Breakfast

Pumpkin Pecan Granola

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I had to squeak in one more pumpkin recipe before all the Christmas festivities get started around here. Next week I”ll be decorating my house and listening to Christmas music all day long, with no shame involved! But, it”s not quite that time yet so I”m giving you one last bite of pumpkin bliss before it goes out of style.

We hardly buy any boxed cereal anymore because homemade granola is so easy to make and so adaptable to different seasons. Max is going through a major granola phase –  it”s all he wants for breakfast. But, when it”s so full of goodness and so easy to make, it”s one obsession I can get on board with.

Make this granola with that last bit of pumpkin before all the peppermint and cranberry recipes start rolling in. Wee Hoo!

Pumpkin Pecan Granola

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 2/3 cup maple syrup

  • 2/3 cup pumpkin puree

  • 4 cups rolled oats

  • 1 cup chopped pecans

  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Stir together olive oil, salt, spices, maple syrup and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Add oats, pecans and sesame seeds. Stir until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet, allowing it to stay clumpy. Bake at 325°F for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until mixture is dry and lightly browned. Stir in cranberries and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Adapted from Simple Bites. Originally from The Sprouted Kitchen.

Apple Oat Scones

By in Breakfast, Fall 3 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Ok. So it”s pretty obvious that I”ve been on a no-processed-sugar kick lately. It”s true. I”ve also been on a whole wheat flour kick, although a bit more quietly. Does this mean I won”t be sharing sugar laden sweets on the blog anymore? Absolutely not. There”s no way I”m going to be trying to healthify a cupcake. Cupcakes are not meant to be made with whole wheat flour and maple syrup. You”d just end up with a weird muffin that was trying too hard. No, I will enjoy them for what they are – a very special treat. And when I do, I will most definitely be sharing them with you.

But, it is true that my family is cutting way back on our consumption of white flour and granulated sugar, so you”ll be seeing a lot more of these sugar-free/whole wheat recipes popping up on the blog. But only if they”re truly delicious. Because who can keep up with eating healthy if it”s a chore? Not me.

These Apple Oat Scones make a delicious and satisfying breakfast. A crisp exterior gives way to a soft and slightly chewy interior with bites of apple and cinnamon, all lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They”re hearty yet light. And, served with a cup of tea or coffee they make a for perfect fall breakfast.

Apple Oat Scones

  • 1/3 cup greek yogurt (plain yogurt or sour cream will also work)

  • 1/3 cup milk

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

  • 1 1/3 cups rolled oats

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut up

  • 2 medium-sized apples (not too tart), diced

  • additional maple syrup, oats and cinnamon for topping

Whisk together yogurt, milk, vanilla and syrup in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Combine flour, oats, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Toss in butter, quickly breaking it up with your fingers until the butter is approximately pea sized (or use a pastry cutter). Rub the mixture between your palms to flatten the butter into sheets.

Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in apples. Dump mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet that has been lightly floured (mixture will be quite sticky). Pat into a 6×8 inch rectangle (wetting your fingers with water will help with this). Cut into 12, 2 inch squares. Separate the squares, spacing them out on the baking sheet. Brush scones with a bit of maple syrup, sprinkle on some oats and cinnamon to garnish. Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes: 12

Highly adapted from Martha Stewart.

Crispy Baked Hash Browns (Freezer Friendly)

By in Breakfast, GF Sides, Gluten Free, Sides 13 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Crispy Baked Hash Browns (Freezer Friendly)

For me one of the perfect weekend breakfasts is a plate full of hash browns, eggs, toast and bacon with a side of coffee. I”ve tried so many versions of homemade hash browns but they never seemed to turn out crisp enough, or were never quite cooked through and always seemed to be lacking in flavour. I”ve been dreaming of a hash brown recipe that I could make in bulk and store in the freezer so I could use it as a substitute for the ones you find in the grocery store that have so many other ingredients in it that you wonder how much real food is actually in there.

This is it. I found the recipe. It took the brilliant minds of Cooks Illustrated to figure it out for me. Thank you! This recipe works on so many levels. It makes a large batch so you can make it easily for guests or you can enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later. The potatoes turn out super crispy thanks to being boiled in water, along with baking soda, which quickly breaks down the outside, without cooking in the inside, so that it gets a nice crust while it bakes. The baking pan is also preheated in a screaming hot oven so that the potatoes start cooking as soon as they hit the pan, virtually turning it into a large skillet. I also love that it”s basically hands-free once you get it in the oven, meaning that if you are serving it to guests you can focus on other parts of the meal.

The preparation plus baking time definitely doesn”t produce instantaneous results, this isn”t a quick recipe. But my plan is to make it in batches when I have the time and then storing it in the freezer so that it can be instantaneous later on. I prepared mine with dinner the first round, froze the remainder and served them for breakfast a couple days later. It literally took five minutes for them to be ready from the freezer and they tasted just as good as when I made them fresh. That”s even better than the ones you get in the freezer isle.

Crispy Baked Hash Browns

I don”t peel my potatoes because the skin adds more nutrition and I like the flavour, but feel free to peel the potatoes before dicing if you prefer.

  • 3.5 pounds russet potatoes, diced ( 3/4 inch or smaller)

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

  • 1.5 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • dash of cayenne pepper

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or preferred high-heat oil)

Place a large rimmed baking sheet on an oven rack set to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 500ºF.

In a dutch oven, bring to boil 10 cups of water, over high heat. Add potatoes and baking soda. Bring back to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Drain potatoes and return to pot; place over low heat, shaking the pot occasionally, until any liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in butter, salt, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Stir together until mixed evenly and potatoes are coated with a starchy paste.

Remove baking sheet from oven and drizzle with oil. Spread potatoes in an even layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring potatoes every 15 minutes, until potatoes are browned and crispy. Serve immediately.

To Freeze: Allow potatoes to cool fully on baking sheet, transfer to the freezer until frozen. Once frozen toss into a resealable plastic bag. When ready to use, remove as much as needed from freezer bag, cook in a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat until warmed through (about 5 minutes).

Serves: 6-8

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated Jan/Feb/2012.

Apple-Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal

By in Breakfast, Fall, GF Mains, Gluten Free 1 Comment Tags: , , , ,

Hello friends! I kind of disappeared off the face of the earth for a little bit there didn”t I? The wonderful thing about fall and your son being in preschool is that you get all sorts of wonderful bugs brought back to your home. Let”s just say that food has been the last thing on my mind and health has been at the foremost. Probiotics are being consumed daily and I have a newly spurned desire to make sure, even more, that what we”re eating is not only tasty but nourishing for our bodies too. And a healthy day starts with breakfast!

This oatmeal was actually Max”s idea. I was going to make our usual Banana Walnut Oatmeal when he protested that today he wanted Apple Oatmeal! So I decided to take my go-to and give it an apple-cinnamon spin. It was a hit and it will now be going into our morning oatmeal rotation.

Apple-Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal

Use gluten-free certified oats to make this gluten-free.

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 cup milk (or almond/coconut milk)

  • 1 small apple (or 1/2 large), peeled and diced

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • pinch nutmeg

  • pinch salt

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1/3 cup raisins

Place water, milk, apple, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and maple syrup in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Stir in oats and raisins. Simmer over medium heat for 8 minutes or until desired thickness. Top with additional milk, cinnamon and apple slices before serving, if desired.

Makes: 2-3 servings

Breakfast Wafflewich

By in Breakfast, Lunch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

breakfast wafflewich

Max’s favourite breakfasts are toast and eggs or oatmeal. He’s gotten so good at helping me make these things that he knows just what to do and how to tell when his eggs or oatmeal are done. I love making breakfast with him but I was getting a little tired of the same old, same old. So, I came up with these sandwiches to switch things up a bit and help add some veggies to our favourite breakfast. They were a hit! He ate an entire sandwich himself and then asked for another.

You can sub out the veggies in these for whatever veggies you prefer. Tomatoes won’t be super tasty for too much longer so we might swap them out with some roasted red bell pepper, sautéed mushrooms or green onions. Feel free to mix and match to your delight.

I kept it light on the condiments because we were having it for a weekday breakfast but if we made these on a weekend (a.k.a special breakfast) we might just spread the outside with butter to make it more grilled cheesesque or add some mayo to the inside to make it more like a breakfast BLT, and while we’re at it we might even swap out the the ham for bacon! But for an everyday/weekday breakfast we’ll keep things a little healthier as described below.

I love that this breakfast looks like a waffle but tastes like a panini. It makes it great for grabbing on the go and so much fun for kids.

Breakfast Wafflewich

If desired you can spread the bread lightly with butter to give it a grilled cheese effect.

  • 4 slices soft wheat bread
  • sliced cheese
  • 4 slices deli ham
  • 2 fried eggs (firm yolks)
  • 4 slices tomato
  • 1 handful baby spinach

Preheat a square-style waffle iron. Divide toppings between two slices of bread, starting with a layer of cheese and ending with one more slice of cheese (to act as glue). Top with remaining bread. Place in preheated waffle iron and press down firmly to create a waffle impression. Allow to cook 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally if needed, until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Serve warm.

Makes: 2 sandwiches

Chai Spiced Banana Bread

By in Breads, Breakfast, Fall 14 Comments Tags: , , , , , ,

Remember how I wanted to hold onto summer? Well summer didn”t want to hold on to me. Around the same time I was professing my love of summer and how I was going to hold onto it and my garden forever, it decided to frost and kill half my garden. And, it was just about to start bearing all sorts of deliciousness. Boo. Ever since then there”s been a chill in the air and its never quite warmed up again. Ha ha. Serves me right for thinking I had control of the seasons. :)

I decided I better start embracing fall in all it”s glory because winter lasts about 8 months out of the year here in Alberta and I just needed to buckle down and face the facts. I usually love all the seasons when they come but I haven”t lived in Canada for almost 4 years and I”m not conditioned to these cold, long winters anymore. I”ve become a winter wimp and once fall hits here you know that winter is really only a month away. Despite my anxiety over what”s coming, right now it”s fall, so here I am embracing it with some warm fall spices.

After making this recipe I don”t know that I”ll ever be able to go back to my regular banana bread. I took my go-to recipe, made it a little healthier by adding whole wheat and added some chai spices for a fall spin. The result was one of the most delicious banana breads I have eaten, and I”ve made my share of banana bread. Even my not-so-banana-bread-loving husband was raving about how good it was. I think it has to do in part with the fact that the spices are strong enough to overpower that distinctive banana bread flavour and the whole wheat keeps it from becoming too sticky, as a lot of banana breads seem to be. The crumb is tender and soft, hearty yet light, and the spices are the perfect combination to ring in the new season.

To fall!

Chai Spiced Banana Bread

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

  • 1 1/3 cups sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1.5 teaspoons ground cardamom

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 cup sour cream (full fat)

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla. Sit together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Add to banana mixture in three additions, alternately with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture, until evenly combined. Pour into 2, greased, 9×5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before removing from loaf pans and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes: 2 loaves

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