Anytime Asparagus Frittata

A quick and easy recipe to whip up for a savory, protein-rich meal for any occasion or time of day or night. I served this frittata tonight with a mixed lettuce salad with sliced tomato and pickled beets drizzled with a vinaigrette.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons Olive Oil
1 large Onion, thinly sliced
1 pound (bunch) of Asparagus with thick stems snapped off, then cut diagonally into 1" lengths
6 large Eggs, beaten
1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 cup shredded White Cheddar Cheese
1/3 shredded Parmesan Cheese
Herbs* and Paprika (optional)

*Cilantro, Italian Herb Blend, etc.

Directions

Preheat broiler.

Drizzle olive oil in to a deep 10"-12" ovenproof frying pan.

Over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, sauté onion rings 

with salt until onion is soft, but not browned.

Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and add the asparagus, 

and cook covered until asparagus is just tender for about 7 minutes.

Pour in the egg mixture and cook for about 3 minutes, 

until the eggs are almost cooked but still a bit runny on top.

Sprinkle the cheeses and paprika over the egg mixture and 

broil for another 4 minutes, until the cheeses are melted 

and slightly browned on top.

Remove from the oven and slide the frittata onto a platter.

Cut into wedges and serve with a fresh salad or selection of fruits.

Egg Strata

With so much going on during the holidays, it's great to have a breakfast recipe that can be prepared a day ahead to bake just for breakfast or brunch the next morning. I made this Egg Strata dish on the afternoon of Christmas Eve to bake and enjoy after opening gifts with the kids on Christmas morning. I pulled it from the refrigerator at 7 a.m. to warm until time to bake and serve later in the morning. I will be serving a version of this dish this coming Sunday, when we enjoy another holiday brunch with our family in Bend, Oregon. Serves 8

Egg Strata

Ingredients

14 Eggs
2 cups Coconut Milk beverage, unsweetened (I used SoDelicious brand)
2 Baguettes, Udi's gluten-free (defrosted and cubed) OR 12 slices gluten-free bread (cubed)
4 Green Onions, sliced
1-1/2 cups fresh Mushrooms, chopped
1-2 cups fresh Spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Pinch or two of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese 

Optional Ingredients: Red Bell Pepper (chopped or minced), Butternut Squash (cooked and cubed, small), Herbs (garlic, thyme, oregano, with Paprika and/or Goat Cheese (crumbled) for a topping.

Directions

1. Grease a 13X9 inch glass baking dish with butter or a butter substitute (my preference).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, coconut milk, Dijon mustard, Cayenne pepper, and seasoned salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, blend together the cubed bread, shredded cheese, fresh mushrooms, spinach and green onions and any optional vegetable or herbs you wish to add.
4. Add the bread mixture into the buttered baking dish, and spread evenly.
5. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread mixture in the baking dish.
6. Refrigerate overnight covered with plastic wrap.
7. In the morning, set the Egg Strata out on the counter to warm to room temperature.
8. Pre-heat oven to 350-degrees.*
9. Bake at 350-degrees for 50-60 minutes, until set and slightly browned on top.
10. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

*NOTE: If the glass baking dish is still cool when you are ready to bake the Egg Strata, place the egg dish in the oven as soon as you begin to pre-heat the oven, and bake for 1 hour.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Finnish Pancakes

Thanks to our sweet friend Sarah, from Edmonds (WA), we enjoyed a Sunday breakfast of Finnish pancakes. Sarah shared her recipe with friends on Facebook, and being one of her friends, I jumped at the opportunity to give her recipe a try to compare with the Dutch Babies (pancakes) I make. I found the Finnish pancake to be just as delicious, but slightly thicker with a bit of a custard texture (more on that later).

While baking, rather than the batter raising up on the sides to form a bowl like the Dutch Babies, the  vegan, gluten-free version of Sarah's Finnish pancakes I made domed in the center. Both types of pancakes settle down and flatten once out of the oven, as the start to cool.

I served our Finnish pancakes with a choice of real maple syrup or agave nectar, and slices of fresh mango and lichee on the side. If I had an assortment of fresh fruit in the house, I would have served a medley atop the pancakes with a dollop of coconut yogurt.

I'm sharing with you Sarah's original recipe, then give your my vegan, gluten-free version.

Sarah's Finnish Pancakes

Ingredients

4 Eggs

2 cups Milk

1 cup Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 
2. Whisk eggs with the milk, flour, sugar and salt, until well blended.
3. Melt the butter in an 9x12 baking pan.
4. Pour in pancake mixture.
5. Bake for 20-23 minutes.

Lee's Vegan, Gluten-Free Finnish Pancakes

Ingredients

4 large Eggs
2 cups Rice Milk (try using Almond, Coconut or Hemp)
1 cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Dried Lemon Peel (or fresh lemon zest)
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 TBSP Butter Substitute (I suggest Earth Balance or Smart Balance)


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put two glass pie dishes in the oven to heat.
2. Whisk eggs with the rice milk, gluten-free flour, sugar, salt, vanilla and lemon peel, until well blended.
3. Carefully open the oven door, slide the rack out a bit and place 2 Tbsp of the butter substitute into each pie plate. The plates are so hot, the butter substitute melts very fast.
4. Carefully remove the pie plates with melted butter substitute from the oven, and pour half of the pancake mixture into pie dish.
5. Return the glass pie plates to the oven and bake the Finnish Pancakes for 22-24 minutes.

Note: I cooked our Finnish Pancakes for 21 minutes. The very center had a custard-like texture, but yummy! Next time, I will bake them one to two minutes longer. I might suggest reducing the milk just a bit, as I did add a little vanilla extract.

There's More Than One Way to Deseed a Pomegranate

My mother would hand-pick the largest, least-flawed pomegranates at the market and artistically arrange them on a platter or bowl during the holidays. Sometimes she would spray paint them silver and gold, and dust them with glitter. Elegant. Occasionally, she would let us eat one, when they were no longer needed for her centerpiece. To eat a pomegranate was to get messy with the likelihood of irreparably staining our clothes.

Had my mother known that there is more than one way to deseed a pomegranate, we would have had enjoyed the pleasure of eating them over and over again through the years, and I would have passed that delight on to my children. Learned behavior is fascinating. When I was raising my girls, I too set pomegranates in a bowl on our table, and gave them one to share between them at Christmas time. I remember briskly scrubbing their fingers with a nail brush to remove the stains and furiously scrubbing stains on their clothes with spot-remover... just like my mother.

How wonderful to be enlightened that there is indeed a faster, easier way to deseed a pomegranate with the least amount of mess!

Elegant! The Globtrotter Diaries shares a slight various on this technique.

Pomegranate.org provides a menu of recipes that will expand your experience beyond popping those little seeds one by one in your mouth to tempt your taste buds:

Pomegranate Grenadine

3 cups pomegranate juice

Take 3 cups pomegranate juice and boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and skim the froth, until the juice is reduced to 1 cup. Cool, bottle and store in the refrigerator. Can be added to soups, sauces, and marinades for a rich, tart flavor.

In our family, we use the grenadine syrup to drizzle over half a grapefruit per person, and place them under the broiler in the oven until heated through for a delicious side of fruit with our breakfast. A pat of butter and brown sugar are other options for an even sweeter, buttery flavor. Serve in bowls with serrated grapefruit spoons. Enjoy!

Blueberry Smoothie

If you missed picking fresh blueberries this season and freezing a year's supply, many of the blueberry farms offer frozen blueberries for less than you will pay retail for them at your local grocers. If you add fresh blueberries to your smoothie, drop a few ice cubes into the blender to chill your beverage.

Making yourself a blueberry smoothie is a delicious and nutritious way to start your day!

Ingredients

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (or 1/2 cup soft tofu)
1 cup plain or vanilla almond milk (or rice or low-fat milk)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups frozen blueberries (or fresh + ice cubes)

Optional ingredients: a variety of berries, banana or apple (use less blueberries), freshly grated ginger, flax seed, protein powder....

Directions

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Serves 2

My Mother's Day Breakfast, Lunch and Family

What a wonderful Mother's Day!

First off, I awoke to the taste of a fresh strawberry dipped in honey on my lips. Sweet!

While I was getting ready for church, my husband cooked up a batch of french toast on our griddle adapting the following recipe he found online at PKU Recipes blog, using Angelina's gluten-free Outrageous Orange Cinnamon Swirl Rice Bread. Yumtastic!

Rice Dream® French Toast

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Rice Dream Original
4-6 slices whole wheat bread
3 Tablespoons arrowroot powder or 2 eggs
3-4 Tablespoon oleic safflower oil or butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions:

1. In a wide bowl, whisk together Rice Dream, cinnamon, and eggs (or arrowroot).
2. Cut bread into triangles and soak in the Rice Dream mixture until softened (1-3 minutes).
3. Heat portions of the oil or butter in a frying pan or griddle, over medium - high heat.
4. Add several pieces of the soaked bread; do not overcrowd the pan.
5. Cook evenly on both sides for 2-3 minutes or until each is browned.
6. Serve immediately with your favorite fruits, jam or maple syrup.

Right after church, we followed our daughter, Effie, and granddaughter, Sephira, home for Mother's Day lunch. Effie's family loves my spoon bread. Sorry Dirk had to work and was unable to join us. While the spoon bread baked in the oven, Effie warmed up the pre-made Chili Verde she buys from Trader Joe's on the stove top and together we put together a crisp, crunchy salad of fresh greens and vegetables. The combination of flavors and textures were delish!

They day before Mother's Day, Effie and Sephira came out to visit us at Le Roost Lorane wearing matching jackets. A number of years ago, I bought Effie the jacket she's wearing. A while back, one of her neighbors put this toddler jacket in her garage sale; Effie snapped it up, looking forward to the day they would be 'twinsies' - so adorable!

Sunny afternoon.

Such a serious face.

This is priceless!

Sephira Lee clumpin' about in Nana Lee's old hiking boots.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! I only wish my other daughter, Skye, and my grandson, Max, lived closer... so we could enjoy these good times together! I heard they had a great play day chasing giant bubbles and being silly. As Max says, "Awesome!"

Best Ever Gluten-Free Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles

Waffles at one. I woke up hungry, which is unusual for me. The morning clicked along, then about lunch time realized I was starving. As I checked into Facebook to see what was going on, my friend Kate, of Kate in the Kitchen food blog, posted a comment about waffles that was so good it inspired her cleaning crew to work. When I requested her superpower-waffle-recipe to kick start my weekend of cleaning, she promptly sent me the link. Within an hour, I was eating the best waffle I have ever eaten and I mean ever. Great texture, light and crisp. I finished my 8-inch waffle before my husband did, then I waffle-ironed us a second batch.

I adjusted the ingredients to create a gluten-free waffle. My gluten-free variation goes like this, and it's GOOD!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 cup polenta (stone-ground cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 large farm fresh eggs
2 cups of buttermilk substitute: 1 cup Half&Half, 1 cup 2-percent milk, plus 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (shaken until foamy and set a side for 5-minutes)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a little oil for basting the waffle iron

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and polenta baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In another bowl or large jar, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk or buttermilk substitute and the oil.
3. Add the liquid mixture all at once to the large bowl with the mixed dry ingredients and whisk until well-combined.
4. Preheat waffle iron, and if you want to cook all the waffles and keep them warm until you serve them - preheat your oven to 200-degrees.
5. Brush waffle iron lightly with a little oil.
6. Ladle 1/2 cup of the waffle batter into an 8-inch waffle iron (1/4 cup for a 4-inch).
7. The batter is thin enough it should quickly spread toward the edge. Cook according to the manufacturer's directions and how crisp you want your waffle. I like mine crispy (4.5).
8. Transfer waffles to a baking sheet and keep warm on the middle rack, uncovered until ready to serve.
9. Serve with butter or water-basted eggs and warm syrup.
   

Makes 6-8 8-inch waffles or 14-16 4-inch waffles.

For Christmas, we gave our daughter and granddaughter matching Mother & Daughter aprons. Here they are in our kitchen making waffle batter for our family breakfast together.

Saturday's Omelet, the Perfect Omelet and Cracking an Egg with One Hand

Typically my omelets are light and fluffy. This morning I left the heat on a little to high to start and browned the underside (outside). Despite a bit of overcooking, not what I call the "perfect omelet", it still turned out moist and delicious. Made with three eggs with a splash of water, I cooked the omelet in a little olive oil and filled the center while it was runny on top with a large pinch of sea salt, a dash of cayenne pepper, chopped and sauteed garlic, chantrelles, scallions, orange and yellow peppers, sour cream and avocado. I let it cook from the bottom up. No lid. On the side I served a dollop of Tuong Ot Toi Viet-Nam Chili Garlic Sauce.

Try this technique for making the perfect omelet: 

1. Crack three eggs in a bowl and beat until thoroughly mixed with a splash of milk or water. 
2. Pour into a lightly oiled, oven-proof stainless omelet pan at room temperature; slow cook on medium heat on a stove top burner (gas or electric). 
3. Roll the pan occasionally to see how it's cooking on the bottom. 
4. While still a little runny on top, add your filling ingredients and shredded cheese. 
5. Next, place the omelet in a pre-heated oven set to broil for two minutes. 
6. Be sure to have your oven mitt on when pulling your omelet out of the oven by the handle. 
7. Because you oiled your pan well, the omelet should slip right out and fold over. 
8. Garnish the top if you like with herbs, and add a dollop of sour cream, sauce, salsa or another condiment and serve hot.

I had hoped to share a link to an article by Tom Barkin of Slow Food Eugene and freelance writer. The archived article is unavailable, but here is an excerpt from the full article Tom sent me, written for The Register Guard and published on March 19, 2009:

Eggs a la perfection - The simplest of dishes can be the most difficult to get just right; with eggs, start with the farm. 

 

 "Ah! The perfect fried egg. Picture it sitting on a warmed plate amidst freshly buttered toast and crisp, salty bacon. Steam rises from the cup of coffee sitting nearby. The morning paper lies within reach, waiting to be read. The vision calls up moments of peacefulness and indulgence.

Or, consider the hard-cooked egg that for some inspires religious fervor. Visualize the Easter experience of some Christians for whom hard-boiled, red-dyed eggs symbolize the promise of eternal life. Or, consider Jews sitting at the Passover Seder table discussing the egg as a symbol of life, Biblical sacrifices in the Temple, the infinite nature of God, or springtime and rebirth.

Even the raw egg can engender vehement argument and protest. One can imagine the theologian and the scientist debating passionately whether the egg preceded the chicken or vice versa.

Eggs can do that for people. Some people, that is.

For others, eggs spur moments of culinary obsession. Those are my people...." Tom Barkin

Video: How to impress your foodie friends - Cracking an egg with one hand: