Banana Paleo "Pancakes" with Fruit Compote

This is a quick and easy breakfast, dessert or snack that tastes surprisingly good too! The basic recipe has been all over the internet (hello, Pinterest) but I tweaked it a bit.

Makes 4-5 pancakes

2 very ripe bananas, peeled
2 eggs
pinch of pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice or spice blend of your choice
pinch salt

1. Add banana to a bowl and mash until smooth. Add in eggs and spices. Whisk vigorously until well mixed. Mixture will be slightly runny - more like crepe batter than pancake batter.

2. Heat non stick pan over medium heat. Add a bit of coconut oil. OIL IS NECESSARY, even with non-stick pan.

3. Cook just like a pancake! Pour approximately 1/4 cup batter per portion into pan, cook until top starts to bubble, flip, cook another couple minutes. Voila!

Fruit Compote

1 cup fresh or frozen fruit mixture (should include either apples or strawberries). I used a frozen blend of strawberries, blueberries and peaches.
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon water

1. Add everything to a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.

2. With the back of a spoon, mash the fruit to break it up. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until it starts to thicken. Leave to simmer while you cook your pancakes. Pour into a bowl and serve with pancakes!

Apples and strawberries have natural pectin which will cause the compote juices to thicken slightly.

Choco Coconut Almont Banana Smoothie

Chocolate! Coconut! Almond! Banana! In a smoothie! This is my go-to quick breakfast of late, but it could also double as a dessert!

Makes 1 Super Delicious Smoothie

1 banana
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1 scoop unsweetened protein powder (optional)
1 teaspoon flax seed meal (optional)

For breakfast smoothie, I include the protein powder and flax. For dessert smoothie, I omit those and include the vanilla.

1. Add all ingredients to a blender and mix on high until well blended. For an icy treat, add 4-5 ice cubes to the blender.

Green Smoothies

I was thinking of buying a juicer so I could drink my vegetables. I even had a juicer all picked out and ready to buy. Then I came across Tera Warner's Green Smoothie Challenge. Instead of juicing her veggies, Tera just blends them up into what she affectionately calls "lawn mower pulp". No expensive, messy juicer required. And by blending your veggies instead of juicing, you keep all that wonderful fiber!

For green smoothie newbies, Tara recommends the following green concoction:

Green Smoothie for Newbies

1 cup water
1 banana
1 handful spinach

Add water and banana to blender and blend until smooth. Add in spinach and blend together.

Instead of water, I had some Green Goodness juicer from Bolthouse Farms. It added a bit of extra sweetness and made the spinach much more palatable.

My next green smoothie experiment included even more greens:

Orange, Red and Green All Over

1/2 cup carrot juice (or carrot/fruit blend)
1/2 cup water
2-3 strawberries
1 handful spinach leaves
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh parsley leaves

Add liquid and strawberries to blender and mix well. Add in spinach, parsley and celery and blend on high until everything is pulverized and juicy green!

Next up I'm going to try kale. I'm not sure how that one will go but I'm willing to try it out!

Baked Egg Muffins

In my ongoing quest to be more prepared and have meals made ahead, I spent this morning in the kitchen. Along with making a batch of Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Muffins, I also made egg muffins... and not the McDonald"s variety. These "muffins" are actually just eggs and chopped veggies, mixed together, then baked in muffin tins. The resulting egg muffins are great for "grab & go" breakfasts and even better for make-ahead brunches.

Baked Egg Muffins - Makes 12

- 8 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk (any type - I used almond)
- 1/2 red pepper, minced
- 1/4 red onion, minced
- 1/2 tomato, diced
- handful of fresh parsley, chopped (yield's about 2-3 tbsp)
- salt & pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk.

3. Stir in veggies, parsley, salt & pepper and mix well.

4. Spoon mixture into muffin tins (approximately 2 oz liquid per cup).

5. Bake in pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins until eggs are set.

Can be served immediately, left to cool, or refrigerated for later use.

Experiment with other mix-in's. Mushrooms, crumbled bacon or sausage, feta or cheddar cheese... the possibilities really are endless.

Smoothie of the Day - Carrot Banana Blueberry

Part of my regular routine when I'm working is a morning smoothie. Everyday I mix up something different based on what I have on hand. This is what I came up with today:

Carrot Banana Blueberry Smoothie:

- 1/4 cup carrot juice
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 whole banana, broken into pieces
- 2 tbsp plain cultured coconut (a.k.a. coconut yogurt)
- 1 tsp fiber supplement

Toss everything in a blender and blend until smooth! The orange from the carrot juice mixed with the blueberries makes a strange dark purplish-brown colour. It doesn't look too appetizing but it tastes just fine.

Peach Kombucha Smoothie

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that is thought to have similar health benefits as Kefir and other cultured foods. It has been served for centuries in Europe and Asia, where it is considered a health tonic. Read more about Kombucha here.

I have read much about this supposed wonder drink but I had yet to try it myself. I bought two bottles ($3.49 each!) and set about taste testing.

Kombucha is, in a word, bad. It smells like vinegar and tastes about the same. But that didn't deter me. Instead of drinking it straight up, I did what I do with Kefir and poured it into a blender to make a smoothie. The results were pretty darn tasty. This particular smoothie is vegan but you could add a bit of greek yogourt if you wanted. I added a bit of flax seed meal to boost the fibre.

Peach Kombucha Smoothie

Serves 2

- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup Kombucha (plain or peach flavour)
- 2 whole fresh peaches, skin on, sliced or 2 cups frozen peach segments or combination of fresh & frozen peaches to equal 2 cups
- add ins of your choice, about 2 teaspoons (flax meal, chia, protein powder, wheat germ etc)
- 1 cup ice

1. Add the first 4 ingredients to a blender and blend well.

2. Add ice and blend again to crush. Pour into two tall glasses.

Cheese, Bacon & Herb Frittata

The other day, one of my co-works made a Frittata for a potluck breakfast. Another co-worker is currently on a "carb free" diet, to get in ship shape for her upcoming wedding so the Frittata was made special for her. A Frittata is like a quiche, except Frittata is crust free; Just eggs and whatever goodies you'd like to add in for flavour. It's incredibly versatile and easy! It can be made in advance and re-heated or eat it cold. Frittata is the perfect for potluck, picnic, breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

For the herb addition to my Frittata I used a couple great freeze dried seasoning blends from Epicure Selections. Their Cheese, Chive & Bacon Dip Mix and Three Onion Dip Mix are perfect additions to eggs, potatoes, soups and of course, dips. I absolutely love their products and have one of just about everything in the catalogue. If you don't have Epicure products to use in your Frittata, just use whatever herbs or seasonings you'd like.

Ingredients:

8 whole eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon dried herb blend of your choice (I used 1/2 tbsp Epicure Cheese, Chive & Bacon Mix and 1/2 tbsp Epicure 3 Onion Mix.)
Pinch each of Salt & Pepper
4 slices of crisp cooked bacon, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 green onion sprigs, sliced thin

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate and set aside.

2. Add eggs and milk to a bowl and beat together. Stir in herbs, salt and pepper.

3. Pour egg mixture into prepared pie plate. Sprinkle over half the cheese and drop bacon pieces evenly around the dish. Cover with remaining cheese.

4. Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese has melted and the eggs are puffed up and the edges starting to brown.

5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sliced green onion. Let cool slightly then slice and serve.

Variations: Substitute ham or sausage for bacon, or omit meat for a vegetarian option. Use fresh herbs instead of dried. Add fresh, diced veggies. Anything goes!



This post is part of Twister Tuesday @ GNOWFGLINS.

Garbage Plate Breakfast

A long time ago I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featuring Frank's Diner and the Chorizo Garbage Plate Special. The premise of the breakfast entrée is that you take whatever you have in your fridge, load it up on top of a bed of grilled hash browns and crack an egg or two on top. Voila! Complete breakfast in one plan and you've cleaned out your fridge a bit in the process.


My Garbage Plate started with a bed of cube hash browns, half a chopped red onion and a bit of chopped red pepper. I cooked it in a cast iron fry pan with a bit of oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. Any left over veggie will do. Throw in any left over meat you have (ham and sausage are great!). Add some fresh (or dried) herbs or other seasonings of your choice. It's my favourite type of recipe - ANYTHING GOES. Make the Garbage Plate based on what you have and what you like. When your hash browns are cooked and your veggie additions are tender, crack an egg or two on top of the mess and mix it all up. Heat until the egg is cooked through. Top with some shredded cheese. Eat. It's like a breakfast stir fry. And it's GOOD!

Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe was forwarded to me by my cousin, Tobe. I re-worked the ingredients to eliminate refined vegetable oil, white sugar and all-purpose flour and reduced the amount of oil and sweetener. The end result is quite good. The spices and pumpkin really stand out. A warm pumpkin muffin with a pat of butter is lovely with tea on a rainy fall afternoon! You could also make pumpkin loaves, if you prefer.

1 400ml (14oz) can 100% pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 whole eggs
1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup water
1 cup unrefined golden cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp aluminum free baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour two 12-cup muffin tins.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut oil, water, cane sugar and vanilla until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, apple pie spice and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffins/loafs comes out clean.

4. Let cool slightly in pan, then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix:

(4:1 ratio of cinnamon to other spices. Adjust volume accordingly.)

1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cloves

1. Add everything to a small glass jar and seal with a tight fitting lid. Shake well to mix. Store for up to 6 months.

Cranberry Orange Butter

Another Preserve the Bounty Challenge from week 2 - preserving in oil or fat. Do you think I have enough compound butters yet!?

This is an extra special compound butter so it deserves its own post. See the original compound butters post here. In this application we use frozen cranberries as they are easier to mix into the butter and easier to mince in a food processor.

1/4 cup frozen cranberries
1 tsp honey (preferably orange blossom)
zest from 1 large orange
1/2 cup soft butter

1. Place frozen cranberries in a food processor and process until minced. Place processed cranberries in a medium bowl.

2. Add orange zest and honey and mix together.

3. Blend in softened butter, using a firm spatula. Spread butter and mix well to get cranberry mixture incorporated throughout.

4. Spoon blended butter onto a sheet of parchment. Roll one end of the parchment over the butter. Using your hands, form and roll the butter in a small log. Twist the ends of the parchment to close. (Mine looks more like a 2x4 than a log, but that's okay too!)

5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Great on muffins, toast and pancakes!

Try blueberries and lemon zest next time!

Blueberry Orange Muffins with Blueberry Filling

Week by week the blueberry supply at the Farmer's Market is dwindling. I missed my chance to buy a case by one week. I kept putting it off and putting it off. Oh well, I still managed to freeze 4 cups, dehydrate 2 cups and preserve 2 cups in Peach Schanpps!

Up today, blueberry muffins made with whole wheat and spelt flours, flavoured with fresh orange juice and zest. And as an added surprise, a dollop of homemade blueberry preserves in the middle!

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional - use another 1/4 cup whole wheat or spelt flour instead of wheat germ)
1/3 cup sucanat or cane sugar (like turbinado)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Juice and zest from 1 orange
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
1 cup fresh blueberries, plus an additional 1/4 cup
1/4 cup blueberry preserves

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a second bowl, add orange juice and zest, coconut oil, vanilla extract, yogurt and egg. Stir together.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together until just combined. Gently fold in 1 cup of blueberries.

5. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cup. Top with a teaspoon of blueberry preserves. Cover preserves with another 2 tablespoons of batter and pat down around the preserves to cover and seal. Sprinkle a few blueberries on the muffin batter.

6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until tops are golden brown. Leave muffins to cool the muffin pan, then remove.

When I made my batter, I forgot to put the melted coconut oil in. The muffins still turned out fabulous.

Berry Cheesecake Whole Wheat Crepes

My co-worker Leasa asked me to make a crepe recipe. I've never made crepes. I'm not even much of a pancake person. Regardless, I took Leasa's challenge and came up with a very nice crepe with strawberry, blueberry and cheese filling. The inspiration for the cheese filling comes from an episode of "Eat Shrink and Be Merry". Janet and Greta were trying to re-create a super indulgent cheesecake recipe. In place of cream cheese and ricotta, they used a blend of protein rich cottage cheese, sour cream and light cream cheese. I figured that would work just as well as a crepe filling. The crepes themselves are made with whole wheat flour and unrefined cane sugar... I cleaned the classic crepe recipe up as much as I could. Thankfully, the butter stays!

I had a hell of a time making the crepes. There was a lot of trial and error before I got the batter right. There was also a lot of trial and error before I figured out how to cook them properly. I started with a 12 inch fry pan but quickly switched to a much smaller 8 inch pan. The crepes are quite small (the size of large pancakes), but they were easier to cook and actually easier to serve. Instead of rolling, I simply folded the crepe sides over like an omelette.

If you have your own fool-proof crepe recipe and crepe cooking method, I suggest you stick with it. Just try my Berry Cheesecake filling. It's divine!

Berry Cheesecake Filling:

1 cup fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and diced
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cream cheese

1. Add strawberries, blueberries and honey to a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Mash strawberries using back of a spoon or a fork. When mixture is of a syrupy consistency, remove from heat and set aside.

2. Blend vanilla, agave, cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a food process and mix until smooth. Remove mixture and place into a bowl. Add half of the strawberry mixture to the cheese mixture and fold together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up the mixture. Set aside. Save the other half of the strawberry mixture for topping.

You can also make the filling without berries. It's good plain as well!

Crepes:

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp sucanat
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp butter, melted
1/2 cup club soda

1. Add everything, except club soda, to a blender and combine until smooth. Pour into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. When ready to cook crepes, add club soda into batter and mix gently.

3. Dab a paper towel in oil and lightly wipe the inside of a small non-stick skillet (I used an 8 inch). Heat skillet over medium high heat. When water dripped into pan sizzles, pan is hot and ready to make crepes!

4. Ladle about a 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet. Immediately lift, tilt and rotate pan to spread batter into a thin, even layer.

5. Cook the crepe until the underside is lightly browned and the top begins to bubble slightly, about 30 seconds. Work a spatula with a long handle under the crepe to loosen. Either use the spatula to flip the crepe or once loosened, shake the pan to flip. Cook until the second side is lightly browned, about 20 seconds longer. Slide the crepe onto a plate. Repeat process until desired number of crepes is reached. Keep prepared crepes warm in the oven, set to a low temperature.

6. When ready to serve, spoon several tablespoons of strawberry cheese mixture down one side of the crepe, about a quarter way in. Using your fingers, roll the crepe around your filling, like a burrito, keeping the ends open. Place crepe seam side down on a plate. If your crepes are small, like mine, you could also just fold the crepe in half, around the filling, like an omelette. Top with a spoonful of reserved strawberry compote.

For a picture tutorial of how to make and fold crepes, see here.

If not using crepes right away, store crepes between sheets of wax paper. Crepes can be refrigerated for two days or frozen for one month.

Hibiscus Tea Smoothie

Hibiscus Tea is often referred to as the "Super flower" tea. It is said that Hibiscus Tea can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and, since it is rich in vitamin C, contribute to a healthy immune system. Sounds great, right? Only one problem. I can't stomach Hibiscus tea. The smell is too floral and overpowering so I have a very hard time getting it down. Instead I thought I would try to mask the strong scent by using the tea in a smoothie of frozen berries and yogurt.

Marianne has been looking for pure Hibiscus Tea all over Vancouver. I found mine while visiting the States (can't remember if it was in Palm Springs or North Carolina). If you have trouble finding Hibiscus Tea (or any other variety), check out The Republic of Tea.



Their Be Well Red Tea Collection is great; the Get Clean Tea for daily detox is my favourite. It's red rooibos based with milk thistle seed, sarsaparilla root, danelion root, chicory root and other things to help flush out your liver and kidneys. It's all natural and flavoured with a hint of vanilla and almond. Much tastier than drinking straight dandelion root tea!

Anyway, back to the Hibiscus Tea Smoothie...

Makes 1 large Smoothie

3/4 cup strongly brewed Hibiscus Tea, cooled slightly
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen berries (I used blueberries & strawberries this time. Raspberries are great too!)
1 tbsp ground flax seed or flax oil

1. Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Try Green Tea or other herbal teas in place of Hibiscus!

Spinach, Mushroom & Feta Omelette

Recipe spawned out of my need to use up some baby spinach and button mushrooms and the fact that I always have eggs on hand... and I'm hungry. :)

Serves 1

1 tbsp butter, divided
3 button mushrooms, sliced
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
salt & pepper
1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese

1. Melt butter in a small pan (8 inch). Add mushrooms and saute until just starting to brown. Add the spinach and stir until wilted.

2. Remove spinach and mushrooms from pan and set aside. Wipe out pan with a paper towel.

3. Crack eggs into a small bowl and add milk, salt & pepper. Whip lightly with a fork, just to break up the yolks.

4. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add butter and swirl around to coat pan.

5. Pour eggs into the pan. The mixture should set at the edges almost immediately. With a spatula, gently push cooked portions toward the centre. Tilt and rotate the pan to allow the uncooked egg to flow into the empty spaces. (From "How to Make an Omelette" at Get Cracking.ca)

6. When top of omelette looks almost set, spoon spinach and mushroom mixture onto half of the omelette. Sprinkle feta cheese over top of the spinach. Using a spatula, flip the other side of the omelette over the half with spinach & mushrooms. Slide onto your plate and eat!

Baked Basque Eggs

The Basque region is an area that borders Southwest France and Northeast Spain. Basque Eggs take on the culinary traditions of both areas. Traditional Basque Eggs include bacon or Serrano ham (Spanish version of Prosciutto) and is often scrambled instead of baked. I opted not to use ham to cut some fat, but if you wanted you could add ham to the bottom of the dish before adding the veggies and eggs.

Serves 2

Baked Basque Eggs:

4 eggs
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs or freeze dried herb blend (parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary etc. Whatever you've got!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 red pepper, diced
1/4 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Roma tomato, diced
1/2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil the inside of 2 individual casserole dishes or ramekins.

2. Add half the diced veggies (peppers, tomatoes and onions), half the garlic and half the herb blend to each dish.

3. Mix together the melted butter and milk. Add half the mixture to each ramekin.

4. Place each ramekin on a baking sheet and place in pre-heated oven for 4-5 minutes.

5. While ramekins are in the oven, crack two eggs into a small dish, careful not to crack the yolks. Remove the ramekins from the oven and gently slide the eggs into the ramekin. Repeat the process with the other two eggs and second ramekin.

6. Sprinkle salt and pepper and more herbs over both ramekins and return to the oven. Bake for another 8-10 minutes. Eggs will be slightly runny. Cover with foil or place the lid on the casseroles and let sit for a couple minutes while you prepare toast or make tea, or whatever it is you do in the morning! If you prefer your yolks firmer, bake for a couple extra minutes.

Breakfast Egg Salad

Last night I hard boiled a big batch of eggs to leave in my fridge for quick meals. This morning I had some extra time and lots of veggies to use up so I put together a hard boiled egg salad. Salad for breakfast? Sure, why not!

2 hard boiled eggs, yolks removed, broken into pieces
1 hard boiled egg, with yolk, sliced
1 tomato, sliced and quartered
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 red onion, diced
fresh chopped parsley
fresh cracked pepper
fleur de sel or course sea salt
balsamic vinegar
flax seeds (optional)

1. Assemble salad by arranging broken egg white pieces, tomato slices, green onion and red onion on a plate.

2. Top with sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

3. Arrange sliced egg in a fan over top of everything.

4. Finish with fresh cracked pepper, a sprinkle of fleur de sel and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

5. For an extra healthy kick, I sprinkled 1/2 tsp of flax seeds over top of everything. You may also notice the white creamy stuff on the right side of the plate. That is left over homemade Tzatziki sauce. I used 10 Cent's recipe and it turned out fabulous.

Lemon Blueberry Spelt Muffins

Featured on the Tasty Kitchen Blog!

I've been slacking in the breakfast department lately. Waking up too late and flying out the door; Barely enough time to shower and dress let alone feed myself. To curb the problem, I baked a batch of these great muffins and froze half to have on hand for the days when I don't have time for a quality meal.

With a hint of lemon, no refined sugar, no white flour and the added bonus of wheat germ and flax, these muffins are good and satisfying.

Yields 12 muffins.

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
2 tbsp flax seed meal
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 tsp baking soda
zest and juice of one lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F

2. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin or two 12 cup mini muffin tins.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (butter, honey, apple sauce, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice).

4. In another large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (spelt flour, wheat germ, flax seed meal, baking soda, salt and lemon zest).

5. Slowly stir dry mixture into wet mixture and fold together until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries.

6. Spoon batter into muffin cups so they are 2/3 full.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

8. Let cool and serve with honey or a small amount of butter!

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Sausage & onion Hash topped with a poached egg.

No recipe.

Diced onion, breakfast sausage cut into pieces, par-boiled baby new potatoes cut in half. Just toss everything in a pan and cook till browned and the potatoes are slightly crisp. Top with shredded cheese and a poached egg. Garnish with sliced green onion and fresh cracked pepper.



Yum!

Marianne Inspired Oatmeal

Last week I tried homemade oatmeal, inspired by Marianne at French Fries to Flax Seeds. One of her breakfast staples is a bowl of oatmeal mixed with whatever she can find in her cupboard. One day it's peanut butter, bananas and dried figs and the next it's blueberries, coconut butter and cocoa nibs. The other day she used Matcha green tea powder and made green oats! I'm not quite as adventurous as Marianne and I am a traditionalist when it comes to oatmeal, so my creation isn't quite as exciting as hers, but it was easily the best darn oatmeal I have ever eaten and has become a regular in my breakfast rotation.

1/2 cup oats (I use Bob's Red Mill Extra Thick Rolled Oats).
1 tsp Apple Pie Spice (see below)
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water (or any combination of milk/water to equal 3/4 cup liquid. Use only water for a vegan meal.)
1/4 cup applesauce or 1 small applesauce/fruit blend cup
1/2 cup assorted fresh or frozen berries/fruit (I've been using a mix of frozen mixed berries and fresh pomegranate seeds. Diced apple is nice too and I love it with blackberries! If using frozen berries, make sure they are thawed! Sometimes I add 1/4 cup dried cranberries as well.)

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Add the milk and water and stir together.

3. Microwave for 2-3 minutes, until most of liquid is absorbed. Stir well to mix.

4. Add applesauce and fruit and mix together.

*You could cook your oats on the stove top instead of the microwave. I haven't had the time or desire to do it that way yet.

Apple Pie Spice:
4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1. Mix everything together in an airtight container and use as needed.

Huevos Rancheros with Cooked Salsa

A weekday morning off work means a big breakfast. In my fridge I found three eggs, one flour tortilla, shredded Tex-Mex cheese and some left over homemade salsa. Perfect ingredients for a quick, simple Huevos Racheros.

Huevos Racheros means country-style eggs in Spanish and is a traditional breakfast dish in Mexico. Typically Huevos is made with lightly fried corn tortillas topped with fried eggs and cooked salsa. Some versions include a layer of refried beans or avocado. I add cheese to mine, just because. If you don't have time to make your own salsa, canned salsa works just as well!

Serves 2-4

Cooked Salsa:
splash olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chilies (or two green chili peppers, seeded and diced)
1/2 green pepper and 1/2 red pepper, diced (optional)
pinch sucanat
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (reserved)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a saute pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and stir.

2. Add tomatoes, chili pepper and bell pepper. Add all seasonings. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Huevos:

4 small flour or corn tortillas
4 eggs
splash of olive oil plus olive oil cooking spray
1 cup prepared salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheddar, jack or Tex Mex cheese blend
1 can refried beans (optional)
1 avocado, peeled, cored, sliced (optional)
fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat olive oil in non-stick saute pan. Add tortillas to pan and heat for a minute on each side. Arrange tortillas on serving plates.

3. Spray the same pan with olive oil cooking spray. Crack eggs into the pan (sunny side up style). Cook until desired yolk "done-ness" is reached (about 4 minutes for runny yolks). After two minutes of cooking, I covered my pan with a lid and cooked the eggs for another 4 minutes for semi-firm yolks.

4. If using refried beans, spread a thin layer of beans on each tortilla.

5. Remove eggs from pan and place one egg on each tortilla. Top with some cooked salsa and shredded cheese.

6. Slide plates into the oven and bake for a few minutes to melt cheese. Remove from oven and garnish with sliced avocado and chopped cilantro.