Bagels

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching everyone is focused on appetizers, dinner and desserts. I think that breakfast gets over looked. Often we get up and start on dinner preparations and forget to eat. By mid-morning your starving! You need to take a few minutes to sit and fortify yourself with something before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Who doesn't love a bagel? I love them and so does my family. A dear friend invited me for breakfast and we had homemade bagels topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon and very thinly sliced onions, and they were delicious. I knew that my family would love these. With recipe in hand, I've been making them ever since. Bagels are easier to make than you think. Put some music on, brew a pot of tea and within an hour you'll have these done. I always make a double batch, cool, slice and freeze half for later in the week. Why not have a few minutes with your spouse, toast up some bagels, pour that coffee and enjoy some quiet time together before anyone else gets up and your days starts with the Thanksgiving preparations.

I wish you all a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving! 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  There is much to be joyful and thankful for. As your are preparing your dinner, be thankful for the income that provided the meal, as you set your table, thankful for the home you have, and thankful for each guest that arrives to share the day. For our loved ones that have passed, they are ever present that day. With the food we choose to serve, how we set the table and the wonderful memories we have of them. Our holiday traditions started with them.

Remember and give thanks to all the men & women serving to protect our freedom, and those working at the local missions to serve Thanksgiving dinner to many that would not have a meal elsewhere.

Homemade Bagels
4 cups bread flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 cups to 1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl. The dough should feel stiff. Adding extra water if it is too stiff or if you can't get all the flour incorporated.

Plop the dough onto the counter and knead for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough is uniform and smooth. Cut into 8 equal pieces and let rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Take each dough ball and poke a finger through the middle and swirl around your finger to form a bagel shape. Let rest for another 20 minutes.

Boil a large pot of water and add bagels three at a time. Do not crowd them. Boil for 1 minute and flip them over and boil for another minute. (One minute per side). Remove with slotted spoon to a cookie sheet and let dry for a few minutes.

Place bagels on an oiled cookie sheet dusted with corn meal. At this time, you can sprinkle poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt or dried onion flakes on top. Bake for 10 minutes on one side, turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes. Cool. If you are going to freeze them, slice them ahead of time and freeze in a ziploc bag.

Eat Well, Sonya

Apple Banana Bread

This is a favorite of my brother! I always seem to have a small stash of bananas in the freezer. Right next to the boneless skinless chicken thighs that I am in love with. I can't help myself, but every time I visit the grocery store, I pick up a package or two. We are apple fanatics and have a never ending bowl of them on the counter. Combining the two just seemed like the right thing to do. Dusting the top of the bread with broken sugar cubes tossed with cinnamon adds to the sweetness, along with some pockets of melted sugar.

The kitchen is filled with an amazing banana aroma while baking, and when the bread has cooled you slice into a surprise of little chunks of soft apples. 

I look forward to and enjoy each season that approaches as mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:2, a time to plant & a time to uproot. Our fall has produced an abundance of fruits and vegetables. With apples, pumpkins, squashes, root vegetables and late fall greens, the recipes are endless! I know that watermelon and berries are not a match for the fall weather, but come Spring, I will be getting excited for those fruits & vegetables that mark the beginning of that season. Let us be mindful of the season of life God has placed us in today and be thankful for his abundance and blessings that He daily gives us.

As you are walking through the vegetable aisle, listen, those rutabagas just might be calling out to you!

Apple Banana Bread-
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons sour cream
1 mashed banana
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large apple, peeled, cored & diced

Directions-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour a standard loaf pan.

Cream the butter and sugars together till light & fluffy, 3minutes. Add the eggs and mix well. Stir in the sour cream and the vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Gradually add this to the creamed mixture.

Gently fold in the apples. Spoon the mixture into your prepared pan. If you have them, take a handful of sugar cubes and a 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and place in a plastic sandwich bag. Gently crush the sugar cubes leaving some chunks. Sprinkle on top of the bread before baking. You can use two tablespoons of sugar instead of the cubes.

Bake for 1 hour, or until knife comes out clean when tested.

Cool, slice and enjoy!

Eat Well, Sonya