English Muffin Microwave Bread

Yes, this homemade bread takes just 30 minutes to rise AND is baked in the microwave. When I visited my cousin and his wife in Wisconsin, they gave me a frozen loaf to bring home to share with Geo ~ we loved it!

Here's the recipe:
3 cups flour, plus additional flour, up to 1-3/4 cup
2 packages active dry yeast (I used the fast-rising kind)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
cornmeal

Combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and soda. Heat milk and water to approximately 120 degrees.Add to dry mixture and beat well. (I did this by hand.) Add additional flour as needed and mix until batter is slightly stiff. Spoon into two glass loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle tops with more cornmeal.Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Then microwave each loaf for 7-1/2 minutes (no longer). Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing from pan. To serve, slice and toast. Each loaf yields 16 slices.

It's only 12 degrees out there today, and the warmest place in our home is in front of our gas stove. The bread is rising!

Waiting for the bread to rise is a good time for cleaning up.

While "baking" for 7 1/2 minutes in the microwave, the bread continues to rise.

Here's the first loaf, while the second one is in the microwave.

Store finished loaves in the refrigerator. They also freeze well. The bread slices best when cold, then just pop the slices into the toaster to heat and serve. I like mine with butter and a touch of honey. Geo likes his with blueberry jam. This recipe is definitely a winner!

Note: I posted this in 2013! and I've forgotten about it. Now I'll be making it again!

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Enjoy the bread!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and Dr. Henry Gates, Jr.

As one of the multicultural events sponsored by the University of Vermont, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was invited to be keynote speaker for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration.

Dr. Gates is a scholar, researcher, author, and professor with fifty-one honorary degrees from various universities. His presentation  to us was entertaining and highly informative.

He spoke on how his own personal interest in genealogy led him to pursue African American Studies, and he highlighted how the miniseries ROOTS contributed to the desire of many to have fuller knowledge of their own heritage .His interests led him to develop the PBS series African American Lives and, a second, Faces of America.

He noted how each of the celebrities, when confronted with their personal and previously unknown ancestry, had an emotional response, that this knowledge often surprised and truly resonated.

Dr. Gates then showed us his own ancestral tree, including photos, and spoke of what he learned about his own family.

Part of his talk included statistics of African American ancestry and names of countries and tribes of origination. He then spoke of the huge numbers of children who are underachieving in inner city schools and who have no real idea of their true heritage.Since it's been demonstrated that knowing one's heritage can mean so much, having a major impact on one's self awareness, then why not introduce discovering one's ancestry as curriculum for children? This is exactly what he is doing.

A new ancestry curriculum will be introduced as a pilot program in some schools. Children will be directed to interview parents and relatives about family history, do a "paper search," then obtain permission for their DNA search in a worldwide database. The objective is for children to discover their heritage and develop a strong sense of identity and self worth. Outgrowth of this may be a greater level of scholastic achievement with an involved study of history, geography, etc.

To be sure, I will be following Dr. Gates's endeavors.

Canadian Studies

Living less than one hour from the Canadian border, I'll admit I've known very little about this huge country to the north of us. So last Fall, I signed up for a Canadian History class at the University of Vermont. My biggest surprise ~ from this class I learned a lot about United States history. The development of each of the two countries cannot be considered in isolation from one another; their histories are dynamically interrelated. This semester finds me in a second Canadian Studies class, Canadian-American Relations.

Last semester our class was fortunate to take a field trip to Ottawa. This semester it looks like we may be heading to Montreal. And what's this I hear about "curling" as a nonprofit fundraiser? We'll have an opportunity to learn curling and actually take to the ice?? From the classroom, to Montreal, to the ice arena, this class promises to be quite an adventure!