Pumpkin Raisin Breakfast Bulgur

As an oatmeal lover, I've had the oats in all forms and fix -- from banana peanut butter oatmeal, to strawberry almond, to carrot raisin and everything in between.

As much as I love oatmeal for it's thick consistency, I admit that it's often just a vehicle for some other morning flavor craving (like those above). So when I discovered savory bulgur salads at the local fine prepared foods grocer, my mind naturally turned to other ways I could jazz up this chewy, nutty grain.

I have a feeling that this pumpkin raisin bulgur is only the start of my love affair. And for those of you who especially like the bite of steel cut oats, there might be a new show in town. Bulgur has the same bite, but with a bouncy, pillowy texture surrounding each wonderful nugget.

So, pumpkin, raisins, apples, raspberries, nuts.... Nothing is off the table. With bulgur, everything is on the table.

Pumpkin raisin breakfast bulgur: (serves 1)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup 10-minute bulgur (sold at Trader Joe's)

2 T. Thompson seedless raisins

1 cup water w/pinch of salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée

A dash of milk

A drizzle of maple syrup

Directions:

Bring bulgur, raisins, and water to boil in a small saucepan. Turn down and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients through the milk and stir, heating through another minute or so. Pour into a bowl and top with maple syrup. Eat while piping hot!

Feel-Good Carrot Cake with Cinnamon-Pecan Frosting for One

It was exactly what I needed on this terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad, day.  

Oh, and it was ready in just minutes! And I made it in the microwave! Best yet, it was actually healthy... because who needs more guilt or upset on a no-good-bad day? On the emotional side, I contemplated stopping by the bake shop on my way home from work, promptly changing into my PJ's, and gorging on sweets on the couch. But the rational side of me thought this idea through... I realized a sugar binge would make me feel even more yucky. 

Sometimes being an addictions counselor is just plain tough!

I only needed good feelings, delicious indulgence, and the comfort that could only be provided by layer cake.  But how? I Googled around, and ultimately adapted an already healthy and fast carrot cake recipe into this recipe below. 

I included everything I love about carrot cake: the sweetness of carrots and brown sugar, the tropical tang of pineapple, the hint of coconut... and obviously the best part: thick cinnamon-pecan cream cheese frosting! 

I'm sitting down to my personalized plate of layered carrot cake now, and I'm thinking about how my day just got so much better. No guilt, emotional spikes, or regret in sight. I can leave all of that at the office., thank you! Tonight's dessert experience is pajama attire only. 

Feel-Good Carrot Cake for One
Ingredients:
2 T. white whole wheat flour
2 T. white flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1 packet stevia or Truvia
1.5 T. dark brown sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
carrots and pineapple, food processed into 1/3 cup worth
(I used baby carrots I had on hand, and frozen pineapple chunks)
1 T. shredded coconut
1 T. milk
1/4 t. vanilla extract
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:
In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients through dark brown sugar. In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients through egg white and stir to combine thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to barely combine (do not overmix). Spray two small ramekins (one is fine, too!) with cooking spray and evenly divide the batter between them. Microwave on high for about 3 minutes, using less or more time depending on your microwave wattage, until the cakes are firm. Remove and allow to cool before gently prying out of the ramekins. Frost with frosting below, and eat immediately!!

Cinnamon-Pecan Frosting:
1.5 t. Truvia or more to taste
1/3 cup 2% or whole-fat Fage greek yogurt
1 T. cream cheese, room temp
a couple drops vanilla extract
pinch cinnamon
1 T. chopped pecans

Directions: Beat together the Truvia and Greek yogurt, then beat in the cream cheese and vanilla extract. Stir in the cinnamon and pecans and slather on your cake!

Chocolate-Mint Bread: A Healthy Answer to Thin-Mint Cravings

This year for Valentine's Day, Matt was on call at the hospital. This meant that when he quietly crept out of the house in the dark, early hours of Valentine's morning, I wouldn't see him again until two days later. Of course I wanted to leave him a treat that would make him think of me during his long, exhausting, and hunger-inducing shift.... A snack that would be like a giant Valentine's hug to both the stomach and heart.

Cue these delightfully moist, rich chocolate-mint breads. I baked them in small heart-shaped spring-form pans that I use for all love-related baking. The batter an easily be used in any size from cupcake to loaf. In fact, I used some left over batter to pop out a few cupcake sized breads that I ate warm out of the oven. I needed to taste test and make sure that they were as delicious as I hoped they would be!

You might be thinking, "chocolate-mint bread? You mean cake, right?" Nope. Bread it is. It's got the perfect hint of sweetness from a touch of sugar, as well as chocolate chips folded into the batter, but otherwise this bread is wonderfully spongy and dense like any other breakfast loaf... Oh, and I've been withholding the best part. It's healthy. 

What? I don't want to contribute to fatigue, weight gain, or clogged arteries in my husband? Surprise! Let's feed the man a snack he can really dig into and never know it's made without any fats from oil or butter.

Chocolate and mint are one of M's favorite flavor combinations. This bread is spot on. The chocolate flavor pervades, while the little bit of peppermint extract hits the right cooling note there at the end. Every bite is filled with the flavor of classic Thin Mint cookies, just in a soft, super-comforting texture.

And isn't that what love is? Comforting, cool, sweet, delicious, and good for you.

Chocolate-Mint Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup plain unsweetened Greek yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1/4 t. peppermint extract
1/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup minus 2 T. white flour
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting pan
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup each of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or wipe pan of choice with cooking spray, then dust with cocoa powder. In a medium bowl stir together the Greek yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and peppermint, and milk. Combine thoroughly. In a large bowl combine white-wheat flour, white flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure they are blended completely, then make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir to combine, making sure not to over-mix. Gently fold in the semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips.

Pour into the pan and even out the top with a spatula, then drop the pan on the counter from about 6" high a few times to release air bubbles. Bake 20-25 minutes for cupcakes or mini-loaf pan, and 45-50 minutes for a large loaf. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack in the pan, then release from the sides with a knife and cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to store.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Blondie Thins.... With No Butter or Flour in Sight

Okay, I did it. I made dessert out of beans and other healthy things.   

"Gross! Ew!" my sister groaned on the phone when I told her my plan, "I like my dessert to be dessert and healthy stuff to be healthy."

I get you sister-friend, I really do.

But first you have to try these blondie thins. You'll want your dessert to be healthy and your healthy stuff to be dessert, and then you'll be so mixed up you'll have no choice but to agree with me when I say that these chocolate-chip walnut bad boys are too darn tasty to care what's in 'em.

The only thing I'll change next time is to double the batter and make them thicker, like traditional dessert bars. But then they wouldn't be thins (okay, I had to call them thins because I spread the batter thinly into the pan.... This was likely because I couldn't stop eating the raw batter, which is totally safe to eat and I'll probably make just a batch of that next time, too). We could just call them cookie bars, because they're soft, gooey, and chewy, just like the blondie's cousin, cookie.

Semantics aside, whether you bake them thin or thick you'll certainly be glad you did in the first place. Looks like I'll be having these (healthy) cookies at breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Chocolate-Chip Walnut Blondie Thins: makes 16 squares. Inspired by Deep-Dish Cookie Pie. This recipe has less sugar and a few more taste-boosting ingredients.)
Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup cinnamon or regular applesauce
1.5 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

Optional delicious-boosting ingredients:  *note: If not using, decrease applesauce by half
1 tablespoon ground flax-seed
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon PB2 peanut butter powder or regular peanut butter

Directions:
Set aside an 8x8 non-stick baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (toast walnuts in there as it preheats as a time and energy saver). Meanwhile, add all ingredients except walnuts and chocolate chips to a food processor and process until smooth. Consistency and taste will be like a sweet, thick hummus. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spread evenly into the pan, using damp fingers or spatula for greater ease. Bake 20 minutes. Cool 5-10 before cutting into 16 squares.

Cookies for Breakfast!

Yes, please!

These chewy, oaty, and simply fun to eat breakfast treats will give you a reason to jump out of bed. They are made with nourishing whole-wheat flour, satisfying whole-rolled oats, and then bumped into the over-the-top fantastic category with favorite add-ins like toasted nuts and plump dried fruits. I credit my mother with inspiring the baking of these cookies. She visited two weeks ago and asked if we could bake a healthy oatmeal cookie she could eat for breakfast. I thought, 'sure, why not!' So we did. And they were incredible.

I don't like my breakfast to have much added sugar....I get more than enough of that as I continue throughout my day. So I love the fact that these cookies contain only natural sugars for the perfect amount of sweetness. So far I've made two varieties, and I've included both recipes here. One recipe, while still being very healthy, contains oil and more honey than the second variation, which is lower in sugar and omits fat. Both are delicious and both are good for you.

I plan to make more flavor varieties and I'll be sure to share those with you! The next batch I have been dreaming of will use the same basic breakfast cookie recipe, but will include shredded carrot, coconut, raisin, toasted walnut, and crushed pineapple ... I am hoping that it will be everything I love about carrot cake but made appropriate for breakfast.

Try out this morning delight for yourself. It's easy enough, but so satisfying and smile inducing you'll be baking a new batch every week. Since I first made them, M has been grabbing one off the counter every morning and keeps asking for more, and when I get into work every day I sit down at my desk, unwrap my own and get ready to enjoy eating every last bite. Seriously, can the start to the day get much better than that?

Variation 1: Classic Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients:
 Dry:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of whole rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional)
Wet
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1 egg (beat together with 1 Tbsp Water)
1 tsp Vanilla
Add ins I used: 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions: 
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together.Form a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet, then stir until just combined. Fold in the Add-In ingredients until evenly distributed. Place bowl in fridge for 20 minutes hour to get firm. Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Using wet hands, form 1.5 inch balls, then press down onto a cookie sheet to flatten. Repeat until all of the mixture is gone. One batch will make from 12-15 breakfast cookies. Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just golden-brown.


Variation 2: Slightly less fat and lower sugar version
Follow directions as above, except omit oil and honey as specified. Instead, use 1/2 cup cinnamon apple sauce, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and 1/4 cup honey. Add ins for that version were 1/2 cup dried blueberries, 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut, and 1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts.

The Easiest and Most Delicious Healthy Muffins You'll Ever Make

It's a long title for a muffin, I know. But I had to describe these muffins accurately. 

These muffins are healthy! And ridiculously easy! And simple! Best yet, they are absolutely delicious. 


Actually, they are based on a scone recipe. Have you met a scone that wasn't baked with layers of cold butter? I hadn't, until I came across this South African scone recipe. It was fabulous, and I didn't have to travel to South Africa because instead it came to me. 


An intern at work, who was in the States for grad school, but was originally from South Africa, gave a presentation.  After her slide show she passed around her freshly baked scones, which she explained were her grandmother's recipe. When I looked at the accompanying recipe I was shocked that there was no butter and that they were remarkably simple. I went home and immediately adapted the recipe for breakfast the following morning. I wanted the scones to be even more nutritious. I swapped the oil with pumpkin puree, and the white flour for wheat. 


Voila!

I had a scrumptious fat-free, light and fluffy pumpkin "scone". 


Since these are baked in silicone muffin cups, I am going to just go ahead and call them muffins instead of scones.... but wonderfully, they bear the same airy, moist crumb as a scone. 


For this batch I stirred in fresh cranberries. When they baked, their beautiful magenta juice burst into whimsical swirls against the backdrop of orange batter. Doesn't it almost look like a flavor ribboned scoop of ice cream? 

You can make your own flavor combinations in these muffins, which is what's fun about it. Keep the base the same, but you could substitute apple sauce for the pumpkin puree, or toss in nuts, dried fruits, or blueberries. You could even get a bit decadent with chocolate chips. There have been far worse combinations than pumpkin and chocolate...

Enjoy these muffins gently warmed, with a smear of jam or butter. I'll warn you that they will disappear quickly (they do in my house), but they are so easy to make that you could put another batch on the table just as fast.... which is why they certainly deserve their long, descriptive title, and I hope that you agree!

...The Easiest and Most Delicious Healthy Muffins...  adapted from "Ma's Scones"

Ingredients:

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

zest of 1 orange

2 cups white-wheat flour (I use Trader Joe's)

4 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup fresh cranberries

Directions: 

Whisk together the pumpkin, milk, egg, and orange zest. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just incorporated (do not over stir, you will get tough baked-goods!). Gently fold in the cranberries. Divide evenly among 8 silicone baking cups or greased and floured muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean. 

Nonna's Biscotti Two Ways

I couldn't decide what kind of biscotti to bring to my sister's house on New Year's Day, so I decided not to decide at all.

Instead, I just made both kinds I was considering.

I was accompanied on the bus to Manhattan by my tin of dark chocolate-hazelnut biscotti and cranberry-hazelnut biscotti. It was the perfect company. There were five other people on the bus who were as crazy and as sober as I to take an 8am bus on New Year's Day. They slept the whole time.

I tasted my biscotti. First the dark chocolate-hazelnut. What can I say about that combination .... other than "Baci" and "Nutella"?

Then the cranberry-hazelnut. Chewy and sweet. Slightly more tame but no less delightful.

Hazelnuts provided a great crunch to these biscotti, but you don't have to limit your flavor combinations when baking up this treat, either. It's a New Year, so take some new chances. Perhaps you enjoy peanuts and chocolate? (I do) Or little bites of dried apricots with almonds and white chocolate?(Yum, sounds good!) Do it all.

But in the meantime, here is the recipe for my Biscotti Two Ways, which is code language for "Biscotti Your Way."

Nonna's Biscotti Two Ways
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
2.5 cups flour, plus 1 extra cup for adding in
2 1/3 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
Plus: 
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon and baking powder. In another, mix the sugar, eggs, and oil. Combine all the ingredients together, then add enough flour until the batter is just no longer sticky and pulls away from the sides. Divide the batter into two bowls. To one, add 1/2 cup dark chocolate and 1/2 cup hazelnuts. To the other, add 1/2 cup hazelnuts and 1/2 cup dried cranberries. Stir until fully combined.
Form two relatively flat, long loaf and place on a floured baking sheet. 

Bake about 25 minutes, or until the loaf is just baked but still soft. Cut on a slight diagonal into 1/2 inch wide cookies, turn each cookie on its side, and bake for another 5-10 minutes per side or until crunchy and golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Maple Cinnamon Granola

Crunchy, nutty, and positively scrumptious in cold milk. I twisted a recipe for regular granola and incorporated the rich flavors of maple, cinnamon, and vanilla. M was asking me to get granola from the store so he could mix it into his favorite breakfast cereals. I knew I had whole rolled oats, and I also knew that store bought granola's are delicious but also fraught with fat and sugars. It was time to try my hand at a granola I had some control over.

The gently spiced sweetness of the cereal is balanced by its generous use of toasty nuts, including walnuts, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. Each time I've baked up a batch my mind has been exploring the creative possibilities. I plan to bake a batch that incorporates pureed pumpkin and another that involves peanut butter (two of my favorite flavors). It would be easy to do -- simply stir in the different flavors when mixing up the wet ingredients.

This granola is simple to make and the big batch will last you well throughout the week... which is good, because it will easily find its way into more than just your morning cereal bowl. Try it on top ice cream at dessert, or over Greek yogurt for lunch, too.

Maple Cinnamon Granola

Ingredients:

2 cups whole rolled oats

1 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds

1/4 cup Fiber One original cereal, finely crushed, or wheat germ

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1 t. cinnamon

2 t. pure vanilla extract

Optional: dried fruit such as blueberry, cranberry, and cherry

Directions:

Grease a 15x10 baking pan. In a large bowl combine the oats, walnuts, coconut, sunflower seeds, Fiber One or wheat germ, and peanuts. In another bowl whisk the honey, maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the oat mixture. Pour into the baking pan and spread out evenly. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes or until light golden brown, stirring after the first 20 minutes. If desired, stir in dried cherries, blueberries, or cranberries.

Spread on a large piece of foil to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for two months.

Chewy Pumpkin Peanut-Butter Oatmeal Rounds

Do you remember these?

These fruit and nut energy rounds were awesome. But for some reason I never made them again after that one time. I guess I was off to fry other fish and tackle new adventures in the kitchen. I was fickle in those days.

Last week I was contemplating the issue of my new job... You see, this new job is not a "make oatmeal at your desk and enjoy it while you surf email" job. I've had those jobs before. I remember what that felt/tasted like. It's nice, so if you have one of those jobs, congratulations and please do enjoy it. My new job is more like "walk in door, try to make it to office before crisis arises (avoid eye contact with patients). Crisis averted. Sit down in chair, touch computer mouse. Crisis finds way to office and walks in.  There goes breakfast."

Enter back in these energy rounds. I knew I needed something that can keep me going, something high in protein and nutrients and low in added sugar or fat. It's also Fall, which means pumpkins, and pumpkins are loaded with nutrients and flavor. My brain started crafting a new energy round. I tweaked the original energy round recipe to further reduce the sugar and bump up the nutrients. 

Yes, they are that orange! Isn't it fun and festive? I pop one in a baggie in the morning before I head out the door. A few bites later I'm fueled up and ready to go. Best yet, this little nuggets are really keeping me full. And happy. Two of my favorite flavors (pumpkin and peanut butter) are rolled into the same place. 

So move aside Cliff and Luna..... there's a new, fresher bar (or round) in the office. It's chewy, nutty, and wholesome... I might even  venture far enough to say I think this breakfast is making me a better therapist.  

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Rounds (makes about 12-14 rounds)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole rolled oats

1 cup toasted walnut pieces

1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (not natural)

1 cup packed canned pumpkin

1 T flax seeds

1 T. blackstrap or regular molasses

1.5 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. cinnamon

Zest of 1 lemon

1 cup dried cranberries or raisins

1/4 cup coconut flakes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. 

Pour boiling water over the dried fruit and allow them to sit. The fruit will plump up and re-hydrate. 

In the food processor, pulse the oats, walnuts, peanuts, honey, peanut butter, pumpkin, flax seeds, spices, and lemon zest until coarsely chopped. Drain the dried fruit from the water. Add the dried fruit and coconut flakes to the food processor and pulse a few times. Pour the mixture into a bowl and mix well. 

Using wet hands, roll balls of the dough into about 1 to 1.5 inch rounds, then flatten gently with your palm to form a round that is about 1/2 to 3/5 inch thick. Continue until all the dough is used. Bake in the oven until the sides are just golden, about 15-20 minutes. Check often and make sure not to burn the bottoms. Eat one hot out of the oven for fun, then cool the rest and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. 

Breakfast Delight: Blueberry-Wheat Power Muffins

I am taking a break from my updates about eating in Italy because I've been cooking too many other things I want to share. But I'll be back with that, because boy have I got the best of recipes straight from the Amalfi Coast (think freshly made gnocchi in bright lemon-basil cream sauce, homemade vegetarian ravioli in pumpkin sauce, and delightful lemon cream desserts).

In the meantime I thought I'd share my daily breakfast. I recently started a new job and what I don't have time for is a sit-down bowl of cereal or oatmeal. What I do have time for is a deliciously soft, huge nugget of muffin. Healthy muffin that is. I can't imagine starting my day any other way.

These muffins are incredibly satisfying, and at the same time, extremely healthy. Healthy muffins can often turn out like dense, inedible hockey pucks... These are not so. They have a light, moist crumb, and a spongey texture laced with bursting and juicy fresh blueberries. Crunchy walnuts are the perfect hearty topping (no fattening sugar streusel here).


Plus, mine are baked in heart-shaped muffin molds, which brings just a little smile to my breakfast.

Oozing, fresh blueberries pop in every mouthful....

These muffins are made entirely from white-wheat flour, which I buy at Trader Joes, which is high in fiber and nutrients. Each muffin also contains barely any fat and is low in sugar, as the recipe uses two whole cups of yogurt for its sweet flavor and moisture. These are no-guilt muffins with all of a muffin's delights.

It's definitely a breakfast my day (and time crunch) can get behind.

Blueberry-Wheat Power Muffins:

Ingredients:
2.5 cups white-wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking or instant oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
4 T. ground flaxseed (optional)
2 6-oz. containers vanilla non-or low-fat yogurt
1 6-oz. container blueberry non- or low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup reduced-fat milk
3 T. canola oil
2 t. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1.5 cups fresh blueberries
walnut pieces

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray. Sift together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together all of the rest of the ingredients (wet), except blueberries and walnuts. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture well and mix lightly until barely incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Portion out tablespoons of mixture 3/4 of the way high in each cupcake tin. Lightly press walnut pieces on top of each muffin batter and bake until lightly golden and puffy, about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes, then carefully remove each muffin and cool completely on the rack.

A Very Lenten Lunch: Fried Eggs and Cheese over Creamy Polenta

This Lenten lunch is anything but depriving. I know, we're supposed to be less indulgent or more modest during lent, but I have problems doing that. During lent I would rather do something than take something away... like, I try to be nicer or I remember to pray every night before bed. The doing instead of taking during lent led me to this lunch. 

 

The warm, creamy polenta is already indulgent and satisfying enough on its own. Then it gets smothered with gently fried eggs and warm feta cheese. The minute my fork cut through the egg yolk it poured into the polenta and was soaked up. Every bite was incredibly rich and satisfying. This is a meal that would be wonderful for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, whether you're observing the holiday season or simply aiming for a meatless weeknight meal. One thing is for certain  -- I was not missing meat on this Friday during lent for a minute. 

Creamy Polenta: Adapted from Wolfgang Puck. Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
2 T. butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup quality chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup polenta or cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz. cheese of choice (I used provolone and parmesan, but other great ones are fontina, gruyere, gorgonzola and mozzarella)
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
1 T. dried basil

Directions: In a steamer, or a heavy saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and clear. Add all the rest of the ingredients except for the milk and cheese, whisking when it comes time to gradually pour in the polenta to avoid lumps. Cook until steamer switches to warm, or on the stovetop for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, add the cheese and milk, salt and pepper to taste, and stir again. Press the steamer cook button down again, or continue to cook and stir over the stovetop. When steamer switches to Keep Warm, or when polenta is thick in consistency, you are done. Stir in dried basil.

Fried Eggs and Cheese:
Add 1 t. olive oil to a small skillet and preheat over medium. Crack two eggs directly into the pan once it is hot and turn the heat to medium low, allowing the egg to cook until the centers are barely set. Turn off the heat, sprinkle with sea salt and cheese of choice. Allow the cheese to warm through, 1-2 minutes, then add freshly ground pepper. Gently remove from pan with spatula and serve atop the creamy polenta.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

 

It's been an interesting week. As follow up to the Match Day/ St. Patrick's Day post, M matched for his pediatrics residency at our number one choice, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. There was much celebrating and eating of Irish Soda Bread. We feel very fortunate to have a few more years in Philadelphia. The  consensus on Match Day was that our group of friends is perhaps most excited to stay in Philadelphia because, after all, how could we cope with moving away from our foodie scene? The restaurants here are way too good, and our potluck dinners are far too vibrant, to leave behind.

I was happy. I baked peanut butter banana muffins. They are my favorite. 

There is so much comfort in biting into this soft, light muffin. And if you love peanut butter as much as I do, there is perhaps nothing more wonderful than the deep flavors of creamy peanut butter and the crunch of roasted peanuts to make you feel like the luckiest girl alive. Sometimes it is the simple things, really.

The happiness of Match Day was offset by the passing of my uncle yesterday, my father's brother. It was a day I spent in a fog. I only wanted to be out of Philadelphia and home, in Connecticut, with the rest of my family. My father and I share an intense love of all things peanut butter. If I could not be close to my father in person, I could turn to the one thing that never fails to provide provided me with the comfort of familiarity. 

I slowly pulled apart a muffin and watched the crumbs roll down the plate. I did not recognize my hunger, but when I took that first bite, I felt famished. In eating that muffin, I was somehow transported home, to a peanut butter loving family who were all together without me. These are the reasons that food is more than a just way to live. Food is life, shared and experienced.

And for the moment those muffins were more than peanut butter and banana goodness. They were connection, emotion, memory, and comfort.

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed (about 3 large)

1/3 cup banana flavored yogurt (you can also use plain or vanilla)

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

3 T. butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cups white flour

3/4 cups wheat flour

1/4 cup flaxseeds (whole or ground)

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. pumpkin pie spice (or allspice)

1/8 cup chopped peanuts

cooking spray and a muffin tin

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients until well incorporated. Next, add both the granulated and brown sugars and beat until well blended.

Spoon the flour into measuring cups for accuracy, then in a separate small bowl combine the flour with the remaining ingredients. In small batches add the flour mixture to the wet banana mixture, beating only until it's just incorporated. 

Pour the batter into the greased muffin pan, about 3/4 full for each. Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed and slightly golden. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to cool completely.

Walnut-Cranberry Irish Soda Bread

It's true. I am not Irish. But.

I am marrying a man who is a certain percent Irish, that part is true. So is the part where I graduated from a college fairly rich in Irish-Catholic tradition, where St. Patty's Day was as revered as Easter and celebrated far more wildly than the rising again of Jesus himself. It is also true that I live in a city where the Erin Express makes it's annual rounds, escorting hoards of people in head to toe green with shamrock antennae flying from their heads from bar to bar. They look like aliens. It's pretty festive.

I don't like caraway, and so I generally never liked Irish Soda bread, but this year something in me shifted. I am not sure but it could have something to do with any of the above factors. It could also have to do with the fact that this March 17th is Match Day. What is Match Day, you ask? Be glad that you do not know. It is the day that all medical students everywhere find out where they will spend the next years of their life as a doctor. M is waiting his fate as a Pediatrician, and I am awaiting my fate as the soon-to-be wife of one. We try to think positive. It will be a  fun(!) surprise to find out where we match! Hurrah for surprises that determine our life's direction with the tearing of an envelope.

My future mother in law is visiting for Match Day. She is Irish, and she loves crumby carbohydrates, especially ones with cranberries in them. She is known to have fierce cravings for muffins and other breads. This I find both admirable and endearing.

I thought I would make an Irish Soda Bread for our unique and memorable St. Patrick's Day. My Irish Soda Bread would not have caraway. Instead, it would have walnuts and dried cranberries. And to make it all even better, my own mother was visiting for the weekend so we could bake together. She is Italian (like me), but she still got pretty excited when I told her what we were baking. Plus, she got to take home her very own loaf.

There was much stirring, measuring, and impatient waiting for the thing to cool so we could just cut a slice already. The apartment smelled like heavenly toast laced with the sweet edge of sugar. First, the loaves cooled a bit in the pan before we could move them to the racks. Hello, beauties:

In the baking, I also switched half of the flour from white to wheat. Nothing lost, everything gained. This recipe is a keeper, and despite the many pre-existing Irish influences in my life, I finally have found my very own reason for celebrating St. Patrick's Day. It has to do with a crisp, firm outer crust and a soft, moist inner crumb. It has to do with the earthy crunch of walnuts and tang of dried cranberries. Mom and I sat at the table over this bread for a long time, talking, pulling apart the pieces as the sun lowered in the sky, casting shadows on the crumbs in our plates.

The comforts of bread are plentiful, this I know. And this year, I need comfort, and I need celebration. Both at once, if I may. Pass me the knife and a pat of butter, I'm Irish.

Walnut-Cranberry Irish Soda Bread: Makes two loaves. Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole-wheat flour
8 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 T for sprinkling later
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
6 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
1 cup or more dried cranberries
1.5 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped

* Cook's note: I think this bread would benefit wonderfully from a T. or so of orange zest. I plan to bake another loaf in the next couple of days and use some orange zest -- I'll let you  know how it tastes!

Directions: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray two 8-inch-diameter cake pans with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using your fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make a well in center of flour mixture, then add the buttermilk. Gradually stir the buttermilk together with the dry ingredients until just blended, then mix in the raisins and walnuts. Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Eggs with Cheddar, Apples, and Bacon.

It's breakfast time again. And I love it because I could eat breakfast for every single meal of the day.

I said to M last night as we were going to bed, "why does it feel like we're always going to bed and waking up again?" I thought it was a silly question as it flew from my mouth, but he just nodded and agreed, "Because we are" he said. Perhaps the constant feeling of sleeping and waking it has more to do with how I'm spending my days lately than anything else. But that's another story.

And yet again, it's another morning. It's Saturday. I don't want my usual sweet concoction of yogurt and cereal or even a big bowl of steaming oatmeal. No, this morning I want it all -- salty, crispy, sweet, and smothery. A big crunchy apple is chopped. A couple slices of bacon sizzle and brown in the pan. Extra sharp cheddar is sliced, and eggs are whisked.

Minutes later, as M and I sit in front of our big plates, coffee in hand, and I'm thinking that perhaps there's a lot that's right about the feeling that it's constantly, yet again, another morning.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
4 eggs, scrambled (or a combination of two eggs and four egg whites, as I used above)
2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 Gala, Fuji, or other crisp apple, diced into small squares
shredded cheddar, amount as desired
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat and begin to cook the bacon. When the bacon just starts to cook, add the apple and stir. Continue cooking until the bacon is crispy and apples just soft. Pour in the eggs and pull sides from the pan with a spatula until they are scrambled and slightly wet. Turn the heat off, sprinkle the top with cheddar. Allow to sit, covered, for a minute until the cheese melts. Serve with buttered whole-grain toast.

Healthy Oat & Fruit Muffins, aka Super Human Muffins

I bought prunes at the store.

You bought what?!

I did. I bought prunes at the store. And I took them home.

I mean, sheesh. Once I saw that prunes were really just dried plums, I thought, I eat every other fruit dried, and plums are yummy, what's wrong with dried plums? Plus they are supposedly very good for you and all that. And I like things that are supposedly very good for me. 

I took a bite of said prune and did not quite know what to think. The verdict was still out on these prunes when I received the loveliest gift in the mail: it was a brand spanking new, shiny cobalt blue Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love all over again, and then I washed the thing off and immediately took it for a test run.

I wanted to make muffins. But not just any muffin -- a very healthy, wonderfully good for me muffin that I could grab as I run out the door for school in the morning, but that would make me feel strong and super-charged. Every little ingredient in this muffin would be working very hard to do its healthy work. There would be no slackers in this muffin. My morning can't afford slackers.

 

I wanted high fiber. Less sugar and fat. A nice dose of fruit. And maybe some heart-healthy antioxidants while I'm at it. Done, done, done, and done.

The prunes came back out of their box in the fridge. The bag of whole wheat flour opened. A juicy apple was grated. The flaxseed came out. Oats were poured. Applesauce was substituted for oil. Sugar was reduced to half. Maybe I should call these muffins super human muffins. I think I will. You will, too, once you taste their dense, chewy, hearty goodness for yourself. Maybe you'll even want to throw a handful of chopped walnuts in there or an extra dash of cinnamon. Go wild. It's your muffin. It's your day.

And as for the prunes, well, those little babies got all diced up until they were just squishy little nuggets of power-fruit, then baked into every bite. And what do you know, they're yummy! If prunes aren't your thing (or you simply don't have them around because you haven't been pregnant lately... which,  for that matter, neither have I), chop up some raisins or figs. It's all part of one happy nutritionally-charged family. 

Oh, and have a wonderful superhuman morning!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup white wheat flour (Trader Joe's makes a nice brand)
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. apple pie spice
1/2 t. cinnamon
3 T. flaxseed
pinch nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 small apple, grated (about 1 cup packed)
1 t. vanilla extract
8-10 prunes, finely chopped
1 t. molasses

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 and grease a muffin pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture in all at once. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling each about 2/3 full .Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove from cups and serve warm.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pancakes

  

 

There is quite possibly nothing more delicious that can happen before noon. 

I hear my mind wandering to other things.  

But...! It says. Once I had a....!  

Squeaks the corner of my brain, recalling a fresh-baked,
buttery croissant of breakfast past, or conjuring the taste
of a distant rich, smooth cup of coffee. 

Hush. Be still. 

There is quite possibly nothing more delicious that can happen before noon
than this. There is quite possibly nothing more delicious
than a frigid December morning, so cold that from here
I observe the crackled webs of ice
splayed wildly across the nearby windowpane. 

There is quite possibly nothing more delicious 

than knowing that nothing will call me out of pajamas all day.

There is quite possibly nothing more delicious
than the sweet aroma 

of cocoa and sugar as they dance
through the apartment. Nothing more comforting 

than when the silky, thick batter crackles instantly upon contact 

with the salty, buttered griddle. Then, it hisses slowly,
a relenting sigh, as small bubbles form on its surface.  

And finally, there is quite possibly nothing more delicious before noon 

than heaping forkfuls of dripping semi-sweet chocolate 

enveloped in soft, peanut butter laced dough. 

It's like a steaming chocolate chip cookie stolen
straight from the baking sheet, 

so fresh it's not yet formed and so it crumbles immediately
into a big, heaping mess of sweet doughy goodness right there on your tongue. 

Except that it's pancakes. And they're for breakfast. 

  If you think there's anything quite possibly more delicious, please let me know.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pancakes: Add to your favorite pancake batter or mix at least 2 T. of peanut butter, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth and fully incorporated, then fold in 1/2 cup swemi-sweet chocolate chips. Keep cooked pancakes warm in a 200-250 degree oven while you finish the entire batch. Enjoy melted, chocolate peanut butter goodness covered with hot maple syrup, warmed in the microwave.