The Humble Loaf

Female food bloggers seem to be obsessed with banana bread. Molly Wizenberg of Orangette has more than four recipes on her blog, and then another woman at Obsessed With Baking (where I found the recipe) has run various tests on various recipes, complete with commentary and photos revealing the differences between using melted butter and unmelted. What is it about this humble loaf that keeps us coming back time and time again for more?

I don't want to go into a gender related discourse about why women seem to be jumping up and down slightly higher than the men are in celebration of this little delicacy, because I know men who make fantastic banana bread, cake, muffins and more (ie. My Dad!), but this is the observation I made while scouring the Internet for the Silver Palate Banana Bread recipe. Truth is, banana bread is extremely versatile. She can serve as a light dessert, when enriched with butter and sugar; she can dress down to a hearty whole wheat for breakfast or a snack; she can elegantly wear chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, and candied ginger, to name a few, or a thick coat of cream cheese frosting when she wants to get fancy.

I really love banana bread, just ask Fabienne, my tree-planting accomplice of four years. I loved this bread before going tree-planting, but after her loyal accompaniment (that of Fab's and the bread's) through all those years of slogging through mud and up and down hills, the bond is bound. Not to mention the fact that Fab had to witness and listen to my countless updates on how the banana bread was, or how much I'd eaten, or how much I just wanted a slice. In the morning I'd wake up groaning, sore, cold, uncomfortable, but would faithfully get dressed, pull on my boots, and walk to the mess tent where a delicious loaf of banana bread, a cup of coffee and Fab, full of life and stories, were waiting for me. Not a bad life I'd say. In fact, it's those mornings I miss the most.


This morning, I woke up to find the first snow dusting across the city. I kinda squealed with fright and excitement: I'm going to have to shovel my steps for the first time in my life! Oh Montreal, you and your seasons; I love you so much for it. But the real excitement came at breakfast. Last night I baked, for the second time this week, the perfect loaf of banana bread. Toasted, buttered, paired with fluffy scrambled eggs and a mug of tea, she's the perfect morning companion for reading the paper, or the new cookbook Ros gave me The Best International Recipe Cookbook, which is real winner by the way and a great introduction to cooking from around the world.

So without further ado, here she is:

Banana Bread

as adapted from the Silver Palate

I reduced the amount of butter to 1/4 c and the sugar to 1/2 C. I also added 1/2 C of coconut, and this time, 1/2 C of chocolate chips. She has a moist, tight crumb, and enough sweetness to satisfy; a nice mix between a hearty loaf and a cakey one. This means that I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and only feel a little off after the 6th slice. Not bad if you ask me. It's very easy to make, without needing lots of special ingredients.

1/4 C butter (room temperature or melted)
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
3 large ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsweetened coconut
1/2 C chocolate chips or walnuts

- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Grease a 9X5X3 loaf pan.
- If using room temperature butter, cream together with sugar. If using melted butter, mix together with sugar.
- Add eggs and vanilla.
- Mash up the bananas in a separate bowl using a fork or a potato masher and add to butter and sugar mixture.
- In a separate bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet gradually, stirring the batter as you add the flour.
- Before the dough is completely blended, add the chocolate chips. This way you'll avoid over mixing the dough.
- When the dough has just come together, it's alright if some streaks of flour are still present, pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- The baking time may vary. I have a really thick, dark, non-stick loaf pan that cooks the loaf quite a bit faster than a regular aluminum one would. So my loaf takes about 45 minutes. However, the suggested baking time is for 1 hour. To avoid over or under cooking, check the loaf after 40 minutes. Push lightly on the top and if it springs back quickly under your finger there's a good chance she's almost done. Test further by inserting a clean sharp knife into the center. It should come out clean. Other indications of doneness are, a well-browned top and when the sides of the loaf start to come away from the sides of the pan.

- Don't forget, this recipe could easily be used for muffins. I imagine it'd make from 6-8 muffins made in regular sized muffin tins. But don't forget to reduce the cooking time to about 25 minutes, same temperature.

- murph

And I Came Bearing Cinnamon Rolls

They're really the epitome of delicious. I simply cannot resist them, or an opportunity to make them, especially for other people. I went to Ros and Ben's apartment for brunch this morning, gloriously warm for November, and brought some cinnamon rolls. Another Molly Wizenberg success, they have just enough butter and sugar to make them pillowy soft, but not enough to make the old stomach groan. You can, in fact, eat multiple ones, drink enough coffee, have a delicious "western-style" omlette (expertly made by Ben) and come out dancing. The real cincher is the cream cheese icing (no skimpy affair) which leaves you reaching our your knife for more and more and more. So while the sun poured through the open back door of their colourful apartment and stretched its lazy self onto the floor, we sat ourselves down and had one of the laziest, work-free Sundays in what feels like forever.

Cinnamon Rolls
as adapted from Molly Wizenberg

Makes enough to fill a 9 X 12 pan.

I always use instant yeast. It's less fussy and saves a bit of time. However, it's still important that your ingredients are WARM, but definitely not hot. Too much heat will kill the yeast.

* Kelsey asked me in the comments box if I made these the night before or the morning of. I made them the night before, but waited to bake them in the morning. You can let the dough rise, form the rolls and put them into a pan before you go to bed. Refrigerate the pan over night and in the morning, take them out an hour or so before cooking, or put them into a warm oven (but not too warm! Just so it's nice and cozy) and then preheat the oven and bake. I let mine rise a bit before baking, but they were still cold when they went into the oven and they puffed up great. Despite how cold it is in the fridge, they will continue to rise.

Dough

1 C milk
3 Tbs unsalted butter
3 1/2 C flour (and some more)
1/2 C sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt

- Melt the butter in a skillet while warming up the milk. Do this slowly so that the milk doesn't get too hot, but so that the butter melts.
- In a bowl combine 1 C flour, the sugar, the yeast, the egg, the salt and the milk and butter mixture. Mix rapidly to combine.
- Add the rest of the flour and more if the dough is too sticky.
- Knead on the counter until smooth and elastic - about 5 minutes.
- Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours

Filling

3/4 C brown sugar
2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/4 C melted unsalted butter

- Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Melt butter.
- When your dough has doubled in size, roll it out until you have a big rectangle. You can make smaller buns if you roll it out thinner, or larger ones if you leave it thicker. Mine were on the smaller size, but were perfect because then you can eat more!
- Spread the melted butter onto the rolled out dough.
- Sprinkle on the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
- Carefully roll up the dough lengthwise and cut into desired sizes (about 1 3/4 - 2 inches thick)
- Place into 9 X 12 pan, or divide into two 9 X 9 square pans.
- Let rise 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until brown on top. You might need to rotate the pan half way through.

Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 a block of philadelphia)
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 C butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

- Make sure your butter and cream cheese are soft, or room temperature, and mix all ingredients together.

- When the rolls are ready, find someone to make some tasty eggs the way you like 'em, or make them yourself, fix your breakfast beverage of choice, turn on some funky tunes, and sink your teeth in. These are real heart warmers.

-murph

Reasons Why the West Coast [and scones!] Rule (Part 2)

Whenever I talk to my sister I often exclaim loudly, Hey! I wish we were eating scones on the back porch with your strawberry jam and a huge pot of Golden Jubilee tea. She kinda sighs and says, yes Jude, that would be amazing. But sadly we are both left to drool and dream about the day when we will be reunited and can eat scones together again. We've shared many a great breakfast over my dad's earthy almond and cranberry spelt scones while the West coast rain pours down outside, or the July sun streams in the windows. In my mind it's usually Saturday and dad is getting ready for track practice, Sal has a rehearsal to go to, or a garden to weed, I have a paper to write, Katherine is off to some dance or capeoira class, but for a blissful hour we can guffaw, chuckle and snort about how funny we are.

My greatest fantasy about scones definitely involves the lake house in Oregon. Last summer I made cherry scones on my birthday and ate about 3, accompanying them with more jam and coffee than acceptable. During the most recent visit I was jet-lagged and waking up at 7 every morning or earlier. One of these mornings I decided fresh scones would benefit every one. They're my favourite breakfast treat to make and share with other people (with muffins it's a tie!). Eaten out there on the deck among the scattered newspaper, various home decorating magazines, Nana's collected rocks and seashells, multi-coloured woven place mats, and extinguished tea-lights from the night before, it's (as I've said before) paradise.


Now, I'm going to have to talk about Molly Wizenburg again (my deepest apologies! but she is so adored over here). During the course of my recent food-blog browsing, I've seen countless other foodies who have written about her scone recipe with enthusiasm and success. I've been dreaming of plain cream scones that would be the perfect canvas for Katherine's homemade strawberry jam. So I made some. And oooh boy! They were perfect. I feel justified in announcing such perfection because my FATHER! said they were the best scones he'd ever eaten. And then shortly after Uncle Peter, his brother, came in from the deck and said, wow, those scones are the best ever! Hmmmm....something tells me they were collectively adored. I tried to humbly conceal my through-the-roof delight - inside I was throwing my hands up in the air and saying HOLY COW THESE SCONES ARE AMAZING!!!!


I will provide below two recipes. The first one is Molly's and the second one is my version. I've had a lot of anxiety and constant change in my life over the past year and although things are improving, my stomach seems to have suffered. I eliminated wheat from my diet and then brought it back in a couple of weeks ago. However, it makes me sick and irritates my skin. So from now I'm cooking with spelt flour (an ancient form of wheat). The only difference between the two is that spelt flour is finer and takes less liquid. Otherwise, they perform the same. I even like spelt better for baked goods because it produces a lighter and more delicate crumb.

Molly's Scones

They're what scones should be : light, flaky with a good delicate crunch on the outside and heavens to Betsy, not dry. Add whatever you like (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, lemon zest etc) to the flour before adding the milk and egg. The flour will coat your addition of choice and make mixing easier.

Preheat oven to 425 F

1/2 C milk
1 egg
2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter (if you use salted, leave out salt)
3 TBS sugar
any additional flavours

- Beat together milk and egg
- In another bowl mix together dry ingredients
- Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender, or use your fingers to rub it in until you have tiny pea shaped balls
- Add additions
- Pour wet into dry. Note: only add about 3/4 of the liquid and mix together gently with a fork until big lumps form. If you have a lot of flour left, add the rest of the liquid. You want the dough to just come together. Right when you think you might-maybe-possibly need more liquid, and there isn't tons of flour left in the bowl, STOP, and use your hands to bring the dough together.
-NOW, listen carefully. Knead the dough 12 times (you can do this in the bowl). Molly demands this with exactitude and I followed her instructions. The kneading lightly melts the butter and incorporates any flour left stranded in the bowl.
- Press the dough out into a circle (of about 3/4 of an inch thick - to yield big puffy scones) onto lightly floured cutting board and cut into wedges.
- Brush with left over milk and egg mixture, or just with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Yields about 12 big scones

Bake for 10-15 min or until golden

Judy's Wheat-free Happy Belly Scones

I found white spelt flour and it tastes more authentic than whole spelt flour. The difference is equal to white flour and whole-wheat flour.

3/4 C milk
1 egg
3 C white spelt flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 TBS butter (3/4 stick)
5 TBS sugar

Follow instructions as written above.

Last note: Because spelt flour usually makes less than a recipe will call for, my one and a half recipe made only 10 big scones. For 6 people, we needed more.


Happy breakfasting! Or brunching! Hopefully you share them with family or friends, but I bet a solo accompaniment would be quite acceptable if you find yourself in a rare moment of peaceful confident solitary bliss.

- murph

Chinese Food for Breakfast

Chinese food carries with it a loaded cultural understanding. It is considered cheap, ubiquitous and by many, best right out of the carton. And while I agree with most of this, there are clear delineations between good and bad Chinese takeout.

First, I think it only fair to point out that what we know to be Chinese food is in fact, NOT what you would find in China. (A point made very clear to me by one Mr. Steven Margitan, world traveler extraordinar and recent China ex-patriot). However, having grown up in the great Northwest, I believe that I was exposed to the finest of American Chinese Take-Out, and thus settle for little less then excellence when it comes to this Styrofoam packaged cuisine.

There is little question that the best Chinese take-out in Seattle is Black Pearl, and I would guess that our family ordered pork fried rice, garlic green beans, and sesame chicken at least once a month. When we moved out of their delivery zone, we quite literally, mourned.

I was unimpressed by the Chinese take-out options in Texas, and often settled for Chains such as Panda Express (wholly dissatisfying), and thus upon moving, was determined to find the best Chinese food in Mankato. And while Matt and I sampled a few of the Chinese buffets here in town (which featured Texas style Chinese complete with fried Chicken), I quickly realized that in order to find this Mecca of inexpensive cuisine I would need to ask a local. Kelli, my trusty co-worker responded without hesitation, "Yu's."

Yu's Chinese is located on Monk's avenue and offers a Lunch time buffet for an incredible $8 and evening take-out seven days a week. Their menu is printed in black and white on a simple 8 1/2 by a 11 sheet of paper. They always give you a free container of rice. And sometimes I can't understand them on the phone. To me, these are signs of Chinese take-out excellence.

And while everything we've ordered is good, the fried rice rivals Heaven. I've never had better. And although I worry about what it is that makes it so delectable, it remains something I crave. After we've ordered for dinner, I get giddy, knowing the leftovers will make a fine breakfast the next day. A little egg, veg, and rice? Superb. Yes, I eat them cold. Don't judge.

While Mankato is lacking in many food arenas, thanks to Yu's, Chinese take-out is not one of them.

P.S. Don't tell Steve. He will judge.

- Makifish

I like to eat like a peasant.

Heidi and Chuck Thompson of Painted Hill Farm sent me home with a few left over treat's after last Market day, including this lovely pork sausage. For breakfast, I ate it cold (it's that good) with a thick slice of home made bread (plain, cause I'm a Finn like that). Coupled with a fine earl gray, it made for a superb start.

Good Man. Makes Biscuits.

This is what greets me most Sunday mornings. And although it pains me a bit to admit it, he makes a better biscuit than I do. When I read "cut in butter" I say, "hello, food processor," which ultimately heats the butter up too much resulting in little to no flaky layers. But when Matt reads "cut in butter," he hunkers down with two table knives and pyrex bowl and dutiful cuts the butter into the flour he until he achieves small pea sized bits. What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man.

Matt's Sunday Morning Biscuits
an economical breakfast for 2
a la The Joy of Cooking

3-4 Tbsp. cold butter
1 cup flour
1 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk, plus a bit

Preheat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, and then cut in butter with two knives or a pastry cutter. When mixture resembles bread crumbs, mix milk in with a fork until mixture forms a ball. Flour hands and surface and need gently until dough is uniform. Flatten dough out until uniformly 1/2 inch thick. Use jar, glass, or cookie cutter to cut out round biscuits. Collect and flatten out scraps, continuing process until there is not enough dough left to be flattened. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake until golden. Serve with lots of butter, honey, and jam as well as a good pot of black tea.

The Joy of Pancakes!

My friend Max might love pancakes as much as I do, he's good and enthusiastic that way, but over the course of my short life I haven't met many people who spring awake wide-eyed and run into the kitchen when they know pancakes are on the griddle. I have many memories from when I was little, waiting at the table while my dad made pancakes, me of course shouting commands about what shapes I wanted: men, rabbits, turtles, etc. He was good at following orders; and so, at a young age, pancakes became a celebrated breakfast tradition.

I tree-planted for four consecutive summers, a popular British Columbia activity among the "relatively" younger generations. As you burn around 4000 calories a day, it's necessary to get a good start in the morning. One summer, I went on a pancake blow-out. I had three, good-sized pancakes piled with yogurt, granola, and maple syrup every day. Of course seeing as this wasn't ever quite enough, I'd cruise by the cook shack on my way to the truck and pick up two more for the road. Our cook was awesome; she'd make peach, banana, cocount, strawberry, whole-wheat to name a few, and my favourite, chocolate chip. By the end of the summer, my consumption waned, but they still hold a special place in my heart.

I find that people are quite particular about their pancakes. Some people prefer crêpes, thin and delicate à la française, others want massive, plate-sized cakes like you get at Denny's, Max makes tiny ones and claimes they're the best in the world, but I like them medium size, round and crispy. (However, dad's pancakes these days have been on the larger, thicker side which make perfect peanut butter and jam sandwiches for a snack!) Feeling as though the excitement about pancakes could be slightly higher in the world, I encourage those who have reservations to not be jadded, jiggled or jived by the fact that you always have to use white flour with lots of sugar and butter. One basic recipe is all you need and then you can make all the changes you want - a little more liquid for thinner cakes, a little more flour for thicker ones - so put on some Paul Simon and let's get flippin!

First of all, if you don't have a copy of "The Joy of Cooking", get one. It's filled with simple to complex recipes that are especially useful for beginner cooks or more experienced ones looking for basic recipes to use as mediums for their own creations. I always refer to this book when I'm looking for recipes, or information on how to make something. It's my go to book. That being said, yesterday morning I definitely and absolutely opened my "Joy" to the section "griddle cakes and fritter variations". Here there are many recipes for different styles of cakes, but I recommend the "Buttermilk Pancakes." I adapted the recipe, so after giving the original recipe, I'll add on my variations and other suggestions.

Buttermilk Pancakes

About twelve 4-inch cakes

Measure and place in a bowl, then mix with a whisk to ensure everything is well combined:
1 C flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 double-acting baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat until light:
1 egg

Add to egg:
1 C buttermilk
1-2 TBS melted butter or oil

- add wet to dry and stir with a few quick strokes, until you can't see anymore big globs of flour, but of course! don't over mix.
- and ignore the lumps, the batter will be on the soupier side.
- the joy says "superior results are gained" if you leave the batter to rest for 3-6 hours, but this is not necessary by any means.

* I used 1 C spelt flour + 1/4 C cornmeal, 1 1/4 C buttermilk
I didn't add butter or sugar, but used 1 TBS of oil

** To make them extra fluffy, separate the egg, add the yolk as normal, whip up the whites and fold them gently in at the end, but with the buttermilk this isn't as necessary as it would be if you were using only milk.



I am a lover of cast iron pans, so this is what I recommend you use for cooking your cakes, but electric griddles work super well, as does any old pan you have lying around for that matter. Regardless of what pan you use, heat it up so that when you fling drops of water onto the surface they bounce and hiss. I just give my finger a quick lick, touch it to the pan, and listen for a sizzle. Then use a 1/4 C measuring cup and gently pour the batter onto the pan. If the heat is right, they should spread out a bit and then start cooking.

Use a small flipper to turn them when you see bubbles forming on the top and that they're cooked a bit around the edges. I use the bubble technique, but I always lift up the edges and take a peek. Before you get used to how your pan transmits heat, they can burn really fast, or not be cooked at all when you think they are; that equals disaster and believe me, it happens. To avoid this, it takes a few practice runs, and for goodness sakes, be patient. I always want them to be perfect instantly and they're often not. So you can do a trial run with one pancake at the beginning. Or perhaps you have a more relaxed disposition and all of these tiny things are relatively fussy. I have to say though, yesterday was the most relaxed I've felt in years during pancake production. The key? More faith in self. Yup.

I recommend heating up the oven to 200 degrees F while you're cooking the pancakes. Then the first ones you cook won't get cold, unless of course you have a pack of hungry eaters sitting at the table waiting. In that case, you'll have to eat last!


Don't forget! Lots of maple syrup, honey, butter and a mug of hot coffee (or tea, of course, and I've heard orange juice is nice as well.)

Other toppings may include:

Chopped rhubarb from the garden, heated up and stewed together with a couple tablespoons of water and honey (any fruit works for this).

Yogurt, seeds, toasted nuts, fresh fruit, and anything else you can think of.

Other ingredients may include:

blueberries, chocolate chips, puréed sweet potato, banana, wheat germ, coconut, fresh ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cottage cheese, etc.

Try different flours: substitute white, whole wheat or spelt. My next batch is going to be a mix of spelt and buckwheat. My grandfather makes the best buckwheat pancakes in the world and I can't wait to recreate them here at home.

- Chef Murph

Pumpkin Millet Muffins

For the people who know me, they understand the art of making and eating muffins is no light affair. I'm not sure when the obsession started, my dad could give you more information, as he is the one who introduced me to "good" muffins and how to make them.

I was blessed with a homemade breakfast almost every day of my childhood. At the time, I don't remember thinking much of it, I even remember complaining, or acting extremely unenthusiastic. Little did I know that while I was eating steaming whole-wheat pancakes with home-made honey rhubarb sauce or buttery popovers that I broke open and filled with raspberry jam or blueberry cornmeal muffins fresh out of the oven, most other children were happily crunching away on the same old cereal.

When I moved away from home for the first time to go to school in Montreal, I realized how blessed I had been to receive such gourmet treatment every day and quickly fell into deep despair over the pasty oatmeal, the soggy, sharp tasting salads and over-cooked gooey pasta served at the cafeteria. There were no muffins. I did make some by myself in the 4x4 foot kitchen in residence, but they rarely turned out and were made impatiently, with the wrong flour, coming out of the oven like little pucks, filled with holes.

Now I have acquired more patience and demand less from the world, or so I like to think, and have mastered the art of muffin making. The latest inspiration came from a bakery in Victoria called Cascadia Bakery, a small bright café, bustling with people getting morning coffee and breakfast sandwiches, or retired folk eating grilled panninis and soup with their grandchildren. It's affiliated with the infamous Rebar restaurant whose establishment was a revolutionary turning point for vegetarian cuisine on Vancouver Island. (Their book: Rebar Modern Food Cookbook can be purchased in many bookstores in North America and of course on-line.)

This past December I went to Cascadia Bakery twice with my sister Katherine. I had previously gone with my dear friend Rosanne, but since she does not hold muffins in the same esteem that I do, I knew I needed to take Kath, an (almost) equally enthusiastic muffin connoisseur. Both times it was rainning, and swinging our feet back and forth from the stools, at the window looking out on Government street, we sipped our lattés and spread raspberry jam onto the best muffins I've found in Victoria. They are perfect: with crunchy tops, a fine crumb, moist and not too sweet or buttery. My favourite is the apricot oat and more recently, pumpkin millet.

This brings me to the point of these celebratory ramblings: how to make pumpkin millet muffins. I've adapted the recipe slightly and therefore will give you my version.

First, some guidelines.

Most people don't bake. It scares them; recipes intimidate or they have no desire to follow one. But rule number one is: follow the recipe. However, in order to follow the recipe, you must have some knowledge of things to look out for: flours are different (I recommend a high quality organic flour that is locally milled so you know it hasn't been sitting on the shelf for months and months on end); do not over mix (because this will leave your muffins with gaping tunnels and the stirring activates the gluten in the flour, making them tough); and ovens vary in temperature (so you might have to play with the temperature, or know your oven well). This is why, if one is a beginner muffin maker, you must be patient. Try making them a couple of times. Even though I tell you to follow the recipe, as you try to learn what works for you, you can play with the quantities as long as you know the basics.

Pumpkin Millet Muffins

(makes 12 normal sized muffins)

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C melted butter
1 C buttermilk
3/4 C honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C pumpkin purée

2 C spelt flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C millet + extra for tops
1/4 C pumpkin seeds + extra for tops

*(You can use 1 C white + 1 C whole wheat, or substitute 1/4 C oats for 1/4 C flour. I used spelt because it is finer and gives a nicer crumb.)

1 - Preheat oven to 350 F
2 - Toast pumpkin seeds and millet in a skillet (watch them carefully, stirring occasionally because they can burn fast)
3 - Grease your muffin tins
4 - Combine eggs, butter, buttermilk, honey, vanilla and pumpkin in a bowl.
5 - Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add pumpkin and millet. Add dry to wet. With a few very fast strokes, mix together the wet and dry. The batter should be thick, but still soupy. However, as I mentioned above, this will take a while to recognize. If the batter sticks on the spoon when you hold it upside down, it's too dry; if it slides off, it's too thin. Somewhere in between is where you want to be.
6 - Fill tins and sprinkle the tops with extra pumpkin seeds and millet.
7 - Bake for around 25 minutes. Check after 20 and insert a tooth-pick. If it comes out clean then they're done. Browned tops are also a good indication that they're ready to take out.

Okay! Now, let them rest for a bit in the tins,then gently pop them out with a knife, and go for it. Highly recommended with some good jam and scrambled eggs. Coffee! or tea of course, if that's your chosen beverage.

Until next time,

Chef Murph

Terrific Bread Pudding

I make this the night before and put it in the fridge, when I get up, into the oven she goes while I make some tea and grin about the day.

Bread pudding is a great way to use up old bread (regular, banana, corn, carrot cake, gingerbread). If you choose to use sweeter bread, adjust the honey accordingly.

Beat well together :

- 3 C milk
- 3 eggs
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 TBS honey
- 2 TBS sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- juice from ½ lemon

Mix together in a 9x13 baking pan

- 4 C crumbled bread
- 1 ½ C grated apple or ½ C chopped dried fruit
- ½ C nuts (optional)

Pour first mixture into the pan over the bread and push everything around so it’s good and combined

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (but this will vary according to your oven – you want the bread to have absorbed the liquid, so it should be set like a custard, and Brown on top.

Serve hot, warm, or cold with heavy cream, ice cream, fruit, yogurt, applesauce etc

PS : this cuts in half beautifully. Or the way I did it was to make it in my cast iron skillet. I just cut it down by a third. You’ll have some left overs, but hell, it’s awesome