Category Archives: Breakfast

Breakfast

Healthy Brunch: Coconut Cardamom Muesli With Yogurt, Sultanas, And Clementines

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I entered this original recipe into Healthy Aperture’s Brunch Recipe Contest back in March. No word on whether I won or not. I’m guessing no, but that’s OK, because developing a recipe that’s clean, ridiculously tasty, and dead simple is enough of a prize!

I love this muesli because it’s healthy and easy, and full of sweet, exotic flavors, but with a spicy kick. And with the temperatures finally warming up, it’s the perfect time to get our warm-weather oats on.  To save time, you can make a couple batches in advance and just grab and go the next few mornings. The recipe makes two servings, but can be easily doubled or tripled.

Coconut Cardamom Muesli With Yogurt, Sultanas, And Clementines
Makes 2 servings

1 clementine (or a similar mandarin orange)
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup rolled oats
4 tablespoons sultana raisins
4 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 almonds, chopped

Peel and separate the clementine into segments. If you are substituting with a different mandarin orange and it is not seedless, run your fingers along the top of each segment and gently pop out the seeds. Roughly chop each segment into three pieces.

Place the chopped clementine with all the other ingredients, except the almonds, in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a spoon. Divide the muesli evenly into two separate mason jars or other air tight containers. Place them in the refrigerator to soak overnight.

When you’re ready for brunch, just grab your jars of muesli, top with chopped almonds, and dig in! (Eating this in bed in your pajamas is highly encouraged.)

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Breakfast, Dessert

I Got My Ebelskivers On

Chocolate Æbleskivers Danish Pancakes

My dear friend Vicky got me an Ebelskiver pan for my birthday. I hadn’t heard of ebelskivers, but they kind of looked like the poffertjes I had in the Netherlands. (Yes, another crazy foreign word all up in this post.)  I have since learned that ebelskivers are small spherical pancakes pancakes, typically eaten with jam and a dusting of powdered sugar. At first I felt bad that it took me six whole months to get around to using my birthday present, but Wikipedia says they’re common before Christmas, so what do you know! Perfect timing.

Vicky had also gotten me pre-made chocolate ebelskiver mix. All I had to do was add a few fresh ingredients and cook them up in the pan. I used SQIRL’s Wild Blueberry and Tarragon Jam as a filling for some, and chocolate chips for the rest. This jam is the shit, by the way.

They turned out pretty good, and I liked that they weren’t too sweet. I think I’m going to make it completely from scratch next time, because I’m a control freak like that. Here’s some recipes I found, if you have a similar pan and want to get your ebelskiver on!

ebelskivers Danish pancakes chocolate

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Breakfast

Breakfast in the Fall: Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat

Having grown up in Hong Kong, I don’t have that nostalgic feeling toward this old-fashioned breakfast food so many Americans have. In fact, I just tried it for the first time recently because I needed farina for another recipe. I tried it plain at first. Meh, it was OK. But like oatmeal, I figured it could be a wonderful blank canvas for me to play with.

As we’re in the middle of pumpkin-mania, I obviously had to put a pumpkin spin on my Cream of Wheat. So here it is. Fast, tasty, and healthy Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat. I’m weird and enjoy it unsweetened, but feel free to drizzle with some good honey or maple syrup. Bonus points if you make your own pumpkin purée. You’ll never go back to the canned stuff again!

Pumpkin Pie Cream of Wheat
Makes 1 serving

3 tablespoons Cream of Wheat (2 1/2 Minute Cook Time)
1 to 1 1/4 cup milk, depending on how thick you prefer your cereal
1/3 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice or cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Honey or maple syrup for drizzling (optional)

Heat up the milk in a small saucepan until it begins to boil. Add the Cream of Wheat a tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly with the other hand. Give it a few more stirs and let it come back to a boil. Lower heat and let it simmer for a minute and a half.

Add the pumpkin purée and stir for a minute until combined. Turn off the heat and mix in spices and vanilla extract. Serve as is, or with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup if you prefer a sweeter breakfast.

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Breakfast, Dessert

Ontbijtkoek: Baking Inspiration from Europe

It’s been almost a month since my vacation in Europe and I haven’t talked about it on the blog yet. Life has been crazy! After coming back from vacation, I got sick and spent a couple of days unwell and unmotivated. The next week I found my social calendar out of control, though I love to see people and can’t complain about that. Then Hurricane Sandy came to visit us, leaving a trail of destruction. But better late than never.

I had a fantastic vacation, albeit a short one. We spent two nights in the north of France, near Belgium, for my childhood best friend’s wedding. The reception was at a beautiful farm-chic venue, and instead of a sit-down dinner we got to sample all kinds of delicious treats (pictured above). I didn’t know savory macarons exist! With such great people and good wine, we had a blast. Even if we were hurting the next day. Next, we took a train to Amsterdam. We only had two nights there too, but we crammed in as much sightseeing and Dutch cheese as we could.

I think the best thing I ate this trip was at the wedding: foie gras on a speculaas cookie (yup, the cookie butter stuff) or on a slice of ontbijtkoek. Hot, rich, savory foie gras paired with spiced sweetness…YUM. I used to eat ontbijtkoek quite often as a kid, but had since forgotten about it until this trip. It’s a sweet, almost sticky cake eaten for breakfast, and with cinnamon, cloves, and molasses, it reminds me of gingerbread. Maybe that’s why it feels so perfect this time of year. It’s easy to make, tasty, and not as bad for you as some other desserts. It’s perfect smeared with warm butter. Or foie gras, if that’s how you roll. Smakelijk!

Ontbijtkoek
Makes one large loaf

Adapted from My Dutch Baking Blog

Butter for loaf pan
1 cup dark rye flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, ginger, and/or coriander (optional, if you have them)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup honey
1 cup milk
pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 300°F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix ingredients into a smooth batter with a wooden spoon. Place on a lower oven rack for about 80 minutes or until the cake is done.

Remove the ontbijtkoek and let in cool completely in its pan. Slice and serve with butter. Wrap the rest aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or store in an airtight container

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Breakfast

Joy the Baker’s Roasted Plums with Olive Oil, Thyme, and Yogurt

I was inspired by Joy the Baker to do something a little different for breakfast. I picked some plums up at the farmers market, made some homemade granola, and assembled a Roasted Plums with Olive Oil, Thyme & Yogurt dish for my Saturday morning breakfast.

How I adore roasted fruit. The oven makes fruit juicier, sweeter, sexier. Olive oil and thyme with plums may sound a little odd at first, but it’s an elegant pairing. It’s salty, sweet, and savory all at the same time. If you’re in a breakfast rut, check out Joy’s recipe and make this easy but classy meal for yourself. The only thing I would change? No non-fat yogurt. Non-fat anything where there is supposed to be fat is a huge mistake.

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Breakfast

How Watching Scrubs Leads to Baking Blueberry Muffins

OK I realize I’m over a decade late with this one. I recently discovered how awesome the TV show Scrubs was. Hey, better late than never right? This summer I went through a bit of Scrubs obsession, only giving up really late in the seasons when everyone became parents and it got weird.

I don’t really eat muffins. They’re often almost the size of your head, and I find it’s like having a giant cake for breakfast. On the other hand, if you consider it a dessert, well, there are better options than muffins. Bottom line, I never see an opportune time to eat them. They’re usually too sweet or stale anyhow. I have a muffin tin and yet choose to make duck prosciutto egg cups or mini sweet potato, kale, and egg bakes in it instead.

But once I got to the part in Scrubs where Dr. Kelso won unlimited muffins for life at the hospital cafe, I couldn’t help but have muffins on my mind.

Then I saw these blueberry muffins on Not Derby Pie. I knew it was time to use that muffin tin for its true calling. I bought some beautiful blueberries from the farmers market and decided to bake them with crème fraîche instead, which is just so much sexier. Once they cooled a little, I took a bite of my very first fresh-out-of-the-oven muffin. Oh man. Now I get it. When they are fresh, are well-made, use seasonal fruit, and are the appropriate size, muffins are awesome for breakfast. I was surprised at how quick and easy they are to make too. Freshly baked muffins is a must next time I host brunch!

Crème Fraîche Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Adapted from Not Derby Pie

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for greasing tin
10 ounces crème fraîche
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tin with butter.

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg in a second medium bowl, then add the sugar and whisk until thick and homogeneous. Add the 4 tablespoons of butter; whisk to combine. Add the crème fraîche, whisking just to combine.

Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently mix to combine. Add the crème fraîche mixture and gently fold it in with a spatula or wooden spoon until the batter comes together and the berries are evenly distributed.

Divide batter among the muffin cups. Bake until light golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through the baking time. Check if they are ready by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin–it should come out clean. Invert onto a wire rack and let them cool for 5 minutes.

Bonus: Have leftover muffins? Check out this cool post on storing muffins I found while trying to figure how to transport them to my sister’s place.

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Breakfast

Tex-Mex Migas: My Kind of Summer Breakfast

I’m constantly craving Mexican and Southwestern food in the summer. I still don’t know too much about it, but I know I want it. I’m not sure why, maybe because corn and tomatoes are in season and so delicious. And I like to pretend avocados are in season, but of course they don’t grow here in NY. Sad.

I had never heard of the dish before, but I saw this post about Tex-Mex Migas on The Kitchn. It’s a traditional breakfast basically made up of eggs scrambled with strips of corn tortilla, and other add-ins and garnishes. As I’m currently obsessed with Mexican flavors and always obsessed with eggs (and had like, every ingredient on hand), I whipped up some migas of my own. It’s quick and simple, and you can work with what you have. A healthy, but oh so comforting summer brekkie. Yum.

Happy Friday!

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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Single Lady (or Dude) Skillet Meals

I finally bought a set of cast iron skillets! I wanted one so bad for the longest time. Never mind that I was getting by just fine it the kitchen without them, I kept imagine a romantic montage of me making awesome frittatas, skillet cookies, and campfire meals. (Yes, I often have montages in my head.)

I’ve had my skillets for a couple of weeks now and I’ve only been using the baby one so far. My latest obsession: single lady skillet meals. I have this fascination with single urban living. People used to live with their family until they moved in with their spouse and started a new family. But here in the city, more and more people live solitary lives. Without a family to have a family dinner with, what does one eat? I, myself, am a single lady. Yes, I have a boyfriend and yes, I live with roommates, but for most purposes I am on my own.

This means I am also on my own for most meals. I never understand why so many people feel there is no point to cooking for one. It’s awesome–you don’t have to cater to anyone else’s tastes! There are so many single serving things you can make. Or, make more and you have lunch and dinner for the next two days. Win!

Not only am I fascinated by single living and single servings, I also love the idea of a one-pot meal because I am far too lazy to clean so many dishes. So this is my single lady skillet meal. It’s more of a formula than a recipe:

Super Simple Single Lady (or Dude) Skillet Meal

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Chop up and sauté some complementary vegetables in your single lady/dude skillet. Some of my faves include tomatoes and bell peppers, or tomatoes and kale. I highly advise including onions and herbs. Delicious and nutritious!
  3. Sprinkle with some meat or cheese. Crumbled sausage, chopped up bacon, prosciutto, feta, parmesan…whatever you enjoy eating and that goes together well. Note: if you have to cook the meat first you’ll need to do it before the vegetables and set aside. Or if you’re willing to clean one more item, you can cook simultaneously in a separate skillet or pan, and add it in once the veggies are done.
  4. Crack one or two eggs on top and stick your skillet in the oven for about 10 minutes, so that eggs are cooked but still runny.
  5. Top with S&P and eat it all up. Share with no one.

The single lady skillet meal pictured above is tomatoes, white onion, green bell pepper, basil, bacon, and eggs. I love how quick and easy this is to whip up, and how healthy it can be. It can work as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can also use up whatever odds and ends you have sitting around your kitchen. For example, my arugula plants only had five leaves left. Yup, I threw them in. As long as you follow the basic formula, the possibilities are endless!

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Breakfast

Duck Prosciutto Egg Cups

I’m so lucky to have a year-round farmers market walking distance from my house. I’m there every week as a volunteer, and am pretty familiar with the product offerings. We have sorts of interesting items that aren’t on the average American’s shopping list: Moroccan M’smen, veal, hake, lard, creamed honey, and more. But even I fall into food ruts a lot, despite the more exotic options available to me.

I’ve decided to branch out and buy foods I’ve never prepared before. I started with duck prosciutto. It comes as one big slab with a thick layer of fat (which I, naturally, left on). The first morning, I diced some up and cooked them with creamy scrambled eggs. Yum.

The next morning, I thought I’d do duck prosciutto and eggs again, but give it a little twist. I’ve seen recipes for bacon and egg cups baked in a muffin tin before, so I decided to recreate something similar. Duck Prosciutto Egg Cups were born.

I don’t have a mandoline or any easy way to cut those ultra thin slices of prosciutto we often see, so I took a knife and carefully skimmed the top of my slab. They weren’t perfect but they were good enough. I greased and lined the cups of a muffin tin with prosciutto, grated some parmesan into each cup, and cracked an egg into each one.

I baked them for about 12 minutes and ta-daa! I had duck prosciutto cups. I topped them black pepper and fresh basil. What a decadent breakfast.

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Breakfast

Mini Sweet Potato, Kale, and Egg Bake

I’m still learning the art of recipe adapting and substituting. To encourage people to start cooking, I always like reminding people how awful at cooking I was just two years ago, how far I’ve come, and how much more I need to learn. You learn from doing, messing up, and improving. You will get better at it. Trust me.

Running to the Kitchen is currently one of my favorite cooking blogs. I like that her stuff is healthy, not fussy, and tasty. And she’s a runner, holla. Her recipe for Kale and Feta Egg Bake has been my ultimate go-to recipe for a healthy, easy, and AMAZINGLY scrumptious dinner the past couple of months. (Go make it….now.) Last week Gina posted a recipe for Sweet Potato and Kale Bites that I thought I’d try.

I tried making it with a normal muffin tin as I don’t have a mini muffin tin, which the recipe calls for. I learned that I had to double the baking time, but still I’m not so sure if I got it right. Maybe a normal sized muffin tin is just too big to hold a clump of sweet potato together. (Suggestions, anyone?) But I topped a couple of them with eggs and baked them additional 10 minutes and the egg topped ones held together much better than the rest! Maybe the whites helped bind it all together.

Not the most mind-blowing thing I’ve ever made but tasty nonetheless. It’s a wonderful blend of flavors and I love dipping forkfuls of the sweet potato in runny egg yolk. It’s a super nutritious, easy to make breakfast. Until I get a mini muffin tin, I will be making these again and try tweak these mini egg bakes to perfection!

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