Migas (Big Book of Breakfast)

I've made migas before, but the Big Book of Breakfast contains a slightly different version, so I decided to give it a try. This is a milder migas, without the jalapeños. And it swaps out the bell pepper for tomato. Which was convenient, since I was then able to use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh to make it Reiver-safe. It also omits the onion in favour of green onion, which I do think is a better fit. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to using both in the future. And I think the cilantro garnish is something that you can take or leave depending on what you have availale at the time.

Migas

Slightly adapted from the Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk or water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2-3/4 c. diced tomato
• 1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
• 1 c. grated cheese
• 1 c. crushed tortilla chips

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
3. Add the green onion and cook for another minute or two.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the onions and reduce heat to medium-low.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft scrambled.
7. Stir in the tomato and corn and cook for another minute or two.
8. Add the cheese and tortilla chips and stir until just combined and cheese is melted.
9. Serve as-is or with sliced avocado and radish and/or a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Unfortunately the avocado that I got for this wasn't quite ripe yet, so I had to make it without that particular ingredient. It was still tasty though! A bit more involved than most scrambled eggs, but good if you have the ingredients on hand and want something particularly hearty for breakfast.

Photo goes here.

Elegant Scrambled Eggs

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 tsp. butter, divided
• 100-150g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tsp. lemon juice or red wine vinegar
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• chives and/or roasted red pepper, to serve
• sour cream, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Melt 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
2. Add the mushrooms and shallot and cook until softened (5-10 minutes).
3. Add the chicken, avocado, and lemon juice/vinegar, remove from skillet, and set aside.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk, wine, salt, and pepper.
5. Melt the remaining 1 tsp. of butter over medium-low heat.
6. Pour the eggs into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
7. Add the chicken-mushroom mixture and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs reach desired doneness.
8. Serve garnished with red pepper and/or chives and a dollop of sour cream.

The Big Book of Breakfast has a whole section on breakfast potatoes. I haven't done many of those recipes yet. I tend to like to make breakfasts that are complete meals in and of themselves. I don't want to have to make multiple dishes for breakfast. And most of the potato dishes are more of a side dish than a main course. But I did give this one a try the other day when I had a few extra minutes while preparing the egg patties for breakfast.

I had a bit of trouble getting the potatoes to crisp up as much as I wanted. Next time I'd use a large pan (rather than the smaller one specified in the recipe). I think more surface area would have helped with getting everything to cook through and brown nicely.

Photo goes here.

Truck Stop Hash Browns

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• ~900g russet potatoes, grated
• 3-4 Tbsp. bacon grease or shortening
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Warm 3 Tbsp. of bacon grease over medium heat.
2. Add the potatoes to the pan and press down into an even layer.
3. Sprinkle with a generous quantity of salt and pepper.
4. Cook until bottom is browned (5-7 minutes). Do not stir!
5. Flip the potatoes (cutting in half first if necessary).
6. Add a little more fat to the pan if necessary.
7. Cook until browned on the other side (5-7 minutes longer).
8. Serve with eggs (cooked however you prefer).

I made a fresh loaf of bread the other day. So then, when I slept in the next morning and wasn't feeling up to doing much for breakfast, I decided to go for this French toast. It's got enough to it to be interesting, but isn't actual complicated or difficult.

It's really meant to be made with a baguette so that you get lots of little slices. But I had just made a full-sized pan loaf, so I used that and just did a few larger slices.

Banana-Nut Stuffed French Toast

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 loaf of bread (may not need the whole thing)
• 3-4 bananas, sliced
• 1/2-3/4 c. chopped walnuts
• 4-6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• whipped cream, to serve

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla and pour into a large shallow bowl.
2. Cut a slice of bread ~1cm (1/2") thick and almost all the way through. Then cut the next "slice" (also ~1cm thick) all the way throgh. (So that you essentially have two slices joined at the bottom.)
3. Fill the space between the two joined slices with a single layer of banana slices.
4. Sprinkle in 1-2 Tbsp. of walnuts and 2-3 tsp. of brown sugar.
5. Heat up a pan over medium-low heat.
6. Melt a little butter into the pan.
7. Carefully dip the stuffed bread into the custard. Flip and dip the other side.
8. Place the dipped bread into the pan and cook until golden-brown on the underside.
9. Flip and cook until the other side is also nicely browned.
10. Repeat with additional bread and filling until the custard has been used up.
11. Serve with whipped cream.

I didn't really have a plan for breakfast this morning. And then I slept in. So I woke up and groggily started casting about in my cookbooks looking for inspiration. In the end, it came down to French toast, muffins, or these biscuits. And the biscuits appealed to us more, so biscuits it was!

These are very easy to throw together (assuming that you have the bacon already cooked and ready to hand). And they have a lot of leavener in them, so they come out very light. They're not my favourite biscuits, but they're quite good nonetheless.

I think, if I were doing them again, I might reduce the oven temperature slightly. I baked these ones at 230°C (450°F) like the recipe called for. And they were good. But the bottoms got a bit darker than I would have liked. So I'm thinking that I might try dropping the temperature down to 220°C (425°F) next time.

Bacon and Cheese Drop Biscuits

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. grated cheddar
• 2-4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Cut in butter.
5. Mix in the cheese and bacon.
6. Pour in the buttermilk and stir to combine.
7. Drop generous tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until done (~12 minutes).
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These high-protein pancakes remind me a lot of the Weight Watchers pancakes that I tried a while back. Although, unlike the Weight Watchers version, this one does include flour. And quite a bit more milk than their version. I do think I like the idea of adding some mashed banana to the batter next time though. Just to add a little fruit and sweetness.

For the version below, I have swapped out the white flour with whole wheat, added a mashed banana, omitted the oil, and added some vanilla and cinnamon. I know that sounds like quite a few tweaks. But I think it still keeps the spirit of the original recipe.

Cottage Cheese and Yogurt Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 140g whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 3/4 c. cottage cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Sift the baking powder and baking soda into the flour and mix.
2. In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, banana, vanilla, and cinnamon, and mix well.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine.
4. Heat a tawa or skillet over medium-low heat and oil as needed.
5. Once the pan/tawa is hot, pour a few 1/4 c. portions of batter into the pan.
6. Cook until bubbles form in tops and sides begin to look dry, then flip and continue cooking until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through.
7. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Serve with maple syrup, jam, butter, yogurt, and/or fresh fruit.

This was really good! I never would have thought of putting hominy into scrambled eggs, but it was actually a nice addition.

I swapped out the pork bacon for chicken "bacon" and then added a little bacon grease when cooking the green onions. I also added a bit of mild cheddar right at the end. The recipe doesn't call for any cheese, but I felt like it made a nice addition and complemented the other flavours well.

Scrambled Eggs with Hominy, Bacon, and Chilies

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4-6 slices of bacon (or chicken bacon), chopped
• 3-6 green onions, chopped
• 1 small (~400mL) can hominy, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (~100mL) chopped green chilies
• 6 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• ~1/2 c. salsa (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the bacon and the green onions until bacon is done and green onions are softened (~5 minutes).
2. Add the hominy and chilies and cook until heated through (3-5 minutes).
3. Beat the eggs with the milk.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the hominy and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Leave undisturbed for a minute or so then cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs look dry.
6. Sprinkle with cheese (if using).
7. Serve with salsa (if using).

I was planning on making a cheese and avocado scramble for breakfast this morning. But, when we went to cut it open, the avocado had gone off. But I'd already cracked all the eggs. So I had to quickly pivot to something else. Luckily we had all the bits for this "Mexican scramble". And it was delicious! I actually liked it a lot better than I think I would have liked the avocado scramble.

It was meant to use a fresh tomato and then be topped with salsa and sour cream. But I decided to just leave the tomato out and stir the salsa directly into the eggs instead. We then just topped it with the sour cream alone. I was also a bit scant on the green onions, but it still came out very nice.

Mexican Scramble

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tsp. butter
• 4-8 green onions, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped (or 1/3 c. salsa)
• 3-4 Tbsp. sliced Kalamata olives
• 1 small (~100mL) can chopped green chilies
• 1/2-3/4 c. grated cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)
• salsa and/or sour cream, to serve

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Pour in the eggs and cook for a minute or so.
4. Stir the eggs.
5. Add the green onions, tomato (or salsa), olives, and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, for another few minutes.
6. Add the cheese and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are fully set.
7. Serve with salsa and sour cream (and, optionally, toast).

Confession: I've never had cream of wheat as a breakfast cereal. I've had it as a savoury curry substrate. And I've used it as an ingredient. But I've never done the hot breakfast cereal thing. So I figured it was time to give it a try.

It came out a bit like cog. Thicker. And obviously more pale and without the corn flavour. But it was pretty similar otherwise. And, honestly, next time I think I'd be inclined to make it with an even higher milk-to-grain ratio next time. Maybe 1/2 c. cream of wheat to 4 c. milk, rather than 3/4 c. cream of wheat.

This was theoretically meant to be made with apricots, cranberries, and almonds. I was all out of dried apricots though, so I swapped in some chopped dried dates instead. I liked it with the dates, but I'd love to try it with apricots sometime too.

Cream of Wheat with Dried Fruit

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. cream of wheat/sooj
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. chopped dried apricots (or dates)
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cereal reaches desired consistency.

These were okay. Not my favourite, but it was fine. And they were quick and easy to put together.

I ended up making them with whole wheat flour instead of white, because we were out of white flour and the grocery store was completely sold out the last time I was there.

I think some walnuts would have made a nice addition. And they also could have used a bit of cinnamon. Still... they were good overall.

Orange Spice Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 1/3 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine flours and and sugar.
2. Sift in baking powder and ground ginger.
3. Add the cinamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt and mix well.
4. Beat the egg, orange zest, and vanilla with the orange juice.
5. Mix in the melted butter.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
7. Add the walnuts (if using) and stir to mix.
8. Heat a tawa or griddle over medium heat. Grease as necessary.
9. Pour some batter into the tawa/pan and cook until bubbles form and edges look dry.
10. Flip and cook until brown on both sides and cooked through.
11. Repeat with remaining batter.
12. Serve pancakes with marmalade and/or butter.

I've made banana pancakes before, but usually they involve mashing the bananas and mixing it into the batter. These ones work a little differently. You make a fairly standard buttermilk pancake batter and then add a few slices of banana to each pancake as it cooks.

I find this approach a little more messy and fiddly than just mixing the bananas into the batter, but it's a nice way to change things up if you want to try something a bit different on occasion. That said, I did have to make some adjustments to the recipe. The original only called for 3/4 c. of all-purpose flour and 1/3 c. of whole wheat flour. And this was cleary not nearly enough flour. I ended up adding an extra 1/2 c. of whole wheat flour and, honestly, I feel like it still could've used a little more. I also ended up needing more bananas than the recipe called for. I guess they expected you to slice the bananas thinner. But I quite liked the thick slices. So I'd just plan on using an extra banana next time.

Three-Spot Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. Combine flours, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
3. Beat the egg with the buttermilk and stir in the melted butter.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
5. Heat up a tawa or skillet and add a little butter as needed.
6. Using ~1/4 c. of batter for each pancake, pour in as many as will comfortably fit in the pan (usually 1-3).
7. Press three slices of banana into the top of each pancake and cook until bubbles form and the edges start to look dry.
8. Flip the pancakes and cook until underside is brown and pancake is cooked through.
9. Transfer to a plate and repeat cooking process with remaining batter and bananas.
10. Serve with maple syrup, peanut butter, Nutella, and/or whipped cream.

These were alright, but I think they would've been better if the green onions had had more of a chance to cook down. Next time, I'd sauté the alliums first and then add the eggs and tomatoes. I also think this one really benefits from a bit of cheese. Some mild cheddar grated on top makes it! (I think some chopped pickled jalapeños would also be nice, but I do wonder at what point it starts becoming a new dish entirely.)

Anyway... dress them up or down as you see fit. Serve with a slice of buttered toast or an English muffin to round things out.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Green Onions, and Sour Cream

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 6 small green onions, chopped
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped pickled jalapeños (optional)

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper.
2. Stir in the basil and tomato.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the green onions and sauté until softened (2-3 minutes).
5. Add the egg mixture, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, without stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir and gently break up the curds. Continue cooking, stirring often, until eggs are mostly set.
7. Stir in the sour cream and cook until heated through (1-2 minutes longer).
8. Add cheese and or jalapeños (if desired) and serve with buttered toast.

A nice quick breakfast scramble that uses up a bunch of veggies. I've adjusted the proportion to use integer vegetables rather than fractional ones.

Confetti Scramble

From The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped into 1cm pieces
• ¼ C fresh or frozen corn kernels
• ½ C chopped mushrooms
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 8 large eggs
• ¼ C milk
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper, ground
• parsley and black olives for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add bell pepper, corn, mushrooms, and green onions and cook until tender, 6-7 minutes.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, thyme, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour into skillet and let set for 20 seconds.
5. Stir until fluffy and almost dry, 3-4 minutes.
6. Top with parsley and olives and serve.

This was delicious! Especially with all the toppings. And it's not too difficult to put together either. Although it does take a lot of cheese and eggs. So definitely make sure you are well-supplied before starting.

Chile Egg Puff

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 10 large eggs
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 3 c. grated Cheddar, divided
• 2 c. cottage cheese (preferably fat free)
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 (~100mL) can of green chilies, drained
• salsa, to serve
• sour cream, to serve
• sliced avocado, to serve
• chopped green onion, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Beat the eggs with the flour, baking powder, salt, and white pepper.
3. Mix in half the cheddar cheese and all of the cottage cheese.
4. Stir in the butter and green chilies.
5. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake at 180°C (350°F), uncovered, for 30 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 10 minutes.
7. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
8. Cut into squares and serve topped with salsa, sour cream, green onion, and avocado.

I keep meaning to make another strata for breakfast but being too tired to put it together the night before and sleeping in too late to put it together the morning of. So, instead of strata, we had pancakes this morning. These are nice apple-pecan pancakes with a bit of oatmeal and cinnamon. (The original recipe called for walnuts, but the pecans were on top and I like them better anyway, so I just used them.)

I used a mix of white and whole wheat flour for my pancakes today. But I think I'd be quite happy to make them with 100% whole wheat flour next time. Or, if you adjusted the proportions a bit, you could easily do them up as sourdough pancakes instead.

We had some leftover chocolate from an earlier dessert, so I re-melted it by sitting the dish it was in inside the bowl of hot oatmeal and served it as a topping for these nutty, fruity pancakes. The Kidlet had hers with melted chocolate and maple syrup. And I opted for sliced bananas and a small drizzle of melted chocolate on mine. They were delicious!

Autumn Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 1 1/2 c. boiling water
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 180g whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 c. milk
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

1. Pour the boiling water over the oats and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Add the butter and set aside.
3. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
4. Add the cinnamon and sugar and mix well.
5. Beat the egg with the milk.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients along with the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
7. Stir in the apples and nuts.
8. Preheat a tawa or skillet over medium heat.
9. Grease as needed.
10. Working with ~1/4 c. of batter at a time, pour it onto the hot tawa.
11. Cook until bubbles form in the surface and edges begin to look slightly dry.
12. Flip and cook until both sides are golden brown and pancake is cooked through. Transfer to plate.
13. Repeat cooking process with remaining batter.
14. Serve with fruit, syrup, melted chocolate, and/or whippped cream.

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Variations

Sourdough Autumn Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 1 c. boiling water
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 60g whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 c. milk
• 250g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

I actually didn't make the "base" version of this recipe. I did one of the variations. I debated how to write that up. Do I just write up the variation that I did as a stand-alone recipe? Do I write it up as the main part of the post, but then include the "base" recipe as a variation? Or do I follow the same pattern as in the cookbook and keep the base recipe as the main part of the post?

Ultimately, I decided on that last approach. So, if you are following the instructions for the recipe as it appears in the main body of this post, keep in mind that I have not actually made it that way yet. I'm sure it's fine. I just can't, personally, vouch for it.

Basic Baking Powder Biscuits

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 3/4 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
3. Add the sugar and salt and stir to combine.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Mix in the milk with a fork or wooden spoon.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30-60 seconds.
7. Pat into a shape ~1cm thick.
8. Use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut out circles.
9. Gather and reroll the scraps, cutting as many more biscuits as possible.
10. Place on baking sheet and bake until done (~12 minutes).

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Variations

Basic Drop Biscuits

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. milk

Directions

1. Mix as directed above.
2. Do not knead or roll.
3. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet.
4. Bake as directed.

Basic Flavoured Biscuits

Directions

1. Make biscuits as directed above, but sprinkle tops with a little sugar, Parmesan, paprika, or other seasoning of your choice before baking.

Basic Square Biscuits

Directions

1. Make the biscuit dough as directed above.
2. Once the dough has been rolled or patted into a relatively flat shape, cut it into 5cm squares (rather than circles). This will avoid any scraps or the need to reroll.

Basic Dessert Biscuits

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 3/4 c. milk

I had an open can of SPAM in the fridge, but I didn't want to just keep making Hawaiian omelettes, so I decided to give this hearty ham-and-potato omelette a try.

It's really meant to be made with ham and cubed cooked potatoes. But, since we had the SPAM in the fridge and some hashbrowns in the freezer, I decided to just chop those up and use them for the filling. Since the SPAM and the hashbrowns are already pretty fatty, I omitted the butter called for in the filling. If you're just using regular potatoes, then I'd recommend adding a little bit of butter to the pan.

Lumberman's Special Omelette

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 2-3 tsp. butter (optional)
• 1/2 c. chopped SPAM or ham
• 1/2 c. cubed cooked potato (or hashbrowns)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 1-2 Tbsp. water
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 Tbsp. grated cheddar

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat (if using).
2. Add the ham, potato, and green onions and cook until lightly browned (~10 minutes).
3. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Melt a tiny bit more butter in the pan.
5. Beat the eggs with the water, salt and pepper.
6. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until almost set. Lift up the edges and allow the uncooked egg to run underneath periodically to help with even cooking if desired.
7. Srpinkle ~1/2 c. of the filling over half of the omelette.
8. Add the cheese on top and then fold the omelette over.
9. Cook until cheese is melted and egg is set.
10. Either serve the remaining filling on the side or use it to make another omelette.

I'm used to stratas being savoury dishes. Layers of bread, maybe some sausage and/or veggies, probably cheese, and then eggs or custard to bind it all together. Baked up into a tasty breakfast dish.

This one is a bit different. It's a sweet strata! Basically a layered bread pudding. Full of apples, raisins, spices, and a lightly sweetened custard. And served with maple syrup. Rather than cheddar or mozzarella (as I might normally expect for a strata), it uses cream cheese.

I think, on the whole, I prefer my savoury stratas. But this was definitely a nice way to mix things up a bit. And the Kidlet loved it!

Apple Strata

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 6 slices stale bread, cubed and divided
• 125g cream cheese, cubed
• 2 apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Directions

1. Grease a 23x23cm (9x9") square pan.
2. Place half of the bread cubes in an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
3. Scatter the cream cheese on top.
4. Layer the apples on top of this and sprinkle with the raisins.
5. Beat the eggs with the milk and mix in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
6. Pour the custard over the strata.
7. Cover and set aside to allow the bread to soak up the custard for at least an hour and as long as overnight. (Store in the fridge if there will be more than 2 hours between assembly and baking.)
8. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)¹.
10. Bake strata at 180°C (350°F) until custard is just set (60-75 minutes).
11. Serve topped with icing sugar and/or maple syrup.

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¹ The original recipe says to bake your strata at 190°C (375°F) for 55 minutes. Mine was very dark on top after only 45, but still raw in the centre. I ended up covering it with foil and baking it for another 10 minutes and then reducing the temperature to 180°C (350°F) and baking it 10 more minutes. So, I think next time I'd just start it out at 180°C (350°F) and bake it for a bit longer to make sure that everything gets cooked through without burning. ^Back

I didn't quite do this recipe to spec. It's very simple. You're meant to cut the topknots off of a few individual brioches, hollow out the larger bottom parts, butter both, and then bake eggs in the bases. They're seasoned with a little tarragon and parsley. But there's not much to them other than that.

So how, with a recipe so simple, could I have deviated? Well... I still had about half of this lovely poppyseed bubble loaf left. And some of the centre bits were ever so slightly underbaked. So it occurred to me that this might be the ideal way to use them! Hollow them out, fill them with eggs, and bake them again. Which is great, except the "bubbles" are all a bit smaller and much more awkwardly and irregularly shaped than a traditional brioche. So the eggs didn't really fit neatly into them. I did my best. But it still got a bit messy.

Eggs Baked in Brioche

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 individual brioches
• 1-2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 4 large eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 4 tsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and butter 4 custard cups or ramekins.
2. Cut the topknots off the brioches and set them aside.
3. Hollow out the brioche bases and butter them.
4. Crack and egg into each brioche base.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, tarragon, and parsley.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, butter the topknots, wrap in foil, and set aside.
8. Once the eggs have been in the oven for 10 minutes, add the foil packet with the topknots and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and serve.

These waffles are... weird. The batter uses an unusal ordering of ingredients. The flavour profile of the salsa is bizarre. And the overall effect, while not bad, is quite unusual.

Hawaiian Waffles with Tropical Salsa

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

Salsa

• 1 c. diced mango
• 1 c. diced pineapple
• 1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
• 1 jalape&ntile;o, seeded and minced
• 2 green onions, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Waffles

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 275g flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 c. unsweetened coconut

Directions

1. Combine all of the salsa ingredients, stir, and chill for 1-2 hours.
2. Preheat waffle iron.
3. Beat the eggs until foamy.
4. Drizzle in the butter and continue beating.
5. Mix in the milk.
6. Add the flour, sugar, and salt and stir to combine.
7. Stir on the nuts and coconut.
8. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions.
9. Repeat with remaining batter.
10. Serve topped with maple syrup and/or tropical salsa.