Home fries, home slice!

I have a mental picture of the dude (read: nerd) who inquired of Google, "What does 'Wasabi, home slice' mean?" Even my kids know Wasabi is more than a spicy, expensive root that is usually replaced by a cheaper preparation of horseradish, mustard and green food coloring. Wasabi is a one-word interrogative statement employed by hipsters (read: metro-nerds) when seeking information from other hipsters usually as a direct question of current emotional well-being or purpose. Translated into improper English: "What's up?"

Home slice, on the other hand, is what you call your homie, your paisano, your brother from another mother, even your children.

Anyhoo, I gave up eating potatoes for breakfast several years ago because I just love them so darned much and they were making me pudgy. I'm more moderate now and do eat them sometimes - more like 1-2 times a month. This morning I tried them a new way, following this recipe from Simply Recipes. They were so, so good. There was some distrust of the onion among the natives. But, oh! I will enjoy having them again in the distant future.

One further note: I made them with peeled, uncooked russets. I think if you use cooked potatoes they will come out approximately like the delicious breakfast potatoes at Toast.

That's all.

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Smoked Salmon Spread (or, Put a Little Protein on that Giant Carb)

It's ill-advised for me to think about math too early in the day, but here's a pre-coffee postulation for you:  breakfast is a binary event. Win/lose. Carb/protein. Sugar/salt. You choose between an Omelette or Waffles. Well, you might order bacon with your pancakes, ye who just have to have it all. But usually I approach breakfast hungry for one - sugar/salt or carb/protein (win/win either way) - or the other.

A bagel with smoked salmon is one of my favorite things. This is exactly how I like it: the top half of a fresh onion bagel (not toasted, unless it's not fresh) with a thin shmear of cream cheese, a smattering of very thinly sliced red onion, a layer of smoked salmon, three not-too-thick slices of tomato, several turns of fresh ground pepper and a pinch of kosher salt or a few dashes of Redmond Real Salt. Having drained my coffee, it occurrs to me that you get a smidgen of protein with your carb here. But let's be honest, like 99% of the calories here are from the bagel.

One day, with a need to bring something breakfasty to a meeting and a short supply of smoked salmon, I conjured up a recipe for salmon spread. Oh, it is SOOO good! And wonderful for a crowd because it takes some of the work out of layering process. I served it recently at a 60-person brunch along with a basket of sliced bagels and a platter of sliced red onion and tomato. No capers. Boo, capers. Anyhoo, I had a bit leftover and it made a nice little afternoon snack atop Triscuts.

Smoked Salmon Spread
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. cream cheese
2 T heavy cream
pinch kosher salt
2 T shallot, minced
1 tsp. fresh parsley
4 oz. smoked salmon, gently shredded

METHOD
Soften cream cheese in a mixer using paddle attachment.

Add cream and beat for another minute or so.

Add shallot, parsley and salt and combine briefly. Add shallot, parsley and salt and combine briefly. Add salmon and stir in by hand (or use mixer on lowest speed for just a few turns). Do not overmix.

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Summer? Nice to meet you.

There has been some uncertainty regarding the season in which we find ourselves. I might point out to those among you grumbling about the rain and reluctant sun that it is still spring. Complaints can be free to flow in 24 hours. Until then, make peace with the rain.

Several things change in the tide between seasons. Winter is over when the last Ruby Red is shipped from Texas. Spring is over when the first corn and peaches hit Chicago. Where these come from is a question without a good answer. Independence Day is not far off and corn went in the ground late this year owing to record spring rainfall in the Midwest. Corn is nowhere near knee high and yet it's been on our plates for a few weeks now. When I go to Trader Joe's later today to refresh my supply of both I will make inquiries as to the origin.

This morning we enjoyed a fine breakfast of Crêpes, thanks to the efforts of four of my favorite girls on earth. They rose early and used every drop of milk and nearly every egg, but they made the batter and tucked in into the fridge to chill and rest, as is necessary for crêpe batter*. By the time I was up all I had to do was make a few lattes and warm my crêpe pans.

Since we wanted to make things extra-special for our houseguests we got really jiggy with flavors. Usually we just do cinnamon sugar or raspberry jam filled. Today I pulled out Catherine's blueberry jam, nutella, sliced almonds and chocolate chips and let people fill their own. Kata had a brilliant idea of adding sliced peach to one of hers. When she offered to fill one for me I had to try her combo: a thin slathering of raspberry jam topped with fresh peach slices and rolled up. Peach with blueberry jam was equally heavenly. We have a fair amount of batter leftover and I can't wait to have another peach-blueberry crêpe tomorrow.

I don't care to waste a minute on less-than-stellar produce so I'm always giving and taking recommendations for the best sources. The corn on the cob (unshucked) and peaches (by the case) at TJ's have been perfect. Don't be nervous about buying 12 peaches. You can always chop some up and freeze for smoothies.  Treasure Island has fantastic watermelons right now.

*  "Why?" you ask. Because after all that whisking you've worked the gluten in the flour. Retiring the batter to the fridge allows the gluten to relax again, ensuring the delicacy of your crêpes. If you don't allow the resting time, you risk a rubbery crêpe.

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We have no bananas today

I made banana muffins today for the first time in a long time. Muffins get made when we have spotty nanas, the super sweet freckled ones. In our local banana republic we eat bananas the minute they are ripe, and sometimes a day earlier. We've been on a banana kick lately, consuming them as soon as they come into the house. And so, no muffins.

I am a big fan of the banana and most of its kinfolk. In fact the only banana I ever met that I disliked was the Runts banana.  A box of Runts has way too many bananas in it, contributing to the candy's poor scores in public recognition and approval. But we were talking about the muffins...

Oh! One more thing. I heard this very interesting/slightly alarmist report on NPR about how the global supply of bananas could go kaput in the not-too-distant future. The reason: some kind of a banana-eating disease is lumbering through Southeast Asia and Australia snacking on the very type of bananas - Cavendish - that are imported to the rest of the world. I was probably supposed to get all fired up over this news, but I'm going to take sides with science and capitalism here. Bananas are the #1 selling fruit in the US. Someone will figure out something to meet that demand.

Back to the muffins. I used to make these with whole wheat flour but they were just not as light or scrumptious. Now I use a combination of organic all purpose flour and wheat germ. Here's that recipe:

Banana Muffins
Print recipe only here

Makes one dozen muffins

INGREDIENTS
3 bananas
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup toasted pecans

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 (or 300 convection). Lightly spray a muffin tin with baking release. If you plan to add pecans, toast them in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, then cool.

In a medium to large mixing bowl (or bowl of stand mixer) mash the bananas. Add yogurt, eggs, sugar, oil and extract and mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine. Add to the wet ingredients and mix gently until just combined. Roughly chop the pecans and add them to the batter.

Scoop into the prepared muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the sides of the muffins pull away from the pan, the tops are golden and firm. Cool slightly. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

Further nonsense: Go Bananas!

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Planning a Festive Christmas Breakfast

Cinnamon Sugar and Raspberry Crepes

Breakfast on Christmas morning has to be beautiful but given the multitude of distractions its execution is a daunting task. If there ever was a meal that took place amid such chaos, this is it. You're likely dealing a houseful of extended family, expectant children, a present you forgot to wrap, and a scheduled departure for Grandma's house.  Planning, shopping and prepping ahead of time is the best tactic. Here's some ideas to get you started.

Four is the magic number for a well rounded breakfast. You want a balance of sweet and savory and choices for everyone. Choose at least one thing from the four breakfast food groups that are fruit, bread, eggs, and meat.

Fruit - Keep an eye out later this week for fresh pineapple, clementines or Satsumas, Ruby Red Texas Grapefruit or oranges and buy whatever looks good. Grapefruit and fresh squeezed orange juice are both great for smaller crowds. Tangerines make lovely centerpieces in bowls on the table. Fruit salads are lovely, but time consuming, so don't plan on doing too much peeling and slicing. Fresh papaya with lime is another great option - but look for the papaya sooner rather than later as it will probably need some time to ripen on your counter.

Almond Croissants

Bread - You've got lots of choices here. You could pick up some bagels, smoked salmon and cream cheese. You could get croissants - Costco has fairly nice ones; buy in advance and warm up in a 300 oven for about 15 minutes. Or, pick up some almond paste and make Almond Croissants - you can do all the work a few days in advance and bake them off on Christmas morning. You could toast/broil those decadent Wolferman's English muffins (blueberry are a personal fave) or crumpets. I would pick up some good rasperry preserves and a European butter to serve if you go the muffin/crumpet route. Another fantastic option is Baked French Toast. Pick up a loaf or two of brioche and soak it overnite - then bake in the morning and delight everyone. Pancakes- traditional or cornmeal - and crepes are lovely as well, but only suitable to prepare for 6 or fewer people.

Eggs - For several years we ate Eggs Benedict on Christmas morning. I don't particularly like Hollandaise sauce, or poached eggs for that matter, but a homemade Egg McMuffin can be a delightful thing. To make a traditional Eggs Bene, you might consider picking up some of those adorable silicone eggs poachers. If poaching scares you, just cook the eggs over easy. No one will complain, trust me. To complete the dish, cook up some Canadian bacon (or the ham mentioned below), and toast some English muffins. Whip up the Hollandaise as the eggs cook and plan to sit down to eat immediately after assembling everything.

Breakfast Tortilla

Other egg options are the ever delightful Breakfast Tortilla which you could make a day in advance and warm up before serving. And don't overlook a simple batch of scrambled eggs. Make your scrambles a little more decadent with the addition of some grated Gruyère right at the end of cooking, and top with a bit of chopped parsley for color.

Meat - I just love Amy Lu's Breakfast Club Breakfast Sausages. They're lean, they're delicious. I buy them in Chicago at Whole Foods or Treasure Island. Trader Joe's sells a lean (Niman Ranch) Applewood Ham that crisps up nicely on a hot griddle. Plan for 2 links or slices per person and serve family-style on a small platter.

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Favorite Fall Breakfasts

Breakfast quinoa? That might not be a bad idea, though I'd try Heidi's or Martha's recipe first. I've only ever made quinoa as a savory side dish. Following Kristine's recommendation, I often add sliced almonds just before serving. But If I cooked it in nonfat milk, and added toasted almonds, and a handful of those plump sour cherries I like so much I bet it'd be a great breakfast.

I am a big fan of hot cereal though I don't eat a wide variety of them. I love Cream of Wheat, but oatmeal is my go-to on a cold morning. Or when I'm at Zingerman's in Ann Arbor. They make really good oatmeal there. I bought some of their stoneground oats last fall when I was sure I wouldn't make it through another Chicago winter without them. It's an imported Irish product, Macroom. I'd kind of like to do a taste test against a quicker-cooking version I sampled from Trader Joe's this summer. The Macroom version, in addition to arriving in a nearly impenetrable can (I had to look online for instructions on how to open it) takes forever to cook. This is the thing about breakfast: I'm lazy about it because I don't really care enough. I'm rarely that hungry in the morning, and by the time I am hungry I no longer have time to spend cooking.

My kids favorite school-morning breakfasts remain French Toast (I make it on a sprouted wheat bread, like Alvarado Street), corn bread, and pancakes. My favorite cold breakfast is light granola, which I eat most mornings. It's got the right balance of honey, nuts and seeds and is so nourishing. I make a batch of it every few weeks. But I'm needing a change. I sense an Egg Mess in the offing! Or an Egg Soft Taco with Frank's Red Hot and Parsley.

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Like a Bunch of Monkeys

Monkey bread isn't that difficult an undertaking. It just requires a lot of rising time. The best way to do it is to make the dough and form the bread the night before you plan to serve it (assuming, since it's a breakfasty sort of a thing, that you'll be serving it before noon the next day). Then, you can cover it loosely with plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for its final rise.

When you wake up, remove it from the fridge while you preheat your oven. Then bake as directed. And do note baking times. Monkey bread gets baked in a tube - and only a tube. If you use an light gray aluminum pan it will bake for about an hour. If you use a darker, heavier tube pan, it will only need to bake for about 40 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. If you only have room on your shelves for one baking cookbook, this should be it. Anyway, the Pinch version has lots less sugar.

Pinched Monkey Bread
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
4 1/2 t yeast (2 pkg)
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 t salt
4 oz unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
about 5 1/2 cups flour

Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 t cinnamon
4 oz unsalted butter, melted
1 cup toasted chopped pecans (optional)

METHOD
Combine yeast, milk, water and sugar in a mixing bowl and let dissolve for about five minutes. Add salt, butter and eggs and whisk well. Add 2 1/2 cups flour and mix well. Add another 2 1/2 cups flour and beat on mixer with hook attachment for about 2-3 minutes.

Turn out onto a floured counted and knead for a couple of minutes. Then return to the mixing bowl and let rest for 10 minutes.

Using dough hook again, mix dough for about 5 minutes (alternately, turn back onto the counter and knead for a long, long time - like 8-10 minutes), adding more flour as necessary. Then place in a clean, greased bowl, cover and allow to rise until double in size.

Punch down and let rest another 10 minutes.

Combine the sugars and cinnamon in a medium bowl and pour the warm, melted butter to a sheet pan. Grease a 10-inch tube pan quite well.

Tear off golf-ball sized pieces of dough and roll them into balls. You should form about 30 balls. As you form them, transfer them to the sheet pan and roll them around in the melted butter. Once all the dough is formed, roll the balls one at a time in the sugar and transfer to the greased tube pan. Once you have the bottom of the pan covered, sprinkle about a third of pecans on top. Keep layering the pan with sugared dough and pecans until you've used everything up. Sprinkle the top with some or all the remaining sugar and cover loosely with foil or plastic wrap. At this point you can refrigerate the dough overnite. Or, set it aside to rise to the top of the pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 40-60 minutes, depending on the pan you've used (see above). Let cool for about ten minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate. I like to invert it again, so that the top is the side that was on top as it baked. Allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before allowing any monkeys to tear into it.

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A Simple Country Breakfast and Seasonal Dessert

I have a new favorite bread from the Green City Market. Well, from Bennison's Bakery, which comes to the market from Evanston. Last summer we were totally committed to Bennison's ciabatta, which is the best in the city. I've grumbled before about the dearth of fabulous bread in Chicago. If it weren't for the good folks at Bennison's, I don't know what I'd do. The bread pictured here is their miche - kind of a French classic country bread that was popularized by Lionel Poilâne. Midwest bread lovers would find Zingerman's pain de montagne a comparable loaf.

What I love about miche/montagne is the deep flavor, dark crust, and caramel color, which is always visible because it's sold by the quarter. The whole loaves are large - Zingerman's boasts theirs weighs in at nearly four and a half pounds . Bennison's loaf is much less dense, but still, a quarter is all you'd want. Why don't they just bake it in a smaller size? The bread realizes its maximum potential when baked in a larger loaf.

This morning I brought home a dozen farm eggs and the miche and had a delightful breakfast of the two. I've been enjoying my granola so much lately that it's been awhile since I had an egg for breakfast.

Abounding at the market were strawberries and rhubarb. A cobbler is in the cards. That recipe will be forthcoming.

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The Best Peanut Butter

What's the best peanut butter? Not the one in your glass. That only works with red wine. White wine could be a cleaning product for all I care. But we were talking about peanut butter.

This morning we had waffles for breakfast. As they finished cooking we took our places at the counter and slathered them with Adams Creamy peanut butter. Maple syrup goes on the side in a little puddle. Slather and dip, that's how we roll. And only with Adams.

Oh, peanut butter, love you I do.

That's all.

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Best in Scone: How to make beautiful breakfast pastries

If you want to make gorgeous scones that look better than the stuff in the case at Starbucks, you need to do three things. No, four.

#1 You must get a coarse sugar for the top. You just must. King Arthur Flour sells some.
#2 Don't add egg to the dough unless you're baking them far in advance of people eating them, or if they'll be sitting around all day. The egg will make them softer for a longer period but won't make them as crumbly at the start.
#3 Don't over mix. I say this all the time in the sweet kitchen. If you work the heck out of anything with flour it's gonna turn into a bagel.
#4 Shape matters. I am partial to the triangular scone which are easy to shape with a bench scraper. But, when making a traditional current scone, they just have to be round, and brushed with egg wash prior to baking.

White Chocolate and Sour Cherry Scones
Print recipe only here

Makes 8 scones

YOU WILL NEED:

• Cuisnart (if you don't have one, freeze your butter and grate it in a box grater. Return grated butter to the freezer for an hour after grating to refreeze, then add to the dry ingredients.
• Parchment paper
• Coarse sugar

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups berries

METHOD
In Cuisinart, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda and pulse to combine.

Add butter to the Cuisinart and process just until the flour takes on a slight yellow color and there are no huge pieces of butter left.

At this point I usually empty the contents of the cuisinart bowl (herein referred to as THE MIX) into a large ziploc bag and freeze overnight. At the very least throw it in the freezer for an hour before proceeding.

When ready to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Set out a sheet pan fitted with parchment.

Dump the mix into a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk with cutting-type motions. Be very delicate here. Do no over mix or over handle.

When mostly combined throw in your berries - about 1 1/2 cups. See below for varieties.

When the fruit is just combined into the dough, dump out onto a floured work surface, pat into a 10" circle and cut into 8 wedges.

Sprinkle with crystal sugar and bake at 350 (or 300 convection) until they are very nicely browned. They want to sound hollow when you tap on their undersides, too.

They bake for about 40 minutes, but every oven is different, so get used to using your eyes and ears to determine baking times. Set the timer for 30 minutes and then peek at them every 5 min or so until they're done.

Varieties

Follow the same method for all varieties. Combine the dry ingredients in the Cuisinart, then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Stir in berries or spices or whatever you're adding. Then add buttermilk.

Blueberry: When I use blueberries (frozen are fine) I also add a bit of freshly ground nutmeg. Lemon zest is nice with blueberries, too.
Strawberry: Only use fresh berries, and chop them up - the frozen ones have too much water.
Peach and nectarine are great summertime scones, chopped up into triangular dice.
Cranberry-Orange scones are great in the fall and winter. Add the zest of 1-2 oranges to the recipe.
I also like Currant scones with a bit of orange zest. I like to egg wash the top of the current ones, and cut them using a round biscuit cutter. Serve them with clotted cream if you can source it.

Cinnamon: Add about 2 T cinnamon to the plain mix and top the scones with cinnamon sugar before baking.
White Chocolate and Sour Cherry: I use equal measure of both, so 3/4 cup of each. And I don't bother to plump or chop the cherries. I like the ones from Trader Joes - delicious.

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Foolproof Spanish Tortilla

I owe Beth big for figuring out a way to cook a Spanish tortilla the easy way. Her discovery - simply baking it in a cake pan - not only takes the stress and guesswork out of cooking it in a skillet on the cook top, but the finished product also tastes a whole lot better. The evenness of the oven cooks it way more gently. I'll never use a skillet again.

You can add whatever you like. I like the look of the red pepper in there, but asparagus would look great too. Just start with the potato/onion and add from there. Here's how:

Oven baked Spanish Tortilla
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
5 T extra virgin olive oil
5-6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 small onion , halved and sliced thin
1 t salt
Fresh ground black pepper
10 large eggs
1 red pepper, roasted, rinsed and diced (or 1/2 cup jarred roasted red peppers , rinsed, dried, and diced)

METHOD
Line a 9-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350.

Toss potatoes, onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper with 3 T of the olive oil in large bowl until potato slices are thoroughly coated. Heat 2 T oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium-low, add potato mixture to skillet, and set bowl aside without washing. Cover and cook, stirring with rubber spatula every 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Now prep your add-ins. I like it just with roasted red pepper (fresh or, in a pinch, jarred ones). Other options: cooked greens like chard, diced chorizo, bacon or prosciutto, asparagus tips or fresh green peas. Before adding anything to the eggs, you must first sauté or thoroughly drain and dry it.

Whisk eggs and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in reserved bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold hot potato mixture, red peppers, and any other add-ins you like into eggs. Pour into the parchment-lined 9-inch cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until puffed up and golden. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then invert onto a large, flat plate. Remove the parchment paper, invert onto a second plate (or foil-wrapped cake circle) for service. Serve at room temperature.

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The Best Muffin of the Season

Today really began at the farmer's market. But it didn't get good until I pulled these pumpkin muffins out of the oven later in the morning.

They are so light and airy, so perfectly soft. And they mix up pretty quickly - I had them mixed, baked and served in not much more than 30 minutes. Pumpkin has hit the shelf of every grocery store in the continental US by now.

I topped half the batch with streusel as a sop to the children. It's early in the fall, and they sort of forgot that they like pumpkin. But streusel they KNOW they love.

Pumpkin Muffins
Print recipe only here

Makes one dozen muffins

INGREDIENTS
½ cup canola oil
scant 1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
½ t salt
¾ t cinnamon
scant ½ t nutmeg
1/3 cup buttermilk

METHOD
Spray a muffin tin with canola spray and preheat oven to 350° (or 300° convection)

Cream canola oil and sugar in a mixer with paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes.

Add pumpkin puree and eggs and mix well to combine.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Add one half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and blend slowly for half a minute.

Add buttermilk and mix.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Finish mixing by hand with a spatula, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl to incorporate.

Transfer to greased muffin tin (I like to use an ice cream scoop to do this). If you want to use streusel add it on here, just 1-2 teaspoons atop each unbaked muffin.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until just done. Cool for five minutes in the pan, then serve. Can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for a few days - but they're best right outta the oven.

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Making Granola Before the Snow Flies

Light granola with coconut, almonds and sunflower seeds

It's fall, which means two things: first, granola; and second, time to get ready for ski season.

It's that time of year. Not by Midwestern standards, of course, but at 10,000 feet (where my mind often wanders) the leaves are golden and flying. And snow is in the forecast later in the week.

Seasons in Telluride are short - well, three of them anyway. Basically there's a long, white, glorious winter. It begins with the first real snow, often in late October, and ends when the ski area closes, usually the first week in April. Spring (beings the day after the ski area closes and ends May 31) is muddy, brown and, to be honest, smelly. Summer (June) is lovely and green with cool nights and some warm days. Not much of what you might call heat, more like heat's distant cousin from the left coast. June is the driest month of the year with the least precipitation. July and August is Monsoon Season. I don't care to speak about that. And fall, when the meadows and Aspen leaves all go from green to amber, is so very lovely and totally fleeting, almost always eclipsed by an early snowfall.

Which is why, come fall, you start outfitting your kids' ski gear. Skis can last a couple of years but bindings need to be adjusted to accommodate bigger boots. Helmets get checked and stickered. (There is NOTHING cooler than a well decorated helmet - I saw a five year old at a Wisconsin ski area last winter sporting a helmet covered in stickers from western ski resorts, but pole position was given to a podunk Midwestern ski hill).

While many western ski resorts open on Thanksgiving, a mere two months away, we've got at least until mid-January before there's enough snow to ski locally. Kids' feet can grow a lot in a season, so I'm holding myself back from outfitting them too soon.

Somehow, making granola helps. Filling the house with the comforting sweet and nutty smell is one of fall's best scents. Today I'm going to make a recipe my sister passed along from Martha Stewart. The first recipe below shows what I added to make it a little heartier. And following THAT is the granola I've been making for nearly 15 years, based on the recipe we used at Cafe Nola.

Light Granola
Print recipe only here

Makes 4 cups
INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
* 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
* 1/2 cup sliced almonds
* 2 tablespoons flax meal (ground flax seeds)
* 2 tablespoons wheat germ
* 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1 cup dried blueberries, currants, sour cherries or dried fruit of your choice

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine oats, coconut, and almonds. In a small bowl, stir together oil and honey. Pour over oat mixture and toss. Bake, tossing occasionally, until lightly toasted, 16 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

Place mixture in a large bowl and stir in dried fruit. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.


Hearty Granola
Print recipe only here

Makes 6 cups

Preheat oven to 350

Toss together in a large mixing bowl:
4 cups oats
1/2 cup dry milk (Whole Foods offers some organic options)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 t nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
pinch clove
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Combine in a small saucepan over medium heat:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 t vanilla extract

Bring the liquids to a brief boil, then immediately pour over the oats. Stir together well. Spread on a baking sheet and bake, turning and shaking/stirring every so often, about 25 minutes, or until nicely golden.

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Breakfast of Champions

Thank goodness for sprouted wheat bread. It's wonderfully delicious and nutritious. My children have eaten it their entire lives. I'm thankful for any opportunity to squeeze a bit of protein into their diet, and the bread I buy at Trader Joe's has 5 grams per slice. They love it toasted and slathered with peanut butter and honey, or with cheddar cheese or avocado slices. And at breakfast time they enjoy it as French Toast, shown here.

Now, truth be told, they really LOVE French Toast made with a good sourdough (they got their Dad's sourdough gene intact). But that's something to be enjoyed more on a once-a-month or occasional weekend. Using a nutritious bread for the basis means I can send them off to school or camp well-fueled, not just fed.

All you need are the basics: an egg, some lowfat milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract and butter for the pan. I keep a mesh tea immerser in my container of powdered sugar for dusting. A couple of shakes and you'd think I had given them a bowl of Skittles for breakfast. I don't do the sugar bit every time - and I didn't do it when they were small. But I did travel with French Toast sticks frequently. They're a great finger food for kids on the go.

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Quiche For People Who Don't Like Quiche

I like quiche on a case by case basis, and not like a wino who says the same thing and yet means something very different.

The only way I'll even eat quiche is if it's short in stature. I do not dig on deep dish, so I use ½-inch tall, removable-bottom tart pans to make quiche. The portion size and ratio of crust to filling are both much more reasonable using these pans. Plus, they make the quiche easier to cook correctly.

Quiche are great for entertaining. You can make them up to a few days in advance of your event and warm them up that morning. If you don't drop at least one while chatting with guests as you remove a warm quiche from the oven you're better at multitasking than I.

I regularly make two kinds - traditional Quiche Lorraine and Spinach Feta & Caramelized Onion. The base is the same for both. With a pre-baked tart shell, you could fill it with anything you like (asparagus and Gruyere, tomatoes and basil, sauteed leeks and fontina, roasted Mediterranean vegetables), top it with the base and have a fine quiche.

First, you'll need a good pie dough. Make your pie dough a few days before your event. Pie dough likes to rest a lot, and extra time in the fridge won't hurt it.

Print pie dough recipe here.

Base for one 9-inch quiche
Whisk together:
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup milk or cream (or a combination of both)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch nutmeg

Quiche Lorriane
Add to bottom of prebaked tart shell (lined with pie dough):
½ - ¾ cup crumbled, cooked bacon
½ - ¾ cup grated or diced Gruyere
Cover with base and cook at 350 for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely golden and set.

Spinach Feta and Caramelized Onion
Print recipe only here

Add to bottom of pre-baked tart shell (lined with pie dough):
3-4 ounces baby spinach, sauteed quickly in a smidge of olive oil
(Note: baby spinach seems to have less water which makes it helpful for quiche. if you use regular spinach make sure to drain it well - once sauteed, transfer to a strainer and press with a ladle.
1-2 ounces feta (1/3 cup), diced or crumbled
1 medium onion, caramelized slowly in olive oil
Cover with quiche base and cook at 350 for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely golden and set.

Seen on the food blogs:
Simply Recipes' Mushroom Quiche
101 Cookbooks' Spinach Mushroom Quiche
Smitten Kitchen's Leek and Mushroom Quiche

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On the Importance of Toasting Your Tortillas

Mariana taught me this. In addition to being the person who tipped me off to Pete's Market in Pilsen, she showed me the proper way to prep a corn tortilla. It does not involve a pan - just the open flame of your gas range. Sorry to ye of the electric stove.

For starters, it absolutely helps if you have great tortillas on hand. I don't get to Pilsen that often but found a great tortilla at Whole Foods:

Anyway, your basic corn tortilla out of the package looks like this:

I you get them fresh, they're delicious as it. But trust me, they're even better if you toast them - even the Pilsen ones. To toast, just set your burner to a medium flame a pop a tortilla directly on top:

Flip after a minute or two, or once the tortilla puckers a bit. Just stay close by and keep checking. You want them to char a bit, just so. The end result looks like this:


We pretty much always have corn tortillas in the fridge, using them alternately for breakfast (with eggs), lunch (with tuna) or at dinner carnitas, or for soft tacos). I'm not certain that they're completely gluten free, but they provide a nice respite from wheat. Also: yum.

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Butter Cake + Cinnamon Sugar = Scrumptious Coffee Cake

Adding a layer of cinnamon sugar to a plain butter cake is an easy way to make eating cake in the morning slightly more acceptable (let's not even consider that doing this adds MORE sugar to the cake). I would caution you not to start many mornings this way. Instead, tuck it away in your cookbook for mornings when you find yourself entertaining. Guests tend to appreciate being greeted with a slice of freshly baked coffeecake more than, say, an egg white omelet.

Even though this cake requires an hour to bake, once baked it's ready to go. Also, it sits nicely overnight so you can always make it after dinner one evening to serve the following morning.

Easy Morning Coffeecake
Print recipe only here

Makes one 10-inch bundt cake

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°

Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.

Soften for 3-4 minutes in a mixer with paddle attachment:

* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

Add slowly (about 2-4 T at a time, over about 8 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl at least once between additions):

* 2 cups sugar

Add one at a time, mixing thoroughly between additions and scraping the bowl midway between additions:

* 4 eggs

Add:

* 2 t vanilla extract

Sift together and reserve:

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 t baking powder
* 1/2 t baking soda
* 1/2 t salt

Measure out and reserve:

* 1 cup buttermilk

Add the dry ingredients to the butter/eggs alternately with the liquid. (Scoop in about half the dry and mix on low speed until nearly incorporated, then pour in half the liquid, mixing in the same.) Repeat. Finish mixing by hand with a large spatula, carefully scraping up from the bottom of the mixing bowl and not over mixing.

Pour 1/4 of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle about 2T cinnamon sugar on top (see recipe below). It should look like this:

Pour half the remaining batter on top and top with another 2 T cinnamon sugar. Pour the remaining batter on top, smooth to cover all the cinnamon sugar and bake about 50 minutes or until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and passes the toothpick test.

OPTIONAL: Toward the end of baking, prepare glaze (see recipe below). When cake is done baking, let it sit for about 10 minutes in the pan. Invert it onto a plate and pierce it all over with a long skewer. Pour the hot glaze slowly over the top, allowing it to saturate the cake.

Keeps well, loosely covered at room temperature, for 3-4 days.

Cinnamon Sugar
Makes 1/4 cup

Mix well:

* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 T cinnamon

Glaze
If you really want to go over-the-top

* 2 T butter
* 2 T heavy cream
* 2 T brown sugar
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 t vanilla extract or rum

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Swirl until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour over warm cake and serve.

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For Light and Fluffy Waffles, Under Mixing is the Ticket

Under mixing is a lesson you'll only ever learn from a pastry chef. I've spoken before about being gentle with cake batters and other bakery items where flour is involved. Most items produced in the sweet kitchen are delicate. Flaky. Crumbly. How do you make such a flaky crust? Under mix the butter into the pie dough. How do you make delicate scones? Don't over mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients. How do you make a light and fluffy pancakes and waffles? You see where this is going.

Pie dough and waffle batter are the extremes in this rule. Pie dough and waffle batter should be riddled with blobs of butter and egg whites, respectively. Next time you're making either, resist the urge to mix thoroughly. Your waffles will be lighter than air.

Here's a photo of ready to cook waffle batter. The whites were added with just a few turns of a large spatula. Somehow, when the waffles cook, the clumps of whites take care of themselves.



Buttermilk Waffles
Print recipe only here

Makes 5 waffles

YOU WILL NEED
2 cups AP flour
1 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
4 T canola oil
2 eggs, separated

METHOD
Preheat waffle iron.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Separate eggs, cracking egg whites into a medium mixing bowl and reserving.

Measure out buttermilk and canola oil and add egg yolks, whisking well to combine.

Whisk egg whites until solid white and foamy - they should be loose and not peak-forming.

Add liquid to dry ingredients and combine with a few swift strokes. The batter should be lumpy and mostly - but not too thoroughly - combined. Dump the egg whites on top and combine in the same manner with about 5 or 6 total folds. The egg whites should be evident in the mixture.

Cook 1 scant cup batter on hot iron per manufacturer's instructions or until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately or cool on a wire rack if you have too many and want to freeze some. Allow them to cool completely on the rack, then transfer to a one-gallon Ziploc storage bag.

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Oh, joy! I got a new woodpecker for my camera!

Rosemary Raisin Bread, pictured above, is a winter favorite of mine. We used to make it at Campagne for service in the Cafe. We served it toasted with apricot jam, which I still enjoy. I'm partial to Bonne Maman preserves. The goods are great and the empty jars are useful around the kitchen. One lives near my stovetop as a kosher salt cellar.

I often gift these loaves at Christmastime, usually with a pot of preserves too. The loaf above made it out to New York, stashed in my checked baggage alongside three dense chocolate tortes for my dad's birthday party. Good thing TSA didn't get the munchies.

A special thanks to Grandma Doris for noticing some missing information on the recipe. How cool that my Grandma not only reads my blog, but cooks from it?!? I added baking times to the recipe link for clarification.

I'm back home now, psyched to play with my new camera and make another round of Christmas cookies. Christmas baking was limited this year because I got strep throat right before Christmas. Upside of getting strep throat: made me feel like a kid again. A whiny, feeling oh-so-sorry-for-herself because she had to miss the cookie exchanges and Third Annual Peninsula Chocolate Bar Extravaganza, kind of kid, but a kid just the same.

Anyway, home, psyched and strep-free, I'm also really looking forward to overusing my annual Trading Places greeting of Happy New Year! over the next few days. Hope yours is especially merry.

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Breaking Fast with an Egg Mess

Mark my words: If there's ever a Pinch Café the breakfast menu will feature one of my favorite morning meals: the Egg Mess.

The Egg Mess is awesome for all the right reasons. It’s simple, it’s delicious, and it’s healthy. The Egg Mess pictured here (made with two eggs and two pieces of toast) has 10 grams total fat, 22 grams of protein and 32 grams carbohydrate.*

The simplicity of the Egg Mess is that it requires few ingredients: eggs, toast and copious amounts of freshly ground pepper.

To keep it as healthy as the one shown here you need to use a sprouted sandwich bread and cook the eggs using a spritz of canola spray. The sprouted bread I love so much comes from Trader Joe's (their Sprouted Multi-Grain), but the original creator is Alvarado Street Bakery.

The level of difficulty depends on your ability to adequately toast bread and cook an egg. I’m not being glib: achieving well-toasted bread (not too dark or or it'll be too dry) and cooking eggs to anyone’s liking is not always simple. I like my Egg Mess with eggs cooked over-easy so the eggs saturate the toasted bread.

Want to give it a try?

Egg Mess
Print recipe only here

Serves 1

INGREDIENTS
* 2 eggs
* 2 pieces sprouted multi-grain bread (Trader Joe's or Alvarado Street)
* Salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD
Preheat a small nonstick pan over a medium flame.

Lightly toast two slices of bread.

Spritz the hot pan with canola spray and crack eggs into pan. Sprinkle with salt and cook until set. Flip gently and cook another 30-60 seconds, depending on how soft you like your eggs.

Remove toast from toaster, tear into bite-sized pieces and put pieces in a cereal bowl.

Transfer cooked eggs to same bowl on top of toast and cut into bite-sizes pieces.

Add several turns of freshly ground pepper and combine the eggs and toast. Enjoy immediately.


*based on information provided from packaging:
1 egg: 4.5 gram total fat; 1.5 gram saturated fat; 6 grams protein; 1 gram carbohydrate
1 piece Trader Joe’s Sprouted Multi-Grain Bread: .5 gram total fat; 15 grams carbohydrate; 5 grams protein

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