Boring donuts need not apply

I wanted something fast with punches of flavor for a spur-of-the-moment breakfast this morning. Toasted mini-bagels with a trio of homemade cream-cheese spreads — smoked salmon, fresh herb and honey with toasted walnuts — fit the bill.

Loaded with fiber, my Bottom-of-the-Cereal Box Muffins, made with dried apricots, rounded out the menu.

You can find the recipe in this week's Table Scraps newspaper column.

How's that for an early morning tryst?

Mexican wedding cakes or whatever

These hand-formed, shortbread-like, buttery cookies go by many names: Russian Tea Cakes, Sandies, Bride's Cakes, Snowdrop, Snowball, Italian Butter Nut, and Viennese Sugar Balls. Whatever you call them, I made a batch yesterday.

Traditionally made with toasted pecans, my recipe included toasted walnuts and grated orange peel. Dusted with powdered sugar, the cookies had a nutty and citrus flavor, and their festive appearance whispered the holidays.

One bite, and the delicate cakes had me rethinking my plan to make them for a luncheon today. Even though they use relatively few ingredients, these sinfully rich cookies required too much cookie-by-cookie attention, and they are very fragile.

I needed nine dozen, so I decided to make something else and take this batch to work in the morning.

How did these biscuit-like cookies ever get the name Mexican wedding cakes? For centuries, they were crumbled over the heads of bridal couples much as we now shower happy newlyweds with rice.

Peel or No Peel?

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a potato.

Nine times out of 10, I leave the peels on my potatoes, especially for potato salad. But next time I may reconsider, just so I can try this technique.

Dawn Wells looks great for her age, doesn't she? I always liked her better than Ginger.

Growing pains

... are a good problem to have these days.

My Mother's Garden online market has outgrown its old produce pick-up location in the Sun City Center Plaza and has packed up its peach baskets and moved. Now you can get your straight-from-the-field produce, organic herbs or farm fresh eggs at the southwest corner of State Road 674 and U.S. 301. The table is located at the edge of the parking lot at the Copper Penny Restaurant in Sun City Center.

With the additional space, co-owner Susan Bishop now carries loose produce, like these beautiful Florida lemons, avocados and pickling cukes for purchase on site, even if you forgot or didn't place an order online.

To learn more about My Mother's Garden, visit: www.mymothersgarden.locallygrown.net/

Hours:

Friday: 1 - 5 pm

Old fashioned meat market

There was a butcher's shop we used to go to as a kid in Minnesota that was called the Osseo Meat Market, an old-fashioned place to get custom-cut meats. On Saturdays, we'd come home with a brown bag filled with small parcels, all labeled and wrapped in white paper.

Long gone are the days when every neighborhood has its own version of "Osseo Meat Market" — the place that knows customers' names and how to personalize their orders. These family-run shops are harder and harder to find.

When I first learned about Apollo Meats, I decided to stop in and give it a try.

I always receive the same, top-notch service experience there and have become a huge fan. If I need chicken cut into strips, the owners do it for me; if I don't know how to cook something, they give me suggestions; and if I need rock shrimp or something else they don't carry regularly, they order them for me.

The newest menu item in the meat case is black angus pepper sausage. It's made on the premises, with no preservatives. I can't wait to fix it!

Apollo Meats

226 Apollo Beach Blvd.

Apollo Beach, FL 33572

(813) 645-2379.