I've Got Buns, Hon!

It's one thing to have a creative muse. It is another to have one who is a muse to one's culinary creativity. And it is yet a whole other thing to have four generations of women inspire something new and magical in my own kitchen.

But so is the case where a very very dear friend—already inspiration enough—who also happens to have a mother, daughter, and granddaughter who are all awesome ladies and are all like family to me.

On the occasion of this dear friend's birthday last week, I came up with this pastry recipe and was able to fine tune it to perfection this afternoon.

These Hot Mickelberg Buns were created exemplify the Mickelberg (and grand matriarch Burkhart) clan. The baked puff pastry used to make the rolls represent how warm, welcoming, homey, and comforting the lady clan are. The peach preserve and almond past filling evoke the ladies' prettiness (pretty as a peach) and slight yet ever adorable nuttiness.

The glaze is made with butter (because butter gets along with pretty much everything, and, because butter!), lemon juice (they can each be either sweet or playfully tart of tongue), brown sugar (they are each deeply and richly sweet in the most soul-ful ways), and a hint of cinnamon (because "sugar and spice", as they are all so very nice).

One Mickelberg lady has already inspired a poem and a song. Four of them have now given rise to my proudest pastry creation. Now I just need to take up other hobbies and recreations to see what else these wonderful ladies can inspire me to create.