Recipe: Bread Pudding with Orange Marmalade Glaze

This is a great brunch dish in place of French Toast, muffins, or pastries - the marmalade glaze pairs perfectly with both sweet and savory dishes, as well as late winter flavors.

Ingredients:

4 large, thick slices of freshly baked bread - a white country loaf is delicious

2 tablespoons of butter, softened to room temperature

1.5 cups of milk

1.5 cups of cream

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

6 large eggs

2/3 cup of sugar

4 tablespoons of your favorite marmalade


Lightly butter a rectangular baking pan, then spread the remaining butter on the slices of bread and cut the pieces in half.  Place the slices in the baking pan.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  When the mixture reaches a strong simmer (do not let it get to a boil), turn off the heat and set aside.

 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then, whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and cream mixture.  Once combined, pour the ingredients over the bread and allow to soak for twenty minutes.  While the bread is soaking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the custard is just set.

Meanwhile, gently warm the marmalade in a small saucepan.  Brush the warm marmalade over the just set bread pudding, and stick the dish back in the oven for approximately 7 minutes, until it has a nice sheen.  Allow to cool slightly before serving. 

Recipe: Blackberry Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 ounces of olive oil
1 egg
4 ounces of vanilla kefir or filmjölk - we like Siggi's (you could also use plain kefir with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and an extra teaspoon of sugar)
1 cup of fresh blackberries

Combine the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly.

Pour into a well greased baking dish and add the blackberries in a single layer.

 Bake for approximately thirty to forty minutes, until a knife or skewer tests clean.

Recipe: Breakfast Bowl

On weekends when we want to enjoy a quick but filling breakfast, we turn to this breakfast bowl with its perfect mix of sweet and savory.

Ingredients:
1 pack instant oatmeal - maple flavored
1 egg
salsa of choice
avocado

Prepare oatmeal according to the directions on the packaging.

Fry the egg over easy and add on top of the oatmeal.

Scoop 3 tablespoons of salsa onto the top.

Add some slices of avocado.

Serves one.

Note - if you are making this for a group of people it's easier to cook up a pot of oatmeal on the stove and keep it warm while frying up the eggs.

Recipe: Breakfast Tacos

This is a simple and well balanced recipe, easy enough to make during the week, but delicious enough for a weekend breakfast.

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas
4 eggs
2 oz. jack cheese, grated
1 lb. baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 an avocado
2 tablespoons salsa
olive oil for cooking
salt to taste

Turn on the broiler, and after it's preheated for a few minutes, stick the tortillas with the cheese on top under the heat.  Let them broil until the cheese is just melted - about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté the spinach in a little olive oil over medium heat, until wilted.

Fry the eggs to your desired firmness, salting to taste.

Dice and salt the avocado.

To assemble, layer the cheesy tortilla, spinach, egg, diced avocado, then salsa.

Serves 2.

Foodie Favorite: Bacon Waffles at Log Cabin

We are huge bacon fans, so when we saw a bacon waffle on the menu at the Log Cabin in King's Beach, Lake Tahoe, we knew we had to try it. The perfect combination of savory and sweet, it had generously-sized bacon pieces mixed into the waffle batter. Topped with butter and real maple syrup, it's the perfect day-after-snowboarding meal. We will be attempting to recreate this at home...

Recipe: English Muffins Two Ways

This is a simple breakfast idea for one or two, or more.  One half of the muffin is savory, and the other is sweet.

Ingredients:

1 English muffin per person, we like Rudi's Whole Grain Wheat English Muffins
1/2 an avocado per person
The juice of 1/2 a lemon
A splash of olive oil
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of almond butter per person
1/2 a sliced banana per person
Honey to taste

Toast the English Muffin to your preference.

In a bowl, mash the avocado with the lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt.  Spread on one half of the English muffin.

Spread the almond butter on the other half, then top with sliced banana and honey.  Enjoy!

Foodie Favorite: The Breakfast Sandwich at Free Range LA

While it's always tough to choose between the many amazing offerings at Free Range LA's Melrose Place Farmer's Market booth, we have a soft spot for their breakfast sandwich.  Served on a freshly baked biscuit, this sandwich features an egg, plenty of cheddar cheese, fresh herbs, and, most importantly, candied bacon.  The sandwich is the perfect blend of decadence, salt, and sweet. 

Foodie Favorite: Cajun Omelette at Howards Station Cafe

Located directly on the Bohemian Highway in Occidental, Howards Station Cafe is exactly what we look for in the perfect breakfast spot: amazing flavors, organic local seasonal ingredients and a casual atmosphere.

On a recent trip we had the Spicy Cajun Omelette (sausage, grilled red onions, tomato, cheddar and jalapeños, topped with avocado) served with potatoes and a biscuit, with a latte added. The biscuit came with homemade raspberry jam, and provided the perfect bit of sweetness to our savory omelette.

Foodie Favorite: Black Kale, Onion & Goat Cheese Frittata at Little Dom's

We love Little Dom's. Not only is the food fantastic, it's a cute space as well. We went
there recently for breakfast and had an amazing black kale, onion and goat cheese frittata.
Here's how to recreate it at home:

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/3 cup goat cheese
1/3 of a yellow onion, sliced
2 large black kale leaves (sweeter than curly leaf kale), cut into strips
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
watercress salad for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a frittata pan, then add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the kale and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, and add to the frittata pan. Sprinkle in the goat cheese, and cook for 6 minutes.
Flip the pan, and cook for an additional 7 minutes.

Plate and serve with a watercress salad garnish.

Serves 2.

Recipe: Herb Poached Eggs in Pouches

Poached eggs may seem intimidating to make at home - better to order out as part of Eggs Benedict or something similar - but they are actually quite simple if you follow this method.  Not only does it take away the worry of the egg breaking, and the fuss of moving the water and watching the progress too closely, but it allows you to poach the eggs with the herbs already inside, creating a very pretty effect.

To begin, tear off squares of plastic wrap, and place them in a small bowl.  Break one egg into each plastic lined bowl, and add salt, pepper, and chopped herbs - you can use whatever combination you like, but chopped tarragon, dill, and chives would all be delicious, as is a touch of finely diced red chiles for a kick.

Twist up the four corners of the plastic, until the eggs and their seasonings are each in individual pouches.

Bring a pot of water that will accommodate your eggs side by side, and just cover them, almost to a simmer.  Lower the heat so that the water doesn't bubble at all, and then drop in the eggs in their pouches - taking care to make sure that the water stays hot, but never reaches a full simmer or boil.  Poach about 3-5 minutes for a softer poach, and 6-8 for a firmer one (cooking time will vary depending on the size of the eggs and how many are in the pot - 3 minutes would be sufficient for 2 softer eggs, but you may need up to 8 for 4 firmer ones).

Remove the eggs from the plastic and serve as desired - we added smoked salmon, boiled asparagus, and buttered English muffins to the dish.  The garnish was simply melted butter with lemon juice and more chopped herbs.