Category Archives: Breakfast

Alice’s Vanilla Tea-Infused Granola

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I’ve never been to New York City, but I know that when I do someday, Alice’s Tea Cup will be my first foodie stop. My mom owns about a zillion cookbooks, and one that I always love to browse when I’m home was created by the owners of the NYC area chain of tea shops. It’s aptly named Alice’s Tea Cup and it is full of recipes for fun teatime sweets, breakfast treats, and even good info about the proper way to brew tea. I’ve made a scone recipe from the cookbook that was just so-so [probably because I didn't make the buttery glaze to go on top], but I wanted to give the cookbook another chance. I am so glad I did, because Alice’s Vanilla Tea-Infused Granola is simply magnificent.This phenomenal granola combines three types of nuts [almonds, pecans, walnuts] plus sesame seeds and coconut, as well as two types of dried fruit to make a nutty-sweet comination that is absolutely essentail in a good granola. It is a bit more museli-like than a traditional chunky granola, but that doesn’t detract from it’s crunch. But the real added bonus to this granola comes from its spices: the usual suspects of cinnamon and nutmeg… and vanilla tea! I’ve never used tea as a spice before, so I was a little unsure what it would be like, but it’s absolutely wonderful. The tea adds some delicate sophistication to the crunchy hippie treat [ha, ha].

Overall, this is a granola recipe that is perfect as is… but could definitely be improvised based on the contents of the cupboard. We enjoyed it served over yogurt or with milk, but as with any other granola recipe… the possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to make it to NYC to try the original version, but for now, I’m glad I can enjoy it at home when the mood strikes.

What’s your favorite granola fixings? Have you ever been to Alice’s Tea Cup in NYC? Wanna take me? :)

Alice’s Vanilla Tea-Infused Granola [from Alice's Tea Cup]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 2 heaping teaspoons vanilla tea leaves [I used a vanilla-cinnamon tea, and just cut open one tea bag]
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except honey and butter. Mix together thoroughly, then stir in honey and butter.

Spread the mixture on prepared baking sheet, and pack down with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping at the halfway mark. Remove granola from oven when it is golden brown. It will harden as it cools.

Break granola into chunks and store in an airtight container. Serve with milk or yogurt.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: about 7 cups.

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SRC: Quinoa Pancakes

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Another month, another dose of the Secret Recipe Club. :) My favorite Monday of the month, by far.

Secret Recipe ClubIf you’ve missed my other SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. It’s a great way to find new blogs and expand your repertoire with new recipes, cooking styles, etc. Then, everyone posts about their assigned blog on the same day. It’s so fun–if you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

For March, I was assigned Rachel’s blog, Not Rachael Ray. While perusing her site, there were so many things I wanted to try [that is, when I wasn't sidetracked by the precious photos of her baby daughter]. I’ll have to come back later when it’s rhubarb season to make this cake. I’m also very intrigued by these pumpkin cheddar muffins–that’s one pumpkin combo that I have not experienced! But for March, I decided that a cozy, comfy breakfast was in order… hence, Quinoa Pancakes.

I love breakfast, I love quinoa. Why not put the two together? I know it sounds a tad bit strange, but take away your side-dish associations with quinoa and just think of it as the “grain” that it is. And I say “grain” because it is actually is a seed and a relative of spinach and Swiss chard, unlike our modern connotations. Check out this link for more info on this nutritious addition to your new favorite pancake recipe.

These pancakes were nutty and filling–just sweet enough to be satisfying, but not that over the top sweet that a little extra maple syrup and fresh blueberries would be considered overkill. Nope, not at all. Ben and I both loved these pancakes and are sure that you will too! Thanks, Rachel, for the new addition to our breakfast rotation. :)

Quinoa Pancakes [from Not Rachael Ray]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice [approximately 1/3 cup dry cooked in 2/3 cup water]
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg white
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the skillet [I used canola oil]
  • 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, optional [I used about 2 teaspoons because I only have a hand crank grinder and my hand was tired!]

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, flour, and baking powder. In a measuring cup, measure milk, then add in eggs, butter, and maple syrup. Whisk together, then fold into the quinoa mixture. Stir in flax if using.

Add butter or oil to skillet, then drop batter on skillet. [see yield for size info] Cook on first side for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes, or until bubbles form, then flip and cook until golden brown. Serve with fresh fruit, preserves, and/or more real maple syrup.

Time: 20 minutes.

Yield: about 7, if each pancake is made with about 1/3 cup batter. Rachel used 1/4 cup and got about 12. We each got a good serving, but for more than 2 people, doubling [or tripling, etc.] is a necessity.

Click on over to check out other posts from today’s reveal of the SRC. Have a great day!



Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole

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Happy Leap Day! Speaking of holidays, my family always has the same egg casserole, Easy Cheese Souffle, on Christmas morning. [Yes, I know it's February, and I'm talking about Christmas. So what? And is Leap Day a holiday? I'm pretty sure it is, right?] It’s a pretty simple make ahead egg casserole dish–full of layers of cheese, eggs, and bread with a little bit of spice. There’s so much cheese in Easy Cheese Souffle that it rivals the eggs for prominence in the name. In fact, cheese is such an integral part of my Christmas breakfast experience that I have a hard time reconciling breakfast casseroles that include meat and do not include cheese. Even if I’m eating said egg casserole and it’s not Christmas.

So it came to me as a shocking surprise that I was drawn to this recipe for Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole.

No cheese? Whaaaaat?

Did I read that right?

I had to check myself from throwing some cheese in there out of habit when I was prepping it on a Friday night for Saturday’s brunch with friends. And you know what? I am so glad I didn’t add any cheese.

[Cue another "whaaaaat?"]

See, not adding cheese allowed the other flavors–bread, sausage, apples, eggs, onions, milk, and pepper–to stand out. And with only seven ingredients [and no cheese], everything had a chance to shine in every bite. The maple sausage added an extra level of wow to this dish, and it’s definitely going to be a keeper in my breakfast repertoire–even without cheese!

Question of the day ~ Are there certain recipes you feel just have to be so, like me and egg/cheese casserole?

Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole [from The Brunette Foodie]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground maple sausage
  • 1/3 baguette, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup onion, minced
  • 2 Gala apples, diced
  • 1/2-1 1/2 cups skim milk
  • 8 eggs
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Then, cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the sausage as it cooks. Meanwhile, place the baguette cubes in a single layer in the baking dish, then evenly add onion and apple on top.

After sausage is cooked, drain grease then add sausage to baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and eggs, making sure that yolks break. Pour mixture over top everything else, and add up to 1 additional cup milk if needed. I used more of a softer baguette [which is more like Italian bread], but if you use a true baguette you probably won’t need the extra milk–mine just needed more moisture.

Top with some freshly ground black pepper, then cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then bake, uncovered, for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Time: 60 minutes + refrigeration [20 minutes active]

Yield: 8 servings.

Sunrise Muffins

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So, I know I only mentioned this once in passing, but January was my cookbook month. That is, I made a vow to not cook or bake from online sources during the month of January. Of course I posted recipes from online sources, but that’s only because they were things I had made previously and was just getting around to sharing. As a result, I got to know some of my cookbooks a bit better and also got to meet some new faces, thanks to my local library.

That sounded really cheesy. Sorry. I’m in library school, but I don’t have to sound like a PBS kids show, now do I?

Anyway.

A cookbook that caught my eye at the library one day was Allison Fishman‘s You Can Trust a Skinny Cook. I’m on my second renewal of this fantastic cookbook, and have tried several recipes so far. Everything has been great! But what I really love is that Allison’s food philosophy is so apparent throughout her book. This isn’t a diet cookbook like you might think from the title; it’s a balance cookbook. Allison is all about serving tasty, healthy, natural foods that aren’t “weird” or hard to find, but that are tasty to the point of “mmmm.” Works for me! I won’t get into more about Allison’s philosophy cause you should really check her cookbook out for yourself, especially if you’re an Ellie Krieger fan, but I did want to share one of my new favorite muffin recipes.

Sunrise Muffins. I wanted to make this recipe first thing after flipping through her cookbook, thanks to the uniqueness of the method: you put an entire orange, peel, pith, and fleshy-orange-goodness-all into a food processor or blender and churn away. This process lends not only amazing flavor to your breakfast, snack, dessert, or anytime creations, but natural food coloring as well! All the better, I think, since bright, colorful things make me happy.

And you all want me to be happy, right?

So try these muffins. I know I tell you to try everything, but this time… I really mean it. Best new recipe of 2012 in my book, right here. Enjoy!

Sunrise Muffins [from You Can Trust a Skinny Cook by Allison Fishman]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 navel orange, scrubbed and dried, cut into eights
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar [original calls for 3/4 cup, but 1/2 cup is plenty]
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners*. Add orange slices, orange juice, egg, and oil to a food processor [or blender], and pulse until smooth. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in orange mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries, then spoon into muffin cups. Fill each about 3/4 of the way full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Time: 35 minutes [10 minutes active].

Yield: *12 standard size muffins or 48 mini muffins [bake for 17-20 minutes].

Notes: I’ve also made these with 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips instead of the cranberries. Yes, that is a size difference but they were plenty chocolately for me.

10 Minute Lunch #1: Fried Eggs on Pesto Parmesan Toast

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10 Minute Lunches. The solution to my problem and yours–the ever-challenging quest of finding a quick, tasty lunch to eat at home during a busy day. A lunch that is better than those mystery leftovers or that boring sandwich you could make. A real lunch, instead of random handfuls of cereal and trail mix. [Or spoonfuls of peanut butter or "small" bowls of kettle chips (just one more) or xyz that is okay in moderation, just not as standard lunch fare.] 10 Minute Lunches is a new series here that I hope is helpful, and can of course be adapted for quick meals any time of the day. Don’t expect complex, 15 ingredient recipes or long preparation/cooking time. These lunches will be things you can really make during a break from the workday. Most are so simple that they are non-recipes. Pictures will be complements of Instagram… cause I gotta get back to work too! So if that sounds good, read on, friends!

Fried Eggs on Pesto Parmesan Toast. Sounds like a mouthful… and while it is [yup, no denying it], it is really easy to assemble and contains lots of fresh ingredients for a filling, healthy break to your day. Much better than regular eggs and toast, without much more effort. Simply make some whole grain toast and fancify it beyond butter with parmesan and pesto. Add some leafy greens like spinach, top with protein-packed eggs and sit down to enjoy your meal. Spilling several spoonfuls of parmesan on the floor, flinging a pesto-covered knife across the kitchen, and breaking an egg yolk while flipping are completely optional.

What do you like for lunch at home? What about at work? I need ideas!

Fried Eggs on Pesto Parmesan Toast

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices thick multigrain bread
  • 2 eggs
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • butter
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • pesto
  • fresh spinach

Non-directions:

  • Toast bread lightly in toaster.
  • Prepare fried eggs as desired–I like mine just over medium, topping with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper on top while cooking.
  • Butter toast and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Pop under the broiler for a minute or two, until golden. Then spread with pesto.
  • Top toast with spinach, and place egg on top.
  • Enjoy!

Time: 10 minutes or less.

Yield: 1 delicious lunch