Flaky, in a good way

Oh my goodness, just looking at the above picture gets me giddy for breakfast. Or even a late night snack! Who knew bran flakes could be so darn tasty?

I hope that other food bloggers understand just how much I appreciate them. I spend a lot of time scouring the Internet for easy, go-to recipes that will detach my family further from processed foods. I've made granola before and loved it, but what about flakes? Could it be done? Of course it can, thanks to finding the adorable site Willow Bird Baking (http://willowbirdbaking.com/)!

I doubled the recipe, because my son and I love a good cereal in the morning, especially when we are in a hurry. Keep in mind that this is a super easy recipe, but like all good things, it takes time.

Ingredients:

1 cup of wheat bran
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2/3 cup of almond flour
4 tbsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
2/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp of ground flax

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add all your dry ingredients to a large bowl, mix well and then add in the wet ingredients. It's a very wet mixture (no way of photographing it well), but trust me, it turns outs awesome.

I cut out four sheets of parchment paper, the size of my cookie sheets. I put a quarter of the dough on the parchment and cover with plastic wrap. Then I roll out the mixture. I make it thin enough that it's almost see through.

Transfer the parchment (carefully!) to the cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Take it out and let cool. Since I doubled the recipe, I just remove this parchment and cool on the counter so I can get the rest of the dough in the oven.

Once all your giant flakes are cooked and cool enough to the touch, break it up into small(ish) pieces. Turn the oven down to 275 degrees and bake the pieces for another 20 minutes. Turn the flakes occasionally so they brown evenly.

I couldn't wait to see if these were as good as store bought cereal. Gave my son a bowl and got the thumbs up! What I really couldn't believe, was how well they held up in milk! Next time, I'm adding a touch of vanilla, cinnamon and maybe some raisins. Breakfast just got a lot more interesting!

Waffles!

Two years ago, when I asked my toddler son what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas, his answer was priceless.

"Pancakes and Waffles".

Plain and simple, that's all my little guy wanted! And it made sense, since that was clearly his favorite breakfast. He loved both with fervor, especially with what he called "Dip Dip" or maple syrup. When we didn't have time to make a mix from scratch, I settled for store bought frozen. Often I would buy Kashi blueberry waffles, but our FAVORITE brand was Van's (http://www.vansfoods.com/our-products-waffles). We particularly like their flax and their apple cinnamon. However, when it's a staple food in your weekly menu, it gets pricey.

I tinkered around with a few different recipes and then I came across one I loved from a wonderful blog called Give Me Lemons (http://givemelemons.com/2013/08/23/cinnamon-waffles/). Their recipe called for applesauce, which cuts down the added sugar and we already had tons of homemade canned applesauce to use. I played around with it, until I got exactly what I was looking for. I now make a double batch that I can store in my freezer and have on hand whenever we need them!

Ingredients (This doubled recipe makes about 8-9 large Belgian waffles. I break them into individual "triangles", so you get even more)

4 eggs
2 cups of White Whole Wheat flour
2 cups of Spelt Flour
1 cup of applesauce (preferably a low sugar kind)
3 cups of milk
4 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of cinnamon (normally I use Ceylon, but I want a powerful cinnamon flavor)
2 tsp of vanilla
8 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of ground flax
Spray for waffle iron

I chose to add flax, because I pretty much add it to every baked good these days. The health benefits for flax include; Omega-3 fatty acids, lower risk for certain diseases and great source of fiber among so much more! Spelt flour is fairly new to me. Spelt is in the wheat family, but it's a non-wheat flour. It contains a higher protein, lots of nutrients and quite frankly I get sick of using just one or two types of flours! I like to experiment to see what kind of texture each one lends to a dish.

Begin by whisking your eggs together until frothy in a large bowl.

Add in everything else.

Mix well to combine. Don't over mix. If there a few clumps here and there, just leave them alone. Mixed too much creates a tougher waffle.

Spray your waffle iron well (you'll want to do this frequently so they don't stick)

Once the iron is hot, add in about a couple small ladles full and let it do it's thing. Don't take them out until they peel (almost fall out) of the iron nicely. Nobody wants a soggy waffle!

These are so good, I sometimes don't put anything on them. Just give me a cup a coffee and I'm good.

But of course, if you absolutely MUST have syrup...live it up! I mean these pockets just call for syrup after all.

Behold, the Tower of Waffles.

Now that I've shared a truly beloved recipe with you, I'd love to hear from you! What recipes are your go-to in your home?

Oh..and totally make these waffles, you won't regret it!

Real Men Do Love Quiche

Sometimes, having chickens provides you with a wonderful dilemma of too many eggs. There are lots of things you can make with eggs (as shown with this post http://kristinesoares.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-whole-egg.html). I decided to make a quiche.

Now, growing up, quiche wasn't exactly my favorite meal. Just like my son, I have some textural issues. If I was given a runny or mushy egg, it was most likely not going to end well. Fortunately, I have outgrown some of those issues. I decided, with all these eggs, why not give it a try? I've already discovered that a fresh farm egg is ten times better than a store bought one. And if I make the crust from scratch, could that make me change my mind about quiche? So, I tinkered around with a recipe and to my surprise, it was one of the best meals I've made to date.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1/4 ice water
1/4 olive oil
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp of salt

Filling:

8 eggs
1/2 cup of cream (or milk)
heaping 1/2 cup of light sour cream
1 onion minced
6 strips bacon, chopped (optional)
3 cups of baby spinach chopped
5-6 ounces of cheese grated/shredded. I chose Gruyere and Provolone
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

First, I start by making my crust. This was one of the easiest, strangest crusts I've ever made. I didn't know how it would turn out, but was a cinch to put together.

Add the salt to the flour

Mix the oil and ice water together

Combine the liquid to the flour and mix until a dough forms. Knead lightly. Then roll out and form into a pie plate. Mine wasn't the exact circle I wanted, but I always shrug it off as perfectly imperfect.

Then I blind bake the crust, which I thoroughly recommend. This prevent the crust from getting a soggy bottom. Because, that's just sad! I weigh the crust down with dried chickpeas in foil. You can also use dried beans. Spread them out in the pan so it's evenly weighted down. I bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, just until golden.

While that's baking, I work on the filling. Whisk together 8 eggs.

In a cast iron pan, I crisp up the onion and bacon. Once browned, I put them on a paper towel to drain off some of the grease.

I add the sour cream, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the eggs.

Then I add the cheeses. I went "rogue" and chose two great melting cheeses, Gruyere and Provolone. I'm not a big fan of Swiss cheese, which is what classic quiches call for. Feel free to add what you love. That's the beauty of quiche, it's really all to your liking.

Chop up the baby spinach into bite size pieces. Add that into your egg mixture and stir really well until everything is incorporated.

After your pie crust has finished blind baking and cooled slightly, pour the egg mixture into the crust. Turn down your oven to 325 and bake for about 45 minutes or so. To protect your crust, you can cover the sides with foil or by using a pie shield. Then take them off for the last 5-10 mins of cooking. Insert a knife in the center, if it comes out clean, the quiche is done. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Don't want to burn your tongue on hot cheese!

I love how the layers set up. I'm not sure if that usually happens, but I thought it was pretty. This was a really yummy dish. It's great for an easy dinner or brunch . Marc even ate a piece straight out the fridge for breakfast, it was that good. Be inventive, use what you have left in your fridge! Have a bunch of asparagus? Steam  it and throw it in. Leftover roasted potatoes I think would be delicious in here too! Change up the cheese, use different meats or go all vegetarian. The choice is up to you!

The Whole Egg

When I make scrambled eggs for the family, I use a few whole eggs and a few egg whites. That leaves me with unused egg yolks. Since they are a special gift from our hens (and way better than store bought), they should not be discarded. Fresh eggs are like gold in my house. So, what to do with extra yolks? I'm going to show you an example of how I utilize the whole egg.

I'll make two easy and delicious things that you will be glad to have in your home, lemon curd and coconut macaroons. 

First up, the lemon curd. Recipe adapted from http://www.chow.com/recipes/29540-lemon-curd

The Ingredients:

1/2 cup of sugar

4 egg yolks

1/8 tsp of salt

1/3 cup of lemon juice (I used 2 large lemons)

1/4 cup of lemon zest (This took about 6 lemons)

6 tbsp of room temperature of unsalted butter

Zest your lemons

Then juice your lemons. The way to extract the most juice, is to have them at room temperature and roll the lemon with your palm.

Separate the eggs. An easy way to do this is to crack it and put the egg in your hand. Open your fingers to let the egg white fall to the bowl and the yolk will remain intact on your palm.

Just look at the color of fresh egg yolks. Not only are they a gorgeous and bright, but look at how they stand up. These eggs are only a few days old. Often times the ones that are bought in stores are weeks old, maybe even a month. If it's possible, buy fresh eggs from a local farm. Totally worth the extra money you will spend.

Now create a double boiler by placing a heat safe bowl on top of a pot of simmering water (only 1-2 inches of water). Make sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn't actually touch the water. Add all the ingredients except the butter and whisk well for about approximately 10 minutes. You will notice the thickening of all the ingredients. It turns into a pudding like consistency.

Strain the curd through a fine mesh strainer. I then added in the butter in pieces and stirred them in vigorously. This will give you a silky, pure curd.

Fresh lemon curd is tangy with a touch of sweetness. It's perfect for scones, cakes and other pastries. My husband and I could just eat it all off the spoon, but we won't!

Now onto some of the easiest cookies to make, coconut macaroons. Here are all the ingredients (minus the salt).

3 cups of unsweetened coconut

4 egg whites

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

1 rounded cup of sugar

Pinch of salt

5 oz of semisweet chocolate chips for melting and drizzling

So simple. Whisk the egg whites for a few seconds. Then add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips and mix well. It's going to feel like a goopy mess. That's okay, it's suppose to. Then take about a tablespoon size (or bigger if you'd like) and form little mounds. I use a silpat on a cookie sheet, but you can do parchment paper.

Place them in a preheated oven to bake for about 15 minutes at 325 degrees. While that's baking, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave. Start slowly and keep mixing the chocolate so you don't burn it. 

Side note. If you are going to have chocolate, might as well make it good chocolate. I found this brand at Whole Foods. It's called Guittard's and it is absolutely decadent. 

When the macaroons have started to brown nicely, they are done. Drizzle with the melted chocolate and let cool. These will keep for about 3 days in a sealed container...that's if they last in your house!