Superb Strawberry Omelettes

This did sound a little strange upon first read, but I realized it's like a crepe, and crepes are delicious. As was this (and much easier to make than a crepe). A great way to use strawberries that may otherwise go squishy (does that happen in your house? We so rarely have fresh organic berries that when we do get them, I forget we have them!).

     Strawberry Omelette
     from Martha Rose Shulman's Gourmet Vegetarian Feasts

     For each omelette:

• 1 Tbls butter for pan
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a generous handfull of strawberries, stemmed
• 2 Tbls plain yogurt
• 1 tsp mild honey
• fresh mint for garnish (optional)

1. Heat butter in an omelette pan, and meanwhile beat the eggs.
2. Crush the strawberries very slightly and mix together with yogurt and honey.
3. When the butter has stopped sizzling, pour in eggs and tilt pan to coat evenly. Gently shake pan while lifting edges of omelette so that uncooked eggs can run underneath. As soon as it is set, spread strawberry mixture down the center. 
4. Fold omelette, cook a minute longer, and turn out of pan onto a plate. Garnish with fresh mint and serve.

I didn't have mint on hand, but otherwise made this according to recipe. Quick, easy, tasty. Perfect for that special early-summer breakfast or brunch. Share it with someone you love!

An Eggcellent Baked Dish

Are you getting tired of my puns? Too bad! I have fun with them. Never stopping!!

For my daughter's birthday party a few weeks ago I experimented on our guests and tried out several new recipes (including the cake itself) but only one was from a cookbook and can thus be mentioned here. It was super easy (especially since I had someone else prepare the cauliflower and onions for me the night before) and delicious. You should make this for your next brunch. Yes, you.

Cauliflower Cheese Puff
from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe 

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 cups cauliflower florets
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly spray a 9"x13" pan with nonstick spray, then add the butter.
3. Place the pan in the preheated oven for a minute; let the butter coat the bottom.
4. Set aside.
5. Heat a skillet on medium. Add the olive oil.
6. Add the onions, saute` for 5 minutes, then stir in the salt and the cauliflower.
7. Saute` over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is just tender.
8. Transfer this mixture to the prepared pan.
9. While the cauliflower is cooking, combine the eggs, milk, flour, and cheese in a blender.
10. Whip into a smooth batter and pour it over the cauliflower mixture in the pan.
11. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
12. Serve hot or warm, cut into squares.

Pump[kin] up the Muffins!

So you want a healthy[ish] breakfast bread that's sweet enough to satisfy a sweet tooth but not covered in chocolate chips or granulated sugar like my normal breakfast a coffee shop muffin?

Enter another winner from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe:

Pumpkin Muffins

nonstick spray
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (rounded)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
3 to 4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp chopped orange zest
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly spray 8 standard muffin cups with nonstick spray.
   
   
2. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, spices, granulated sugar, and orange zest in a med-size bowl. Crumble in the brown sugar and mix with a fork or your fingers until blended.
   
   
3. Measure the pumpkin into a second med-sized bowl. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat with a fork or a whisk until smooth.
   
   
4. Slowly pour this mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.
   
   
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. For smaller muffins, fill them up about four-fifths full. For larger muffins, fill them up to the top. If you have extra batter, spray one or two additional muffin cups with non-stick spray and fill with the remaining batter.
   
   
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.
   
   

It's not perfectly wholesome goodness with that 1/3 of a cup (plus 4 Tbls) of refined sugars, but it's not all that bad.

Best of all, the baby girl loved them! So, score!

And, of course, not necessarily just for breakfast. They'd be too sweet (imo) to serve with soup or salad, but they'd be great for dessert. It wouldn't be, like, a wildly sumptuous decadent dessert, but a sweet ending to a meal nevertheless.

Bring us some figgy pudding [or, really, any kind of pudding]!

I have no idea what figgy pudding really is, but I like that song. You can chant it very loudly and really sound kind of crazy (we won't leave until we get some, we won't leave until we get some) but still be Christmas-y and cheerful.

So, lacking figs or a recipe for figgy pudding, I made a different kind of pudding today using two leftover sweet potatoes. From the breakfast recipe bonanza that is Sunlight Cafe by Mollie Katzen, here's a delish breakfast treat, perfect for a Sunday brunch (or perhaps even a nutrient-rich weeknight dessert).

Sweet Potato Pudding
yield: six servings

Nonstick spray
1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potato
1/2 tsp salt (scant)
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp powdered ginger
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

squeezable lime wedges (optional)
blackberries (optional)

1. Half-fill a 9x13" pan with water and place on a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray six 6-oz ramekins with nonstick spray.
2. Place the mashed sweet potato in a medium bowl, sprinkle in the salt, sugar, and spices, and continue to mash until very smooth. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs and mix until they are completely blended in. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and mix everything until uniformly combined.
3. Spoon the pudding into the prepared ramekins, distributing it equally. Gently place the ramekins in the panful of hot water in the oven. 
4. Bake for 35-40 mins, or until a knife inserted halfway between the edge the center of the ramekin comes out clean (the middle might still be soft, but it will continue to cook once pulled out of the oven). Carefully remove the ramekins from the pan of water and place them one by one on a rack to cook. (Tongs are very useful for this awkward process.)
5. Cool to room temperature or chill before serving. This pudding is best at room temperature or cold, with some fresh lime juice squeezed onto each serving and a few choice blackberries on top.

Seems straightforward, though of course I messed up a bit. I had only two ramekins, so after I filled those I also poured the pudding mixture into a small ceramic dish I have as well as a larger shallow piece of pottery that I made a few years ago in my class. I put the ramekins and the small ceramic dish into the water bath just fine, but when it came time to add the larger, shallow dish I realized I'd made a grave error. The level of water inthe 9x13 pan had rising higher and higher as the dishes were added and the larger dish I placed in there was too shallow:  the water overflowed into it and mixed with the pudding. Total ruin. Of that particular dish, anyway, which was about half of the recipe's worth. The other three smaller (taller) dishes were just fine and baked up nicely.

I squeezed some lime juice over the remaining three dishes (which, since there are three of us, really worked out well) and added some powdered sugar to the tops for a touch of sweetness. Really, really good!!!

You probably didn't notice...

...but there's a new cookbook on my shelf!

I picked-up Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe the other day. I haven't cooked anything from it yet but I'm enjoying devouring the chapters in my spare time (which, I feel, isn't much lately, now that my daughter is walking, running, and climbing!)

So far I'm impressed by Ms. Katzen's detailed descriptions about cooking grains, eggs and breads. I'm looking forward to getting into the kitchen and taking some of her advice.