I'm used to breakfast rice bowls being savoury. This is the first time that I've tried a sweet one. It's fine. Not amazing, but nothing wrong with it either. It gives slight rice pudding vibes. I think I'd add a sprinkle of cinnamon next time just to lean into that a little more.

Sweet Brown Rice Bowl

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• ~1/2 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 Tbsp. raisins or sultanas
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• ~1/4 c. milk (or to taste)
• sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the rice, raisins, and walnuts.
2. Top with brown sugar, pour on the milk, and sprinkle with cinnamon (if using).
3. If you would like a warm rice bowl, microwave for 30-60 seconds.

This recipe didn't really work. I actually found it quite tasty, but it was excessively wet. And Reiver found it too wet and walnut-y to be properly tasty. I think this one is salvagable, but it doesn't quite work as written. The recipe below reflects my recommended fix rather than the original.

Apple-Carrot Loaf

Adapted from CakeLove in the Morning by Warren Brown

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/2 c. apple, peeled and grated
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 c. oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/2 c. sultanas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan.
2. Combine the carrots, apple, brown sugar, ginger, oil, eggs, and honey and mix well.
3. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
4. Mix in the cinnamon, salt, walnuts, and sultanas.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (45-55 minutes).
7. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

This is meant to be made with fresh pears, but we had tinned pears to use up, so I just tossed them in. I've written up the instructions for fresh pears. If you're using tinned, then just omit the water and only add the pears for the last minute or two of cooking.

Whole Wheat Walnut Waffles with Maple-Pear Sauce

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Waffles

• 190g whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 40g butter, melted
• 50g unsweetened applesauce
• 2-4 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts

Sauce

• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2-4 pears, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. water
• zest of 1/4 a lemon

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder.
2. Beat the eggs into the milk.
3. Mix in the vanilla, butter, and applesauce.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
5. Mix in the walnuts.
6. Preheat your waffle iron.
7. Pour in a portion of batter and cook according to manufacturer directions.
8. Repeat with remaining batter.
9. While waffles are cooking, toss the pears with the lemon juice.
10. Melt the butter over medium heat.
11. Add the pears and cook for a minute or two.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the maple syrup, water, and lemon zest and simmer until pears are tender (5-7 minutes).
13. Transfer pears to a bowl, increase heat to medium-high and cook until sauce is syrupy (5-10 minutes).
14. Serve waffles topped with pears, sauce, and extra walnuts (if desired).

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.

Short post today because I am typing one-handed while holding a baby.

These were good. Decadent, but nice as a once-in-a-while treat.

Grilled Cheese with Bacon, Tomato, and Egg

From The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients (per sandwich)

• 2 slices of streaky bacon
• 1 large egg
• freshly ground pepper
• 2 slices of bread
• 4-8 thin slices of cheese
• 2-3 slices of tomato
• butter or margerine

Directions

1. Cook bacon until crispy, then cut in half crosswise.
2. Season egg to taste with pepper and fry until whites are set and yolk is thickened.
3. Layer half of the cheese onto a slice of bread.
4. Top with bacon, tomato, egg, the remaining cheese, and the other slice of bread.
5. Butter the outside of the sandwich.
6. Grill in a panini press or a frying pan with a heavy weight compessing the sandwich. If using a frying pan, flip to toast the other side.
8. Once both sides are golden brown, remove from pan and cut in half.

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.

This is a great breakfast. Maybe just don't try to bake the potatoes from scratch first thing in the morning. Bake them the night before and just warm them back up and finish off the prep in the morning. Or "bake" them in the microwave.

Timings aside... I really like this as a breakfast. It's very satiating. You get starch, protein, healthy fats, and a bit of dairy. The only thing it's missing is a bit of veg! I half-wonder if you could get away with mixing a bit of spinach into the potato. I actually think that would be really nice. And Reiver suggested that some chopped chives or green onions would be a nice addition as well.

Eggs in Baked Potatoes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 4 tsp. butter
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. chopped frozen spinach, thawed (optional)
• 1/2 c. grated cheese, divided
• 4 large eggs
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and pierce the potatoes all over with a fork.
2. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for ~1 hour. (Or microwave on high for ~10 minutes.)
3. Split the potatoes lengthwise. Do not cut all the way through! Press on the ends to force them opem a bit.
4. Add 1 tsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of sour cream to each potato.
5. Use a fork to break up the flesh of each potato and mash in the butter and sour cream.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper, 1 Tbsp. of the cheese, and ~2 Tbsp. of spinach to each potato (if using). Mix well.
7. Make a well in the centre of each potato (pushing the flesh to the sides).
8. Transfer the potatoes to a greased baking dish.
9. Crack an egg into each potato and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
10. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 18-20 minutes (or until eggs reach desired doneness).
11. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

These waffles were good, but for the amount of effort, I probably wouldn't bother them again. There are other waffles that I like better for similar amounts of effort or less.

White Chocolate Waffles

From Cakelove in the Morning by Warren Brown

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, warmed
• 6 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. half-and-half (10% MF), warmed
• 225g white chocolate, melted
• 200g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground

Directions

1. Preheat the waffle iron.
2. Make sure the eggs and half-and-half are slightly warm so that they don't cause the chocolate to seize when you mix it in.
3. Separate the eggs.
4. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
5. Gradually beat in 4 Tbsp. of the sugar until sugar is dissolved and whites are stiff.
6. Transfer meringue to another bowl.
7. In the original bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining 2 Tbsp. of sugar.
8. Beat in the vanilla and the half-and-half.
9. Reduce speed and mix in the white chocolate.
10. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well.
11. Mix in ~1/3 of the meringue.
12. Carefully fold in the remaining meringue until just mixed.
13. Scoop a portion of the batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
14. Top with fresh raspberries, yogurt, or fruit of your choice.

This was the last savoury waffle in the book that I hadn't made yet. I had been holding off on making it initially since we were still avoiding shellfish for the Kidlet. But Reiver had put in a request for waffles and I was vibing with a savoury option, so I decided to finally give these ones a try. And they were really good!

Salt and Pepper Waffles with Clam Dip

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

Ingredients

Dip

• 115g bacon
• 1 (185g) can baby clams, drained
• 6 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 6 Tbsp. sour cream
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. celery seeds, ground

Waffles

• 140g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 c. milk
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1-2 green onions, green parts only, sliced

Directions

Dip

1. Cook the bacon until crisp and chop.¹
2. Combine the clams, mayo, sour cream, green onions, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and celery seed.
3. Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings as desired.
4. Cover and chill for at least an hour.

Waffles

1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and pepper.
2. Sift in the baking powder and mix well.
3. Beat the egg with the milk.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
6. If you have a "standard"/American waffle iron, you can put 2-3 tsp. of batter into each quadrant and make mini waffles to serve as an appetizer. Otherwise, you can use a normal quantity of batter to make full-sized waffles.
7. Cook according to manufacturer directions.

Assembly

1. Top the waffles with the clam dip.
2. Garnish with sliced green onion (and chopped bacon if you forgot to stir it into the dip like me).

---

¹ I forgot to add the bacon to my dip, so I just sprinkled it on top at the end. ^Back

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.

Cinnamon Rolls (Breakfast Bible)

This is far from the first cinnamon roll recipe that I've made. But... I hadn't made this recipe yet. And I had the (digital) cookbook with me in NZ. And I needed something for breakfast. I mean, this isn't the healthiest option and should probably be more of a dessert, especially if you include the icing. So, definitely not something to indulge in often, but a nice treat once-in-a-while.

Cinnamon Rolls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 c. milk
• 100g sugar
• 75g butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 620g all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Filling

• 100g brown sugar
• 90g butter, softened
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping

• cream cheese icing

Directions

1. Combine the milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and yeast.
2. Add ~550g of the flour and mix well.
3. Gradually add salt and more flour until a very soft dough forms.
4. Knead the dough, gradually adding in more flour as necessary, until smooth and supple (~10 minutes).
5. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a covered bowl to rise (1 1/2-2 hours).
6. Meanwhile, beat the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until combined.
7. Knock back the dough and roll it out into a large (35x40cm) rectangle.
8. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 2-3cm border along the longer sides.
9. Starting with a long side, roll up the dough, jelly-roll-style.
10. Pinch the edges to seal the seam.
11. Cut the rolled dough crosswise into 8 or 9 equal slices.
12. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") pan.
13. Arrange the rolls in the prepared pan, cover, and let rise (60-90 minutes at room temperature; up to 12 hours in the fridge).
14. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
15. Uncover and bake at 180°C (350°F) until golden brown (~30 minutes).
16. Let cool in pan for ~15 minutes.
17. Meanwhile, make the icing.
18. Spread the icing over the rolls.
19. Allow to rest for another 15 minutes before serving.

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 was going to make a banana-ginger oatmeal for breakfast this morning. But then it turned out that we were all out of crystalized ginger. So that was a bust. And most of the other things I'd been looking at either required ingredients or time that I didn't have. And it was already late to be having breakfast. So, in the end, I just asked TF to put together this simple cottage cheese bowl for me. It was actually pretty good! I was going for a banana bread sort of vibe.

I tried it with a full tablespoon of maple syrup this time. But I think next time I might try it with a little less maple syrup, but add a few raisins in instead.

Banana Bread Cottage Cheese Bowl

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp. raisins (optional)
• 1-2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix and serve.

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.