Maybe you don’t know this, but I didn’t like muffins for many years. They were always dry. (They also were not homemade muffins.) But then, I had never made a muffin either except for bran muffins. (Which are marvelous, BTW.) But a few years ago, I decided to give other muffins a try. And low and behold, the muffins weren’t dry. They were flat out delicious.

And as I was writing up this preface, I decided to check which muffin recipe I posted first, after my favorite bran muffin recipe, that is. And I couldn’t find my go to, always delicious, decades old, the recipe given to me by my sister-in-law Evelyn for the best bran muffins ever, anywhere on my site. How could I possibly have been so remiss as to not have given you that recipe years ago? But no, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Granted, the Six Week Bran Muffin recipe can be found anywhere. But why hadn’t I posted it too?

Anyway, I plan to rectify my error soon. But I think I’ll halve the original recipe from making 5 dozen to only 2½ dozen. Or even better, third the recipe for my own convenience. (The original recipe was great when I had 4 kids at home. But not so much now.) Anyway, that recipe will be coming your way soon. Now, where was I?

Oh yes, I was about to expound on the glories of this fantastic recipe I found on the sallysbakingaddiction.com site. I did make a slight change, but then, that’s my prerogative.

Now that peaches are in every fruit stand, I see no reason why you shouldn’t rush right out, buy a few peaches, and make these muffins for your family and friends.

I could continue giving you all the reasons you should make these muffins at your earliest convenience, but I’m busy today. So, you’ll just have to find out for yourselves.

And as always, peace and love from our home to yours.  

For the Crumble Topping:

⅓ c. brown sugar, packed

1 T. granulated sugar

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

2/3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a small bowl until combined. Add the flour and use a fork to gently mix until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix. Just mix until it is crumbly. Set aside.

For the Muffins:

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed 

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

½ c. brown sugar, packed

¼ c. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs, room temp.

½ c. plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temp. (I use plain Greek yogurt.)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 T. whole milk or ½ & ½, room temp.

1¾ c. peeled and chopped peaches 

Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners*. Set aside. 

Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Add eggs, yogurt or sour cream, and vanilla extract. Beat until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain. Fold in the chopped peaches.

Use a large ice cream scoop or spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it sticks.

Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350-degrees and bake for an additional 16–19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Store at room temperature for a couple of days and in your refrigerator for up to a week. Warm gently before serving.

These muffins can also be frozen. Thaw before gently warming in your microwave.  

*I use parchment paper liners. And no, they aren’t as darling as some liners, but muffins and cupcakes come out of parchment paper liners without sacrificing even one tiny little crumb. And when the muffins or cupcakes are delicious, I don’t want even one crumb left behind.

We recently invited our dear friends Mark and Vicki and Vicki’s sister Sam to an 80^th birthday celebration dinner for Vicki at our home. But then, what to serve? Since it’s summer I wanted to BBQ because we would be eating outside. And I didn’t want to serve the standard dishes usually associated with a BBQ dinner, because what fun is that? So, this is the menu I came up with.

(All recipes for the dishes in bold print can be found on this site.)

APPETIZER:

Whipped Feta Dip or Spread (recipe soon to be published)

Crudité (to be served with the main dish too)

Hummus (to be served with the main dish too)

Tzatziki (to be served with the main dish too)

Easy Baked Pita Bread cut into wedges (for sopping up the dip)

MAIN:

Ćevapčići (grilled by Mr. C.)

Easy Baked Pita Bread (cut in half to be stuffed with a Ćevapčići pattie, hummus, tzatziki, and any of the crudité veggies)

SALAD:

Mediterranean Quinoa, Fresh Vegetable, and Feta Cheese Salad

DESSERT:

Lemon Blondies (recipe soon to be published)

Now one of the best things about this particular menu was that I could (and should) make several of the dishes ahead of time. (Like, the day before!)

So, on Monday I prepared the feta dip, hummus, tzatziki, and the salad. On Tuesday, the day of the grand event, I mixed, formed, and refrigerated the Ćevapčići patties and made the pita bread and lemon blondies.

And frankly, the pita bread had been so easy to make. Not a lot of effort was involved.   

So, if you too are thinking of hosting a summer dinner, please feel free to prepare the same dishes I did. I must say, all the dishes seemed to complement each other. And that’s really the main objective in planning a meal. You always want to serve dishes that go together.

Another thing I want to stress that, I am sure, most of you already practice, which makes cooking easier and almost guarantees success in the kitchen is mise en place. Mise en place, a French culinary term, means “everything in its place”. It refers to the practice of preparing and organizing all ingredients and equipment before cooking, ensuring a smooth and efficient workflow in the kitchen. This includes tasks like chopping vegetables, measuring spices, and having all necessary tools readily available.

And for me, since I am rapidly approaching my “golden” years (right Patti), I absolutely must make a list of the dishes I plan to serve when I am preparing to entertain guests. And then check my recipes to make sure I have all the ingredients and mentally prepare myself for how much time the preparation of each dish is going to require. And truthfully, as I’ve gotten older, I pretty much double the time it used to take me to prepare a dish just a few short years ago. Really! Because now I need to take breaks, sit for a few minutes here and there, and even take a short afternoon nap if time allows. In other words, I have learned to cut myself some slack and not expect to perform like the energizer bunny I once was. If I stop and think, and accept the fact that I am slowing down, and plan my time accordingly, I can still get things done, but with realistic expectations. And not end up belittling myself or hating my kitchen.

May you too take the time to understand your limitations and be OK with them. And do what you can, when you can. And always have fun in your kitchen. Even if it takes you longer to prepare dinner than when you were younger, so what! Anyone complaining, hand them your apron! Tag, you’re it!

And as always, peace and love to all.

¾ c. warm water

1 pkg. or 2¼ tsp. instant yeast

4 tsp. granulated sugar

3 c. bread flour, plus more if needed and for dusting

1½ tsp. fine sea salt

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl

¾ c. whole-milk Greek yogurt

In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, olive oil, and yogurt. Knead the dough at medium speed, adding more flour if needed, until the dough is soft and slightly sticky, 7 to 10 minutes.

Pour a bit of olive oil over the dough, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, roll the dough into an olive oil coated ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until double in size, about 2 hours.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface lightly coated with flour. Divide the dough into 12 equal sized balls. Cover and let rise an additional 20 minutes.

Roll the balls out into circles that are roughly ¼-inch thick. Place them onto prepared baking sheets an inch apart, then bake one sheet at a time for about 5-7 minutes or until each pita bread is puffy and lightly browned on top in a pre-heated 500-degree oven. (Begin checking at 5 minutes.)

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve with any of your favorite Mediterranean dishes.

Well, I’m at it again with yet another bread recipe. It all started with deciding to serve Sloppy Joes (recipe on this site) as one of the entrées for an upcoming classical pre-concert luncheon at our home. And as with all the dishes served before concerts at our home, the entrées and side dishes must not only be different each time, but they must also be easy to eat. No knives required. So, I decided on Sloppy Joes and Rotolo al Forno (recipe also on site). And usually for sloppy Joes, I just use homemade sandwich bread. But to make the Joes more authentic, I decided to serve the hamburger mixture on buns. (BTW, the way God intended Joes to be served.) But then, I wanted a really soft and tender bun, so it was easy to cut with a fork. And this is the recipe I found. But for the life of me, I can’t remember which site provided this terrific and very easy to prepare recipe. (If I don’t write things down right away, they are often gone forever. My bad!)

Anyway, these buns were so easy to build and so absolutely perfect for what I wanted. And tasty too.

So, the next time you decide to serve Sloppy Joes or hamburgers for dinner, may I recommend making your own buns. And I know, I would have bought buns too if I were still a working mom. But if you are retired or trying to save money, baking your own bread is really cost effective.

Well, that’s it for today. And it’s 1:15 pm and I still haven’t figured out what to cook for dinner. So, I better post this and then pay a visit to our freezer.

I sincerely hope that one of these days I will get my act together and make a meal plan for the coming week. Of course, I have been saying this for years, and at the ripe old age of 80, I doubt that I will be able to change my ways. But we haven’t starved yet, so maybe it’s not that important anyway. Frankly I have a lot more work to do on myself that has nothing to do with food. I am very much engaged in learning to forgive and remain civil with people who do not agree with me politically. I simply can’t understand the sh-t storm that is emanating to and from our country. Not only is our country suffering, but we have subjected other countries with the consequences of our exceedingly bad behavior. I can only offer my profuse apology.   

Peace and love to all.

¼ c. whole milk

1⅓ c. warm water

1 T. instant yeast

4 tsp. granulated sugar

2 lg. eggs, divided

2 tsp. kosher salt

4½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp.

veggie oil, for greasing the bowl

1 T. water

Place the milk, warm water, yeast, sugar, 1 of the eggs, salt, flour, and butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until everything comes together, and all the flour is incorporated into the dough. Start kneading the dough and add enough extra flour to form dough that is very sticky. Some of the dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl and the rest will pull away from the sides of the bowl like it is sheeting. Don’t be tempted to add too much flour. Then continue to knead the dough at a low speed for about 5 minutes.

Pour about a tablespoon of veggie oil on the side of the mixing bowl and use a stiff spatula and your hands to shape the dough into a greased ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and place it in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Punch it down and form the buns in one of two ways.

First method (my way). Using a #16 ice cream scoop that has been coated with cooking spray, squeeze off balls of dough and push them into the scoop. Too much dough, remove a bit. Too little dough, add a bit. Then, plop the dough balls at least 2 inches apart on a parchment paper or greased baking sheet. When you are finished forming all the dough, lift each dough ball and shape it with your hands by rolling the dough outward and under to form a smooth top. Place each bun back on the parchment paper, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise for 45 minutes before baking. This method produces about 19 rolls.

After 45 minutes, whisk the remaining egg and water together and brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash.

Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 11-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 205-degrees.

Remove from oven, and cool completely before storing the buns in an airtight container.  

Second method. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or floured pastry cloth. Divide with a sharp knife or bench scraper into 18 equal pieces and shape each piece of dough into a tight ball.  

Place on a parchment paper lined or greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise for 45 minutes before baking.

After 45 minutes, whisk the remaining egg and water together and brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash.

Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 11-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 205-degrees.

Remove from oven, and cool completely before storing the buns in an airtight container.

It all started with Mr. C.

On one of Mr. C’s recent trips to Costco, he came home with a 12-pack of almond poppy seed muffins. And right then and there I decided I had been remiss in not making almond poppy seed muffins a part of our everyday life!  And even though the cost for these amazing muffins was not high, I decided I should be making them from scratch at home. And even if it was not a cost saving decision, it was a chance for me to once again cut unnecessary and possibly unhealthy preservative chemicals and fake ingredients from our diet. So, I found this recipe on the brokenovenbaking.com site. And boy am I glad I did. Because I had forgotten how much I love the combination of almond flavoring and poppy seeds.   

Kayla’s recipe on her site came with an almond glaze. But I decided, since I would be freezing most of the muffins, a glaze was not a good idea. (Glazes tend to break down into sticky messes when frozen or even refrigerated. Plus, we didn’t really need any additional calories.) And sure enough, the muffins were just delicious without a topping of any kind. And as you might already know, I often add toppings to muffins. But with these babies, there was really no need at all for any type of embellishment.

So, if you too love muffins that are quick and easy to build, contain simple ingredients, and don’t even require a mixer, this is the recipe for you.

Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. has a gig tonight at the Rockfish Grill in Anacortes. And you might find this interesting. The Rockfish Grill is celebrating 25 years of serving Anacortes and Skagit County. They pour 30 different styles of beer year-round from the Anacortes Brewery right next door. Which BTW, is the 8th oldest brewery in the great state of Washington! But what impresses me the most about this restaurant is that The Rockfish is one of the longest continuously running music venues in Western Washington. And Mr. C. is lucky enough to be a part of 5 of the musical groups that provide entertainment while diners enjoy not only the food, but the welcoming atmosphere provided by the owners Allen Rhoades and Rick Star and their staff at the “fish”. So, am I looking forward to this evening? You bet I am. I will be dining with friends and listening to one of the greatest upscale classic rock bands around – The Fat Fridays. Life is good!

May your life also be filled with good food, good friends, and good music. This trio may seem a bit simplistic, but I assure you, good music, good friends, and good food help keep me from sinking into despair over what is happening to our country.

Peace and love to all.         

2¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed 

¾ c. granulated sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 T. baking powder

2 T. poppy seeds

1 c. real buttermilk, room temp.  

½ c. veggie or canola oil

2 lg. eggs, room temp.

¾ tsp. good quality almond extract

Place muffin liners* (I needed 15 muffin liners) in your standard size muffin tin or tins. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and poppy seeds together.

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and almond extract together.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until the flour streaks disappear.

Using a medium sized #20 (around 2¼-inches in diameter) ice cream scoop, plop balls of dough into the muffin liners.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees.  

Remove from oven and allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack before eating or storing them in an airtight container.

*I use parchment muffin/cupcake liners. Using parchment liners rather than regular paper liners ensures that my muffins or cupcakes don’t stick to the liners. And OK, parchment paper isn’t as pretty and colorful as decorative paper liners. But you don’t lose any of the muffin or cupcake to a parchment liner the way you do with a paper liner. Pick your battles!  

(Sorry for not having a picture. But if you want to see what focaccia looks like, you can bring up my other focaccia recipes. All focaccias actually look pretty much alike.)  

This must be the easiest homemade bread recipe ever invented. No stand mixer required, no killing your hands by kneading the dough for several minutes, plus no worry whether you added too much or too little flour to the mix. This recipe is practically fool proof. OK, you could mess it up if you left it in the oven too long, or didn’t use instant yeast, or forgot to add the salt. That kind of error. But if you follow the instructions to the letter, you simply can’t go wrong.

And this focaccia is just so amazingly tasty. And chewy. Perfect with Italian food or anytime a nice hunk of bread would be perfect with soup or stew. No butter or dipping sauce required. It is simply perfect as it is.

So, I’m going to make this post short and sweet today. I want you to have time to go into your kitchen, mix these marvelous ingredients together, put the whole mess in your fridge, and walk away until tomorrow.

So, until tomorrow, or whenever I have the strength to post again, may you stay happy, healthy, and well informed. And as a small aside: to any underinformed out there who mainly get their news from FOX, just perhaps it might be time to broaden your horizon. There is a whole lot of tragic “stuff” going on in Washington DC that might even affect you. Especially if you are a veteran, work for any kind of agency that was created for the betterment of all (both state and federal), care about state and national parks, have even the tiniest belief that science is not a hoax, are retired and depending on social security and Medicare or Medicaid to fund your old age, or have even the smallest consideration for those less fortunate than yourself. You need to open your mind to the reality of what is currently happening to our democracy. Read what the historian Heather Cox Richardson has to say. Listen to NPR (National Public Radio). Tune into PBS NewsHour and CNN. And after learning about what is really going on you feel things have gone too far, you might consider sending a message stating your dissatisfaction to your favorite Republican congressman or woman. They need to do the job they were hired to do. That being – to defend the Constitution and try to do the best they can FOR EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN. THERE JOB IS NOT TO JUST SIT BY AND ALLOW ANY PRESIDENT AND HIS BILLIANAIR BUDDY OR BUDDIES DESTROY OUR BELOVED COUNTRY! And in doing so, destroy all the good we as Americans have done for other nations. Remember, we are just a small part of planet earth. We can’t just think about ourselves. So, please take a stand for democracy and the greater good of all mankind.

Peace and love to all. (Or at least, most of you!)

4½ c. bread flour, fluffed

2¼ tsp. kosher salt

2¼ tsp instant yeast

¾ tsp. granulated garlic

5 tsp. finely minced fresh rosemary

1¼ c. roughly chopped kalamata olives

2¼ c. lukewarm water

extra virgin olive oil

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, salt, instant yeast, granulated garlic, rosemary, and chopped olives together. Add warm water. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the liquid is absorbed, and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Rub the surface of the dough with olive oil. (Use enough that the dough won’t dry out as it sits in the refrigerator.)

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours.

Pour about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a half-sheet (18×13-inch) rimmed baking pan. Remove the dough from fridge and using a stiff spatula, transfer the dough to the baking pan and form it into a rough ball. Roll the dough ball in the oil to coat it all over, again forming a rough ball.

Let the dough rest uncovered for 3 to 4 hours or until it looks about doubled in size.  

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 425-degrees. Press the dough as much as possible into an even thickness and into the corners of the pan. (The dough will slip back to the center but spread it out as best you can.)   

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the underside is golden and crisp and the internal temperature of the bread reaches at least 200-degrees. 

Remove from oven and transfer the focaccia to a cooling rack. Let it cool before cutting into small squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

True fact. I could eat some variation of bread/biscuit/gougères*/etc. with every meal if I thought this chunky body wouldn’t get even chunkier! But alas, I must use the 3 percent** of my brain God gave me, to at least try to eat nutritionally.

But sometimes, I can’t even consider serving a certain dish without a hunk of some kind of bread on the side. And last night was no exception.

But what I wanted last evening to go along with Pot Roast with Potatoes, Onions, and Carrots (recipe on this site) was a simple to prepare savory drop biscuit. I didn’t want to chop fresh herbs (which would mean a trip to the grocery store) or mess with getting cold butter incorporated into flour. I wanted simple from start to finish.

I found several recipes that used melted butter, but none that used dried herbs. Fresh herbs, yes. But being the audacious gal that I am, I decided someone had to try using dried herbs and veggies. So, the recipe you find below is what I came up with. And oh my, the biscuits were absolutely delicious. Tender on the inside and crusty on the outside. And perfect with the pot roast. But truly, these biscuits would be perfect any time a savory biscuit would complete your menu.

Suffice it to say, I will be making these biscuits regularly.

And even if you have never made a biscuit in your life, there is no way you can fail with this recipe. Seriously!

So, on that happy note, as always, peace and love to all

*Gougères are baked French cheese puffs made from choux pastry and cheese. They are crunchy on the outside and soft and hollow in the middle. And yes, I have a great recipe. But no, I have not posted it yet. I plan to rectify this abysmal failure as soon as I get my act together!

**After just watching Defending Your Life, a 1991 film written, directed, and starring Albert Brooks, I learned that the average person only uses 3% of their brain. I think I may be closer to 2%! (But do watch this movie. It’s a hoot!)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper (a couple of grinds)

4-5 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 tsp. dried chives

½ tsp. granulated garlic

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 c. cold buttermilk

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, dried chives, and granulated garlic together.

In a separate bowl, stir melted butter and buttermilk together. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  

Using an ice cream scoop (I used a #16 – scant ¼ cup) or a large spoon, scoop biscuits onto prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2-inches apart.

Bake biscuits in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden.

Remove from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. To serve warm, nuke them on high for a few seconds. Store in an airtight container in your fridge.