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.

We have an excess of citrus right now, so I picked this out to use up some of it.

Lemon Pudding Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3 lemons
• 50g butter, melted
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. cream of tartar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a 20cm (8") square baking dish inside a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Combine 3/4 c. of the sugar with the flour.
3. Zest the lemons and mix in the grated zest.
4. Mix in 1/3 c. of lemon zest.
5. Stir in the melted butter and egg yolks.
6. Add the milk and stir to combine.
7. In a clean bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar (if using).
8. Beat until foamy, then gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 c. of sugar and beat until stiff.
9. Mix ~1/3 of the meringue into the batter.
10. Fold in the remaining meringue until no longer streaky.
11. Pour the batter into the 20cm (8") pan.
12. Pour hot water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the smaller pan.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until top is lightly brown and firm (~40 minutes).
14. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

We had a bunch of dried out bread heels and odds and ends in the cupboard, so I decided that a bread pudding was in order. I had to increase the amount of custard called for by quite a bit. But my bread was also very, very dry, so I think it needed a bit more liquid than expected to properly hydrate it. I'm also not sure exactly how much bread I used. I just kept putting in bits until it looked like a good amount for the baking dish. I also used a mix of fresh and dried apple rather than purely dried as called for in the recipe. I think I'd put even more fresh apple in next time!

Photo goes here.

Apple Bread Pudding

Adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• stale bread (enough to cover bottom of 23x33cm baking dish), cut/broken into 3cm chunks
• 1-2 apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2-3/4 c. chopped dried apple
• 2 Tbsp. raisins or dried currants
• 2 1/2 c. whole milk
• 4 large eggs
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Directions

1. Grease a 23x33cm baking dish.
2. Scatter the bread in the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Scatter the apples and raisins on top.
4. Beat the eggs and brown sugar into the milk.
5. Mix in 1 tsp. of the cinnamon, the vanilla, and the nutmeg.
6. Pour the custard over the bread and set aside for 30 minutes, pressing the bread down into the custard periodically.
7. Meanwhile, mix the remaining cinnamon with the sugar and set aside.
8. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
9. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the pudding.
10. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~1 hour.
11. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
12. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

It's been a bit over a month since I made this, so I'm hoping that I can remember all the changes I made. The base recipe was fine, but the flavour was a bit flat, so I did end up tweaking it a bit just to punch things up a notch.

Slow Cooker Bolognese

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, grated
• 1-2 onions, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1/2 c. red wine
• 1kg lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1 large (800mL) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 Parmesan rind (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. dark soy
• 2 tsp. light soy
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add celery, carrots, and onions and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until softened (~10 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant (3-4 minutes).
4. Add the red wine and cook until mostly evaporated.¹
5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook the ground beef and season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir the milk into the beef and cook until mostly absorbed.
7. Add the beef to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, pepper flakes, and parmesan rind (if using).
8. Cover and cook on low for 6-12 hours.
9. Taste and add sugar, soy sauces, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar if needed.

¹ If you have an InstantPot, then these steps can be done on the sauté setting. Otherwise, transfer veggie mixture to slow cooker once this step is complete. ^Back

We needed something for dinner tonight and I actually felt up for cooking for once, so I consulted my short list. I wasn't up for a lot of cooking, but I felt I could do something small and simple and this cream sauce recipe fit the bill.

Dumplings in Cream Sauce

Adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ~100g ham, chopped
• 2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. milk powder¹
• 1 Tbsp. chicken stock powder
• black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 450g frozen dumplings (mini dumplings work especially well)
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 2-3 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil and butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook until they begin to release their liquid.
5. Add the ham and cook until heated through.
6. Add the milk, milk powder, and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
7. Stir in pepper and Parmesan and adjust seasoning to taste.
8. Add the dumplings and peas and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until dumplings are heated through and sauce has reached desired consistency.
10. Stir in green onions and serve topped with additional Parmesan.

---

¹ The original recipe called for cream. We only had milk. So I decided to try to approximate cream by adding some whole milk powder to skim milk. I'm quite pleased with how this worked and would absolutely do it this way again in the future. ^Back

I've made a few different chocolate waffle recipes before, but I hadn't tried this one yet. Honestly, it wasn't even really a recipe. It was just a suggested mix-in for the waffle batters in the Breakfast Bible. In theory, I was meant to add 1/2 c. sweetened cocoa powder to the standard batter and then top the resulting waffles with fresh cherries and cherry syrup. In practice, I have never heard of sweetened cocoa powder and I didn't have any cherries on hand. So, instead of that, I did my best to approximate when it came to the cocoa. And for toppings we tried homemade mandarin marmalade and whipped cream as well as bananas and chocolate sauce (with a little peanut butter on mine as well). Delicious!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Waffles

Adapted from the Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 190g whole wheat flour
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. Dutched cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 90g salted butter, melted

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs and vanilla into the milk.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
6. Allow batter to rest while waffle iron preheats.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter is used.
8. Serve waffles with your preferred toppings. Fresh berries, whipped cream, bananas, peanut butter, marmalade, and chocolate sauce all work well.

Plain Waffles (Waffle Maker Recipe)

It turns out that finding a waffle maker that I actually like in NZ is relatively difficult. Most of them seem to make thin, American-style waffles. Or be vertical waffle makers (which don't really work well if you like to put inclusions in your batter). Or they're underpowered. And so on and so on. And rotating waffle makers? Forget about it!

The best option I'd managed to find in all my searching was a very expensive Breville model. But, aside from being pricey, it was also huge. And it still didn't even rotate. So I couldn't quite bring myself to pull the trigger on it. Luckily, Farmers miraculously started stocking some new waffle irons that actually looked somewhat reasonable. So when one of them went on sale for $40, how could I say no? It was a little less powerful than I'd like and had removeable plates, which I generally feel are more of a hinderance than a help. But... for $40, it seemed worth a shot!

And, I have to say, having tried it... it's not half bad! I do miss the rotation. And I wish it were a little more powerful (1200W doesn't seem to be quite enough for some batters). But, overall, it does alright. Especially for the price!

So, after testing it out on some banana-oat waffles (which came out slightly soggy, but were able to be perked up in the toaster), I decided to give it a go with the basic waffle recipe given in the manual. It's very plain, but tasty nonetheless. And it does cook up much better than the oat waffles did. It's pretty similar to my other basic waffle recipe, but I wanted to include this one as well. Just for the sake of completeness.

Plain Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 c. (~260g) flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk, warmed
• 1/3 c. salted butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder. Mix well.
2. Combine the milk, butter, and vanilla and beat in the eggs.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. (Some small lumps are okay, but try to avoid any large ones.)
4. Let batter stand while waffle iron preheats.
5. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron (mine takes ~1/2 c. per waffle), close lid, and cook until done (~5 minutes on highest setting for me).
6. Remove cooked waffle(s) from machine and repeat process with remaining batter.
7. Top as desired and serve.

This is the long-awaited ginger version of the English cream scones that I made a couple years back.

In the original version, I swapped out the heavy cream for half-and-half. This time, I stepped it all they way down to whole milk. They were still plenty rich! So I don't think the "cream" part of these cream scones is really necessary. Honestly, they'd probably be fine with slightly less butter too. I made a double batch and used ~240g of butter this time around, but I'd be tempted to try it with slightly less -- maybe 200g -- next time.
I also swapped out the egg wash and sugar topping with a light lemon glaze. Mostly because I didn't want to burn a whole egg just to brush a handfull of scones, but also because I thought the lemon would go nicely with the ginger. I'm very happy with how it worked out!

Photo goes here.

Ginger Scones

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Scones

• 4 c. (~500g) soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 5 tsp. baking powder
• 200g salted butter, cold
• 1 c. crystallized ginger, chopped
• 2 c. milk

Glaze

• 1/2 c. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp. lemon zest
• 3-4 tsp. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder. Mix well.
3. Cut in the butter.
4. Mix in the ginger.
5. Pour in the milk and stir until just combined.
6. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and fold/knead very briefly (3-4 strokes), until dough holds together.
7. Pat into a flat sheet about 3cm thick.
8. Use a floured glass or biscuit cutter to cut out scones of desired size (5-8cm works well).
9. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, gather up the scraps, briefly knead/fold together, and cut out more scones.
11. Combine the sugar and lemon zest for the glaze.
12. Stir in milk until desired consistency is achieved.
13. Once scones are cooked through and nicely brown on top, remove from oven and brush liberally with glaze.

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 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

This is a nice, lightly enriched white bread. It's made with an overnight sponge and produces a lovely light loaf. With the twist that it has a line of chocolate running through the centre of the loaves.

The original recipe has it written up as making two petite loaves. I didn't have any loaf pans quite that small (19x9cm), so I decided to add 250g of sourdough starter (to bulk it up a bit and use up some starter). I ended up making one medium (20x10cm) loaf and then turned the rest of the dough into rolls, each one stuffed with a small piece of chocolate.

I think next time I'd use a bit more chocolate in the loaf. It seems to have spread out as the dough rose and resulted in pockets of chocolate rather than a continuous line through the centre as I'd intended.

White Bread with Chocolate

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

Ingredients

Sponge

• 3/4 c. water
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1/2 Tbsp. instant yeast)
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 c. hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 250g sourdough starter @ 100% hydration (optional)

Dough

• 1/2 c. warm water
• 1/4 c. dry milk powder
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• ~400g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 150g dark chocolate

Directions

1. Combine water, yeast, ginger, flour, and sourdough starter (if using).
2. Mix well, cover, and set aside at room temperature overnight.
3. In the morning, add the warm water, milk powder, sugar, salt, and butter and stir to combine.
4. Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, until a soft dough forms.
5. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 15-20 minutes, incorporating any remaining flour as necessary.
6. Round the dough and place in a covered bowl to rise for 60-90 minutes.
7. Knock the dough back, divide into two equal portions, round each portion, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
8. Grease two 19x9cm (7.5x3.5") or 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans, two 20cm (9") square pans, or one of each.
9. If making loaves: press each dough ball flat, letter fold, place a line of chocolate along the short side, and then roll up around the chocolate. Pinch the seam and ends to seal and place, seam-side-down, into the prepared pans.
   If making rolls: Divide each dough ball into nine equal portions. Press each portion flat and place a small piece of chocolate in the centre of each one. Fold the edges of the rounds up over the chocolate and pinch to seal. Flip the ball over and roll it to form it into a tight ball. Place, seam-side-down in the prepared pan.
10. Cover and set aside to rise for ~40 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
12. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20-30 minutes.
13. Turn off oven and allow bread to stand in the hot oven for ~5 minutes.
14. Turn out onto wire rack to cool.
15. If desired, brush top crusts with a little butter to give it a slightly glossy finish.

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.

Cream Cheese Icing (Breakfast Bible)

I've made a few different cream cheese icings before. But, since I've been working through The Breakfast Bible, I figured I'd try out their cream cheese icing recipe. I mean, I'm still somewhat dubious about any dish with icing that claims to be breakfast. But it was tasty nontheless. Especially on the cinnamon bus (also from The Breakfast Bible) that I made to put it on.

Cream Cheese Icing

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 180g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 60g cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 orange
• ~1/4 c. whole milk

Directions

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and orange zest.
3. Beat until crumbly.
4. Continue beating and gradually add milk until a thick, but pourable icing forms.

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 messed up getting this cake out of the tin. So the photo is a mess. It would've been nice to have an intact cake -- especially since I spent so long trying to arrange the pear slices prettily. But despite its dramatic self-destruction upon unmoulding, it still tastes delicious! So, definitely a keeper. Just be very careful getting it out of the tin.

[Update from 2026: it came out of the tin much more nicely this time!]

Pear Upside Down Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Topping

• 5 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2-3 pears, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds, ground

Cake

• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 225g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce

Directions

1. Peheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 20-23cm (8-9") round tin.
2. Beat the 5 Tbsp. of butter with the brown sugar and maple syrup.
3. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. Toss the pear slices with the sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
5. Arrange the pear slices in the bottom of the pan.
6. Beat the 6 Tbsp. of butter with the sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
7. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
8. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt and sift in baking powder. Mix well.
9. Combine milk, vanilla, and applesauce in a measuring cup.
10. Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the milk mixture in two additions.
11. Give a final stir to ensure that everything is well-mixed.
12. Pour batter over pears.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until cake is done (60-70 minutes).
14. Run a knife or spatula around the edge of the pan and then invert onto plate and carefully lift off the pan.
15. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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 excellent! It's obviously not the healthiest or the most vegetable-rich of vegetable side dishes, but it is very tasty.

Corn & Gruyère Soufflé

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 150g gruyère, grated
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cobs
• 5 large egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Grease a soufflé dish and dust it with the Parmesan.
3. Melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
5. Add the salt, pepper, and flour and cook until no longer raw (~3 minutes).
6. Add the milk and cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and thick.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.
8. Beat the egg yolks until creamy (1-2 minutes) and stir them into the sauce.
9. Mix in the corn.
10. In a clean dry bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until stiff.
11. Stir ~1/3 of the egg whites into the sauce.
12. Fold in the remaining egg whites just until no streaks remain.
13. Carefully pour or scoop soufflé mixture into the prepared dish.
14. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 40-50 minutes. (Soufflé should be slightly jiggly, but not liquid in the centre.)
15. Serve immediately.

I haven't been great at keeping up with the bread baking lately. My poor starter is feeling a bit neglected and we've been largely bread-less over the summer.
I ended up rolling with this recipe today because it was the first one I found that a) I had all the ingredients for and b) didn't require an overnight sponge. And, honestly, it's delicious! I love it. I actually ate two slices immediately. Which I almost never do. And, while I did end up using the mix of white and whole wheat flour that the recipe called for this time, I think it would probably work really well as a 100% whole wheat loaf too!

Molasses Wheat Bread

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

Ingredients

• 2 c. hot water¹
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/2 c. dry milk powder
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour, divided
• 350-450g hard (strong/high grade/bread) or all-purpose flour, divided
• 250g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (or ~1 Tbsp. instant yeast)

Directions

1. Combine the hot water, molasses, milk powder, salt, and ~150g of each of the flours.
2. Mix well and beat for a minute or two.
3. Add the sourdough discard (if using) and the butter and beat for another minute.
4. Add the remaining 300g of whole wheat flour and mix well.
5. Beat for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the yeast and ~150g of the remaining white flour and mix by hand or with a dough hook.
7. Work in as much of the remaining flour as needed to form a good dough. Flour may be worked in either by hook or by hand.
8. Knead until dough is supple and elastic (~5 more minutes by hook or 15-20 minutes by hand, depending on the efficiency of your stroke).
9. Round the dough and place it in a covered bowl to rise (~1 hour depending on room temperature).
10. Knock the dough back and divide into two equal portions.
11. Round each one, cover, and rest for 5-10 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
13. Working with one portion of dough at a time, press flat and fold into thirds (letter fold). Then, instead of rolling up jelly-roll-style as usual, roll and stretch the dough into a log about 1.5x the length of the loaf pan. Now twist the log once or twice around and place it in one of the prepared loaf pans.
14. Cover and set aside to rise for ~45 minutes at room temperature.
15. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
16. Bake the loaves at 190°C (375°F) until done (30-45 minutes depending on how well-risen they were going in).
17. If desired, remove from tin for last 5 minutes of baking to give the crust some extra crisp.
18. Turn off the oven and allow the bread to stand in the hot oven for ~5 minutes.
19. Turn out of pan and transfer to wire rack to cool.

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¹ I made my water very hot indeed and then just made sure to add everything else to it before adding the yeast. I was also adding cold sourdough discard out of the fridge which helped to bring the temperature down a bit. ^Back

This is a really interesting quick bread. It contains hardly any flour! Wheat bran is the main dry ingredient, with a little flour and cornmeal added in for good measure. It's relatively sweet and rich and can be dressed up with nuts, raisins, dates, or a combination of all of the above. Definitely more of a dessert than a sandwich bread. But it is, at least, a high fibre one!

I ended up adding a bit of sourdough starter and an extra tablespoon of cornmeal to my rendition of this loaf, but both are entirely optional. (I mostly just really needed to use up some starter.)

Butter Bran Bread

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

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 c. wheat bran
• 250g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration (optional)
• 2/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 5-6 Tbsp. cornmeal
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 c. milk
• 1 c. raisins, walnuts, and/or chopped dates

Directions

1. Grease and flour a 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan and preheat oven to 190°F (375°F).
2. Cream the butter and sugar together.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Mix in the wheat bran.
5. Stir in the sourdough starter.
6. Add the flour, cornmeal, and salt and sift in the baking powder on top.
7. Stir to mix well.
8. Mix in the milk to form a fairly thick batter.
9. Stir in the raisins, nuts, and/or dates.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
11. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for ~45 minutes.
12. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then (carefully) turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

This was a bit of a last-minute whirlwind meal. I got a bit carried away making goodies for my last day of class in NZ. I ended up making an apple-feijoa crumble, maple butter tarts, and maccaroni & cheese. Then, in a panic, realized that I didn't have anything for dinner. So I whipped up a quick batch of this pasta to serve to Reiver and the Kidlet before I went.

Reiver later pointed out that I really needn't have worried about it and that he could have easily fixed them some dinner while I was at class. Also, the Kidlet ended up basically eating her body weight in leftover mac & cheese when I got home anyway. So I probably should've just taken the extra few minutes to chill before class. Oh well...

Photo goes here.

Creamy Kimchi Pasta

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Pasta

• 200g kimchi, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 500g dry pasta
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4-6 green onions, chopped and divided
• 6-12 mushrooms, chopped
• 100g uncooked bacon, chopped
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 c. milk
• 100g grated Parmesan
• ~1/2 c. pasta water
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine the kimchi, gochugary, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar and mix well. Set aside.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve ~1 c. of the water, then drain the rest.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the onions and the white parts of the green onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
5. Add the mushrooms and bacon and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Add the kimchi mixture and cook until liquid has evaporated (~3 minutes).
7. Reduce heat to medium and add the cream and milk.
8. Simmer until thickened slightly (3-5 minutes).
9. Stir in the Parmesan and reduce heat to medium-low.
10. Add pasta, stir, increase heat to medium-high, and mix in ~1/4 c. of the reserved pasta water.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Add more pasta water as needed to achieve desired consistency.
13. Top with the green parts of the green onions and a bit of extra Parmesan to serve.