Banana Nut Waffles
I make a lot of vegan recipes, yet I'm not vegan. Why? I think it's because I liked to be surprised by food. I love when a few ingredients can come together and taste almost identical to what it's like in its original form- kinda like this coleslaw that used cashews in place of mayo. It's pretty cool when things taste like other things like this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Salad that tasted like pizza! I also get pretty excited when I find a recipe that pleases the guys in my life like this Kale Coconut Salad with Sesame Oil. I've made that recipe at least 5 times since then.
What I hoped to get out of this recipe was a batch of healthier waffles using what I had in my pantry; I almost always jump at a recipe if I've got all the ingredients. What I didn't realize is that I'd get a batch of waffles that tasted like banana bread. Being a lover of banana bread, I was thrilled.
While I could only eat one for breakfast, Cooper ate two. Future professional food eating champ? We'll see...
Ad Hoc, Yountville
Earlier this week I showed you our pictures from The French Laundry and today I'm gonna give you a sneak peak of our Brunch at Ad Hoc (another EXCELLENT Thomas Keller restaurant in Yountville). We've been to Ad Hoc three times now and I think this particular menu has been my FAVORITE! Here's the deal about Ad Hoc-- everyday they post a new menu and you get exactly what they serve! It's family style. As in, they bring enough food for your party and you dish it out on your own plates. Three courses for $34 a person (for Brunch) was music to my ears after our fancy pants dinner at The French Laundry. The cool part is that you can get second helpings if you want! The portions are always plenty for the two of us so we've never asked, but I'm pretty sure I know a few people who would!
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Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
The idea of waking up to a batch of homemade gooey cinnamon rolls baking in the oven is extremely novel isn't it? It's straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting! The reality is that it takes time for dough to rise and cinnamon rolls to bake. Since I'm the chief baker in my house, this fantasy isn't going to happen unless I take the bull by the horns and make my own cream cheese cinnamon rolls. Amidst a busy weekend I carved out a nice chunk of time for this doughy adventure. I let the dough rise, spread cream cheese on it, folded the dough and slathered it with filling then rolled it up and made legit cinnamon rolls. I then put those rolls in the fridge overnight with plans to bake them the moment the sun came up. Let me tell you; it was a true test of patience.
Early the next morning I could hear a few small little Cooper yawns coming through the baby monitor. It's time! It was as if I was pregnant and my water broke and I was getting to ready to rush to the hospital. In reality I ran into the kitchen, turned on the oven and took the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge to sit on the counter and rise. Within a half hour I had the cinnamon rolls in the oven. I made my coffee and waited for Casey to wake up to the delicious smell of cinnamon rolls baking away. I waited and waited and then it dawned on me. This wasn't his fantasy. It was mine. After I glazed the cinnamon rolls, I brought him a bite in bed and within minutes he was up and eating cinnamon rolls with us in the kitchen. If I can get him out of bed on a weekend morning before 8am with one bite of a cinnamon roll, it's a true testament to how good they are. Now let's ignore the fact that I ate three of them that morning. OK?
Oh! We can cross off something else from my 31 comes before 32 list! #9. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch= DONE!
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Pan Roasted Asparagus with Fried Eggs
Do you balance your checkbook? I don't, but I do check my bank statement online at least three times a day. I also have a checkbook that I keep track of in my head of what I've eaten. This week I've made a few too many carb deposits. It's a simple/routine transaction. It's like going up to a drive-thru ATM. It's fast... in & out. To balance my carb indulgences this week, I made myself an asparagus based breakfast. There's a small, yet noteworthy appearance of carbs in this dish and we'll get to that soon. But LOOK! I didn't pair this fried egg with two pieces of sourdough toast like I normally would. Instead, you'll find a large section of green on my plate! I find that eating something green for breakfast makes me feel like I'm a rock star. Think Bon Jovi at a yoga retreat.
Anchovy bread crumbs. Let's discuss. It's one of those things that make you go hmmmm. If you're Italian, you might already know that the secret ingredient to most Italian dishes is ANCHOVY. Yes. Anchovy. It's not something that hits you in the face; it's subtle. It adds a salty component to a dish and adds some depth. It's what makes my Grandma's stuffed peppers amazing. But it's a secret. Don't tell her I told you that.
Here's an analogy for you. These anchovy breadcrumbs are like diamond earrings. They have the power to elevate an outfit and in this case, breakfast! When the runny egg oozes all over the asparagus you'll love the flavor packed crunch of the bread crumbs. Promise.
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Coconut Waffles with Maple Cream
Dear Joy,
I could send you a text but I'm much better at typing on a keyboard. You might already know this from my never-ending typos. I have big thumbs. We both have big hands. I'm telling the world this. It's true. Anyways HELLO! I took your advice. I didn't tell Casey that your Toasted Coconut Waffles were Gluten Free! He had no idea! He devoured one and then he proceeded to climb back into bed to sleep it off. You apparently invented amazing waffles that require slumber! Way to go! Honestly, I think he just wanted to dodge cleaning up my mess in the kitchen...and it worked. I'll have to try that when he makes me something to eat...which will be never. Wait. He does make rice... in the rice maker. I'm gonna collapse on our bed like one of those fainting goats when he makes his next batch. Watch me.
Coconut flour. You're right. It's pretty awesome. I mean...I know how much we looooove our coconut oil, but FLOUR?!! I think I might have tried a few tablespoons of it on its own. It's sweet, savory and not boring like regular flour. I'm thinking it could be a good substitute for the whole wheat flour in the Coconut Shrimp I made. Do you think that would work? Have you used it for that application yet? It was cool to see how it expanded in the batter. I was worried for 2.5 seconds and then BAM the batter was all pudding like. You know your stuff. I bet you have made many many MANY gluten-free people jump for JOY with this recipe. Do you get sick of that pun?
I was going to make my own apricot compote for the waffles, but I couldn't find my dried apricots! I think I used them all up in that late night batch of Apricot Pistachio Granola last week. I stood in front of my pantry for 10 minutes willing a bag of apricots to appear. It didn't work. Have you ever willed food to appear? Did it work? So I didn't have any apricots BUT I did have a banana and some dark chocolate. I sprinkled those both on top. YIKES. It was like dessert for breakfast! It required a glass of water but that didn't stop me from cleaning my plate.
Anyways, I like you & your taste buds. I also like that I can text you at 7:50am on a Sunday morning with a picture of my steaming waffle maker because I know you're already awake. Thanks for being a person who doesn't like to waste a Sunday morning.
Your bud,
Tracy
Strawberry Clafouti
My mom made a cherry clafouti for company when I was a little, and I've been smitten with the word *clafouti* ever since. Clafouti. CLAH- FOO-TEE. It's a fun word to say. Go ahead, try it. See what I mean? I wish I could tell you that I was an immediate fan of clafouti, but unfortunately I can't. When I was a kid, I wasn't keen on anything that tasted like egg. There was an incident at a Mexican restaurant involving FLAN that totally scarred me. Flan is not the dessert you want to eat on your 9th birthday while you're wearing an obligatory sombrero, trust me. So when I tried a hunk of clafouti expecting it to be like cake, I was truly disappointed! Through the maturing process I have learned the beauty of an eggy custard-like cake batter. Isn't growing up fun?
Those gorgeous strawberries I brought back from Driscoll's found a home in this simple Strawberry Clafouti recipe! The batter required a quick whirl in the blender, much like the Chocolate Dutch Baby I recently made and the strawberries get all roasted and gooey delicious like those dreamy Roasted Strawberries I posted. There's also no shortage of buttered crispy edges. I love crispy edges! And can we just take a moment for that beautiful spongy middle mixed with a crazy amount of sweet roasted strawberries? I've never made anything like it. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a hunk and you can call it breakfast. Or position a scoop of vanilla bean gelato on top and you can call it dessert! Clafouti. Keep saying it. CLA-FOU-TI!
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Chocolate Dutch Baby
Don't give me that look. It's perfectly acceptable to have chocolate for breakfast! Especially when you realize that the slice of powdered sugar dusted cake on my plate is actually a PANCAKE. It's a chocolate pancake, PEOPLE! And it takes absolutely no time to make! I was able to execute this recipe whilst getting ready for work, feeding Cooper, quieting an incessantly mewing cat, wrangling a diaper bag, taking pictures, sneaking in a few morning kisses with my husband, and cleaning up my kitchen on a weekday. Let me say that again- A WEEKDAY!! If that doesn't give you a hint of how easy it was, then I don't know what will!
All you need is a small group of ingredients, a blender, a medium sized cast iron skillet & a hot oven and you're just 20 minutes away from digging into a chocolate pancake for breakfast. Do you need syrup for this pancake? Heck NO! It's perfectly sweet with the combo of the powdered sugar & the strawberries. Isn't that fantastic? No syrup means you have one less thing to deal with in the morning! And yes...it does taste like a piece of really thin chocolate cake!
Apricot Pistachio Granola
Hi, my name is Tracy and I'm a granola addict. It's been 3 minutes since I ate my last handful of granola. I gave away as much as I could, but somehow a jar made its way onto my desk and I CANNOT close the lid. You too would have a hard time staying away if you had a chance to taste toasted coconut, roasted pistachios, walnuts, and oats covered in a spicy/sugary glaze mixed with a hint of salt. Did I mention there's olive oil in this granola?? I simply cannot be trusted with what's left of this jar. Someone please call for an intervention. I NEED IT. Continue reading→
