breakfast

Banana {Chocolate} Almond Millet Muffins

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Our travel schedule is heating up!

In the next few weekends we have Joe’s college graduation, a mother-daughters Chicago (and American Girl Place!… Yes, I will be bringing Felicity.) get-away, and “The Trip”!

The weeks are blowing by, but we only have fun, sweet things to look forward to. We can’t wait! In the meantime, we’re doing lots of packing and planning, and I’m even taking a photography class:

{A basic lesson on shutter speed. I took these at a local park- Cool, huh?!}

In the midst of actually learning what all those buttons on my nifty camera mean, (and picking out every outfit I plan to wear in Rome so I can feel just like Audrey Hepburn), I started a new home project!

This past weekend, my lovely Mama came up dive with me into the world of furniture refinishing. We are overhauling an antique bed for our spare room (so our friends don’t have to put up with an air mattress when they visit anymore :), and she’s a pro. We are both pretty dedicated workers when it comes to a project like this, and I knew we’d be “in the zone”. So, I decided to whip up some soup for lunch and muffins for breakfast ahead of time…

Good decision. Especially on the breakfast front.

Don’t worry – pictures of the finished bed to come! It’s gonna be sweet…

I adapted this vegan muffin recipe from Mama Pea’s cookbook, and they turned out fabulous! Dense, chocolatey, just the right amount of sweetness, and with an amazing texture (and nutrition profile) from the millet and other awesome, healthy ingredients!

We enjoyed them warm, crumbled over Fage plain Greek yogurt with berries… Add a cup of coffee with frothed Almond Breeze coconut almond milk while booking our hotel on the Magnificent Mile, and it was the PERFECT pre-project breakfast!

Banana {Chocolate} Almond Millet Muffins

Based on Mama Pea’s Banana Chocolate Chip Millet Muffins from her amazing cookbook, “Peas & Thank You”. Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 Cup of Uncooked millet
  • 3/4 Cup of Whole wheat flower
  • 3/4 Cup of Almond flour (also called ‘almond meal’ – you can substitute regular flour as well, but you’ll loose some of the texture and flavor!).
  • 1 1/2 t Baking powder
  • 1/2 t Baking soda
  • 1/4 t Salt
  • 1/2 t Cinnamon
  • 2 Ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 Cup Dark brown sugar
  • 2 T Coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 Cup Almond milk
  • 1 t Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Cup Dark chocolate chips (I like to use Ghirardelli chips and chop them up a bit!)

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375. Line or spray muffin tin. Set aside.
  • Place millet in food processor, and pulse into a fine texture (won’t be flour-fine… a little bit of crunch is good!).
  • Pour into a large bowl and add flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  • In a smaller bowl, combine mashed bananas, brown sugar, oil, milk and vanilla.
  • Add wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
  • Spoon the batter into muffin tin, and bake for about 17 minutes.

{Just chilin’ with the lentils…}

Enjoy these muffins warm out of the oven, or freeze to keep them on hand whenever hunger strikes! These little treats are excellent on their own, crumbled, smeared with jam, with a cup of tea, for breakfast, for a snack, for dessert, before a workout…

…just make ’em, ok? Enjoy!

Fancy {pants} Frittata

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Sometimes I just need something super easy to make for dinner. 

Yet, at the same time, I need it to make me feel good about myself.

And it has to be yummy.

And the Husband has to approve.

And it has to be made of things I have languishing in my fridge.

Arg – Impossible, right? Wrong.

Enter Fancy Pants (and ridiculously, awesomely, embarrassingly easy) Frittata:

Just the word “frittata” feels sophisticated as it roooooolllllsss off the tongue (especially when the Husband says it. He also tried to incorporate it into a Lady Gaga song… another story altogether).

Mmmmm…. cheesy.

But seriously, with that fancy name and cute little triangle shape, you wouldn’t dream that this ‘lady’s brunch dish’ is glorified scrambled eggs. Way easier than an omelet (no flipping required), healthier than quiche, and perfectly customizable (do half-and-half with different ingredients!) this MUST be on your next ‘breakfast for dinner’ list…

Or weekend breakfast list. Or brunch for the parents list. Or pack for lunch to take to the office the next day list.

Again, seriously.

Fancy {Pants} Frittata

Ingredients:

Serves 4

  • 6 Eggs or 3 eggs and 1 cup of egg whites
  • About 1 Cup of Spinach, chopped
  • About 1 Cup of Mushrooms, chopped
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • 1/2 Green Pepper, chopped
  • About 1/2- 1 cup shredded or crumbled cheese of your choice – I used goat cheese on one half, and part skim mozzarella on the other (His & Hers!)
  • Any other vegetables, meats or cheeses your little heart desires (Bacon? Parmesan? Broccoli? Go for it.)
  • About 1 T of Olive oil
Directions:
  • Pre-heat oven to 350.
  • Break eggs into a medium-sized bowl, whisk.
  • Sauté veggies in olive oil in an oven-safe 10″ skillet on medium-high heat until softened (about 5 minutes), add spinach for last minute or so.
  • Pour egg mixture evenly over veggies. Do not stir. Turn burner to low.
  • Sprinkle cheese over eggs – be as generous as you like ;)
  • Let the mixture cook on low for five minutes so the bottom begins to set.
  • Put the entire pan into the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the eggs are set in the middle (no longer jiggly!).
  • Use a hot pad and pull pan from the over (remember not to grab that hot handle!) and let cool for a minute or so before cutting and serving.
  • Serve slices with fresh fruit, toast or yogurt or nutella or bacon…. you get the picture!
 

Enjoy!

Do you have an easy-but-seems-fancy dish that you love to whip up? Tell me about it!

P.S. I got a surprise visit from my college roomie, Chelsea last night! Thanks for the visit, C!

Yes, I am “R”… we also had an “A” and an “L”.

And yes, we were super hip ;) Not.

Boston {carrot cake} Pancakes

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Nothing brings back memories for me like the weather. Weird, huh?

…sometimes, it just feels like Christmas, or summer vacation, or camping, or the first day of school outside, you know? You can almost smell it, sense it, in the air…

Lately, Boston has been drifting on the wind.

A year ago, about this time, I visited my best friend Hannah in Massachusetts just before her graduation from college. We’ve known each other for a long time (learn more about our friendship in this post, and the other trip I’m planning to visit her here!), but school and work and travel and a wedding had kept us apart for too long.

So, on a whim, I hopped on a plane.

So worth it… isn’t it always?

It was a wonderful trip full of adventures, reminiscing, historic sights, whispers, hopes, plans and daydreams. Every minute of it was glorious, but one particular thing sticks in my mind more than the rest.

Not an ancient church, or view of the ocean…

It was a pancake.

A carrot cake pancake with maple cream cheese butter from Sugar Magnolia’s in Gloucester, MA, to be exact. Ahhh… a thing of dreams.

When the weather changed this spring, that pancake started haunting me once again. So, I decided to do something about it:

So sit back, grab a copy of the House of the Seven Gables or On Walden Pond, and enjoy.

Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Pancakes

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Food4Fitness

Makes about 8-10 small, 4-5 large pancakes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup of whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 Cup of wheat germ
  • 2 T Toasted chopped pecans
  • 2 t Baking powder
  • 1 1/4 t Cinnamon
  • 1/8 t Ginger
  • 1/8 t Nutmeg
  • 1/4 t Salt
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 T EVOO
  • 2 T Brown sugar
  • 1 -1 1/4 C Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (Start with one cup – add if needed)
  • About 1 1/2 -2 C Finely grated, peeled carrots (Peel to reduce bitterness, grate finely so carrots soften with cooking. Start with 1.5 cups, add as needed. )
  • 1 t Vanilla extract

Maple Cream Cheese Butter

  • 4oz. (1/2 block) Neufchatel Cheese (or cream cheese)
  • 2 T Maple Syrup
  • 2 T Butter, softened

Directions:

  • Combine flour, wheat germ, pecans, baking powder, salt and spices in a large bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, combine egg, sugar, milk, oil, carrots and vanilla.
  • Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined.
  • Use butter or oil to grease a skillet or frying pan, and cook until done (about two min. on each side. I like to watch for bubbles on the first side, then flip!)
  • For topping, mix softened ingredients together and spread, dollop or dip generously. Garnish with real maple syrup and a dash of cinnamon.

These pancakes are dense, hearty, and packed with fiber and other good-for-you-ness. Not too sweet (you can really taste the carrots!), and perfect for an Easter treat, or any time you want to take a trip to Boston in your head…

What are you making for Easter this year? Do you have any special family traditions? Please, share!

{Old Fashioned} Popovers

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Heart-shaped Swedish Waffles, timbales, and popovers, all delights with special shapes, give a dinner party special charm. Try them and see.

Pulled right from the pages of one of my great-grandmother’s vintage magazines, these little breakfast treats are more fun than filling, but have the flavor of a lighter-than-air pancake and are a joy to eat…

Give these a try (and watch them grooooow before you eyes!). Just be sure to have your butter and jam close at hand – and a cup of coffee and good read.

Playing make-believe has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and these piping hot, topsy-turvy little treats transport me to a whole other world:

One where Jackie O. is on the cover of magazines, Sucaryl Sweetener was the latest craze, and my Maindenform girdle is my best friend…

*sigh*

Sometimes, I wish…

Old Fashioned Popovers

From McCall’s “First Magazine for Women”, March 1963

Makes 8 Popovers

Ingredients:

  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 3 T Salad oil (I used olive oil)
  • 1 Cup Sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • A splash of Vanilla and Cinnamon (My own additions…)

Directions:

  1. Preheat over to 400F. Lightly grease 8 (5-oz) glass custard cups.*
  2. In a small bowl, beat eggs, milk, and salad oil with rotary beater until well combined.
  3. Sift flour with salt over egg mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour into custard cups. Bake 50 minutes. (Note: My custard cups were 7-oz, and the cooking time was closer to 45 minutes.)
  4. Serve hot, with butter and your favorite jam.

*Or preheat cast-iron popover pans (eleven 3-oz cups) until sizzling hot; grease cups lightly just before filling. Bake 40 minutes. Makes 11 popovers.

Take a step back in time, and enjoy!

{Did you happen to notice my lovely, new “toy”? We found this antique hutch for a steal over the holidays at a little shop called the “Swanky Abode”. So fun, such a beautiful backdrop – Perfect place for all my odds and ends!}

Have you had any wonderful finds lately? What are your favorite old fashioned treasures?