Butterfly detail from a pen and ink drawing, "Metamorphosis."

SquareSpace, the software I use to publish this blog, just rolled out a huge upgrade today and they are still fixing some glitches.  Bear with us a few days as we all adjust!

On a recent trip to Georgia I discovered the “Found Objects Transfigured” exhibit in the Atlanta airport. From the brochure:

“Pioneer women used leftover bits of material or scraps from discarded clothing to make coverlets…. Twentieth century artists have refashioned the quilt into an art form, moving it from the bed to the wall...”

Above: detail from a plaited stamps and envelopes piece by Polly Harrison.

Below: detail from “Life-Line,” a mixed media piece by Jane Burch Cochran.

“`Found Objects Transfigured’ includes the work of 10 studio artists who create distinctive artwork that is highly collectible and in some of the country’s important museums.”

You can find it through the end of next month in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport along the north corridor of the T gates 12-14.

The smell and taste of cinnamon rolls is a favorite childhood memory. My grandmother made them nearly every day whenever we visited her. Since she didn’t use a fixed recipe, I once took copious notes as I watched – everything was by sight and texture, not teaspoons and ounces. The whole process seemed daunting to me.

But after discovering a wonderful bread machine recipe recently, I decided to try using it as a base for cinnamon rolls. The dough could be prepared by the machine, then I would make the rolls and bake them in the oven.

I modified the original recipe (which was in itself modified as described in the above-mentioned post) by adding another tablespoon of sugar.

After the bread machine created the dough, I used a rolling pin (for the first time in years) to flatten it out into a rectangle. It kept shrinking up again, but after much rolling – and much flour – it finally stayed put enough that I could smear some cinnamon sugar mixed with butter all over the top.

Then I rolled it up and cut it into seven equal pieces which I arranged somewhat haphazardly in a round stoneware pan. I’m hoping my technique improves with practice because them looked pretty sad at this point.

I let the rolls rise twenty minutes then bakes them at 350 till they looked like this:

I left them naked – no icing – so were just a bit sweet and not overwhelmingly so. That plus they’re half whole grain, which basically makes them a health food, right?

DELICIOUS!