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Breakfast

Almond Banana French Toast

November 2, 2010

The breakfast craving: sweet, crunchy, nutty, warm.

I suppose lots of breakfast foods could have satisfied, but I just couldn’t get my mind off French toast.

Speaking of that, when I was younger we always called French toast egg bread. I can’t really even remember when I learned the more widely accepted term for one of my favorite breakfasts. My mom would ask what we wanted on the weekends and “egg bread” was usually my answer.

This past weekend, after being under the weather for most of the month of October, I finally had my appetite back and wanted to step up the French toast a bit. And of course I had those cravings I mentioned to fulfill.

Almond butter, raw almonds, and yet another banana that desperately needed to be eaten came to the rescue. The result was sweet, crunchy, nutty and warm Almond Banana French Toast topped with a little pure maple syrup.

Almond Banana French Toast

2 slices whole grain bread (I used Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat)
1 tbsp almond butter
1/2 very ripe banana, sliced
1 egg
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp raw almonds, finely chopped

Spread the almond butter on one slice of the bread and top with banana slices. Place the other slice of bread on top of the banana and press firmly.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the egg and milk, then stir in the cinnamon. Place the chopped almonds on a plate next to the bowl of egg. Preheat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.

Dip the banana almond butter sandwich in the egg mixture. Flip and press firmly so the bread absorbs the egg. Once the bread is saturated, about 20 seconds on each side, place the sandwich on the plate of almonds.

Press the bread into the almonds so they stick well, flip and coat the other side. Place in the skillet and cook about 90 seconds on each side, until the bread and almonds are browned, all the egg is cooked and the sandwich is heated through. Top with a little maple syrup. Serves 1.

Gingered Pear Quinoa with Walnuts

September 23, 2010

I think I have a problem. I tend to go a little crazy when it comes to buying grains. Wheat berries, couscous, Israeli couscous, millet, brown rice, white rice, sticky rice, oats and quinoa. There have even been occasions when I lost track of which grain was which since I buy them from the bulk bin.

See, I told you I have a problem.

I keep buying because every time I’m in the store I have great ideas of what I will make. Not to mention that if it is a hard grain to find at a great price, I just can’t resist.

As I get settled into the new job I’m finding my cooking creativity is suffering. I trust it will return, but right now I’ve got lots of grains and no cooking going on.

Last night I was motivated, though. Weak as it may have been, I made an attempt to use up my rations. I turned to the red quinoa.

Gingered Pear Quinoa with Walnuts Recipe | Fake Food Free

Not in the mood for savory, I went sweet. And not just sweet, but an autumn-inspired sweet. I’m amazed at how well quinoa turns out with fruits and other sweet additions. The nutty flavor comes out and it tastes like it was meant to be.

I sautéed pears with mascavo sugar, cinnamon, ginger and walnuts. Once tossed with some cooked red quinoa, it became this morning’s perfect breakfast. The best meal I’ve had all week!

Gingered Pear Quinoa with Walnuts Recipe | Fake Food Free

Gingered Pear Quinoa with Walnuts

Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients

 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons mascavo sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 pear, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
1 cup cooked, red quinoa

Prep

Melt the butter and sugar in a skillet on medium heat. Add the cinnamon and ginger and cook until bubbly.

Add the chopped pear, and stir to coat with the sugar mixture. Cook about 1 minute, careful to keep the pears somewhat firm. Add the walnuts.

Stir in the quinoa and serve warm. 

 

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Cranberry Pumpkin Granola

September 19, 2010

I can’t remember the last time I made granola, which means it has been way to long! With an overabundance of rolled oats at the moment I decided an autumn-inspired granola would be just the thing to use them up.

After seeing a variety of granola recipes online and in cookbooks that called for about a ½ cup of oil or butter, I decided to half that and replace part of it with pumpkin puree. This was from thawed, frozen puree I’m still using up from late last winter so it had a very thin consistency.

The sweetener of choice was maple syrup which worked out great. I didn’t add any other sweetener, but the dried cranberries I used were sweetened with sugar.

Once baked and browned, this granola has a spiced, slightly sweet flavor with a nutty background from the walnuts, pecans and sunflower seeds. We’ve been eating it up as a snack, cereal and yogurt topping, and after enjoying it so much I think it may be worthy of food gift status this holiday season!

Cranberry Pumpkin Granola

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup maple syrup
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans and walnuts)
½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp finely ground sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. In a saucepan, melt together the butter, pumpkin and maple syrup. Cook on medium for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the oats, sunflower seeds, cranberries, nuts and coconut. Pour in the maple syrup mixture and stir to coat all the ingredients. Add the spices and salt and stir to incorporate.

Grease two medium sized baking sheets with butter. Divide the granola on the two sheets and spread evenly in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Rotate pans on the oven rack as needed. Remove from the oven once dried and browned. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week. Makes about 6 cups.

Cherry Lemon Pistachio Scones

July 21, 2010

I’ve written of my love of scones before, although it has been a long time since I’ve made them. This is purposeful since a batch barely lasts a day in our kitchen. Yes, put me and a scone in the same room and the self control goes out the window.

Due to a series of events that involved inspiration and obtaining of ingredients, I decided I had sacrificed long enough. It was time for another batch of scones.

Earlier this week I was inspired by this amazing Lemon and Pistachio Cakes recipe at Baker Wanabe. This is a new blog by Anna from Chef Wanabe, one of my favorite food blogs. I still want to try that cake as is, but for this recipe it got me thinking about the lemon pistachio combo.

Next, I received a package of assorted nuts and dried fruit from Oh Nuts. I was thrilled to receive this because I was able to get raw nuts – cashews, pistachios and almonds. I find that I no longer need salt on nuts. If you take it away, you get to enjoy the true, unique flavor of each variety. I also got a bag of dried tart cherries, the benefits of which I wrote about just last week.

I broke into the bags right away. The nuts were very fresh and while the cherries do have added sugar and oil (it is difficult to find varieties that don’t), I just couldn’t stop snacking. Then I reminded myself that I needed to use these for some cooking.

Hmmm…lemon, pistachio…how about cherries too? Check!

So far I haven’t made scones with white whole wheat flour so I tried it with this time around. Excellent! I also skipped a glaze and simply pressed some demerara sugar into the top of each before baking.

My only change is that in the recipe written below I reduced the salt to ¼ teaspoon. I used sea salt and the original ½ teaspoon I added made them just a little too salty and overpowered the sweet. Otherwise these scones have it all – sweet, salty, tart, chewy and crunchy!

Cherry Lemon Pistachio Scones

1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp mascavo sugar
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tbsp lemon zest
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
Juice from ½ a lemon
2/3 cup dried tart cherries
¼ cup raw pistachios
½ cup milk
Demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, mascavo sugar, salt and lemon zest. Cut the butter into pieces and blend with two knives or a pastry blender until the butter is cut into pea-size pieces.

Stir in the lemon juice, cherries and pistachios. Gradually add the milk and mix the dough to form a ball. Place the dough ball on a floured surface and flatten or roll out until it is ¼ to ½ inch in thickness.

Cut it into 8 pieces and place the pieces on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each scone with Demerara sugar and gently press it in to stick. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges are browned and scones are baked through. Makes 8 scones.

Happy 70th Birthday to my Dad today! One of my most loyal readers!
 
Disclosure: Oh Nuts nuts and dried cherries were sent to me free of charge. I was not under any obligation to write about or cook with them, and I did not receive any compensation for doing.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Candied Walnuts

July 12, 2010

Let’s give a round of applause to the first person who decided to add vegetables to desserts, breads and muffins. There is the carrot cake, sweet potato pie, beets in cakes, and of course, zucchini bread. Perhaps vegetables surrounded by sugar aren’t always the best way to go, but it is certainly nice to throw a veggie dessert in the rotation every now and then.

Summer squash doesn’t always stand out as a nutritional superstar, but it definitely has some appealing characteristics. It is rich manganese which activates enzymes that play a role in energy metabolism. It also plays a role in the formation of healthy cartilage and bone. Zucchini also offers vitamin C, vitamin A and dietary fiber in addition to several other vitamins and minerals.

I showed you our zucchini in my last post. We have three plants bearing right now which means we have at least one or two zucchini every day.

We have eaten plenty of sautéed summer squash around here topped with fresh herbs and olive oil. So about two weeks ago I was ready for some zucchini bread. At least bread is what I started with. Then I started thinking about cake.

After adapting the zucchini bread recipe from the 75th Anniversary Edition of the Joy of Cooking by adding my favorite sugars and flour along with some additional spice. I had the cake recipe set. With the chocolate chips and the walnuts this definitely falls in the dessert category, but just between you and me we did have some for breakfast.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Candied Walnuts
Cake adapted from Joy of Cooking, Sweet Zucchini Bread

1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¾ cup demerara sugar
2 eggs
½ cup butter, melted
½ tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh zucchini, shredded
½ cup dark chocolate chips

2 tbsp butter melted
1/8 cup mascavo sugar
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch brownie pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, whisk together the demerara sugar and eggs. Slowly whisk in the ½ cup cooled, melted butter. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar as much as possible. Stir in the vanilla.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Add in the zucchini and the chocolate chips and stir just until incorporated. The batter will be very thick. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.

In a small dish, stir together the butter, mascavo sugar and walnuts until the walnuts are coated. Sprinkle the walnuts over the batter and press in gently.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 9 servings.

Nutritional Resources
WHFoods: Summer Squash (my favorite resource on the web for nutritional info)
Oregon State University: Manganese

Jonathan’s Bluegrass Table: Cornmeal Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce

June 15, 2010

Cornmeal Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce | Fake Food Free 

When I was in San Francisco last November for the Foodbuzz event the people I met, especially those from California, seemed intrigued by the fact that I was from Kentucky. No offense meant to you if you are from California, of course. However, it was immediately apparent to me that Kentucky seemed a strange and far off place to those I encountered.

During that food conference last year the common question was:

How are things in Kentucky?

Obviously, with the given atmosphere “things” was used to refer to food. People seemed somewhat surprised when I told them about our multiple local producers of incredible products like cheese and honey, or the rolling farm land owned by inspiring families who use the same practices as Polyface Farm featured in Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food, Inc. I typically went on to talk about the gourmet restaurants housed in historic buildings with chefs who are regularly in the running for the honor of the James Beard award in the Southeast region.

The more we talked, the more my pride grew. Yes, we have some fabulous food and chefs in Kentucky. While I enjoyed our conversations, I’ve recently acquired a cookbook that will leave no need for further discussions. The next food event I attend outside of Kentucky I think I will take it with me. When someone asks me, “How are things in Kentucky?” my answer will be:

This is how things are in Kentucky.

Jonathan Lundy is the chef owner of the historic restaurant in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, Jonathan at Gratz Park. In his new cookbook, Jonathan’s Bluegrass Table: Redefining Kentucky Cuisine, he combines the flavors and ingredients he grew up around in Kentucky’s Bluegrass region with the flair that only a creative, highly skilled and well-traveled chef can master. Many of the recipes for the foods featured at the restaurant come to life in his cookbook.

Chef Lundy has strong ties to Kentucky which comes through in his art. His family invented Calumet baking powder which was later sold to become Calumet Farm with a record history for Derby and Triple Crown winners. If you don’t know much about horse racing, perhaps this additional fact about Chef Lundy’s history will be of interest – his first kitchen job was as an apprentice to Emeril Lagasse. Jonathan was a 2010 James Beard Southeast chef of the year nominee.

This collection of recipes is more than a cookbook; it is a food memoir of growing up in Kentucky. Chef Lundy uses local ingredients such as sorghum, bourbon, country ham and grits to create old fashioned favorites with an upscale, gourmet twist. It is Kentucky food as it has never been done before. It is history for the modern food lover.

Many of the recipes utilize fairly simple ingredients with straight forward steps. One recipe will encompass several others as sauces, toppings and other additions are included in separate recipes. This makes it easy to quickly find them when you take Chef Lundy’s advice and use the book as a base to get creative in your own cooking.

The book is full of stunning photography by Lee Thomas. Not only will you see gorgeous food photos, but photos of all things Kentucky – horses, stone fences, farms and family.

It was difficult to decide what I wanted to make from the cookbook, but it is likely no surprise to you that I went straight for the brunch section. This led me to Cornmeal Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce. This is the most unique waffle recipe I have tried and to be honest with you, as I mixed the batter I began to worry that it would be too thin. However, once on the iron it puffed up beautifully.

 
Cornmeal Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce | Fake Food Free

I let them cook longer than other waffles I’ve made, closer to 6 minutes than 4. This created a beautifully crunchy crust. Once they are topped with the Bananas Foster Sauce you realize you have the best balance between breakfast and dessert ever created.

Cornmeal Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce and Toasted Pecans

 

Reprinted with permission from Jonathan Lundy

½ cup flour (I used white whole wheat)
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup cornmeal
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar (I used mascavo)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups buttermilk
½ cup milk
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 egg yolk
3 egg whites
Bananas Foster Sauce (below)
½ cup toasted pecans

Sift all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
In another large mixing bowl, mix the vanilla, buttermilk, milk, vegetable oil and egg yolks together.
Whip egg whites to a soft peak.
Mix all ingredients together.
Store in a refrigerator. May be made up to 2 hours before cooking.
Follow waffle machine directions.
Top off waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce and toasted pecans.
Serves 6

Bananas Foster Sauce

1 stick butter, melted
2 cups brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup banana liqueur
6 bananas, sliced ½ inch thick
½ cup dark rum

Add melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized sauté pan. Place pan on low heat and simmer until sugar has dissolved.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes.
Ladle 3-4 ounces on each portion of cornmeal waffles.
Yields about 4 cups – Serves 6

 

If you want to experience Kentucky cooking the book is available from the Jonathan at Gratz Park website, Butler Books or your local bookstore.

If you happen to be around the area you can meet Jonathan during his guest chef appearances at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky on June 18th and on the Old Kentucky Dinner Train on July 10th for special dinners and book signings. He will also host the opening night of the James Beard – Alltech World Equestrian Games dinners on September 25, 2010, an amazing world-wide equestrian and food event taking place in our area.

Below is a sampling of some of the other wonderful recipes you will find in Jonathan’s Bluegrass Table.
All photos below are the work of Lee Thomas and reprinted with permission from Jonathan Lundy.

Potato-Spun Shrimp

Pimento Cheese Grit Fries

Shrimp and Grits

Flaming Butterscotch-Bourbon Crème Brûlée

Disclosure: The review copy of this cookbook was sent to me free of charge. I was not under any obligation to write about it and I did not receive any compensation for doing so. Nothing influenced the opinions written here other than my love for local foods.

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter

June 1, 2010
Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter | Fake Food Free
 

I’m always inspired when I read about other food bloggers taking on challenging ingredients. It is usually something like a root veggie or an over abundance of cabbage in a CSA box. While there is apprehension at first, the final result is always beautiful even if you don’t prefer the star ingredient.

Rhubarb has been my challenging vegetable as of late. It was a staple in our garden growing up, but when I had the opportunity to grow it myself, I declined. But since my parents had an over abundance, I was offered some of this year’s harvest. Seeing it as a culinary challenge, I accepted.

I feel a bit sorry for rhubarb with its poisonous leaves. It really isn’t a nutritional superstar either; just a stalk that is often in the shadows of fruits like strawberries, in order to be enjoyed.

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter | Fake Food Free

I like the flavor of rhubarb, just not the texture. This is especially true after growing up at dinner table with brothers who made disgusting jokes about said texture while eating the pie. Thus, be careful of the way you perceive and communicate perceptions of foods to children. I’m proof that those comments hang around and can control food preferences later in life!

But now, I was up for the challenge of tackling my rhubarb apprehension. With plenty on hand I had to come up with something that would present the flavor, but not the texture.

My first thought? Waffles!

Ever since I got my waffle maker last Christmas I’m always thinking about new waffle recipes. For this one, the rhubarb blended in nicely to the whole grain waffle and while it wasn’t quite as strong as I would have liked it was still good. I topped it off with some strawberry butter and breakfast was complete.

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter | Fake Food Free

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter

Makes: About 6 waffles

Ingredients

 

1 cup rhubarb, chopped
4 tablespoon water
¼ cup demerara sugar

1 cup white whole wheat flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup unsalted butter melted, plus 2 tbsp more for waffle iron
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Prep

In a sauce pan, combine the rhubarb, water and sugar. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring often until the rhubarb cooks down to a jam-like consistency, about five to seven minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

rhubarbrhubarb-cookedrhubarbpan

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Stir in the cooled melted butter, eggs and rhubarb. Stir to combine all the ingredients.

Heat your waffle iron and lightly brush each side with melted butter. Pour a heaping 1/3 cup of batter onto the iron, close and cook for about four minutes. Remove and repeat with the butter for the next waffle. Top waffles with strawberry butter (below) before serving. 

Strawberry Butter

I really enjoy fruit butters in place of syrup on waffles. We used to make them all the time when I worked in a bakery. There are a variety of ways to create them, but the easiest is with jam and butter. I used some strawberry freezer jam that my mom made with this year’s fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, unsalted, slightly softened
2 teaspoon strawberry jam, the thinner the consistency the better

Prep

Place ingredients in a small food processor. Process until everything is blended and the butter is soft and spreadable.

For more info, the University of Illinois Extension Service has a helpful page about rhubarb.

 

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.  

Butternut, Flax and Walnut Bread

May 12, 2010

It is rare that you come across a food that is fresh and local, yet out of season. Sounds kind of strange doesn’t it? Fall and winter squash is such an amazing thing. Stick those babies in a cool environment and they seem to last forever.

That is exactly how this bread came about. At Easter my parents gave me two butternut squash, the last two of the 2009 season. They had kept them in the garage all winter and spring.

I wasn’t sure what I would find when I cut them open. I inserted the knife and carefully split open the squash a little nervous that I might be met with smelly, rotting innards. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw only bright orange flesh staring back at me, ready to be roasted.

I will admit I was pretty thrilled. One, because of how amazing these veggies are that they can be stored for so long and still taste great. Two, because this cool, rainy spring we are having is really messing with my cravings! I should be in a blissful state of enjoying fresh salads and grilled fish, but I find myself wanting warm comfort food and baked goods scented with cinnamon and spice.

The latter led to this recipe. Regardless of the season I can’t seem to pass up a tender, yet hearty quick bread for breakfast. This one is a twist on banana bread. It is sweetened with mascavo sugar and maple syrup and has some walnuts and flax meal thrown in for extra crunch and nutrition. The result? A slightly sweet bread, soft and moist from the squash — the perfect partner for coffee or tea eaten plain or with a small swipe of cinnamon butter.

Butternut, Flax and Walnut Bread

1/3 cup minimally refined cane sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup roasted butternut squash, mashed or pureed
2 tsp ground flax meal
¾ cup milk
2 ½ cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two loaf pans, or you can use one standard loaf pan and two mini-loaf pans like I did.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the sugar, syrup and butter. Add the eggs and whisk until combined. Stir in the squash, milk and flax. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Gradually mix these dry ingredients into the wet batter just until everything is combined. Stir in the nuts.

Divide the batter between loaf pans. Bake the small loaf pans 20 to 25 minutes and the standard loaves 30 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, de-pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Blackberry Yogurt Coffee Cake

April 30, 2010

My freezer is still full of blackberries from last summer. In fact, it has gotten to the point that my parents are now shuffling off their overabundance onto me because the new harvest will be coming up quickly. Considering that our little sprig-like bushes are going to need some time to come around, I’ve gladly accepted all they have offered.

I’ve been tempted to fill the house with desserts, but have had to pull the reigns the past few weeks as my husband prepares for his first marathon this weekend. Of course, I try to use little to no processed sugar and flour in most of our desserts (there are exceptions on occasion), but we still don’t need an overabundance of sweets around at the moment.

I keep hoping I’ll find more and more people to pawn off my desserts too, but right now most of the goodies end up hanging out in our kitchen for a while. If you work from home, you know exactly how dangerous that can be.

Speaking of that I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask. For all of you who pump out posts of dessert after dessert on your food blogs, what do you do with all of it? Big families, neighbors? I’m interested to know.

So what do you do when you don’t want to make a dessert, but still want to use up frozen berries and have something sweet? Well, you make something that is actually a dessert hidden under a name that classifies it into another meal category.

Coffee cake. Problem solved.

Coffee cake is one of those things that I rarely make so maybe that is why I’ve had it on my mind lately. I’ve seen quite a few posts up on other food blogs featuring it likely because coffee cake is great for springtime brunches. So for whatever reason, I wanted to make one.

This recipe successfully used up berries and combines some of my favorite ingredients; one of these being honey-flavored Greek yogurt. I recently found Greek Gods Greek Yogurt at our local supermarket and have been hooked ever since. I used it in this recipe and it resulted in a tender, moist cake with a slightly sweet flavor. I suppose you could use any Greek yogurt, but if you decide to use plain you might want to up the sugar in the recipe a bit. Especially if you are using tart berries, or a minimally refined sugar which are typically more complex and not a sweet as processed white or brown sugar.

I ended up using clove as the sole spice as I wanted something more creative than the traditional cinnamon. This resulted in a cake with berries that remind you of summer and a background flavor that whispers of the holidays. I already have plans to make it again. It is simple to throw together and I’m thinking the berry and fruit options are endless.

Blackberry Yogurt Coffee Cake

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup mascavo sugar
1 egg
¾ cup honey-flavored Greek yogurt
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp clove
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup frozen blackberries

Topping:

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup mascavo sugar
¼ cup white whole wheat flour
¼ cup rolled oats

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a square 8 x 8 inch pan. In a mixing bowl beat together the ½ cup of softened butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat until light and fluffy. Next, mix in the vanilla and yogurt. Sift together the clove, salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour and slowly mix into the wet ingredients until everything is combined. The batter will be very thick. It is almost like a soft cookie dough.

Spread half of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Evenly distribute the berries over the batter, pressing them in gently. Next, cover the berries with the remaining batter spreading it as evenly as possible.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the topping. Sprinkle it evenly over the batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 9 slices.

Kale and Mushroom Quiche

April 28, 2010
Quiche is such a springtime dish. Funny how I make it this week and the temperature dropped to 35 F last night. Good thing the quiche I made is a little on the hearty side with a whole wheat crust and kale. See, I loved that kale and mushroom combo I made a while back so much that I thought – why not try it in a quiche; take a break from the traditional spinach.

It was so good that I’m bummed my husband took the last piece in his lunch today. Although, I had plenty, I think a piece every day since I made it on Sunday.
I used my favorite quiche crust that I started making last year. It is a pat-in-the-pan butter crust in which I use stone ground whole wheat flour. It is not a light and flaky pastry crust. It is crumbly and the nutty flavor of the whole grain goes well with any quiche combination. I doubt I’ll ever put my quiche in anything different.
I put raw kale in the egg mixture and the cooking time on the quiche was plenty to make it nice and tender. I also sprinkled in some red pepper and hot sauce for a mild kick.
Kale and Mushroom Quiche
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 to 3 tbsp milk
½ cup fresh button mushrooms, chopped
1 cup kale, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh parmesan, grated or shredded
1 cup milk
4 farm fresh eggs
1 tbsp white whole wheat flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp hot sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl mix together whole wheat flour and salt, cut in the butter and mix with a fork or pastry blender until butter is incorporated and dough is crumbly. Slowly add milk, one tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms a dry, yet cohesive dough. Press the dough evenly into bottom and sides of a deep, 9 inch pie pan.
On top of the crust sprinkle the mushrooms, kale and cheese. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, spices and hot sauce. Whisk until light and fluffy, or you can also put the mixture in a blender and pulse. Pour the eggs over the crust and arrange your fillings as needed.

Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. The egg will rise a bit and the top should be slightly browned and the center set. Allow to cool for five minutes, slice and serve. Makes six to eight servings.

If you like this, you might also like my Zucchini Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust
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