Lost Waffles

We woke up this morning to beautiful Spring weather, so we had  to eat breakfast on the balcony.  After a long winter of hibernation, it seemed only right to make something new and fresh.  Scrounging through the fridge, we had a couple eggs, some bacon and a few frozen waffles. This combination led to a kitchen experiment - that's my favorite kind of experiment, you know.  

From the deep dark winter of the freezer emerged Lost Waffles, a play on Lost Bread, a.k.a. French Toast.  These Lost Waffles are soft and pillowy, with the hint of a crispy crust.  With a side of sweet and spicy bacon, eggs done your favorite way, and topped with whipped cream, I invite you to enjoy Lost Waffles, part of this complete breakfast.  

Lost Waffles

4 Frozen Waffles
2 Eggs
1/4 C. Milk (I used almond)
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Vanilla
Spoonful of Sugar (helps the Lost Waffles go down...)
Butter
Whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place frozen waffles on a baking sheet and bake until extra crispy.  

In a shallow bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar until well combined.  

Add a pad of butter to a medium skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  You want this pan to be HOT when the waffles jump in.  Quickly douse a waffle in the egg mixture, making sure the egg gets into all the nooks and crannies.  Add it to the skillet and let it sizzle away until golden brown and crispy.  (Don't dip the waffles in the egg until just before you put them in the skillet, or they'll become soggy).  Repeat with the remaining waffles.  

To serve, top the waffles with whipped cream and a side of your favorite breakfast accompaniments.  

Breakfast Tacos

Despite it being the most important meal of the day, I rarely get hungry early enough to enjoy breakfast.  Except, that is, on the weekends.  I love waking up lazily, when my body has rested of its own accord.  I'll boil some water on the stove (we don't have a microwave in the new apartment), grind some coffee beans and brew a cup of joe before heading out to our balcony.  It's truly the perfect way to greet the day.

In contrast to my tardy appetite, moments after Christian wakes up, he's ready for breakfast.  So, once that coffee has trickled through my veins, we pillage the fridge for eggs, breakfast meat and whatever else we can whip into a worthy meal.  Breakfast tacos have been a recent favorite.  Quick, versatile and flavorful, these breakfast tacos are a great way to transform those last bits of ingredients in the fridge into a simple, delicious meal.

Breakfast Tacos

The Tacos:
4 Small, White Corn Tortillas
1/4 lb. Spicy Breakfast Sausage
4 Eggs
1/4 C. Chihuahua or Feta Cheese
Crema (Recipe Follows)
The Green (Parsley or Cilantro)

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Cook the breakfast sausage, breaking it into small crumbles until it's brown and crispy and cooked through.  Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel.

Over an open flame, carefully heat your tortillas to give them that authentic char.  Flip with tongs so both sides brown.  If you don't have a gas range, just warm them up so they're pliable and don't crack when you fold them.

Cook your eggs any way you like.  I like mine over-medium.

To assemble your tacos, place an egg on each tortilla.  Sprinkle with the crumbled sausage.  Spoon the crema over each taco.  Top with cheese and the green.  Serve with rice.

The Crema:
1/4 C. Sour Cream
1/4 C. Tomatillo Salsa
The Green (Parsley or Cilantro)

For the crema, blend together the sour cream, salsa and the green.

Orange Cranberry Scones

I’ve been on a ‘scones kick’ lately, so I made these this morning.  I used the same recipe as the Lemon Blueberry Scones, with a few minor changes.  These biscuits are light and sweet and drizzled with a fresh orange glaze.  They can be elegant or rustic – you decide.  Next time I think I’ll add some cardamom right into them – stay tuned for the results.  Happy Sunday.

2 C. flour

2 t. baking powder

Scant 1/2 C. sugar

½ t. salt

1 t. orange zest

½ pint of frozen cranberries, thawed

1/2 stick of frozen butter, diced

2 eggs

1/2 C. whole milk, plus more for glazing

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, zest and salt.  When mixed, add butter and combine with a pastry tool until butter is the size of small peas.  Add one egg at a time and cut into the pastry with a knife and a fork until well combined.  Fold in cranberries.  Pour in about 1/2 C. milk and fold gently until the mixture is slightly wet and sticky.  Add a bit more if it feels too dry.

On a floured surface, roll out dough until it is about 1" thick.  Cut into your desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a greased sheet pan.  Brush with more whole milk so that when it bakes it will have a beautiful golden glaze.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the scones are lightly golden (add more milk glaze if necessary).  Serve warm with butter, or cooled with orange glaze.

Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

My friend Kelly Rowe has taught me many of her baking techniques and this is one of my favorites.  Baking scones always reminds me of mornings in Flagstaff when I would teach French to her daughter Clio.  Each week, Kelly would make some delightful pastry to snack on while Clio and I parlé français.  Thank you, Kelly, for your wisdom, sanity and friendship. This morning, I traded some of them for a basket of fresh produce which I’ll use for meals later this week.  Paired with a cup of coffee and the orange blossoms in the back yard, these scones make my weekend mornings sublime. 

As you all know, I’m rather a nerd when it comes to food.  If you’re like me, you’ll be fascinated to learn that most of the world pronounces these pastries as “skon.”  Here in the U.S., they’re primarily known as “skoan.” Thank you to Kateryna and her exceedingly witted comrade, Priestly, for their tip du jour.

These scones are light and airy and packed with fresh flavor.  The lemon glaze on top adds just the right amount of sweet zeal. 

2 C. flour

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

Scant 1/2 C. sugar (less sugar for more traditional scones)

1 t. lemon zest

1/2 stick of frozen butter, diced

1/2 pint blueberries

2 eggs

½ C. whole milk, plus extra for glazing

Lemon glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, zest and salt.  When combined, add butter and mix with a pastry tool until butter is the size of small peas.  Add one egg at a time and cut into the pastry with a knife and a fork until well combined.  Fold in blueberries.  Pour in about 1/2 C. milk and fold gently until the mixture is slightly wet and sticky.  Add a bit more if it feels too dry.

On a floured surface, roll out dough until it is about 1" thick.  Cut into your desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a greased sheet pan.  Brush with more whole milk so that when it bakes it will have a beautiful golden glaze.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the scones are lightly golden.  Serve warm with butter, or cooled with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze

1 C. powdered sugar

2-3 T. lemon juice

In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice, adding more juice as necessary until glaze is thin and glossy.  Drizzle over the cooled scones.  

You Ought to Know How to Catch a Ban-ahhhhhhh-na!

A while ago, my family had a discussion about our favorite family meals.  Specifically, my mom wanted to know which meals we remembered most fondly that she used to cook.  We pondered the question and my brother spoke up first.  He looked oddly confused for a moment and then responded, “none.”  We all burst out laughing, mom included.  Poor mom.  The truth is, she is not a master chef.   She's too humble to mention it, but she does have several fantastic recipes up her sleeve that I still remember and look forward to eating.  This is just one of them that my brother must have forgotten.

This banana bread is moist and rich and speckled with bursts of warm chocolate.  I've added some orange zest for a bit of freshness.  It can be served for breakfast or dessert.  Thank you, mom, for a memorable and humble family recipe.    

1/4 C. butter

3/4 C. sugar

2 eggs

½ t. vanilla

Zest of ½ an orange

2 C. baking mix

1 1/2 C. mashed ripe bananas (about 4 bananas)

8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, vanilla and zest and beat until thoroughly combined.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended.  Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake about 30-35 minutes until the top is browned and a toothpick entered into the center of the bread comes out clean.  My favorite way to eat it is sliced and broiled with butter on top.