Our mint has gone a bit crazy, so I'm always happy for recipes that promise to use a bit up. I also had a carton of whipping cream in the fridge that expired a few days ago and some leftover Bahamanian sweet pastry. Now, of course, technically this tart is meant to be made with what I think of as "regular" sweet shortcrust. But I wasn't about to go making yet another batch of pastry dough when I still had a buch of other dough in the fridge. So I figured I'd just give it a try with the extra sweet pastry.

I think the sugar cookie-like crust works quite well with the minty ganache filling! I mean, I'm sure the recommended crust would also be good. (And I think some sort of chocolate crust might also be quite nice.) But I'm certainly not complaining about how this version turned out!

The original recipe calls for using 1 1/2 c. of cream, 340g of chocolate, 10 sprigs of mint, and 2 Tbsp. of corn syrup in the filling. It also calls for making it in either a 35x11.5cm (13.75x4.5") rectangular or 24cm (9.5") round loose-bottomed tart tin. I didn't want to mess around with the super-hard-to-handle Bahamanian pastry in a loose-bottomed tin, so I decided to use my 9" deep dish pie plate instead. Then, in order to both accommodate the deep dish and to use up more cream and mint, I bumped up all the quantities in the filling except for the corn syrup. I reasoned that since the Bahamanian pastry was so much sweeter than a "regular" sweet shortcrust, it made sense to dail back the sweetness of the filling a bit. If I'd been making this with a less sweet pastry, I might've considered adding another 2-3 tsp. of corn syrup along with the chocolate.

Photo goes here.

Fresh Mint and Chocolate Tart

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/4 batch Bahamanian sweet pastry or 1 crust worth of another pastry of your choice
• 2 c. of heavy (35%) cream
• 12 sprigs fresh mint
• 450g dark chocolate
• 2-3 Tbsp. corn syrup
• extra mint leaves, for garnish

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23cm (9") deep dish pie plate (or equivalent volume tart tin).
2. Chill for 20-30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, scald the cream. Get it very hot, but stop just shy of boiling.
4. Add the mint to the cream and set aside to steep for 20-30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F), line pie shell with baking paper, and fill with pie weights.
6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15-20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, strain the mint from the cream and discard.
8. Add the chocolate and corn syrup to the infused cream.
9. Gently heat the cream mixture, stirring, until chocolate is melted and fully combined.
10. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 20-30 minutes.
11. Remove baking paper and pie weights and continue baking for 5 minutes longer.
12. Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool.
13. Once crust has cooled, pour in the ganache.
14. Transfer to fridge and chill until set (~1 hour).
15. Garnish with extra mint leaves, cut into wedges, and serve.

We're getting ready to go away and I'm trying to use up the last few things in the fridge.

In theory you're supposed to roast a butternut squash fresh for this recipe. In practice I had half a roasted kabocha squash and some butternut squash salad left over from earlier recipes, so I just tossed the kale into that and roasted it for a few minutes to heat everything through.

The bunch of kale that they sent in our last produce basket was a little skimpy, so this didn't end up with nearly as much kale as it was supposed to have. And there was probably a bit too much squash. But I still think it worked out alright. And, more importantly, it let us use up some squash, kale, and eggs before going away. So, all-in-all, great success!

Photo goes here.

Quinoa, Squash, and Kale Breakfast Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 c. quinoa
• 2 c. water or vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic (optional)
• 1 bunch kale, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tsp. butter or bacon grease or olive oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2-3 tsp. Laoganma (老干妈)¹

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Toss the squash with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for ~20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the quinoa, water/stock, and dried garlic (if using) and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
6. Once squash is almost tender, add the kale and garlic and return to oven until heated through (5-8 minutes).
7. Meanwhile, melt the butter/grease/oil over medium heat.
8. Add the eggs, season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook until they reach desired doneness. (Eggs may also be hard or soft boiled or poached.)
9. Divide the quinoa amoung four bowls.
10. Top each bowl with ~1/4 of the squash-kale mixture.
11. Top each bowl and an egg.
12. Add some Laoganma (or other spicy element) and serve!

¹ Alternatively, 1/4 tsp. of chile flakes, gochugaru, and/or chili oil per bowl (1 tsp. total) would probably also work well. The original recipe doesn't call for anything spicy, but I think it's better with a bit of a kick. ^Back

This is a recipe for a delicious Bahamanian fresh coconut pie. The filling is pretty much pure coconut (and sugar). None of this coconut-flavoured custard and whipped cream nonsense. I mean, not that I don't also love coconut cream pie. But this Caribbean-style fresh coconut pie is on a whole 'nother level!

The filling is very simple: just coconut, water, sugar, and vanilla. It gets cooked and poured into an unbaked pie shell. It's then meant to be topped with a lattice crust. And that does sound lovely. Unfortunately, it's also meant to use the special Bahamanian sweet pastry, which I did make, but was having a lot of difficulty working with. After many attempts at rolling it out and making my pie shell, I finally settled on using it as a press-in crust for the bottom and then very carefully dropping a solid sheet of pastry over top for the upper crust. The top crust ended up tearing in half, so the finished pie had a big split down the centre, but it still baked up fine and was definitely easier than trying to mess about with a lattice top.

Anyway, despite my pastry fumbling, the pie turned out very nicely! Everyone seemed to like it and it definitely packs a much more concentrated coconut punch than a coconut cream pie.

Photo goes here.

Fresh Coconut Pie

From Mom's Bahamanian cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 c. grated fresh coconut
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 recipe Bahamanian sweet pastry

Directions

1. Combine coconut, sugar, and water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until thickened (~30 minutes).
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and set aside to cool.
4. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and roll out half the pastry (1/4 of the amount the recipe makes) and use it to line a 23cm (9") pie plate.
5. Pour the filling into the uncooked pie shell.
6. Roll out the remaining portion of pastry and either place it on top of the filled pie or cut it into strips and weave a lattice top over the pie.
7. Crimp the edges to seal.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until filling is set and pastry is cooked through and well-browned (30-45 minutes).

I've now tried all of the smoothie bowl recipes from the Breakfast Bible, so I decided to start working my way through some of the breakfast toast recipes. I'd already done the avocado toast and the smoked salmon toast, but that still left the cucumber toast and this squash one.

I'd never actually had kabocha squash before (although I have noticed them becoming increasingly popular here over the past few years). They look similar to a buttercup squash, but apparently have a somewhat lower moisture content.

The flavour was quite nice. Especially when mixed with sautéed onion, garlic, and pepper flakes! And the relatively dry flesh made for a good, stiff-but-spreadable consistency that didn't make the toast heavy or soggy. That said, I think it would probably still be okay with a higher moisture squash; it'd just be a bit wetter.

The recipe called for topping the toasts with either shichimi togarashi or chili oil. I probably could've made some shichimi togarashi, but I got mixed up and was thinking that shichimi togarashi referred to special Japanese hot pepper flakes/chiffonade rather than a spice blend. But, since chili oil was suggested as an option, I decided that Laoganma (老干妈) would also be in the right vein. So we elected to top our toasts with everyone's favourite salty, oily, spicy goodness.

The Kidlet wasn't really a fan of these toasts, but TF and I both enjoyed them a lot! The squash and goat cheese work very well together. And, of course, you can't really go wrong with Laoganma!

We used a few thin slices of English muffin bread as the base for our toasts, but pretty much any bread would work. The recipe actually call for whole wheat bread, but I wasn't about to make a whole new loaf just for this recipe. Just use what you have on hand. The exact type of bread isn't super critical to the recipe.

Photo goes here.

Squash Toast

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 kabocha squash
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 125g soft unripened goat cheese
• 4 slices bread, toasted
• 1/4 c. pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 2 tsp. Laoganma (老干妈) or shichimi togarashi

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Cut the squash in half¹, scoop out the seeds and guts², and brush it with 1-2 tsp. of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Roast the squash at 200°C (400°F) until tender (30-45 minutes).
4. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash it. (Discard the skin.)
5. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
6. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes.
7. Add the garlic (if using) and pepper flakes and cook for another minute or so.
8. Add the mashed squash and cook, stirring, until well-mixed and heated through.
9. Adjust seasoning to taste.
10. Spread the cheese over the toasts.
11. Spread a layer of squash over the cheese.
12. Top each toast with ~1 Tbsp. of pepitas and ~1/2 tsp. Laoganma and serve.

---

¹ You will only need half of the squash for this recipe, but I recommend roasting both pieces and simply saving one half for another use (or making a double batch of toasts). ^Back
2 Either discard the seeds or clean them off, season them, and roast them like pumpkin seeds. ^Back

This pastry challenged me. It didn't sound complicated, but the proportions and procedure were very different from what I'm used to for pastry.

My usually pastry is just a standard shortcrust; a simple butter-and-flour-plus-a-bit-of-water affair. But I've also made sweet shortcrust, rough puff, sourdough shortcrust, hot water crust, and a few others. They all have their differences and I find some of them easier to work with than others, but I feel reasonably comfortable with all of them. This was unlike any other pastry I've ever made before.

Honestly, this dough doesn't even really look or taste like pastry to me. What it really seems like is sugar cookie dough!

Everything about how it's made, looks, tastes, and handles really seems very sugar cookie-esque to me. And yet it's apparently meant to be a roll-out pastry.

Unfortunately, being so high in sugar and relatively low in flour, I couldn't really get mine to roll out properly. I tried! I really did! But it just kept tearing. No matter how careful and gentle I tried to be. Eventually I just decided to treat it as a press-in crust and mashed all the bits together until they'd formed something contiguous and relatively even.

I couldn't use that technique for the top crust, but luckily I was able to get that into place with only one big tear down the middle.

I did try to follow the recipe for this! I started by creaming the fat and sugar together just as specified. I swapped in some lard for the shortening because that's what I had on hand, but I kept all the proportions the same. I mixed in the vanilla, eggs, baking powder, and evaporated milk just like it said. And then I mixed in the 3 c. of flour. And ended up with a dough so wet that there was no question of even attempting to roll it out. I might have been able to turn it into drop cookies, but that's about it.

After mixing in an entire additional cup of flour, it was still very soft, but seemed like, with sufficient care and a well-floured surface, I might be able to at least attempt rolling it. And that was without the 3 Tbsp. of water called for in the recipe!

It rolled okay, but stuck to the work surface fairly easily, so I had to be quite generous with the flour -- which it took up extremely readily! Once it was rolled out though, I could barely even look at it without it tearing. No amount of care and flour seemed to be sufficient to keep it when transferred from the bench to the pie plate. So, as noted, I ended up resorting to treating it as a press-in dough for the bottom crust and using it that way. And, for the top crust, I had to just resign myself to having a huge tear down the centre.

So, as you can see, not the easiest pastry to work with. But it does taste nice. (And it is very cookie-like.)

I might actually try baking the rest of the dough into cookies later today and see how they come out.

Bahamanian Sweet Pastry

Slightly adapted from ??

¹

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 c. lard or shortening, softened
• 2 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. evaporated milk
• 3-4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp. water²

Directions

1. Cream the butter with the lard.
2. Beat in the sugar.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Beat in the vanilla.
5. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
6. Beat in the milk.
7. Mix in the flour until a soft, but roll-able dough forms.
8. If the dough seems too stiff, add water, 1 tsp. at a time, until consistency seems about right.
9. Divide into four equal portions, cover/wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use. One portion makes one 23cm (9") single crust pie. (Use two portions for a double crust pie.)

---

¹ My mom has a Bahamanian cookbook and shared this recipe from it. I have neither the title nor the author of the book. I'll come back and add them later if I can. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for water, but I didn't use any. Even without it, the dough was still very, very soft. I actually used a full 4 c. of flour plus a generous (but unmeasured) additional quantity for dusting my work surface while I was rolling out the dough. ^Back

This was pretty good. The chicken was very simple: just a bit of salt and pepper for seasoning, but it went well with the fava beans. And the wine and broth combine to make a nice sauce for the beans. The beans themselves were nice. But I found peeling them pretty annoying. It's fairly labour-instensive for something that's good, but not great. I think, if I did it again, I might try using peas or a combination of peas and lentils. The fava beans definitely provide a unique flavour and texture, but it's not special or desirable enough for me to want to go to the effort of peeling a kilo of legumes for it! I think other legumes would be different, but still quite good.

Chicken Breasts with Fava Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g fava beans, shelled
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. schmaltz (or other fat)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 3/4 c. chicken stock, divided

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the fava beans, and cook for ~5 minutes.
2. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Once cool enough to handle, peel the tough outer skin off of the beans.
4. Bisect the chicken breasts lengthwise to form 8 wide, thin pieces of chicken.
5. Season with the salt and pepper.
6. Melt the schmaltz over medium heat.
7. Add the chicken to the pan and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through (4-5 minutes per side).
8. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
9. Add 1 Tbsp. of butter to the pan.
10. Add the green onions and garlic and cook for ~2 minutes.
11. Pour in the wine and cook until nearly evaporated.
12. Add 1/4 c. of the stock and the fava beans, cover, and cook for ~5 minutes.
13. Uncover and add the remaining 1/2 c. of broth.
14. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for another few minutes.
15. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter.
16. Serve the beans topped with chicken.
17. Garnish with some parsley and extra green onion if desired.

I wasn't sure what to think of this salad based on the recipe. I like squash. Roasting it in the oven sounded like a promising start. And I've had some lovely warm salads in the past. But this combination sounded a bit unusual and I didn't quite know what to expect. It was actually really great though! Sadly, the Kidlet didn't care for it. But TF and I both loved it!

I cut back on the oil quite a bit. (The original called for half a cup!) And I had to use a yellow onion rather than red because that's all we had on hand. But, other than that, I stuck to the script and it worked out quite well!

Warm Squash Salad with Mint

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 butternut squash
• 1/4 c. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c. fresh mint leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Peel the squash and cut crosswise into 2-3cm thick slices, scooping out any seeds.
3. Toss with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spread the squash out on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 200°C (400°F) until tender (~30 minutes), turning once or twice.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil into the vinegar.
6. Add the onion, oregano, garlic, and pepper flakes and let stand while squash cooks.
7. Once squash is done, transfer to a serving dish and pour the dressing over.
8. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

I've done quite a few different cornmeal waffle recipes at this point. This one distinguishes itself by the inclusion of cheese, green onions, and chipotles in adobo in the batter.

We're actually fresh out of green onions at the moment. Luckily we had a nice bunch of chives in the fridge, so I just used a few of those in place of the scallions. Not quite the same, I know, but I think it was close enough for our purposes. And the cheese, chipotles, and alliums really do make a great combination.

Cheddar-Chipotle Cornmeal Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 125g cheddar, grated
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. chipotles in adobo, minced
• 4 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Add the cheese and mix to combine, breaking up and clumps.
5. In a large measuring cup, beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
6. Pour in the butter and mix well.
7. Mix the minced chipotles into the wet ingredients.
8. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just mixed.
9. Stir in the green onions.
10. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
11. Serve with eggs, salsa, guacamole/sliced avocado, cilantro, and/or chili.

I somehow missed adding this write-up to the queue when I initially tried the recipe a few weeks ago. So now I'm playing catch-up. (I mean, I was already playing catch-up, but now even more-so since I keep discovering recipes like this that had fallen through the cracks.)

This makes a nice pan loaf. Not exceptional, but perfectly serviceable. That said, I don't feel that I can pass accurate judgement on it as I wasn't able to follow the prescribed rising schedule. So, I should probably take another crack at this one sometime and try to get the proofing closer to what was specified in the original.

Egg Harbor Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 100g sourdough discard (optional)
• 700-800g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (or 3 1/2 tsp. instant yeast)
• 1 small egg
• 1 Tbsp. milk

Directions

1. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Add the butter and sourdough discard (if using) and set aside.
2. Put 400g of the flour into a mixing bowl with the yeast and stir to combine.
3. Pour in the liquid and mix in with a flat beater or wooden spoon. Beat for 2 minutes (or ~100 strokes by hand).
4. If using an electric mixer, switch from the flat beater to the dough hook at this point.
5. Add the remaining flour 1/2 c. (~60g) at a time until a rough dough forms.
6. Knead with dough hook for 5-8 minutes or by hand for ~20. Sprinkle with extra flour as needed, but be careful not to make the dough too dry.
7. Cover and set to rise for 30-45 minutes.
8. Once dough is fully risen (use the finger poke test), knock it back, round it, and set it to rise again.
9. This time, cover it and allow it to rise for another 80 minutes, but knock it back every 20.
10. After the last 20-minute rise, turn the dough out onto the work surface, divide it into two equal portions, round each one, cover, and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
12. Shape each ball into a loaf and place, seam-side-down, into the pans.
13. Cover and set aside to rise for 50-60 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
15. Once loaves are fully risen, beat the egg with the milk and brush it over the tops of the loaves. (Try not to let any drip down the sides as it will weld the loaves to the pans and make them difficult to turn out.)
16. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for ~30 minutes.
17. If desired, remove from pans and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes for a darker crust.
18. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

This recipe has been languishing in my backlog for... a while. I think close to four months at this point. So, really, it should probably go into last year's posts. But I don't really feel like doing that today, so here we are!

This is a nice, simple sandwich. The kind of thing that feels like you don't really even need a recipe for. It's just another variation of eggs on toast. That said, without actually writing it down, I probably wouldn't remember to think of combining these ingredients in this specific way. So, this post is my reminder to myself that this combination exists.

Scrambled Egg Sandwich with Parmesan Curls and Tomato Slices

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 2 slices bread, toasted
• 2 tsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 1-2 large eggs
• 1-2 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-3 wide curls Parmesan
• 2 thin slices tomato
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Spread half the butter on the toast.
2. Melt the remaining 1 tsp. of butter over medium heat.
3. Whisk the egg(s) with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often, until just set (~1 minute).
5. Top the scrambled egg with the cheese curls, then transfer to one of the buttered toast slices.
6. Top with tomato and basil, followed by the remaining slice of toast.

English Muffin Bread (Bernard Clayton)

I've made a few different English muffin breads before, but this one in Bernard Clayton's book was a bit different than the previous ones that I had tried. Like, the previous ones that I'd tried, it involves a combination of yeast and chemical leaveners. But, in this case, you get the chemical leavener in there by mixing some dissolved baking soda into the batter between the first and second rise.

As Clayton notes, this bread certainly won't win any beauty pageants, but it smells lovely and -- although I haven't tried it yet -- promises to have a lovely, bubbly internal texture.

I followed the original recipe pretty closely, but added a little bit of sourdough discard. Not so much because I thought it really needed it or wanted to turn it into a sourdough recipe per se. I just needed a way to use up a bit of discard and didn't think it would hurt to add a bit. Normally I would have decreased the flour and water to compensate for what's included in the discard. However, since this was already a very wet dough/batter, I just used the full quantities of everything and added the discard on top of that in this case.

English Muffin Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 4 c. hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 1 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. skim milk powder
• 2 c. warm water
• 100g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. warm water

Directions

1. Combine 240g (~2 c.) of the flour with the yeast, salt, and milk powder.
2. Add the sourdough discard and warm water and mix well.
3. Add the remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time to form a thick batter.
4. Beat with flat beater (or by hand) for 3 minutes (or 200-300 strokes).
5. Cover and set aside to rise for ~1 hour.
6. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
7. Pour the baking soda mixture over the batter and mix it in very well.
8. Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pans and press into the corners.
9. Cover and set aside to rise for another hour.
10. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
11. Uncover and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 40-50 minutes.
12. Remove from pans and set on wire rack to cool.

I'm into the savoury waffle chapter in the book now. I have been going along more-or-less in order, but I did have to skip over the first one as it called for mini salt & pepper waffles to be served with clam dip. Given that we haven't entirely sorted out the Kidlet's potential shellfish allergy yet, I figured that the bivalves might be better saved for another occasion.

These cheese-and-herb waffles were the next up after that and they were great! The combination works really well. I decided to serve up my waffle with some scrambled eggs. And the Kidlet had hers with some chicken and cheddar. But they're honestly really delicious just plain as well.

I think bacon would have been the ideal accompaniment. The recipe author actually suggests bacon and soft poached eggs, which sounds divine! Really though, there's a lot that you can do with these crisp, cheesey, delights. They seem like they could provide a good starchy-savoury base for a lot of things.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any chervil for my waffles. Nor could I get my hands on any fresh tarragon. So I had to make do with chives, parsley, and dried tarragon. And since I didn't have any chervil, I just doubled up on the tarragon. Not the same, I know, but I'm still happy with the results.

Emmental and Fines Herbes Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 240g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 150g Emmental cheese, grated
• 2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon (or 3/4 tsp. dried)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chervil (or tarragon)

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
3. Mix in the sugar, pepper, and salt.
4. Add the cheese and mix well, breaking up any clumps.
5. In a large measuring cup, beat the eggs into the milk.
6. Slowly drizzle in the butter, whisking to combine.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine.
8. Fold in the chives, parsley, tarragon, and chervil.
9. Pour one portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
10. Serve plain or with bacon, eggs, sautéed mushrooms, and/or additional accompaniments of your choice.

This is simple and a bit light on veggies, but it is very tasty. I really like the combination of noodles and grilled (or broiled) pork tenderloin. And adding some roasted broccoli or braised bok choy can help round out the meal and make it a little more balanced.

Pork Noodle Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredeints

• 2 pork tenderloins (~340g each)
• 1 Tbsp. peanut (or other neutral) oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar¹
• 1 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 3-4 drops sriracha
• 450g fresh Chinese egg noodles (or 300g dried spaghetti)²
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 serrano or Thai chile, seeded and minced
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4-1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat a charcoal grill or oven broiler for high/direct heat cooking.
2. Brush the tenderloins with the peanut oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cook the tenderloins until just cooked through and seared on all sides, turning every few minutes (~15 minutes total).
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the sesame oil, lime juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger paste, sugar, and sriracha.
5. Cook and drain the noodles and toss with the dressing.
6. Add the bell pepper, chile, cilantro, parsley, and sesame seeds and toss to combine.
7. Slice the pork and add it to the salad.

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¹ The original recipe calls for sherry vinegar. I don't generally keep that on hand, so I used my go-to substitute of red wine vinegar. That said, next time I'd be tempted to try rice vinegar instead. ^Back
2 I forgot to adjust for fresh vs. dried pasta in my rendition, so I used a whole pound of dried spaghetti for my noodle salad. This actually worked out just fine, but it was very lightly dressed and obviously a bit heavier on the starch than the default proportions would have been. ^Back

Clayton notes that this buttermilk bread is similar to Irish soda bread. He implies that the main difference is the lack of dried fruit, which is interesting because I don't think of fruit as being integral to Irish soda bread. To me, aside from being chemically leavened with baking soda, the defining characteristic of Irish soda bread is the inclusion of a combination of oats and wheat in the dough. Whatever the distinction is, I do agree with the assessment of this as being very similar.

The original recipe only calls for butter and buttermilk to be added to the dry ingredients, but my starter desperately needed feeding, so I included a bit of sourdough discard in the dough as well. I've included the proprotions for both approaches below.

Scottish Buttermilk Bread

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 240g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Grease a rimmed baking sheet and dust it with cornmeal.
3. Sift the baking soda and cream of tartar into the flour.
4. Mix in the sugar and salt.
5. Add the butter and mix in, breaking up with fingers, until only very small pieces remain.
6. Pour in buttermilk and mix until soft dough forms.
7. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if dough is too sticky.
8. Shape into a ball, place on prepared baking sheet, and flatten slightly.
9. Slash in an X shape.
10. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30-35 minutes.

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Variations

Sourdough Buttermilk Soda Bread

Ingredients

• 190g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 100g sourdough discard

I've made similar roasted broccoli dishes before, but I hadn't tried this one specifically. And since I needed a vegetable side to go with dinner, I figured this was a good time to try it out.

The recipe implied that you were meant to leave the broccoli in large pieces. I roasted it in large pieces, but then cut it up before serving to make it easier to eat. Next time, I think I'd just cut it up from the get-go though as trying to cut it afterward was a bit fiddly.

Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce & Rice Vinegar

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. peanut or corn oil
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 450g broccoli (stems and florets), cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°C (475°F).
2. Combine the oils and garlic paste and toss with the broccoli.
3. Spread the broccoli out on a rimmed baking sheet and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Roast the broccoli at 250°C (475°F) for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame seeds.

We've made this as-written at least twice, but it looks like neither time made it into the blog. This version, meanwhile, deviates somewhat from the recipe in Hazan; I wanted to increase the ratio of veggies to everything else somewhat, and I also needed to get it done fast because I was starting late and could not afford the usual 3-4 hour cooking time. To that end, I used a generous quantity of mirepoix mix for the veggies, added some spinach, and skipped the slow simmering and cooking down of the tomatoes in favour of using a smaller quantity of pre-diced tomatoes.

I would definitely make it this way again; symbol and I both liked it, and the Kidlet declared it to be "beyond favourite".

Modified Fettucini al Ragu

The Classic Pasta Cookbook by Guiliano Hazan (pp. 62-63)

Ingredients

• 400-450g fettucini or other pasta
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2+2 tbsp butter
• 360mL (1½ C) frozen mirepoix mix
• 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 450g (1 lb) extra lean ground beef
• ½ tsp salt, ground
• ½ tsp pepper, ground
• 120mL (½ C) frozen chopped spinach
• 240mL (1 C) white wine
• 120mL (½ C) milk
• ⅛ tsp grated nutmeg
• 1×375mL tin diced tomatoes
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions

1. Heat the oil and half of the butter in a large, deep-sided skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the mirepoix mix and cook, stirring occasionally, until thawed and the onion has just started to brown.
3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
4. Add the ground beef, salt, and pepper, and cook, breaking up and stirring as needed, until cooked through and just browned.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook until just thawed.
6. Add the wine and cook until it has completed evaporated.
7. Add the milk and nutmeg and cook, stirring frequently, until mostly evaporated.
8. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are bubbling and the sauce has just begun to thicken.
9. Reduce heat to low and set aside until the pasta is cooked al dente.
10. Combine pasta, sauce, and remaining butter and toss until the butter is melted and the pasta is evenly coated; serve.

I made this casserole quite a while ago at this point, but I haven't been great at keep up with my blog write-ups so far this year, so it's taken me until now to get to it. This means, unfortunately, that the details are a little fuzzy at this point, but I think that I made it pretty much to spec. And if I recall correctly it was pretty good. That said, I think I like my mom's "Mexican lasagna" better. Still it was nice to try this version too. If nothing else, it lets me check another recipe off!

Nacho Casserole

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 900g plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 jalapeños
• 6-8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 large onion, half chopped, half thinly sliced
• 170g tortilla chips
• 250g shredded cooked chicken
• 1 (420g) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 170g grated cheese (preferably a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack)
• sour cream, salsa, lime, and/or avocado

Directions

1. Combine tomatoes, jalape&ntile;os, and garlic and toss with 1/2 Tbsp. of the olive oil.
2. Season with salt and pepper and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the tomatoes cut-side-down.
3. Broil until lightly charred (~12 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then pull the stems from the chilies and peel the garlic.
5. Transfer to blender, add cilantro, and purée.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly oil a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
7. Heat remaining oil over medium heat.
8. Add the chopped onion and saut&eactue; until softened (~5 minutes).
9. Add the puréed mixture and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
11. Pour half of the sauce into the prepared baking dish.
12. Add the tortilla chips in an even layer on top of the sauce.
13. Layer the chicken over the chips, followed by the beans.
14. Pour the remaining sauce over the casserole and top with cheese and sliced onion.
15. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25-30 minutes.
16. Serve with sour cream, salsa, lime wedges, and/or sliced avocado.

I decided to make parfaits for breakfast this morning and figured it'd be nice to make my own granola for them. I was initially thinking of doing a chocolate-cherry granola, but I wasn't sure that would complement the nectarine parfait I had in mind as well. So, in the end, I opted for this peanut-y granola instead.

Blueberry-Peanut Butter Granola

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 c. coconut oil¹
• 1/4 c. peanut butter
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1/2 c. dried blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Combine oats, almonds, and salt in a bowl and mix well.
3. In a small pot, combine the oil, peanut butter, and maple syrup and gently warm over low heat until oil is melted and ingredients mix easily.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir to combine.
5. Dump the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out into an even layer.
6. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and mix in dried blueberries.

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¹ I was running a bit low on coconut oil, so I actually ended up using only 2 Tbsp. of oil + an extra Tbsp. of peanut butter, which actually seemed to work out fine. ^Back

I finally got around to making the last parfait recipe in the Breakfast Bible. It's pretty simple, but I don't often keep nectarines on hand, so this is the first time I've actually had the ingredeints available.

I liked the citrus notes with the nectarines in this parfait. Unfortunately I think my nectarines were a little underripe, so it came out a bit bland and tart overall. Adding a bit of maple syrup helped, but having properly ripened fruit would obviously have been better. But I was worried that if I waited I'd never get around to it. So I fiugred I'd give it a go with the slightly firm nectarines and just adjust as needed to compensate. Not ideal maybe, but it got the job done.

Honey-Lime Nectarine Parfaits

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 nectarines, halved and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• zest of 2 limes
• 3 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. granola
• maple syrup or extra honey, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the nectarines, honey, and limes and mix well. Set aside.
2. Get out four jars or glasses and put 6 Tbsp. of yogurt in the bottom of each.
3. Add ~1/8 of the nectarines to each jar.
4. Repeat the layers with another 6 Tbsp. of the yogurt and 1/8 of the nectarines in each jar.
5. Top each portion with 1 Tbsp. of granola.
6. Drizzle with maple syrup/honey (if using) and serve.

The Kidlet was having a friend over for dinner the other day and I wasn't sure what they liked, so I tried to play it safe with this chicken pot pie. I hoped it would be a fairly... unintimidating dish without any overly strong flavours or unusual ingredients. The Kidlet certainly liked it! I may need to work on dailing things in with the friend a bit, but it was a decent start.

In theory this is meant to make one 9" pie. In practice, I ended up with more filling than would fit in a 9" pie plate, so I ended up making an additional 4 small pies by pouring the excess filling into ramekins and topping them with a bit of the extra pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Pastry

• 210g all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. shortening or lard
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 c. cold water

Filling

• 1 c. sliced carrots
• 1 c. fresh or frozen peas
• 1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 500g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1/2 c. half-and-half (10% MF)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small egg
• 2 tsp. water

Directions

1. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour.
2. Mix in the water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until the dough comes together.
3. Shape into a ball, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the carrots in salted water until tender-crisp (~3 minutes).
5. If using fresh peas and corn, boil them for ~1 minute. If using frozen, just add them to the boiling water and then immediately remove from heat. Drainth eveggies and set aside.
6. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
7. Melt the butter over medium heat.
8. Add the chicken, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until browned on all sides (8-10 minutes).
9. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened (2-4 minutes).
10. Add the flour and cook for another minute or two.
11. Pour in the broth, wine, cream, and parsley and bring to a simmer.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
13. Add the veggies and adjust seasoning to taste.
14. Pour the filling into a 23cm (9") deep dish pie plate. (You may have some extra.)
15. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.
16. Beat the egg with the water and brush a little egg wash around the edges of the pastry, then place the pastry, egg-side-down, over the pie.
17. Press pastry to adhere and crimp edges.
18. Brush the top of the pie wiht more egg wash and cut one or more small holes or slits in the crust.
19. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) for ~30 minutes.

These quesadillas are meant to be served with a simple arugula salad. We still had a bunch of chicken tostada salad left over from the previous day though, so I skipped the arugula and we just had them with some of the leftover salad instead.

Sweet Potato and Green Chile Quesadillas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-4 Tbsp. canned green chilies
• 1/4 c. canned diced tomatoes
• 8 (15cm/6") corn tortillas
• 1 c. grated Monterey Jack or mild cheddar
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1/4 c. sour cream (optional)
• 1/4 c. salsa (optional)
• sliced or chopped avocado (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Drizzle sweet potatoes with oil and toss with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Place on a baking sheet and roast until very tender (15-20 minutes), stirring once or twice.
4. Mash the sweet potatoes and mix int he chilies and tomatoes.
5. Divide the sweet potato mixture evenly among four of the tortillas and spread it into an even layer.
6. Top each with ~1/4 c. of cheese.
7. Place one of the remaining tortillas on top of each quesadilla.
8. Brush the outside surfaces of the quesadillas with oil and place on the baking sheet.
9. Bake at 230°C (450°F) for 5-10 minutes.
10. If the quesadillas aren't sufficiently browned, you may put them under the broiler for ~2 minutes per side.
11. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, salsa, and/or avocado if desired.
12. Serve with salad or other side of your choice.

I haven't been feeling up to much cooking lately, so I've been making a lot of simple soups and salads. I had a bunch of chicken left over from making a soup earlier and spinach left over from the green smoothie bowls, so I decided to combine that into this salad. There were even a few corn tortillas left over in the fridge that I was able to fry up into tostadas, so it worked out quite well all 'round!

The one thing that I did not have was cherry tomatoes, so I opted to mix in a few tinned diced tomatoes instead. I'm honestly pretty happy with how this worked out. Although I was a bit short of greens and I think it probably could've used a bit of cheese. I think a bit of cheddar would have been a really nice complement to all the other elements.

Chicken Tostada Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 limes
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1 (470g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c. corn kernels
• 2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2 c. canned diced tomatoes)
• 1 jalapeño or poblano chile, minced
• 1 head romaine or leafe lettuce (or equivalent amount of spinach), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 300-350g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/4-1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-4 green onions, sliced (optional)
• 4 tostadas

Directions

1. Zest and juice the limes.
2. Combine the lime juice, zest, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously.
4. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, and chile and toss to combine. Let stand for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add the lettuce, chicken, and cheese.
6. Top with avocado, cilantro, green onions, and cheese (if using).
7. Serve with tostadas on the side.

I was going to make a chocolate-mint tart for dessert, but we were all out of cream, so I flipped through the book looking for something relatively easy that didn't require any cream. This tasty tart fit the bill. Although I did mess it up a bit.

The recipe calls for baking at 425°F for 15 minutes followed by another 20-25 minutes at 350°F. I missed that second baking instruction and was disappointed to see that the filling was still very raw after 15 minutes. I ended up baking it for another 5 at 425°F, at which point the crust had gotten so dark it was in danger of burning and the filling was still quite raw, so I dropped the temperature down to 325°F and baked it for another 10 minutes. This did the trick, but I think that following the original baking instructions probably would've worked a bit better. Whoops!

Anyway, it was still nice overall and the Kidlet enthusiastically declared it a favourite!

Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Crust

• 60g hazelnuts
• 140g all-purpose flour
• 30g natural cocoa powder
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 4-6 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 60g unsweetened chocolate
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. corn syrup
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 225g hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F)¹.
2. Grind the hazelnuts for the crust in a food processor or blender until finely chopped.
3. Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt and pulse until mixed.
4. Dump into a bowl and cut in the butter.
5. Mix in milk until a crumbly pastry forms.
6. Mix in the vanilla.
7. Press the pastry into a 23cm (9")² loose-bottomed tart tin. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
8. Melt the butter and chocolate over very low heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
9. Beat eggs with corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, and sea salt.
10. Whisk chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, then stir in hazelnuts.
11. Pour the filling mixture into the crust.
12. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15 minutes.
13. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake until filling is just set, but centre is still jiggly (20-25 minutes).
14. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
15. Serve with ice cream and/or whipped cream.

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¹ I actually started by preheating the oven to 180°C (350°F) and toasting the hazelnuts for the filling for 6 minutes, shaking every 2 minutes. After that, I set them aside and preheated the oven to 220°C (425°F) for the pie. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for using a 9.5" tart tin. I have a 9" tin and a 10" tin, but not a 9.5" one. I used my 9" tin and this seemed to work fine, although I did have a small amount of excess filling that I baked off in a custard cup alongside the pie. That said, I might be tempted to try the 10" tin next time just to see how that works out. It would result in a thinner crust and give a little more room to fit all the filling in. Probably a better fit overall. I just figured it was better to have the crust be a little too thick than to end up with not having enough pastry to adequately cover the tart tin. But now that I've had a chance to try this recipe once, I think it would be fine in the larger tin after all. ^Back

This is the last recipe in the "Fruit, Nut, and Not-So-Plain Waffles" chapter of the book! (Unless you count the bacon and beer variant of this recipe as a separate thing, which I'm not.) So, I guess that means I'll be onto the savoury waffle chapter next time.

I know there've been an awful lot of waffles lately. And most of them look, at least superficially, the same. But I've been having fun working my way through this book and trying as many of the recipes as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to try them all eventually! (Although I think I'll skip the clam dip one until we have some more conclusive information on the Kidlet's potential shellfish allergies. And I may have to skip the malt waffles entirely if I continue to be unable to find the right kind of malt flour. We'll see...)

Anyway, ale waffles! These are ideally meant to be made with an amber ale. I ended up with a Belgian dark ale, which, I think, is not quite the same. I assume that amber ales fall somewhere between dark and pale on the ale scale, but I couldn't find anything specifically labelled as an amber ale, so I just went with the dark. This seems to have done the trick and imparted a noticeable beer flavour without the chemical alcohol taste.

The batter mixes up surprisingly thick and light. It's an interesting texture that cooks up into beautifully crisp waffles that I think work well as a sort of sweet-and-savoury breakfast. I topped mine with a combination of baked beans, scrambled eggs, and maple syrup. And I can definitely see why the author suggested a bacon variant as a bit of bacon or sausage would have been perfect to go along with the waffles and eggs. Alas, I was all out so I had to make do without the meat.

Amber Ale Waffles

Slightly adapted from Waffles: Sweet, Savory, Simple by Dawn Yanagihara

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 330mL dark or amber ale¹
• 6 Tbsp. milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Sift baking powder into flour.
3. Mix in salt and nutmeg.
4. In a large measuring cup, beat eggs and mix in ale, milk, and sugar.
5. Wisk the butter into the wet ingredients.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter has been used.
8. Serve with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, and/or maple syrup.

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Variations

Bacon and Beer Waffles

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 330mL dark or amber ale¹
• 6 Tbsp. milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. bacon grease
• 225g bacon, cooked and crumbled

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¹ The original recipe calls for 360mL of ale and 1/4 c. of milk, but the bottles I got were only 330mL, so I just used one bottle of ale and bumped the milk up to 6 Tbsp. to compensate. ^Back

This simple salad was alright. It wasn't great, but it used up the rest of the celery root I had sitting in the fridge and it was decent enough as a side dish. I probably won't make it again, but it was interesting to try.

Photo goes here.

Celery Root Rémoulade

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 680g celery root (celeriac)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. Roman mustard¹
• 1/4 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. olive oil²
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar³
• 3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. Peel the celery root and cut it into thin matchsticks.
2. Sprinkle with lemon juice and sea salt and toss to combine.
3. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
4. After standing for 30 minutes, rinse the celery root, drain, and pat dry.
5. Warm a heatproof bowl and place the mustard in it.
6. Drizzle the boiling water into the mustard, whisking constantly.
7. Slowly drizzle in the oil, continuing to whisk while doing so.
8. Whisk in the vinegar.
9. Add the celery root and toss to combine.
10. Cover and cill for 3-24 hours.
11. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1/4 c. of Dijon mustard. I reduced this to 3 Tbsp. since I generally find our homemade Roman mustard quite strong. You may want to bump it up slightly if you're using a milder mustard. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 1/3-1/2 c. of olive oil, but only 3 Tbsp. of water and 2 Tbsp. of vinegar. I usually like my salad dressings to have a bit less oil and more vinegar, so I reduced the oil and increased the water and vinegar somewhat. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for either white wine or champagne vinegar. I didn't want to go out and get a whole new bottle of vinegar just for this one recipe, so I just used the red wine vinegar that I already had on hand. ^Back

This is a simple chicken soup simmered with lime juice and oregano. It then gets topped with tortilla chips/tostadas, sour cream, cheese, avocado, sour cream, and cilantro. The original recipe doesn't actually call for the sour cream or cilantro, but I had both available, so I used them!

This is a nice, light-tasting and refreshing soup. Not super substantial, but it is simple to put together and the flavours are nice.

Mexican Chicken-Lime Soup

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3-4 limes
• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts¹
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or schmaltz
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño², minced
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. water³
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 60g queso fresco⁴, crumbled
• 1/4 c. sour cream (or lime crema)
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• tortilla chips or tostadas

Directions

1. Cut one lime into wedges and set aside. Juice enough of the remaining limes to produce 1/4 c. of juice and set aside.
2. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oil or schmaltz over medium heat.
4. Add the chicken, skin-side-down, and cook until browned on both sides (4-5 minutes per side). Transfer to plate and set aside.
5. Add the onion to the now-empty pot (which should have some fat in it) and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
6. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add the chicken stock, water, lime juice, and oregano.
8. Return the chicken to the pot and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is well-cooked and tender (20-30 minutes).
10. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
11. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, cover the pot and keep the broth warm.
12. Remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred the meat and return it to the pot.
13. Serve soup topped with avocado, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and tortilla chips/broken tostadas and pass lime wedges on the side.

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¹ I didn't have any chicken breasts, so I ended up using some skinless, boneless chicken thighs instead. To make up for the lack of skin, I cooked them in a generous portion of schmaltz. And, although I didn't have any bones to cook with the soup, I was using a good, flavourful, home-made chicken stock that I had used a chicken carcass to make. So hopefully that worked out about right in the end. ^Back
2 I had picked up some lovely poblano chilies on sale earlier, so I used half a poblano in place of the jalapeño. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for 3 c. of water, but I thought that sounded like too much, so I cut it back slightly. ^Back
4 I couldn't get any queso fresco (or ricotta salata, which was suggested as a substitute), so I just used a little grated mild cheddar instead. ^Back

The last enchiladas went over so well, that I decided to try another batch. These ones aren't quite as hearty as the vegetable enchiladas that I made before as they lack any legumes or other significant sources of protein. They were still quite tasty though.

Spinach, Potato, and Corn Enchiladas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn
• 280g spinach
• 828mL enchilada sauce
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 12 corn tortillas
• 125g cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork several times, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 190°C (375°F) until tender (~40 minutes).
3. Set aside to cool, then dice.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Heat the oil over medium heat.
6. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the diced potatoes, corn, and spinach and cook for a minute or two.
8. Pour in 1 c. (~240mL) of the enchilada sauce, cover, and cook for ~5 minutes.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
10. Pour ~1/2 c. (120mL) of the remaining enchilada sauce into a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
11. Gently warm the remaining enchilada sauce (~450mL) in a frying pan.
12. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip it into the sauce until the tortilla is warmed and softened. Then take the tortilla out, place it in the prepared baking dish, and spoon ~1/12 of the filling in a line down the centre of the softened tortilla. Roll it up and place it seam-side down in the dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, packing the enchiladas in relatively tightly.
13. Pour any remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
14. Top with the cheese.
15. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until enchiladas are headed through and cheese is melted (~20 minutes).
16. Serve hot and garnish with salsa, sour cream, avocado, sliced radish, and/or cilantro if desired.

Breakfast Tacos (Breakfast Bible version)

I was initially planning on making breakfast burritos for breakfast this morning, but I failed to procure a few of the ingredients and ended up swapping them out for these breakfast tacos instead. I had all the ingredients on hand and it let me use up a few things out of the fridge that really needed used.

There are a lot of different parts to these tacos, but none of them requires much in the way of prep. It's mostly just chopping, maybe stirring a few things together in a bowl. The only thing that really needs cooking is the eggs. So that helps make this a fairly tractable morning recipe. Although it's still a little more complicated than I'd normally prefer for a weekday breakfast. Perfect for a weekend though!

I just filled my tacos with the toppings listed in the recipe: cheese, beans, avocado, crema, pickled onions, and cilantro. And they were great that way. That said, I do think a little salsa (or pico de gallo, as the recipe author suggests) would have been nice as well. And you could certainly experiment with trying out different toppings and adjusting the combination somewhat. Thinly sliced radishes and pickled jalapeños spring to mind as potential candidates. Refried beans... tomatoes... taco sauce... ketchup... take your pick!

Breakfast Tacos

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. lime zest
• 1 tsp. minced jalapeño
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. unsalted butter
• 8 small (15cm) corn tortillas
• 1/2 c. cooked pinto beans¹
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 c. cheese, either grated cheddar or crumbled cotija or feta
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Stir together the onion, vinegar, and sugar and let stand for at least 30 minutes.
2. Stir together sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, and jalapeño and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the meal.
3. Beat the eggs with the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
5. Pour in the eggs and allow to cook for a minute or two without stirring.
6. Stir the eggs and scrape the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and occasionally stirring until eggs are soft set in large curds.
7. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas until soft and supple.
8. Assemble to tacos by filling the tortillas with scrambled eggs and topping with beans, avocado, cheese, crema, pickled onions, and cilantro and serve.

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¹ I already had an open can of baked beans in the fridge, so I just used those instead of opening a can of pinto beans or trying to cook some from scratch. ^Back

Bafflingly, this recipe came out of The Breakfast Bible! It's delicious, but I don't think that any recipe that calls for >1 c. of sugar and 2 c. of whipping cream (and not much else) should be considered breakfast! We had it for dessert last night and it was lovely.

I was surprised at how well the cream clung to the apple skin. I thought it would all just run right off and I'd be sitting there wondering what on Earth they were thinking when writing the instructions. But it actually worked quite well! (The instructions about coring the apples could've stood a bit of adjustment, but giving them their sugar-cream coating actually worked out just fine.)

The original recipe just says to core the apples with an apple corer. So, as far as I can tell, you're meant to punch a hole all the way throug the centre of the apple. I did this with the first one, but I didn't like how it looked and it seemed like it would give a worse final result since you're instructed to fill the apples with the remaining cream and sugar before putting them into the oven. If you've punched all the way through, then everything's just going to run out the bottom! That didn't really seem like a winning plan to me. So, after considering the first apple, I decided to take a different tack with the remaining seven and leave the bottom in tact. This approach does risk ending up with a bit of the core/blossom being served with the final dessert, but I think it's worth it for the easier baking and nicer presentation.

Baked Apples with Cream

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 8 large apples¹
• 1-2 c. heavy (35%) cream², divided
• 1 c. sugar⁴
• ~1 tsp. ground cinnamon⁵
• 1/2 c. water
• 1-2 Tbsp. icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).
2. Cut a cone out of the top of each apple to remove the stem and some of the surrounding skin.
3. Use a spoon to dig out the core and seeds, leaving the bottom of the apple in tact.
4. Measure out 1/3 c. of the cream.
5. Place the sugar (or cinnamon-sugar) in a shallow bowl.
6. Working with one apple at a time, use a pastry brush to brush the outside of the apple with cream, then roll the apple in the sugar to completely coat it. Set the sugar-coated apple in a shallow baking dish. Repeat with remaining apples.
7. Once all the apples have been coated, pour any of the cream remaining from brushing the apples into the centres of the fruit.
8. Spoon the remaining sugar into the centres of the apples, dividing it as evenly as possible.
9. Sprinkle with the cinnamon (unless using cinnamon sugar for coating).
10. Pour the water into the bottom of the baking dish.
11. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 90 minutes, carefully basting every 30 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, combine the remaining cream with the icing sugar and vanilla. (If using the larger amount of cream, use the larger amount of sugar.) Beat until stiffened.
13. Once the apples are done, transfer to bowls and top with whipped cream. If desired, add 1-2 Tbsp. of ice cream to the centre of each apple before topping with cream.

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¹ The original recipe calls for Rome Beauty apples. I ended up using 7 Ambrosia apples + 1 Royal Gala. The Gala (pictured) was much smaller than the Ambrosias and, I think, probably less well-suited to this recipe, but it still worked out fine. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 2 c. of cream. I think that seems a bit excessive, especially if you opt to have this as a breakfast dish after all. Since we only had ~1 c. of cream left anyway, I just used that and called it a day.^{3 Back
3} I may have also added a small amount of ice cream to the centre of my apple before topping it with whipped cream. Definitely not a requirement, but I think it was a nice addition. Personally, I liked the idea of a small amount of ice cream + a small amount of whipped cream better than burying the apple under a mountain of whipped cream alone. ^Back
4 Here, again, I reduced the quantities slightly. The original recipe calls for 1 1/4 c. of sugar. I felt like 1 c. would be enough, so I just rolled with that. ^Back
5 The recipe didn't specify a quantity for the cinnamon and I didn't measure how much I used, but I think it was probably around a teaspoon. Next time I might actually be inclined to use cinnamon sugar to coat the apples rather than trying to add the cinnamon separately afterward. I think it would provide a more even distribution and hopefully it wouldn't be too cinnamon-y. I might try it with a half-strength batch of cinnamon sugar for the first go 'round: maybe a 1:12 or 1:16 cinnamon:sugar ratio. Something to think about for next time anyway.^Back

I've never really gotten on board with the whole green smoothie/puréed vegetables for breakfast thing. Mixing a little bit of wheatgrass or whatever in is one thing, but if you're putting in enough greens to make it look like a St. Patrick's Day special, I am immediately dubious. It starts seeming like one of those health food fads that tries to pack in "superfoods" and forgets that food is actually supposed to taste good. So, I generally avoid the recipes that call for you to drink a kale-spirulina-avocado-superfood-of-the-month slurry sweetened with positive energy and sunshine. But... I'd already made all the other smoothie bowls in the book. And this one at least called for a decent quantity of banana and almond butter. So it seemed like those would hopefully end up as the dominant flavours, with the spinach and avocado just lending a bit of colour and bulk. And, I have to say, it did work out rather nicely! I was quite happy with the results and would definitely make it again.

I did add a bit of honey to my smoothie. And I also bumped up the quantity of almond butter a bit. And I think it did need that to get the flavours balanced right. But, having done that, it was great!

I also decided to add a little bit of toasted coconut to mine (not pictured). Which I think was a good combo. I think pineapple would also work well as a topping if you happen to have some on hand.

Green Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 55g baby spinach
• 1/2 an avocado
• 2 bananas
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 3-4 Tbsp. almond butter
• 1 mango, sliced
• 150g blueberries
• 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted
• 1 Tbsp. oat bran¹, toasted
• 1-2 Tbsp. toasted coconut (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, spinach, avocado, bananas, honey, and almond butter in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie into 2-4 bowls depending on how big you want your servings to be. (I found 1/4 of the batch to be plenty for me.)
3. For small bowls: top each with 1/4 of the mango, ~35g of blueberries, 1/2 Tbsp. of pumpkin seeds, 3/4 tsp. oat bran, and ~1/2 Tbsp. of coconut. For large bowls: double all the topping quantities.

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¹ I couldn't find my oat bran, so I just omitted it. The Kidlet probably wouldn't have liked it anyway. ^Back