Let me preface this post by admitting this: I am not from the southern United States. According to my Ancestry DNA, I am less than 7 percent Italian. But hey, I have this piece of paper (from a UC-accredited culinary school) hanging up on the wall of my bedroom that says that I am a pretty decent cook. I crave cheesy polenta grits, but sometimes I just don’t have the energy to stand in front of my stove constantly stirring.
This past spring, I took a trip to Napa Valley and experienced the most incredible English muffins from a local bakery in the area. I’m serious about my bread. This English muffin made all other English muffins look silly. The outside was slightly crisp and the inside was fluffy and full of nooks and crannies. It’s all about that texture. If you know me, you know that I love any bread full of nooks and crannies.
Nooks and crannies = little pockets to hold butter!
When I got home, I was inspired to re-create my English muffin experience at home using the same recipe as my no-knead herb slab ciabatta, sans the herbs.
This recipe is just as easy as the ciabatta recipe…and there’s no need to even turn on your oven! I’ll show you how to make your own English muffins, full of nooks and crannies…
Ciabatta is basically the most perfect bread ever. Why? It has a crispy wispy crust, hearty chew and BIG air bubbles.
Why do I love the air bubbles? They are basically pockets to hold butter, mashed avocado spread…or whatever you love to slather onto your bread.
My herb slab ciabatta recipe has all of the characteristics of a great ciabatta loaf, the subtle flavor of rosemary and most importantly…it is SO EASY. There is no kneading required.
I know in a previous post, I said that I prefer Vietnamese iced coffees over pumpkin spice lattes. After a busy weekend, I had absent mindedly forgotten to pre-cold brew some coffee. I found myself sleepily scratching my head pondering what kind of me-time caffeine kick I could make myself instead. I don’t generally like to give into hype, but for some reason…I wanted a pumpkin spice latte.
The clouds have continued to hang low over my home town for the past few days, and I was craving a warm drink. I had no interest in getting dressed just to drink coffee. I wanted to drink coffee, while wearing my robe and slippers. I wanted coffee that only tasted like I had paid $7 for it, with real pumpkin.
Part of being a food blogger and writer is admitting when something went wrong. Today, I ate my last slice of last week’s 90 Minute Whole Wheat Bread. I am definitely on a whole wheat bread kick, and I knew I wanted to bake more.
I decided to modify the recipe for this week’s batch: no seeds, and no oats. I just wanted some sweet honey wheat bread. I will be seeing a lot of people this week, and I don’t want a smile full of flax and sunflower seeds.
This is not a health food blog. I love butter. I also love chocolate, as proven by yesterday’s post on how to create easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter candy. But to me, breakfast feels like a new beginning. It feels like the meal that will either send me into the day feeling energized and awake, grumpy and hungry, or heavy and sleepy. For me to feel good about a breakfast, I know it needs to have enough calories to make me feel full, have enough flavor for me to feel satisfied, and have few enough calories that I can still enjoy foods other than salads for lunch and dinner. My answer is to fill myself up on healthy fats and fiber at breakfast.
I realize that avocado toast isn’t a new thing to foodie folks who regularly skim through healthy eating Instagram photos, but I think that it’ll be a food trend that will stick around for a while.
The transition from summer to fall brings forth the sweetness of caramelized roasted root vegetables; the warm intoxicating scent of cinnamon; and indulgent, steamy, luxurious hot chocolate. Below are some anticipated food trends for this fall, because cold weather is a great excuse to stay in and cook.
Milk And Madeleines 