Category Archives: Breakfast

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

I can’t help but think of my kids when they were little every time I bake banana bread. Both my son and my daughter loved it. They still do. I used to make it more often back then because it just seemed like a healthy snack that I knew they’d love. To make it easier for their little hands to eat, I’d always cut their slice into fingers; just strips about an inch wide so that they’d be able to pick it up easily. It’s a joke in our house. Anytime I ask if they’d like a slice, I quietly cut it into those fingers before sliding it in front of them. They both get the same nostalgic, sweet grin on their faces. It’s those moments when you wish time would just slow down already!

So, who knew talking about banana bread would get me so emotional?

This bread has changed over the years. Back then I made this only with all purpose flour, much more sugar and oil and didn’t use any spices. I think of this as my grown up banana bread! But no matter how grown up I am or my kids are…I’m still cutting it into fingers!

Banana Bread

1 C. all purpose flour
2/3 C. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 C. canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
3 T. vanilla yogurt
1 T. vanilla extract
4 bananas, mashed
1/2 C. walnuts, chopped
1 T. turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line one loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the oil, yogurt and vanilla extract. Add the banana and mix well.

Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture, add the walnuts and mix with a spoon just until combined.

Pour into the prepared loaf pan and if you’d like, I run a knife gently down the top of the loaf, then sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes.

Makes one loaf.

Notes:

  • I like to sprinkle that bit of turbinado sugar on top for a couple of reasons. Most banana bread recipes use 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Since I reduce the sugar in my recipe, I think the turbinado on the surface hits your tongue and kind of gives you that sweet crunch that satisfies your sweet tooth. Using the turbinado is optional, though. The bread is still delicious without it.
10 Replies

Belgian Waffles with Banana and Coconut Caramel Sauce

Belgian Waffles with Banana and Coconut Caramel Sauce

I’ve got a thing for waffles. My ideal waffle begins the moment the batter hits the hot waffle iron and that sweet smell fills the kitchen. It smells like a Sunday morning. The deep golden color screams crispy, but the interior is soft and airy. Over the years, we’ve made a lot of waffles in our house. I’ve found that separating your eggs and beating the whites to a fluffy soft peak will deliver that ideal waffle…and I’m going to share some tools I used to get you there!

I usually just use some maple syrup and sliced fresh fruit on my waffles, but today, I was in the mood to try something different. Caramel sauce has been one of those things I’ve messed up, trying to keep it light. I’ve experimented so many times using low-fat milk and omitting the butter. I’ve ended up with odd, lumpy, nasty goop that ends up in the trash. Since I keep buying a can of coconut milk nearly every time I go to the grocery store (it’s one of those things I always think I’m out of!), I figured it was worth a try. I have to be honest and tell you I really didn’t expect this to work…but, it is delicious! This caramel is not overly sweet and the flavor of coconut is much more subtle than you would imagine. It is just such a delicate caramel sauce. It would be delicious on a brick…really.

So, those tools I was telling you about…I was lucky enough to be chosen by OXO to test out some of their eggcellent gadgets! A box arrived with their Egg Beater, a 3-in-1 Egg Separator and a Flip & Fold Omelet Turner. All three of those tools made making these waffles easier…and fun! The Egg Separator is really neat. I kept saying, “This is so cooooooool!” while I was using it! It hooks to the side of the bowl and has an edge that cracks the egg perfectly. The yolk gets suspended while the whites easily drop into the bowl! I loved that the yolk comes out completely free of any whites at all…that never happens when you separate by hand. Then there’s the Egg Beater that works so smoothly. The gears were inspired by a fishing reel! And there’s a “bridge” that keeps the beater resting perfectly above the bottom of the bowl. It whipped up the egg whites into soft peaks so quickly and effortlessly! The last tool was the Omelet Turner, that I used to fold the whites into the batter. It cuts through so nicely. Its generous size helps do the job pretty quickly and easily. (See my Vine videos below!)

Belgian Waffles with Banana and Coconut Carmamel Sauce

Coconut Caramel Sauce
1 14 oz. can lite (not a typo…that’s how they spelled it on the can!) coconut milk
2/3 C. dark brown sugar
1/8 t. sea salt

Waffles
2 C. cake flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 C. sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/4 C. non-fat milk
1/4 C. non-fat plain Greek yogurt (I like Chobani)
1 T. vanilla extract
1/4 C. canola oil
canola oil spray for waffle iron
about 3 or 4 bananas, sliced just before serving
some flaked coconut for serving

Make the caramel sauce first so that it will have time to thicken up a bit. You can even make it the night before (or days before…it stores well in a jar in the fridge).

In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk, brown sugar and salt. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it. When it initially comes to a boil, it will rise a bit. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium or medium high. You want a light boil. Continue to boil lightly for 30 to 35 minutes. Stir occasionally. Once reduced to your desired thickness, remove from the heat and set aside to cool a bit before pouring into a glass jar. Store it in the fridge after using.

Preheat your waffle iron.

To prepare the waffles, start by combining your dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour through the sugar, then set aside.

Separate your eggs and put the whites in a medium mixing bowl and the yolks into a small bowl. Beat the whites to the soft peak stage, when the peaks just start to hold when you pull the whisk up out of the bowl. Set bowl aside.

In a large measuring cup or a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks. Add the milk, yogurt, vanilla and canola oil and beat until combined.

Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and using a whisk, beat gently just until combined. Once combined, use a large spatula or wooden spoon and fold the egg whites into the batter. Don’t try to work them in completely. Lumps of whites are just what you want.

Spray your waffle iron with the canola spray (or use a pastry brush with some oil). Pour a heaping 1/2 C. of batter onto the iron and close the lid. Cook according to your waffle iron directions. On mine…it’s done when the light goes out…but I tend to take a peek toward the end just in case.

To serve, slice some banana over the top, drizzle generously with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with a bit of coconut!

Makes about 8 Belgian Waffles

Coconut Caramel Sauce

Notes:

  • Use this recipe with a regular waffle iron too. Just follow the cooking directions for your iron.
Separating the egg and beating the whites to soft peaks.

Beating the wet ingredients, the batter and folding in the whites.

8 Replies

Armenian Easter Bread Rounds (Choereg)

Armenian Easter Bread Rounds (Choereg)

As soon as the yeast hits the warm milk and that wonderful smell rises up through the kitchen, I’m a little girl again. My Mom’s hands are mixing the flour, butter, eggs, milk and yeast in her giant pink and white glass Pyrex mixing bowl. When she made this bread, she made batch after batch…after batch. She made sure that everyone she knew got a loaf. Well, except for one Easter…

My Mom had a day-long marathon of choereg-baking. It was ridiculous, really. I have no idea how many batches she had made, but I can tell you that every square inch of our dining room table was covered in loaves and loaves of choereg all carefully wrapped in aluminum foil. When my Dad came in from work and saw the sea of bread, he decided to take us all out to our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner. We left Duke, our sweet, loyal and perpetually hungry Labrador home to guard the precious silver loaves. I was very young, but I do remember when we returned I was walking into the house behind my Mom. She was screaming about something. I can still picture the carpets, speckled with bits of silver confetti here and there…and really, everywhere. It was all over the house. Not one, truly, not one loaf of choereg was left. I have no idea how Duke survived that one. My sisters and I thought for sure that if 20 loaves of choereg didn’t kill him, my Mom certainly would.

You have seen this bread before on Taste Love & Nourish, but I wanted to change things up a bit for Easter. This recipe is slightly different from my original. It’s a bit lighter in texture, but still has that wonderful flavor from the mahleb (a Middle Eastern spice made from the seeds of sour cherry pits). It’s a warm and nutty flavor. You’ll love it.

Normally, choereg is a long braided loaf, but since I can’t seem to ever leave anything alone, I took my braided loaf, brought the ends together to make a braided round. I had no idea how they’d turn out…but I love the way they look!

With a bit of butter and your favorite jam, choereg makes breakfast (or anytime) feel special…whether it’s Easter or not. Maybe that was Duke’s problem. He just needed to feel special.

Armenian Easter Bread Rounds (Choereg)

1 C. milk
1 T. sugar
1 packet active dry yeast or 2 1/4 t.active dry yeast from a jar
1/2 C. butter (1 stick)
5 large eggs (+ 1 yolk for the egg wash)
3/4 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 T. ground mahleb
6 C. all purpose flour + 1/2 C. for kneading

In a 2 cup measuring cup, heat the milk in the microwave for a minute and a half. Stir in the sugar to dissolve, then the yeast. In a small bowl, microwave the butter until melted. Let both mixtures stand for 25 to 30 minutes.

In your largest mixing bowl, beat the 5 eggs, add the sugar, vanilla, mahleb, butter and milk mixture and whisk lightly to combine. Using a sturdy wooden spoon or your hands, mix in 6 cups of the flour until the dough starts to come together. The dough will be quite sticky at this point. Liberally cover your counter with the 1/2 cup of flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured counter and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until the dough has become elastic,smooth and just until it is no longer too sticky to work with. Depending on the weather, and if the moons are aligned, your dough may not need all of the flour on the counter.

Wash out the mixing bowl, dry it well, then butter the interior. Place the dough in the buttered bowl and cover it well with either plastic wrap or foil and top off with a dish towel. Keep the bowl in a draft free spot on your counter for 5 to 7 hours.

At this point the dough should be doubled in size. Turn it out onto your counter. I do not flour the surface unless it really needs it. If your dough is too sticky, you could probably use the tiniest amount of flour. The reason is, once it’s floured, it becomes really difficult to roll the dough out into ropes. Divide the dough into 3 equal loaves. Now divide each loaf into 3 equal parts. Roll each dough ball out into a rope measuring about 16 inches. Once rolled, braid the ropes and pinch each end a bit. Now, bring the ends together to form a circle and gently pinch the ends together. Repeat for the remaining two loaves. Place the loaves on a baking sheet (one without sides) greased with butter or vegetable oil. Cover the loaves with a towel and let sit for 20 to 25 minutes to rest.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with about 1/2 teaspoon of water to create an egg wash (the less water, the shinier the crust). Brush each loaf with the egg wash. Place the loaves into the oven and bake for about 25 to 28 minutes. Start checking around 20 minutes, since oven vary.

Once done, remove from the oven, place on a wire cooling rack and cool completely before wrapping.*

Makes 3 loaves

*Once wrapped, I do not recommend storing the loaves on your dining room table unattended. ;)

Choereg served with butter and jam.

Notes:

  • You can find mahleb at any Middle Eastern grocery store. If you can’t find it, go ahead and make the choereg without it. I’ve made it with just the vanilla extract and it is still delicious.
4 Replies

Cherry Almond Soda Bread (Vegan)

Cherry Almond Soda Bread

The first thing I want to do is apologize to anyone who is Irish. I took your soda bread and really messed with it…and I’m sorry. Well, I’m not really sorry. No disrespect, but this turned out really good. If you give it a chance, I know you’ll forgive me. The combination of cherry and almond is really nice. This is more of a sweet soda bread, not overly sweet, but it’s nice with some jam or just as is.

I’m not a vegan and I’m pretty sure I may never be. I like everything too much! But…I do like to experiment and eat healthy as much as I can. I wasn’t sure this recipe would turn out, but when it came out of the oven…well, take a peek at the photos below and you’ll see why I’ve gained weight writing this blog.

Cherry Almond Soda Bread (Vegan)

1 C. whole wheat flour
3/4 C. all purpose flour
1/4 C. almond meal
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 C. sugar
2 T. coconut oil
3/4 C. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 C. dried cherries
1/8 C. sliced almonds

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, almond meal, baking soda, salt and sugar. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, blend the coconut oil into the flour mixture until it becomes slightly crumbly. Add the almond milk and cherries. Stir with a rubber spatula until combined.

Drop the dough out onto the parchment and sprinkle the top with the sliced almonds. Using generously floured hands, form the dough into a round loaf.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes.

Cool slightly before devouring.

Notes:

  • You many not need this to be vegan or you may not have all of these ingredients on hand. You can omit the almond meal and just increase the all purpose flour to 1 cup. You may want to add a splash of almond extract for flavor. You can also use regular milk instead of almond milk and butter in place of the coconut oil.
4 Replies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

I’ve been eyeing some really cute bathing suits…and doing that just puts me in panic mode! I have to tell you, since I’ve started this blog, I’ve gained weight! Yes, my recipes are all healthy, but when you eat dinner for lunch (because daylight is best for food photography) then eat dinner for dinner, well, things start to get a bit pudgy. To make things even pudgier, I’ve been using that time I used to set aside for working out to cook. And of course, when there is cooking, there is eating!

So, I didn’t want to throw my body into shock or to feel deprived. I love sweets and crave them! This granola is the perfect healthy snack. Just be careful to grab a portion, close the lid and step away…or you may end up eating an entire jar of it! It’s addicting! Eat this just as it is as a snack, sprinkled on some yogurt (awesome with banana slices like in the photo below), in a small bowl with some milk or over some low fat ice cream.

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

1 T. coconut oil
2 T. chunky peanut butter (I use a natural peanut butter, see Notes)
2 C. rolled oats
1/4 C. golden flaxseed meal (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 egg white, beaten until frothy
1/2 C. dark brown sugar
1/4 C. mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

In a medium bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave for one minute on high. Remove from the microwave and mix in the peanut butter. The heat from the oil will melt the peanut butter. Add the oats and flaxseed meal and stir to coat. Add the beaten egg, stir again, then add the brown sugar and stir until completely coated.

Spread the granola on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring things up about halfway through.

Cool the granola on the baking sheet. When completely cooled, add the chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container.

 

Notes:

  • I stopped buying regular peanut butter about a year ago. Just read the label. It’ll make you want to stop too! There are so many additives like hydrogenated fats, salt and sugar. And forget those “low fat” peanut butters. They are even worse as far as additives go. Look for natural peanut butter and compare labels. Some people say they don’t like the taste of the natural kind. My family said that too when I first started using it. Now, they are so used to it, they actually prefer it.
  • I use some coconut oil in this recipe for several reasons. It’s said to help raise your good cholesterol, it can help us lose weight because it metabolizes differently than other fats, it can help to stabilize our blood sugar and can also strengthen our immune system. It is high in saturated fat, but when limited to 2 to 3 tablespoons a day, it can be beneficial.
  • Flax is a great source of omega-3′s, fiber and has antioxidant qualities. Store flaxseed meal in the refrigerator or the freezer.
  • If you love granola as much as I do, you may also like this version!
Vanilla Yogurt Topped With Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola and Banana Slices
4 Replies