Dutch Pancakes

Breakfast is my favourite meal, yet I tend not to include too many breakfast recipes around here. It is most likely because unless it is the weekend, I don't have time to try a new recipe or take pictures of the finished product. Last weekend I managed to make something new. When I say something new, I mean that I had never made these before, but I have eaten them once, quite a while ago.

Last year we had an exchange student spend 8 months at our school. His name was Bas, and he was dutch.  He always talked of these dutch pancakes. Finally he got the recipe from his family back home, and made them for my roommates one evening. It is a very basic pancake recipe which can be adorned with all type of toppings or fillings. I chose peanut butter of course.

They were dense and thinner than regular pancakes and I really enjoyed them. I asked for the recipe, and received this email from the Bas man:

Dutch Pancakes

--email quote begins--

- 500 gram (2,5 cups) of flour

- 750 ml Milk

- 4 eggs

- spoon of corn oil

Mix this together till the batter is smooth, and fry the pancakes in a frying pan with a little piece of butter (or you can use that stupid oil-spray if you like). Wait till the batter is allmost dried up, and than flip the pancake. Let the other side fry a little while and then the pancake is ready, keep it warm.

Pancake options:

- plain (serve syrup en powder sugar)

- apple (put slices of apple in the batter when it's wet)

- bacon ( cook slices of bacon and put them in the batter when it's wet)

- cheese (put them on 1 side of the pancake when the batter is almost dried up, then flip the other half over the cheese half)

- raisins/blueberries/other stuff like that

- spinach (only eaten by veggie-freaks. Highly unrecommended by Old Dutch Pancake Guru's, since it severely damages the taste of the pancake)

--email quote ends--

I know, the picture does nothing for those pancakes, but I hate leaving out a visual.

The last pancake option listed in the recipe was definitely a jab at my roommate Jenna's "veggie freakiness" where she added spinach to the cakes. Don't worry Bas, I would never add spinach to these.

However, I did add syrup on one, and peanut butter and banana on another. I think I would also try goat cheese next time.

While I have not posted much in the last month, I have actually come across some great recipes. I have been fairly busy, but I am hoping to be able to share them with you soon.

Is it too soon for me to say: 2 months until Christmas!

My First Whole Foods Trip and Stir Fried Rice

What a lovely day it has been today. It reached about 17 degrees C, but with the sun felt much warmer. I wore capris, and sandals, and was very warm wearing shorts and a T shirt on my run. Not only was the weather nice but I went to Whole Foods in Oakville for the first time. I have heard all about it through reading lots of American blogs and just couldn't wait to go myself. I figured today would be a perfect day! (disregarding the volume of shoppers out on this Holiday weekend Saturday)

The produce section was smaller than I expected but the rest of the store sure made up for it. The meat/seafood section was VERY impressive. There was lots of organic and "properly raised" meat, along with a big selection of grass fed beef, which is where my Dad picked it up for my 23rd Birthday dinner. The seafood is all labeled with where it is from and they had a lot of sustainably wild caught and properly farmed fish. There was also an impressive amount of prepared foods. I was very glad I ate lunch before I went because I would not have been able to resist the salad and hot food bar.

Any lingering hunger I had was supressed by the samples throughout the store. I tried a strawberry jalapeno jam on brie cheese. It was amazing and definitely worth the 8 dollars a jar for a special occasion. There was a ton of in-house made foods. Fresh pasta, sauces, salads, soups, sandwiches, pizza, meats, anything you could ever want! Was it pricey? Yes. But you know what, if I could afford it, didn't have the time to prepare something, and wanted to ensure I was eating something made from real food with natural ingredients, I would definitely head to Whole Foods (if there was one in my city, anyway).

Although I took the trip mostly just to take a look, see what all the hype was about, and check out some prices of some of my favourite products, I knew I would buy myself something. First I picked up some Green Mountain Gringo Hot Salsa which was on sale for $2, regular $6! To go along with that I chose one of my favourite brands of tortilla chips Guiltless Gourmet. I chose the spinach artichoke parmesan flavour. This brand is awesome because the seasonings are made with natural ingredients, a rare find in "healthy" chips. Finally, I picked up a berry scone. As soon as I saw it I knew that is what I wanted to have for breakfast on Easter Sunday when Lent is finally over. The cherry on top of the whole trip was that at the checkout, I got the chips for free because they didn't scan, and got 10 cents off for bringing my own bag, all while we listened to the live Jazz band playing by the checkouts.

I could get used to that place.

I'll send you off with a recipe I put together one night when I got home late and was starving. It was quick, easy, and very filling.

Stir-Fried Rice

1/2 tbsp olive oil
dried chili pepper (whatever you can handle)
~2 cups of frozen veggies (I used a blend of broccoli, pepper, carrot, beans, and water chestnuts)
1 garlic clove
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
1 egg white
dash of milk
soy sauce to taste

1. Heat oil with chili pepper on medium heat.
2. Add half defrosted veggies and garlic, and saute until no longer frozen.
3. Add ginger and rice and stir to combine. Heat for 3 minutes or so.
4. Meanwhile, beat egg, egg white and milk together. In a pan on medium-low heat, cook egg until about 1/2 done. Add to rice mixture and stir to combine, stirring until egg is cooked and veggies/rice are hot.
5. Serve topped with a bit of soy sauce.

This was my first time making a fried rice with egg and it turned out pretty good. I have made this twice since, and will probably make it many more times.

Have a fantastic Easter weekend!

Asparagus Soup with Poached Egg

During the winter months I tend to buy the same kind fresh of vegetables: beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and the occasional green or celery stalk. This week I changed it up a bit and bought asparagus, eggplant and parsnip. I had an idea on what to do with the parsnip and eggplant but I had no idea what I was going to do with the asparagus. I love asparagus blanched with a bit of ground pepper, but I thought I should try something new. With a bit of a search I came across this recipe on TasteFood. I loved how it was simple and had few ingredients as I didn't have much else to work with. I also learned a few months back that asparagus and eggs are a winning combination, so I added a poached egg.

Asparagus Soup with Poached Egg adapted from TasteFood
serves 3-4

1 tbsp olive oil
5 green onions (white/light green parts only)
1 L good low sodium vegetable broth
1 bunch asparagus (1.5-2 lb), tough ends removed, and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
1/2 cup milk
black pepper
goat cheese
poached egg

1. Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft.
2. Add asparagus and cook until colour brightens.
3. Add broth and simmer for 10 minutes until asparagus is soft.
4. Use a hand blender and puree the asparagus to your taste. (Note: If you want a good blended soup, use a blender as a hand blender does not do the full job. Allow soup to cool down and blend in batches. Return to pot and return to simmer).
5. Add milk and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, poach your egg. I used a microwavable poaching dish.
7. Serve soup with poached egg (with a semi-soft yolk) and crumbled goat cheese on top.

pictured without goat cheese

This soup was great. Especially considering the soup contains about 4 ingredients. The fried egg over asparagus I tried a while back was nothing compared to this poached egg immersed in asparagus. I also had some toast on the side which I dipped into the soup, making sure to scoop up some goat cheese and egg. This is something I will definitely make again, turning a simple bunch of asparagus into a memorable meal.

Weekend Breakfast

I Love Breakfast. It is my favourite meal of the day. During the week my breakfast doesn't vary too much but on the weekend I like to switch it up a bit. With usually no time limits I am able to make pancakes or french toast or something more elaborate like that. On Saturday morning I laid in bed with my laptop watching tv (a very relaxing feeling by the way) thinking about what to make for breakfast. I knew I wanted something different to start my day.

I headed over to Oh She Glows because I am always envious of her breakfasts. I saw her recipe for a Grilled Cashew Butter and Blueberry Sandwich. Now, here is the problem. I took a week off from peanut butter. Hard to believe but I went 4 days without it! (ok so I failed at making it a whole week..but baby steps!). This was only accomplished because I didn't actually have any in the house (the only way this could be accomplished). I liked the grilled sandwich idea but I wanted to throw some eggs into the mix, and had to make a substitution for the peanut butter. This resulted in a Goat Cheese and Jam French Toast Sandwich.

Goat Cheese and Jam French Toast Sandwich

2 slices of bread
soft unripened goat cheese
jam (I used pomegranate berry)
1 egg
splash of milk

Spread the goat cheese on one slice and the jam on the other. Put the slices together like a sandwich (these are very complex directions, so pay attention ;). Beat the egg with some milk in a bowl. Dip each side of the sandwich in the egg mixture and place on a medium-heat pan. After a few minutes (peak to see when it is nice and browned), flip the sandwich (being careful that the two sides down separate) and cook the other side.

This sandwich was soft and sweet and wonderful. I felt like I was eating dessert for breakfast. I think I would prefer the edges more toasty next time so maybe baking it would be better?...hmmm. Has anyone ever had baked french toast? Is it crispier?

Looking at the weather for the week it is going to be rainy, then cold, then possibly snow for the first time this season here in southern Ontario :). I guess this means I should share another soup recipe soon!

Eggs with Tomato

I tried to think of a better title for this recipe, I really did. But no such luck. I got this recipe from A Cozy Kitchen. I saw it while browsing Google reader and thought that I definitely wanted to make it one day. The very next day I really wanted to use up some tomatoes and thought it would be perfect. It then took me about 20 minutes to find this recipe as I had forgot which blog it was from. Story of my life.

I was really excited to make this as I love eggs and I am loving the tomatoes from the garden. I altered the recipe a bit but not much. It is tomatoes and eggs, so there isn't much wiggle room here. I don't want to hype this up too much but I was blown away by this meal. It is so simple yet just so delicious. Since it is mostly tomato, you gotta get the best that you can find (not hard to do this time of year; head to the farmer's market) or else you will most likely be disappointed.

Eggs with Tomato adapted from A Cozy Kitchen

3 plum tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
dried red pepper flakes to taste, or freshly chopped red chili pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 egg, yolk separated

crack egg and allow egg whites to drain into a bowl. Once egg yolk is separated, put it in a seperate bowl that will allow easy manipulation of yolk without breaking.

1/2 cup egg white
2 tbsp ricotta cheese
0.5 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 pieces of bread, the crustier the better

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the tomatoes in half and brush with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool enough to cut into chunks.

To a cold pan, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, chili pepper, dried oregano, and garlic.

Heat to medium-high until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Increase heat to high and add chopped tomatoes, crushing with spoon even more.

Stir frequently until most of the liquid has reduced. Reduce heat to medium and add egg whites and ricotta cheese, stirring continuously until combined and cooked throughout. Add chives and basil.

Turn heat to low and create an indentation. Slowly pour the egg yolk in this divot.

Cover pan with a lid to heat the egg yolk. If you prefer non-runny yolk, poke it a bit and allow it to spread. Heat covered until desired consistency is reached. Serve with toasted bread slices.

I enjoyed this so much! I have made it twice since. Once I added some spinach as well which was pretty good. This is a great way to eat tomatoes as the fats help to absorb fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants. This is definitely a lunch staple for me as long as fresh tomatoes are available!

Eggs in a Pepper

After making the Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers a while back I thought about other food to stuff peppers with. We have a lot of green pepper from our garden so I thought I would experiment. I wanted to have an omelette one day, but I wanted to have that omelette in the pepper. I wasn't exactly sure how it would turn out, but it was worth a try.

Eggs in a Pepper

1 small or medium bell pepper
1 egg
veggies of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the stem, seeds, and inner flesh of the pepper. Beat the egg with some veggies (avocado and tomato and my case) and poured the mixture into the pepper. Depending on how big your pepper is, depends on how much egg and veggies you can add. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until egg is cooked and pepper is soft.

I cut the pepper in half, added some ground black pepper, and rather enjoyed it! When choosing veggies, avoid ones that contain a lot of water. I know from experience that frozen spinach (even once drained) does not work too well. It makes the eggs very watery which extends the cooking time if you want to have a nice firm egg. I also recommend using smaller peppers, just enough to fit one egg and desired veggies, as the cooking time could extend to almost an hour with a larger pepper with more stuffing. As you can see, the egg tends to overflow during cooking but that is okay.

I think this could make a potentially fantastic (and very cute) appetizer. I have seen some mini bell peppers around, and as long as you could scrounge for ones that would stand upright, it would work well. Since they are so small, I could see a variety herbs, spices and finely chopped veggies, being added to the mixture. How dainty they would be.

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend, I know I have been. Even with all this free time I am behind in my postings and have a line-up of new dishes to post about. Tomorrow I hope to write about a Mexican inspired meal I made with my friend Will which includes an amazing new guacamole recipe and homemade whole-wheat tortilla chips.