good things to put in plain oatmeal

Thinking of this post, I put together this list:

traditional
chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.)
dried fruits (golden or regular raisins, cranberries, mango, pineapple, etc.)
chopped/mashed fresh fruits (bananas, apples, etc.)
brown sugar
honey
cinnamon
ground ginger
ground cloves
(fresh) ground nutmeg
splash of milk
splash of cream
sprinkle of salt
small knob of butter
vanilla

less traditional
pumpkin puree
grated carrots
applesauce
cranberry sauce/relish
diced crystallized ginger/"ginger chips"
fresh ginger
nut butters (peanut, almond, sunflower seed)
fruit preserves
jam
fruit/vegetable butters (apple, pear, pumpkin)
ground flax
ground cardamom
almond extract
nutella
miniature chocolate chips
agave nectar
real maple syrup (Grade A, Grade B)
molasses
shredded unsweetened coconut/shredded sweetened coconut, shredded toasted coconut
cottage cheese
leftover cooked grains (brown rice, quinoa, wheatberries, etc.)
sprinkle of granola
citrus zest (orange, lemon)
cooked fruits (sauteed apples, pears, bananas etc.)

Again, obviously not an exhaustive list.

I eat the organic version of these Bob's Red Mill oats for breakfast almost every day. Are you an oatmeal eater? If so, what do you put on your oatmeal? If not, what do you eat for breakfast?

general housewifery is participating in National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoMo).

cheddar-chive scones

cheddar chive scones, originally uploaded by doesinheadlights.

I rarely ever make scones, because I don't keep cream on hand, but after brunching at S's a weekend or two ago (see cinnamon rolls), and eating a version of these, which are a version of Ina Garten's cheddar-dill scones, I decided they were worth a special trip to the grocery store. The recipe is in Ina Garten's (first, I believe) book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I halved the recipe and copied S, swapping out the dill for fresh chives. These were incredibly cheesy and chive-y.

cheddar-chive scones

2 cups ap flour, plus more for rolling
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
4.5 ounces (yellow) extra sharp cheddar cheese, small-diced
1/2 cup minced chives (I trimmed with scissors)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the diced butter to the flour mixture and using two knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Those pieces are the key to perfect scone texture. Lightly beat the eggs into the heavy cream and add to the flour/butter mixture. Combine with a few quick strokes. Add the diced cheddar and minced chives, then stir until mostly incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead briefly and lightly, until the chives and cheese are thoroughly incorporated. Roll out to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut the dough into eight equal portions, then roll each into a small ball. Place scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone. Flatten each lightly with the palm of your hand, then brush with the egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown and crusty on the outside.

Yields 8 fantastic scones.

paula dean's cinnamon buns

frosted, originally uploaded by doesinheadlights.

Every time I make these, I am slightly ashamed to admit I used Paula Dean's recipe, but, despite the time it takes to make these deliciously gooey buns (about three hours from bowl to plate), they're the best homemade cinnamon rolls I have ever made. I've made them five times in the last year, including this batch for one of my best girlfriend's recent brunch.

Here is the recipe, although I make a few alterations. Cut the butter for the filling by at least two tablespoons, or the rolls will fall apart. Add a little cinnamon to the filling for more cinnamony goodness, even more if your cinnamon is old. I make the filling with homemade vanilla sugar, but that's just extra credit.

i wish i had a fridge muffins

I made these muffins because I just purchased some of those nifty nut and party cups to use as muffin tin liners, a la Chockylit of the apparently defunct Cupcake Bakeshop and because the refrigerator-less state of my otherwise lovely office means that I can't carry the sort of snacks and foods to work that I would bring normally. I wanted something whole grain and savory, and these hit the spot. I put in just a smidge of regular old ap flour to prevent the muffins from being totally dense, and used plain old grocery store sharp cheddar cheese. I don't need to tell you that an artisanal cheddar would elevate them, or that many other hard cheeses (pecorino perhaps, or manchego) would be great too. Dried herbs or some pepper would be a welcome addition. I used skim milk because it's what I keep on hand-I'm sure whole would be great. If you plan to consume these right away, try half a stick (1/4 cup) of melted butter in place of the vegetable oil (using oil generally helps keep muffins moister longer). I plan to take these as a snack for work, but consider them as an excellent bread to serve with breakfast or dinner.

i wish i had a fridge muffins

1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ap flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (grated) sharp cheddar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a twelve cup muffin tin with paper liners (or, nut and party cups). Whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt and a medium-sized bowl. Add grated cheese and mix until the pieces of cheese are mostly separated (this prevents huge clumps of cheese from forming in the muffins). In a smaller bowl (I did this in my four cup measuring cup), beat the milk, oil and egg until thoroughly combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together, using as few strokes as possible, until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Divide the batter among the cups (they will be pretty full). Bake for about fifteen minutes or until an inserted toothpick emerges cleanly. Cool in the pan for three minutes and then on a rack before storing.

Yields twelve muffins.

the pancake affair

This weekend was Mother's Day. Finals separated me and my mother on actual Mother's Day and so I promised her an extra special, rescheduled day. Presents, flowers, homemade chocolate chip cookies (she insists that the varieties of cookies that I make are delicious-but wholly unnecessary), breakfast, the SATC movie, church and more were included in the equation. I really hope I don't have to spend Mother's Day away from my mother again in the future, but I do think Sunday was an adequate makeup.

My mother loves blueberries and she also loves a delicious pancake breakfast so I resolved to prepare blueberry vanilla pancakes for the special day. Working off of a simple JOC classic, and swiping a tip from a former pastry chef friend (thanks D, the clarified butter was an excellent suggestion), I prepped the dry and wet ingredients the night before with the hopes of whipping up a timely and perfect meal. For the woman who had sometimes made me breakfasts and other times dinged me in the forehead for my idiotic actions, I would become the perfect pancake making domestic goddess.

Not so. I don't know what it was. I've made pancakes many times. Fantastic pancakes. These however, I could not unstick. My mother mocked me from the living room while she munched on a pre-breakfast cookie appetizer. I turned off the eggs so they wouldn't be overdone by the time I managed to flip a single pancake. Sweat-and many of you know I simply don't sweat much, naturally-began to develop on my brow. "Do you want some help," she asked from the living room couch, where she practiced a lesson she would teach in a few short hours to a group of four preteens at her church. I refused her assistance and went on scraping my pancake-like messes off the bottom of the pan. Where were my pancake flipping chops?

After a few screwy cakes I submitted and let my mom watch. "You're being impatient," she told me, "you need to make sure they're actually brown before you flip them." Right In the moment I thought she was being impossibly annoying. I wasn't being impatient, I merely wanted the pancakes to be perfect. Then I realized those were exactly the same thing. I chilled out a bit and drank a big glass of water while I waited for the next few to brown. My mom applauded flips as though I'd performed the kind you do with your body. In the end we sat down to some yummy breakfast and delicious chatter.

The incident reminded me of something I read in a Nigella book very recently. In it, she points out that cooking has become a race from A to B to Plate, without a rest for enjoying the feel of flour in your fingertips or the ever-headier scent of basil as it's torn. It's not that I imagine I will suddenly stop doing last minute, super rushed, must be perfect cooking sometimes. I only hope that some of those times my mother, or NH, or somebody else who I love and who loves me will stop me, tell me I am being impatient, and ding me in the forehead for burning my hand with the pan.

midnight muffins

I scratched out a recipe for these while resting this evening. The lemon curd is not very prominent (it probably helps that the homemade curd I have on hand is on the thin side), it adds just a touch of lemony creaminess in the center of the muffins, and could probably be doubled for stronger lemon flavor. Another variation would cut the butter in half, and/or replace it with vegetable oil, and/or replace the half and half with low fat milk, but I wouldn't recommend any of those things-the richness good in these too. The muffins are delicious and would be a fabulous addition to any brunch.

midnight muffins

2 cups ap flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 large eggs
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup crystalized ginger
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla (or 1/2-1 vanilla bean, scraped)
4-6 tablespoons lemon curd

Preheat the oven to 400. Line (do not try to grease instead, results will be sticky and bad) muffin pans.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger together in a large bowl. In a second bowl, beat up the eggs. Add the half and half, butter and vanilla and whisk until thoroughly combined. Using a food processor or blender (I used my magic bullet again), pulse the crystalized ginger and sugar together until a uniform powder develops. Whisk into wet ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, using two additions, and stirring only until combined (do not over beat!). Fill twelve muffin cups halfway. Add a heaping teaspoon of lemon curd to each muffin cup. Top cups with remaining batter. Bake for approximately fifteen minutes, or until an inserted toothpick emerges cleanly.

Yields twelve muffins.

love for breakfast

NH spent most of the weekend here with me. On Saturday, while trying to decide what to have for breakfast NH suggested we scramble some eggs and purchase some instant biscuits from the store, which I immediately took as a challenge. I make biscuits from scratch all the time, but usually not in the morning, and since once you've had delicious homemade biscuits canned biscuits are far from ideal, I don't have biscuits in the AM too much. But since it was Saturday, I decided it was time to try out some morning baking. NH made the few blocks trek down to the further away, but far better, grocery store to pick up some last minute supplies (like eggs), and I got these started. I went with drop biscuits (faster, more tender) but you could cut down the liquid (by about a quarter) and roll these instead, if you prefer more uniform biscuits, which might be better for spreading with preserves. Cheese and/or herbs would be a nice addition, especially if you wanted to serve these with dinner. You could also change the liquids if you'd prefer a less rich biscuit.

dropped biscuits
roughly adapted from Joy of Cooking

about 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
about 1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons very very cold butter (I just took the chill off of some frozen butter), cut into small cubes
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cream (light, heavy or whipping will do)

Preheat the oven to 450. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Many people do this with knives or that funny looking pastry blending tool, but I prefer to do it with my hands, which is why I used extra cold butter, which can withstand the heat of my hands a bit longer than merely cold butter. Put the cubes in flour, mix it up, and use the tips of your fingers to break the cubes into smaller and smaller pieces, constantly incorporating the pieces with the dry ingredients. Do not let the butter melt! This will destroy your biscuits' texture. The goal is to incorporate the butter as discrete bits mixed in with the flour. When you're done, the flour/butter mixture should resemble coarse bread crumbs. Make a well in the flour/butter mixture, and pour in the cream and milk. Stir the mixture until just combined. Drop lumps onto an ungreased baking sheet (mine were about a scant 1/4 cup sized, but size is to your taste and intentions), and bake for about fifteen minutes or until a light golden brown. Serve warm. These will keep nicely for the next day, and can be reheated in a 250 oven for a few minutes.

the mouse that dove into the stove

Once upon a time there was a princess. She wasn't a spoiled, pampered princess. If we are honest, she more closely resembled The Little Prince after the dual devastating tragedies of parental death and lost wealth* than The Little Princess when she was the wealthiest pupil and had special horses and all the cinnamon buns she could want and so on. One morning, the princess woke up, stretched, set the coffee making and went downstairs to the kitchen to start preparing the royal breakfast. As she stepped into the kitchen, her mouth already watering at the thought of delicious princess toast (similar to Tubby Toast but tastier, and without jam, and also not the only thing the princess ever consumed), she saw a suspicious, small, gray creature dive from the top of the stove right into one of the burners! The princess, fond of animals (because what princess isnt? small furry animals exist for the purpose of dressing princesses**), was surprised but didn't scream. She was also rather happy to discover that the burner, and the oven, were both off. Still, that pesky image of the little mouse's long, gray tail stuck in her mind. She decided to stick with the microwave and the toaster this particular morning.

* Of course, I am fortunate to have not one, but four parents, who are all alive and well, so I am nowhere near as sad, forsaken, etc. as poor little Sara Crewe.

** See Cinderella, in the Disney animated feature of the same name, for an illustration of this technique.