Eating Breakfast

So, it's been ages. No apologies. Just life... and more life... and a wedding... mine... yep. YIKES. A very hectic and festival filled summer at work coupled with wedding planning (and wedding tasks and wedding crafts), I found myself with zero time for the blog. I was still cooking, though not expanding from my usual repertoire as much, but the thought of dealing with photos and writing was enough to push me over the edge. So, I didn't mean to neglect you but I can't apologize for the awesome dose of life that got in the way. Hope that's ok. :)

I'll share more about the wedding later and a great honeymoon in Italy later... Since then, we returned home to find ourselves in the hubbub of Christmas. I had baking to get done and presents to buy, a baby shower to host, a house to decorate, a trip to Edmonton for the holiday, then Lake Louise for more fun. It was a lot. 

After some great exercise (but lots of eating still) in Lake Louise, we rang in the new year and made one of those typical pledges to get out a bit more and make some more great food choices in 2014. We're usually pretty good but the lead-up to the wedding led to more eating out than I am comfortable with and I like how I feel when I'm eating good food that I've made. 

I didn't want to start the year with a list of "resolutions" that would just cause me to cringe in an October reflection... that said, there were a few things that I definitely wanted to improve upon. One of those things was eating breakfast consistently. And, no, I don't mean to stop at Starbucks or McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich that is $3+ more than I need to spend if I took some time to plan ahead and make this a priority.  

It's annoying... I only have myself and the dog to tend to in the morning but somehow between getting myself functioning and ready, walking the dog, then getting out the door, I don't think enough about eating. I sure do manage to brew my coffee though. Priorities. 

So, instead of fighting it, I am making a new plan. 

I love steel cut oats. They have a great texture, are good for you, and manage to keep me going until lunch time... when I take the time to make them. Well, with an already challenging-for-me morning, I certainly wasn't fooling myself into thinking that I would be waking up about 30 minutes earlier so that I would have time to cook said oats. But I could easily make them up the night before.

I've been making a double batch of McCann's Irish Steel Cut Oats, which are my current favourite. Then I portion it out into beautiful Weck jars. A double batch will partially fill eight 500 mL Weck jars, leaving room for whatever you like to season your oats with. I add a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon on top of the warm oats then seal the containers. Once they have cooled a bit, I'll transfer them to the fridge for a quick grab in the morning.

If I have time at home, I can microwave the oats for 60-70 seconds for a quick breakfast. Or I can put the jar into my lunch bag and eat at the office. My current go-to includes bit of cream, cinnamon, and fresh berries. I can't get enough. If 21-days of repetition makes a habit, I am doing well! Plus, there is something infinitely more civilized about a breakfast at your desk when the containers are glass, the spoon is metal, and the napkin is cloth. It's practically luxurious... well, as luxurious as eating at your desk can be. Hey, I'll take it. It's better than the alternative.

Chocolate Espresso Banana Bread

I've been spending a LOT of time lately revisiting my eating and cooking habits. I don't like "light" or "diet" or "non-fat." (Though I do like 1% milk for my cereal.) For me, I think having a small pat of butter is more important than having a mass of a fat-free version. But somewhere along the way, I think I lost sight of portion sizes or maybe it was just a combination of factors. Regardless of the progression, I didn't like that a few favourite pieces of clothing were a bit too snug...

Time to revisit.

So, I've been trying to choose more vegetables than starches... opting for greek yogurts versus mayonnaises... and trying to get a bit more creative. I still enjoy the french fries and gravy every so often but it just can't be every day.

Time to be (a wee bit) healthier. These mini muffins are a great step in that direction... Wheat bran and flax kick up the fibre and omegas, bananas are full of potassium, greek yogurt is a great source of calcium and protein, agave is much sweeter than sugar so I could use less to achieve a similar level of sweetness as using brown sugar. And let's not forget my favourite sweetie-treatie justification... dark chocolate is a source of happy healthful antioxidants. So, I'm feeling pretty good about my little creation here. haha.

Candied Ginger and Lemon Cornmeal Scones

Between the lemon curd and the marmalade, I had visions of a Sunday tea with scones and crustless sandwiches and pinky fingers in the air as we sip from our china tea cups.

Brunch with Friends: Menu Two

Well, I think it is safe to say that Brunch with Friends is going to become a regular feature here on wannafoodie. I spend hours dreaming up these menus and thinking about how to build levels of flavours into such warm, comforting, start-your-day food. How will each component connect with the other once it is on the plate? How do I make each component stand out while complimenting the others? How do I elevate the more simple components into something truly memorable? It has really been an energizing and inspiring experience... and hopefully one that you will get on board with.

This time, we were hosting Doug's sister Kate, her husband Alan and their daughter Emma (for shame! I didn't nab a photo of the family... next time!). Oh, and I can't possibly forget Boo, their pup, who came for a play-date with Charlie, our eleven month old black Lab. It was such a nice excuse to catch-up with Kate and Alan but also to see the ever-changing Emma, who two short weeks ago was barely walking and now is charging around without a care in the world. (How fast they grow!) 

The flavours that I played with today are ones that warm me as the weather cools... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin and citrus. They have been woven throughout all...

Brunch with Friends: Menu One

September and October have always been hectic months for me. Ever since I was a little girl, Momma R would tell me that I was busy as a bee during these months and would end up sick at some point during or towards the end of it. Well, true to form, I am sitting in a hotel room in Whitehorse and, instead of breaking bread with friends tonight, I am drinking neo citran and watching pixelated food network. At least, it gives me the opportunity to take a break, process some photos and give wannafoodie some overdue attention.

Our new plan for breaking bread and sharing time with friends is to host them for brunch. Brunch has always been one of my most favourite meals... it has the best of everything - sweet, savoury, boozy and a civilized hour! hahah. I enjoy dinner parties but Doug and I have a newfound appreciation for brunch parties - prepping in advance, hosting our friends, then still having our whole day to fuss and muss and reset for the week.

In the midst of our chaotic fall and just prior to leaving on our Mexican adventure and wedding celebration of our friends, Cary and Des, we took a welcome reprieve and invited the soon-to-be newlyweds to kick off our Brunch with Friends series.

Raspberry Maple Croissant Pudding

It's quite funny... when I tweeted about making this delicious little treat, Aviv at Sidewalk Citizen Bakery (and my Momma... though not via Twitter) replied with something that I agreed wholeheartedly with... that is a sin to let croissants go stale!

It certainly wasn't the ideal situation. I love croissants. Plain and cold. Slightly warmed and crisp. With bright, tangy raspberry jam. With marmalade and fresh fruit. I ate croissant after croissant but couldn't quite get through the 12 or so that I bought before they started to go slightly stale. At that point, I decided to embrace the stale and welcome it into my kitchen with open arms... and bathe it in custard.

As is often the case for anything that I make, the inspiration often comes from what I have on hand... raspberries, stale croissants, maple syrup and cream. And a delicious sweet-treat started to take shape.

Banana, Pecan and White Chocolate Muffins

This recipe started out with mushy, brown, "fragrant" bananas on my counter. Staring me down in the way that overly ripe food does... implying guilt with every pass. "Save me, save me," is the subtitle in their pungent scent. My internal subtitle says, "get it together, Christine... don't you dare toss those bananas into the purgatory that is your freezer... until you throw them out as freezer burned shadows of what they could have been."

I started to think about the banana chocolate chip muffins that my mom used to make and then we used to make as kids. The recipe was so simple and there was very little better than tearing open that creamy muffiny goodness studded with semi sweet chocolate surprises.

Typically, I have the full gamut of options in my baking cupboard. Several different dried fruits, various chocolate chips and chunks, nuts, coconut and so on. Well, it looks as though my store has been pillaged. No standard dark chocolate chunks or chips here! I remember being quite concerted about using up several items but didn't realize that effort would stand between me and my perfect banana chocolate chip muffins now.

Regroup. Reassess. What did I have? I had a giant bag of pecan halfs, another of dried cranberries, smaller bags of peanuts, butterscotch chips, mint chips, white chocolate slabs and chunks... I grabbed the pecans and white chocolate chunks and got back on track.

Tea and a warm banana, pecan and white chocolate muffin

Caramelized Banana French Toast

I loved making french toast when I was younger. It was wonderfully satisfying and delightfully simple to make. Something so decadent about it. That lovely custard sopped up by a previously forsaken slice of stale bread... vanilla and cinnamon... sometimes some nutmeg... some sort of fruit, if I was so inclined... otherwise a healthy smear of butter and dosing of maple syrup. Perfection.

The sheer simplicity of this breakfast favourite almost made (and makes) me giddy with excitement. It's almost laughable how stale bread, some eggs, cream and some seasonings can transform into a ~$15 brunch item at a restaurant. This past weekend's brunch at home reminded me how easily I could compete, not pay $2 a cup for my much-needed gallon of coffee and eat in my pajamas!

Solo Pancakes

Honestly, I call these my "single girl pancakes." hahah. I love a cozy Saturday morning filled with cup after cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes, butter and maple syrup. However, it seems like every pancake "recipe" yields about four trillion resentful pancakes that leaves you standing over the stove long after your love affair with that cozy morning has been abandoned. Alright... four trillion may be an exaggeration and, yes, you can freeze the pancakes but I don't need a bunch of sad pancakes hanging around in my freezer. I want about two pancakes or maybe four, if the night prior included one too many glasses of wine.

While a "recipe" for pancakes seems a bit unnecessary, I think that this is here to give you some smaller proportions. No math skills required to reduce a recipe, when your head is aching and stomach growling. Just a nice little portion for those cooking for one (or maybe two).

Dulce de Leche Buns

I have never experimented with bread recipes… I figured someone else configured those recipes because that is what works. And while that is true, it doesn’t mean that other combinations won’t work (or, hell, that these combinations haven’t been tried too). I wanted a slightly richer bread and I figured that using milk versus water would help… a bit of butter… and a bit of hope that it would all come together.

This dough rose perfectly. I was absolutely giddy when I peeked under the towel and saw a lovely puffy blob rising in the bowl. Forget waiting until after work to make these buns, I was going to be triumphantly carrying these into the office that same morning. Yep, I was beaming.

Baked Eggs

Last year, I went to Paris. I went to Paris to celebrate my good good friend’s 30th birthday. We walked and museumed and ate. So many of the highlights seemed to involve food, as seems to be the case with many trips. We had chocolat chaud and palmiers from Angelina (which means I brought back a bag of their chocolat chaud), we ate breads and fruits from the Marche (where I bought herbes de provence and chestnut paste). We ate pretty little cupcakes from Berko and many of my favourite crepes with calvados and apple compote. It was a dream.

In, what Parisians would probably liken to a cheap department store, I bought a pretty little ceramic tray for eggs and a cookbook, Petites Coquettes. My French lapsed after high school and seemed to have been overwritten by my Italian studies in University but I figured that food, as the universal language, would help guide me through this cookbook. The photos, the care and the simplicity of this bit of French food did… with a few toast “fingers,” baked eggs is one of my favourite morning rituals.

Easy Peasy Turnovers

Our plan was to make one of our old favourites, front stoop mussels, while drinking copious amounts of wine and eating nearly (if not completely) a loaf of bread while sopping up every last drop of the Cambozola infused wine sauce. It would have been awesome. Unfortunately, for Dean and I, the timing didn’t work out so well and front stoop mussels will have to have their shining moment another day.

So, instead of mussels, we opted for a simple and quick turnover. Something just slightly sweet but not too heavy. After all, Dean only comes to Edmonton once a year and needed his moment on the blog. :)

We’re not martyrs and did not make our own puff pastry, which I don’t feel is the end of the world. One day, I may attempt to make it… but at 9:00pm on a Friday night, it was not the time to try.

Another beauty... and Creamy Dreamy Goodness

I get completely wrapped up in the story telling way of Deb, the creator of A Smitten Kitchen... this blog/website is a tremendous resource that strips away the pretense of cooking and marks successes and failures with equal flair. Her style of writing seems to transplant you into the circumstance in which she created or adapted a given dish... I am unfailingly drawn into her world. So, with that, I welcome you to add to your blog roll, the wonderful works of A Smitten Kitchen.

Courtesy of A Smitten Kitchen and America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, my mom made these Dreamy Cream Scones for Christmas... though, my mom's take on the title is Creamy Dreamy Scones.

Breakfast in a bar..

True to form and most cooks, I cannot seem to make it through a single attempt at a recipe without adapting it to my own particular taste and style. Add this, remove that... bake longer, cool less. Whatever it may be, it seems to be what makes cooking more enjoyable.

The original breakfast bars recipe came courtesy of Nigella Lawson and her cookbook, Nigella Express. She didn't underestimate the allure of these bars when she confessed that not only she, but everyone she has given them to, has become happily addicted to them.

Enjoyment aside, these bars have been a lifesaver. I made them before a week-long business trip and saved myself many a miserable breakfast search. And I've saved myself from a coffee shop turnover by keeping a container of these bars in my office at work. Have I sold you yet??

Benny with a Buddy

January is the time of year when everyone seems to be either money or waistline conscious... or a combination thereof.

In my opinion, there is very little bad about eggs benedict. English muffins are not bad as far as carbohydrates go. There is a whole string of commercials espousing the benefits of Eggs (yes, with a capital E). You do have bacon and butter in the hollandaise... but you can find many a nutritionist that will tell you that it is important to have fat in your diet as well. Sure, they aren't waiving the flag for saturated fats but, sometimes, that is the only way to go.

At the end of the day, or meal, eggs benedict are a bit of a caloric splurge but seems somewhat more justifiable when said splurge did not come along with a $40 bill for the pair of you.

Yep, I can justify just about anything...