The “Nelson County Muffins”

Written by the folks that ran the Kitchen of Krishna “in a little house in a small town in Virginia”, this book came into my hands at the Chicago Lit Fest in Printer's Row a few years ago. I couldn't resist, as it is full of character and was written by hand instead of using typefaces.

While I don’t exactly know where Nelson County is (somewhere in Virginia, most likely) I've grown attached to its muffin recipe. See the photo above for a helpful note in the recipe introduction, regarding the best approach to making them. Ahem.

These are not the biggest, sugariest, most impressive variety of muffin—rather, they are (at least somewhat) nutritious, humble, and can be grabbed in the morning while running out the door. The best part, I think, is that the recipe is extremely versatile and forgiving.

Note: While the original in the photo notes that it makes two dozen, it has yielded one dozen regular (not giant or mini) muffins for me.

2 cups flour (whole wheat is best, but white or a mix of both is ok...)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1/2 cup sweetener (honey, brown sugar, raw sugar...)
Liquid (water, some kind of milk, fruit juice...)
Goodies!*

Mix the first six ingredients together, and add liquid to make muffin-batter-like consistency. Grease muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (or until done).

*As for the goodies, almost anything is possible. Keep in mind that the more goodies added in, the heavier they get. I don't measure these ingredients, but throw in a handful or so of whatever is around. The following combinations have worked well for me:

• Chocolate chips, flaked coconut, walnut pieces
• Shredded carrot, slivered almonds, dash of cinnamon
• Raisins, substitute 1/4 cup quick oats for 1/4 of the flour
• Berries (if frozen, thaw and drain first)

Pita Bread... and flying saucers

Homemade pitas are, to put it plainly, fun to make. Yes, there is yeast involved and yes, there is some hands-on time needed—but the reward is watching them puff up in the oven so that they look like flying saucers. This makes me think of X-Files and old sci-fi movies. Now, how many foods can accomplish that?

I used this recipe, and made just one change in using 1/2 white flour and 1/2 whole wheat. The eight resulting pitas were so delicious, it’s worth the effort. We ate these with falafel, but of course they are also excellent for scooping hummus or loading up with other sandwich fixings.

The most amazing part (besides puffing up like flying saucers) was that the pocket sort of makes itself. There is no special technique to make a “pita pocket”—it just happens. Incredible.

Bread Pudding

Leftover bread. A conundrum. The freezer is already stocked with fresh bread crumbs, and the pantry well supplied with dry ones. I could have made croutons, but a good old-fashioned dessert was calling my name instead. Bread pudding....and I've never eaten it before. The procedure sounded somewhat familiar to me, though bread pudding just wasn't part of the repertoire I grew up with.

I used some leftover bread I had made last week (a yummy multi-grain based on a traditional Icelandic recipe) that worked better than I had thought; most of the recipes I'd read utilized leftover sourdough, baguettes, or other white bread.

Here's the dish:
4 c cubed multi-grain bread (crusts are ok)
1-1/2 c milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c raw sugar
1/2 c raisins (if they're really dry, soak them in water a few minutes to plump them up)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon

Pecan topping:
3 T butter, slightly softened
1/4 c raw sugar
4 T flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c chopped pecans

Place cubed bread in a baking dish. Mix milk, eggs, sugar, raisins, nutmeg and cinnamon together and pour over. Toss the mixture a little to make sure all the bread is covered. This should sit for about 5-7 minutes. Meanwhile, you can make the topping: just combine the ingreadients together until you have a crumble concoction.

Sprinkle the topping on the bread mixture, and place into a 350 degree oven. Bake 30-40 minutes, until browned and done.

While I'm happy with the way this dish turned out, my next experiment will be to make a fine sauce to spoon over!

Corn Muffins

These were a great addition to last night's southern comfort meal: bbq tofu, Korean-inspired collard greens, and baked potatoes. The original recipe called for cornmeal--all I had was quick cooking polenta--and it worked well. Either could be used.

Corn Muffins
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal or quick polenta (not instant)
2/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 c milk
1/3 c veg oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients; in a separate small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix until just combined. Pour into a muffin pan (12-count) and bake 15 minutes.

As Iowan as Apple Pie

Yes, count 'em: twelve apple pies! Yesterday at my parent's house was a flurry of apple peeling (Dad's job this year), slicing, pie crust making, and no doubt nibbling. The apples, of unknown variety, were plucked fresh from their orchard just in front of the house. No pesticides or anything; seriously all-natural. I missed out on all this baking (sniff-sniff, damn the six hour drive!), but thanks to Rae there are photos to share!

I don't have my mom's recipe for apple pie written down anywhere, but it is very intuitive and I think I can go on memory. Growing up, Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa would be doing this almost every summer with apples from various local orchards in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Basically, you need to start with a pie crust (purchased or homemade) and some peeled & sliced apples. Toss the apples with a mixure of sugar & cinnamon (and, if I remember correctly, a little cornstarch thrown in?). Place into the bottom pie crust and top with bits of butter. At this point, you could either use a top crust (and make pretty designs with a sharp knife or fork for ventilation) or, as shown in the pictures above, use a crumb topping. Bake until golden brown. One of the best by-products of all this is leftover pie crust, topped with sugar and cinnamon, and baked until done....delicious.

Mom usually stores these in the freezer so that we can enjoy apple pie in the dead of winter. Who wouldn't love that?

Simplicity of a Scone

The other night I suddenly had a burst of energy and decided to make scones! There are so many variations on this, add currants and orange rind...or a touch of maple syrup. I have often mixed together everything except the buttermilk, store in the fridge overnight, and finish it all up in the morning. Minimal effort for a breakfast of fresh scones and hot coffee!

Preheat over to 400 degrees (F)

2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into pieces
1/2 c chocolate chips (or any number of other things!)
2/3 c buttermilk (I've used 2% regular milk too, and it works fine)
1 egg + 1 T milk (mix for egg glaze)
powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Cut in butter until the mixutre resembles cornmeal. Add chocolate chips, then buttermilk. Be careful not to overmix!

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly. Transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet. I usually form a flattened circle with the dough, about 8" or 9" in diameter, and score into six wedges. Brush with egg glaze. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

When out of the over, dust with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar, and broil for a couple minutes to melt (I think this step is probably optional...they're just as good if the sugar topping isn't melted). Careful, sugar burns easily!

Enjoy with a hot cuppa really strong coffee.