What's for breakfast...

Strawberries are in season... this is perhaps my favorite recipe for them!

Strawberry Bread

Perfect for breakfast... or great with a cup of tea in the afternoon...

for recipe click HERE!

You will not be disappointed!

via The Entertaining Kitchen

Cheesy Beer Bread with Dill

Doesn't this look amazing?

I'll cut a couple of slices...

Who? What? Where's my bread? !@&#*!!

I'll just cut another one. Bet it's even better with a little butter melted in while it's still warm...

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons ground mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of dill
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
• 2 cup grated cheddar
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Spray pan well with a nonstick spray such as Pam

Mix together flour, ground mustard, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and dill into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl whisk together egg, vegetable oil and beer and stir the dough until it is just combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix in the cheese. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack.

Serve with a nice hearty soup or stew.

Apple Cider Pumpkin Loaves with Cranberries and Raisins

I got this recipe off the Libby's website. (Even though I did not use their product... Shhhh!) I made a few minor alterations and turned an ordinary pumpkin loaf into something simply spectacular!
 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic pumpkin
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup fresh apple cider
• 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and raisins. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans.

BAKE for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe makes two loaves.

FOR THREE 8 x 4-INCH LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

FOR FIVE OR SIX 5 x 3-INCH MINI-LOAF PANS:
PREPARE as above. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

Lowfat Strawberry Raisin Bread wth Orange Essence

I know you're thinking, Waitaminute! Strawberries aren't in season! No, they are not. But when you freeze them just after they've been freshly picked you can enjoy them in baked goods and smoothies all year 'round while not worrying about the damage you are causing our environment -- ie jet fuel used to power a 747 across the country to bring your fresh strawberries to your table.

I happen to have a couple of Ziplock bags filled with the freshly picked fruit in my freezer. I also love them in baked goods with raisins. Might sound odd, but it is a delicious combination!  Add a little touch of orange and, magnifique!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup of lowfat sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp orange extract
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup raisins
1 cup finely chopped strawberries (if you are using frozen, chop them frozen and toss them in frozen -- They will thaw quickly this way)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl add your eggs, sugar and sour cream and beat on high. Add orange essence and baking powder, mix well. Add flour, mix well and scraped down sides and bottom of bowl as necessary to incorporate all the flour. Add raisins, mix well and fold in berries. Your mixture will turn a lovely shade of pink!

Spray a loaf pan with a non-stick spray and add your batter. Bake for 1 hour, testing for doneness. Some ovens may require an additional 10 minutes.

Warm Chocolate Hazelnut Bread...

My kids love Nutella... They could eat it by the spoonful and the way it disappears I think they just might! As delicious as it is, it is not the healthiest thing in the world. I know the commercials claim it's as nutritious as peanut butter but I've compared labels. It's really not. And the sugar content is outrageous.

So I thought I might try to make something the kids would enjoy that was a bit healthier. I think I've done it!

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of ground up (consistency of coarse sand) hazelnuts
2 cups of flour, unbleached
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbs of good quality cocoa powder
1 cup of lowfat milk

Directions:

In a mixer fitted with a paddle whip together eggs and sugar and slowly add canola oil. When light and fluffy add baking powder and vanilla. Mix well. Add almonds and cocoa powder, mix well and add flour, one cup at a time, alternating with the milk. When all is well blended transfer to a greased (I use Pam) loaf pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes in an oven preheated to 375.

Let cool before serving.

If bread is out and room temperature zap it in the microwave a few seconds to warm it back up!

Just Peachy Blueberry Bread Fit for a Light Father's Day Breakfast

We're headed out to lunch this afternoon so we don't want to have too large a breakfast but we have to have something fun and festive and seasonal! Sweet fruit breads are so easy to make and can be whipped up in no time for a wonderful breakfast or tea-time treat.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of canola oil
3/4 to scant 1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Cups of flour
1 1/2 Cups of blueberries and peaches (skins removed and cut into bite-sized pieces)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl cream together oil and sugar and eggs. When well mixed add baking powder, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Gently fold in fruit.

Pour mixture into lightly greased loaf pan

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Let cool about 20 minutes before serving

Insalata d'Agnese with Garlic Toasts and Tuscan White Bean Spread

  

 

A simple supper. When we were in Italy we had bread and salad every day we were at the house for lunch and went out for large, lavish dinners at local, wonderful eateries in Umbria and Tuscany. My grandmother had wonderful help in Agnese who looked after the villa in the months my grandmother wasn't there and cooked for her when she was there. Her meals were simple and spectacular. Most of the ingredients were local -- from my grandmother's garden!

One of my favorite salads could not have been more simple to make and bursted with flavor. It was a shredded salad with romain, radicchio, olive oil, vinegar, sea salt and pepper. We call it Insalata d'Agnese since it was Agnese who created it.

Insalate d'Agnese
You'll need:
3 heads of Romain trimmed and washed
1 head of radicchio, trimmed
1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/4 of vinegar -- feel free to add more or less vinegar to your liking
generous amounts of freshly ground pepper and sea salt
(Use only what you desire, the rest will remain well for a week or so in a glass jar or cruet.)

Shred the lettuces and arugula and toss into a large salad bowl with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Can't be more simple! I love the red and green color, but alas my three little ones find the radicchio a bit too bitter so we omit it for them.

In Italy we ate this with loads of fresh bread and artisan cheeses. Sometimes we do here in the states as well. But the other night I had a full baguette that was a bit stale. I cut the baguette into slices and made little toasts so as not to have to waste the bread.

Garlic Toasts:

Slice the baguette into 1/2 - 1 inch slices
using a pastry brush, brush on olive oil
sprinkle garlic powder generously OR rub a clove of fresh garlic onto each slice
sprinkle lightly with sea salt
place under broiler (high) for a few minutes and watch as the toasts turn a golden brown

 

 

And these go wonderfully with the Tuscan White Bean Spread

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbs olive oil, plus 2 more
2 - 3 cloves of crushed garlic
squeeze of a half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saute pan add olive oil, beans and salt and pepper to taste
As the beans start to get golden stir them around -- They will get soft, this is what you want.
When beans get golden add the *garlic and stir... keep cooking until garlic turns golden brown too
Place the beans in a mini food processor with the rest of the olive oil and lemon
Puree until smooth -- feel free to add any more of any ingredient

*If you do not have any fresh garlic, use about 1 tsp of garlic powder
Serve warm with the toasts -- May be microwaved to reheat

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

I used fresh cranberries so this bread is quite tart. Feel free to substitute the dried, sweetened variety if you prefer. I'm looking forward to having a slice in the morning... maybe with a little smear of fresh butter. Mmmm... Maybe I won't be able to wait until the morning!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

This recipe makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour
1 1/2 cup of sugar, plus 2 tbs
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries

Using a knife or mini blender chop cranberries add 2 tbs of sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together eggs and sugar
Add flour and baking powder
Add canola oil and vanilla
Slowly add flour and baking powder and mix until well blender
Stir in cranberries

Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans

Place in oven 1 hour until lightly golden brown. (45 minutes in convection oven.)

Serve with butter, Marmalade or on its own!

Grape Tomato Salad & Goat Cheese for Bruschetta

I think this will become my new stand-by. It was simple, fast, portable and delish!

The busy weekend ended with a bang. We met up with a couple friends for a late afternoon get together at the beach. We brought sandwiches for the kiddos, wine, drink and appetizers for the older set.

I wanted something yummy, relatively healthy and portable. So I made tomato bruschetta of sorts. I cut up (about 2 cups) of grape tomatoes -- sliced them as thinly as possible, and marinated them in about 2 tbs. of olive oil, sea salt, 2 tbs, of minced basil and thyme. I let it all marinate in a plastic container for a couple of hours. (Same plastic container I brought to the beach to cut down on dishes!)

From the bakery we picked up a fresh Baguette that they sliced for us.

In a ramekin I put some herbed goat cheese.

On our picnic table I set everything out and people could make their own Bruschetta!

Had we not been at the beach, I would have toasted up the bread to make crostini... and had I used a plain goat cheese I would have added 1 or 2 cloves of minced garlic to the tomatoes.

I also brought along some of the fresh strawberries we picked the other day and the Ricotta Creme to dip the strawberries into. Yum-Yum!

No Monkey Business Banana Bread

This recipe uses honey and yogurt and the flavors compliment the bananas without overpowering them.

3 lg. very ripe bananas

1 cup vanilla yogurt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup of clover honey

2 eggs

3 cups of unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a large bowl mash bananas (use a potato masher if you have one!)

2. Add yogurt and mash together
3. Add honey and mash together -- you may want to reuse the measuring cup you used for the yogurt or spray a little non-stick oil into the measuring cup before you measure out the honey.

4. Add brown sugar and mash
5. Add flour, baking powder, vanilla, eggs and mix until well blended

6. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans

7. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, checking for doneness after 45 minutes. Should be a nice lightly golden brown.

Let cool about 15 minutes before serving.

Simple French Toast

My kids love French toast. It's so easy to make and can keeps wonderfully frozen so you can make a large batch and store it for a crazy hectic school morning. If you can, instead of regular sliced bread, find a challah bread (made with egg) or a brioche loaf. The outcome is richer, more spectacular and yet still so easy to make. I used a raisin challah loaf and had my baker run it through the bread slicer for evenly slices.

This recipe originates from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

yields about 6 - 8 slices of regular sliced bread. You may want to double the recipe!

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon of salt (I omit this)

2 Tbs. sugar

1 Cup of milk (I use low fat)

6 slices of bread (I used about 12 thin slices of challah)

Mix eggs, sugar, salt and milk in a shallow dish or pan. Soak the bread i the mixture until soft, turn once. Cook on a hot, well greased skillet or fry pan, turning to brown each side.

Armitage French Toast

My friend, co-conspirator and member of the E. Welcome Committee, Maria brought this fabulous baked French toast dish that I can not stop thinking about. In fact I had some leftovers for lunch today. There's still a little bit left, but shhh... I am not telling any one so I can sneak some tomorrow!

This was such a treat, reminding me more of a bread pudding than French toast in richness and consistency, but unmistakable in French toast flavor. I want to share this delectable dish with the world. (I hope she doesn't mind!)

Ingredients:

16 slices of firm bread -- I prefer slightly stale and a thicker-cut white bread is recommended

4 ounces of whipped cream cheese

Equal parts of cinnamon and granulated sugar, mixed together to taste -- 3/4 - 1 Cup (Maria likes it dark, almost like brown sugar)

1 stick of butter, melted

1/4 Cup of real maple syrup (Note: real does not bear the name Aunt, Jemima or Butterworth, no Eggo or anything like that. Perhaps the bottle will say Vermont)

6 large eggs

1 3/4 Cups of whole milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla -- I am always very heavy handed with my vanilla usage!

Preheat over to 350 degrees

1. Start by figuring the arrangement of 6-8 slices of bread in an 11x17 inch baking dish, then remove the bread.

2. Spread 8 slices of bread with cream cheese and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Top each slice with another slice, cut diagonally in half and set aside.

3. In a small pot combine brown sugar, melted butter and maple syrup. Cook while stirring, until well blended and sugar is dissolved. Pour into baking dish.

4. Fit the cream cheese sandwiches into the baking dish in one layer, on top of the melted butter and sugar mixture. You may have to squeeze them in, but try to have all the sandwiches touching the butter and sugar mixture.

5. In a medium bowl beat the eggs with a whisk. Add milk and vanilla and mix until well blended. Pour over the bread, making sure there are no dry spots.

6. Cover and let sit for 45 minutes, or leave in the refrigerator overnight

7. Bake for 30-40 minutes (remove cover first!) at 350 degrees, until the top is golden brown and dry to the touch and sauce is bubbling. It will puff up a little. Let cool for 10 minutes

8. Flip over to caramel side for serving and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Serves 12 - 16

Bon Appetit!

The Perfect Scone

(In all honesty this is just a scone, a very mediocre scone at best... it is from the bakery section at the grocery store...

I just needed a picture to illustrate my recipe!)

This is a foolproof recipe and I get perfect scones every time. I have not made it in ages. I wanted to this morning but ran out of time. I am posting this recipe for everyone, but mostly Marie, who asked for it and has been waiting very patiently for me to tear through boxes and boxes and flip through cookbook after cookbook until I came across a piece of paper all tattered and torn. I have no idea where the recipe originated, but I got it from my sister in law.

Ingredients:

2 Cups of flour

3 Tbs dark brown sugar

2 Tsp baking powder

1/2 Tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 Cup of butter

1 8 oz, container of *sour cream

1 beaten egg yolk

1 slightly beaten egg white

1/2 - 1 Cup of dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, dried cherries, apricots, etc...

In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and brown sugar, baking powder, baking sugar and salt.

Cut butter in to mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the egg yolk and the sour cream. Stir or mix until well combined.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, then flatten and add your dried fruit and knead about 10 times to really incorporate fruit.

Pat out in to a circle, about 7 inches, and cut into 12 wedges, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Or...

Roll into a wire log and cut into 1 and 1/2 inch - 2 inch slices.

Bake at 400 degrees or until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

* I now use light or fat free sour cream with the same results. Vanilla yogurt, or plain yogurt work well as a sour cream substitute.

Strawberry Tea Bread

My mother makes this a lot in the summer using fresh local berries and serves it with tea in the afternoon. If it is a particularly warm day, iced tea replaces the hot beverage. Freshly frozen berries work wonderfully as well, making it a lovely year-round treat. We don't have "Tea Time" at home the way my parents do. We're rarely home that time of the day. But because my children love the bread, just mildly sweet and fruity, I will bake a couple of loaves early in the morning to serve for breakfast. A tall glass of orange juice or ice cold milk is a perfect accompaniment for the children, the adults in this family, however, perfer theirs with a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

Recipe makes 1 loaf -- this is rarely enough and you may want to double it!

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. flour

3/4 C. sugar

1/2 Tsp. baking soda

1/2 Tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2/3 C. of canola or vegetable oil

1 1/4 C. cut strawberries

Sift flour and baking soda together in a bowl and set asside.

Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil

Slowly add dry ingredients while mixing

Grease a 9 inch loaf pan

Bake 1 hour

Let cool about 15 minutes before serving