It’s been quiet at our bed & breakfast for several weeks during COVID-19. I miss the sounds and the aromas associated with breakfast, this first meal of the day. I miss the clinking of silverware on plates, the conversation and the discussion of plans for the day. I miss the laughter. When clearing the table, I miss the joy that comes from knowing my guests enjoyed their breakfast. I have missed my Kitchen Music.
Breakfast (breaking the fast), is a very thoughtful and well-planned meal each morning. Guests have already filled out their menus the night before. Ginny completes all the prep work required for the meal, and after slumbering and dreaming sweet dreams, our guests are ready to be served a full, cooked-to-order breakfast.
There is a rhythm and beat to waking up the kitchen first thing in the morning. The click of several light switches brightens the space. Opening the dishwasher door adds music with 3 little chimes. The electric oven has sweet sounds all its own as each touchpad is pressed. The coffee makers sing, hiss and steam before the aroma envelopes your senses. The gas oven puffs and begins to raise the temperature for baking. The refrigerator door has its own unique opening and closing sounds and often gurgles on humid mornings! The microwave beeps over and over to remind me that the maple syrup is warmed and the conversation between Howard and me is rhythmic as we work together!
All of this just makes me smile and I realize that this is my Kitchen Music. This is what I am so blessed to wake up to each morning.
If I listen carefully, my chickens are singing to me from their coop. They are so proud to have have laid their eggs and are delighted in letting us all know of their contributions!
Chopping the vegetables for omelets and then sautéing them is music too. Flipping the pancakes is the staccato as it is done quickly. The bacon sizzling in the oven begins to take over the kitchen with the aroma that only bacon can claim. Opening the oven door to check on the progress is more music as each strip pops and sizzles too! Even my 4-slot toaster has a sound all of it’s own, and the juice being poured into the glasses is a counterbalance to everything else.
By the time we are ready to serve the guests their breakfast plates, the kitchen suddenly becomes quiet…almost if the appliances know their jobs are done and they can shut down and rest for another day. The only evidence of the music remaining is the aroma of breakfast.
That is for you to imagine…so shut your eyes and listen for the music of your own kitchen as you prepare breakfast for those you love!
It is late June and we are in the season of fresh fruit from local orchards and an abundance of early vegetables and herbs from our own garden. I am delighted to share one of my most requested recipes with you….Blueberry Muffins.
FERNWOOD FARM BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3 tbsp. margarine or butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ buttermilk
2 c. blueberries (fresh during summer months; frozen in the winter months)
Cream butter and sugar. (I use a potato masher to cream butter and sugar together!) Add egg and beat. Add alternately dry ingredients with buttermilk. Mix well. Stir in blueberries.
I like to use my oversized muffin pan so this recipe will make 6 XL muffins. If making 6 XL muffins, bake for approx. 38 minutes.
If making 12 regular size muffins, bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes.
Enjoy!