Pumpkin Muffins

The only good muffin top is the actual top of a muffin and definitely not the one that can sometimes form over the jeans.  I am just saying…..and I think we can all agree on this.   However, I am sorry to say that I cannot tell you that these muffins tops will help with the other “muffin tops”.  But that is what Spanx, girdles, and boot camp fitness trainers are for.

I had to do a little improvisation again because I had no ground ginger so I grated some crystallized ginger.  Is it odd that I don’t have ground ginger but I have crystallized?  I thought using crystallized ginger would be interesting.

The original recipe called for some pepitas to sprinkle over the top of the muffins but I didn’t have any on hand.  So, I sprinkled mine with brown sugar.  Although the brown sugar did give them a bit of a crunch on top, it melted and burned a bit down the sides, but I couldn’t taste it.

The muffins were very soft and tender inside, but I think I over cooked them a bit because they were a little scorched on the outside.  I baked the muffins for the full 20 minutes, but my oven runs a little hot.  So, just keep and eye on themem.

These muffins have all kinds of winter spices in them and they tossed in plenty of brown sugar and molasses to make them just a little more rich.  Keep them in an airtight container for a week and have a great breakfast on the go.

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbs unsulphered molasses
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with brown sugar. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Getting Down with The Muffin Pan: French Toast Cups with Sausage and Apples

Ah, wonderful lazy Saturday mornings.  I love a Saturday morning with no plans, when you can get up whenever you want and if you feel compelled, cook up a sweet breakfast.  This Saturday I decided to get experimental with breakfast.  One of my most popular and most viewed post are my Bacon and Egg Toastcups.  Since you all seem to like these so much I decided to do another breakfast twist on the toastcup. 

I love french toast it has to be one of my favorite breakfast items.  If I am given the choice between french toast and pancakes, french toast wins every time hands down.   A traditional French Toast is made with stale french bread.  In France, French Bread is Pain Perdu which means “Lost Bread”, referring to stale bread.  Instead of waisting the bread and throwing it away, they would dredge it in an egg mixture to soften and fry it in butter.    

Then of course to go with the Fall season I though that apples and sausage would be a great compliment to French Toast.  I will be honest and tell you that I have never had apples and pork.  I think it is a very American dish and it wasn’t something that was prepared in my home when I was a kid.  However it seems to be a very popular combination so I thought I would give it a try.  I figured that if the entire blogosphere is raving about pork and apples, I should give it a try.

Everyone was right, savory sausage does go well with sweet buttery apples, and stuff them in a French Toast Cup and you are good to go.   I sat in front of the TV watching my Saturday morning cartoons, bobbing my head and humming with happiness over my delicious breakfast treat.    This is what I do when I am excited and enjoying my food, bob my head and hum a happy tune.  Don’t you?…..No?  Don’t judge me.  

I think next time I will toss some chopped toasted pecans in with the mix and give it a bit of crunch. The great thing about these is you can make a dozen at a time and feed a small army of people.  They are great option for brunch or if you have to serve breakfast to some overnight guest.  Be careful though because they may not leave after you feed them these, they may just stay forever. BUAH..ha..ha..ha..ha!

Now if you don’t mind I think I must go dust off my elliptical machine and put it to some use.

Print Recipe

French Toast Cups with Sausage and Apples (6 servings)

FRENCH TOAST CUPS

• 6 slices of whole wheat bread
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg

APPLES & SAUSAGE

• 1 cup diced apples
• 1 cup (8 oz) breakfast sausage
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a muffin pan. 

Using a cookie cutter, cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. (I do not have a cookie cutter so I use the lid to my tub of orzo pasta and just cut around the edges ;D)  Whisk eggs and spices together.  Dredge bread circles in egg mixture and remove any excess egg.

Press bread circles into the muffin pan, bake in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes, until brown.

While bread is in the oven prepare breakfast sausage.  In another hot skillet melt butter, stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.  Add apples to brown sugar mixture and cook until apples begin to soften and sugar mixture caramelizes.   Combine sausage and dripping with apples, stir.

When french toast cups are done, allow to cool for a few mintues, remove from pan using a knife to separate from the pan.  Fill french toast cups with apple and sausage mixture, drizzle with maple syrup and serve.

Knife and fork optional

Mallorca

Mallorca Bread

I don’t think I can count all the happy and fun memories this bread brings up.  Every time I go home to visit I have to get my hands on a warm buttery mallorca.  In Puerto Rico every small town has at least one large bakery with an array of delicious pastries and breads and you almost always find mallorca.  If there is one weakness I have when I visit Puerto Rico it’s the bakeries.  I go on a all out carb gorge when I visit, picking up bread in the morning for breakfast and pastries to have with my after dinner cup of cafe con leche.

Mallorca bread is a sweet, fluffy and buttery egg bread. It is perfect to have sliced and buttered with a cup of coffee or you can also have a savory sandwich version with a slice of ham and Swiss. Pan de Mallorca (mallorca bread) originates from the Ensaïmades bread from the Spanish island of Majorca, which is why we call it Mallorca.

In a mixing bowl, pour luke warm milk and water, sprinkle yeast in add sugar and 1 cup of the flour.

Set aside until the mixture starts to rise about 45 minutes.

If there is one place that I MUST go visit when I am home in Puerto Rico, it is La Bombonera.  La Bombonera is rich part of Puerto Rico’s culture.  It is on Calle San Francisco in Old San Juan and was established in 1902, four years after the island was ceded to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War.  My mother would take my sister and I when we were young to La Bombonera on Saturday mornings and she would tell us about how she use to come with my Grandfather when she was little.  When you walk in it is like entering a time warp, the waitstaff is very friendly and they wear white shirts with bow ties and red vests and the “decor” hasn’t been updated since at least 1950.  There are all different kinds of people who visit La Bombonera, you will find people who have been coming there for years sometimes decades and tourist who just got off the cruise ship and are rosy red from all their time in the sun.  Most of all La Bombonera is famous for their mallorcas.  They sit in the window, plump, buttery and dusted with powdered sugar just begging you to come in and eat one.  If you ever visit you must try a mallorca with a cup of cafe con leche, which is made from an espresso machine, that has to be the same one they have had since it opened.  The machine looks like it has seen its share of battles but it makes a mean cup of coffee.  (Visit Tasting Memories for pictures of La Bombonera)

Beat the egg yolks into the mixture, blending very well. Add the remaining flour little by little.

Add 1/2 the melted butter and set aside until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Another memory that comes to mind and makes me chuckle, is sitting out en el balcon (on the porch) early on a Saturday or Sunday morning and I could hear from a block away a megaphone with a lot of static announcing “el panadero…el panadero”. Eventually the sound would approach my house and a car would drive by with a megaphone rigged (I am sure coat hangers where used)  to the roof of a beat up old car announcing “el panadero…el panadero“ , which mean “the breadman….the breadman”, calling out to the neighborhood letting everyone know that he had fresh bread for sale.  People would come out of their homes in their robes and flag him down to buy bread for breakfast.  I remember on a few occasions picking out a bag of mallorcas and some pan de agua.  It was great since you didn’t have to get all dressed up to go to the bakery. 

Dust the board where the dough will be rolled out with a little flour to prevent dough from sticking. Divide dough into 12 equal portions.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll out each portion, brush with butter and roll into a long strip.

It is funny how when you live in an area where certain ingredients are easy to come-by (ie. Florida and Puerto Rico) you take it for granted but ever since we moved out to Oklahoma I have been more driven to tie into my culinary roots.  Late last week I got in my head that I would try to make some mallorcas.  I went hunting around on the Internet and first came across this recipe.   I gave it a try and although they were good it wasn’t quite what I was looking for, they weren’t fluffy or sweet enough.  Also it used a rolling and slicing technique instead of a coil and it just didn’t translate in my brain.  When I see a mallorca it looks like a big fat coil, not like a plain cinnamon roll.   The next day I hit the Internet again determined to find a satisfactory recipe.  I could have tweaked the one I already had, but I am not confident enough in my baking skills to go and tweak a bread recipe.  After a short amount of searching I found this recipe on The Recipe Link.  It had more eggs, more sugar, more rising and it used the coil technique, I was in.

Form into a coil, insert the inner end making sure it's tucked in, same with the other end of the roll. Butter top. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rolls rise until they have doubled in size.

On Sunday after church I decided to give this new recipe a go.  It was easy although a bit time consuming since it has to rise 3 times, 45 mins. to an hour each time, but it was worth it.  They had all the elements that I wanted in a mallorca. They were just a little sweet, very soft and fluffy and ohhhhh so buttery.  The smell of the bread baking was intoxicating.  At one point Obed (a.k.a Hubby, which I will now call by his name) came into the kitchen and declared that it smelled like a Puerto Rican bakery.  He then did his signature “dance” of excitement, slapping his hand together, rubbing them together, while doing a little hop/skip thing that he does.  You have to see it to get it.

Bake at 375 degrees F about 12-15 minutes. Cool on cooling rack and dust with powder sugar.

These mallorcas were divine and for just a moment they transported me back home, during my childhood when I would tear pieces off bit-by-bit and lick the butter and poweder sugar off my fingers.  That night we each had one for dessert with a glass of milk and then one in the morning with coffee.  I took the rest into the office, ergo avoiding a mass consumption of mallorca when I got home from work.  Otherwise it would have taken every ounce of my being to not eat them all in one sitting.

Print Recipe

Mallorca

• 1 pkg dry yeast
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 to 5 cups all purpose flour, divided use
• 1 cup milk, lukewarm
• 1 cup water, lukewarm
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 lb. butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm

In a mixing bowl, pour lukewarm milk and water, sprinkle yeast in add sugar and 1 cup of the flour. Set aside until the mixture starts to rise about 45 minutes.

Beat the egg yolks into the mixture, blending very well. Add the remaining flour little by little.  Add 1/2 the melted butter and set aside until it has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Dust the board where the dough will be rolled out with a little flour to prevent dough from sticking, keep some flour handy for dusting. Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll out each portion, brush with butter and roll into a long strip. Form into a coil, insert the inner end making sure it’s tucked in, same with the other end of the roll. Butter top. Place on greased baking sheets. Use 2 baking sheets placing 6-8 rolls on each sheet.  Cover and let rolls rise until they have doubled in size.

Bake at 375 degrees F about 12-15 minutes.  Cool on cooling rack and dust with poweder sugar.

** In the picture I have all rolls one one sheet, but I had to divide them up so they would have room to rise and bake.

Brookside By Day

Brookside By Day

Inside BBD

This morning we decided to go to one of my favorite “mom & pop” breakfast joints, Brookside By Day or BBD. It is located in popular and hip Brookside.  It may not look like much from the outside but don’t let that fool you.  BBD seems to have a cult following, you hardly ever have to wait for a table (or I have just been really lucky every time I have gone) and they don’t have an empty table in the place on Saturday mornings.  It is a very, very causal atmosphere with no frills.  The staff is energetic and very friendly. Our server Charlie was most definitely a character, greeting us with “what’s up” and joking around with a little boy sitting next to us.  The staff’s uniform is jeans and a BBD t-shirt.  I noticed that on the back of the t-shirts was a picture of a campsite with the no symbol over it.  I found this very curious and figured that it had to mean something, so I asked Charlie what was the deal with the sign on the back of their t-shirts.  He informed me that it means no camping out, as in don’t camp out at my table nursing a coffee talking for 2 hours, they have people to sit and money to make.  I thought this was hilarious and I totally understood being a former server myself. If your not flipping tables your not making money.  I have to give them credit for being honest and upfront.

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Breakfast at The Wildfork

The Wildfork

The Wildfork Bar

We have officially entered into my birthday weekend, so Hubby took me to The Wildfork for breakfast.  The Wildfork is one of the most popular places for breakfast in downtown Tulsa.  It is located in the quaint outdoor mall of Utica Square.  I had never been, but I had heard a lot about it from our friends.  It has a great patio area that I would recommend taking advantage of, and for you dog lovers, you can bring your pups.  When we were walking up to the restaurant there was a gentleman enjoying his breakfast with his Golden Retriever. 

The joint was pretty hopping and the hostess greeted us with a smile, she sat right away in the bar area.  The interior is eclectic, with art work from local artists on the walls that is for sale and the walls are all painted brick.  We were in the red bar room area and next to us was a sort of sunroom dining area that was lite and airy.   Our sever came up and greeted us right away and asked if we wanted coffee.  She was a super sweet girl named Anna, so if you go I recommend you request her. 

Atlantic Salmon Frittata

Then breakfast menu has some basic breakfast items and then some more “fancy” items, they even have breakfast pizzas which I found very interesting.  Their prices range from 7.00 to 12.00 a dish, and their portions are very generous.  When I dine at a new restaurant I always try to order something that seems unique to that restaurant and that I have never had before.  I ordered the Atlantic Salmon Frittata with sourdough bread toast, Hubby got the Wildfork Hash with wheat toast.  RIf you like you can get biscuits and gravy instead of toast, which is a crazy amount of food.   My Frittata was quite delicious, don’t let the idea of salmon discourage you.  A Frittata is basically just and open faced omelet, this one has salmon, potatoes, tomatoes and all kinds of cheese……yum-E.  Hubby’s hash was a manly man’s meal, it has sausage, peppers, ham, potato, egg and cheese, and I am sure I am forgetting something.  They also have the delicious apricot and plum jam that they put on the table, the plum was my favorite. 

The Wildfork has a great reputation here in the Metro Tulsa area and I can see why.  They are open for lunch and dinner also and if you are ever in the area I recommend visiting.

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A Two Bite Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs in Toast Cups

Bacon & Eggs in Toast Cups

• 6 slices of bread
• 6 slices of bacon
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with butter non-stick spray.

2. Using a cookie cutter, cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. (I confess I do not have a cookie cutter so I use the lid to my tub of orzo pasta and just cut around the edges ;D)

3. Take bread circles and press them into the muffin pan, set aside.

4. Heat a large skillet on medium-high. Cook bacon on the skillet until partially cooked but still pliable, about 3 minutes.

5. Shape bacon strips into the toast cups, fill with 1 Tbs of shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 5 minutes, allowing the bacon to toast just a little more. Remove from oven.

6. Crack your egg and separate out most of the egg white. Drop eggs into the cups, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Place back in the oven and cook until white begins to set, about another 8 – 10 minutes.  The yolk should be creamy.

7. Remove from oven when done and pop out using a spoon, serve warm.

Enjoy!