Last night’s Sunday at Seven theme was breakfast. Heck, if it is supposed to be the most important meal of the day why not have it twice!
Angela and Jeff as usual out did themselves with peas on toast by Jamie Oliver, an egg/cheese dish from Rachel Ray and even Bloody Marys. Maya and Tom brought delicious banana oat bars, which I’m going to have to get the recipe for so I can bring some when I climb Mt. Washington next month. Jackie added to the spread with some fresh raspberries.
I made muffins from a cookbook I picked up a couple years ago at the Five Gables Inn, one of the last 19th century summer hotels in the Boothbays. Mike Kennedy, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, and his wife De have created a wonderful atmosphere there with fireplaces to warm rooms on cool nights and plenty of comfy chairs overlooking a quiet cove where lobster boats tug at their moorings. The inn’s location and their hospitality are remembered as much as the homemade treats they enticed me with.
View from Five Gables Inn
Given the heat (no complaining here!) it seemed unimaginable to spend too much time in the kitchen yesterday so Mike’s muffin recipes gave me delectable treats I could whip up in no time. Last night sitting out on my deck under a gorgeous blue sky eating their muffins I felt very much in a Five Gables state of mind.
Cathy’s Maple Walnut Muffins (from Five Gables Inn cookbook)
Sift together:
1 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Mix together, then add the flour mixture and stir just until blended:
1/4 cup melted butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup (I prefer Maine Gold or Freyenhagen Farm), 2/3 cup milk, 1 egg beaten, 1/2 tsp vanilla (I prefer Sweetgrass Farm)
Topping: mix together:
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Fill 12 muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with the topping mixture and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
To use up the remainder of the strawberries I picked up at the farmers’ market last week I made Jan’s Strawberry Muffins, also from the Five Gables Inn cookbook (p. 61).
I served with Violet Jelly from Silverbrook Farm in Dartsmouth, MA.
Muffins from Five Gables Inn Cookbook
