a brother and sister, an apple and an orange

A few months back, this precious photograph surfaced as I had grazed through a series of old images. Appropriate being that I am chomping down on an apple, I  just couldn't resist in incorporating my youngin' self with a blog post.

What I also found charming was the fact that my older orange-haired brother Jimmy, seen of course to the right, has a lil' schmutz skimmed down his striped shirt.

Life was simply sweet in our youngest years, cheers to us back then, being carefree lil' kids!

holiday brunch bites at the jukebox

Hands down, my favorite early day eats are from the Jukebox Cafe of Boyertown, Pa. Retro-styled, family owned-and-operated, and low maintenance, the breakfast-and-lunch-only eatery has become a staple in my small town obviously for its simple, yet quirky mid-morning munchies.

While they boost on everything breakfast, from the usual fresh fruit-topped waffles and multi-ingredient omelets, they also encourage every season's best by offering an constantly changing supplement to their already established menu.

For my favorite fall-and-winter time of the year, they embrace all things pumpkin and peppermint, and of course, promote additional turkey-themed meals. The Holiday Benedict, seen above, a rendition of the beloved eggs benedict, is sculpted on two toasty rounds of cornbread, layered with chunks of November's popular bird, and dosed with perfectly-prepared eggs and hollandaise.

The Pumpkin Bread French Toast, seen below, is similar to their wide assortment of fruit-themed stuffed crispy toasts, is crafted around bread loaves they are prepared daily within the establishment, and then smeared with a cream-cheese filling that, with the ideal blending of cream cheese, ricotta, vanilla and cinnamon, it is apparent that a pumpkiny breakfast has never shined as bright as this platter.

Other must-haves of the Jukebox include: Hot Apple French Toast, made with slices of the season's finest apples, coated with cinnamon and baked to perfection and the Crab Benedict, similar to the turkey, but loaded with an addictive serving of amazing soft-shell.

raisin-studded cinn-spins smothered in an apple cream cheese glaze

Honestly, I would rather have the real thing.

Real thing meaning, if I were to make cinnamon rolls, I would, without hesitation, prepare the dough myself. I would allow time for it to raise, knead the flour substance with my tough girl hands, and then, sprinkle and spin these bad boys into the best roll a bakery has ever had to offer.

But come on, sometimes you do not have time for that (my Mammy would be so disappointed). Instead, I devised a plan for anyone who's time-crunched, but still wants something similar to the real thing--in 25 minutes or less.

Cinn-Spins
Makes 20 mini-rolls

1 Pillsbury crescent roll tube
4 tablespoons of butter, or margarine, softened
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
4 teaspoons of granulated sugar
4 tablespoons of raisins

Unroll the crescents onto a greased baking sheet. Do not divide into the crescent triangles, but instead, keep the dough in four rectangles. Pinch the perforations together between the triangles to seal.

Spread a tablespoon of butter onto each square. In small bowl, combine cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle evenly over each square and then, plop each with raisins. Starting with the smaller end of the rectangle, roll up entirely and pinch edges to seal.

Slice each roll int0 five or six mini-rolls. Place the cut end down onto a slightly greased pie pan.

Bake for 16-20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool for about 10 minutes before glazing.

Apple Cream Cheese Glaze

2 tablespoons of apple juice
2 tablespoons of natural unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
4 oz. cream cheese

Bring apple juice, applesauce and 1/2 cup of sugar to boil. Let cool. Combine apple-sugar mix with cream cheese until smooth. Plop about a teaspoon of the glaze on top of each spin.