Hot Cross Buns: At the feast of Eostre, the Saxon fertility Goddess, an ox was sacrificed. The ox's horns became a symbol for the feast. They were carved into the ritual bread. Thus originated "hot cross buns". The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means "sacred ox." Later, the symbol of a symmetrical cross was used to decorate the buns; the cross represent the moon, the heavenly body associated with the Goddess, and its four quarters.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns are traditionally served on Good Friday (the Friday before Easter)and during the Lenten season, but they are good anytime. This recipe will make 2 1/2 dozen buns.

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup softened butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup dried currents

1/2 cup raisins

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2 Tablespoons water

1 egg yolk

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Have the water and milk at 110-115 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition. Stir in the dried fruit and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn over to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Punch the dough down and shape into 30 balls.

Punch the dough down and shape into 30 balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross (or X) on the top of each roll. Cover again and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes). Beat the water and egg yolk together and brush over the rolls. Bake at 375-degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Drizzle icing over the top of each roll following the lines of the cut cross.

ICING: Combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 4 teaspoons milk or cream, a dash of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. Adjust sugar and milk to make a mixture which flows easily.

 

 

 

 

                

This music...Little Feat is whats up for tonight...I just found this group at Youtube but let me tell you...it's had me rockin' in the kitchen all mornin'....they are hot...I know they must go back to the stoneage but hey..I been away....I hope everyone has a nice Easter....I'm doin' as best as can be expected...no complaints...today is my big day off and all I want is a book and my bed...cup o coffee...was a "hard days night" to be sure...I should have thought and put a picture in here...but wasn't thinkin' to tell the truth...I'll grab one later and put in...but this music stays...I love up-beat music...mood swing...only what it really is is "mood pitch"...I'm gonna pitch it up til it stays on it's own....so I'm dancein' in the kitchen to "Dixie Chicken" ...you all have a good one...I'm outta here Cracker

This is one of the fountains in Kansas City on the Country Club Plaza...

OH HELL YEAH!!!

Ive seen the bright lights of Memphis
And the Commodore Hotel
And underneath a street lamp, i met a southern belle
Oh she took me to the river, where she cast her spell
And in that southern moonlight, she sang this song so well

If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland

We made all the hotspots, my money flowed like wine
Then the low-down southern whiskey, yea, began to fog my mind
And i dont remember church bells, or the money i put down
On the white picket fence and boardwalk
On the house at the end of town
Oh but boy do i remember the strain of her refrain
And the nights we spent together
And the way she called my name

If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland

Many years since she ran away
Yes that guitar player sure could play
She always liked to sing along
She always handy with a song
But then one night at the lobby of the Commodore Hotel
I chanced to meet a bartender who said he knew her well
And as he handed me a drink he began to hum a song
And all the boys there, at the bar, began to sing along

If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland, Down in Dixieland

Somewhere there waiteth in this world of ours
For one lone soul another lonely soul
Each choosing each through all the weary hours
And meeting strangely at one sudden goal.
The blend they, like green leaves with golden flowers,
Into one beautiful and perfect whole;
And life's long night is ended, and the way
Lies open onward to eternal day.

~Edwin Arnold