kitty companiona

kitty companiona

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Is It Safe Now???


Is it time to come out of hibernation?  Is it safe to stick my nose out the door without taking the chance of getting frostbite?  No more snow, RIGHT???

The lambs are out frolicking so I guess we humans should do likewise.
These sheep are in the front yard of a nearby Amish home.



Oh, how I love spring in PA!  The grass is so green and the fruit trees are in bloom.  Life is good once again.
After spending the whole month of March with a severe sinus infection and then adding an ear infection, I'm so grateful for warm weather and sunshine.  It is the cure-all for everything.

While I was sick, my creative endeavors took a sad turn to nothing.  I still haven't found a project to really get my juices flowing.  I became obsessively attached to my Kindle, an instrument with which I had a mediocre attachment to before.  Without being able to get out to the library once a week, the Kindle became my reading lifeline.  I have to confess that reading and eating are my drugs of choice.  Gee, they go so well together!  Ha-ha!  Now MANY pounds and many wasted hours later, I'm once again trying to kick both habits and get moving to something less sedentary.

On the subject of food, I made something I've always wanted to experiment with.  English muffins!  I found a cookbook (of course!) recently at the thrift shop.  There was an interesting recipe for English muffins that had yogurt in the dough.  Healthy, RIGHT???  Delicious?  YES!!!

The dough starts out looking like normal bread dough so I didn't take pictures of that part.  After the first rising, the dough gets rolled out to about 1/2 inch thick.  I used a 4-inch round cutter.



The rounds on a cornmeal dusted cookie sheet.  Ready for the griddle.



Cooking on the cast iron griddle.



The bottom is cooked and the muffins are flipped.  I tested for internal temperature with my insta-read thermometer.


Breakfast is ready!




I was really surprised how well they came out.  Better than Thomas' and almost as good as Wolfermans.  And really not that hard to make.

Last week a friend and I went to the PA Dutch market in Hagerstown, MD.  I've shown pictures of it before, but it's a wonderful place so next post I'll write about it again.  And I'll try not to let a month go by before writing again.  There will also be some green house visits in the near future.  Love those flowers!

Can't have a post without at least one kitty picture.  This is Deiter and Izzy doing Kitty Yin and Yang.
They're so Zen!

Thanks for stopping by!

10 comments:

  1. Good Morning Pat! Happy Spring to you! English muffins and eggs makes for a delicious breakfast... I did not know they were cooked in a cast iron skillet... Food, wool and threads are my "drugs of choice"... lol!

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  2. Hi Pat
    So glad to see your post and not so happy to know that you've had those infections. Anything to do with the face is usually so painful but hopefully you are okay now.
    I've never made English muffins would you believe but they look yummy, I'm just trying out some non wheat recipes that call for glycerine and gelatine, sounds odd doesn't it? but am going to give them a go.
    Kitties look healthy, and friendly which is more than I can say for our lot, they all seem to hate each other at the moment.
    Look forward to a lot more posts now.
    Keep well
    Briony
    x

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  3. Hi Pat! I admire your courage to venture out and I am hoping it stays safe there in PA.!! Raining here in WI and supposed to for the next four days.... some good wool dyeing weather for me. When I read you have been dealing with a sinus infection I thought we must be twins!! LOL!! I am in the middle of one right now... a doozy! The horse pill antibiotics are helping somewhat I guess!
    Seeing your English muffins made my mouth water and I have to say those eggs are done just the way I like them! Why oh why do we have to live so far apart!
    I love those Zen kitties... so good to see you are healthy and things are peaceful and ready for a beautiful Spring! Flower and greenhouse photos would be most welcomed!!
    Big Hugs!!
    Cathy G

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  4. Glad to see you post again, Pat! Hope you are on the mend and that Zip is well. Post flower photos when you get them!

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  5. so glad to see you out and about, hope by now all is well, and the looking forward to your green house visits! cute kitties, as always, grin!

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  6. Your breakfast is making me hungry. Looks delicious. I never buy English muffins but I love them. Yours are probably better but let's be honest ..... I'm never going to make them ;)

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  7. Hi Pat, wow, your grass sure looks green and inviting. We are so far behind here. We still have some snow in the shaded areas and the flood water is slowly receding but it's raining again so we just sit wait for nicer weather.

    I love English muffins.... I need to make some as I can't eat the bought ones as they have soy something in it. I have a recipe...
    What inner temperature does it have to reach to be ready? I have a similar thermometer. My recipe says to bring the griddle to 300 degree F.
    I'm anxious to try to make some.

    Hugs,
    JB

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    Replies
    1. Julia, bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees.
      The 300-degree griddle sounds right to me because if you use a very hot griddle the outside will burn before the interior has a chance to bake properly.
      I used a large domed lid to help stabilize the temperature and moisture while baking. Sorry I didn't show a picture of that.
      Hope your muffins turn out great.
      Can't wait to hear the results!

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  8. I hope you're feeling better! Not feeling well this time of the year isn't to good. I have to admit I've become attached to my tablet for reading to. I had a Kindle but gave it to my sister when I got my tablet. She tells me she doesn't know what she'll do if something happens to it. I think what I like is being able to change the font.
    Muffins look so good. I'm with you. Reading and eating go hand to hand.

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  9. Pat,
    Hope all your illnesses are behind you! So good to hear from you.
    Homemade English muffins sound divine, but like Kim, I will never make them.
    Look at the bright side...at least you were not watching soap operas instead of reading.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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