Why I hate May...

First, May is when the Cottonwood trees release their noxious white poison and I spend the month in allergy agony.

Second, it heralds the end of the school year. The end of the school year means a major change in the household schedule. If any of you know me well, you know my fondness for change. It makes me crabby and irritable. Oh that consistency could be my constant companion.

Third, May is also when my body decides to act like I have low blood sugar. I don't. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I did. Then at least I would know why I'm feeling the way I do. The doctors don't have a clue. My sugar levels are fine. My thyroid is fine. My iron levels are fine. My everything is fine. If everything is fine why do I feel like poop on a stick? And why does this mystery ailment rear its ugly head mid spring??? Why I ask you? Why?!!!

If I'm very careful and watch what I eat and drink. Things aren't so bad. That's the kicker...remembering that I gotta do that. I can't eat a big breakfast and expect to not feel awful by lunch. I have to eat a small breakfast and a larger snack and a small lunch and possibly a snack before dinner.

So I sat down with Mrblocko and thought of some new meal ideas. One of them was peanut butter on toast for a snack. Then the other day I thought, I bet that would be even more tasty on an English muffin.
Yes, I made those rounds of deliciousness myself. I found this particular recipe for English Muffins at Tasty Kitchen. They turned out pretty awesome for my first attempt.

I made only a few minor mistakes. When I separated the dough for the second rise I left the dough in balls. I should have flattened them out into disks. The muffins were a bit on the small side because I didn't understand that part of the recipe.

You can see 2 muffins at the top of the photo that are a bit darker than the others. I screwed up and overcooked the first batch on the griddle. That was a easily remedied situation. The next batch I watched them carefully and made sure not to space out at the stove!

These muffins even survived the freezer test. I stuck two in the freezer to see how they would taste defrosted, and they were just as nummy. Even Blockette gave them the thumbs up. She's asking me when I'm going to make some more. Guess I better get on that while the weather is still cold and dreary.

English Muffins from Tasty Kitchen
1 1/2 t dry active yeast
1 c warm water
1 3/4 c flour
1 T butter
1 T sugar
1 T salt
1/4 c cornmeal
oil to coat pan

Place yeast and warm water in bowl of mixer. Stir to dissolve. Let stand til foamy. Add flour, butter, sugar and slat to yeast. Mix ingredients til well blended. Turn dough out on floured surface. Knead 5 min til smooth. Shape dough into ball. Place in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place til doubled, 2 hrs. Fold dough gently over on itself in 3-4 places. Turn dough on lightly floured surface. Dived dough in 12 pieces. Shape into rounds. Place on pan dusted with cornmeal. Turn each muffin over to coat both sides with cornmeal. Cover. Let rise til risen slightly. 10 min. Preheat griddle over med. Brush lightly with old/shortening. Cook muffins til light brown, 5 min. Split by pulling apart with fork. Toast just before serving.