English Muffins!

There are good things and bad things about adapting to the food that's available in Switzerland.

Good things:

• The produce tastes really, really good.
• Less processed food = need to make more from scratch = better tasting and healthier
• Fewer preservatives = food doesn't last as long + longer distance from car to grocery store = more walking + better food and few processed snacks so not as much food = Laura and I have both lost more than 10 pounds since arriving in Switzerland

Bad things:

• More expensive
• Hard to know exactly what you're getting when products are labeled in only German/French/Italian (also means my grocery visits seem to run at least 2 hours)
• Missing some of our favorite foods. For Laura, this means Aunt Jemima syrup (seriously, Laura?) and English Muffins. 

In the US, Bays English Muffins were a breakfast staple for Laura. And, a fill-in for a missed dinner staple. And a random snack staple. It didn't seem like a big deal when we got here, but going on five months without them has been hard.

I tried making English Muffin bread in the bread machine. It was okay; it sort of collapsed and was therefore dense bread, and it turned moldy really fast. But, in any case, English Muffin bread just isn't the same as English Muffins. Yes, I know there are expat-focused groceries somewhere not too close to here, and they'd be sure to carry English Muffins, but I just haven't been able to work that one out.

But, last week, I stumbled across this blog recipe for English Muffins. And this weekend I decided to surprise Laura with some homemade English Muffins!

I have to admit, the recipe looked a bit daunting. Setting the batter aside for an hour and a half to let it rise. Scooping (free form!) onto the corn meal scattered griddle at "medium" heat (can you define that please?) and cooking for a variable amount of time? More details, please! When are they done? How is it that I won't be able to tell until 10 minutes after cooking? Well, this morning I decided to just dive in and try. 

Time for some photographic evidence.

First batch. Three have just been flipped and the rest are still on the first side.

Not too bad. The left one even looks sort of  like an English Muffin!

Half-way done and the first seven on the plate. I made the mistake of not drying them
on a rack at first so the ones touching the plate are soggy on the bottom.
(The big black box is our converter that drops the voltage down to 110V for our US-spec electric griddle.)

I have to say, they turned out pretty well! I made the first group too small, so they were quite thin and dropped down inside the toaster, but they tasted great! (Of course, that might be because we're five months removed from a taste comparison!)

So, what is one to do with fresh new English Muffins in Switzerland? Make Jared's favorite breakfast!

Mmmm, Eggs Benedict!

Happy wife!

Our kids don't like Eggs Benedict. But, it's amazing how  when you break it down
into the separate components, all of a sudden they love it....

Okay, obviously I told him to smile!

So, why did I find a recipe for English Muffins this week? Well, I was perusing Michael Ruhlman's cooking blog after he made quite a buzz for himself this week. I haven't tried this recipe, and I'll certainly not review with you my attempt, if any, to try it in the future, but I can tell you that I heartily endorse it. Bon appetit!