WOW!!!
I can't believe that we are already 8 weeks into 2013!! I am loving the
time I have spent with my girls these past two weeks. We have had so
much fun just being together. The blessings of family shine through the
darkest of days. My days have been full of Miss Ella and her beautiful
smile!
For
the past few months everyone I know has been consumed with "Downtown
Abbey". I however had never watched an episode and wasn't really
interested but after all the fuss I decided maybe I should check it out.
We have a group of 5 ladies who wanted to get "caught up" on this
phenomenon together so we meet once a week at each other's homes for
"Abbey" time and lunch.We started with season 1 and now we are all
HOOKED!! We watch two to three episodes at a time. Today was my day to
host. We met after lunch so I decided we would have "tea". I made
English Muffins , jam and tea. This is so much fun!! I can't wait till
next week and we start Season 2!!
Thank
you Lord for friends and family to share our lives with!! You have
blessed me with so many wonderful people who have surrounded me with
love. I am truly grateful. May we honor you in all that we do. AMEN!!
The
recipe for this week is English Muffins. I am using a recipe I found on
the internet. No featured cookbook this week. I have rewritten the
recipe because I found the original hard to follow and somewhat
inaccurate as it was written. Hope this version is readable and doable
for you. I really encourage you to make these. English Muffins are NOT
hard to make. They are a yeast bread but instead of baking them they are
cooked on a griddle or iron skillet on the stove. Please try these!!!
They are soft and yummy. You will never buy English Muffins again.
English Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast or 1 pkg
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups flour, divided
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cornmeal
Directions:
Combine Water, Yeast and sugar.
Let mixture stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is "foamy"
Add 1 1/2 cups flour to a separate bowl with the 3/4 tsp salt. Mix well
Heat
milk and butter together in microwave. You want the butter to melt and
the milk to be warm but not hot. It took my microwave 45 seconds to do
the job. If the milk mixture gets too hot let it cool down before
proceeding with the recipe.
Combine the Yeast mixture with the milk and butter mixture into the flour and salt bowl.
Beat with mixture paddle for 2 minutes to stretch the gluten. Then switch to dough hook.
Continue
to knead with dough hook while adding the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour
a small amount at a time. You can do this by hand on a board if you
prefer. Stop adding flour when dough is smooth and elastic. I used only
about 2 1/2 cups of flour at this point. Knead dough for 5 minutes.
Turn dough out onto board and shape into a ball.
Grease
bowl with cooking spray and sit in a warm, draft free place to raise.
Cover with dishtowel. Let raise until doubled about an hour.
When dough has doubled remove from bowl onto floured surface and roll out with rolling pin to 3/4 inches thick.
Cut the dough with desired size biscuit cutter.
Place on cookie sheet sprinkled with 1/2 of the cornmeal. I used parchment paper but you don't have to.
When
the muffins have risen the second time heat an iron skillet to medium
heat. Spray the pan with a light coating of cooking spray. Drop the
muffins into the pan. Turn heat to low. Cook the muffins for 7-10
minutes then turn and cook another 7-10 minutes until golden brown.
Remove
the muffins to a cooling rack. Split the muffins with two forks to
reveal all the nooks and crannys inside these delicious morsels.
English Muffins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast or 1 pkg
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups flour, divided
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cornmeal
Directions:
Combine Water, Yeast and sugar. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is "foamy"
Add
1 1/2 cups flour to a separate bowl with the 3/4 tsp salt. Mix
wel. Heat milk and butter together in microwave. You want the butter to
melt and the milk to be warm but not hot. It took my microwave 45
seconds to do the job. If the milk mixture gets too hot let it cool down
before proceeding with the recipe.
Combine
the Yeast mixture with the milk and butter mixture into the flour and
salt bowl. Beat with mixture paddle for 2 minutes to stretch the gluten.
Then switch to dough hook.
Continue
to knead with dough hook while adding the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour
a small amount at a time. You can do this by hand on a board if you
prefer. Stop adding flour when dough is smooth and elastic. I used only
about 2 1/2 cups of flour at this point. Knead dough for 5 minutes.
Turn
dough out onto board and shape into a ball Grease bowl with cooking
spray and sit in a warm, draft free place to raise. Cover with
dishtowel. Let raise until doubled about an hour. When dough has doubled
remove from bowl onto floured surface and roll out with rolling pin to
3/4 inches thick.
Cut
the dough with desired size biscuit cutter. Place on cookie sheet
sprinkled with 1/2 of the cornmeal. I used parchment paper but you don't
have to. I got 10 muffins out of this dough. Sprinkle remaining
cornmeal on the tops of the muffins and gently press into the dough.
Cover with kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes more.
When
the muffins have risen the second time heat an iron skillet to medium
heat. Spray the pan with a light coating of cooking spray. Drop the
muffins into the pan. Turn heat to low. Cook the muffins for 7-10
minutes then turn and cook another 7-10 minutes until golden
brown. Remove the muffins to a cooling rack. Split the muffins with two
forks to reveal all the nooks and crannys inside these delicious
morsels. Keep in sealed bag or container for freshness.
Best eaten hot off the griddle!!! Toasted the next day is delicious too!! These are so tasty!!
Our
little group really enjoyed these "English" muffins at our "Downtown
Abbey" High Tea Party with butter, fruit preserves, and tea.
I
hope you enjoy them as well. I would love hearing back from you if you
try this recipe. It helps me to keep on doing what I do on Food for
Friday!! I hope you are enjoying the recipes. Let me know if there is a
special recipe you want me to highlight in the upcoming weeks.!!
Happy Trails,
Mtn Mama
Saturday night was "Winterset". It is a black tie event sponsored by the Osteopathic Founders Foundation . I teach Emergency Cardiovascular Care at the Foundation. Jeff and I were the Chairpersons in 2005. It is such a great event that raises money for community organizations and scholarships to the Osteopathic Medical School. It is always done very nicely....good food, music and lots of friends to share the evening. It was hard going alone for the first time but I had lots of support. These ladies ( I am on the far right in purple) have been so good to help me through my loss of Jeffrey. The two on the left are physician's who cared for him during all his hospital stays. They showed such kindness and literally kept him alive until he made the decision to stop treatment. The lady beside me is the president of the Foundation. A friend and co-worker, she is always helping me when I find a hurdle that I need help with. It is great to have such support. I must say the Osteopathic Community in Tulsa is "Family". Good to have during the good times and the bad!!
