Keep It Simple Foods » Breakfast

Strawberry and ginger muffins

Jennifer — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:49:00 +0000

Inspired by a similar recipe found in my latest favorite cookbook, Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, I decided to whip up these delights on a lazy sunday morning. The original recipe calls for pear, but I opted for strawberry because that’s what I had on hand (an it is currently more seasonal). The substitution was delicious!

The recipe is as follows and make 12 muffins.

Ingredients:
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp gound ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 and 1/4 cups spelt flour (or you could do 1/2 and 1/2 using all purpose flour)
1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
*1 cup of strawberry puree (blend fresh or thawed frozen strawberries in the blender with a splash of water to make puree)
4 egg whites beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup agave syrup or honey
*slice strawberries (optional for decorating)
1/2 cup raisins

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees and spray muffin pans with non stick spray (or use liners). Sift baking poweder, soda, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Add spelt flour and oats. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add all wet ingredients. Gently fold the ingredients together until well mixed and all dry ingredients are wet. Pour batter into muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 to 30 min. Serve with apple butter, jelly, marmalade, or honey.
* denotes a change in the original recipe

Creamy Polenta

Jennifer — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:06:33 +0000

Every good southerner loves grits and I’m no exception to the rule. I could eat grits morning or night, sweet or salty. Any way you prepare them, grits are delicious! Polenta is basically the italian version of old fashioned southern grits. Polenta is simply yellow or white corn meal that is ground and then boiled to cook.
The other night, my boyfriend and I wanted a side dish to pair with fish and a veggie. We weren’t in the mood for potatoes and rice is pretty tired. So we opted for polenta. It was perfect! We picked up a package of ground polenta at the grocery and boiled it on the stove with a little salt and butter. It was so easy, took no time at all and was absolutely delicious. The next morning, we ate the left overs with a couple of fried eggs for breakfast.

Strawberry Nutella Crepes

Jennifer — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:33:20 +0000

Crepes take me back to my days living and traveling in France. They especially remind me of Paris, where crepe stands are on practically every corner. They are (in my opinion) one of life’s most perfect, simplest foods. They can be served hot or cold, sweet or savory and you can eat them morning, noon and night. My favorite way to eat crepes is for breakfast with lots of fruit and sweet filling. Last weekend, my boyfriend and I craved something special for breakfast-something like pancakes but neither of us wanted pancakes. So, we decided on crepes. I hadn’t made them in ages and almost forgot how quick and easy they are to prepare. You only need a handful of ingredients:

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
2 tblsps melted butter
nutella (for filling)
strawberries (for filling)
crepe pan or small frying pan/skillet

Directions: In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and flour, adding in milk and water gradually. Next, add salt and butter and whisk until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Heat a small skillet or crepe pan on the stove top with a small pat of butter (if desired). Once hot, pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture into the hot pan and swirl it around so that it evenly coats the bottom of the pan. It cooks quickly so you have to act fast.

When you can see that the edges are cooked and the crepe stiffens up in the pan, flip it to cook the other side.

Repeat until all the batter is cooked and you have a nice stack of crepes. To prepare the filling, simply slather a generous bit Nutella in the center of each crepe, load up with strawberries and then roll it up. I used frozen strawberries that I had on hand, so I boiled them down on the stove top with a little water to create a nice strawberry sauce (no extra sugar needed). You could use this same method with fresh or frozen strawberries. Or you could simply place fresh strawberries in the middle and on top of each crepe. Either way it will be absolutely delicious.

Oh so easy blueberry muffins

Jennifer — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 13:22:24 +0000

Every summer I stock my freezer full of all the berries I couldn’t eat fast enough. And, by summer’s end, the freezer is bursting with a colorful mix of blues, reds, and purples. I find that freezing the berries before they turn is not only less wasteful, but it is a great way to have seasonal berries all year. A few weekends ago, I got a hankering for blueberry muffins and quickly grabbed a sandwich bag full of berries from the freezer to satisfy my craving. I used this simple, basic recipe with ingredients I had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup spelt flour (or all-purpose, or pastry flour)
3/4 cup white sugar (or try unrefined sugar if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate, small bowl. Then, combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Once mixed, gently fold in blueberries and drop mixture into lined or greased muffin tins. Fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the tin cups. Sprinkle top of each muffin with turbinado/cane sugar for crunchy sugar crystals on top. Bake for 20 to 25 min. Serve hot.

These muffins are easy like Sunday morning.

Migas

Jennifer — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:38:54 +0000

For those of you who aren’t familiar, migas is a traditional spanish dish (that I have no clue how to prepare) as well as a Tex-mex breakfast dish consisting of scrambled eggs with corn tortilla strips mixed in. As I am a big fan of mexican inspired foods, I love eating migas whenever possible. Recently, I visited my sister in Austin, TX and was able to eat my fill of migas goodness, but went through serious withdrawls afterward and just had to recreated it myself to help me cope (addict!).
My (very basic) version is more deconstructed than the traditional dish, as I didn’t mix the ingredients together. It was easy to make, really inexpensive and took almost no time at all.

Ingredients:
black beans (canned, drained)
2 eggs (scrambled)
sprinkling of cheese
a few tortilla chips
avocado, salsa, sour cream (optional)

Directions: Simmer black beans on stove top until tender (add salsa for some heat!). While beans are cooking, fry scrambled eggs in pan and season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve up eggs and beans with tortilla chips and avocado slices. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with salsa and sour cream if desired.

New Years Breakfast- Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Jennifer — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:06:32 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! This morning I woke up hungry and decided to whip up something hearty, but also celebratory-pancakes! I confess, I typically do not think of pancakes as being “stick to your ribs” type of food. Usually, they are too sweet, overly refined and spike the blood sugar with a hard crash shortly after eating. This time, I decided to make a “real food” version to last me through my morning workout.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
dash salt, cinnamon, vanilla extract

Directions: Combine all ingredients (add more liquid if batter too thick) and cook on a hot griddle or on the stovetop in a large skillet/pan. Serve hot with maple syrup, nut butter, or whatever you like. I served mine up with almond butter and chocolate chips like so.

Creamy Pumpkin Oats

Jessica — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:11:51 +0000

As Jennifer has told you, the weather in the DC area has certainly been out of the ordinary! While the snow is beautiful, I had lots of snow shoveling to do (2 hours worth)! So, I needed a breakfast that would help motivate me!

I love making stove-top oats on my days off. I bought my first tub of Tofutti the other day and wanted to find a few creative ways to use it. I love creamy oats, but I wanted to make my breakfast light and dairy-free. Using just a tablespoon and a half of Tofutti gave it a creamy texture and also wonderfully decadent. So delicious, you have to try it.

Creamy Pumpkin Oats
1/2 cup of oats
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin
1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Tofutti
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
sprinkling of brown sugar/agave nectar to taste
toppings: vegan chocolate chips or pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Set oats, chia seeds, pinch of salt, and almond milk over medium heat. Cook until liquid is absorbed. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and cream cheese at end and stir until mixed thoroughly. Remove from heat and stir in sweetener. Sprinkle with toppings.

When It Snows..

Jessica — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:54:43 +0000

This weekend we enjoyed our first snow here in Arlington, VA. The view from our outside window was just magical, especially since I didn’t have to travel in it

When it snows, I definitely feel like baking and it was the perfect lazy afternoon to do so. I was once again craving an apple dessert so I whipped up this Cooking Light cinnamon apple cake. It is SO good- check out that crackly cinnamon sugar top! This cake is not fluffy, it’s more dense, but it is very moist and incredibly tasty. My fiance definitely gobbled it up and of course I had a piece or two…

Also, I got a copy of Eat, Drink, Be Vegan and found an incredible recipe for banana cream pancakes. I adapted the version a bit to my liking and they turned out fab! You can’t really taste the coconut milk, but it makes the pancakes creamy and the added chia seeds make it even more healthy!

Banana Cream Pancakes, adapted from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan
1 & 1/3 cup of spelt flour
1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of sugar
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten (preferably local & organic)
1 & 1/2 cups of light coconut milk
1 cup overripe banana, mashed
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of canola oil

Combine dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients. Let sit for about 10 minutes (let chia seeds gel). Add about 1/2 tablespoon of canola oil (or spray lightly) on griddle and cook each side of pancake until golden brown.

Metropolitan Granola

Jessica — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:37:31 +0000

I love all kinds of chewy grains and that is why I LOVE granola. I don’t typically like many brands, because it ends up being too tough or crunchy for my taste. But, I jumped at the chance when Metropolitan Bakery offered us a few samples of their granola to try.

If you are looking for a new and delish granola, you have to try this! Metropolitan Bakery granolas are great because they are soft and chewy which makes them delicious on their own or mixed in with fruit and yogurt. It tastes homemade and I love the short and recognizable ingredients list. My favorite is definitely the Coffee Chocolate Chip Granola. It has huge chunks of dark chocolate with a subtle coffee flavor- a perfect mix-in for my vanilla coconut milk yogurt. Their other flavors are fab as well: Pomegranate Cinnamon and Original.

You can order granola online here or check the website for store listings.

Best Breakfast

Jennifer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:02:18 +0000

As the weather turns colder and the early morning temperatures drop, I turn to warm, comforting foods for breakfast. Lately, my mornining meal of choice has consistently been oat bran. I love oat bran because it is creamy and satisfying and really really cheap to buy. Plus, it sticks to the ribs so I’m not hungry for several hours after eating.
Because oat bran is such a simple food with mild flavors, I usually add a few fixins to give it more flavor and texture. I don’t follow a recipe, rather I just grab whatever is in my cabinet and toss it in- peanut butter, almond butter, nuts, fruit, granola, honey, etc.
Recently, I discovered the best combo yet! Oat bran with nutella, raspberries and pecans. It is heavenly! But, since nutella isn’t the healthiest of nut butters (if you can even call it that) I came up with a heathlier version. Oat bran with raspberries and Naturally Nutty vanilla almond butter (pictured). Both of these combos are so good! You def have to give them a try.

In the mix:
1/2 cup oat bran (cooked on stove top)
1 tblsp nut butter
1 handfull raspberries (thank you sale at Harris Teeter!)
nuts (optional)