breakfast quinoa

kris and i have bagels for breakfast every weekend and it's a little routine that i love. but this weekend kris is in boston and since i know he'll be coming back with the good stuff i decided to take a saturday off from bagels to try out something that's been on my list...breakfast quinoa! just like oatmeal you can dress this up to your tastes but here's what i did.

breakfast quinoa
ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water
blueberries
toasted almonds
cinnamon
maple syrup

first toast the quinoa in a dry pan for a few minutes, this gives it a nice toasty, nutty flavor. cook the quinoa in the water and milk covered at a low simmer* for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa is tender and most of the milk is absorbed. remove from heat and add blueberries, syrup, cinnamon and almonds and a splash more milk if desired. eat it!

theoretically this should serve two but since i'm here all by my lonesome i ate it all. this made for a very filling breakfast and i did not really get hungry again until dinner time. that was no fun...i like lunch!

so the verdict? while this is yummy and a nice way to switch things up i went ahead and got bagel fixin's for sunday morning. what can i say? i'm a creature of habit i suppose.

-d

blueberry muffins

These are my very favorite blueberry muffins. As I have mentioned before, I hated blueberries as a child, and my parents made me blueberry-less blueberry muffins every summer. And even though they were super tasty, I am glad that I have found a place in my heart for blueberries.I have transcribed the recipe from the book, BUT I never actually mash any of the blueberries. They soften as they bake and form a nice blueberry swirl on their own, so I have never gone to the trouble of mashing. And this time, because I was making them for guests this weekend and ran out of all-purpose flour, substituted one cup of all purpose with one cup of white whole white. They were not quite as fluffy, but I think a tad healthier in the end!

Enjoy!

- e

Double Blueberry Muffins

from Gale Gand, Butter Flour Sugar Eggs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin or line the cups with paper liners. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and mix. In a shallow bowl, mash 3/4 cup of the blueberries with the back of a fork. Add to the batter and mix.

With the mixer running at low speed, add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the milk, and mix. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Fold in the remaining 1 3/4 cups whole blueberries by hand until well mixed. In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon. Use an ice-cream scoop or large spoon to fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over the muffins and bake until golden brown and risen, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before turning out.

strawberry apricot jam

I have no idea what came over me, but the other day I got home from an afternoon of hanging out with a friend and felt the need to make jam. Maybe it was the dreary weather, or the multiple quarts of fresh strawberries lurking in my kitchen (I eat as many in-season strawberries as is humanly possible to make up for all the tasteless ones I consume throughout the rest of the year). So I made jam.

Now, as a child, I helped my mother make dozens of jars of strawberry jam, after intensive strawberry-picking sessions. We would come home with flats and flats of berries, and since four people could not possibly eat that many pounds of berries, my mom made jam. Lots of it. And stored it in the freezer. It was bright red and sweet and delicious and is still my favorite jam of all time. And this jam, the one I made the other day, comes pretty close to the flavor of that jam.

I worked from a Barefoot Contessa recipe and adapted liberally. The apple adds natural pectin, the goo that holds jam together and gives it that nice glossiness. I threw in the apricot for a bit of tang to off-set the strawberry sweetness. And it's delicious. I might start eating it straight from the jar with a spoon. And am now scheming up a few dessert ideas to use it in, so stay tuned!

Strawberry Apricot Jam
adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
make 3 cups

3 pints fresh strawberries
3 ripe apricots
3 cups superfine sugar (I used plain old granulated and it was just fine)
1/2 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced
zest and juice of 1 orange

Rinse the strawberries. Drain and hull. Cut the larger ones in quarters, smaller ones in halves. Cut the apricots in half, remove pit, and cut into half-inch or so chunks. Place berries and apricots in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and toss with sugar. Let macerate for 10 minutes or so.

Bring the berry mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Add the apple, orange zest and juice, and continue to keep the mixture at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, until the jam reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. This should take 25 to 35 minutes. Skim and discard any foam that rises to the top.

Allow mixture to cool to room temperature, then store covered in the refrigerator. The jam will keep at least 2 weeks. If you would like it to last a bit longer, pack and seal in canning jars according to the manufacturers instructions.

Enjoy!

- e

Strawberry Muffins

Almost every morning, I have yogurt with some kind of fruit, maybe a bit of homemade granola. And I confess, I can be a tad picky about my yogurt. While I would love to eat the full-fat French yogurt every day, it might be a detriment to my waistline and overall well being. So I have found a compromise with Stonyfield Farm. They make a very nice, creamy, fat-free plain yogurt that you can gussy up with fruit, jam, honey. And last week, there was this recipe in the lid. I am not, in general, a big fan of fruit in my muffins. Throughout my childhood, my mother made what were certainly delicious blueberry muffins in the summer months, but I would not eat them. No, I would only eat the blueberry-less blueberry muffins she made just for me. Picky child, I know. But now, I LOVE the blueberry muffin (and, in fact, cannot wait for farmer's-market-fresh blueberries so that I can make a batch to share with you!) and decided that strawberry muffins might not be such a stretch. While they cannot hold a candle to the blueberry muffin, these were tasty, not very sweet - and definitely healthy. If you want to make them a little more special - or just want a healthy dessert - slice them in half horizontally, pile fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream on the bottom, pop the top back on, and enjoy!

Strawberry Muffins
from Stonyfield Farm

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (*I used fat-free)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar, and baking soda. In another bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, butter, and vanilla. Toss chopped strawberries into the flour mixture. Then pour yogurt mixture into flour mixture and stir. Spoon batter into buttered muffin tins (or you can use muffin papers, if you like!). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are puffed and golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

- e

banana bread muffins

I often buy too many bananas and feel bad about throwing them away (I live in Boston and composting just is not an option at the moment) so I throw them in the freezer instead. This banana hoarding has been going on for some time now, and frozen bananas are starting to take over my freezer. So I decided to do something about it and make some banana bread. The easy out, I know, but I always love banana bread. AND, I like trying new recipes for banana bread - with or without nuts, using different spices, sometimes adding sour cream or creme fraiche - so this time I settled on the Silver Palate's version. I miraculously had all the right ingredients, but did not have an hour to wait for a loaf to bake. And thus, the muffins were born. I might also add that the muffin is slightly more portable than a slice of bread. The addition of whole wheat flour makes them seem healthier somehow, and I was very pleased with the result!

Banana Bread Muffins
adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook

makes 12 muffins

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup shelled walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (plus extra for sprinkling on top)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with muffin papers.

Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt together, stir in the whole wheat flour, and add to the creamed mixture, mixing well.

Fold in the mashed bananas, vanilla, walnuts and cinnamon.

Divide among muffin tins. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the extra chopped walnuts and a little cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are puffed and brown and a cake tester inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the tins.

- e

homemade granola bars

I have professed my love for the Barefoot Contessa (aka Ina Garten) in prior posts, and so will spare you. These delish granola bars come from her most recent book, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics. I have been meaning to make them for a couple of months, but only today found an excuse! I'm heading to San Francisco on Thursday to visit my partner in crime and blogging! Yay! And since airlines offer zero in the way of refreshments and to say that airport food is always gross/disappointing is an understatment, I decided I needed to take snacks! I perused the aisles at Trader Joe's, but nothing struck my fancy. And that's when I remembered this recipe. Wholesome, delicious. Mess-free (at least in the eating). I have made Ina's granola dozens of times (my mom makes it every week, to go with her homemade granola. Just so you know) and so these weren't much more complicated. I could not be happier with the results! Sweet, chewy, preservative free! Love 'em. I am, in fact, eating one as I type this. I just couldn't wait.

And ps - you can use whatever dried fruit you like. I ended up with cranberries and prunes (I was thinking dates, but for some reason grabbed prunes. Almost the same thing, right?) or omit the fruit completely! Enjoy!


Homemade Granola Bars
from The Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics

yields 12 to 16 bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (ed. note: i omitted this)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2/3 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 x 12 inch baking dish and line with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in wheat germ.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degress.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruit and stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet you fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.



- e