By Andy Bedwell
Some of my favorite me-mories as a child were the weekend visits to my Grandmother Icy’s house. I would awaken to a sense of light coming from the kitchen. Then the smells and noises of pots and pans would draw me to the kitchen to spend some precious time alone with my grandmother before everyone else was awake.
I’d walk into a small, warm and steaming kitchen full of smells of bacon frying and coffee perking. Grandmother Icy would always ask me what I wanted for breakfast, and she would always fix me exactly what I wanted. You know how grandmothers do that. I could eat more in her kitchen than anywhere else! Grandmother Icy would already have her tea ready and leave it chilling in the refrigerator for her noon lunch. Looking back at those times in her kitchen, I realize that Grandmother Icy was actually feeding me love.
Breakfast Cinnamon Bread
½ cup chopped pecans
¾ cup water
¾ cup Crisco Oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 package yellow cake mix
1 small package
vanilla instant pudding
Lightly spray a Bundt pan with Pam and then dust with flour. Sprinkle pecans in bottom of prepared pan. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, oil, water, eggs and vanilla in a mixer. Pour one-half batter in Bundt pan. Sprinkle one-half filling evenly over batter. Pour remaining batter over filling and then sprinkle remaining filling over batter.
Filling:
½ cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Stir and set aside.
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla
Combine, mix well and spread over cake.
Andy’s Note: I love this coffee cake! It’s so easy and so good. This is fabulous with a cup of coffee in the morning or any time of day.
Marshmallow Surprise
1 package crescent rolls
Cinnamon and
sugar mixture
Large marshmallows
1 cup melted butter
Dip large marshmallows in melted butter, then roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place marshmallows in center of one crescent roll and then roll and seal. Dip in butter and place in muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and top with powdered sugar glaze.
Peach Muffins
1 ½ cups flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 (20 oz.) can peaches, drained and cut
(reserve ¼ cup juice)
2 eggs
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix dry ingredients; beat eggs. Mix eggs with can of peaches; add to dry ingredients. Add one-fourth cup peach juice, oil and vanilla. Mix and pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Andy’s Note: These are “delish!” The next time I make these, I am going to use fresh peaches. Can you just imagine how wonderful these would taste?
Keep cooking, and stay cool!
Happy Cooking, Andy Bedwell
“Southern Cooking with Andy Bedwell” can be purchased at Alabama Gift Company in downtown Gadsden and the Messenger on Rainbow Drive.