Blueberry Babies and a Fairy Tale

Good morning beloved breakfastpoppers. Today is Friday, October 28, in the year of our kingdom 2011. I have some good news to share with you and I also need your help. Our friend and neighbor Rip Van Twinkle just woke up from a deep sleep that overtook him many, many years ago. He fell asleep in the woods one day and spent a nice chunk of his life that way.

Let us prepare our morning repast and gather together in the woods. Rip is confused and more than a little distraught. We'll bring him breakfast and get him up to speed on what he has missed. This morning we will be baking some Blueberry Babies which are muffins with a silly name. You will need 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup milk, 1 stick of unsalted butter (8 Tbs.), 2 eggs and 1 cup fresh blueberries.

Pre-heat your hearth to 400 degrees. Test it with your finger. Butter your muffin tins and pour ice water over your finger. Now, in a medium size bowl, stir and toss together, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside and take another bowl and whisk together milk, butter and eggs. Add the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Add the blueberries.

Spoon mixture into muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Test for doneness with your trusty toothpick. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then remove babies from the tins. Wrap them up and come to the woods. Rip awaits our arrrival and he is looking for answers. Let's see if we can help.

"Thank you all so much for coming to my side. The last thing I remember is that the king was George Bush. Is he still king because from what I can tell everyone is still talking about him?"

No, Rip, King Bush is now retired and we have a new king. His name is Teleprompter. You hear King Bush's name bandied around because the new king likes to blame absolutely everything on the former king. He started doing that from the first minute he took over the castle. He has been there for three long, long years and he is still playing the blame game.

"The world seems to be in a tizzy now. Everywhere I look I see protests and violence. Please tell me what has happened."

Well, our kingdom was attacked by radical Muslim extremists in the most heinous of all ways. They flew planes into the Twin Towers and killed thousands of innocent men and women. Ever since we have been engaged in two wars and a constant battle to prevent other attacks. The protests you are witnessing now are part of an orchestrated movement to shake up our way of life. Many powerful forces are spurring the creation of other protests in other cities. The unions are fostering the uprising and the movement has the endorsement of the American Nazi Party, the American Communist Party, the leftist mainstream media and King Teleprompter. They are a very confused, disorganized group of disgruntled spoiled babies who seem to want to go after rich people and our system of government. I am loathe to report that there are supporters of this movement in Iran. Iran seeks to bring down capitalism and us with it, so they are quite enthusiastic about the turmoil in our kingdom.

"I am beginning to feel a bit dizzy. I don't understand how all this could have happened in such a short period of time. Why doesn't the king step forward and remind everyone that we are the greatest kingdom on earth and that we are a beacon of hope in an ever growing dangerous and complicated world?"

Well, Rip, to be perfectly honest, the king doesn't share your view of our kingdom. He came from out of nowhere to shake things up. He promised change and that is exactly what we are getting. The problem is the change he has brought is composed of endless apologies to the world for our behavior and a total disregard for our Constitution and our principles. We are in deep trouble financially and the king is fostering class warfare among us. This is a very sad time in our history. If we get a new king in 2012, we may be able to salvage our great kingdom.

" I am so sorry to learn of all this unrest. I can see now that there is so much more that you can tell me, but I don't think I can handle any more news at the moment. Thank you all and good night. Wake me when it's over...POP...

Rip Van Twinkle, Rip Van Twinkle

Sleep, sleep, sleep

He fell asleep in the woods one day

Spent many years of his life that way

He's up and about and filled with fear

He can't believe what is happening here

Rip Van Twinkle, Rip Van Twinkle

Sleep, sleep, sleep.