SO LONG, LEX.
We are leaving Lexington today and heading to Louisville for the weekend. Louisville is one of our favorite cities, and we are excited to visit with friends (old and new!), eat lots of amazing food, hopefully trying some new places but probably ending up at our old faithfuls.But of course, before we left we had to visit Spalding's Bakery. It was literally the only thing on our list that was an absolute must. Spalding's was a tradition in my house growing up, and I happily shared it with Jesse once we were married. Although I don't eat much of them anymore, I would consider myself a donut connoisseur - and Spalding's donuts are the best donuts. Definitively. There is nothing like them.If you live even remotely anywhere near Kentucky, it is worth your time. Seriously! Spalding's isn't a hip coffee shop selling cronuts, it is a bakery that sells only regular glazed donuts since 1929. It is perfect. OBVIOUSLY not a part of a balanced nutritious breakfast, but a very occasional treat? Yes, please.
*We did NOT eat all dozen of these. We could have, but we didn't.*
DIY DONUTS (sort of)
As I have written about before, I have a serious sweet tooth. When we are on the farm, out in the middle of nowhere, it is not really a problem. We only have honey - so most of my sweet baking experiments remain relatively healthy. But in the city - not only can I go to the store for a cup of sugar whenever I want, but there are so many adorable little shops and cafes with muffins and cupcakes and gelato and donuts - it is terribly tempting....and all within walking distance. So, when I get a craving for something sweet, instead of heading to the bakery - I have been forcing myself to either do without or make it myself. Cooking your own food - be it your dinner or your dessert - means that you are directly in contact with your ingredients. Just as cooking your own meat forces you to realize that it actually used to be an animal, watching yourself pour three cups of sugar and a stick of butter into a mixing bowl might make you rethink your chocolate chip cookies.But you guys....I really love donuts. One of my favorite memories of my life in Nashville during college was going to Fox's Donut Den, a little shop down the street with bad coffee and wonderful cake donuts. Many a late-night study session were fueled by those donuts. So, to keep me away from Fox's, I decided to make my own. Now, I am using the term 'donut' here very loosely - these are essentially honey cinnamon muffins. But trust me when I say, they are delicious and donut-like in flavor. PLUS - they are cheap (that's a very important quality around this household). No fancy ingredients that we didn't already have.Here's the recipe in case you find yourself in a similar state of craving. They are very simple, and would make a special treat for Christmas morning!For the DOUGH:
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup oil (I would recommend lard. Obviously. But I used olive oil, because we had a vegetarian in the house and it worked very well.)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup milk
For the COATING:
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Combine your flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in one bowl - and mix your oil, egg, honey and milk in another. Slowly add your dry ingredients into the wet and stir just enough to mix. Bake in a greased muffin pan for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.While the muffins are baking, set up an assembly line: the melted butter in one bowl, and the sugar and cinnamon (mixed together) in another.When the muffins are done, shake them out of the muffin pan while they are still warm. First, dip each muffin into the butter, and then roll it around in the cinnamon sugar mixture, tapping off the excess.And there you go! Pretty little honey cinnamon donut holes - no deep-frying or corn syrup required!- Hannah.
Recipe adapted from here.
RAISED BEDS AND DOG PARKS.
This week has been a quiet one, minus the many sleepless nights as we try to train little Wendell. Before the crazy storms yesterday, we had amazing spring weather, and Jesse started building a raised bed for my mom to start a garden. We took several trips to the dog park, in an effort to socialize the puppy as early as possible. This consistently translated to Wendell ignoring all other dogs, chasing every human, hiding under the table, and sleeping. Oh well. The tornado put a halt on our plan to finalize our farm situation, but we are heading out this morning to have a meeting and figure some stuff out. So stay tuned! And in the meantime, here are some pictures of Jesse constructing and 5209093 pictures of Wendell being cute.- Hannah.
NEW YORK CITY (PART II)
That's all of the New York stuff....we are very much back to reality now. Stay tuned (probably later today) for a BIG introduction! We can't wait to share!- Hannah.