Tag Archives: breakfast

Rhubarb and Brown Sugar Jam

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There are harbingers of spring in the garden.  Eggs and herbs.  Flowers and spots of sunshine.  I’d like to say that this rhubarb jam is a celebration of my first harvest of the year, but it’s not.The rhubarb still has a ways to grow.  Instead, this jam celebrates a more mundane annual ritual: cleaning out the freezer.  While fruit picked at the peak of ripeness and made instantly into jam preserves some of the flavor of summer, frozen fruits (or vegetables, in rhubarb’s case) are a perfectly acceptable alternative.  And when it all gets to be too much for us in the summertime–all the plums ripen at the same instant I find myself unable to resist a box of peaches at the market and my brother offers to bring a haul of rhubarb to town–well, into the freezer it goes.  And at this time of year, when our kids have eaten through our obviously-inadequate annual supply of jam, we’re glad to have summer’s bounty patiently waiting for us to deal with it.

In the past few days, we’ve made peach, yellow plum, Italian plum, plum-ginger, and this rhubarb jam.  We canned most of it, froze some, and experimented with making a sticky jam tart.  And hopefully these 35 jars will hold us over until summer comes again.

The Rhubarb Brown Sugar Jam is simple but seductive.  Sweet, bracing, tonic.  And maybe, where you are, you can already pick a few stalks of rhubarb or find it at your local market.  The recipe is infinitely scalable.  You can make one jar to spoon over toast (think of it with this bread!) or a big batch to freeze or can.  Or do as my 5 year old did and just enjoy a bowl of it with a spoon.  (I probably would have added some yogurt to the bowl myself, but hey.)

Continue reading Rhubarb and Brown Sugar Jam (click for recipe)

Savory Bread Pudding with Peppers, Mushrooms, Chard, and Feta

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I love savory bread puddings for so many reasons.  This one is packed full of vegetables and has all four food groups in one baking dish (you know how I love a casserole).  You can make it ahead of time and have it cooling on your stovetop when your brunch guests arrive.  The texture contrast between the crisp browned top and the savory custard within is lovely.  And it’s a thrifty way to use up bread that’s past its prime.  Actually, let’s just call that bread that’s in its bread pudding prime.

This is not a terribly pudding-y bread pudding.  It’s hearty fare, not a delicately quivering cream custard (those make good bread puddings too, but you’ll need a different recipe for that).  As always, you can vary the ingredients here, but I think the essential thing is to make sure that the eggs and vegetables are well-seasoned with salt and pepper and/or herbs, since a plain bread adds more texture than flavor to the finished dish.  (Or you can use your leftover beer bread, as I did, or another strongly-flavored bread, in which case it adds a flavor of its own.) Continue reading Savory Bread Pudding (click for recipe)

Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins

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The other day I came across this list of common cooking mistakes, several of which apply specifically to healthy cooking techniques.  Guess which ones I make?  I’ll give you a clue: most of them have to do with trying to speed through the cooking process when a bit of patience is warranted.  Like here.  See tip No. 7: overheating milk can cause it to curdle.  So take it slow when you make this rice pudding.  Or use cream.

And in another classic do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do move, I’m going to advise you to reheat any leftovers of this dish gently for breakfast, thinning with a little milk if necessary. But then I will admit to you that I couldn’t wait and just scooped a bowl cold from the fridge, and that wasn’t half bad either. Continue reading Brown Rice Pudding with Golden Raisins (click for recipe)

Quinoa Cakes with Cheese, Garlic, and Herbs

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I think it’s getting to be a dated notion that a big chunk of meat is the most essential component of any meal.  But if you’re trying to eat vegetarian meals more often, sometimes it might feel like the “centerpiece” of the meal is missing.  I sometimes struggle with this although I’ve been mostly vegetarian for many years, and I always marvel at how effortlessly a meal comes together when I’m serving a piece of fish.  Of course it’s often fine not to have one food be the main attraction, but sometimes it’s nice to have a focal point of a vegetarian meal.

These quinoa cakes fit the bill nicely.  They’re high in protein, low in effort (especially if you have some leftover plain or seasoned cooked quinoa), and their tidy presentation looks great on a plate.  They could easily be served with a veggie side and/or salad for lunch or dinner.  I made them for breakfast with salsa and sliced avocado, although they would also have been great topped with a fried egg.  (Isn’t everything?)  They’re versatile, I’m telling you.  And tasty.

As usual, this is more of a template than a recipe.  You can find a recipe, the one that this dish is based on, in Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day cookbook.  But I say wing it.  You could stuff these with veggies, make them gooey cheesy, or spice them up with hot pepper.  The essentials here are the quinoa, some eggs and breadcrumbs to hold it all together, alliums and herbs for flavoring, and some cheese (or salt!) for salt. Continue reading Quinoa Cakes with Cheese, Garlic, and Herbs (click for recipe)

Granola with Pistachios, Dried Apricots, and Cardamom

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Today I had a now-rare opportunity to visit my old life.  A meeting on a high-up floor of a downtown law firm with views across the city.  A conference table, a catered lunch, a laptop open in front of me, moving through bullet points on an agenda.  I was there for a good cause, a volunteer gig for an organization I love, and with some right smart and good-hearted women, but still…I was glad to leave.  I miss a some things about working (adult conversation! feeling competent! having a secretary!), and I will be glad to do it again when the time is right.  But today I just wanted to get home, snuggle my family, and make granola.

The NY Times article that accompanied this recipe was the first I ever read about making granola with olive oil.  The article is dated 2009 so, yeah, I’ve been meaning to try it for a while.  I made another olive oil granola recently that I loved, and this one was great as well.  This is a sweet granola, and you can reduce the sugar a bit if you like, but I think it’s pretty great stirred into a bowl of yogurt as is. Continue reading Granola with Pistachios, Dried Apricots, and Cardamom (click for recipe)

Purple Potato Frittata, with or without Cod

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Are you a sweet or savory breakfast person?  I like both.  (Sometimes at the same time.)  But in spite of having a huge sweet tooth, the savory breakfast usually trumps for me.

Either way, you’re covered this weekend.  If you’re a sweet person, you have that French toast to make.  And if savory is your thing, here’s the plan.

Pick some potatoes.  I know I’m being a little preachy here, but let me just gently suggest that if you have never bought a potato from your winter farmers’ market, you should give it a try.  I buy plenty of supermarket produce in addition to supporting my local farmers when I can, but there are a few things that are just so much more flavorful when I buy them from the farmers’ market that they seem like different vegetables.  Potatoes are one of those things.  But I should also say that I am no potato snob.  Potatoes are one of my favorite foods and I always have a 5 lb. bag of grocery store potatoes lurking in the basement just in case.  (Is that weird?)  And I love them.  Just like I love the even more flavorful fancy ones.

I had a bag of purple potatoes.  You can use whatever potatoes you have or choose to acquire.

This is a riff on the Smoky Cauliflower Frittata to the extent that I used the smoked paprika and smoked cheese combo again.  I was using up leftover baked cod, but I think this recipe would also be great if you used a smoked fish instead and left out the paprika.  Or you can leave the fish out altogether, of course.  We roll with a lot of vegetarians, so we made one frittata with the fish and one without.Purple Potato Frittata, with or without Cod: Dice a few potatoes into small cubes and saute in olive oil over medium high heat with a large diced onion until the potato is edibly tender.  Meanwhile, whisk 6 eggs with 1/4 c. Greek yogurt, 2 tsp. smoked paprika and salt and pepper.  Mix two handfuls of smoked cheese and one of sharp cheddar into the eggs, along with the cooked potato and onion mixture.  Flake some cooked or smoked fish into the bowl if you’re using it.  Mix gently to combine everything.  Heat a little more oil in the same pan you used to cook the potatoes, then pour in the egg mixture and cook about 5 minutes over medium heat until the edges are set.  Scatter one last handful of cheese on top of the eggs.  Transfer to the oven and bake at 375 for another 10-12 minutes, until nearly set, then turn on the broiler for a carefully attended minute or two to brown the top.  Serve with toast and fruit for breakfast, or with a salad for any other meal.

French Toast with Vanilla and Orange Zest

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I hope that you have some loaves of challah in the oven or the bread box, because you are going to want to make this French toast this weekend.  Lots of the recipes I have posted here are old favorites, but this one is a new favorite.  It’s Ina Garten’s recipe but Sonia made it for me recently, and then I made it again, and frankly, it’s the reason we’ll be baking challah again tomorrow.

Vanilla.  Orange Zest.  Crisp, buttery edges.  Custardy centers.   A drizzle of pure maple syrup, a tumble of fruit, a steaming mug of coffee.  Weekend mornings don’t get better than this.

French Toast with Vanilla and Orange Zest:  In a wide bowl or pan, whisk 6 eggs with 1 1/2 c. milk, 1 Tb. honey, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, and the zest of one orange.  Soak 3/4 inch slices of challah for 5 minutes, turning once.  Cook in plenty of butter over medium heat until nicely browned on each side (meanwhile, get the next batch of bread soaking in the egg mixture).  Transfer to a 250 degree oven while you cook the remaining slices.  Serve with maple syrup and fruit.

Baking Challah

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I always like to bake  bread, but I have to admit that I have special enthusiasm for the project when it’s my three year old who looks at me brightly on a Friday morning and suggests, “Mama, let’s make challah!” Yes, let’s.

I use Claudia Roden’s recipe from The Book of Jewish Food, which I like best of the challah (or “hallah”) recipes I’ve tried. The recipe as written makes four huge loaves, which seems perfectly reasonable once we devour one warm from the oven, set one or two aside to make weekend French toast, and are left with one to eat for the next week’s toast or, more generously, to give away.

Four loaves of Challah: Dissolve 2 Tbsp. dry yeast in 2 1/4 c. warm water with 1 tsp. sugar and set aside 10 minutes, or until it bubbles up.  In your biggest bowl, beat 4 eggs, then add 1 Tbsp. salt, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/2 c. vegetable oil and beat again.  Then add the yeast mixture and beat one more time.  Gradually add enough flour for the dough to come together, 9-10 cups in all, first mixing in your bowl and then turning out on a floured surface and kneading.  Knead for about 15 minutes, having your three-year-old sprinkle the counter and dough with more flour as needed to keep the dough from getting sticky.  Stop adding flour when the dough becomes un-sticky and smooth and very enjoyable to knead.  Oil your bowl and replace the dough ball, flipping once so both sides are oiled, then cover bowl and set aside to rise for 2-3 hours, until doubled.  Punch down and knead again, then divide into 4 sections (each will become a loaf).  If you’d like to add raisins to some of your loaves, knead in a few handfuls now.  Next, shape the loaves: you can braid them (make three ropes, set them side by side, then braid outward in each direction from the middle), or you can make a round challah by rolling out a long rope and spiraling it around itself like a snail.  Move loaves to well-oiled baking sheets and leave to rise for 1 more hour, until they have doubled again.  Brush loaves gently with a bit of beaten egg, sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds (or cinnamon sugar!) if you like, and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until well-browned and hollow-sounding when you tap the bottoms of the loaves. 

Smoked Salmon Frittata with Spinach and Herbed Cream Cheese

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Here in Seattle, when we say “smoked salmon” we aren’t talking about cold-smoked lox-style salmon. Instead it’s hot-smoked, flaky, a bit drier, and by far my preferred style of smoked salmon. Here’s a nice way to feature it for breakfast.

We smoke our own salmon in the backyard in summertime, but it’s available in the store year round. Try to find a piece if you haven’t tried it, because it’s great. But if it’s not readily available and you do have lox, make it easy on yourself, use that. The frittata will be different but still great.

And let’s be honest: the fish adds smoke and salt, but the real star here is the oniony, herbaceous, melting cream cheese. Even if you don’t make this frittata, you might want to keep a little jar of it in the fridge for smearing on your toast. And—this is a lot of talk about NOT making this frittata for a post dedicated to encouraging you to make this frittata, isn’t it?—you can make an even faster dish by simply stirring flaked or chopped smoked salmon and the herbed cream cheese into a pan of nearly-set scrambled eggs.

Smoked Salmon Frittata with Spinach and Herbed Cream Cheese: First make a bowl of herbed cream cheese by mashing some cream cheese with a pinch of salt and a ton of chopped herbs (I used green onions, chives, parsley, dill, oregano, and thyme, probably about 1 c. loosely packed chopped herbs for 4 oz. cream cheese). Set aside. Sauté an onion until translucent and then stir in a few big handfuls of just-washed chopped or baby spinach until the spinach wilts and any moisture evaporates. Meanwhile, beat 6 eggs with salt, pepper, and ¼ c. crème fraiche or plain yogurt. Flake a piece of smoked salmon into the eggs, then add the onion and spinach and mix well. Wipe out the pan you used for the onions, add a little olive oil, and heat the pan over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for about 5 minutes, until the edges are set. Dollop herbed cream cheese (as much as you want) on top of the eggs. Move to the oven and bake at 375 for about 10 more minutes, until the eggs are set.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

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Today was baking day.  Bread, cookies, granola, muffins, maybe a cake.  I had the best of intentions.  Butter softening on the counter.  Oats and nuts down from the shelves.  Sugar, honey.  All the ingredients.  And then, as it sometimes does, the day got away from me.  So that was fun too.

But I did make these muffins.  They use 100% whole wheat flour but somehow aren’t heavy.  They’re moist and a little sweet, and you can make them sweeter with a pecan streusel topping.  We always go that route when we have them as a breakfast treat.  Or you can make the muffins plain, as I do when I make them for my kids’ lunchboxes, usually in a mini muffin tin.  Kids dig little things.  And it’s cute to watch the baby enthusiastically eat a whole–if tiny–muffin.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins require three bowls if you’re making the streusel topping, which I highly recommend.  Make the topping first: mash together or pulse in a food processor 1/2 c brown sugar, 2 tsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 3 Tb. butter, and 2/3 c. chopped pecans.  Pop the topping into the freezer while you’re preparing the batter (and if you have leftover topping, you can keep it in the freezer for next time).   Mix wet ingredients in one bowl: 2 beaten eggs, 1 1/3 c. buttermilk, 1/3 c. canola oil, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl: 2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 c. (or up to 3/4 c.) brown sugar.  Using a rubber spatula, fold wet and dry ingredients together with 1 c. peeled and finely diced apple.  Don’t stir too much, just until it’s all combined.  Scoop into buttered or lined muffin tins, filling nearly to the top, then pat streusel on top if you are using it.  Bake at 375 in the upper 1/3 of the oven for about 10 mins for mini muffins or 20-25 mins for the larger size.

This recipe is from my all-time favorite cookbook, Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  My copy is falling apart, pages are abandoning the binding, it’s oil-stained and thickened by pages that have soaked up sauces, dressings, soup splatters, and my notes in the margins.  What do your favorite cookbooks look like?  And what are they?