..so..yeah.

It’s just bread with cranberries and walnuts. But, I love naming things so humor me.  I do not go as far as one of my favorite characters, Anne Shirley,naming trees and woods but I like to give my recipes cool names.  Especially for bake sales. Read more

I have been making bread for so many years that it is natural to me to substitute ingredients and flours  without much thought.  I know what certain things will add as far as texture and flavor and it is a comfortable relationship I have with bread…no suprises anymore..just old friends that know what to expect from eachother.

With Marc being sick I am trying to get as much nutrition in him as possible so I have been making flour mixtures when I make bread… Freshly ground whole wheat berries, oat groats,  brown rice, lentils, sun flower seeds, flax….and the list goes on.  The magic that happens when the yeast starts reacting with the honey or sugar is amazing, miraculous, but always predictable.

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Back in the day Mrs. Cleaver and her contemporaries were very likely to serve dinner with a plate of rolls hot from the oven.  And those rolls were likely to be cloverleafs.

These are an easy roll to make and most people really like them because the shape is so…home. There is just something about these light, buttery rolls that makes you think of chilly days,  pot roast, and apple pie. Read more