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Friday, March 4, 2011

Who Knew???

Well, maybe those of you who really enjoy cooking and baking already knew...but for me it was one of those moments when a light bulb went off in my heard! I have been missing English muffins which are so readily available in any bread aisle in any grocery store in the States. But, you just can't find them anywhere here. I was talking to a friend of mine on the compound and she told me she had a recipe to make English muffins. At that moment I think the clouds opened up and the sun shown down on me with angels singing......... You can make English Muffins????? Holy cow, yes, you can make English muffins!!!!! ( FYI, most things you can have here if you can find or bring in the right ingredients...part of living in Nigeria is learning to make things from scratch. That was a hard transition for this girl who was used to making an entire dinner out of a box of something I could buy at a grocery store in Houston.)

So, she shared the recipe with me ,and as an added bonus...it turns out you can even make them semi healthy with ground flax seed and ground up oats ( which if you just grind them in the blender turn into oat flour......some may ask why not the food processor??? Guy decided we didn't need to bring it with us...so it is in storage in Houston. Anyway, a blender works great for this!)

I couldn't believe that we could make English Muffins!!!
Isn't it crazy the little things that can just make your day????

You didn't really think I made them, did you??? Yeah, if I tried, I probably would have burned the down the building. It was a good thing Happiness asked me if she was supposed to bake them in the oven or not...my immediate answer was"Yes." Then, she said, "It says something about a skillet in the recipe." I told her she needed to call my friend and find out.
Thank goodness we did call. As it turns out...you don't bake English Muffins...you fry them in the pan!!! ( Another reason I shouldn't make them myself...I would have just baked them in the oven...they're muffins right?:)) I am sure those of you who are avid cooks and bakers are just reading this post and thinking, " This girl is crazy getting so excited about this!" But, for me, these English muffins, are a little bit of "home" more of what I am used to, and it is comforting to have that when you are so far away from everyone.:) So, what can I say? I know how to bring home the recipes, and Happiness knows how to fry 'em up!!!:)
p.s. Just a side note...this is my 300th post!!!! I just want to say a special thank you to Carolanne for helping me get this blog thing started. And another thank you to everyone who takes the time to read it. It means alot to me to know that people take the time to see what is happening in our lives over here.:) I had no idea how much I would really enjoy it and get to share my experiences living overseas.:)

5 comments:

  1. Hi Meredith, Now that you know what a skillet is you can also have Happiness make crumpets (they freeze and can be warmed up in the toaster) and pikelets or drop scones (can be warmed up in the microwave). Pikelets are great snacks for the kids too - like mini pancakes - and banana pikelets are yummy. All work with what you can buy in Lagos. Should I get the recipes out for you? Love Angela

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  2. Hi Angela! I miss you! I would love the recipes from you! I'll never forget that you taught me how to make ricotta cheese.:) Elizabeth still eats it on her toast...or now, her english muffin for breakfast each day.:) Take care! love, meredith:)

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  3. happy 300th! Bring me some of those muffins...I can find any type of bread here except English muffins.

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  4. hiii first time to your blog. And i really like it!! Thank you for sharing your experiences with nigeria to the world like this. I just had one question though.. you can find Flax seeds in Nigeria?? really???

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  5. No, you really can't find Flax seed here...at least I haven't found it here yet....I brought them in with me from my last trip back to the U.S.:) My suitcases have often come into Nigeria full of food.:)

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