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.

This is the last granola recipe from the Breakfast Bible that I hadn't made yet. I made it this one according to the recipe. And it's good. But I found the proportion of walnuts way too low. I think I'd double them next time. I'd also like to try it with maple syrup instead of honey as the sweetener. I think that would go really well with the walnuts. And I'd try reducing the sugar next time. Because I found this version very sweet.

Dark Chocolate-Cherry Granola

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 c. chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• 1/4 c. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. dried cherries
• 60g dark chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Combine oates, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In a small pot, combine the sugar, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla and heat until oil is melted and mixture is smooth and homogenous.
4. Pour the syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Spread the oat mixture out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
6. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
7. Allow to cool, then break into small chunks.
8. Add the cherries and chocolate and toss to combine.
9. Stire in an airtight container.

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.

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

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

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

Autumn Pancakes

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

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

Directions

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

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Variations

Sourdough Autumn Pancakes

Ingredients

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

This bread uses a generous quantity of sesame oil in the dough, has walnuts folded in, and is topped with toasted sesame seeds. Unfortunately, I was a bit out of it when making it, so I forgot to add the walnuts before doing the preshaping like I was supposed to. Given that the dough was already divided, I decided to just add half the quantity of walnuts to half of the dough and leave the other one with just the sesame seeds. And, I have to admit, the one without the walnuts rose better and came out with a nicer shape. I think, if I were doing it again, I'd like to try a pure sesame loaf: sesame oil, sesame seeds folded into the dough, and sesame seeds on top.

Sesame-Nut Bread

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

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1/4 c. honey
• 250g sourdough discard (optional)
• 450g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour, divided
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. dry milk powder
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 150g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour
• 1 c. chopped walnuts (or 1/2 c. toasted sesame seeds)
• 1 small egg
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine water, sesame oil, canola oil, and honey and heat to ~50°C (120°F).
2. Add the sourdough discard (if using) and 300g of the whole wheat flour and stir vigorously for ~100 strokes.
3. Add the remaining whole wheat flour, salt, milk powder and stir for another 100 strokes.
4. Cover and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
5. Add the yeast and mix in the 2 large eggs.
6. Work in the white flour, a little at a time.
7. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for at least 20 minutes, working in small amounts of extra flour as needed to stop dough from being excessively sticky.
8. Round the dough and place in a covered bowl to rise (60-90 minutes).
9. Knock the dough back and work in the walnuts (or sesame seeds).
10. Divide the dough into two equal portions and round each one.
11. Cover and rest for ~10 minutes.
12. Grease two 20x10cm (8x4") loaf pans.
13. Shape each dough portion into a loaf and place into pans.
14. Cover and allow to rise for 45-60 minutes.
15. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
16. Beat the small egg with the milk and brush the tops of the loaves with the mixture.
17. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
18. Bake at 190°C (375°F) until done (~30 minutes).
19. Run a knife or a spatula around edges of pans and carefully turn loaves out.
20. Return to hot (but turned off) oven for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool.

I took a few liberties with this recipe, but I'm quite happy with the results overall. This produced lovely waffles with a crisp exterior and a moist centre. I think I, personally, would have preferred a few more nuts in them. And next time I'd definitely add some vanilla and maybe a few spices, but they were still quite excellent as-is.

The original recipe called for making these with sour cream, but I opted to swap that out for fat-free Greek yogurt instead. And when I came up slightly short on the yogurt, I made up the difference with a bit of cottage cheese. And I swapped out half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat. And, frankly, I think I probably could've gotten away with doing 100% whole wheat. I also omitted half of the butter and added an extra banana. But, despite all of those modifications, I'm very pleased with how they turned out! And they should be quite a bit healthier this way too: lower fat, higher protein, more fruit, more fibre... Not a bad outcome all-in-all!

Banana-Nut Waffles

Adapted from The Big Book of Breakfasts by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2-3/4 c. walnuts, chopped fine

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
4. Combine the butter, bananas, eggs, yogurt, cheese, milk, and vanilla and mix well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the walnuts.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Serve as-is or topped with butter, maple syrup, applesauce, custard, whipped cream, sliced bananas, nut butter, and/or chocolate sauce.

More feijoas! I only have a week left, so I'm going to have to kick it into high gear if I want to get through the rest of them before I go!

This cake was delicious! Rich and moist with just a hint of spice. I loved it.

Photo goes here.

Feijoa Walnut Cake

Slightly adapted from NZ Woman's Weekly

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 100g butter, melted
• 100g sugar¹
• 300g feijoa pulp, chopped
• 1 c. (~120g) chopped walnuts
• 1 c. dried cranberries, sultanas, and/or raisins
• 120g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 tsp. mixed spice²
• 2 tsp. baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 20cm (8") springform pan³.
2. Beat the egg with the butter.
3. Add the sugar, feijoa, walnuts, and dried fruit and mix well.
4. Sift in the flour, mixed spice, and baking soda and stir to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~45 minutes.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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¹ The original recipe called for 3/4 c. caster sugar. I opted to use 100g (~1/2 c.) of granulated sugar. I was perfectly happy with the results from doing it this way. I found the cake was sweet enough to taste like a special treat without being cloying. That said, with the raisins/cranberries in, I think you could probably take it as low as 75g if you wanted to. I'd also be tempted to try it with brown sugar next time. Just to see how it compares. That said, I don't think either of these modifications are necessary, they'd just be interesting experiemnts to try. ^Back
2 Reiver didn't have any mixed spice ready to hand, but did have a surplus of pumpkin pie spice, so I just used that. While the two mixes are not the same they are very similar, so I usually find that I can get away with substituting one for the other in most cases. ^Back
3 I didn't have a 20cm springform pan available, so I just used a 23cm (9") one instead. It will bake a little faster in the larger diameter pan, but works fine otherwise. ^Back

This one is really more of a dessert than a breakfast. But it was in the Big Book of Breakfast and I wanted something to go with the zucchini bread (that wasn't eggs). So here we are with some sugary baked apples for breakfast.

Stuffed Baked Apples

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4-5 large apples
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 2 Tbsp. chopped dried cranberries
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. apple juice
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• heavy cream and/or crème fraîche

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Scoop the cores out of the apples while leaving the bottoms in tact and peel the top 1/3.
3. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, walnuts, and cranberries and mix well.
4. Spoon the sugar mixture into the apples and place them in a baking dish.
5. Top each apple with 1/2-3/4 tsp. of the butter.
6. Combine the apple juice and maple syrup and pour it into the baking dish with the apples.
7. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until apples are tender (~30 minutes).
8. Transfer apples to bowls and spoon a bit of the residual syrup from the baking dish over them.
9. Top with cream and/or crème fraîche and serve.

This date bread is very similar to the sourdough date muffins that I sometimes make. Similar, but much, much sweeter. I actually halved the sugar called for in this recipe and it still came out bordering on cloying. I mean, it was good. But definitely at the upper limit of actually palatable amounts of sugar. I think I'd probably reduce the sugar even further next time. (And maybe add a little cinnamon as well. I think that would be a nice addition.)

I can, at least, vouch for this being a very easy recipe to put together. And, while it takes a while to bake, it's not super time consuming either. So, it does make for a decent low-effort breakfast offering. Not the most filling or healthy, mind you, but there's still something to be said for easy and tasty.

Date Bread

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g dates, chopped
• 1 c. boiling water
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 c. brown sugar¹
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g sourdough discard (optional)
• 1 c. whole wheat flour²
• 1/2 c. soft (plain/standard/pastry) flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Pour the boiling water over the dates, sprinkle in the baking soda, and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, grease and flour a loaf pan. (I used a 23x13cm pan, but I think a 20x10cm size would have been slightly better.)
3. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
4. Beat the butter with the sugar.
5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
6. Mix in the dates (along with all of the soaking liquid) and the sourdough discard (if using).
7. Stir in the flours and cinnamon.
8. Add the walnuts and stir to combine.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth top, and bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (~45 minutes).
10. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes.
11. Turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1 c. of granulated sugar. I used 1/2 c. of brown sugar when I made it (and added ~150g of sourdough starter to the batter) and I found the finished loaf to be pleasant, but very sweet. In my opinion, using the full quantity of sugar would have rendered it completely inedible. I think that, if you're looking for a very sweet, cake-like offering, then 1/2 of sugar is probably fine. But if you'd like a somewhat less sugary breakfast option, then I'd recommend cutting the sugar back even further to 1/4 c. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 c. of all-purpose flour. I opted for a mix of plain and whole wheat flour for my rendition. I used mostly plain with just a bit of whole wheat this time, but I think I'd flip the script and use more whole wheat next time. ^Back

A 100% whole wheat bread filled with walnuts and enriched with milk and honey. What's not to love?

I also decided to add a bit of sourdough discard to mine. Mostly to use it up. It's completely optional. Although you may find you need slightly less flour if omitting the starter since it increases the hydration by a small amount.

And I will admit that I got a bit impatient while kneading this bread and didn't get as much gluten development as I probalby should have. So the loaves tore themselves apart during proofing rather than puffing up into nice, smooth-topped loaves like I had hoped. They were still tasty! Just not as pretty or high-rising as I would have liked.

Walnut Wheat Bread

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

Ingredients

• ~800g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour, divided¹
• 3 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. skim milk powder
• 2 1/4 c. hot water (~50°C)
• 1/4 c. honey
• ~125g sourdough discard (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Combine ~400g of the flour with the yeast, salt, and milk powder and mix well.
2. Add the water, honey, and sourdough discard (if using) and beat vigorously by hand or with a flat beater on a stand mixer for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add ~100g of the remaining flour and mix very well.
4. Add the butter and continue working in the remaining flour ~30g at a time until a soft, sticky dough forms.
5. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
6. Replace the flat beater with a dough hook or turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and work in as much of the remaining flour as needed to form a supple, workable dough.
7. Knead for at least half an hour by hand or 8-10 minutes by hook.
8. Round the dough and place it in a covered bowl to rise at room temperature. First rise should take ~1 hour (give or take, depending on the temperature of your room.)
9. Once the dough is fully risen, knock it back and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
10. Press it flat and add the walnuts to the middle.
11. Fold the edges over so that the walnuts are enclosed in the centre.
12. Knead for a few minutes until the walnuts are fully incorporated and distributed throughout.
13. Divide the dough into two equal portions, round each one, cover, and rest for ~10 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, grease two 22x11cm (8.5x4.5") loaf pans.
15. Working with one portion at a time, press the dough flat, letter fold, roll up like a jelly roll, and place, seam-side-down into one of the prepared loaf pans. Repeat with remaining dough.
16. Cover and proof at room temperature. (This rise should take ~45 minutes, give or take.)
17. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
18. Uncover loaves and bake at 190°C (375°F) until done (30-40 minutes).
19. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

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¹ Clayton has you mix half of the flour with the wet ingredients first to make a batter. Beat that to get a bit of gluten development. And then gradually add in the rest of the flour. I did that this time and that's how I've written up the instructions here. But I would be tempted to try it with the Laurel's Kitchen method of combining all of the dry ingredients first, making a well in the centre, pour in the wet ingredients, and then gradually incorporating the wet into the dry, working from the centre outward. That seems to work very well for most of their breads and it would be interesting to see if it made any difference with this one. Both approaches should have a similar effect. But... I'd still be curious to compare and contrast. ^Back

We don't tend to eat a lot of beets. The Kidlet isn't really a fan and I find them kind of annoying to prepare. And with so many other veggies that we do all like, it just never really seems worth getting the beets. I do like them though. So I was keen to find a recipe to use them up when we got a few in our last produce basket by accident.

This recipe is specifically written for "baby" beets. And the ones in our produce basket were the perfect size. Unfortunately, there were also only a handful of them. So TF had to go out and get us a few more. And the grocery store didn't have any small beets. So we had to make due with much larger ones. Cutting them down into smaller pieces seemed to work well enough though.

Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g baby beets (3-5cm diameter), any colour
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 orange, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 bunch watercress, arugula, or spring mix
• 60g fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Cut the leaves off of the beets, leaving ~2cm of the stem in tact.
3. Rinse and scrub very well.
4. Place in a baking dish, toss with 1 Tbsp. of the oil, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast beets at 200°C (400°F) for ~25 minutes.
6. Add orange and chopped walnuts, drizzle with another Tbsp. of oil, and continue roasting until beets are very tender (~10 minutes longer).
7. Meanwhile, combine the red wine and orange juice and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. When the beets are done, allow them to cool and then remove the skins.
10. Pour the vinaigrette over them and toss to coat.
11. Place a handful of greens on each plate and top with some of the beet mixutre.
12. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve.

I've been continuing to try out sourdough recipes from the King Arthur Flour website. This one is full of inclusions and spices. And, between the starter and the oatmeal, doesn't actually contain all that much fresh flour. Which made it a bit difficult to work with initially. The dough seemed very loose and wet and had very little gluten development. I actually ended up adding ~50g of extra flour, just to try to adjust the consistency to something slightly more workable. After it had sat overnight in the cold room though, it had tightened up quite a bit and I found myself wishing that I hadn't added the extra flour after all. So, I guess next time I'll trust the recipe and go with the original amounts.

Walnut and Raisin Oatmeal Sourdough

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 120g ripe (fed) sourdough starter @ 100% hydration
• 250g cooked steel-cut oats¹, cooled
• 30g honey
• 30g water
• 30g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. allspice berries, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 220g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour²
• 1/8 tsp. instant yeast (optional)
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 65g walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 90g raisins

Directions

1. Make sure your starter is well-fed and active.
2. Combine starter, oatmeal, honey, water, butter, allspice, nutmeg, and orange zest and mix well. (Make sure the oatmeal isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast/starter.)
3. Add the flour and yeast and mix very well.
4. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
5. Work in the salt and let stand for another hour or two.
6. Do a bowl fold and then let rest for another hour or so. Repeat until dough feels light and well-risen.
7. Work in the walnuts and raisins.
8. At this point, dough can be covered and stored in the fridge overnight or allowed to rest for one more hour before shaping.
9. Shape into a loaf and place in a banneton or prepared loaf pan. (If desired, dust the banneton/pan with some finely chopped steel-cut oats first to give the loaf a nice coating.)
10. Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
11. If desired, loaf may be proofed in the fridge overnight.
12. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F) and boil some water.
13. Bake bread at 230°C (450°F) over a pan of boiling water for 15 minutes.
14. Remove water pan and reduce heat to 190°C (375°F) and bake for another 20 minutes or so.
15. Turn off oven and let loaf stand in hot oven for 10 minutes.
16. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

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¹ Oats should be cooked with a ratio of 1:4.1 oats to water by mass. I started with 100g of oats and 410g of water and cooked until the oats were somewhat tender with a decent tooth/chew to them and the oatmeal was reasonably thick. I then weighed out 250g of the cooked oatmeal and reserved the rest for another use. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for 220g of all-purpose flour. I ended up using 120g of whole wheat flour and 160g of all-purpose flour. I think next time I'd try using entirely whole wheat flour, but sticking to the originally recommended quantity. ^Back

This recipe comes courtesy of the C&C Cakery blog, which, sadly, no longer exists. Luckily I copied the recipe into my notes file several years ago, before it disappeared. And I'm glad a did. These bars are way tastier than they have any right to be! The recipe might sound a little weird, but it's dead easy to put together and really delicious.

Barbarian Bars

Slightly adapted from C&C Cakery

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 c. chopped dark chocolate
• 1/2 c. chopped milk or white chocolate (or a mix of both)
• 1/2 c. butterscotch chips¹
• 1 c. unsweetened dried coconut²
• 300mL sweetened condensed milk³

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 23x33cm (9x13") pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter and mix well.
3. Dump the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer to completely cover the bottom of the pan.
4. Sprinkle the nuts in an even layer on top, followed by the dark chocolate, then milk chocolate, butterscotch chips (or toffee bits), and finally the coconut.
5. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything, spreading it as evenly as possible. Try to coat the entire surface with milk.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until browned on top (25-30 minutes).
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
8. Cut into squares and serve.

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¹ I didn't have any butterscotch chips, so I substituted Skor toffee bits and am very happy with the results. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for sweetened coconut, but, given how many other sugary ingredients were already present, I opted for unsweetened. I definitely think that was the right call! The bars are delicious, but, even with the unsweetened coconut, they are still very sweet! I think they would have been cloying and much too sweet if there'd been sugar added to the coconut as well. ^Back
3 The original recipe called for a "14-oz" can of sweetened condensed milk (which works out to just shy of 400mL in metric). However, the standard size can for sweetened condensed milk here is 300mL. And I only had one. It was a little tricky to get it to cover the whole surface. Having the extra 90-ish mL definitely would have made that task easier. That said, 300 was enough (just barely). And I think the lesser amount made for a better sweetness balance. I think more milk would have put these in danger of being too sweet. So it worked out for the best in the end. ^Back

It was TF's birthday today. She chose spaghetti a la carbonara as her birthday meal. And, as usual, she made it herself. But I wanted to do up some sides to go with it. Since, while carbonara is delicious, it's also not exactly health food. And I felt the need to try to put some greens on the plate.

I picked up a head of broccoli and roasted it with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. But I figured that another vegetable side wouldn't go amiss, so I put together this salad as well.

The suggestion for topping it with toasted walnuts and orange segments came from a thread on Reddit. The same user also suggested adding either goat cheese or shaved Parmesan as well as a few olives. I chose to add the Parmesan, but omitted the olives.

For the dressing, I went with a slightly modified version of a lemon vinaigrette recipe found on Love & Lemons. I added a bit of red wine vinegar and half a shallot to mine, reduced the salt slightly, and omitted the thyme.

I'm really happy with how the salad worked out overall. And, as an added bonus, I drizzled a small amount of the dressing over the broccoli when it came out of the oven. I feel like the bright citrus flavours worked really well with the roasted broccoli. And the acidity helped balance the fat from the carbonara somewhat. All-in-all, a good combination!

Arugula Salad with Clementines and Walnuts

Adapted from Reddit and Love & Lemons

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. Roman mustard
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 c. olive oil

Salad

• ~100g arugula
• 2 clementines (or 1 orange), sectioned
• 3-4 Tbsp. walnuts, toasted and chopped
• shaved Parmesan

Directions

1. Combine the lemon juice, vinegar, shallot, gerlic, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Set aside.
3. Place the arugula in a salad bowl and top with clementines and walnuts.
4. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over. (You will not need it all.)
5. Top with Parmesan shavings and serve.

Back when I was first trying to adjust my diet and lose a little weight, I tried a few different cottage cheese bowls. Mostly sweet ones involving fruit and nuts, maple syrup, chocolate, granola, etc. But I did give one savoury recipe a try. I didn't really care for it, so I've stuck to the sweet versions since then. My go-to involves apples, cinnamon, pecans, raisins, and a bit of maple syrup or stevia. And that's honestly been really great. It's tasty, it's filling, it's easy, and it can be made with staples that I basically always have on hand.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really feeling it this morning.

I had a green smoothie bowl for breakfast yesterday and that was really nice. But I'm pretty sure we're all out of mango now and I know that we don't have any pineapple. I think it would also be good with peaches or nectarines, but we won't have any of those until our produce basket arrives later today. And I wasn't feeling super enthusiastic about any of the other possible toppings I could think of. So I wrote off the smoothie bowl for this morning. But that left me drawing a big, ol' blank for breakfast today.

For whatever reason I really wasn't feeling the sweet cottage cheese bowls this morning, but the idea of cottage cheese itself wasn't unappealing. So I decided to see if I could put something together that hit the right notes for me.

We had some ground chicken and leftover zeytoon parvardeh (Persian marinated olives) in the fridge, so I decided to try to do something that would incorporate those. That said, I think this would also work with green olives and walnuts (and maybe a few extra seasonings) in place of the marinated olives. And you could probably get away with substituting chicken lunch meat for the ground chicken in a pinch (although I think the ground chicken is better here).

I may play around with the exact ingredients and proportions a bit if I make this again. But I think this was a good starting point.

Olive and Walnut Cottage Cheese Bowl

Ingredients

• 100g ground chicken (chicken breast for low-fat/diet-friendly option)
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ras el hanout
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese (fat-free for low-fat/diet-friendly option)
• 1/4 c. diced cucumber
• 4-5 green olives, halved
• 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp. fried onions
• 2-3 tsp. pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 tsp. za'atar
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1-2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Season the chicken with the salt and ras el hanout and cook over medium heat until no longer pink.
2. Place the cottage cheese in a bowl and top with chicken, cucumber, olives, walnuts, and fried onion.
3. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with za'atar and pepper.
4. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

I've been vibing with waffles lately, but still trying to make something a bit different every time. For this iteration, I decided to go with the whole wheat waffle recipe from the Breakfast Bible and try the suggested orange and thyme inclusions as I figured they'd be a nice complement to the apples and cheddar. I think this would be even better with some fresh lemon thyme, but regular dried thyme works okay in a pinch. I also think a few walnuts would be excellent folded into the batter. I didn't use any this time, but, having tasted it, I would definitely add them next time.

Orange-Thyme Whole Wheat Waffles with Apple and Cheddar

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 200g whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme (or 1 tsp. dried thyme)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 90g unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
• 3/4 c. grated Cheddar cheese
• 3 apples, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and thyme and mix well.
3. Sift in the baking powder and stir to combine.
4. Beat the eggs with the milk.
5. Mix the orange zest, juice, and butter to the wet ingredeints and mix well.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to mix.
7. Add the walnuts (if using) and stir until just combined.
8. Pour a portion of batter into the waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat with remaining batter.
9. Top waffles with cheese and apple slices.

You can never go wrong with a good apple crisp! This one has walnuts mixed into the buttery oat topping to give it some extra depth. It is excellent served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Apple Crisp with Walnut Topping

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Topping

• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

Apples

• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 6 large tart apples (Granny Smith are ideal)

Directions

1. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix well.
2. Cut in butter until crumbly and stir in the walnuts.
3. Cover and chill untril ready to use.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly grease a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
5. Combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix well.
6. Peel¹, core, slice, and halve the apples.
7. Toss the apples with the sugar mixture to coat.
8. Dump the apples into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
9. Top with the oat mixture.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45-50 minutes.
11. Serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

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¹ We tried making this with unpeeled apples. While the results tasted lovely, it was a bit difficult to serve and the peels didn't break down during baking. I would recommend peeling in future. ^Back

TF loves brownies and this rich, dense, coffee-and-walnut-laced version looked like it would be particularly appealing to her. Indeed, it was!

There is no leavener in these brownies and very little flour, making them very dense and fudgy. The simple glaze on top adds even more chocolate-y richness.

Mocha-Walnut Brownies

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Brownies

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 125g unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped

Glaze

• 100g dark chocolate
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. corn syrup
• 1 tsp. instant coffee powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 23cm (9") square pan, line it with baking paper, and grease and flour the paper.
2. Combine the butter, chocolate, and coffee in a small pot and melt of gentle heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.
4. Beat the eggs with the sugar and pour in the chocolate mixture.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Stir in the walnuts.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40-50 minutes. The brownies should be not quite set in the centre.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan set on a wire rack.
9. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by melting the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, coffe, and cinnamon in a small pot over gentle heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
10. Once the brownies are cool to the touch and the glaze is somewhat stiff, but still spreadable, scoop the glaze onto the brownies and spread evenly over the surface.
11. Chill until glaze is set, then use baking paper to lift the brownies from the pan, cut into squares, and serve.

These were great! The Kidlet declared them her new favourite, very narrowly beating out the buttermilk waffles from a few weeks ago.

I forgot to toast the walnuts before adding them to the batter, but they still turned out well. I do think that toasting the nuts (and maybe browning the butter) would add some extra warmth and dimension to it. But, as noted, they were still great even without that.

Photo goes here.

Banana-Nut Waffles

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

Ingredients

• 3 bananas
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs (or 3 small eggs)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2/3 c. walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Mash the bananas with the brown sugar.
2. Beat in the eggs followed by the vanilla.
3. Beat in the buttermilk and milk, then slowly pour in the butter and mix well.
4. Preheat your waffle iron.
5. Ideally you would now mix all the dry ingredients (less the nuts) in a separate bowl and then pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. If you're lazy like me, however, you will dump all the flour on top and then, without mixing, you will sift the baking powder and baking soda in on top of the flour and sprinkle over the salt. Then mix it all together.
6. Add the nuts and stir to combine.
7. Pour a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's directions (or a few seconds longer if you prefer extra crispy waffles). Repeat until all batter has been used.
8. Waffles should ideally be served immediately with nut butter, maple syrup, jam, yogurt, chocolate sauce/spread, and/or whipped cream. If not served immediately, make sure they are placed on a wire rack, not a plate, to cool.

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Variations

Extra-Rich Banana-Nut Waffles

Ingredients

• 3 bananas
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs (or 3 small eggs)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. dark rum
• 1/2 c. butter, browned and cooled
• 280g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. mixed spice
• 2/3 c. pecans, toasted and chopped