breakfast

Beds are Not Just for Sleeping!

64 Arts

It is the weekend and, if I have my druthers, I love to sleep in very late on weekend mornings. My world is just find and dandy if I do not see the a.m. side of noon on a Saturday without a good reason. Sundays, of course, I try to split the difference and be up by 10 so that I don’t feel I’ve wasted a day, but sleeping in on a Saturday is anything but a waste.

Consider…

What is there better to do but wake up, realize it’s rainy and dreary outside and curl up under the covers and read a good book start-to-finish with a cup of coffee or tea beside you? Sunny and warm? Close the shades and put on a disc of gentle rain sounds and pretend.

How wonderful it is to be surprised by breakfast in bed? If it’s noon, call it brunch. Even if you’re just fixing a bowl of cereal for yourself and bringing it back to the cozy spot.

Why not plan an picnic on evening for you and your sweetheart? Spread a throw on the bed, light some candles, play some soft music, and put together a spread of fresh fruit, cheeses, crackers and other small finger foods that you can eat with your fingers or feed to one another. Worried about glasses spilling? A tray table scooted up to the foot of the bed and draped with a cloth will keep messes to a minimum.

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This weekend I do plan on spending a fair amount of time in the kitchen working on recipes for the cookbook and participating in a cooking challenge (check out Nibbles on the 15th for the results of that, it has to stay very hush-hush til then).

How will you spend your weekend?

Blueberry Dumplings

Nibbles

It’s (technically) Fall now, and that means various group pot-lucks or company get-togethers will be starting, soon. Maybe it’s school fundraisers or church socials, but at some point you’re going to be asked or expected to bring something yummy to share somewhere. Even if it’s not expected, this is a quickly put-together dish that will delight your office, your civic group or just your family one nip-in-the-air morning.

Blueberry Dumplings
serves 16 (or less–depends on how hungry they are!)

1 c boiling water
1 c brown sugar
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, divided
2 cans crescent roll dough (the uncut sheets)
1/2 c granulated sugar
nutmeg
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 pint fresh blueberries (or 1 pkg frozen if not in season)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt one of the sticks of butter and then combine it with the boiling water and brown sugar in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Carefully spread out the crescent roll dough on a baking mat or lightly floured surface and sprinkle with the sugar and nutmeg. Spread half a can of pie filling and half the fresh or frozen blueberries onto each can of crescent dough, leaving about an inch clear on both of the long sides. Dot the top of the filling with bits of butter and then roll up the dough, jellyroll-style, sealing the roll with the inch of filling-free dough.

Slice the rolls into 1-inch sections and place each slice, cut side up, in the pan with the water-butter-sugar mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the tops of the dumplings are golden brown.

The sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan makes a delicious sauce for the rolled dumplings. While these are perfectly fine served at room temperature or even cold, they are best when piping hot, served with hot coffee or ice-cold milk.

I made these for a friend’s party, recently (it was a morning get-together) and they were a big hit with everyone who tried them.