Crusty Cheese Omelette

This is one of my Go-To omelettes. It’s not nearly as fussy as a traditional French omelette so it’s easy and relatively quick to put together. And did I mention that it’s delicious? The cheese caramelizes on the bottom of the omelette so that it becomes this incredibly delicious crust, like the end of a fondu! Also, there isn’t much technique involved so it’s super easy to execute.

This is one of those crusty videos that the kids are doing these days. It turned out fantastic!

Serves 1 or 2, depending on how hungry you are!

Ingredients:

• 60 g cheese, grated (see notes)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 30 g Greek yogurt
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Sprinkle the cheese in a small non-stick pan and set the heat to medium. Melt the cheese slowly (do not allow it to caramelize at this point).
2. Combine the eggs, yogurt, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Once the cheese has begun to render and bubbling a little, carefully pour the egg mixture over the cheese so that it sits on top of the cheese. Cover and cook until the top of the omelette has set at the top. Remove the pan from the heat (turn it off) and allow it to sit covered for a few minutes (the omelette should come away from the pan at the edges and easily slide out).
3. Serve warm on warm plates.

 

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Cheddar Cheese and Onion Kefir Scones

Hearty winter soups are a staple when we are in Canada and I just love to serve soups with scones. This recipe is an old favourite but I had run out of fresh onions so I used my handy dehydrated onion flakes in this easy recipe. There is just a little time to rehydrate the onions and you’re good to go. 

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 9 large scones

Ingredients:

• 260 g AP flour
• 15 g sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 5 g salt
• 2 g cream of tartar
• 56 g cold butter
• 155 g frozen, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
• 200 mL buttermilk, 15 mL for brushing the tops
• 30 g dehydrated onion flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rehydrate the onions flakes in the buttermilk for 5 minutes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in the large bowl of your food processor with the blades and mix well.
4. Cut in the cold butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Replace the blade with the plastic dough blade.
5. Add the buttermilk onion mixture and cheese to the flour and pulse to combine into a ball (cheese should still be frozen or at the very least, extremely cold).
6. If it’s really warm in your kitchen, it’s best to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. With very little flour to prevent sticking, roll the dough into 1 cm thickness and use your favourite cookie cutter to cut even shapes (I used 5 cm squares with scalloped edges.
7. Place each shape onto the prepared baking sheet about a centimetre apart and brush the tops with the extra buttermilk. Add a pinch of frozen shredded cheese to each top, if desired.
8. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

So flakey and delicious!

Notes:

• I buy my cooking/baking cheese on sale in 400 g logs and I grate them into zip-lock bags and freeze them. If you break up the shreds as they freeze, they won’t stick together in clumps.
• The frozen cheese will help make these flakey.

These are the grey days that just kill me.

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Individual Dutch Baby Bennies for Brunch (logistics and all)

The week before Christmas in 2022, we were in full-entertaining mode, trying to see all of our friends before we started travelling again. We have been doing more and more brunches, particularly in the winter months when driving at night can be more treacherous. I was hoping to do a simple brunch dish so I could spend more time with friends but then I saw this interesting pancake called Dutch Baby and I had to try it. It’s actually a German invention (think Deutsch) that was translated to Dutch in the states, this simple popover-like batter makes a grand entrance with its golden puffy sides and a lovely custardy-base that is perfect for brunchy-style meals. You can make them either savoury or sweet. I chose to make individual Dutch Babies to hold eggs bennies for a bunch we had just before Christmas. There is a bit of strategy so that everything remains hot and ready for serving but fear not, I have documented my process for you, easy peasy.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

This recipe makes 1 serving, please multiply by the number of people you are serving for your ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 63 mL milk
• 31 g flour
• 7 g sugar
• salt
• A smidge of butter for the cast iron pan

Also required per person:

• Hollandaise sauce
• Poached egg
• about 50 g Ham, shaved, room temperature
• Half an Avocado

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F convection, with the cast iron pan in the oven (place cast onto a rimmed baking sheet). You need to put the pan on the centre rack in the oven.
2. In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt and blend until smooth. Set aside while the oven and cast iron preheat. When the pan and oven are heated to temperature, add a smidge of butter to the pan and melt coating the insides.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and bake for 15 minutes (keep checking from 12-15 so it doesn’t burn).
4. While baking, make the hollandaise sauce (see notes for my recipe or use your own). Cover the finished sauce and set aside.
5. During the last 6 minutes of baking the Dutch baby, poach the egg for a minute less than your normal poaching time, turn the heat off and remove the pan from heat source, keep the egg warm in the water they poached in. When you are ready to serve, remove the poached egg and drain it on a paper towel. Gently reheat the hollandaise over the warm poaching water whisking so it doesn’t separate.
6. Assembly:
   When the Dutch baby is golden (~200° F on an instant read thermometer), remove it from the pan and place it onto a warm plate. Top with a few spoonfuls of mashed avocado, ham and finally the poached eggs. Drizzle the warmed hollandaise sauce over the eggs and serve immediately.

Notes:

• My oven takes a good 15 minutes to pre-heat to 425° F so plan ahead.
• I used Betty Crocker mini oval cast iron pans 16 cm x 11.5 cm that were perfect for each serving.
• My hollandaise is very simple: 30 mL lemon juice, pinch of salt, 80 g butter, 1 egg. In a double boiler (I love Ikea’s KLOCKREN Double–boiler insert), melt the butter and add the lemon juice and salt and mix well, heat until warm to the touch without boiling the water below. Whisk the egg and slowly temper with the warm butter mixture, whisking well. Return the tempered egg to the double boiler and whisk until thickened. Remove the hollandaise immediately from the heat and set aside. If your sauce has separated, you’ve heated it too fast and too hot; although not kosher, you can blitz the separated hollandaise with an emersion blender to achieve a smooth sauce and avoid having to start over.
• To get the most professional-looking poached eggs, strain the raw egg through a fine sieve before poaching. Straining removes the excess white which usually just clouds the water and creates a messy, loosely-poached egg. I usually poach for 4 minutes, so for this recipe, poach for 3 minutes and allow the eggs to sit in the hot water, off the heat while you prepare the remainder of the meal.
• If you are making this for a crowd, poach the eggs in advance for 1-2 minutes and immediately plunge them gently into an ice bath and hold them there until ready to serve. When ready to serve, bring a large enough pot of water to hold all the eggs to a light boil and reheat the eggs and finish poaching them! Serve immediately.

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Super fluffy Keffir Pancakes

We had some dear friends over for brunch in early October and I thought I’d make a “Biggy Breakfast” for us. You know the ones on the menu at your local greasy spoon: eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, and pancakes! Overboard, indeed, but it’s the type of breakfast that is easy to share. These pancakes are my favourite, so light and fluffy. I normally make them with buttermilk but I had some unflavoured Keffir on hand so I thought, why not?

Ingredients:

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 200 mL keffir
• 100 mL water or milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 30 g sugar
• 10 mL vanilla extract
• 7 g baking powder
• 7 g baking soda
• pinch of cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 1 nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2. Beat egg white and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form but not dry.
3. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar until creamy, pale yellow and thick; add the keffir and the water or milk, vanilla and beat until smooth on a slow speed.
4. Fold in the sifted flour mixture gently (don’t over mix as we don’t want the glutens activated).
5. Fold the beaten egg white into the batter and mix together gently, do not over-mix!
6. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray set to medium temperature (or 350°F).
7. Drop about 125 mL of batter on the pan for each pancake and spread out to about 15-20 cm and cook until you see a few bubbles on the surface of the batter. Flip the pancakes and cook for about another 1-2 minutes and the pancake is not too wobbly when you touch the centre with your fingers. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.
8. Keep warm until you have made all the pancakes and serve warm with butter, maple syrup, fruit, and whipped cream!

They are the fluffiest!

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High Fibre Granola Bars

Sometimes we need a little more fibre in our diets. We’re in Spain! Woohoo! We have been here for about a month now, enjoying the sunshine and warmth. In fact, as I type this post (around the 19 of April), Toronto had some snow! Yes, my dear friends messaged me about it! But we have been watching the weather on our security cameras anyway. Snow. I haven’t worn socks in a month!

I’ve been developing this recipe for a couple of years and I think this is it. It’s a lovely combination of sweet, salty and crunchy. 

A lovely combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy.

High Fibre Granola Bars

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes one 23 cm (9 inch) square pan

Ingredients:

• 100 g Rolled Oats
• 100 g Wheat Bran
• 100 g Sunflower seeds
• 50 g pumpkin seeds
• 100 g sliced almonds
• 105 g honey
• 105 g unsalted butter, melted
• 4 g salt

Directions:

1. Toast everything but the honey, butter and salt at 250F for 30 minutes, stirring 3-4 times.
2. Meanwhile, combine the honey, butter and salt and mix well.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 350F. Transfer the oat mixture to a bowl and pour the honey mixture into it. Mix well to coat everything. Press the mixture firmly into a parchment-lined 9” x 9” baking pan and bake until golden 13-15 minutes. Cut into bars while warm. Cool on parchment. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or freeze for longer.

Notes:

• This recipe doubles very well.
• If you don’t toast the mixture first, you’ll probably get a chewy bar instead, although I haven’t tried it yet.

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Turk-ish Eggs

I saw this Nigella Lawson recipe on my friend Mimi’s socials and in reading Nigella Lawson’s description of it made me want to try it. I was able to source the Aleppo pepper flakes at my favourite spice store in Kensington Market, Carlos’ House of Spice. I called it Turk-ish because I altered the recipe somewhat but you can click on the original here.

Creamy and tangy against the rich Aleppo butter sauce.

The Aleppo pepper flakes are not burning hot, there is mild heat but even I can take it so it’s pretty mild. It has a lovely fruity taste that comes through in the nutty brown butter. The tangy yogurt is beautifully mellowed by the brown butter sauce. It’s a lovely dish that is totally guest-worthy.

Turk-ish Eggs

Please click here for the original recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 200 mL Plain Greek yogurt
• 10 g roasted garlic purée
• 2-4 g Sea salt flakes or kosher salt
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 15 mL extra virgin olive oil
• 2-5 g Aleppo pepper/Turkish red pepper flakes
• 2 large eggs, cold
• 10 mL lemon juice, divided
• 1/2 avocado, mashed with a fork
• Toasted bread

Directions:

1. Whisk the yogurt and roasted garlic in a bowl over a bain-marie and gently warm the yogurt, set aside.
2. Warm two bistro bowls.
3. Melt the butter and gently cook until the milk solids turn golden brown, remove from the heat and stir in the olive oil, Aleppo pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
4. Gently bring a low-sided pan, filled with water to a light boil and turn it down so there are no visible bubbles. Meanwhile, crack each egg into a fine-mesh sieve and allow the loose whites to drain away, slide into a ramekin. Add 5 mL lemon juice into each ramekin with the drained egg. Gently lower each egg into the simmering water and cook until desired consistency (we love runny yolks 3-5 minutes).
5. To serve, divide the yogurt into the two bowls evenly spoon the mashed avocado into the centre. Place a poached egg on top and drizzle with the Aleppo butter sauce. Serve with lots of toast.

Notes:

• The addition of avocado is not authentic in this recipe, I had a half that needed using. It was a beautiful creamy texture against the yogurt.
• If you think two slices of toast will do, make two more, you’ll need it to soak up the yogurt-butter-egg sauce!

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Ham, Cheese and Apple Bread Pudding

 

Ingredients:

• Butter to coat pan
• 4 large eggs
• 375 mL milk
• 2 g sea salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 180 g sourdough bread cut into largish cubes
• 1/2 apple, like gala, cored and sliced thinly
• 100 g ham, cut into ribbons
• 70+ g Gouda or Gruyère, divided

Directions:

1. Brush the melted butter along the bottom and sides of a 9” x 9” decorative baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and nutmeg.
3. Lay the bread evenly in the prepared baking dish, place the ham and apples evenly throughout, then sprinkle 70g of the cheese over it tucking it into the spaces.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, ham, apples and cheese evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, remove the prepared bread pudding from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, about an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for 40-45 minutes or until set. All the bread pudding to sit for 10-15 minutes to fully set.
7. Serve with yogurt and Dijon maple syrup.

Ingredients

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Croque-Monsieur taken up a notch!

A good friend received a Pullman loaf pan for Christmas, it had been on her list for many years. I had no idea what it was so I researched it and found that it was a loaf pan that makes a perfectly square slice of bread! Click here for a little history on the loaf. And of course, I fell down the rabbit hole on what this specific loaf can be utilized in and discovered that Croque-Monsieur can be one such recipe! I looked at a number of videos creating this delectable treat but landed on Binging with Babish’s Brooklyn Nine Nine recipe. Babish had made the leap and used a beautiful brioche for one of his renditions so I thought I’d pull two recipes together and made a Pullman Brioche loaf. Of course, I don’t have a Pullman loaf pan, but it’s easy to adapt your existing loaf pan (as Babish does in his video, however, I used a flat sheet sprayed with non-stick spray inverted onto the top of the loaf pan with a weight (small, cast iron frying pan) placed on the top). My loaf didn’t turn out quite square but I saved myself close to $50 in buying a pan for sandwich bread. The brioche recipe I chose wasn’t particularly good so I won’t list it here but the overall inspiration is exceptional. This is definitely not a calorie-reduced sandwich but if you feel like splurging, it’s totally worth it.

Here is the Brooklyn Nine Nine Croque Monsieur moment (the croque monsieur moment goes only to 49 seconds so you needn’t watch the entire clip).

A deliciously cheesy, hammy mess of a sandwich.

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 4 thickly sliced brioche bread
• 120 mL béchamel sauce
• 10 mL Dijon mustard
• 2 slices of good quality, thinly sliced ham (I used an Italian ham)
• Grated cheese (traditionally Gruyère)
• Butter

Directions:

1. Toast the brioche slices on one side. Butter the on untoasted side of each slice.
2. Add about 30 mL of béchamel to each toasted side of the bread. Add some cheese to both sides of the béchamel and press down.
3. Spread about 5 mL mustard on each piece of ham. Fold each piece of ham to fit onto the bread and place on top. Add the second piece of bread on top of the ham, cheese side down. Place into a pre-heated cast iron pan.
4. Press down on the sandwiches to compress slightly. Cover and cook each side until golden and cheese has melted.
5. Cut each sandwich into two and serve with a dill pickle.

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Eggs in Purgatory Indian-style

This is one of the last recipes I developed in Spain, before we returned to reality on March 12. We’re already talking about two months next year, provided things settle down and the world becomes safe again. JT and I left on the second last plane to Gatwick from Almeria, they cancelled the flights the next day! We are so fortunate in so many ways. We hope everyone is doing well under the circumstances.

I was inspired by Chef David Rocco’s Instagram post but didn’t have some of the spices he used so I improvised, in addition , this was the culmination of my kitchen clean-out. It turned out exceptionally well and can be eaten as breakfast, brunch or lunch. Heck, you can even have it for dinner. It’s quite easy to prep and you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand, perfect for veg that may not be at their best.

Eggs in Purgatory Indian-style

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 90 g onions, diced

• 15 mL EVOO

• 2 g garam masala

• 2.5 g cumin

• 1.5 g meat masala

• 5 g curry powder

• 250 mL passata

• 125 mL water

• 3 g freshly grated ginger

• 5 mL roasted, puréed garlic

• 230 g frozen vegetables, defrosted and drained

• 50 g grilled peppers, diced

• 2 g fresh Cilantro, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and sauté onions until golden. Add the spices and cook until fragrant. Add the passata and water and mix well. Add the vegetables and cilantro and mix until combined.
2. Prepare an oven proof dish by rubbing with olive oil or butter. Pour in the vegetables and spread out evenly. Make two large divets in the vegetables and crack on egg into each one.
3. Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until eggs are cooked to your taste.

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Ham and Cheese Egg Cups

I made this simple breakfast dish for overnight guests in early February. Unfortunately, they had to leave before they could be oven-ready so I popped them into the nuker and presto, done in three minutes! They are super easy to put together the morning of, but I wanted even less kitchen time so I assembled them the night before. To bake quickly, allow them to come to room temperature for an hour before you bake them.

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 200 g of cooked ham
• 200 g of grated cheese, divided
• 50 g of tiny broccoli florets

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Spray each ramekin with non-stick spray.
3. Break the eggs into a medium bowl snd whisk well to break the yolks and combine with the whites.
4. Add the ham and broccoli florets and mix well. Add the cheese, reserving a small amount to garnish the tops.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the four prepped ramekins. Garnish with reserved cheese.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Or you can nuke them for 3 minutes on high.
7. Allow ramekins to sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Option to serve: Carefully turn out each egg cup onto a warm plate and turn right-side-up. Serve warm.

Winter has come. But the weather has been really strange because as soon as we have any snow accumulation, it warms up, the rains come and the snow melts.

Notes:

Inclusions are limitless:

• Smoked salmon, capers, red onion slices, cream cheese.
• Cooked shredded chicken, roasted red pepper cubes, avocado cubes, sliced onions, roasted corn, shredded jalapeño jack cheese, served with salsa.
• Roast pork tenderloin, sluced red onions, sliced black olives, roasted red pepper and greek feta served with Tzatziki sauce.

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Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette)

I have wanted a Tamagoyaki pan for the longest time. There are several cheap and cheerful ones on the market but they are all non-stick and to be honest, I just don’t care for the non-stick coating. This past Christmas, JT got me a cast iron Tamagoyaki pan and I love it! Tamagoyaki is described as a sweet yet savoury rolled omelette and it is ever-so moreish! I’ve made quite a few since the day I received this lovely gift and they have all been well received. I used Nami’s recipe over at Just One Cookbook and it’s a keeper. I generally make them for hors d’œuvres but you can easily make a lunch out of them. For Hors D’œuvres, estimate 2-3 pieces per person or about one half of a roll.

Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette)

Makes one rolled omelette about 5 cm in diameter and 20 cm long (or the width of your pan).

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 30 mL neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
• 45 mL dashi
• 5 mL soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 5 mL mirin
• slice of cheese

Directions:

1. Combine the eggs, dashi, sugar (if using) soy sauce and mirin and whisk well.
2. Bring the Tamagoyaki pan to medium heat. Brush the entire surface with oil. Pour about 30 mLs of the egg mixture into the pan and tilt to spread the egg mixture evenly. Lay a single slice of cheese onto the omelette allow it to melt.
3. Using a heat resistant spatula, begin rolling the thin layer of egg starting from the sloped end of the Tamagoyaki pan and move it back to the sloped end. Brush the entire Tamagoyaki surface with oil again and repeat pouring and rolling until all of the egg mixture has been used.
4. Roll the Tamagoyaki in a parchment-line bamboo or plastic sushi mat and hold with elastics for about 5 minutes. Slice into six even slices. Serve warm.

Notes:

• Nami has a great video to show how to accomplish this task; it’s not difficult at all and it doesn’t take long to become quite expert at achieving the perfect Tamagoyaki!
• Nami adds about 2 teaspoons of sugar to her recipe but I reduced it to one, then one time, I totally forgot and didn’t miss it. The mirin is sweet enough.
• To get the cool texture, roll the Tamagoyaki in a bamboo or plastic sushi mat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. I line my bamboo sushi mat with parchment to protect it.
• Serve with finely shredded daikon radish seasoned with a little rice vinegar.

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No-Knead Sourdough Bread

I have had a love/hate relationship with sour dough starters. We start off loving each other, fully enjoying the dependant relationship but soon after I get bored and lose interest and the poor blob starves to death. Yes, I’ve tried putting it into the fridge to hold but it eventually dries up and I’ve a horrible mess to clean. Sour dough starters and I just don’t work. Until now!

I started this starter about a month ago. My first bread was a flop. The bread I made with it did rise but not much. But I wanted to give the starter another chance so I put it into the fridge to think about its incompetence. Then about a week or so later, I pulled it out of the fridge and within hours it overflowed the jar into a bubbling, beautiful mess! I danced with glee! My starter was alive, and not just alive, it was a living, breathing, blob of natural, yeasty, goo! We will have sour dough bread on the weekend!

As many of you have experienced, it’s not difficult to make a starter, it just takes patience. Finally, I achieved undeniable success! And the bread was awesome!

This is the recipe I used. My version was much shaggier than that in the video, so I might add a bit more flour into the mix next time (I used the weight measurements), but the bread had an awesome chewiness that was extremely moreish, so I may just leave it be. I can’t wait to try this again using an older starter, hopefully it will be a bit more sour. Bottom line is that I loved it!!

Makes one 25 cm boule or 4 personal-size sourdough bread bowls. Please click here for the original recipe.

Ingredients:

• 50 g live, bubbling starter
• 350 g water at about 110F
• 500 g AP flour
• 9 g sea salt, finely ground

Directions:

1. Follow your regular directions to bring your starter to life (if refrigerated), about 2-4 days before you need the bread.
2. The day before you wish to bake the bread, make the dough by mixing the starter with the water, then slowly add the flour and salt mixing with a wooden spoon and then your hand, until it comes together like a shaggy dough. It will be sticky, very sticky.
3. Return it to the bowl and cover it with a clean, damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm spot overnight (until it doubles in size).
4. The next day, scrap the ball onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough onto itself, a few times, tightening up the boule. Flip the boule onto the folded side and cover with the bowl and allow to rest for about an hour (should rise a bit again but not a whole lot).
5. About 30 minutes into the rise, preheat the oven to 450 F with a cast iron Dutch oven (including the lid). Keep the Dutch oven in heating up for 20 minutes after the oven has reached 450F
6. Remove the Dutch oven and sprinkle inside it with cornmeal. Carefully cut the boule across the top. Then gently lift it and carefully roll it into the Dutch oven. Place the lid on and bake for 20 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake for 30 minutes until golden. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes:

• The covered Dutch oven steams the bread at first, giving it the gorgeous, chewy texture.
• Make sure the knob on your Dutch oven can handle the high temperature, we had to get a special Le Creuset knob.
• This has the traditional chewy texture of sourdough bread.

Here’s a little peek of what I served in personal-size sourdough bread bowls!

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Gluten-free English Muffins

When the reno finished, we had a couple of weekends of non-stop entertaining! We were excited to show off our new space and our friends were excited to see it. On one such weekend we had dinner guests on Friday, brunch guests on Saturday and cocktail guests on Sunday! Fortunately, I was able to gang up some gluten-intolerant friends so I made a small batch of Gluten-free English muffins. They are a bit denser than their glutenated cousin but they are not bad.

Although I did split them using a fork, they don’t have the same traditional nooks and crannies as the glutenated versions do.

Gluten-free English Muffins

Makes 4 regular-size English Muffins. The original recipe came from Bob’s Red Mill here.

Ingredients:

• 4 g quick yeast
• 15 mL Honey or Sugar
• 60 mL Water (about 110°F)
• 180 g Bob’s Red Mill, 1 to 1 GF flour, divided
• 30 g tapioca flour
• 12 g finely ground Psyllium husk
• 12 g Baking Powder
• 380 mL water (110°F)
• 1 large egg, whisked
• 30 mL white vinegar
• cornmeal for dusting

Directions:

1. Combine the yeast, honey and water and whisk. Allow to stand for 3-5 minutes or until frothy.
2. Combine 150 g gluten-free flour with the tapioca, ground psyllium husk and baking powder, whisk to combine.
3. In a tall measuring cup, combine 30 g of gluten-free flour, water, egg and vinegar and blend until smooth.
4. To the flour/tapioca mixture, add the yeast and the flour slurry and knead until combined. Knead for an additional 5 minutes. It should look like super thick cookie batter.
5. Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Measure the dough and divide into 4, (mine were 116 g each). Roll into rounds and flatten with your palm until the size of a standard English muffin. Lay each muffin on the baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly on both flat sides with the cornmeal. Cover with a clean tea-towel and allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours in a warm, draft-free place (I use my oven with the light on). Cross your fingers that they will rise a little!
6. Pre-heat the oven to 325° F. Using a cast iron skillet on medium heat, cook the muffins on each flat side until golden. Place on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 205°F. Allow to cool before splitting.

They toast beautifully.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for gluten-free sourdough starter which I did not have on hand so I improvised and made a slurry instead.
• Gluten-free breads never quite double in size during proofing, so even 20-30% is a gift, which is what happened with this dough after about 2-3 hours!
• You may use English muffin rings but I did not see much need for them.

 

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Hot Cross-less Buns

You caught me: I made hot cross buns at Easter while we were visiting our friends in Arizona but sadly their pantry did not contain icing sugar, so I was forced to skip the “cross” on the buns. They were exceptionally tasty (even without the icing cross), flavoured with warming spices and some rum-soaked currents.

For the original recipe, please click here.

To print this recipe, please click here.

This recipe makes 12 large, soft, pillowy buns.

Ingredients:

• 125 mL rum
• 100 g dried currants
• 375 mL milk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 53 g light brown sugar
• 550-600 g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 85 g butter, room temperature
• 15 mL milk

Directions:

1. Soak the currents in the rum for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the milk, eggs, yeast, brown sugar and whisk to combine. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder, whisk to combine.
3. Add the softened butter to the flour mixture and mix until the butter is well combined (you may also do this with your fingers). Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough has formed (if it is too soft, add a bit more flour to it and beat). Meanwhile, strain the currents and add them to the dough and beat well. This is a very soft and sticky dough.
4. Place in a well-greased bowl and allow to proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Prepare a large, high sided baking pan by buttering the base and all sides.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, make about 112 g balls out of them. Place in the prepared pan and allow to rest with a clean cloth covering it for 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
8. Combine the left-over egg white with 15 mL milk and beat well. Brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 190° F. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Fresh out of the oven, these pillowy-soft buns are fragrant and delicious.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 50% more currents but I felt it was a little too much so I reduced it.
• My dough was quite soft and sticky with the originally called-for flour, so I added a bit more flour.
• The original recipe wanted the leftover rum to be incorporated into the dough, but my dough was already too soft and sticky so I skipped it.
• This tip from King Arthur flour sounds quite interesting and I will try it next time I make this tasty recipe:
  “Want to make these buns a day or so ahead of time? Try the tangzhong technique, a Japanese method for increasing the softness and shelf life of yeast rolls. Begin by measuring out the flour and milk you’ll be using in the recipe. Now take 3 tablespoons of the measured flour and 1/2 cup of the measured milk; put them in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens and forms a thick slurry; this will take about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer the cooked mixture to a bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, then combine it with the remaining flour, milk, and other dough ingredients. Proceed with the recipe as directed. Well-wrapped and stored at room temperature, your finished hot cross buns should stay soft and fresh for several days.”

Would you care to try one?

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Strawberry Sauce

Recently I purchased too many strawberries because they were 3 packages for three dollars! We ate most of them, but I had one package left over that I needed to do something with. My dear cousin and her family were scheduled to come for dinner and they had requested vanilla ice cream for dessert so I decided to make a strawberry sauce as a garnish; who doesn’t love home-made strawberry sauce?

Strawberry Sauce

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 300 mL

To print the recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 340 g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
• 47 g coconut sugar
• 3 mL freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. Stir the ingredients together in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Lightly blend with an immersion blender, leaving some bits. Cool. Refrigerate or freeze until required, bring to room temperature before use.

A quick and easy recipe if you have too many strawberries.

The bits of strawberries in this sauce, sets it apart from the store-bought strawberry sauces.

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Apple Buttermilk Pancakes for 2

Apple Buttermilk Pancakes for 2

Delicious, apple pancakes

Every so often I buy fruit and it goes unnoticed. Not sure why because we love fruit, but it does. And every time I open the vegetable crisper drawer (and it is often), I am sorely reminded of the neglected fruit. This recipe is one way I used said neglected fruit one wintery weekend morning.

Apple Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes about 5 pancakes about 13 cm wide and 2 cm thick!

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup skim milk with 1/2 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1 egg, separated
• 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of allspice
• 1 apple, roughly grated
• 1 nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a small bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together. Set aside.
2. Beat egg white and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form but not dry.
3. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar until creamy, pale yellow and thick; add the buttermilk, vanilla and beat until smooth on a slow speed.
4. Fold in the sifted flour mixture gently into the egg yolk mixture (don’t over mix as we don’t want the glutens activated).
5. Fold the beaten egg white into the batter and mix together gently, do not over mix! Gently fold in the grated apple.
6. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray and set to medium temperature.
7. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter on pan for each pancake and spread out to about 13 cm and cook until you see a few bubbles on the surface of the batter. Flip the pancakes and cook for about another 2-4 minutes. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.
8. Keep warm until you have made all the pancakes and serve warm with butter, maple syrup, and yogurt!

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Smoked Salmon Roll-ups

Is anyone else’s mind-blown that it is 2018? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were freaking out for Y2K? Now 18 years later, we are still here and I’m approaching my 11th year of blogging! Thank you all for your continued support, I feel so grateful to call all of you friends, all over the world. Heartfelt thank you.

Last summer, we visited our dear friends at their Wisconsin home. While we were there, one of the breakfasts we had were some delicious Sausage Crescent Roll Bombs, made super-easy by using regular store-bought crescent rolls! Their version had sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese, so good. I have to admit, I haven’t had or made a crescent roll for more years than I wish to count but the breakfast idea stuck with me and I knew I wanted to make it for a special occasion. Fast forward to New Years Eve 2017 and we were having friends over for the night, but they are vegetarian so making the crescent rolls as our other friends’ recipe was out of the question, so I improvised and came up with this delicious alternative! Same store-bought crescent roll pastry, but with a twist: I used goats cheese, smoked salmon, caramelized onions, wilted spinach and scrambled eggs, topped off with a creamy Dijon and Dill béchamel sauce. Yup, it’s definitely a winner. And you can freeze them for future breakfasts or brunch! Easy-peasy!

A delicious combination of flavours that are so good, I’ve had the request to make them again and again!

You see how bright the eggs are, they are that way because of the gorgeous yolks!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 8

To print recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• few handfuls of baby spinach
• 1/2 sweet onion, like vidalia
• 2 L eggs
• 15 mL Greek Yogurt
• 1 package crescent rolls ~235 g (I used this one)
• 150 g goats cheese, room temperature, loosened with a bit of milk
• 140 g smoked salmon
• 5 g butter
• 5 g flour
• 125 mL milk
• pinch of dill
• 15 mL Dijon Mustard
• splash of white vinegar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Caramelize the onions in a splash of olive oil. Add the spinach and wilt. Remove from hot pan to cool.
3. Combine eggs and yogurt and mix well. Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and heat, add the eggs and scramble until softly set. Remove from pan to cool.
4. Open the crescent roll package according to directions (this was a bit of a challenge for me) and roll out flat. Ignoring the angled pre-cut lines, cut into 8 even strips.
5. Spread equal amounts of goats cheese on each strip, top with smoked salmon, then the spinach and onion mixture and finally the eggs. Roll-up the strip.
6. Spray 8-muffin cups with non-stick spray and place one roll into each cup. Repeat until all eight cups are filled. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and pastry is baked through.
7. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the flour and slowly pour in the milk whilst whisking to create a smooth sauce. Whisk in the dill and the Dijon and a splash of white vinegar and cook the sauce until thick and creamy.
8. Serve the baked roll-up on a warm plate drizzled with the Dijon-Dill Béchamel sauce.

The pastry is slightly sweet which balanced the slightly tart bechamel sauce.

You’ll just have to take my word for it that the recipe makes 8! I freeze them in muffin cups and later transfer them to a zip-lock bag.

Notes:

• We buy these eggs because they have had the most consistently orange (note pale yellow) yolks with great flavour.
• For New Years’ Day, I served them on a bed of butter-wilted spinach and garnished with finely chopped green onion.
• This is a versatile recipe, you can easily make your own version like the original or with ham and cheese, philly steak, etc., you get the drift!
• Freeze extra roll-ups unbaked in a lightly sprayed muffin tin and when frozen, transfer to a zip-lock bag. To bake, no need to defrost, simply return to a lightly sprayed muffin tin and bake at 375° F in a preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes (or until internal temperature is around 180° F).
• Have a large group for brunch? Make the roll-ups the night before and store in the refrigerator. Bake in a preheated oven as per instructions.

This is the actual dish I served for breakfast on New Years Day. I put the roll-up on a bed of butter-wilted spinach.

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Chocolate Brioche

It has been beyond cold in these parts. Entirely opposite to what Australia is experiencing. Our windchills (and humidity) take the cold over the top, for example last week it was -13C with 30% humidity and a windchill that makes it feel like -25C at 8am! That’s wild. Your skin can freeze in 10 minutes. It’s a battle of being chilled and too hot at the same time; imagine having to take literally 10 minutes to put all your outdoor gear on, you’re already sweating because you’re inside, then going outside, walking – expanding energy, getting warm in your coat, and then popping into a warmly heated shop! You just can’t undress fast enough! It’s brutal. Staying home is easy, you just don’t feel like the battle.

Having the oven on makes the kitchen a wee bit cozier during this deep freeze so I baked this old favourite. Plus the aroma is intoxicating. It is an old recipe that I posted in 2012 here but I remade it with a small addition and reduced it to one loaf so I thought I’d post the revised version. The biggest change was that I added about 50 mL of melted Belgian chocolate to the chocolate part which really enhanced the flavour without making it too doughy. I also brushed the dough with an egg yolk to make it gorgeous and shiny. We had it for New Year’s Day breakfast along the side of the Smoked Salmon Roll-ups. It was delicious.

The chocolate flavour was richer using the melted Belgium Chocolate with the cocoa powder.

Makes 1 relatively good sized braid. Original recipe was modified from Baking with Julia.

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 7 g dry yeast
• 65 mL tepid water (80°F to 90°F)
• 30 g granulated sugar + a pinch, divided
• 50 g unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes
• 125 mL whole milk
• 10 g salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 420 g all-purpose, unbleached flour, divided
• 14 g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 30 g icing sugar
• 50 mL Belgian chocolate, melted and cooled
• non-stick cooking spray or olive oil

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 1 large egg yolk
• splash of water

Directions:

1. Spray two large mixing bowls with non-stick cooking spray, or rub with butter or olive oil and set aside.
2. Whisk the yeast into the water with a pinch of sugar in a measuring cup and allow to proof, about 5 minutes.
3. Heat the milk with 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the cubed butter until warm to touch and the butter has entirely melted. Stir in the salt until melted. Allow this mixture to cool to 110°F.
4. Once cooled, pour the milk mixture into the large stand mixer bowl attached with a whisk and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well to combine. You should have about 1 litre of liquid. Divide into two portions of about 500 mL each and set one portion aside.
5. Put the cookie paddle onto your stand mixer. To one portion, add about 100 g of the flour and beat on low for about 3 minutes or until it comes together. Now switch to the bread dough paddle and add the remaining flour or as much as needed, kneading on medium-low speed to make a soft dough that is clean off the sides of the bowl. Now knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to one of the bowls that has been prepared. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dark place to double in size (1 or 1 1/2 hours).
6. For the chocolate portion, sift 210 g of flour with the unsweetened cocoa and icing sugar.
7. Retrieve the second portion of the liquid and add the cooled melted Belgian chocolate and mix well.
8. Add about 100 g of the sifted flour, cocoa and icing sugar and beat on low for about 3 minutes or until it comes together. Add the remaining flour or as much flour as needed kneading on medium-low speed to make a soft dough that is clean off the sides of the bowl. Now knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to the other bowl that has been prepared. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dark place to double in size (1 or 1 1/2 hours).
9. When dough has doubled in size (both the chocolate and the plain versions) punch down and deflate them. Cover again and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
10. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Divide the plain, white dough in 2 equal portions (I find a scale very helpful) and roll into approximately 16″ lengths. Divide the chocolate dough into 2 equal portions. Combine the four ropes on a lightly floured surface and braid. Press together the ends and fold under the braid. Place on lined baking sheet and allow to rest for 40 minutes.
11. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Combine the egg and cold water or heavy cream and mix well. Brush the braid with the glaze and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the expansion joints of the braid and return to bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 200°F. If they brown too quickly, cover browning parts with a little piece of foil.
12. Cool before slicing. This can be frozen in an airtight plastic bag for about 1 month.

Note:

• Stale slices of this bread makes excellent French toast or Bread Pudding!

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Home Made English Muffins

I am a fatalist, which means I believe in fate. There are too many things in this world that seem like coincidences but were totally intended by the universe. Case in point: on more than one occasion, I have decided to make something with the intent of searching for a recipe and before I can even open Google, up pops a recipe a blogging friend has posted on Facebook or Instagram! The very thing I had decided I would make! Coincidence? I think not, it’s fate!

That is my story of the English Muffins. I was walking back from getting a mani-pedi in our hood, thinking about the upcoming weekend visit with our dear friends from Wisconsin/Arizona (they have two homes) and I realized that I didn’t have a breakfast planned for one of the days and I remember wanting to try baking English Muffins, so on my walk home, I decided that I would bake English Muffins!

Upon my return, I sat down at my kitchen desk to catch up on Facebook and low and behold, dear Lorraine has reposted her recipe for…wait for it…English Muffins! That is fate! I was destined to bake English Muffins that afternoon.

Makes 6-8 English Muffins.

Please click here for the original recipe.

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 200 mL (7 oz) milk
• 5 g (1 tsp) sugar
• 3 g (1 tsp) instant dry yeast
• 20 g (1 oz) butter
• 320 g (2  1/2 cups) AP unbleached flour
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) salt
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
• 1 small egg
• cornmeal for dusting

Directions:

1. Heat the milk to 37° C (100° F), sprinkle in the sugar and yeast and mix well. Allow to proof for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Melt the butter and set aside to cool a bit. Add the butter to the milky yeast (once proofed) stir in the egg and mix well and set aside.
3. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in the large bowl of your stand mixer, add the liquid all at once and beat/knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and silky.
4. Lightly cover with oil and set aside in a draft free spot for about 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C).
6. On a lightly floured board, turn out the dough and roll out to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thickness. Cut 8-10 cm (3 1/4″ to 4″) rounds. Dust with cornmeal (brush off any excess) and cook over a low heat in a cast iron frying pan for about 3 minutes each side (do not oil). Finish baking in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature is 199° F (93° C). Allow to cool slightly, and then separate each into two using a fork to maximize the nooks and crannies!

The top one is perfect!

Notes:

• If you cannot get small eggs, then take 1 large egg and whisk it to incorporate both yolk and whites, weigh it and divide by 2. Use half in this recipe and save the other half for something else.
• In hindsight, my English Muffins pictured puffed up way too tall, so I have modified the instruction to roll out to half of the original thickness. Plus you should get a few more that way.

Like Lorraine, I like a little English Muffin with my butter.

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Banana Bran Muffins with Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks

In early September, our dear friends came for a visit and JT and I planned a full schedule of fun activities! We went hiking at a conservation area, saw King Lear in High Park (which turned out to be reimagined from a female perspective, Queen Lear), we traveled to Montreal for a few days with a stop in Kingston to visit the newly refurbished Kingston Penitentiary. The time went quickly and a much-needed fix with special friends. Our days were packed, so I made these Banana Bran Muffins for a breakfast on the morning we went hiking, as we were also having lunch at an adorable little cafe near the conservation area. Scroll down to see a few pics of Kingston Pen.

Banana Bran Muffins with Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks

Original recipe from Company’s Coming, Muffins and More by Jean Paré.

Makes about 10-12 medium-sized muffins

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 128 g (1 cup) flour
• 60 g (1 cup) all bran cereal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or chunks (I used Belgian milk chocolate chunks)
• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil
• 75 g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 65 mL (1/4 cup) sour milk (milk with 1/4 tsp lemon juice)
• 250 mL (3 medium or 1 cup) bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Prepare muffin pans by spraying with non-stick spray.
2. Combine flour, bran, baking powder and soda and salt in a bowl and mix.
3. Cream coconut oil and sugar with 1 egg until well blended and add the other egg and beat well. Combine the soured milk and mashed bananas and mix well.
4. Pour into the dry mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups to about 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Cool slightly and serve.

These muffins have excellent texture from the moistness of the bananas and the bran cereal.

An old postcard of the Penetentiary

Riots of 1932, 1954 and 1971

Our tour guide

Happy Prisoner

High Security Visitors Cubicles

These wings are called Ranges

Another Range

Interesting graffiti that wasn’t pornographic. Money for Salmon. Wasn’t there a song about that?

Centre dome where they typically changed out as each Range has a turn (eating, working etc).

Marital Conjugation Ward

Corrections Officer Tour Guide

Trades School

Matress Factory

Finally, where they belong!

This is what the original cell looked like

Last Century Prison Standard

Actual cell.

21st Century Prison Standard

This is part of the mental health and senior’s wing

This is part of the mental health and senior’s wing

Notes:

• These muffins are not nearly as sweet using coconut sugar as using regular white sugar.

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Cheese Crêpes

I am a crêpe fanatic, I just love them so much. I will choose a savoury crêpe over any sandwich, any day of the week. I particularly love it with béchamel sauce or just plain cheese (and some wonderful filling, of course).

The other day, I had my pans and ingredients all pulled out, ready to make a plain crêpe when it hit me, why not add cheese RIGHT INTO THE BATTER? The more flavourful, the better. It’s not low fat, but boy it is delicious. Imagine a combination of crêpe and grilled cheese, it is so good. It’s true that I’ve done crêpe paninis and delicious ordinary crêpes (like this and this beautiful savoury mushroom crêpe), but when this crept into my head, I just had to try it. I hope you like it too.

Cheese Crêpes

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Recipe is for 2 Crêpes.

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites or 1 whole L egg
• 65 mL (1/4 cup) soda water
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) oil
• 35 g (1/4 cup) flour
• pinch of salt
• 25 g (1/4 loose cup) sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to the container of your immersion blender. Blend until entirely emulsified. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat your crêpe pan. Emulsify the crêpe batter one more time. Use half (about 100 mL) for the first crêpe and the remainder for the second.

Notes:

• This is a delicate, cheesy crêpe.
• I put sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions with a lemon thyme scented béchamel with it for a simple lunch, it was delicious.
• Use sharp flavoured, hard cheese (like cheddar, gruyère, Oka), don’t use anything that will render too easily (like brie or blue cheese).

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High Protein “Bread”

I enjoy a slice of bread with my breakfast of hard boiled egg whites, a half of a smashed avocado, but I like to manage my carbs so often I go without the bread. Our local German bakery recently released a high protein/low carb bread so we bought some for the inconceivable price of $7.99 Canadian; it had about 8 thin slices! I didn’t mind the texture at first but then it really ragged on me, it was a dense, cardboard-like texture that was difficult to cut and chew. I started hating one of my favourite meals of the day! So I searched the net and found that there are several high protein/low carb bread options out there, starting with cloud bread (meh, it’s really just a fluffy egg white pancake) and then I found this recipe and I was intrigued.

Firstly, I had never baked with protein whey powder and the bread had so few ingredients, I really wanted to experiment. Of course, the first round, I stayed fairly true to the original recipe and it was fine but the second time I added herbs and sesame seeds and it was even better. This version has a bit more body to it with the addition of sunflower seeds and flax seeds.

What I like about this “bread” is that it slices like bread, toasts like bread and can be used for sandwiches but I like mine first thing in the morning, lightly toasted with 3 hard boiled egg whites and a tablespoon of salsa.

The bread has enough body to make a sandwich. But if you don’t like the taste of eggs, this bread is not for you.

Print High Protein Bread Recipe

For the Original Recipe, please click here.

Makes 1 loaf, about 10 slices.

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 50 g (1/2 cup) protein whey powder (unflavoured)
• 3 g (1/2 tsp) salt
• 20 g (2 tbsp) sunflower seeds
• 10 g (1 tbsp) flax seeds
• 10 g (1 heaping tbsp) sesame seeds (I used black and white)
• non-stick spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F).
2. Prepare a 4″ x 8″ pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with non-stick spray.
3. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until fluffy and stiff but not dry.
4. Add the egg yolks, whey protein and salt, beat for about 30 seconds or until well combined.
5. Fold in the sunflower and flax seeds.
6. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the sesame seeds on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, remove from pan and cool completely on rack. Slice into 10 slices. Freeze in a piece of parchment and store in a ziplock Baggy until needed.

Notes:

• This ‘bread’ reminds me of a Genoise cake, it has body but is light and fluffy.
• The bread toasts very nicely.
• JT feels it is a bit eggy tasting to have with poached eggs but I like it.
• Add a handful of chopped herbs as a flavour option.
• I freeze this ‘bread’ because storing it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator makes it a little soggy.
• It’s important to line the pan with parchment and spray the parchment with non-stick spray because in my experience the batter sticks otherwise.

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Twice-Baked Soufflé: Pear, Blue Cheese and Leek

Yesterday, my country celebrated its 150th birthday! The months and days leading up to this grand event have been epic. Sadly, we had planned to be away without even thinking about it. This is where social media really gets to shine because with all the awesome photos and videos everyone posted, it felt like we were right there! Plus, the friendly lake we were visiting decided to have their 4rth of July Celebrations on July 1st, but we really know they were helping us celebrate our 150th birthday! Thank you America!

In early May, I purchased some pears and then immediately forgot that I had them. Then on May 17, my friend Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella, posted that it was Cheese Soufflé Day and linked to her twice baked cheese soufflé recipe, and I immediately knew how I would use one of those pears!

When one reads a “soufflé” recipe, one might back out of the room, ever so slowly, so no one would notice, because cheese soufflées are known to be complicated and finicky. Let me assure you, this one is NOT. This recipe comes together quickly and easily, and I love that they can be frozen and rebaked when required, how easy is that? I also love béchamel sauce (that was my addition) so this is a win/win on all accounts.

Pear, Blue Cheese and Leek Twice-Baked Soufflé

This recipe makes 4 x 200 mL (7 fluid ounces) ramekins. For the original recipe, please click here.

Print Recipe Twice Baked Soufflee

Ingredients:

• 30 g butter, divided, plus additional for buttering ramekins
• 30 g/1.5oz plain all purpose flour
• 250 mL (1 cup) milk, heated
• 150 g (1 small) pear, finely chopped or cubed
• 40 g (1/4 cup) leeks, finely chopped
• 2 eggs, separated
• 60 g blue cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
2. Butter 4 ramekins well, all the way up the sides. Boil some water.
3. Melt 10 g of the butter in a saucepan and add the chopped pears and leak and cook on medium heat until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Pour out of the pan and set aside to cool.
4. Melt the remaining butter in the pan and add the flour all at once. Cook the flour for a minute without burning it. Add the milk and whisk until smooth, it will be very thick.
5. Add the pear and leek mixture and stir well until combined in the roux. Add the egg yolks and stir well to combine. Set aside to cool.
6. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Take about 1/4 of the beaten egg whites and stir it into the roux mixture to loosen. Fold in the remaining egg whites until well incorporated but not deflated.
7. Divide the mixture into the four ramekins and bake in a bain-marie (this is why you were boiling the water) for 35-40 minutes or until tops are lightly golden (remember, they will be baked again).
8. Allow to cool in the ramekins for about 5 minutes (they will deflate a bit), then gently loosen sides with a sharp knife and turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool until room temperature.
9. Wrap each soufflé individually in plastic wrap and then bag in a large zip lock freezer bag. Freeze until required.
10. To defrost, remove from the freezer the night before it is required and defrost in the refrigerator. The microwave is not suitable for this step.
11. Prepare the béchamel finishing sauce.
12. Lay the soufflés into individual oven proof dishes (I used cast iron) and prepare the béchamel finishing sauce.

Ingredients for Béchamel Finishing Sauce:

Serves 4

• 5 g (1 tsp) duck fat, bacon fat or unsalted butter
•  (1 tbsp) all-purpose flour
• 250 mL (1 cup) milk
• 5 mL (1 tsp) thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 slices bacon, cooked until crispy, chopped
• Salt

Directions for Béchamel Finishing Sauce:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan, add the flour and cook the roux without burning for about 1 minute.
2. Slowly add the milk while whisking to creat a smooth sauce, cook until thickened.
3. Flavour with the thyme leaves, bacon and salt.
4. Pour over the defrosted soufflés in an oven-proof bakeware and bake about 25 minutes in a preheated 350° F (180° C), to heat it through.

A wonderful combination of sharp blue cheese, salty bacon and sweet pears with creamy baked béchamel. Is your mouth watering yet?

Notes:

• You may use any cheese you wish, although I would stick to full-flavoured cheeses.
• If you don’t like leeks, try caramelized onions instead (I always have frozen leeks in my freezer and come to think of it, caramelized onions!).
• Lorraine poured about 300 mL (1 1/4 cup) heavy cream over her soufflées instead of the béchamel sauce.

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Apple, Bran and Date Mini-Muffins Revamped

When JT and I were first married, we lived in our first home in Stouffville, a bedroom community Northeast of Toronto. JT would drive 30 minutes to an hour to work and I would take the hour long GO Train (Government of Ontario commuter train) downtown. Fortunately, the downtown train station was connected to an intricate underground system called PATH, Toronto’s Downtown Pedestrian Walkway that I would take all the way to work in the Financial District. Of course, these underground paths were always lined with stores, tempting you to buy, buy, buy!! There may have been one or two instances when I may have picked up a new outfit on the way to work, and I would change into it at the fitness club after my workout!

There were also several food courts along the way, so if one became a little famished from the long journey to work, one might pick up a nibble or two along the way! That is when I became addicted to Bran Date Muffins. These overly processed, moist and sticky muffins were sold at a “healthy” eatery along my walk to work. I usually don’t go for the ready made treats but there was something so moreish about these muffins (texture and taste) that I bought one or two every week (that’s when I had a metabolism!). These days, I wouldn’t dare eat that type of muffin, knowing what I know about the ingredients they use to make them so moreish so that is why I decided to try to recreate my obsession using healthy ingredients. I also decided to make them mini so that I could have a small treat without committing to a regular-sized muffin.

They are not the same as the ones I had so many years ago, but they are quite tasty and not nearly as bad for you so I’m pretty happy with the outcome. The bran and nuts provide great texture, the apples and the dates give it some moistness. Next time, I think I will reduce the flour component and increase the apples and fruit juice.

JT was quite surprised that there is no processed sugar in these babies, just dates, apples and fruit juice to sweeten.

Apple, Bran and Date Mini-Muffins revamped

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 30 mini-muffins

Ingredients:

• 250 mL (1 cup) fruit juice
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 375 mL (1 1/2 cup) peeled and shredded apple
• 125 mL (1/2 cup) chopped dates
• 250 mL (1 cup) bran buds
• 125 mL (1/2 cup) chopped pecans
• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 30 mL (2 tsp) cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Spray 24 mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
2. Combine the whole egg and the egg white and beat until well mixed, add the milk and stir to combine.
3. In a large bowl, add the bran buds, shredded apple and dates, stir until combined. Pour the egg mixture over the top, stirring it in. Allow to stand 5 minutes.
4. Sift the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
5. Fold the flour mixture into the bran mixture until everything is combined. Stir in the chopped pecans.
6. Divide batter into 30 mini-muffin cups evenly (24 first, then 6). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until cake tester comes clean.

Notes:

• If you’d rather make regular-sized muffins, this recipe will produce 12.
• The bran buds I use are rather hard so soaking is important, your bran cereal may be loser and not need as much time to break down. I like a little bran texture so I didn’t soak my bran very long.
• I used fruit juice instead of milk so that I could eliminate the 1/4 cup sugar from the recipe. I used Mango because I had it on hand, use whatever you wish, apple juice would work equally as well.
• You may use 3 whole eggs instead of 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, someone over here used up the whole eggs and forgot to write it on the shopping list. I wonder who that was?
• These were pretty moist, even without the use of oil. Next time, I will reduce the flour to 1 1/2 cups and increase the fruit juice and shredded apple by 1/4 cup each.

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Cinnamon Buns

Warning: there is nothing healthy about this.

Ok, sometimes it happens: I make a totally unhealthy recipe. We had a friend stay overnight because he and JT were heading down to Buffalo first thing in the morning, to see a hockey game so I made cinnamon buns. We had some for tasters and one each for breakfast, then I froze the rest. Now these damn things will be calling my name every time I open the freezer!

I was down in Florida last week for a bit of girl-time with one of my dearest friends. It was a wonderful break and the weather was amazing! Might have done a bit of shopping too!!! Sorry I was MIA on comments, will catch up this week. XOXO

Cinnamon Buns

Please click here for the original recipe

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients for dough:

• 250 mL (1 cup) warm milk
• 8 g 1(2tbsp) quick yeast
• 590 g (about 4 1/4 cups) all-purpose unbleached flour
• 55 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 3 g (1 tsp) cinnamon
• 6 g (1 tsp) salt
• 2 eggs
• 76 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions for dough:

1. Combine yeast and warm milk and stir to dissolve yeast.
2. In the large bowl of your KitchenAid mixer fitted with the scraping cookie dough hook, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, eggs and butter, blend until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the milky yeast and switch to the dough hook. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until it comes away from the sides and is soft and silky.
4. In a greased bowl, in a warm place, allow to rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour).
5. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick, about 60 x 35.5 cm (24 x 14 inches).
6. Spread the filling evenly over the rectangle to all side but one long side.
7. Roll from the long side with filling to the edge into a tight roll, pinching the final side closed. Cut into 5 cm (2 inch) slices and place into a lightly greased pan 26.5 cm (10.5 inch) springform pan.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 175° C (350° F). Let rest 15 minutes.
9. Bake for 40-50 minutes until light golden brown and it has baked through (an internal temperature of 88–93°C (190–200° F ).
10. Ice only right before serving.

Ingredients for Filling:

• 245 g (1 cup) packed brown sugar
• 18 g (2 1⁄2 tbsp) cinnamon
• 76 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions for Filling:

1. Combine all of the ingredients to make a smooth paste, set aside.

Ingredients for Icing:

• 20 g (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
• 70 g (1/4 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
• 200 g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar
• 3 mL (1/2 tsp) clear vanilla
• 2-4 tbsp cold water
• Pinch of salt

Directions for Icing:

1. Combine all of the ingredients to make a smooth paste, set aside.

Notes:

• I reduced the sugar by half in the dough from the original recipe as I find these things usually super sweet. I increased the flour to make up for the sugar.
• I also added cinnamon to the dough.
• I added water to the icing as I prefer it to be drizzled instead of dipped or smeared.

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Unsweetened Apple Preserves

This is a naturally sweet applesauce, no added sugar or chemicals, just the beautiful sweetness of the apples!

Since JT and I have embarked on our diet, I have been expanding a recipe collection because there is nothing worse than eating ‘diet food’. JT can attest that our food has been the furthest from ‘diet’, at least, our perception of ‘diet food’. We’ve had:

• Chicken Schnitzel with cauliflower mash
• Zucchini spaghetti and chicken meatballs
• Mushroom and cauliflower crêpes with lentil béchamel sauce
• Apple and Dijon glazed pork tenderloin
• Pulled pork tenderloin crêpe with homemade BBQ sauce
• Navy bean mushroom ‘risotto’
• Pacific Salmon with cauliflower dill sauce on wilted spinach
• Chicken Tikka Masala on cauliflower ‘rice’
• Pork tenderloin on braised red cabbage
• Pork tenderloin with mushroom sauce on sautéd veggies
• Tilapia en papillote
• Bouillabaisse

The real challenge is finding alternatives that fit into the diet parameters so I created this apple preserve (or butter) as a condiment, but also as a sweetener in some of the dishes named above. I try to vary the meals so that we don’t get bored of the same thing.

The other thing that I’m finding quite helpful is weighing everything to make sure we are not having more than we should — I’ve fallen off that bandwagon a few times, so it’s great to get back to it. Measuring is a great tool to keep you on track and it keeps you from inching up the volume (which I can be guilty of)! I measure out 100 g  (3.5 oz) portions of any protein we purchase and freeze them individually. I know each baggy is 100 g (3.5 oz) which is exactly the portion size we should be eating. It doesn’t take long to get used to the smaller volumes particularly since we have to drink a lot of water. And the veggies are quite generous (230 g 8 oz per portion), in fact, JT has a difficult time eating the allotted volume of veggies sometimes (I do a lot of wilted spinach…makes for a smaller amount!). Fortunately, we can season to our heart’s content so the food isn’t bland. The other thing about 100 g or 3.5 oz portions is that it makes the budget go further! I’m not going to post a lot more about my regimen but I will share the odd recipe I think you might enjoy. Plus, we have a few cheat days planned (Super Bowl for one!) so I’ll share some of those tasty treats. Thank you for allowing us to indulge in our resolutions, while I enjoy your wonderful recipes from afar, for the time being.

Unsweetened Apple Preserves

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 750 mL (3 cups) preserves.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg (about 2 lb) red delicious apples, peel and core included*.
• 1 L (about 4 cups) water
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 10 g (about 3 tbsp) freshly grated ginger
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In a medium Dutch oven, add chopped apples, water and cinnamon sticks and cook on medium heat until apples have broken down and thickened and most of the water has evaporated, about xx minutes.
2. Add freshly grated ginger and pinch of salt, stir well.
3. Pour into prepared containers and seal with new lids. Store in the freezer. Use refrigerated preserves within a month.

Uses:

• Use to sweeten sauces and dressings instead of sugar.
• Pour over unsweetened yogurt or ice cream or gelato.
• Use as a condiment for pork.
• Combine with a little Dijon Mustard as a glaze over pork tenderloin.

*The peel and core add natural pectin to the preserves which help to thicken and preserve it.

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Strawberry Jam and our first meal in Almeria

On a recent trip to Europe, our dear friends Paul and T met us in Almeria to spend a few days together at my cousin Lucy’s flat in San José, Spain.

We stayed one night in Almeria because the flat was already booked. We stumbled upon Joseba Anorga Taberna quite by accident and had one of our most memorable meals in Spain (not counting the one star Michelin, but that’s another story). The Tapas were excellent and beautifully presented. It was a ridiculously hot and humid evening in Almeria so we didn’t want a heavy meal to weigh us down so sharing tapas was the perfect solution.

Joseba Anorga Taberna is a contemporary restaurant rated as one of the top ten in Almeria, what luck we had finding it! These are just a few of the tapas we enjoyed our first night in Spain. Buen Apetito.

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Just before we left for Europe, I found the last of the Ontario strawberries at my local grocer and they weren’t even overpriced! I bought a few pints and decided to make strawberry jam out of them to enjoy over the winter. I used a pectin-free recipe using a 3:1 ratio, three parts fruit to one part sugar. The jelling will take longer than a full-sugar version but it’s worth it. It’s not a sickly sweet jam, which is just fine by me!

The jam is rich with strawberry flavour, just like Mom’s!

Strawberry Jam

Yield: 500 mL or 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 936 g strawberries, washed and hulled
• 309 g sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, about 1 good size lemon
• zest of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your 10-cup food processor. Plus until desired consistency is achieved (see notes).
2. Pour content into a non-reactive, heavy bottom pan (I used my Le Creuset). Slowly heat until the sugar is dissolved and bring very slowly to a boil. Remove foam as it appears (see notes).
3. Boil until the jam reaches 105° C (220° F) and has thickened up and reached the jellied stage (test a small amount on an ice cold plate and if you can wrinkle the jam, it’s done!)

We like this jam a lot.

Notes:

• I reduced the sugar according to this website (see last paragraph). To get to the jelly stage will take a little longer than the full sugar version, but it’s worth it.
• I do not have a potato masher, instead of pulsing you may mash the berries with said masher, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Apparently, foam contains a lot more air than the actual jam so leaving it may reduce the shelf-life of your jam (source here).

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Blueberry and Peach Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

Many of you are shaking your heads right about now. Breakfast Cake? Has she gone completely mad? How can it be? A cake for breakfast? This is actually a recipe I tested some time back and I loved it so much, I’ve continued to make it on a regular basis, particularly for the cottage.

This one was baked at home on the BBQ because it was way too hot to be turning on the oven, even if it is for such a lovely breakfast cake. JT developed a wonderful contraption inside our Weber gas grill: he inverted a vegetable grill basket and set it in the centre, this allows the ‘cake’ to be lifted off the grill so that the I can keep the middle burner on low and the two outside burners on medium, maintaining the inside ‘oven’ an even 350° F! So next time you want to bake something and it’s too hot, try this nifty idea!

Would you care for some maple syrup with that?

Please click here for the original recipe. This recipe serves 8 or one 9″ x 9″ cake.

Ingredients:

• 500 mL (2 cups) 2% milk
• 250 mL (1 cup) egg whites
• 250 mL (1 cup) applesauce*
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 270 g (3 cups) large flake oats
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 peach, cubed evenly
• A mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
• maple syrup

Directions:

1. Combine wet ingredients and mix well. Add the cinnamon, salt and large flake oats and mix well. Allow to sit for several hours in the refrigerator or overnight (mixture will become very thick as oats absorb the liquid).
2. Preheat the BBQ to 350° F.
3. Add 1/2 cup blueberries and cubed peaches and mix well. Pour contents into a parchment lined pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean from the centre. Serve warm with berries and maple syrup.

Serving size is based on 1/8 of the cake.

Notes:

• This recipe works particularly well with any type of fruit, so allow your imagination go wild!
• I’ve also been known to serve this with whipped cream.
• Kids may only want half a serving because it is very filling.
• For truly Gluten Free, please choose oats that claim Gluten Free on the packaging as most oats are processed in non-gluten free factories and may be contaminated.
• * the apple sauce was the leftover apple pulp from when I made this apple jelly.
• This is not a sweet breakfast cake.
• Replace milk with orange juice for another flavour.
• Surprisingly, when I tested the original recipe, it also was very cake-like even though the picture on the original site shows more porridge than cake!
• Nuts are also a wonderful addition but I wanted a nut free version due to an allergy.

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Beghrir, THE Moroccan Pancake

These tasty treats resemble English crumpets in both flavour and texture. Please click here to see my attempt at making the English treats.

Six years ago, we visited Morocco  My how time flies. During our visit, JT and I took two cooking classes, one at our Riad and the other at a very famous restaurant, Maison MK with Chef, Omar El Ouahssoussi. Both lessons had us making popular Moroccan main courses which we have made several times since our return. All of the food in Morocco is exceptional, a wonderful contrast of savory and sweet, carefully paired. Even breakfast in Morocco was something special. Breakfast always had a bit of a continental leaning but with Moroccan specialties, like this pancake. I’ll never forget the first time I tried Beghrir, on the rooftop patio of our Riad. It came with a little pitcher of syrup that tasted like honey and melted butter, you drizzle this syrup on the little cakes and the holes soak up all of the wonderfulness. I was instantly delighted with the unique texture and flavour of these interesting yeast-based pancakes and loudly declared that I would make them as soon as we returned. Yes, that was SIX years ago. We’ve made most of the dishes we learned how to make in our cooking classes but I let this one fall off my list. Better late than never, eh?

Part of my hesitation to make this wonderful pancake was the prep and rest time, some recipes rest for one and half hours! I just didn’t have the time for that, so when I found My Moroccan Food blog’s Baghrir recipe, with only 30 minute resting time, I knew it was for me! As luck would have it, I only had about half of the required semolina in my pantry so I had to improvise. I also rather liked an ingredient I saw in the New Moroccan cookbook (please see notes below) so I altered the proportions of the original recipe to include almond flour. I am going to give this a try making it gluten free and hopefully, I won’t drag it out another six years.

Makes about 42 little pancakes about 5-6 cm (3-3.5″) diameter.  For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 120 gr of fine semolina
• 120 g AP unbleached flour
• 50 g almond flour
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp yeast
• ½ tsp salt
• 500 mL (2 cups) warm water
• 2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and blend well with a stick/immersion blender. Allow to stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes you should see the yeast taking action. Give the batter another blending and prepare your pan by spraying well with non-stick spray.
3. Preheat the pan (see notes below). Using a 4.5 cm (2.75″) ice cream scoop, scoop a scant helping of batter and pour from the centre out on the hot pan. The Beghrir will cook from the bottom up, you do not flip this pancake. Cook until the batter is no longer wet. Repeat until all of the batter is gone.

These tasty Moroccan breakfast cakes are very similar in texture and flavour to English Crumpets.

The honey butter syrup makes this breakfast a treat and extremely moreish.

Notes:

• The pan must be very hot for the batter to bubble, but not hot enough that the batter burns before it cooks, it’s a bit of a balancing act.
• I used a well-seasoned cast iron pan (the one I use to make crêpes) so I had to keep turning the heat down so the beghrir doesn’t burn.
• Beghrir will stick together while hot, so cool them laying out in a single layer.
• Beghrir freezes very well. I plan to repurpose them with a little cream cheese, smoked salmon and fresh dill during the holiday season, although JT really loved them with the syrup.
• To reheat Beghrir, steam them for a few minutes. Steaming maintains the crumpet-like texture. (updated October 15, 2016)
• The original recipe is a synthesis of Chef Mourad Lahlou’s 2011 cookbook, New Moroccan, (page 196) and this blog. I found Chef Mourad’s recipe a tad complicated for first thing in the morning so I simply borrowed the almond flour he adds, I figured it would add texture and flavour. Next time I may try his recipe for contrast.
• Chef Mourad used a flat indented silver dollar pancake pan (like this one) but I did not have one and I do not think it is needed, the pancakes turn out beautifully round on their own.
• The syrup is an equal combination of butter, honey and about half the volume of water, heat gently to melt butter and whisk to combine, serve warm.

• Beghrir can be topped with anything, try some jam, or even maple syrup, but I’ll stick to the traditional honey and butter, it’s so good!
• Beghrir can be spelled Baghrir or Beghrir, or so says the internet.

I can’t believe I didn’t post a pic of the new table yet! This is the newly improved table, havent decided to paint the legs yet!

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Banana Bread

Summer has been very warm and humid in Toronto. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining because February comes all too quickly and the -25° C (-13° F) is still too fresh in my mind but I really don’t like to turn the oven on (particularly for a recipe that calls for one hour!) when it’s that hot outside (it makes the A/C work even harder). So I modified this recipe to be baked on the Barbie with ingredients I had on hand.

The top is swirled with cinnamon, but not too much to be overpowering.

Give this a light toasting to get even more flavour out of the loaf.

We’ve been spending a lot of time at the cottage this year, JT has some council meetings and we like to avoid the traditional weekend traffic so we go up Thursday and come back Tuesday or even go up Sunday and come back Friday. It’s been great, neither of us stresses about weekend traffic anymore! But having so much time at the cottage can be a bit boring, so I prefer to have projects lined up so I can amuse myself without spending a lot of time on the computer. I had been looking for a small cocktail table to set between two chairs in our living area but it had to be rustic and small and sadly I couldn’t find anything.

A small table for two glasses between the chairs would be perfect.

I was inspired by rustic tables made of a cross section of a log with sticks as legs like this one:

Inspiration table

But I was stuck on how to slice a log so that it’s perfectly even on both sides because we have limited tools. And then I found this log tea light at Winners (TJ Max) in the right diametre for a reasonable price and my little table was born.

Tea light spots will help anchor legs in place.

Table top has just the right amount of petina.

JT and I sourced the legs in the forest, we had to make sure they were not too new or too old or had bugs in them (you know how I feel about that). I cut the legs to size in the city (I have a table saw) and then I assembled the table at the cottage while JT was at a meeting, just in time to receive our good friends for a weekend.

TabI hadn’t decided to paint the legs at this point.

Unfortunately, I turned around for a split second and my friend pulled the new table up to the movies on the shelf hoping to find something she hadn’t seen before and…yep…you guessed it…she thought it was a stool and sat on it! #notastool was the hashtag for the weekend. I ended up disassembling it and starting from scratch. Fortunately the table top was in tact so all I did was rebuild the legs.

It’s an honest mistake.

When I perused the net for banana bread recipes, I noticed that many of them had a lot of sugar. A LOT! I was hoping for something less sweet so that it’s a bit healthier when I found Cookie and Kate’s recipe. I would have made it verbatim but then I realized that I was short of a few ingredients so I improvised. I liked the idea of whole wheat flour but I didn’t want 100% of it, so I divided the flour into 1:3/4 so the texture is a little smoother (plus I didn’t have white whole wheat flour on hand — what is that anyway?).  The bread is wonderful when it is lightly toasted and smothered with butter with a cup of tea. It will sooth away any bruises caused by using a table as a stool, that was not meant as a stool. #notastool.

Banana Bread

Original recipe, please click here. This recipe makes one generous 10 cm x 23 cm (4″x 9″) loaf

Ingredients:

• 125 mL (1/2 cup) melted coconut oil
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) honey
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) milk
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) water
• 5 mL (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 125 mL (1/2 cup) roughly mashed ripe bananas (about 2 smallish bananas)
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) dates
• 128 g (1 cup) whole wheat flour
• 94 g (3/4 cup) AP flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) ground cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
• 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon)salt
• 70 g (½ cup) chopped almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat the BBQ to 177 ° C (350° F) using only the front and back burners. Prepare a 10 cm x 23 cm (4″ x 9″) loaf pan by generously spraying with non-stick baking spray.
2. In the large bowl of a food processor, add melted coconut oil, honey, milk, water, vanilla extract, eggs, bananas and dates and pulse until dates and bananas have been well incorporated into the liquid.
3. Sift the flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add all at once to the liquid and pulse a few times to incorporate. Stir in chopped almonds.
4. Pour into prepared pan and set into a larger pan. Place pan into the centre of the BBQ so that the elements that are on are not below the loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean (mine was perfect in 50 minutes).

It’s a dense bread that is perfect for breakfast or a small snack.

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Apple Jelly

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But I didn’t get lemons. I got apples. 907 g (2.2 lbs) to be exact!

I made JT an apple pie with two, and then made apply jelly with the remainder. I was at the cottage, so I had limited ingredients but apparently apples have a lot of natural pectin in the skin and core so I wasn’t worried. The trick is to cook the apples with skin, core and seeds until very soft and that coaxes the pectin out. I made a clear apple jelly, or as clear as one can get without using this nifty Mehu-Liisa.

Makes 236 mL (8 ounces)

Ingredients:

• 900 g (2 lb) apples (I used Granny Smith and Gala), wash and cut into small cubes
• 600 mL (20 fluid ounces) water
• 300 g (1.5 cups) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a non-reactive Dutch oven and stir well.
2. On medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then simmer until apples are very soft.
3. Strain through cheese cloth and then through a very fine sieve.
4. Pour into a smaller pot and bring to a boil. Boil for about 20 minutes to at least 104° C (220° F) or when it begins to gel (test frequently on an ice-cold plate).
5. Pour into sterilized mason jars (I used two 118 mL (4 ounce) jars and continue the canning process, or use immediately.

I was surprised at how relatively clear the jelly was.

Notes:

• Save the soft apples (not the core or seeds) and purée until entirely emulsified, push through a fine sieve for a delicious apple sauce. Freeze in a zip lock bag if not using right away. Makes about 125 mL (1/2 cup) applesauce.

Apple Jelly serving is based on 10 mL (2 tsp) serving size.

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Whole Wheat, Spelt Cinnamon Bread

Recently my sister-in-law and her husband stayed at our place as they had an early morning appointment downtown because they live in another city that is 2 hours away. My brother-in-law cannot eat sugar or white flour and I wanted to create a special breakfast bread that he could eat so I searched and searched the world-wide cookbooks. My general GOTO blog for speciality flour creations is Angie’s Recipes because Angie creates or modifies existing recipes using anything BUT white flour and most of her recipes use natural sugars so it didn’t surprise me when I landed on her version of the Cinnamon Spelt Ring. I loved this recipe because I could experiment with the dough slicing techniques that another friend, Maria at A_boleyn mastered with her Swedish Cinnamon Star Bread. In fact, this beautiful technique has been demonstrated on many blogs and it was about time for me to give it a go. I doubt my family minded being guinea pigs!

This was my first attempt, I made a star bread as well as a rope ring but they were too thin and not bready enough so I revised the recipe and made it again!

I modified the recipe to include whole wheat flour instead of the two types of spelt flour that Angie’s recipe had. As well, I have replaced white sugar with dates for the filling. My first test, although tasted OK, was not up to my expectations, it was just too thin and not bready like a cinnamon bun, so I made it again with a lot more success.

This is the revised recipe below of the unbaked bread. In hindsight, this dough was bready enough to make two loaves!

Original recipe from Angie’s Recipes Blog, please click here.

This recipe makes one 40 cm x 15 cm (15″ x 6″) rope.

Ingredients:

• 165 mL Milk, lukewarm
• 3 Egg yolks, large, divided
• 30 g flavourless vegetable oil (I used canola)
• 20 g Maple syrup
• 8 g Instant dried yeast
• 250 g Whole Wheat Flour (may want to reduce this to 225 for a shaggier dough).
• 100 g Spelt Flour
• 5 g salt

Directions:

1. Combine warm milk, 2 egg yolks, vegetable oil, instant dried yeast and maple syrup and whisk well. Allow to proof until bubbling.
2. Sift the flours together into the bowl of your stand mixer. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Knead for 10 minutes.
3. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

Ingredients for filling:

• 75 g unsalted butter
• 100 g dates
• 6 g ground cinnamon
• 2 g salt

Directions:

1. Add all of the filling ingredients into the bowl of a small food processor and process until completely smooth and combined.
2. Roll out the dough into a 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick rectangle (mine worked out to 38 cm x 25 cm (15″ x 10″). Spread all of the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm (1/2 inch) border on three sides (spread right to the long side that you will begin to roll). Starting at the long end, roll up the dough tightly to form a roll. Seal all of the edges well by pinching them closed. Slice the roll in half lengthwise, leaving the last 5 cm (2 inches) connected.
3. Turn each half cut-side up and carefully wrap the halves together like a rope, maintaining the cut-sides up to expose the filling. Carefully place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and allow to rest, covered in a warm location for 1 hour. Check out Angie’s blog for detailed photos on how-to roll, cut and form into a rope. Or check out Maria’s blog on how to make the star version of this gorgeous bread.
4. Preheat the oven to 375° F (190 °C).
5. Mix a teaspoon of water into the remaining egg yolk and brush over dough. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and internal temperature is around 200 °F (93°C). You may wish to cover with some foil so it doesn’t brown too quickly.
6. Serve with home-made jam and butter.

This is the baked loaf, it’s a beauty!

I also wanted to make the rope bread as a savoury cheese version and used my Sesame Bread Recipe; I divided the dough into two equal portions, spread a few handfuls of sharp cheddar on one rectangle instead of the cinnamon butter, and also made a plain cut wheat sheaf version of the other. Both turned out excellent.

The cheese melted in the roll and was a lovely flavour in the egg bread.

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Apple Streusel Muffins

Things are heating up in Toronto! And I’m not talking about temperature, although temperatures are pretty hot too! On Friday we began hosting the Pan Am Games (and ParaPan Am) which is a really big deal. At last count, Canadians are holding the most medals (yay, Go Canada Go!) with 24 in total with 10 GOLD! The U.S. is in close second with 19 total and 7 Gold! The last five years have been leading up to the next 2 months, with revitalization and new construction. We built new stadiums, tracks, pools and revitalized a number of venues across the city, including repaving all of the roads in High Park!

The opening ceremonies were held in the Pan Am Ceremonies Venue on Friday (formerly the Rogers Centre) with internationally renowned Cirque de Soleil delivering a once in a life-time show with their usual fanfare, culminating with Donovan Bailey base jumping from the summit of the CN tower! And, if that wasn’t enough, the CN Tower had the most amazing fireworks!

The Pan Am games have only been on since Friday and we’ve already had some shenanigans in our fair city. We had a guy use mannequins to access the HOV lanes (high occupancy vehicle lanes where you have to have 3+ in the car) during the games. The Brazilian Men’s Cycling team thought they’d use the Don Valley Parkway (a major north/south highway in Toronto) as their practice venue on Sunday morning! No one was hurt and they were escorted to safer ground as cyclists are not permitted on our highways. Then, totally unrelated, a dead racoon was memorialized on a quiet downtown Toronto residential  street as Animal Services failed to pick up the little guy for over 12 hours! Yes, we’ve had some entertainment indeed!

And if all of that isn’t excitement enough, we have some very special friends coming on Friday and I’m cooking up a storm in anticipation! Then the following week I will have an extra special surprise, but you’ll have to wait and see who that is.

This little recipe was born out of the need to use up a couple of apples, I wanted a healthier muffin without the normal oil component so I created this moist, tasty and generously-sized muffin.

A moist and tasty muffin

Evenly portioned into 12 muffin cups

A Kitcheninspirations Original Recipe. Makes 12 good-sized muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup peeled and shredded apple
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup bran buds
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg

Ingredients for Streusel Topping:

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F (190° C). Butter and flour 12 muffin cups. Set aside.
2. Layer the milk, bran buds, apple and dates making sure bran buds are covered in the wet ingredients, set aside for 5 minutes. In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside.
3. Prepare the streusel topping by combining all ingredients and rubbing in butter until crumbly. Set aside.
4. Add beaten eggs to the bran bud mixture and stir well. Fold the flour mixture into the bran bud mixture until just combined.
5. Divide batter into 12 muffin cups evenly. Top with streusel topping and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes clean.

Hot out of the oven on a day that was 27° C (81° F)

It’s delicious with a little butter.

Calorie count is per one muffin

Several months ago, I was asked to style a commercial for the Steven and Chris show. Chef Daniel Mezzolo is the famous executive chef from Gusto 101  (please recall the lovely Kale Salad I reinvented). We worked after the show taped so I had a 3pm call time and it didn’t end until well after 11pm that night. It was a long day but it was a blast, I hope you enjoy this short clip.

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MLB Series Guest Post — Canadian Whiskey BBQ Sauce Pulled Pork Benny and Homerun-fries

We’ve been up north for a few days finishing off the mini reno; it sure doesn’t get easier as one gets older! A quick synopsis: wood panelling painted white, ceilings and gaping holes were caulked. Laminate floors installed and waiting for one more box (how did that happen? We are 6 pieces short, damn it! We both did the math, TWICE!) Baseboards have been cut but not fully installed (need to finish the floors under the couch first). New kitchen shelving installed with task lighting. New porch blinds installed with bottom hooks! Garbage packaged and stored for handy man removal. A few more décor items and we’re done! Just in time for closing ;)!
With all that standing up, sitting down it feels like I’ve completed a marathon, but not really, I’m just a spectator of sports. And we all know what a crazy sports fiend I am, I just can’t get enough of it ;-). In fact, I have every single tuner in the house tuned into different sports channels or talk radio channels just to keep on top of it; then there are the push notifications every time a player does something worthy — like fart, for instance! OK, I may be BS’ing a little but I do get a little drawn in particularly when the sport is baseball and we’re talkin’ about our beloved Jays! Blue Jays that is!

My good friend Jed from Sports Glutton asked me to do a guest post as part of his MLB Series (except that I kept calling it the MBL whenever I talked about it, drove poor JT nuts!) and I couldn’t resist. Thank you Jed, I’m not only honoured to do this guest post, but I am flattered beyond belief and I hope to have done your lovely gluttonous blog worthy with this post.

Our beloved Jays are due for a world series win; no — really, I’m serious. I’m told (and god knows I’m no authority) that this year the Jays have the most expensive players and one would think that with that kind of ‘quality’ we would get some wins…except it’s taking a bit of time — you see, those poor Jays had a bit of a rough start, but we’re back on track and as of writing this post, we’ve worked ourselves back within striking distance of first place in the division! Woohoo!
Even with the Jays resurgence the Jays should be hungry for more, I am 100% sure they would want a highly gluttonous meal like Canadian Whiskey BBQ Sauce Pulled Pork Benny and Homerun-fries, don’t you? I developed this recipe for Jed and there are a few things I would have done differently if it was for kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com, but because Jed was a little concerned; that I would make it too healthy, I really stepped it up a notch, within reason, of course! Thanks again Jed, I am truly honoured.
Please head on over to Jed’s blog to check it out, you will be surprised and delighted with what you see.

The Dijon Béchamel was just the perfect gluttonous addition.

Makes enough for 10-12 Bennies if you want to use it all on that, but the pulled pork is wonderful as leftovers in sandwiches, pizza and wraps.

Ingredients for the Pork and the Rub:

• 1lb or ~500 g Pork Tenderloin
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp granulated garlic (not garlic powder)
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the slow cooker on high.
2. Combine the spices and mix well, set aside.
3. In a very hot skillet, heat about 1 tbsp canola oil and sear the pork well. Set the pan aside — DO NOT WASH.
4. Carefully rub the spice mix on all sides of the pork and set into the slow cooker.

Searing the tenderloin; it’s so loud, I can’t hear the talk radio!

The beast has been seared, you can tell because the talk radio is fully audible.

Ingredients for the Canadian Whiskey BBQ Sauce:

• 1/2 cup of Canadian Whiskey
• Scant 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup strong black coffee (I used espresso)
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion

Directions for the BBQ Sauce:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in the same pan you seared the pork in and bring to a boil, scraping off any of the bits left behind by searing the pork.
2. Pour the sauce over the pork in the slow cooker, cover and set the heat to Low and the timer to 4-5 hours.
3. Turn pork in the BBQ sauce occasionally.
4. The pork is done when you can take two forks and start pulling it apart.

Giving the BBQ sauce a good boil

The pork and the sauce are all cozy and ready for their 4-5 hour rest in the slow cooker

Ingredients for the Homerun-fries:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) cubes.
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp canola oil

Directions for the Homerun-fries:

1. Boil or roast the sweet potato cubes until very soft.
2. Heat canola oil in a pan, pan-fry the sweet potato cubes, smashing them with a fork. You want a slight crispy texture on the exterior of the smashed cubes.
3. Stir in the chopped green onion.
4. Serve warm.

Ingredients for the Dijon Béchamel:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp white flour
• 2-3 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/2- 3/4 cup of milk
• salt to taste

Directions for the Dijon Béchamel:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook but don’t brown it.
2. Slowly stir in the milk, whisking to incorporate the flour butter mixture so it’s not lumpy. Keep whisking until you reach your desired thickness (it will thicken more as you cook it).
3. Add the Dijon and blend well.
4. Keep warm.

Assembly and serving for one:

• 1-2 perfectly poached eggs.
• 1-2 Whole wheat English Muffins per person, torn in half and toasted.
• 2-4 tbsp braised red cabbage
• 1/4 cup sweet potato
• Dijon Béchamel

The pork after it has been pulled

Notes:

• I seared the pork in my favourite cast iron pan and therefore could not use it for the BBQ sauce as the acidity of the sauce strips off the seasoning from the pan. Had I done it in my enamel cast iron pan, I would not have had an issue.
• We added the braised purple cabbage for more gluttony with the benefit of texture, colour and flavour, feel free to omit.
• To perfectly poach an egg, heat 10cm or 3.5 inches of water to a gentle boil. Add 1 tbsp vinegar (this helps to set the egg white so it doesn’t get all stringy) salt. Break eggs into individual cups or small bowls. Gently turn the egg into the hot water allowing the water to flow into the small cup or bowl, once the egg is setting, gently turn it fully out and giving it a summer-salt. Repeat with all eggs and set the timer for 2 minutes. The water should be gently boiling not roughly bubbling. When the timer goes off, remove each egg onto a paper towel to dry. Serve immediately.

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Ebelskivers! Now that I have your attention, please read on

It’s not a swear word. I swear. It just sounds like one. “What the Ebelskiver were you thinking?” or “Where in the ebelskiver were you for two and half hours?” You see? But I can assure you, it’s much more delicious than a swear word. It’s actually a little spherical pancake! I know you’ve seen this over at my friend Barb’s when she posted about it last May but I just had to write about my experience because this pan was her wonderful, thoughtful Christmas present to me!

My first attempt was half of Barb’s recipe for the ebelskivers was Christmas day, a few hours after I brought it home and I kept them simple. But as you can see by my deformed little ‘balls’, it takes some skill to be able to prepare them as perfect little balls of joy. I had some practicing to do.

First attempt Christmas Morning

Still no where near perfect, my second attempt I added blue berries to the batter. Still some practicing to do before I could serve them to guests.

Second attempt when we returned from NOTL. Poor JT had to be the guinea pig for the second batch too. A very sunny day indeed!

After practice, I was able to make more perfect little balls of joy.

Batch numbers 3, 4 and 5 were much better. In fact, most of them turned out very well. And I had the opportunity to experiment with some additional flavours. I did cruise the net to see other recipes and they varied quite a bit, but since I had some experience with Barb’s lovely recipe, I decided to stick to it, with minor modifications. I found this recipe on squidoo and the batter was much thicker (if you scroll down, there is a video of a young lady successfully making ebelskivers one Christmas Eve), so I decided to add a bit more flour to Barb’s version to thicken it up. They were much easier to flip or turn without the batter running out from the centre of the ebelskiver.

Brown sugar, cinnamon and butter are swirled into the batter

If you pile them while they are hot, you will cause indentations. Mind you, I doubt your tummy will care either way.

A little twist Ham, Cheese and Dijon but still breakfast food

Ebelskivers

Original recipe from Barb at Profiteroles and Ponytails

Each batch makes about 24 ebelskivers, I divided the batter into two portions for the ham, cheese and cinnamon bun versions. If you wish to make the entire batch for one flavour, double the flavour ingredients but not the basic batter.

Basic Batter Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-½ teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract (omit for savory ebelskivers)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, set aside.
• In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract (if using). Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.
• In a clean bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Using a spatula, fold about one-third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest just until no white streaks remain.
• Use the batter right away.

Ham, Cheese and Dijon Ebelskiver Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 finely diced ham
• 1/2 cup old cheddar, shredded

Directions:

• For the savoury Ebelskiver, whisk in the Dijon and then gently fold in the diced Ham and cheddar cheese, cook using your lovely ebelskiver pan.

Cinnamon Bun Ebelskiver Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 40 g chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Mix the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon well. Fold in the walnuts into the basic ebelskiver batter, then drizzle in the brown sugar mix into the batter and fold gently. Since the batter is quite cold, it will seize the butter/sugar mixture allowing you to fold in the swirls. You don’t want to entirely incorporate the butter/sugar mixture, you want swirls throughout the batter. Continue until you have used up all of the mixture.

Ebelskiver cooking directions:

1. Spray the ebelskiver pan with a good squirt of non-stick spray and place over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup batter to each round as soon as the pan is quite hot. Maintain the heat at medium, you don’t want to burn the ebelskiver edges before the insides get a chance to cook.
2. Cook until the bottoms of the pancakes are lightly browned and crisp, 3-5 minutes. Using a fork, lightly push the ebelskiver until it entirely turns around in the pan and the uncooked portion is now facing the bottom.
3. Transfer the finished pancakes to a platter and keep warm in the oven while you repeat to finish the batter.
4. Serving suggestions: dust the warm pancakes with the confectioners’ sugar and serve right away. Or serve with warmed maple syrup and fruit.

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Super Fluffy Buttermilk Cakes of Pan (aka pancakes)

We were at my brother’s family cottage for Canadian Thanksgiving and I usually look after one main meal, but this year we were not able to come up on Saturday for dinner, so I looked after breakfast on Sunday morning. But that’s not all I contribute, my brother’s family does the full-blown turkey dinner, so I like to bring ‘treats’ for the kids (and adults alike). This year’s treats included the Cheez-itz from my friend Ann (who no longer blogs), Hungarian Donkey Ear Cookies and a more recent addition Hungarian Cherry Squares. After having her first bite of the Cherry Squares, my 8-year old niece announced the following “Auntie Éva, from now on, these cherry squares need to be put on ‘the list’ of things you bake for Thanksgiving Weekend.” Now that made everything all worth-while!

I found this recipe on-line back in the city but I had forgotten to bookmark it and I couldn’t find it up north, so I had to improvise the final assembly. Fortunately, I brought the dry ingredients in a container and the wet in another. Experience counts for something and to be honest, these are THE BEST fluffy pancakes I have made in a very long time. And the recipe was plentiful, making 12 generously-sized pancakes. They are a bit more work than the average pancake, but well worth the effort. Hope you try them, this is my new go-to pancake recipe.

They are really fluffy and not stuffy

Super Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes 12 pancakes about 13 cm wide and 2cm thick! (5″ wide, 3/4″ thick)

Original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or Tupperware container for travel, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Set aside.
2. On the day you wish to make the cakes of pan: separate egg yolks from egg whites and beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form but not dry.
3. Beat the egg yolks until light yellow in colour and thick, add buttermilk, vanilla and melted butter and beat until smooth on a slow speed.
4. Fold in flour mixture, but don’t over mix as we don’t want the glutens activated.
5. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the batter and mix together gently then fold in the remaining egg whites carefully, do not over mix!
6. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray set to medium temperature (or 350°F).
7. Drop about 1/3 cup of batter on pan for each pancake and spread out to about 4-5″ and cook until you see a few bubbles on the surface of the batter. Flip your pancakes and cook for about another 1-2 minutes.
8. Keep warm until you have made all the pancakes and serve warm with butter, maple syrup, fruit and whipped cream!

Pass the cakes of pan, as they are known in our house

It’s always a food frenzy…way too much food

We went for a good long walk after the Buttermilk Pancake Breakfast

Gorgeous fall colours

Thanksgiving Dinner with the family

Now who invited her?

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Smoked Salmon Breakfast Egg Puffs

My friend Kelly, from Inspired Edibles (an Ontario girl!) inspired me with her wonderful Flourless Salmon Dill Bites for breakfast this past Good Friday morning; thank you Kelly.

I had a bit of the smoked salmon mousse left over from the appi’s I put together on Thursday for cocktails and instead of tossing it, I used it as a base for this tasty egg dish. Kelly, I hope you don’t mind, but I changed the recipe a bit as JT and I don’t need the calories that your growing boys need.

Beating the egg whites adds just the fluffiness you need for a filling breakfast while watching your girlish figure!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup non fat Greek yogurt
• 4 tbsp smoked salmon mousse (you don’t need to add this if you don’t have it, I was just using it up)
• 2 slices of smoked salmon, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp dill
• salt

Directions:

1. Pre heat oven to 350°F.
2. Add whole egg, yogurt, smoked salmon mousse, smoked salmon, onion and dill into a bowl and whisk until well mixed. Set aside.
3. Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form but not dry. Fold into egg mixture.
4. Prepare 200 mL ramekins with non-stick spray and pour the egg mixture evenly into each ramekin, leaving about 2 cm of space at the top (you need this because they puff up like a souflée) Bake for about 20-25 minutes, top should be golden and the insides should test clean with a cake tester. Serve immediately (or after photo) on a bed of baby arugula dressed with a drizzle of balsamic and garnished with something red (tomatoes would have been perfect, but I didn’t have any so I used diced red peppers)

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Restaurant Review: The Flying Saucer Restaurant, Niagara Falls

I know what you’re thinking, “WTF?” It’s weird, it’s bizarre but the food’s good (for breakfast) and the service is also good. And it makes for an interesting post for my blog. The Flying Saucer Restaurant has been around since 1972 and has been pleasing crowds from all over, ever since. It’s not fine dining, by any stretch of the imagination but we ARE, after all, in Niagara Falls. Their slogan is FLYING SAUCER RESTAURANT is known throughout the galaxy for OUT OF THE WORLD food at DOWN TO EARTH PRICES – served at the speed of light! It was served very quickly, that’s for sure.

Ruthie is much more photogenic than either JT or I, so we acquiesced each time she asked us, "take my picture, take my picture!"

We’d been here before, last year, we knew the portions were enormous, so we decided to share the E.T. Special. It was plenty of food, believe me. With a couple of cups of coffee, we were all set until lunch! If you’re ever in the Niagara Area and feel like a plain old fashioned greasy spoon breakfast, then The Flying Saucer restaurant is the place for you! But get there before 10am, because that’s when all the weirdos come out for breakfast and the crazy line-ups begin.

It's a lot of food. I couldn't finish the homefries!

Ruthie was feeling a little under the weather from the night before (too much partying!) so she was taking it easy and had only coffee that morning.

Overall rating of The Flying Saucer Restaurant: Decor 4/5 (yes, it even looks flying saucery inside!), service 5/5, food 4/5, Value 4/5, Noise: 3/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet).

Disclaimer: We purchased our meal for full price and my opinions just that, my opinions.

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Panettone French Toast

Weekends are always special for breakfast. We’re not rushing around to get out of the house as we do during the week, we have a bit more time to fancy it up. One of our favourites is Panettone French Toast. I usually buy a large dried fruit panettone whenever it’s on sale, and slice it up into 3-4cm thick slices and freeze them in individual baggies (in Toronto our Italians make the panetonne in about 20 cm rounds, so I generally cut the slices in half). In effort to cut back and be a little healthier, I find that cubing a 1/2 slice of panettone between the two of us, is plenty. This time I topped it with sliced oranges and prunes.

Panettone French Toast Cups

Ingredients:

• 1/2 slice of panettone cut into 2cm cubes (about a half a circle 20cm in diametre)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of egg whites
• 1/2 cup of non fat yogurt
• 1 orange, sectioned
• 3 prunes cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup maple syrup with 1/2 tsp vanilla, warmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray two ramekins (about 8cm in diametre and 10cm tall) with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Place the panettone cubes into each ramekin (about the same number in each)
4. Beat the egg, egg white and non fat yogurt in a small mixing bowl.
5. Pour half the mixture into each ramekin and push the panettone down so that it soaks up the mixture well.
6. Bake in a preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The egg mixture will rise like a beautiful souffle. Turn out of the ramekin and sit upright in the middle of the plate.
7. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup and sliced oranges and prunes. You can even dollop some non-fat yogurt on top for a nice contract of cold and hot.

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All Butter Croissants

Croissants. Sawsan over at Chef in Disguise inspired me to take on the lofty croissant. Usually I don’t feel intimidated by a recipe, but come on, these are like the French National Treasure! Could I possibly do them justice? Sawsan also posted a Julia Child video outlining each step. OK, I thought, I think I can do this! Well, I also thought, I don’t HAVE to blog about it if it failed (HA!)! So, I started the recipe on Thursday night, letting the dough rest in the fridge at each interval. I didn’t document the steps, there are too many more accomplished croissant makers out there, including Sawsan whom you can reference in the link above. I’ll just present the final photos.

They didn’t actually turn out too bad. I think they could have been a bit flakier but all in all, 3.5/5.

Needless to say, I’ve got another batch going for a second trial (don’t fret, they don’t go to waste!). I found this recipe at The Fresh Loaf where the author overhauls Julia Child’s recipe. I preferred the baking times a bit better than the first batch, the author recommends to Bake at 425°F for 10min, 375° for 15min. The recipe is also made for an electric mixer version, which I also prefer (I am having shoulder issues and the kneading really kills it!) We baked them off last night, but I made the mistake of proofing the last proofing on the kitchen counter and sadly the butter had started to melt within the croissants (we had been using both ovens for dinner and the kitchen was a little warm!). The overall texture is more flaky on this batch, but they looked awful (my tummy doesn’t care, though). We had them for breakfast this morning and they were really good :).

I am going to try one more batch this week, and hopefully they will be good enough to take to my brother’s cottage for Thanksgiving Weekend (this weekend).

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