Cinnamon Spice

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known. It originated in Sri-Lanka. Cinnamon dates back in Chinese Writings to 2800 B.C. Its biological name CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM which is derived from a Hebrew and Arabic term known as amomon. This means fragrant spice plant.
Cinnamon was once considered a very valuable commodity. An evergreen tree that measures 10-15 metres tall. The fruit is a purple berry that contains the seed. It was used in Ancient Egypt and mentioned in the Bible. In the first century A.D. and Elder known as Pliny wrote that 350 grams of cinnamon was equal in value to over 5 kilograms of silver.

Qualities of Cinnamon

- preservative for meat ( it was used to mask the smell of aged meat)

- used in the first century for embalming purposes in Ancient Egypt

- used in the treatment of coughs and sore throats ( believed to have healing properties)

- used in cooking (flavouring for many recipes)

This is a recipe that I have made for years, not actually sure where it originated but it's delicious and goes well with coffee!

Cinnamon Loaf

1/4 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sour milk ( this can be made by adding 1 tsp. vinegar to a cup of milk)
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Cinnamon Mixture:

3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Mix cinnamon mixture together in a bowl and set aside.

Mix all other ingredients together and blend well. Pour half of batter into a greased loaf pan, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Add the rest of the batter and sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture on top. Bake for 55 mins. at 350 degrees F. Check during last 10 minutes for doneness.

Enhanced BrainPower
Research led by Dr. P. Zoladz in 2004 presented a study that found that chewing cinnamon flavoured gum as well as just sniffing cinnamon enhanced cognitive function. More studies around this are still be done.

From Company's Coming by Jean Pare
Perfect topping for warm toast:

1 cup butter or marg.
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

Mix all ingredients until spreadable. Try not to add more butter. It would be easier to spread but makes the flavor too bland. Store in covered container in refrigerator if you used butter, on kitchen shelf if you used margarine. Spread on hot toast as desired.

These are so easy, just use a bundt pan!

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 pkg. frozen rolls
1 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 pkg. butterscotch pudding mix
Handful of raisins and walnuts (optional)

In a greased bundt pan scatter walnuts and raisins if using. Then layer frozen rolls
around pan. Pour melted butter over rolls. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle dry pudding mix on top. Let set overnight to rise. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out on plate. Enjoy warm!