As I've mentioned several times by now, I have been working my way through a lot of recipes in the egg book this summer. I appreciate what a variety of preparations it presents. I've been mostly leaning into the scrambled eggs, frittatas, and omelettes because they are relatively easy and familiar, but it's been fun to try some of the others as well.

Among the many different forms of eggs that appear in the book is a small selection of sweet omelette recipes. I found the idea of a sweet omelette quite bizarre, but there have been plenty of other bizarre-sounding recipes that turned out to be great once I gave them a chance. And we had some lovely fresh peaches that needed to be eaten. So I figured I might as well give it a go.

Sadly, this was not one of those sounds-weird-but-actually-great recipes. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't great either. And we all agreed that while it was okay, it would have been much better if the filling was used in crêpes rather than in an omelette.

Still... if you're game and want to give a sweet omelette a try, have at it!

Peach, Honey, and Toasted Almond Omelette

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• ~1/2 c. thinly sliced peeled peaches
• 1 tsp. honey
• ~1/16 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. sliced almonds, toasted
• icing (confectioners'/powdered) sugar, to serve

Directions

1. Toss the peaches with the honey and vanilla and set aside.
2. Beat the eggs with the water.
3. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
4. Pour in the egg mixture and cook, covered, until nearly set.
5. Add the peaches over half the omelette, reserving any juice.
6. Fold the omelette over and cook for another 2-3 minutes on each side to ensure the middle is fully set and the peaches are warmed through.
7. Transfer to plate and top with toasted almonds and a dusting of icing sugar.

I've been wanting to try this cake for ages. I loved the idea of peaches and cornmeal. I was wary of the caramel -- not because I don't like caramel, but because I never seem to have good luck with making it -- but I was willing to give it a go.

In the end, I think I was more excited by the making of the cake than the eating of it. TF loved it though, so that was gratifying.

Peach Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake

From Cook's Country August/September 2016

Ingredients

Caramel

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt

Cake

• 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 340g frozen sliced peaches (or 450g fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into wedges)
• 140g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 2 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Lightly toast the cornmeal in a 25cm (10") skillet, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and melt the butter for the caramel over medium heat.
4. Add the sugar for the caramel along with the salt and cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is melted and smooth (3-5 minutes).¹
5. Remove from heat and carefully add the peach slices. Try to make a pinwheel pattern along the outside edge and then fill in the middle as you're able.
6. Whisk the flour into the cornmeal and sift in the baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the salt as well.
7. In a separate bowl, combine milk, orange jest, orange juice, egg, egg yolk, sugar, and melted butter and whisk until smooth.
8. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined.
9. Pour batter over peaches and spread into an even layer.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-35 minutes.
11. Transfer entire skillet to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.
12. After 15 minutes, place a serving platter over the skillet and, using potholders, invert the cake onto the serving platter.
13. Let cool for ~1 hour before serving.
14. Serve as is or topped with whipped cream.

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¹ It will go through a phase where it looks dry and crumbly and seems like something's gone horribly wrong; just keep going! Keep cooking and whisking and it'll eventually melt into a nice brown caramel. ^Back

Fruit Smoothies

We'd previously done write-ups for some of the smoothie flavours listed below, but it was a little helter-skelter and disorganized. I wanted to collect them all in one post.

I think, at this point, we've tried all but the kale-pineapple smoothie. I have to admit that I'm pretty wary of kale in a smoothie, but I'd be willing to at least try it at some point. I just haven't done so yet. (Honestly, I can think of many better uses for kale, but at this point, the completionist in me just kind of wants to be able to check off all the flavours in the magazine.)

Strawberry-Peach Smoothies

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2016

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 1 c. frozen peaches
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Directions

1. Place banana, honey, and salt in blender and blend until combined.
2. Add strawberries, peaches, yogurt, and juice/milk and purée.
3. Pour into glasses and serve.

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Variations

Cherry-Almond Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/4 c. almond butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen cherries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. milk or almond milk

Mixed Berry Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. frozen mixed berries
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or milk

Tropical Fruit Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen mango chunks
• 1 c. coconut yogurt
• 1/4 c. pineapple juice or coconut water

Kale-Pineapple Smoothies

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 c. frozen kale
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. orange juice or pineapple juice

This was a big hit and came together pretty easily, despite symbol and I both being zombies. The Kidlet said that it was "the best dessert she'd ever had" and was a "super favourite". The use of sourdough starter makes the top a bit more "breadlike" than the biscuit- or cake-like styles common in cobblers, but I like that.

The original recipe just calls for "fresh fruit". We're much more likely to have frozen on hand and I've adjusted the recipe accordingly; if using fresh, bring the syrup to a boil, boil for one minute, then stir in the fruit and remove from the heat immediately, instead of boiling the fruit in the syrup for a while.

We were almost out of frozen peaches, so it was 90% blueberries and strawberries. The Kidlet ended up with one of the peach slices and said she didn't like it, which was a surprise given how many peach smoothies she eats (the reason we were almost out in the first place). symbol generally prefers it with berries rather than stonefruit anyways, so we'll probably just make it without the peaches next time.

Sourdough Fruit Cobbler

Slightly adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• ⅔ C + 1 Tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 C water
• 3-4 C frozen berries
• 1 Tbsp butter cut into small chunks
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp cold butter
• ½ C milk
• ½ C sourdough starter
• ½ tsp mixed spice, ground cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice
• ⅛-¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a small saucepan, mix ⅔C sugar with corn starch.
3. Gradually stir in water.
4. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately add the fruit -- it will stop boiling.
5. Return to a boil and let boil for one minute. Remove from heat and transfer to an 8" deep baking dish or casserole dish.
6. Scatter the 1 Tbsp of butter and mixed spice overtop.
7. Measure flour into a bowl. Sift in baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp sugar.
8. Cut in butter until it looks like meal.
9. Stir in milk, starter, and cinnamon.
10. Gently drop by spoonfuls into the fruit mixture -- it will float, but only just.
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
12. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or similar.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've posted recipes for both baked and stove-top steel-cut oatmeal before. It's been a while though and I've tweaked some of the recipes. I figured it'd probably be good to write an updated post and try to collect all the various flavours and variations in one place.

Peaches and Cream Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar + a few empty vanilla pods
• 1 c. diced peaches

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add the oats and cinnamon and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add water and milk and bring to a boil.
4. Stir in sugar, vanilla pods, and peaches.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)
6. Serve topped with peach jam and heavy cream.

Cherry-Almond Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered

Directions

1. Toast almonds and cinnamon stick over medium heat until almonds are just starting to get a bit of colour.
2. Add butter.
3. Once butter is melted, add oats and increase heat to medium-high. Toast oats for a few minutes until they begin to smell nutty.
4. Add water.
5. Stir in honey, cinnamon sugar, and cherries.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)

Cherry-Coconut Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Directions

1. As above, but wait until oatmeal is off heat to stir in extracts.
2. Serve as is or topped with a few squares of dark chocolate.

Apple-Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 apples, diced
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. raisins

Directions

1. As above, adding the apples and cinnamon sticks along with the oatmeal.
2. Serve sprinkled topped with heavy cream and a little cinnamon sugar or a touch of extra brown sugar.

Peanut Butter and Jam Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. peanut flour
• 1 c. sliced strawberries
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in the vanilla after the oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with a little peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Tropical Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/3 c. sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/16 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in vanilla extract once oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with cinnamon sugar and pineapple and/or extra mango.

Mulled Apple Cider Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 apple, diced
• 3 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 blade of mace
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. apple cider
• 2 Tbsp. chopped prunes
• 1 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 3 Tbsp. jaggery

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure of toasting the oats in the butter, adding the spices along with the oats.
2. Add the water, fruit, and jaggery and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Serve topped with apple pie filling or, if you have some cider left over, make a reduction, stirring in a bit of butter and sugar at the end of cooking and top your oatmeal with that!

Banana Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. spiced rum
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add oats and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add banana and brown sugar and cook for a minute or two.
4. Add water and rum and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7. Serve topped with crushed banana chips and caramel sauce or dulce de leche.

Cranberry-Orange Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 1/3 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure.
2. Serve topped with cranberry sauce and/or marmalade.

Peaches and Cream Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Oatmeal is really flexible. You can take your base of oat porridge and add just about any flavours you want to it. I like to use the Steel-Cut Oatmeal recipe from Cook's Country. (Although sometimes I'll swap out my steel-cut oats for rolled oats if I want something super quick.) They posted this peaches and "cream" variant with the original recipe and, now that I've had a chance to try it, I figured I'd do a write-up.

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2016

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. thawed frozen peaches
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. light (5%) cream (optional)

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add oats and toast, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add water and milk and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for ~20 minutes.
5. Stir in salt, peaches, honey, and vanilla.
6. Serve immediately, with ~1 Tbsp. of cream added to each bowl, if desired.

Beef Tagine with Peaches and Raisins

I've been on a bit of a tagine kick lately. My brother got us a phenomenal tagine cookbook a few years back and I've made shamefully little use of it so far. Better late than never I suppose!

This tagine is relatively easy to throw together, especially if you already have some chermoula on hand. And it results in lovely, tender beef in a meaty, slightly sweet-and-sour gravy. The sesame seeds make a nice garnish and complement. I think next time I would try adding a few tsp. of popped mustard seeds along with the broth. I am very fond of the mustard-peach flavour combo and think it'd work quite well here.

Beef Tagine with Peaches and Raisins
1 1/2 lbs. stewing beef, cubed or sliced
1/4 c. chermoula
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. warm water
20 threads saffron
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1/2 c. beef broth
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. mustard seeds, popped in 1 Tbsp. of oil (optional)
1/2 c. raisins
4 fresh peaches, sliced (or equivalent frozen)
3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

1. Toss beef with chermoula and flour. Set aside.
2. Add saffron threads to warm water. Set aside.
3. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook for 5-7 minutes.
4. Add beef and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add broth, vinegar, mustard seeds and oil (if using), and saffron with its soaking water.
6. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
7. Add raisins and peaches, replace lid, and simmer for another 20 minutes.
8. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Ideally this should be (as the name implies) cooked in a tagine. That said, I think it would work reasonably well in a Dutch oven with a good, tightly-fitting lid.

Mustard Glazed Ham with Peach Sauce

My family always had either roast chicken or turkey with various sides for Christmas dinner. In recent years we've switched to rappy pie and green bean casserole, but it's still a chicken and potato based dinner. We had a nice smoked ham roast from our pork box this year though so I decided to give that a go for Christmas dinner. I've never cooked a ham before, but I found a recipe that I liked the look of on allrecipes and went from there. I'm really pleased with how the ham came out, and the sauce is quite nice as well.

Mustard Glazed Ham
Slightly adapted from allrecipes.com
1 small, uncooked ham roast (mine was ~2.5 lbs.)
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves (optional)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. brown sugar

1. Place ham on rack in roast pan. Pour a little water under the rack. Bake ham at 350F for ~1 hour.
2. Combine remaining ingredients. Brush onto ham. Top up water under rack in roast pan if needed. Bake for an additional hour or so.
3. While ham is baking, prepare peach sauce (recipe below). Carve ham and serve with sauce.

Peach Sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 c. peach nectar
1 c. peach preserves
5 c. frozen peach slices
1 Tbsp. ginger paste (I only used 2 tsp. and the ginger didn't come through at all)
1 hot cherry pepper, seeded and minced
1 (3") cinnamon stick

1. Combine sugar, vinegar, nectar, and preserves in pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add remaining ingredients and reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Serve with ham (or over stuffing).

Sweet Glazed Peaches

These peaches were fairly easy to put together and they were tasty. That said, a good fresh peach is tasty enough on its own that I don't think I'd bother going to the trouble of making this one again. Not unless I wanted something fancy to show off for dessert or something.

Sweet Glazed Peaches
Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2015
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
6 peaches, peeled and halved
1/4 c. apple jelly
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 c. pistachios, toasted and crushed/chopped
vanilla ice cream, for serving

1. Combine lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Add peaches to bowl and make sure they get well-coated with the mixture.
2. Place peaches, cut side up, in baking dish (or an oven-safe skillet if you have one large enough to accommodate them). Pour any residual lemon-sugar mixture over the peaches. Pour 1/3 c. water around the peaches. Place under broiler (about 6" away) for 12-15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the jelly with the butter until melted. Stir to combine.
4. Baste peaches with half the glaze mixture and return to oven for 5-7 minutes.
5. Baste again, then remove to plate using a slotted spoon.
6. Pour the residual liquid into a skillet (or simply move the skillet to the stove top if you were able to broil the peaches in the skillet). Cook over medium heat until syrupy.
7. Pour syrup over peaches and top with pistachios. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.