Whole Wheat English Muffins

On this glorious spring day, I thought, what better way to celebrate the Royal nuptials then to make English muffins!! These are whole wheat with a honey flavour. They are really great fresh, or toasted with some butter or peanut butter. I also love them topped with scrambled eggs, garlicly sauteed spinach, and goat cheese.

Cheerio!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

~ makes 12 muffins ~

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 T active yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour, plus 1/4 cup for kneading
1 cup all purpose flour
1 t salt
1 cup 2% milk
3 T canola oil
2 T honey
1 egg
cornmeal

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let sit for ten minutes until frothy.

Combine flours and salt in bowl and set aside.

Warm milk over medium high heat until bubbles just start to form. Add honey and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.

Combine egg, water, yeast, oil, and half of the flour with the milk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and stir to combine.

Turn out onto board knead, adding more flour, one tablespoonful at a time, for several minutes, until it is no longer sticky.

Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise for at least one hour in a warm part of your kitchen, until it has roughly doubled in size.

When dough has risen, roll onto board which is dusted well with cornmeal, into a ½ inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds.

Fry in a skillet, which has been dusted with cornmeal, over medium heat, for 5-7 minutes per side, or until browned.

Bake in oven until sides are set and insides are soft but no longer gooey.

Let cool on a rack.

Split with a fork or with a knife, and enjoy!

This recipe is a combination of a few that I found on the site but is adapted, for the most part, from the website, recipetips.com.

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy

I want nothing more than comfort food on a Monday. Bangers and Mash is traditional English comfort food at it's best! I had purchased four gorgeous goat and pork sausages during my goat dairy discovery on Friday of last week and I was thinking about a yummy prep for them when, on Sunday, I was brought 4 equally beautiful chicken sausages from Cumbrae's Toronto butcher shop, my souvenir from a family member's weekend jaunt to the city! I thought, why not combine the two and make bangers and mash? Bliss on a weeknight!

Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy
~serves 4~

1 large onion or 2 regular sized onions, chopped into small rings
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
handful of thyme
1 Large can Guinness
1 cup beef/lamb stock
8 sausages
1/3 cup low fat sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Mash:
6-8 red skin potatoes, chopped roughly
2 T butter
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and olive oil over medium low heat in a large, heavy bottomed frying pan. Add onions, season well with salt and pepper. Saute over low heat for 40 minutes or until onions have slowly caramelized and are golden brown. Add thyme and mix well. Poke small holes in the sausage and add to pan. Add beer and stock, stir to cover sausages. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until sausages have cooked through and gravy has reduced to a thickened sauce.

Cover potatoes with cold water. Add about 2 T salt to water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes). Drain potatoes. Heat milk, butter and bay leaf over medium high heat until almost at a boil. Remove bay leaf and pour over dry potatoes. Mash to preferred consistency. Season to preference with salt and pepper.

Enjoy with your favourite ice cold pint!