My sophomore year in high school, I gave my English teacher a real hell of a time while we read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Although it is considered the ultimate American tale, I begged to differ- I begged to differ a lot.

 Before we would discuss any book as a class, we would take reading comprehension quizes. My teacher would ask a question and we were to quietly write the answer down on a sheet of paper. At 16, quiet was not the best way to describe me. I had previously interrupted one of those quizes  by asking out loud, “Is Pheobe spelled with an F or a PH?” Everyone got that answer right, thanks to me.

 As we finished out Huck Finn comprehension quiz and began going over the answers, I asked a question that went down in 11/12th period English history. My teacher asked, “Where was the primary setting of Huck Finn?” Someone rose their hand and answered, “The Mississippi River,” to which I asked, “THERE WAS A RIVER?”

Did I mention this was an honors English class? I have a way of embarrassing myself as vocally as possible.

For those of you who never read Huck Finn, pretty much the entire novel takes place on the Mississippi River.

Haunted by Huck Finn, I decided to revisit the book by making breakfast rafts- mmm breakfast rafts. Flaky, cheesy, salty breakfast rafts- I could be a morning person for these.

 Breakfast Rafts

Ingredients & Tools:

12 Mini tart pans (I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond)

Parchment paper

1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup cold shortening, cubed

1/4 Cup cold butter, cubed

2-3 Tablespoons ice water

12 Eggs

6 Strips Bacon

1/2 Cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 Teaspoon pepper

3 Green onions chopped

4 Sliced of white bread, toasted and cut into small triangles

12 toothpicks

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sift together the flour and salt. Then cut in the shortening and butter using a pastry cutter and mix until it forms coarse crumbs. Add the ice water and work the dough until it just comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Using the mini tart pans as a stencil, cut out small circles in the parchment paper and place it on the bottom of each tart pan. This will prevent it from sticking to the pan.
4. Roll out your dough to 1/4 inch in thickness and using a 4 inch circular cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles in the dough. Push these circles into the bottom on the mini tart pans. If you want soft eggs, bake the tart for 10 minutes, then crack n egg in each tart pan and cook for 10 more minutes. For hard eggs, like the ones in the pictures, crack an egg in each tart pan and cook for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with pepper.
5. After 10 minutes in the oven, or 20 minutes, top the tarts with grated cheddar cheese and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tops just begin to melt.
6. The same time the eggs are in the oven, put bacon on a cookie sheet and cook in oven for 15 minutes.
7. Top the eggs with crushed bacon bits and green onions. Take a piece of toast that you cut into triangles and stick it on a tooth pick. Place this in the center of the rafts and viola, a fun breakfast!

 “When it was dark I set by my camp fire smoking, and feeling pretty well satisfied; but by and by it got sort of lonesome, and so I went and set on the bank and listened to the current swashing along, and counted the stars and drift logs and rafts that come down, and then went to bed; there ain’t no better way to put in time when you are lonesome; you can’t stay so, you soon get over it. ” ~ The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn