I think this is the last baking photo for a little bit. Maybe. Don't hold me to that. I found this recipe online on another blog, which now I can't find. It is slightly changed from that version. I believe it used half cake flour and half all purpose. I just didn't have cake flour on hand. Crumpets Slightly adapted from The Bread Book by Linda Collister & Anthony Blake Ingredients: (makes about 18) 3 2/3 cups flour ? teaspoon cream of tartar 1 envelope active dry yeast (I Tbsp) ? teaspoon sugar 2 ? cups warm water 1 ? teaspoons salt ? teaspoon baking soda 2/3 cup lukewarm milk Works best with a very flat griddle or frying pan 4-6 crumpet rings, about 3 ? inches diameter, greased. Instructions: Pour yeast, sugar and ? cup of the warm water into big bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1? cups warm water. Sift in flour and cream of tartar, and mix, beating vigorously for two minutes. (You can do it by hand, but it is easier with a mixer.) It will be a thick, smooth batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot until the batter doubles and bubbles start popping, about 1 hour. Add the salt and beat the batter for about 1 minute. Cover bowl again and let stand in a warm spot for 15 to 20 minutes, so the batter can “rest”. Dissolve the baking soda in the lukewarm milk. Then gently stir it into the batter. The batter will be a bit bubbly and not too thick or your crumpets will be “blind” -- without holes - so it is best to test one before cooking the whole batch. Heat very clean oiled griddle or flat bottomed frying pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes until very hot. Put a well-oiled (spray vegetable oil works great) crumpet ring on the griddle. Spoon or pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the ring. The amount of batter will depend on the size of your crumpet ring. As soon as the batter is poured into the ring, it should begin to form holes. If holes do not form, add a little more lukewarm water, a tablespoon at a time, to the batter in the bowl and try again. If the batter is too thin and runs out under the ring, gently work in a little more all-purpose flour and try again. Once the batter is the proper consistency, continue with the remaining batter, cooking the crumpets in batches, three to six at a time. As soon as the top surface is set and covered with holes, 7 to 8 minutes, the crumpet is ready to flip over. To flip the crumpet, remove the ring with a towel or tongs, then turn the crumpet carefully with a spatula. The top, cooked side should be well browned. Cook the second, holey side of the crumpet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale golden. The crumpet should be about ? inch thick. Remove the crumpet from the griddle. If the crumpets start sticking to the rings, re-oil for next batch. Serve right away with a drizzle of honey. Or freeze and toast later, topping with a bit of butter and honey. Notes: If you don't have crumpet rings, 1" deep all-metal cookie cutters will work fine. Or go to the grocery store and pick up short wide tins that can be cut open top and bottom. I found Dole Pineapple tins that were the perfect size. Tuna tins used to be perfect until they started making them with the seamless ripple bottoms that you can't cut off any more. In kitchen stores and catalogs, crumpet rings may also go under the name of egg rings, for shaping fried eggs.

Fried eggs with baked asparagus and a bacon and bread crumb dressing. Recipe: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tough end from four asparagus spears and place the spears in a baking dish. Drizzle the spears with olive oil and turn to completely coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake till tender (about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the asparagus) turning once or twice. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil. Fry two slices of bacon and chop into small pieces. In a small skillet melt a teaspoon of butter. Brown two tablespoons of Italian bread crumbs and stir in the bacon. Remove from heat. In another skillet, melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter at medium high heat. Spray two 4-inch egg rings with Pam and place in the skillet. Break one egg into each ring. Reduce heat to low, season the eggs with salt and pepper and cover the skillet. Cook till whites are set and yolks begin to firm around the edges. Remove from heat. Criscross the asparagus on a warm plate, Top with two eggs and scatter the bread & bacon dressing in a way that pleases you. Dust with grated Parmesan cheese if you wish. This breakfast was inspired by a similar recipe in Essentials of Breakfast & Brunch, a wonderful cookbook with beautiful photos, purchased at Williams-Sonoma. The cookbook used pancetta instead of bacon and offered a recipe for home-made bread crumbs. The stylist for the photo in the cookbook took liberties, using less of the "pancetta-bread crumb mixture" and at least two extra asparagus spears. That recipe uses only one egg per serving.