winter citrus fruit salad

February and I haven't always been on the best of terms. Grey short days with lots of rain don't do much to raise the spirits. This February (& throw in January too) has been nothing short of spectacular. Sunny, warm weather, cherry trees in bloom and snowdrops and crocuses in full colour. February, I'm starting to change my mind about you! Sure, there's a little thing called the Winter Olympics going on in our city as well and while this warm weather isn't boding well for the snow sports, it's sure making everyone smile a whole lot more.

Another thing that has been putting a grin on my face is this fruit salad. Normally, I'm not one to dive head first into the fruit salad bowl. I tend to be fruit-picky and shy away from things like pears and melons and other awful things that tend to overcrowd most fruit bowls. But if I'm making a fruit salad at home, it's going to play by my rules. So this salad uses up the best of winter fruits like blood oranges, grapefruits and Honeycrisp apples and it's perfect. Normally, I'd throw in a qualifier like "this winter fruit salad is perfect for me", but I made this for my friend and my husband (who readily admits that he isn't a fan of grapefruit), and it received rave reviews. So there, keep your melons to yourself.

In town for the Olympics, a soon-to-be tourist or a Vancouver native? Check out my top picks on where to grab a tasty & affordable bite over at ReadyMade. Got your own picks? Leave me a comment.

winter citrus fruit salad
2 pink grapefruits
2 blood oranges
1 Honeycrisp apple (or sub in another apple of your choice)
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 heaping T of sugar

With a sharp knife, remove the rind and pith of the grapefruits and oranges and cut them into rounds. Cut into quarters, removing any thick segmenty bits if necessary. Cut the apple into a bite-sized dice and throw them all into a medium sized serving bowl. Add the sugar and lime juice over top and give everything a good stir so that the sugar melts into the salad. Sprinkle with lime zest and serve. This salad also keeps nicely for a few days in the fridge.

whole wheat biscuits

Before the flurry of holiday activity begins (or if you are just more organized than I am and have everything all sewn up), take a breather and relax. I made these whole wheat biscuits yesterday morning and they were perfect with coffee and a slather of butter and a dollop of cherry jam. However, they'd be equally wonderful served alongside soup or topped with sausage gravy and a poached egg.

Made with whole wheat flour and wheat germ, they are wholesome and nutty, light even. The rise on these however is not high, but these are not leaden lumps of dough by any means. I found the recipe on The Oyster Evangelist and Joy calls for them to be made in a cast iron skillet. Most of the biscuits managed to fit into the pan, but the leftovers I just baked on a cookie sheet and I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

whole wheat biscuits
(recipe adapted from The Oyster Evangelist)
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c wheat germ
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t kosher salt
6 T unsalted butter, cold
1/2 c yogurt
1/2 c milk

Preheat oven to 450F with a cast iron skillet inside the oven.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add in small cubes of cold butter and use your fingers to work through the mixture until you have pea-sized lumps of dough. In a measuring cup, whisk together the yogurt and milk and add it to the flour mixture, using a wooden spoon to stir it all up into a sticky mass of dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface, dusting additional flour over top and flatten with your hands until it's about an inch thick. Use biscuit cutters to cut out rounds, shaping out any leftover dough into discs and placing them on the hot cast iron skillet (or use a regular old cookie sheet). Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are dark.

better than from a bakery granola

I love granola for breakfast. Not only do I make it quite frequently, but I do often order it when going out for breakfast. I'm a bit of a granola snob and I definitely know what I like. This granola found in Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook is great. Like really, really great.

Look at it, this granola has clusters! Every granola I have made, while delicious & wholesome, doesn't have the goodness that makes them clump up like the granola found at a great bakery. Look no further. This granola clumps, it's crunchy and it's easy to make. Sure, there's a bit more sugar than I'm used to putting in my granola, but it's worth the extra calories. Do it for the clumps!

Want to make your friends, co-workers and family really happy this holiday? Just bake up a batch, throw it in a large glass jar, top it with a bow, and call it a homemade gift made with love. Better yet, bake up a double batch (I've done it and it works beautifully) so you have some for yourself and a friend. Guaranteed happiness.

better than from a bakery granola
(adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
2 c organic large-flake rolled oats
1 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 t salt
3 T plus 1 t canola oil
1/4 c honey
1/4 c firmly packed light brown sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
2/3 c whole almonds
2/3 c raisins

Preheat oven to 325 F. In a large bowl, toss oats with cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla until blended. Pour the wet mixture in with the dry and use your hands to combine the two until everything is well coated and your hands are gooey. Lick them if you must, but wash your hands right after.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the mixture over top. Spread it out evenly, but also keep in mind clumping is a good, good thing. Bake for 10 minutes and then use a spatula to gently flip the granola over. Sprinkle with almonds and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Add raisins and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan. Use your hands to break up the granola...but again, don't go overboard (remember the clumps!). Place in a tightly lidded container.

light & fluffy pancakes with maple apples

This past weekend, Cornelius wanted to go out for pancakes. I wavered. There's a diner in our neighbourhood that used to have the very best pancakes and good service, but the last couple times the service really was terrible and the pancakes weren't up to their usual par. So I put my foot down and make pancakes at home. It turned out to be a great option. The pancakes were light and fluffy and the apples simmered in maple syrup that topped the pancakes was liquid gold. They were perfect and they beat out the pancakes from the local diner hands down.

light & fluffy pancakes with maple apples
(recipe adapted from Bon Appetit)

maple syrup apples
2 T unsalted butter
2 large tart apples, like Bramley Seedings, cored and sliced
1 t ground cinnamon
1 T plus 1/3 c pure maple syrup

pancakes
1 c all purpose flour
2 T yellow cornmeal
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c buttermilk
1 c plain yogurt
1 t vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted

For maple syrup apples:
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and saute for a few minutes until soft. Add remaining syrup and stir until warm. Set aside.

For pancakes:
Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl and whisk until blended. In another bowl, blend together buttermilk, yogurt, vanilla, and egg. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until just blended but still lumpy. Gently mix in the melted butter.

In a large pan, melt a bit of butter or oil over med-high heat and drop in a large spoonful of batter. When bubbles appear on the surface, flip. When the underside is golden, remove and repeat process. Spoon maple apples over pancakes and serve.

toasted oats with yogurt & fresh applesauce

Remember way back when I declared myself a genius? Well, I'm toasting oats again and riding those genius coattails into fame and fortune. Okay, there's no fame and certainly no fortune, I'm still half asleep and haven't had my daily dose of caffeine yet. But I can most certainly tell you about the amazing breakfast I had last week. Read all about it and grab the recipe on Poppytalk.

I realized I had twittered about this, but never posted a link here. Want to find out more about me? My small business heros, Lauren Bacon & Emira Mears interviewed me on their blog. Go on, read all about it. If you haven't read their book, The Boss of You: Everything A Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run, and Maintain Her Own Business, go out and do it now! It's filled with practical and inspiring advice about running your own business (and it ain't just for the ladies). I was also very recently interviewed by Karencilla from Sweet Little Hearts. So please go on over and say hi.

Also, how about a little more self-promotion? My etsy shop is filled to the brim with lots of new cards, including seasonal holiday cards. If you haven't dropped by in a while, go on over and take a peek. If you are in Vancouver, I'll be setting up shop at Toque at the Western Front, November 27th and 28th and at Got Craft? on December 6th.

apple cinnamon biscuits

Wake up to these babies. They are light, fluffy and perfect - and chock full of apples and spice. They taste like autumn, especially when eaten with an apple-cranberry-rosemary sauce. Or apple butter. Or smeared with cherry jam. Even plain, these biscuits are the bomb. Get the hot little recipe over at Poppytalk.

pear & ginger vegan scone

I make scones quite often on the weekends. It's a nice diversion from oatmeal or granola and it makes the house smell like a bakery which is as close the the heavenly ideal as I can get. This Saturday morning, I had scones on the brain and a few Asian pears from our CSA that I needed to use up. Now pears and me have a long history and to put it mildly, I hate them. Growing up we had 2 large and bountiful pear trees and either everyone in our family (but me) was snacking on them out of hand or my mom was in the kitchen baking up pear crisps like they were going out of style. We even had such an overflow of the fruit, that my dad suggested that my brother and I went around to the neighbours selling pears door to door. It was a humiliating experience.

I don't look to kindly to pears and I wasn't happy about receiving them in my CSA. But I hate ignoring something until it goes bad, so I decided that I could dice them up (nixing their mealy texture) and their inherent (gag-inducing) sweetness would bring only goodness to a scone, right? Indeed.

To put it gently, these scones rocked. I was a bit worried that not only was using pears, but that that I didn't have any eggs. But I plowed through and tweaked my usual recipe with pretty spectacular results. They didn't puff up like my usual scones, but otherwise, I couldn't tell a difference. And the pear? It worked beautifully with the ginger and cardamom. And just my luck, we received even more Asian pears in this week's CSA. Looks like there's going to be another Saturday morning scone in our future!

pear & ginger vegan scone
2 c flour
3 t baking powder
1 T sugar
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/4 c Earth Balance margarine*
2 asian pears, diced
3 T diced candied ginger
1 T vanilla extract
3/4 c non-dairy milk (I used almond) + 1 T for topping
2 T raw or demerara sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Cut in the margarine and blend it into the flour so that it resembles oats. Stir in pears and ginger. Add the vanilla to the milk and pour into flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to combine and then knead the mixture 4 or 5 times with your hands until it comes together.

Place dough onto parchment paper and pat into a round shape. Cut into 8 triangles, like a pie and place parchment paper and scones onto a cookie sheet. Brush with remaining tablespoon of milk and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the scones are golden. Serve warm with your favorite jam or a smear of buttery spread.

*Please note that if you do choose to make these with unsalted butter instead of Earth Balance, please throw in 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I find most vegan margarines too salty and got rid of the salt for this version.

toasted oats with berries & yogurt

I know, I know, it's hot outside and all I want to do is drink slushies. Now that it's the weekend, maybe I should slug back a couple with a jigger of rum or two. But sometimes breakfast comes first. And an easy breakfast without a whole lot of fuss would be best.

This morning I was seriously craving some granola. The unfortunate thing was that my granola jar was empty and I only had one cup of old fashioned oats on-hand. So I tried my hand at the next best thing, toasted oats. I toast steel cut oats before I boil 'em so why can't I toast regular old oats and just eat 'em as is? No reason at all! So that's what I did...but I added a bit of this and a bit of that to, you know, jazz things up. The result? It was so good that I declared myself a genius on the spot!

The oven was barely on, so it didn't heat up the house which is always a nice bonus for summer. We ate this topped with vanilla yogurt and fresh raspberries and it really hit the spot. The oats aren't as crunchy as granola and because everything is slightly toasted, it has more flavour than muesli. I'm heading to the store shortly to stock up on oats, as I can see this getting regular play in my kitchen.

toasted oats with berries & yogurt
1 c old fashioned oats
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
2 T shredded coconut
1 T walnuts, chopped
2 c yogurt
1/2 - 3/4 c raspberries (or any fresh berry you have on hand)

Turn on your oven's broiler. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon and brown sugar, then spread it evenly over the baking sheet. Bake for 2 minutes on the top rack, checking frequently so that nothing burns. Remove from oven and sprinkle with coconut and walnuts and bake again for another minute or so...again checking frequently. You want golden, not burnt. Remove from oven. Add yogurt to 2 bowls, divide oat mixture evenly between the two and top with raspberries.

dill, red onion & cheese drop biscuits

There are a few dishes that I make over and over again. The ones requiring a recipe are taped to the side of my fridge. The list includes bannock, Molly's scones, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and now there's this biscuit. I originally spotted the recipe on Bread & Honey and since then, I've made it countless times, always varying ingredients and so far, I've never been led astray. And it's versatile....it was a vegan recipe from the book How It All Vegan!that can be easily tweaked for dairy (like I have done below). They're good, easy and perfect as a side with soup or delicious spit open and topped with a poached egg.

dill, red onion & cheese drop biscuits
(adapted from Bread & Honey)
2 cs flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c red onions, finely diced
1 T dried dill
a hearty grind of black pepper
a large handful of old cheddar cheese
2 T vegetable oil
1 c buttermilk or milk with 1 T vinegar or yogurt with a bit of milk mixed in

Preheat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, red onions, dill, black pepper and cheese. Stir in the milk and oil and mix lightly until combined. Using a tablespoon, drop blobs of dough on a parchment covered or silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until lightly golden. Makes about 6 - 9 biscuits.

strawberry muffins topped with cinnamon sugar

My freezer is full of berries from our berry picking adventures of last summer. Despite how much I seem to add to smoothies or baked goods, it's taking a while for the stash to disappear. Not that I'm complaining much, but soon enough there will be more berry picking to come and I kinda want my freezer space back.

These muffins are light and cakey and would make a perfect item for a lazy weekend brunch. Quick to put together and very delicious, they helped to make a tiny a dent into my strawberry stash. With a strong cup of coffee and half a grapefruit, these muffins made my weekday breakfast into something really special.

As Easter weekend is coming up (uh, starts tomorrow!), here's a few brunch ideas from my archives that might get you baking!

Hot cross buns with cinnamon icing
Ham & cheese spoon bread
Feather light drop biscuits
Bill's coconut bread
Breakfast pizza
Apple crumb coffee cake
Orange crumb cake
Blackberry muffins with crumble topping
Raspberry drop scones
Berry smash muffins

Elsewhere, visit Under the Highchair for more Easter brunch ideas, Coconut & Lime's ham & dill deviled eggs, Hungry Bruno's savory cilantro cake or this fantastic looking lime coconut cake from Pinch my Salt. Enjoy the long holiday weekend!

strawberry muffins topped with cinnamon sugar
(recipe adapted from Eggs on Sunday)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cinnamon
2/3 c sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
1 c yogurt
1 t vanilla
6 T unsalted butter, melted
1 c diced strawberries (frozen is fine)
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin tins or use paper liners. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together. In a small bowl, mix together the zest and sugar with your hands until fragrant.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and zest until fragrant. Add in the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla and beat until creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until a batter forms. Do not over mix. Gently fold in the strawberries until evenly distributed.

3. Add batter to prepared muffin tins, filling each cup to 3/4 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for about 20 minutes or until cake tester comes clean and the tops are lightly golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

low fat granola with millet

Didn't I mention something about cake? Cookies? Something toothsome, gooey and sweet? I swear this isn't turning into a breakfast/vegan blog (not that there's anything wrong with that), but this is how I've been eating lately. It's spring outside...or at least it's trying to be and I think it's time for a dietary shake up for a bit. The cake and cookie recipes will come, I promise! Last week I picked up Mark Bittman's hefty cookbook, How to Cook Everythingand found myself at his granola recipe. It intrigued me since it required no oil and there was a suggestion to throw quinoa or millet into the mix. It got me thinking, and just a few minutes later I found myself heading to the cupboard making up a low fat granola recipe.

Now, I'm no slouch when it comes to making granola. My recipe archives contain recipes for peanut butter granola, cocoa-coconut granola, vanilla almond granola, and my no-fail granola. But despite my granola cred, I've never added millet. And dear readers, millet is a granola god-send! It adds such a snap, crackle, pop for the perfect bite of crunch. As for the no-oil, I couldn't detect much difference between this one and my normal granola, so why not choose the low fat version instead? It's delicious, filling and healthy breakfast and if you prepare a batch every Sunday evening then you have something to look forward to all week long.

low fat granola with millet
(Inspired by Mark Bittman)
6 c organic oats (not quick)
1/2 c millet (regular, uncooked millet)
1 c dessicated coconut
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c flax seeds or ground flax
1/2 c wheat germ
1 c pecans
1 generous T cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves
1/2 t ground cardamom
dash of salt
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c raisins
1/2 - 1 c maple syrup
orange juice

Heat oven to 300F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients from the oats down to the salt. Drizzle in the maple syrup and stir well with a wooden spoon to get everything coated. Needs more liquids? Add in some more maple syrup or a bit of orange juice.

Spread the mix out into a large baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally so that nothing burns. Add in the raisins and cranberries and bake until the granola turns golden and crisp, again making sure things don't get too "golden". Remove from oven and cool. Store in a sealed container. Serve with fresh fruit and yogurt.

haute egg sandwich

First off, I really want to thank you all for your nice comments on my last post! This blog would have been nothing but a whisper without all of you, so thank you! I'm really touched and still giddy over it all.

A little while ago I received an email from Adrienne who is the food blogger behind Nosheteria. She just published a memoir entitled Cooking and Screaming: Finding My Own Recipe for Recovery and wanted to know if I wouldn't mind a copy. Of course I said yes! Her book recounts her recovery after a stroke-like condition at age 21 and how she discovered what she wanted to do with her life: cook and write.

Each chapter begins with a recipe, including a version of a "haute" egg sandwich. But there's so many recipes worthy of making, especially the Tagliatelle with Grated Zucchini that starts off the book. But that one will come later in summer when I'm bombarded with zucchinis. As for the book? It was an enjoyable read. Adrienne's descriptions of food transported me to the Berkley market where she did her shopping or made me wish I was snacking on her catered canapes. She not only cooks with passion but she definitely lives with passion. You can read my full review and follow me on my GoodReads page.

I really liked this sandwich and it reminded me of a simpler version of my apple & cheddar omelette. Next time I make this, I'll follow Adrienne's recipe and sub in English muffins for the toast. Also I'd make 4 sandwiches, as recommended, rather than just 2 giant ones. It would be much easier to grab-and-go that way. The original recipe called for blue cheese rather than cheddar and pear instead of apple. I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese and I hate pears, so this really is my take on her haute egg sandwich. But like most recipes here, it's a highly adaptable one, so do with it what you will and enjoy a mighty fine breakfast sandwich.

And totally off topic, on my other blog, I'm having my first give away clearing out some "damaged goods" note cards from my etsy shop. Enter to win!

haute egg sandwich
(adapted from Cooking and Screaming)
4 eggs
3 T milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 T butter
1/2 T olive oil
1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of sturdy whole grain bread, toasted and buttered
1 T honey
1 tart apple, sliced thin

Whisk the eggs with the milk and salt & pepper and set aside. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil and butter together over medium-high heat. Add in eggs and scramble until nearly set, about 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat. Sprinkle cheese over top, do not mix in.

Spread honey thinly on toasts and divide the apple slices equally over top. Grind some pepper over the apple. Divide the eggs in half and place on the apple slices. Top with remaining toast and eat up. It's gonna be messy.

raspberry drop scones

TGIF. Really, it's been one of those weeks. Tons of work, a big flare up of repetitive stress injury and I haven't worked out in ages. All of this means that I haven't gone grocery shopping in days and for someone who walks to the local market every day or two, things are not looking good fridge-wise. And just to add insult to injury (why not?), I made a pound cake on Sunday that is still sitting in it's pretty glass cake dome because it just tastes too yammy. Yup, a cake I made 5 days ago is still available for eating when things get desperate. I'm in a slump and I've got to shake it up.

One thing that I do have going for me is a freezer full of summer berries. It's a nice surprise to pull out a plastic container filled with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries in the middle of winter (or the beginning of March that feels like the middle of winter). So I made these raspberry drop scones for breakfast a few weekends ago when I was sans slumping. They're not very sweet and they're easy to whip up for breakfast so it makes a perfect little pick-me-up breakfast treat. I think I could use another batch for Saturday morning.

raspberry drop scones
1/2 c skim milk
1 egg
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 c ap flour
1 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
3 T white sugar
1/2 c frozen raspberries, crumbled
1 T raw sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk, egg, and vanilla and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add in the cubes of cold butter and use your hands to break it down into small grains. Add in sugar and raspberries and toss about. With a wooden spoon pour in the milk/egg mixture, reserving about a tablespoon for later. When the dough forms into a ball, knead the mixture a few times and then drop large spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet prepared with silpat or parchment. Brush remaining milk/egg over top each scone and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Cool on a rack. Makes 8 scones.

coconut yogurt pancakes

I made these pancakes for Shrove Tuesday because I've always eaten pancakes for "pancake day". It's tradition. When we were kids, my mom would always make pancakes for dinner and as a kid, that was so exciting because breakfast for dinner was awesome. This time, I didn't make these for dinner. They were breakfast and a weekday breakfast no less. Just one of the reasons why I love working from home? Breakfasts like this. Luxury!

Traditionally, pancakes are made with buttermilk. Since I didn't have any, I went to the tub of yogurt I had in my fridge which happened to be my most favorite yogurt....Liberté's Coconut Yogurt. If you haven't had this stuff, it's pure flavour gold. Just the right amount of sweetness and packed with a coconutty punch. I knew it would be great in pancakes. If you can't find this flavour at your market, I would imagine an easy sub like vanilla yogurt + light coconut milk instead of, or for part of the skim milk would be just as well. And the addition of dessicated coconut is great here, adding not only more coconut flavour but a nice bit of texture too. These pancakes are light and fluffy and perfect topped with maple syrup and a bit of extra butter. Luxury, indeed.

Want more pancake recipes? Check out my archives:
apple cinnamon pancakes
cinnamon chocolate pancakes
cornmeal pancakes
lemon yogurt hotcakes
orange ricotta pancakes
perfect pancakes
pumpkin pancakes

coconut yogurt pancakes
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c ap flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 c dessicated coconut, unsweetened
1 1/4 c coconut yogurt
1 1/4 c milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T melted butter + more for pan

In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, salt and coconut. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, milk, eggs and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and let sit for 10 minutes so the batter can do it's magic. In a large pan, melt a bit of butter over med-high heat and drop in a spoonful of batter. When bubbles appear on the surface, flip. When the underside is golden, remove and repeat process. Serve with more butter and syrup.

a warm send-off: cinnamon apple dutch baby

Last week it was cinnamon waffles and now I'm posting about cinnamon dutch babies. I'm breakfast-crazy or at least cinnamon-crazy. Either way, I'm not complaining. This is a simple but impressive breakfast and it takes the not-so-humble dutch baby and makes it, dare I say, even a bit better. It's a sweet and cozy way to spend a Saturday morning with a pot of hot coffee and the crosswords.

It's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks. We've been tying up loose ends, wrapping up projects and beating deadlines so we could make some time for a visit with family. Tomorrow we're flying to Ontario to visit my mom in the hospital, so it will be pretty quiet here until next week or so. I've got a stack of books, some homemade fig newtons (my parent's favorite) and a few Ritter Sport bars to help keep my mom in good spirits.

cinnamon apple dutch baby
2 T butter
2 small apples, sliced
1 T cinnamon
1 T brown sugar
4 large eggs
½ c all-purpose flour
½ c skim milk

For the topping:
juice of ½ lemon
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400. In a large cast iron pan, heat butter and add in sliced apples, cinnamon and sugar. Saute until the apples are golden brown and the sugar has melted into a delicious caramel sauce.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together and add in flour and milk. Whisk until combined and pour over the apple mixture. Place skillet in oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until the pancake is fluffy and golden brown. Remove from oven and squeeze lemon juice over top and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

fill'er up: cinnamon oatmeal waffles

I can't believe it's been over a year since I've posted a waffle recipe. Believe me, this is the perfect waffle recipe after a long waffle-absence because it will only take one to fill you up. Really. This waffle is hearty. I spied the recipe on the very lovely Shutterbean's site (who originally found the recipe in Sunset magazine) and knew that this would be the waffle recipe to get me back on the waffle train. Enjoy!

The Bloggies!! As I mentioned on my previous post, I've been nominated for a 2009 Bloggie Award as Best Canadian Weblog! I'm thrilled, flattered and oh so excited!! You can vote for me along with a fine group of other bloggers at 2009.Bloggies.com until Monday, February 2nd.

cinnamon oatmeal waffles
(adapted from Shutterbean)
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 t salt
1 T baking powder
2 c rolled oats
3 T flaxmeal
2 T ground cinnamon
1 T brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 c yogurt
3/4 c skim milk
1/4 c butter, melted
1 T vegetable oil (for waffle iron)

1. Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high. In a large bowl, mix together the first seven ingredients (flour to sugar). In a small bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt and milk and whisk to combine. Add in the melted butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix gently.

2. Using a pastry brush, coat the griddle with oil. Pour 3/4 c or so of the batter into the middle of the waffle iron. Bake until golden brown and serve with maple syrup and thick yogurt.

sweet success: meyer lemon & fresh cranberry muffins

This morning while our neighbours to the south were prepping for turkey and cranberry sauce, the rest of us are all business as usual. I had a meeting this morning and decided to bake some muffins for it. Super quick muffins on a weekday? What's not to love? I had a lone Meyer lemon in the fridge and some frozen cranberries that I had stocked up on for a less than a dollar a bag after our Thanksgiving last month. Cranberries seem ideal for the season and I'm glad I used fresh ones rather than dried ones in this recipe. As for the lemon, a plain ol' one will do just fine, but the Meyer worked beautifully and these muffins were so fragrant and lemony.

Enjoy these for breakfast or a late afternoon snack with tea. They are very light in texture and packed full of flavour. And did I mention really, really easy to whip up and really, really easy goin' down.

meyer lemon & fresh cranberry muffins
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
juice of 1 meyer lemon + enough milk to form 1 cup of liquid
1 3/4 c flour
3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
zest of 1 lemon
1 c of fresh or frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 400. Oil up muffin tins. Mix together the first 4 ingredients (oil through milk/juice) in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients until the cranberries are nicely coated in the flour mixture.

Add the dry into the wet and combine until just blended. Drop by spoonful into the prepared tins until each tin is 3/4 full of batter. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

packing on the pancakes: apple pancakes for two

A couple of weekends ago, some friends and I, drove out into the country in search of fancy apples. Last year, at the UBC Apple Festival, I had my first taste of a Belle de Boskoop and I was hooked. It was tart and crisp and so beautiful and I wanted some of my very own. I did a ton of online searching and couldn't find a local grower or any grower period. When I made stops at grocery stores while on trips, I always perused the apple selection just hoping for a sight of that russet beauty. Nothing. Then, I picked up a local guide to farms around the area, and sure enough, Belle de Boskoops were available at an orchard in Langley. I emailed them and they got back to me saying that they only had a few left. When we arrived, I bought a bag full, even though they were past the point of perfection. Sure, they were less crisp than I would have liked, but they still packed a wallop of flavour. And when I described my quest for the perfect apple to one of the owners - that it had to be tart, crisp and juicy - he came back with just the thing: the Sundance. Well, those are my eatin' apples. The Belles, I left for something else entirely. Like these apple pancakes.


And oh, these apple pancakes are perfect. Fluffy and tiny and oh so appley! They are like little apple fritters and perfect for a lazy weekend morning. Whenever I make pancakes, I always end up making too much and while left over batter isn't the worst thing in the world, I wanted these to be enjoyed just once. It's winter you know and I shouldn't be packing on the pancakes. So I just made enough for the husband and me, but please feel free to double up and make enough for an entire family.


apple pancakes for 2
1 egg
3/4 c buttermilk
1 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 t brown sugar
2 small tart apples, grated (I leave the skin on)
1 T butter for frying

Whisk together the egg and buttermilk and set aside. In a larger bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar. Dump in the milk/egg mixture along with the grated apples and combine until just blended. Don't over mix. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes. Heat butter in a cast iron pan and drop batter by the tablespoon, as you want to create silver dollar sized pancakes. Once the pancakes bubble up, flip and fry until both sides are golden. Repeat until all the batter is used up. Serve with maple syrup. This recipe should garner about 10 little pancakes.