My Insatiable Son Bakes Muffins

My Insatiable son enjoys cooking and has become known for his muffins in our small circle of friends. His favorites are Blueberry, Peach Vanilla Jam and Chocolate Chocolate Chip. 

“For some, cooking is an art form. Patrick takes that literally”~Dana
You will see why.

Peach Vanilla Jam Muffins

2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil or extra light Olive Oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp Vanilla Butter and Nut flavoring (straight vanilla will do…)
1/2 cup of mom’s home made Peach Vanilla Jam (ordinary Peach jam will do)
3 cups muffin mix (see side bar)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 12- cup muffins pans.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs and Vanilla Butter and Nut flavoring to look like an owl’s face.

Turn bowl around, add milk and cinnamon to create a smiley face.

Mix well. Add Peach Vanilla Jam (or a jam or your choice), add nutmeg and, mix well.

Add Muffin mix, until combined, and scoop into muffin cups.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 16-18 minutes, or until muffins and golden brown.

Cool for about 5 minutes and turn out onto cooling rack.  Enjoy.

So the oven was smoking the other day …

My Insatiable son was sweeping in the kitchen the other day and noticed the oven was smoking. We were baking something other than bagels, for a change and I couldn't imagine why something was burning <scratching head> .  We opened the door, turned on a flashlight and discovered a burnt through and through Sundried Tomato Bagel!!! <Gasp!>  It must have fallen off the baking stone, unnoticed.

Pea Salad

During my husband’s illness with Oligodendroglioma (which is a type of brain tumor that takes prisoners, but leaves no survivors--as of 5 years ago), I became a regular in the cafeteria at UAMS in Little Rock.  The salad bar offered this wonderful Pea Salad on a regular basis.  My mom and I loved it, so I tried to figure out what was in it and this is what I came up with. 

Pea Salad

1 16-0z bag frozen Petite peas, thawed (do not cook)
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, sliced in half forming half circles
1/3 cup Kraft Mayonnaise (more or less, to your taste)
1 tsp dill weed (more or less, to your taste)
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sized pink mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, and, using your favorite pink spatula, mix well.  Chill for an hour or so for flavors to combine.

Getting the hang of this Bagel making…

Aren’t these beautiful!?  I am not exactly sure what I did to make them come out so big and beautiful and stay that way. They didn’t fall even a little bit.

I let this batch rise only for 30 minutes (it was late in the day and I wanted to get to bed), where I had been going with a 45-60 minute rising time. The bagels would come out of the boiling process a little wrinkley.  I didn’t like that.

I will try again with the 30 minute rising time.  We’re getting this.  Flambo!! 

Sundried Tomato Bagels Getting Better

Well, the bagels are just getting better and better.  I have altered my recipe enough to keep them from falling when I drop them in the boiling water.  Don’t they look lovely?  Flambo!!  Still not quite ready to post the recipe.

Some of my children didn’t care to try these and were feeling left out, so I made them (yawn) plain bagels and Everything Bagels, which I also have to perfect.

The boiling process

Rising and post boiling

I wasn’t satisfied with the end result of either of these, but, we’ll get there… Flambo!!

My modem is down

My modem is down right now, so I can post only occassionally from other locations. 
Yes, my bagels are getting better, almost perfect. 
Will have fotos another day.
Flambo lives on despite internet trouble.

Attempt 1: Sundried Tomato Bagels

Oh, Honey, Me! Sundried Tomato Bagels taste better than I remembered them from Jake’s Bagel Bakery back home in Perry Hall, Maryland.

Oh, they smelled so wonderful as I mixed the dough, shaped them, let them rise.  Then as soon as they hit the water, 6 out of 8 fell. So I have pretty flat bagels.  Oh, but do they ever taste good.

I think the flour I used, White Lily, was too light. It is a lighter, fluffier flour than any other brand I’ve come across.   Next time, I will use just some old, white dump and see what happens.

I wanted to use sundried tomatoes in a bag, but Wal Mart just didn’t have them.  A nice young man who worked there found me a jar packed in oil and they worked out well.

I need to change some things that I did before I post this recipe. I am determined to perfect these!  I WILL try again!!