"Life, within doors, has few
pleasanter prospects than a neatly arranged and
well-provisioned breakfast table."
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Dear Kitchen Keepers,
It seems that most of my writing time is being spent in
the kitchen lately:)
so I thought to use the time God does allow on here to
share what I've been
doing. Please know that I do not share this to highlight
myself in anyway
and may God forgive me if that kind of pride creeps in!
I just believe
getting letters out on occasion is important enough to
send what I can when
I can and since this letter is set up as notes from my
kitchen ... surely
what I'm doing in there would serve my readers some? I
pray right now that
our heavenly Father will write through me, bless each
heart reading, and
shine His brilliant light through my bumbling darkness!
I was sharing with the discussion list recently how
important the breakfast
meal is for a family. I have written on this topic
before but it still falls
off of my priority list far more than it should. I have
committed to making
a nice breakfast every morning from small and sweet
things to a full table
according to the day's schedule. It has been going great
and I look forward
to every new thing I try. A main list of breakfast ideas
is going up in my
kitchen along with a number or tiny note on where to
find recipes when/where
needed.
"Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before
breakfast, eat your
breakfast first."
Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818-1885)
Just this morning, I made an oven recipe sent by Sharon
and was in my files:
These recipes reminded me of shirred eggs. My mother
used to make them
on Sunday morning. I was the only one who went to
church, so I'd get
home and she'd have save two for me. They were soooo
good. And always a
couple of pieces of bacon. She didn't have a recipe for
them, but
here's how I do:
Butter round pyrex baking dish (I used a medium sized
rectangle dish)
Place cubes of dried bread -- sourdough is best, or
sheepherder's bread --
but I've used everything, including dried hot dog buns!
(I used leftover
yeast rolls) Place a few bits of butter on top
Carefully break eggs on top -- you have to be careful,
the bread could
break the yolk -- not a disaster, but I always like the
eggs whole
Salt and pepper and a couple of more bits of butter
Just a few drops of milk
Into oven at 350 until the eggs are set
The only thing I wish I'd done differently is cooked
mine a little less.
Instead of just cooking until the eggs set... I let them
cook until the
yolks were like hard boiled eggs. The taste was fine but
I would have
enjoyed some broken yolks seeping into the rolls!
This nice morning meal was completed with a few strips
of hickory bacon and
a hot cup of coffee with sucanat and cream swirled in!
We have a simple wooden table with a bench that Blake
hand made and assorted
chairs from Blake's grandfather that make up our family
table. On the wall
above the bench and to the side are shelves lined with
various books and our
China hutch is on the opposite wall. As humble as this
little room is... I
love it. We haven't even finished the remodel and must
replace an entire
section of the wall still but it is fully functional
even so.
I have my early morning quiet time at my table, we eat
our meals there,
share coffee with family and friends, and the kids home
school on it...
Even though I don't have beautiful and seasonal
decorations and sets to
adorn our table, I enjoy setting it for each meal and
making it look lovely
for us. Right now, there is only a glass bowl with
etchings of farm animals
(a gift many years ago from my mother) filled with green
apples and green
pears from the farmer's market. I might dig around until
I find a small
candle and that can be the setting for today.
The breakfast table is easy to set and "sets" the tone
for the whole day, I
think. I like having a carafe of orange juice, a small
pitcher of milk, and
a created tray (plate, block of wood, serving dish, and
so on) to arrange
fruit jams/jellies/preserves, salt & pepper, and butter
on. Most mornings I
end up with some milk and a couple of jams:) sat atop
something "tray like"
but I like having more as shared here.
The other recipes I have already written on this week's
menu are:
Hashbrown Casserole, Pancakes in a Pan, and Stuffed
French Toast and all of
these were in my files and came from the Real Foods
list.
Hash brown Bake
24 oz. pkg frozen hash browns (plain or with onions, red
&
green peppers, depending on how eagle-eyed your kids are
about "what are these green things in here?")
**OR shred your own(recommended)
4 Tbsp butter, melted
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 oz can diced green chiles (opt. see above note)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 cups (8 oz) Jack or Cheddar cheese
Opt: turkey or Bocca sausage or hamburger (1 cup,
cooked)
Preheat oven to 350. Pour hashbrowns in a bowl. In
another
bowl, beat together eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Pour
over
potatoes and stir. Add meat, chiles, and cheese and
stir. Pour into
greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 45-60 min. until middle is
cooked
through. Serve with salsa, ketchup, or gravy.
Pancakes in a Pan (The kids beg for this.)
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 T. baking powder
3 T. [Rapadura] sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
2 eggs (3 if small), slightly beaten
4 1/2 T. melted butter or oil
1 1/3 cups milk
crumbled Turkey Sausage or TVP bacon bits, optional
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Measure flour, Rapadura,
salt
and baking powder into a large bowl, mix. Put milk, egg
and melted
butter (or oil) together in a small bowl, blend together
with a fork.
Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir; batter
will be slightly
lumpy. Place batter in a 9x13 baking pan (greased),
sprinkle with
cooked pieces of sausage or TVP bacon bits if desired.
Bake at 375
degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden and pick put
in center
comes out clean. Cut into squares and serve warm with
butter and syrup if desired. Easy to reheat in the
microwave.
Serves 4-6 large servings.
Stuffed French Toast
10 slices bread in cubes
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
12 eggs
1/ 3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk
Directions:
Cube bread and place 1/2 of bread in 9" x 13" casserole.
Do not grease pan.
Cube both packages of cream cheese and place in layer on
top of bread. Add
other half of cubed bread to top of cheese.
Beat eggs and combine with syrup and milk. Pour mixture
over bread and
cheese. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
overnight.
Bake, uncovered, at 375 deg. for about 45 minutes, or
until set and golden.
Cut in squares and serve with additional maple syrup, if
desired. (we
didn't
think it needed it)
Good served with fruit. Optional, cinnamon on top.
Enjoy (I know we sure did!),
Trish F.
"'When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,' said Piglet at
last, 'what's the
first thing you say to yourself?' 'What's for
breakfast?' said Pooh. 'What
do you say, Piglet?' 'I say, I wonder what's going to
happen exciting
today?' said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. 'It's the
same thing,' he
said."
A. A. Milne, 'The House at Pooh Corner'
Love,
Sandy
©2004 Sandy Willoughby
