This was a decent cake, but I don't feel like there was enough batter for the 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan called for. Next time I'd try baking it in a smaller 20x10cm (8x4") pan. Also, although it's supposed to be "extra lemony" with lemon zest in the cake itself and juice in the syrup and glaze... I felt like it could've used even more lemon. I think I'd try putting a bit of lemon juice into the batter as well next time, just to really punch it up.

I cut back the sugar in the batter by 1/3 because I was worried about it being too sweet by the time I'd added the syrup and the glaze. I think it probably would've been okay with the full amount of sugar after all, especially if I end up putting some extra lemon juice into the batter, but Reiver was glad for the reduced sugar and said it would've been way too sweet if prepared as written.

Overall, I think I like my grandma's "lemon bread" better, but I'm still glad to have tried this version. And the blueberries were an interesting addition.

Photo goes here.

Lemon-Blueberry Drizzle Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Cake

• 100g butter, softened
• 100-150g sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 210g (1 1/2 c.) flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 c. frozen blueberries

Syrup

• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Glaze

• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 60g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease and flour a 20x10cm (8x4") loaf tin.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar.
3. Beat in the lemon zest and juice (if using).
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Mix in the milk.
6. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir to combine.
7. Fold in the blueberries.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
9. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 50-60 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and cool in tin for 10 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, Bring the sugar and lemon juice for the syrup to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture has thickened slightly.
12. Turn cake out onto wire rack and poke all over with a skewer or chopstick.
13. Drizzle or brush with syrup.
14. Allow to cool for at least half an hour longer.
15. Combine lemon juice and icing sugar and mix until smooth and drizzle over the cake.

I've been making a lot of waffles lately. Mostly because they're relatively quick and easy and don't require any advanced planning. I'd like to get better about doing more nutritious breakfasts, but in the meantime... something is better than nothing. These muffins aren't really any better than more waffles, but they are at least a different form factor, so I figured I'd give them a try.

Blueberry Muffins with Almond Streusel

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Topping

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 c. flour
• 45g sliced almonds

Muffins

• 140g all-purpose flour
• 140g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease a muffin tin.
2. Work the butter into the sugar and flour until crumbly, then mix in the almonds. Set aside.
3. Combine the flours and sugar.
4. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
5. Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanilla.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and sprinkle with streusel topping.
9. Turn oven down to 180°C (350°F) and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles (Big Book of Breakfasts)

I've been on a bit of a waffle kick lately. I've already made most of the waffles from the waffle cookbook (except for the dessert ones), but there are still a bunch of as-yet-untried ones in the Big Book of Breakfasts that I haven't made yet, so I decided to give another one of them a go. To be fair, this one is pretty similar to other buttermilk waffle recipes that I've made, but it still lets me check off another recipe, even if it's not a completely new type or flavour.

The original recipe just used all-purpose flour for these crispy and fluffy waffles. After giving it a bit of thought though, I decided to go with a mix of white and whole wheat flour for mine. I used a 50/50 mix, but I think 100% whole wheat also would've been fine. It might even be nice to try to incorporate a bit of sourdough starter next time.

Blueberry Buttermilk Waffles

Slighty adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 130g flour
• 130g whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 100-150g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1 c. frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine flours, sugar, and salt.
3. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
4. Beat eggs into buttermilk.
5. Mix in the sourdough discard (if using) and stir in the melted butter.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the waffle iron and sprinkle a few blueberries on top. Close waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions.
8. Repeat cooking process wiht remaining batter and blueberries.
9. Serve topped with yogurt, maple syrup, and/or cream.

It's been a tough couple of days. I woke up late this morning and was craving comfort food for breakfast. And, while I may not be able to solve anything else right now, I could at least solve that. So I made these very basic oatmeal-buttermilk waffles.

The book called for topping them with a fresh blueberry sauce, but I didn't have any blueberries. What I did have though, was serviceberries! And they were a lovely treat here.

The waffles came out very light and crisp and were great with the serviceberry sauce (which comes together in ~5 minutes). The Kidlet had hers with a dollop of whipped cream, just to make it extra special. I had mine with just the sauce and didn't feel that I was missing out.

I think the only change that I'd make next time is to add just a touch of vanilla to the waffle batter. I nearly did so this time. I thought it seemed like it would be a nice addition. But, in the end, I decided to stick to strictly what was in the recipe. And, to be fair, the waffles did come out very well. I just think a hint of vanilla would've made them even better! And, if you're making the sauce to go with them (which calls for lemon juice, you can always zest the lemon first and toss a bit of the peel into your batter as well. Don't overdo it, of course, but I think that a 1/4-1/2 tsp. would go quite nicely.

Oatmeal-Buttermilk Waffles with Serviceberry Sauce

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

Waffles

• 140g whole wheat flour
• 100g quick oats
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. fresh or frozen serviceberries (or blueberries)

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, oats, and sugar.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
4. Beat the eggs with the buttermilk and melted butter.
5. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest, if using.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just mixed.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water, and berries over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
9. Cook, stirring often, until liquid portion of sauce is smooth and glossy and thickens slightly (2-3 minutes).
10. Serve waffles topped with sauce (and any other toppings you'd like).

I usually make shaped scones and biscuits. But I was low on both time and counter space yesterday, so I decided to give these simple "drop scones" a try. The dough is very quick to toss together and then all it needs is for mounds of it to be spooned onto the baking sheet and a few minutes in the oven and you have nearly-instant scones!

The original recipe calls for a bit of sugar, but I decided to roll with an erythritol-based sweetener in order to make them sugar-free. Either one works fine. I also opted to omit the salt from the recipe and just use salted butter instead of the unsalted that the recipe called for. And, since I'm in NZ right now, I swapped out the all-purpose (moderate-protein) flour for plain (soft/low-protein) flour. In other cases, I might use "high grade" (hard/high-protein) flour as a closer equivalent to the all-purpose, but in the case of scones and biscuits, where you don't really want or need the gluten development anyway, I felt like soft flour would be the better choice.

Blueberry Drop Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1/4 sugar¹
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 85g salted butter
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar.
3. Sift in baking powder and mix well.
4. Cut in the butter until blended.
5. Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
6. Beat the egg into the milk and then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix with a fork until just combined.
7. Spoon mounds of the dough onto a baking sheet. You should get ~12 scones.
8. Optionally sprinkle the top of each scone with a little extra sugar.
9. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until cooked through and just starting to brown (~12 minutes).
10. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

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¹ Feel free to swap this out for a sugar-free sweetener of your choice. Just make sure that you adjust the amount accordingly if it's not a 1:1 substitute. ^Back

I had to fudge this one slightly. It was meant to be done with bananas, blueberries, soft tofu, and orange juice concentrate. We didn't have any orange juice concentrate, but we did have some nice honey Greek yogurt that needed to be used up. So I swapped that in instead. Obviously it's a very different flavour, but it still gives a bit of acidity and a bit of sweetness. Not in the same proportions and not with the same flavours, but it got the job done. And, honestly, I suspect the yogurt version is probably a bit healthier as well.

This worked out quite well. It provided something to round out the breakfast this morning, since we didn't have enough pancakes left to feed everybody. It used up some of the ridiculous pile of tofu from the fridge. And it let me easily say "sure, no problem!" when the Kidlet requested a smoothie with her pancakes this morning. And, even more importantly, Reiver and the Kidlet both seemed to enjoy them.

Banana-Blueberry Smoothie

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 150g soft tofu
• 3/4 c. honey or vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. frozen blueberries
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 c. milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and purée until smooth.
2. Pour into glasses and serve.

Happy New Year!

I'm still somewhat jet lagged and didn't manage to stay up to ring in the new year last night. I think I conked out around 10pm. But the trade-off is that I woke up around six this morning, so I was able to get a nice early start!

This worked out well since we polished off the last of the banana bread yesterday. So I was able to get up and make some French toast for everyone for breakfast. Reiver was definitely pleased to wake up to a hot breakfast. The Kidlet was somewhat more subdued. Apparently the neighbours were having a bit of a party last night and the noise kept her up so the poor dear hadn't gotten much sleep and is looking a little worse for wear this morning. Still, she did seem reasonably enthused about breakfast, even if she was somewhat less chipper than usual.

The recipe called for making these with either walnuts or pecans. I would honestly be somewhat reluctant to go with walnuts; I think they could be a bit overpowering. And apparently pecans are somewhat hard to come by in New Zealand, so I settled for some chopped almonds instead. I do think that pecans would have been nice. That said, I also think the almonds worked quite well.

Nut-Crusted French Toast with Blueberries

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2-3/4 c. almonds, chopped
• 6-8 slices bread
• ~1 Tbsp. butter
• ~1 c. blueberries
• ~1/4 c. maple syrup
• whipped cream (optional)

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2. Chop the nuts and place them on a plate.
3. Dip the bread in the custard, then press it into the nuts to coat one side in chopped almonds.
4. Melt a bit of the butter over medium-low heat and place the bread, nut-side-down, into the pan.
5. Cook until the nuts begin to brown and the custard on that side sets.
6. Flip and cook until heated through and browned on both sides.
7. Top with blueberries and maple syrup and garnish with a bit of whipped cream.
8. Repeat dipping and cooking with remaining bread and custard.

I've been dragging my feet on making these muffins. It's not that they don't sound tasty. It's just that, based on the recipe, they a) don't look very filling or nutritionally complete and b) look very rich and sweet. More of a dessert than a breakfast. And I already have ample dessert recipes! But, I was running low on breakfast inspiration this morning and needed something, so I finally decided to give them a try. And they do taste very nice. But, as predicted, are not very substantial.

I do think you could improve the nutrition a bit by swapping out the white flour for whole wheat and replacing some of the butter with applesauce. They still wouldn't be healthy, but they would at least be marginally less unhealthy. I've written the recipe up to reflect those changes. Possibly something to try for next time...

Raspberry-Lemon Muffins

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 125g fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease your muffin tin (preferably a 12-well pan with 2" diameter wells).
2. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
4. Carefully mix in the raspberries.
5. Beat the beggs with the buttermilk and mix in the butter, applesauce, lemon zest, and vanilla.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
8. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a bit of the turbinado sugar (~1/4 tsp. per muffin for 2" muffins).
9. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20-25 minutes.
10. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

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Variants

Blueberry Muffins with Almond Streusel

Ingredients

Muffins

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 150g brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 185g fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Almond Streusel

• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 45g sliced almonds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven (to 200°C) and grease the pan as directed above.
2. Prepare the batter as directed (with the modified ingredient list provided here).
3. For the topping: Combine the flour and sugar, then work the butter in with your fingers. Add the almonds and mix them in as well.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle with the streusel topping.
5. Bake as directed above.

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'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.

---

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

I've almost finished working my way through all the smoothie bowl recipes in the Breakfast Bible. I made this mixed berry one yesterday and tried a variation on the tropical fruit smoothie bowl this morning.

I liked this one, but the smoothie came out very soupy. The Kidlet actually prefers that, but, if I'm going to be trying to decant it into a bowl and top it with things, I prefer a slightly thicker base. If nothing else, it allows the toppings to actually sit on top rather than immediately sinking below the surface.

To be fair, the recipe does call for freezing the banana before blending, which I forgot to do. But I still think it would have been too thin. Maybe feezing both the banana and the coconut milk would do the trick?

I also didn't have any almond milk and didn't want to go out and get a carton just for this recipe.¹ Instead of almond milk, I opted for oat milk with a bit of almond butter stirred in.² And since the Kidlet doesn't like pomegranate anymore, I swapped out the pomegranate arils for some fresh blueberries.

Mixed Fruit Smoothie Bowls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. oat milk
• 1 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. lite coconut milk, frozen in cubes
• 1 c. frozen mixed berries
• 1 banana, frozen
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. almond butter (optional)
• 1/2 c. fresh raspberries
• 1/4 c. pomegranate arils (or 1/2 c. fresh blueberries)
• 2 Tbsp. shredded coconut⁴
• 2 Tbsp. wheat germ, toasted

Directions

1. Combine the oat milk, yogurt, frozen coconut milk, frozen berries, frozen banana, honey, and almond butter in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Divide the smoothie between 4 bowls.
3. Top each with ~2 Tbsp. of raspberries, 1 Tbsp. of pomegranate arils (or 2 Tbsp. of blueberries), 1/2 Tbsp. of coconut, and 1/2 Tbsp. of toasted wheat germ.

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¹ Especially since I find myself feeling increasingly concerned about the environmental aspects of growing almonds. I still eat them in moderation, but almond milk seems particularly water-intensive and wasteful. ^Back
2 Which I know is probably not much better than just using almond milk, but... what can I say? I already had a jar of almond butter in the fridge. I haven't had a chance to look into it, but hopefully almond butter is at least slightly less bad water and waste-wise than almond milk. That said, you still have all the ecological impact from the actual almond farming, so... it's probably not great either way.^{3 Back
3} Thinking about this stuff makes me sad and frustrated. I wish everything wasn't so complicated and I wish that it was easier to figure out the consequences of my choices. ^Back
4 I picked up some toasted coconut slices on sale a few days ago, so I just used that here. Either one will work just fine. ^Back

I know I've written up blueberry compote recipes before, but I was working from a recipe out of a new cookbook this time, so I decided to do a new write-up. It's a very simple procedure: just simmer some blueberries with a bit of sugar, cornstarch, and water and stir in a little lemon juice.

Blueberry Compote

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

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Bring the sugar, cornsatarch, blueberries, and water to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for ~5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
4. Adjust to taste with either more sugar or more lemon juice as desired.

I wanted something fairly light for breakfast this morning. I was initially thinking of doing another batch of oatmeal, but I wanted to try something new and I didn't have the right ingredients on hand to do any of the other oatmeal recipes that I had handy. In the end I decided to keep flipping through the Breakfast Bible and see what else caught my eye.

This parfait was the first recipe I came across that I actually had all the ingredients for. And we even still have some raspberries ripening, so I figured this would be a nice opportunity to enjoy them before the season ends.

This is a pleasingly straight-forward recipe with layers of fresh raspberry sauce, Greek yogurt, blueberries, and granola. I just used the last little bit of some store-bought granola I had in the cupboard, but you could make it even more customized and special by using some homemade granola.

And, while I did have lots of fresh raspberries, I didn't have any fresh blueberries handy, so I just thawed out some frozen ones to top my parfait with.

There is some flex in this recipe too. The suggestion is to use raspberries to make the sauce and then add fresh blueberries on top of the yogurt, but the autor notes that strawberries are an acceptable alternative for the sauce layer with blackberries making up the upper layer. You still get to enjoy two different kinds of fruit and a nice colour contrast that way.

Raspberry-Blueberry Parfaits

From The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. raspberries
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. blueberries
• 1 c. granola

Directions

1. Mash the raspberries with the honey and vanilla to make a chunky sauce.
2. Divide the sauce between four containers. (There should be ~3 Tbsp. of sauce per container.)
3. Add 1/2 c. of yogurt to each container.
4. Layer ~1/4 c. of blueberries on top of the yogurt in each container.
5. Top with 1/4 c. of granola on each parfait.

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Variations

Strawberry-Blackberry Parfaits

Ingredients

• 1 c. strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. blackberries
• 1 c. granola

This was meant to be yet another cottage cheese breakfast bowl from Budget Bytes, but I decided that I'd rather do it with yogurt again. If doing it with cottage cheese, I think I'd be tempted to add a little lemon zest and/or juice. I think the lemon and bluberry would be a great combo! Or, if you wanted to go another way with it, you could try replacing the bluberries with cherries and maybe adding a little almond extract to the yogurt. Maybe even try replacing the slivered almonds with a little almond butter. I think that would be an excellent mix of flavours.

Blueberry-Almond Breakfast Bowl

Slightly adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (fat-free if you're counting calories)
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional
• 1 Tbsp. no sugar added syrup or 1/2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 c. blueberries (or cherries)
• 2 Tbsp. slivered almonds (or 1 Tbsp. almond butter)
• 1/4 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, vanilla, almond extract (if using), and syrup and mix well.
2. Top with berries, almonds, and lemon zest (if using) and serve.

Lean, cornmeal pancakes without any butter or oil in the batter. They're pretty tasty, but I do feel that they need a little syrup or something on top. I thought about putting more fruit, but I really wanted the syrup.

The original recipe said that you should get four servings of three pancakes each using ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake. I did that, but I only got 10 pancakes from my batch! On the bright side, that did make the math for Points per pancake work out a little nicer.

Oh. I think I just figured out why a) my batter seemed a bit on the thick side and b) I didn't get as many pancakes as the recipe said I should. I forgot the water! It wasn't listed in the ingredients, so, as far as my brain was concerned, it didn't exist. Aargh!

Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. cornmeal
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
3. In a measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon zest, egg, and WATER.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
5. Stir in the blueberries.
6. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat a griddle or tawa over medium-low heat.
8. Very lightly grease it and cook your pancakes, using ~1/4 c. of batter for each one.
9. Serve with fresh fruit and/or maple syrup.

Buttermilk-Sour Cream Pancakes

I have several good pancake recipes already, but the completionist in me wants to check off more recipes from our magazines and cookbooks, so I decided to try a new one today. I was intrigued by the use of both buttermilk and sour cream in the batter. Buttermilk is familiar, but the sour cream was a bit surprising.

The pancakes were good. The fluffiness was on par with my fluffy sourdough pancakes, but less fluffy than my default plain pancakes. Really I have no complaints with the recipe. But I probably won't be revisiting it for the simple fact that I can get similar results from my sourdough pancakes and I always have sourdough starter on hand whereas I rarely have sour cream (or buttermilk) in the fridge. That said, the recipe did come with several flavour variations and those I will revisit. I'll just use them with the sourdough batter rather than the sour cream one.

Blueberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2017

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. blueberries

Directions

1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a large measuring cup, combine buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, and butter.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
5. Mix briefly. There should still be some lumps. Set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Heat a pan or tawa over medium-low heat.
7. Add a very small amount of butter or oil to the pan/tawa.
8. Use 1/4 c. measure to scoop out some batter into the pan. Make 2 or 3 pancakes at once.
9. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add ~1 Tbsp. of blueberries to each pancake.
10. Flip pancakes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
11. Repeat cooking process until all batter has been used up. Add more butter/oil to the pan as needed.
12. Serve with butter, syrup, nut butter, or preserves of your choice.

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Variations

Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 apples, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Banana-Walnut Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 bananas, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, toasted

Cocolate-Coconut Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
• 1/2 c. sweetened shredded coconut

Strawberry-Vanilla Pancakes

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 280g strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

My cornbread had started to go a bit stale, so I decided to turn it into bread pudding. This comes out quite a bit different than "normal" bread pudding since it's not being made with a glutinous, yeasted bread. I still quite like it though. Especially with the berries in. I think I'd probably try reducing the milk a tiny bit next time. But other than that, I'm pretty happy with it. (Following recipe reflects suggested change.)

Cornbread Bread Pudding

Adapted from This Is How I Cook

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• ~400g stale cornbread, cubed (4-5 c.)
• 1 c. frozen blueberries or mixed berries
• 1/4 c. brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and grease a casserole dish.
2. Combine eggs, milk, cream, maple syrup, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine cornbread and berries and transfer them to the prepared casserole dish.
4. Pour the custard over the cornbread and berries.
5. Sprinkle brown sugar over top.
6. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for ~60 minutes.
7. Serve warm.

I ran across this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. I bookmarked it because I thought it sounded tasty, but I also question their concept of "breakfast". This is basically a cheesecake. It uses ricotta rather than cream cheese and a higher proprotion of flour than I'm used to seeing in cheesecakes, but it's still pretty much just a crust-less cheesecake with fruit in. To me, it is unequivocally dessert, not breakfast. I mean, I'm not going to tell you when or how to eat your cake -- have it whenever you please -- but I am planning to enjoy mine as a pleasant after-dinner treat.

Berry Breakfast Cake

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Baking

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. ricotta
• 1 c. sour cream
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries¹

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 20cm (8") round cake pan.
2. Beat eggs with sugar until light and thickened (~3 minutes).
3. Beat in ricotta, sour cream, butter, and vanilla.
4. Mix in flour, salt, and baking powder.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle berries on top.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40-65 mintues (less for fresh berries, more for frozen).
7. Serve with icing sugar and or cinnamon sprinkled on top.

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¹ We were low on blueberries, so I ended up using 1/2 c. each of blueberries and raspberries. ^Back

I'd originally been thinking of doing some sort of breakfast casserole this morning, but we had diner food for dinner last night and I wasn't feeling the casserole for breakfast today. Pancakes seemed like a good choice and I appreciated the inclusion of fuit and coconut flour.

Coconut-Blueberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. coconut flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-2 eggs (depending on the size of your eggs)
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (or coconut oil), melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries¹
• 1/3 c. unsweetened dried coconut

Directions

1. Combine all-purpose flour, coconut flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Sift in baking powder and mix well.
3. Add egg, milk, butter, and vanilla and stir until just combined.
4. Stir in blueberries and coconut.
5. Cool pancakes over medium or medium-low heat, flipping once so that pancake is cooked through and brown on both sides. Grease pan as necessary.
6. Serve with maple syrup, blueberry jam, and/or blueberry syrup.

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¹ Toss frozen blueberries with 1 Tbsp. of flour before adding to batter to prevent excessive bleeding. ^Back

I could not get over how incredibly odd this recipe sounded. The authors swore it was delicious and an especially big hit with kids. I wasn't entirely sold, but I was curious.

The peanuts and the corn both came through nicely. I don't think they really complement each other, but they don't clash either. I feel like maybe they need another element to tie them together. I think adding a few blueberries might make the peanuts feel a little more harmonious and like they're actually meant to be there. Overall, I can't say that I think this will become a new favourite, but the muffins were tasty enough. I might try them again sometime. Especially if I have blueberries to use up.

Peanut-Corn Muffins

Slightly adapted from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 3/4 c. cornmeal
• 1/4 c. roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1/4 c. natural (no salt or sugar added) peanut butter
• 2-3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 c. blueberries, tossed in 1-2 tsp. of additional flour (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a muffin tin.
2. Sift baking powder into flour.
3. Add salt, cornmeal, and peanuts.
4. Whisk oil and honey into the peanut butter.
5. Add buttermilk and egg and mix thoroughly.
6. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
7. Stir in blueberries (if using).
8. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin.
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 18-20 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cool in tin for 5-10 minutes.
11. Turn muffins out onto wire rack to finish cooling.