Introduction
Lock the windows and bar the doors--Bob’s Uncle Eric
is coming to town! In fact he’s just sent a telegram inviting himself to spend a
night in the honeymoon cottage, and Bettina is at her wit’s end.
“He’s a queer old fellow,” Bob muses, but Bettina
quickly rallies and plans an assortment of possible breakfasts for the
crusty old bachelor who “draws the line at cereals!”
Part 1
Seven sample breakfasts are listed in this chapter
but, as members of my family have only one stomach, I prepared them over
consecutive days. Fortunately most were simple, but I did discover a surprise
or two amongst the menus!
Breakfast #1
Cantaloupe
French
Toast
Maple
Syrup
Broiled
Bacon
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Cantaloupe
Happily the book says nothing about the cantaloupe
being iced, and that’s something to be thankful for (icy cold breakfast foods
do NOT go over well in our damp coastal climate).
French
Toast
Bettina’s recipe for French toast seems unusual to
me…the bread is to be dipped in a mixture of egg and milk (not first in the
milk and then in the egg, as I have always done).
Stale
bread cut into slices. That’s simple enough.
Beating
the eggs and then adding the milk.
Dunking
the bread slices in the egg/milk combo.
I
know Bettina couldn’t conceive of a non-stick skillet, but that’s what I’m
using to fry the bread (anything is better than my heat-warped griddle).
Broiled
Bacon
Also something new to me…bacon cooked under a broiler?
Bacon is a weekend staple around our house, but I’ve never cooked it any way
but fried in a skillet…
A
cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and then a layer of bacon. Now all I
have to do is slide this rig under the broiler element (and turn off the smoke
alarm!)
Well,
the parchment paper’s getting nice and toasty!
It
looks perfect…I’m truly amazed.
Coffee
Another
weekend staple, so my trusty percolator is up for the challenge.
How It Looked
Breakfast #2
Fresh
Pears
Creamed
Beef on Toast
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Fresh
Pears
Yes, the pears were absolutely fresh when I purchased
but unfortunately hard as stones too. Luckily I have a few days to hasten the
ripening process.
The
paper bag treatment (never fails).
Creamed
Beef on Toast
I’ve made creamed beef once before, and the saltiness
of the dish almost shriveled our tongues
This time around I know to pre-soak the slices to get
rid of much of the salt as possible.
\
The
now salt-free (I hope) beef ‘frizzling’ (as Bob describes it) in a skillet of
melted butter.
Adding
seasoned flour and letting it brown for a bit.
Milk
to form a sort of sauce.
And
then simply pour the beef mixture over some toast.
Coffee
The
one sure item on the breakfast menu. I know it’s possible to serve up a bad cup
of coffee, but so far I (or rather, we)
have been lucky!
How It Looked
Breakfast #3
Cantaloupe
Sweet
Milk Griddle Cakes
Syrup
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Cantaloupe
(In my mind’s ear I can already hear the troop’s
comments: Cantaloupe again?) Well, at
least it’s in season!
Sweet
Milk Griddle Cakes
Same
ingredients as pancakes…in fact, I can’t really see any difference.
Corrction:
the batter for griddle cakes is much thicker than that of pancakes.
The
batter spooned onto my poor (warped) griddle. I’m not sure whether I’m supposed
to flatten the cakes out or not…
No
need…they deflated all by themselves.
Coffee
\
For
a change I decided to follow Bettina’s percolator-less coffee recipe. I’d
forgotten how complicated it was…
Two
lots of boiling water: one for scalding out the pot and the other for brewing
the coffee.
I’d
forgotten too that this recipe requires egg white (apparently to bind the
flakes of powdered coffee together).
How It Looked
Breakfast #4
Baked
Apples
Broiled
Ham
Graham
Muffins
Coffee
Preparing the Food
Baked
Apples
I
chose Honey Crisps for this recipe—generally they’re a little more expensive,
but my son likes them and happily they were on sale.
I’ve
certainly developed a knack for coring these things!
Each
apple has been stuffed with sugar, cinnamon, and a dab of butter…but I’m
concerned. Isn’t everything going to run out the bottom of the apples and into
the water when I add it to the pot?
Unfortunately
yes—after thirty minutes in the oven I have half-cooked apples swimming in a
heavy sugar syrup. Great. What would Uncle Eric say?
Broiled
Ham
The
only uncooked ham I could find at the supermarket were these shanks—and dealing
with that bone running through the center is going to be something of a
challenge.
Fortunately
after some sawing and hacking with a heavy-duty knife I was able to obtain some
reasonably serviceable (I think) slices. Guess we’ll see…
Although
I hate hate hate using my broiler I really have no choice here—but at least I
didn’t set off the smoke alarm this time. 😊
I
used a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat. Ham
is supposed to be cooked to a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, so there’s no
question that these slices are done.
Graham
Muffins
To
make these muffins I had to sour some milk with a tablespoon of vinegar.
Thankfully
the whole wheat flour is to be lightened by some white—otherwise I’d have a
crumbly mess on my hands.
Despite
the presence of white flour this is a very thick, lumpy dough.
Ready
to bake (judging from the weight of the muffin tin I don’t expect these muffins
to be exactly delicate—definitely not tea party fodder).
Done.
Coffee
Coffee
Bettina-style (made in a pot rather than a percolator). No cup of coffee is worth all this fuss.
How It Looked
Breakfast #5
Fresh
Plums
Codfish
Balls
Twin
Mountain Muffins
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Fresh
Plums
These were more or less in season, but for some reason they were still very hard.
Codfish
Balls
I
used dried salted cod for this—and what a lot of salt there is! (smells awful
too).
Some
serious pre-soaking is in order here—at least 48 hours’ worth, with multiple
changes of water.
The
cod after soaking—salt-free, odor-free, and (alas) taste-free as well.
Shredding
the cod.
The
cod and the potatoes are to be boiled together.
Mashing
the now-cooked potatoes and cod.
Butter,
egg, and seasoning added.
I
shaped these into patties rather than balls as I didn’t want to deep fry them.
But both kinds are to be coated with cracker crumbs.
Definitely
not a dish recommended by Weight Watchers!
Twin
Mountain Muffins
Ingredients
for the muffins. I’ve made these before, and they seem pretty reliable.
Of
course the dry ingredients have to be sifted *heavy sigh*.
Beating
the egg.
Believe
it or not the dough is already bubbling (probably from the FOUR teaspoons of
baking powder the recipe calls for).
For
some reason the melted butter is mixed in last—not sure why.
Coffee
To
be made in the percolator—after fussing with that smelly cod I want to make
things as easy on myself as possible!
How It Looked
Breakfast #6
Cantaloupe
Waffles
Syrup
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Cantaloupe
Once
again the Orange One is making an appearance at the table. I like cantaloupe,
but please!
Waffles
Fortunately
I was able to find an old-style (read: not Belgian) waffle iron at a thrift
store.
Same
ingredients as in pancakes.
But
of course the flour must be sifted.
Certainly
this cooking spray isn’t Bettina-approved, but without it the waffles will
stick.
Now simply spoon
in the batter…
…and
close the lid.
Voila!
Waffles!
(oddly shaped, but waffles just the same).
Coffee
And
of course the beverage of choice is coffee (perhaps why Uncle Eric’s demeanor
is so crusty?)
Spooning
the coffee into the basket.
Snapping
on the lid.
And
away we go!
How It Looked
Breakfast #7
Orange
juice
Poached
Eggs
French
Toast
Syrup
Coffee
Preparing the Meal
Orange
juice
I
suppose for the sake of authenticity I should squeeze the oranges myself, but
I’m too lazy…this commercial stuff will have to do.
Poached
eggs
My
egg poacher (which I actually use pretty often).
The
eggs—and for once I didn’t break the yolks! 😊
Picture
perfect.
French
Toast
Made
as usual from a half loaf of very stale French bread.
Eggs,
milk, and sugar.
My
trusty non-stick skillet (I’ve pretty much given up on my ancient griddle—definitely
past retirement age).
Dipping
the bread in the egg/milk mixture.
For
some reason the bread got soggy incredibly quickly. But at least I was able to
get the slices into the skillet without them breaking up completely.
Despite
a rocky start these came out well. Uncle Eric would be so pleased!
Coffee
Once
again to be made in the percolator (it’s just so simple to use).
Putting
the pot directly on the table, so everyone can pour their own.
How It Looked
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