The Heartfelts are finally back in Heartdale Falls and Yello Hoodie Boy has started a new
school year (groan!). So far, it has been more of an uphill struggle than expected, but hope ( and help)
comes in somewhat unexpected ways. Let's follow...................
Follow the upcoming story of Yello
and his new friend Rolo..................
O.K. Enough talk......It's time to bake. Red has chosen Jimmy's Original Recipe , after all, they are at Squam Lake and they have picked Jimmy's blueberries. Red knows that baking is serious business, that there's an order to how things should be done, not just throwing something on the grill. That immediately puts Daddy B.B. out of his comfort zone. On the other hand they have given Yello the responsibility of 'pureeing' the blueberries. He's definitely in his comfort zone!
Working together
makes things
come together.
Tip One: 'Smash half cup of blueberries and mix with the batter.
Tip Two: Sprinkle course sugar over the batter once the cups are filled.
Tip Three: For larger ( therefore more yummy) use a muffin tin for nine ( instead of twelve).
The Original Morrus Muffin re-born.
The End
Part 6
The next morning the Heartfelts awoke to a new day and a fridge full of blueberries. Red hadn't slept all that well because she kept thinking. " Why did Jimmy plant so many blueberry bushes?" She figured that Margaret would need a lot for her pies, but how many could she use?
The recipe from Jordon Marsh didn't state what kind of blueberries, just blueberries.
This must be it, Red thought, Jimmy was using only hi-bush blueberries from around Squam Lake! Maybe it had something to do with the moisture from the lake, the south facing slope or what some say is ancient volcanic soil. Whatever it is, it produces the sweetest berries. Jimmy must have planted so many bushes so that future generations would be able to enjoy these blueberries.
Being an honest guy, Jimmy had tried to explain this to Freddy. But Freddy dismissed him saying,"Look kid, I'm a business man. I get my blueberries from who ever is cheapest, Maine, Canada or Pluto..... I don't care.....Blueberries is Blueberries."
Red had figured out the Muffin Man's Secret, now it's time to put all that fruit to good use!.Clear the decks, there is baking to be done!
To Be Continued............
P.S. Join us next time for the exciting conclusion of the Muffin Man's Secret!
PART 5 : PICK YOUR OWN
After 2 years well spent working for Freddy in Boston, Jimmy finally returned home to Moultonborough. It was good to be home. He immediately took some of his savings and bought that parcel of land at the end of High Haith. He built a fine house and married his High School sweetheart, Margaret. Together they had a daughter named Julie. He then began to fulfill his dream.
One day Jimmy showed up with a couple of pots of High Bush Blueberry plants, then more and more. He then started planting them in neat rows along side the lake. " Well, that's what city livin' will do to you!" fumed the locals, but that didn't bother Jimmy, he knew what he was doing.
Although he had pledged never to bake Blueberry Muffins again, that didn't mean that Margaret couldn't do whatever she wanted to. She was no slouch in the kitchen and pretty soon she was baking her favorite pie, Blueberry. You know.... people would come for miles around just to buy one of her pies, there was something special about them. They eventually started the Country Store so folks wouldn't have to go all the way to Meredith for their shopping. She could also sell her pies at the store. You see, Jimmy was Ed's grandfather and Margaret his grandmother.
Ed took a shine to Red's curiosity so he gave her an old photo of the Pick Your Own sign that Jimmy had painted to indicate which field was ready. Jimmy never charged anyone for the blueberries, it just wasn't his way.
Pretty soon the Heartfelts were picking all the blueberries that they wanted. Jams, pies and of course muffins were being planned.
At the end of a long day working in the fields it sure is nice to come home and 'Take a Dip.' Tomorrow will be a busy day.
To Be Continued..............
PART 3......BUSINESS AS USUAL
Ed was staring at the photo what seemed forever, he was lost in another time. Finally, he looked up and said............
"The girlfriend was a famous opera singer, Molly Tearsheet, the man was Freddy Marsh of Boston department store fame, they had stumbled upon something good and they knew it. Well, a couple of weeks later, Freddy show up accompanied by a fancy, high priced lawyer from Boston.
"Look kid,' Freddy said, "I think you got something special here and I can use it. Filenes has been a thorn in my side long enough. I need a gimmick and it's right here. We will put an exclusive on these muffins and set up a bakery in every one of my stores. People may come in for muffins but they will leave with some of my merchandise. But it's gotta be ours and it's important that the recipe be top secret! For you that means no more baking muffins! Don't worry we will make it worth your while, there's Big Bucks here for everybody."
The lawyer handed Jimmy the contract, "Just sign it and we'll be in business" said Freddy. Jimmy looked at the contract, thought of his mom and dad and signed it. .....But what about the fine print ?
......To Be Continued.................
It was suggested that Red take the photo of 'The Muffin Man' to the Country Store and show it to Ed. Ed's family has owned that store for generations and if anybody would know who the man in the picture was it would be Ed.
"Yes," said Ed when he was shown the photo. " That's Jimmy Morrus many years ago. Jimmy was a big name around here, he and his family owned the bakery in town."
" People would come from miles around just to buy his muffins. Remember, money was scarce during those days and heck, you didn't have the money he would just give you the muffins. You could always pay later."
Ed continued, "There was always something special about his muffins....almost magical...they sparkled."
"Then one day, a big black touring car with Massachusetts plates arrived. It seems that there was some engine trouble and they were forced to pull off the highway. Out stepped a rather large man with a fancy suit and a huge cigar. He bought a box of Blueberry Muffins for his 'girlfriend' waiting in the car.....
-To Be Continued..............
The Heartfelt's had the opportunity to spend a short vacation on New Hampshire's Squam Lake, otherwise known as 'Golden Pond'
It was evening on the lake and Daddy B.B. was enjoying his new assignment as 'Head Chef' when Red noticed something unusual.....
While leafing through an old photo album found on the bookshelf she came across a picture of a smiling, rather proud young man, holding what appeared to be a tin of freshly baked muffins. She wondered who was he?
She removed the photo from the album, turned it over and written on the back ever so faintly was a recipe for ' Morrus Muffins'. That's strange, she wondered, it's almost the same recipe for 'Marshy Muffins' posted on the fridge. Could there be a connection?
TO BE CONTINUED........................................
