Whole Wheat English Muffins

Ever since I found out how easy it is to make your own English muffins I have been making them quite often. They are great for that perfect morning sandwich. I did switch it up a little and also make these whole wheat English muffins. Just as easy to make the dough in the bread machine. I like these that don't have a lot of nooks and crannies just because they toast up so well. One day I'll make the kind that you scoop into the ring molds on top of the griddle and see how the little holes appear in the middle. But that will be another day when I remember to save enough tuna cans.


Whole Wheat English Muffins

1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter or oil(good oil that you like to use)
1 table spoon honey
1 egg
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons yeast

cornmeal (for rolling out on)

Place all ingredients (except cornmeal) in the bread machine. Put them in order of bread machines directions. Mine calls for the wet ingredients first and the egg slightly beaten, then the dry ingredients with the yeast on top. Use the dough setting to make the dough. When it is done roll the dough out on a surface that is dusted with corn meal.

Using a large round cookie cutter, which I found on sale and couldn't wait to try making English muffins with a proper cutting tool rather than a big coffee mug. Or you can use a tuna can that both ends were cut off from (washed of course) cut the dough and place on baking sheet to rise for 20-30 minutes. I cover mine with a clean kitchen towel like my grandmother used to do...not the terry cloth towels, but the linen looking towels.


When ready, cook them on a griddle over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side until golden brown just the way you like them...


it's pretty simple and oh-so-good...

no oil needed in the pan...


ready to slice and enjoy...my daughter likes them warm right off the pan. Toast them or make your favorite breakfast sandwich.


I'm not sure how long they will last, because they get eaten pretty quickly around here.


nothing like homemade English muffins with homemade jelly...

Soft Pretzels - Martha Mondays

It was my choice for Martha Mondays and I usually pick something that I have been wanting to make and see if Martha has a good recipe for it. With it being Super Bowl weekend this time I was looking for a snack, so I chose soft pretzels. I and went through Martha's recipes and this one seemed easy and a different way to make them. You boiled them first like you would if making bagels. I also thought by cutting in the butter like she had you do was a good idea to make them flaky.

Well this is why I don't bake!! Mine didn't turn out. They tasted good, but were not very pretty.

Soft Pretzels - Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients:
2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1/4 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Vegetable oil, for baking sheets
3 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pretzel salt
Assorted mustards, for serving
Directions:
1.Mix yeast, coarse salt, sugar, and warm water in a small bowl, whisking until sugar dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2.Mix flour and cayenne in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3.Slowly pour yeast mixture over flour mixture, stirring to combine. Using your hands, gather dough together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until it is no longer sticky, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic, and let rise for 30 minutes.
4.Cut dough into 12 pieces, and roll each into an 18-inch rope. Form a U shape with 1 rope, and twist ends together twice. Fold twisted portion backward along center of U shape to form a circle, then gently press ends of rope onto dough to seal. Transfer to an oiled baking sheet, and repeat. Let rise for 20 minutes.
5.Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add baking soda. Boil pretzels in batches until puffed and slightly shiny, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to wire racks to drain. Return to baking sheet, sprinkle with pretzel salt, and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Pretzels will keep, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 12 hours. Rewarm in a 250-degree oven if desired, and serve with mustards.

Okay I think I got the rolling and the twist down pat...


...then bring it over to the top and gently press dough together


placed on an oiled baking sheet...now this is one area I was unsure of...I oiled my stoneware pan and I usually don't have to, but I followed the directions to a T...


let the rest and rise for 20 minutes...


...after boiling them for a minute or two per side is where it really didn't work or look pretty after that...it's like they deflated after I scooped them out of the water and set them on a wire rack to drain....then back on the oiled backing sheet.

The next part was also a fail...after baking for at the right temperature for the right amount of time....they stuck to the pan. I can't believe it!!! nothing sticks to my stoneware baking pans and I usually don't oil them and things don't stick!!! I even oiled them and it stuck! Go figure!


Here are my little flawed gems...the broken torn ones on the bottom. I made some plan...


...and made some with black and white sesame seeds, garlic and salt (I keep that blend in a jar on the counter and use it often)...you might call it an everything pretzel...only I forgot the poppy seeds. It even stuck to the pizza stone :(

Next time I will roll them into thinner strips so the pretzels won't be so puffy when the rise.

If you want to see a successful Martha Monday soft pretzel check out Brette's on her Martha and Me blog.
and be sure to check out Pru's pretzels and she's never even tried one before Perfecting Pru blog.

Dinner Rolls

Since I was off for 2 weeks for Christmas break I did get more time to bake. I stocked up on flour, eggs and butter just so we could do so. These dinner rolls are so good and easy to make, a great addition to any meal or sandwich for lunch! I didn't roll them into neat little balls I just cut them with a dough cutter and placed it in a round stoneware baker. Just covered with a clean linen dish cloth to rise, no butter.


Dinner Rolls - recipe from For the Love of Cooking

1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 egg (held under warm water)
3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons yeast

Add ingredients to your bread machine in order listed
Select the dough cycle and press start. When dough is ready, divide dough into 15 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet, or stoneware pan (like I do) Brush with butter then cover; let rise in a warm place 30 to 4o minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy


Can you believe I made these? Yum!




Thanks to Heather at girlichef for hosting Bake Your Own Bread.

Cranberry Bread

I am feeling a little better, I went to the doctor and found out I had a sinus infection...which gave me laryngitis. Started out with allergies...and this isn't the worst of the pollen that bothers me. that comes in February.

We had a cold snap come through last night and today we will be lucky if we reach 70. At least it's clear and sunny! :) But my coconut oil is now solid, I've guess I am a lot like coconut oil...I like it when the temperatures are warm enough to keep the coconut oil liquid. I really can't complain mush though because for the last three weeks or so we've been have gorgeous 80 degree plus sunny weather.

Taking advantage of this baking weather I am trying to get as much in as I can...yes it's after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but is still good to use up all those cranberries that you might have left over or tucked away in the freezer!

I used a muffin recipe and I the cranberries whole, because that is the way I like them...


...you can see the bright red cranberries peeking out! I added some cinnamon chips to the recipe just to make it festive! Okay, I love these cinnamon chips, I hope I can still get them at the store, and stock up before they disappear until next year.



Cranberry Muffins or Bread:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg beaten (large)
1 teaspoon orange rind
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups cranberries (whole)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional, I didn't use nuts cinnamon chips instead)
1/2 cup cinnamon chips (optional, you can use nuts instead)

Method:
Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder together in a bowl, mix well.
Stir in beaten egg, cranberries, cinnamon chips, orange rind, juice and butter.
Add some of the chips on top before baking for a nice look and a good topping.

For muffins bake at 350° 20-30 minutes.
For bread bake longer 50-60 minutes until pick comes out clean.


I love cranberry bread and it is so easy to make. I like biting into the tangy whole tangy berry in this bread. The addition of the cinnamon chips were very good...not too much, and gave it a little more depth...or something!

It was nice and moist and yummy for breakfast and afternoon tea!

The tree is coming down today...getting ready for the new year!!

Syrian Bread

When I was a child growing up in west Michigan we had a neighbor that lived at the end of our street, that would make Syrian bread. Occasionally she would bring us some and I loved it. I never did get her recipe. When I was young I didn't cook much, and that was mostly due to the fact that my mom was such a good cook. When she did let me help it was usually my job to make the salad....and I hated making salads. I had to tear the lettuce so it wouldn't bruise and it seemed no matter how much I tore at it, the big salad bowl never got full.

Then she would let me brown the ground meat for spaghetti bolognaise or chili or something. She asked me to season it...oh now this was interesting to me. I started to sprinkle the usual salt, pepper and garlic powder. That was good, but I wanted to see what a little of this and a pinch of that might do...over the years when I learned a little more about herbs and spices (which I love and have a passion for) she would call me into the kitchen and would ask if I wouldn't mind seasoning whatever it was that she was making for dinner.



Actually I don't know what that has to do with anything other than that is a bit on how I got started experimenting with different recipes and made them my own. I haven't really thought about Mrs Ansara's Syrian Bread until I ran across this bread on Treat and Trick...and what luck, it was a bread machine recipe!!! Whoo hoo!!

Into the bread machine:
1 1/8 cup warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons yeast

Hit the dough cycle.
Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
When the cycle is complete punch down dough and divide into 8 and make into balls. Roll each ball out into about a 6" circle, (mine ended up being a little more rectangular),
Brush tops with melted butter and bake (probably will only be able to bake a couple at a time) 8 minutes and then flip and brush other side with the butter and bake for another 5 minutes.

While I baked some I also did what she did and made some on the griddle about five minutes each side. You can tell when they get done with the little golden spots that start to appears. I topped some of them with ...black and white sesame seeds, garlic, and sea salt (I keep this blended and in a jar to use on many things). On a few others I topped with zaatar seasoning (also a blend that I've made), but didn't get a picture of those. I guess they tasted too good hot off the grill to stick around for a photo op!





Some more backyard (well actually this is my front yard) photos. I saw some seed pods or tunas on my cactus. I thought this was a Trichocereus pachanoi ( San Pedro) cactus, but it seems it gets confused with T. peruvianus (Peruvian Torch) one or the other is said to contain mescaline even though in small amounts...and since I am not sure. I will stick to my prickly pear cactus and wait for those to fruit! :)

I have heard that they rarely produce this sweet fruit. One split open yesterday and it looks like the white dragon fruit inside. Still it looks pretty cool against the bright blue sky!

Savory French Toast

I have always wanted to make a baked French toast...one with some nice fruit on the bottom and cinnamon and spices melding through it. So when it was my turn to choose the recipe for Martha Monday I was searching for that when I came across a Savory French Toast! Perfect! For breakfast...lunch...or dinner! We had it for dinner tonight!! But for me it is great for breakfast too because I don't like things too sweet for breakfast. When I eat French toast I never put syrup on it just butter....so this is a kicked up version of the perfect French Toast!

From Martha Stewart Living, April 2001

Ingredients
5 ounces (about 6 slices) bacon
2 onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
12 ounces button mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces), plus more for serving
1 teaspoon coarse salt
6 slices 1-inch-thick bread, such as sourdough, each cut into 3 long strips
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
1.Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add bacon; cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bacon with tongs, drain on paper towels, and set aside. Add onions to skillet with bacon drippings; cook, stirring constantly, until onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until tender and most of the liquid released has evaporated, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl to cool. When cool, finely chop half the mixture, and set aside the other half.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, Parmesan, and salt. Stir in the finely chopped vegetable mixture.
3.Place the bread strips in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes. Turn strips over, and soak until bread is soaked through, about 10 minutes more.
4.Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry half the bread strips until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to wire rack; place in oven while cooking remaining bread.
5.Wipe out skillet; repeat with remaining butter, oil, and bread. Keep in oven until ready to serve. Heat remaining onion mixture in a small skillet until warm. Serve French toast warm, topped with reserved onion mixture, crumbled bacon, and Parmesan, if desired.


I cut the recipe in half, because I have a small family, but added more Parmesan cheese. I did follow the recipe pretty close (for me)...except I added my Bonne Herbes to the eggs, cream, Parmesan mixture, and I didn't soak it for 10 minutes on each side. I think I would do that if I was to put it in a baking dish and bake it in the oven. I didn't feel the need to keep it warm in the oven until served...I just served when I was finished browning the toasts strips.
I also dusted it with a little garlic powder...since I like my grilled cheese with Parmesan and garlic powder...so...why not?


The other difference was by mistake...the mushrooms that I had were in the fridge were there too long and I really didn't feel comfortable using them...so I went without...to my daughter's delight...I might add. Mushrooms are not one of her favorites yet (I have been able to sneak them in here and there). So other than the shallots instead of the onions and no mushrooms...

...and the added herbs (also fresh chives from the garden). I didn't use the bacon grease to cook the shallots I used butter and olive oil, then I put some aside and spooned that over the top,I was thinking the onion sauce they spoon over perogies! then the bacon and the fresh grated Parmesan cheese!


Yes...it was a lovely tender, yet crisp on the outside tasty bite! Savory with a little salty flavor from the bacon and cheese.

Maranda had hers without the shallots, but she didn't forget...



the bacon! You can leave out the bacon if you want a vegetarian meal! Great with a salad!

To check out how other's had made their savory French toast be sure to visit
Brette at Martha and Me
Pru from Prefecting Pru
Feel free to join us for Martha Mondays!

Savory Meat Pesto Rolls

I don't buy sausage too often but sometimes a good breakfast dish is just calling me to do so. I have a breakfast casserole with eggs and cheese which is oh so good, but I usually save that for when we have a lot of people over since it makes so much. I saw this savory meat roll featured from the Blue Moon Cafe on Food Networks DDD. This one sounded good and you can have it for dinner instead of breakfast. I used some pizza dough, but I'll bet the biscuit dough they use would be terrific! Kinda like cinnamon rolls, but savory, with meat and vegetables!
Here is a quick way to get that dough ready.
Put all ingredients in the bread machine in order listed:
8 oz water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
set on dough cycle...remove and flatten dough out on well floured surface in a rectangle.


I made it my way ...for this roll I first spread some softened cream cheese, then spread some pesto, sprinkle with the browned sausage. I added some frozen spinach that I always have on hand (had to get some veggies in there)

Next evenly top with the cheese, mozzarella and asiago was used this time...roll it up into a log like you would when you make stromboli. Then cut into 1/2" or so slices, or as many that will fit into your pan like you would cinnamon rolls.

Place onto baking sheet and press tops down, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes...

Oh yeah...I sprinkled a little Parmesan on top first...

maybe I shouldn't have ...it browned a little too much...and I know better too!

There are so many ways you can top these ...I just topped with a little fresh grated Parmesan, but you can use some sauteed vegetables and mushrooms...next time I might follow the recipe a little closer...maybe.

As with many of the things I make I add what I like or what I have on hand.

We still had many leftovers, so we had some for lunches too. Yup, a good yummy bite!

Roxy is one of our "step" dogs that we often have visit and vacation at our house when their adults are on vacation!
She watches every move I make when I am in the kitchen.