Autumn Spiced French Toast Recipe with Maple Butter Glaze • Gluten free, or not!

A couple of weeks ago our church did a Christmas pageant, in which French toast featured a prominent roll. One of the characters just went on and on and on about how much she loved French toast on Christmas morning, and although I haven't eaten French toast in years, suddenly I found myself with an irresistible craving for it. I think I haven't liked French toast in the past because it tends to be soggy and bland. This recipe is anything but! The spices really kick the flavor up a notch, and the milk to eggs ratio us just right, leaving these light and fluffy. And when you top it all with the maple butter glaze? Heavenly. A warm, melt in your mouth breakfast, perfect for a chilly autumn or winter morning.



Autumn Spice French Toast with Maple Butter Glaze
serves 2-3 (makes 4-6 slices)
double the recipe to feed more

this recipe is simple to make gluten-free - just substitute in gluten free bread. My new favorite is Udi's gluten-free white sandwich bread, but use whatever you like best.

ingredients
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4-6 pieces day old bread (you don't want it too moist, or the toast will get soggy in the middle), gluten-free or not
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons, or 1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup grade A maple syrup


1. In a medium sized bowl, combine 2 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Whisk to combine.

2. On medium heat, heat enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a nonstick pan. Dip a slice of bread into batter, coating each side, and fry in heated pan, 2-3 minutes on each side, until toast spring back when lightly touched in the center. Set aside and repeat.

3. For Maple Butter Glaze: Heat 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) and 1/4 cup grade A maple syrup in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat, and let cool. Pour into a serving vessel, or directly over toast. Enjoy!

Kefir Yogurt Smoothie with Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries

If you want to do something good for your body, you should eat (or drink!) cultured and fermented foods. Without getting into the gory details TOO much, your entire gut, from one end to the other, is supposed to be lined with "good" bacteria and microbes. These friendly passengers help break down the food you eat so it can be digested by your body. The thing is, sometimes "bad" bacteria can set up camp in your gut, and it can make you sick. If you don't have enough good bacteria, sometimes protein isn't broken down sufficiently before it gets into your blood stream, and then your body mistakes it for an invader, which can cause food allergies. (think about it, all the major allergens are proteins: nuts, milk casein, eggs, gluten, shellfish, etc.) Sometimes those bad bacteria release toxins, which can cause migraines, body aches, inflammation, fibromyalgia, etc. (and of you are a subscriber to the GAPS theory, it also contributes to autism, ADD, depression, eczema, etc.)


So if you want to do something really good for your body, you should eat (or drink!) cultured and fermented foods. These food replenish your gut with friendly helper bacteria (you can, and should, also take probiotics, but I've heard that probiotics only get down so far in the gut, and you need fermented and cultured foods to get all the way down). Some of these foods include the familiar sauerkraut, kosher pickles, yogurt, and buttermilk, and some of the less familiar include kombucha tea, kimchi, and kefir. I think one of the easiest ways to do this is to eat organic whole milk yogurt with nuts and honey mixed in, but I've heard that kefir, a sort of yogurt drink, has a much higher culture count and is that much better for you.






The thing is, kefir all by itself is kind of, well, yucky. It's just SO sour. And as a beverage, it's SO thick. The first time I decided to buy a bottle, it sat in my fridge untouched until I threw it out.

Now that is really a shame, because, like most foods, kefir just needs to be prepared properly to be delicious. If you treat it like an ingredient instead of a convenience food, it makes a lot more sense. I wouldn't eat a raw steak, a plain stick of butter, or an uncooked potato, and now I know I also don't want to drink plain kefir. Eat it plain, not so good. Prepare it well, and it's absolutely delicious.






Kefir Smoothie with Blackberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, and Strawberry
Makes 1 smoothie, double, triple etc. for more servings


You can, of course, use plain organic yogurt instead of kefir, but it is going to be thicker, so you will need to add a little juice or milk to get it to a liquid consistency. I am using Trader Joe's frozen berry mixture, but you can use whatever forzen berry mixture you want to, or any other frozen fruit. I do recommend you either go with frozen fruit or freeze whatever seasonal fruit you want to use. It's just a little strange drinking a warm smoothie!

The berries can be a bit tart, so I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoons honey to even out the flavor. You can also use agave necter or whatever other type of sweetener you prefer.



Ingredients
1 cup plain kefir
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1-2 tablespoons honey



in a blender, combine 1 cup plain kefir...




... and 1 cup frozen mixed berries.




Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons honey (I just give it a big squeeze).




blend on high, 2 - 3 minutes, serve.




enjoy!

Steel-Cut Maple Nut Toasted Irish Oatmeal

People, my HOUSE flooded. Flooded! We had a wonderfully wet week here in Southern California, and speaking as a resident of a drought-ridden land, we enjoyed every minute of it. There was much curling up with mugs of hot tea, lots of warm soups and stews, and there may even have been some wearing of warm socks and sweaters. It was deliciously wonderful. Until, of course, my house flooded. That was NOT wonderful. Not at ALL.

I live in an older home that was built in the 1930's, and in that time the house seems to have sunk into the ground a bit. And by a bit, I mean about 3 feet. So we live at the bottom of a charming little hill, a fact to which I never paid a second thought. After all, it only really rains about every 5 years here. Of course, we happened to have that once-in-five-years rainstorm this week, complete with lightning, thunder, hail, tornadoes, and of course, flooding. Because when the rain really started picking up one afternoon, I noticed a rather large puddle forming at the bottom of that charming hill, right before my front door. And as it continued to thunder down, that puddle began to grow at an alarming rate, until it came right up to the front door. And then to my horror, it started gushing under the front door, and the next think I knew the carpet was sopping wet from one end of the room to another. I was left helplessly trying to soak up the mess with towels while frantically texting Nate to GET THE HECK HOME RIGHT NOW and oh, BRING SANDBAGS.

So the rest of the week was spent sandbagging the front door, moving furniture around (and of course the most heavily laden bookcases would be in the flood zone, of course!), pulling up the carpet, drying said carpet with very powerful fans, and all the other boring details of flood damage recovery. And once the furniture was moved and the carpet was already up, it seemed like as good a time as any to paint the living room, so that's exactly what I did.

What does this have to do with oatmeal you ask? Exactly nothing. But it does explain the lack of posting, and if you have been wondering where I have been all week, well, that's it! And of course, there is nothing like a warm, hearty bowl of oatmeal to get you going on a cold wet morning, particularly if your house happens to have flooded recently, and you need an extra cup of comfort to help you cope with the hideous muddy mess. And also, can we keep this a secret between you and me? Pretty please? This oatmeal is ridiculously good for you. It's so healthy that it really ought to taste awful, but actually? It's delicious.





Toasted Maple Nut Steel-Cut Irish Oatmeal
• gluten-free • soy-free • casein-free • vegan
• Serves 1 - 2

This is one of those recipes that was created out of necessity (hello gluten-free casein-free soy-free vegan baby!), but then turned out tasting SO good that now it's our go-to recipe. I love this oatmeal so much that I have been eating it every single day for weeks now. It's nutty, rich, and delicious. And may I point out just how GOOD it is for you?

First, you have the whole grain goodness of steel-cut oats, with a wonderful chewy texture and none of that rolled oat mushiness. Whole grains have tons of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, etc. Then you have coconut oil which is wonderfully healthy for your heart, cholesterol, immunity, hair, skin, and nails, etc. (seriously, google it). Top that with almonds (rich source of vitamin E and cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats), pepitas (pumpkin seeds, which have iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, and zinc), and walnuts (also great for your heart, with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, folate, and vitamin E). Also? Tastes really good. REALLY. I promise.

This recipe is for one large serving, but I find that I have quite a bit more appetite for oatmeal than my husband does. So if you like a small serving of oatmeal, you may want to halve this or serve it for two. And if you are going to feed a crowd, double and triple to your heart's content!

Ingredients
1/2 cup steel-cut Irish oatmeal
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk, or soy-milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tbs virgin coconut oil (or butter)
1 tbs grade A maple syrup + more to taste
1 tbs oat bran (or other type of bran such as wheat)
1 tbs raw almonds
1 tbs raw pepitas
1 tbs walnuts





Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil.




Add 1/2 cup steel cut Irish oatmeal and...




...toast oats, stirring occasionally, 4 - 5 minutes.




Add 1/2 cup water (stand back! It will sizzle!) and...




...1/2 cup almond milk.




Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal is thick and grains are soft (the liquid tends to rise to the top, and the bottom can burn if you don't give it a stir now and then).




Remove oatmeal from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon oat bran...




... and 1 tablespoon grade A maple syrup. Stir well, until completely incorporated.




In a coffee grinder or mini food processor (or just eat them whole - I just love the taste and texture when they are ground up), grind 1 tablespoon almonds, 1 tablespoon pepitas, and 1 tablespoon walnuts.




Believe me, it's pretty fun. And it tastes good. Really, really good. I promise.




So tasty, in fact, it's hard to believe it's so good for you. Don't tell anyone. They'll never believe you.




Spoon oatmeal into serving bowl. Top with maple syrup to taste (I like about 1 glug, which I have very scientifically estimated to probably be about 1 tablespoon. Because I am precise like that). Top with nutty ground goodness. Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Blender Hollandaise Sauce with Tangerines and Lemon

I'm going to tease you with eggs benedict but not give you a recipe until tomorrow. Aren't I mean? I'm so mean. Watch me being so mean. Can I console you a hollandaise sauce recipe? Because you have to make hollandaise if you are going to make eggs benedict, right? See, there's a purpose to the meanness.

Hollandaise sauce makes me so happy. So lemony, so buttery, so velvety drizzled over asparagus or poached eggs. It's just, you know, such a hassle to make. And sometimes, it doesn't come out and it curdles. And it doesn't keep well, so you have to eat ALL of it or else throw it away. It's kind of a bummer.



Luckily we can have it when we have brunch at a fancy restaurant, right? WRONG. Honestly, you should never eat restaurant hollandaise sauce. Ever, ever. Just, go read Kitchen Confidential and you'll understand. Mmm. Bacteria soup. So healthful. (Sarcasm friends, in case you weren't sure).

All of that conspires together to mean that I only ever enjoy hollandaise sauce about once a year.

Until now.

This particular recipe is easy peasy. Seriously! All you need is a whisk and a blender. I have never made an easier hollandaise sauce, and it keeps like a dream. You know what that means? I CAN HAVE IT EVERY SINGLE DAY. Um, until it runs out I guess. But I have a container of it in my fridge right now, ready to be drizzled over my next poached egg on hot buttered toast (hallelujah!).

You better believe I am going to enjoy it.




Easy Peasy Hollandaise Sauce with Tangerines and Lemon
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living


Ingredients
5 tbs tangerine juice (from fresh, ripe tangerines, if possible.)
3 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs water
5 large eggs
1/4 tsp white wine vinegar (or other white vinegar)
salt
1.5 cups butter (3 sticks, or 3/4 lb), just melted

Stuff you Need
A wisk
a small sauce pan
a blender



Method


Take your 5 teaspoons of tangerine juice




And your 2 tablespoons of lemon juice Combine 5 tablespoons tangerine juice with 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small bowl.




Got your five eggs? Separate the yolks from the whites. I do this by straining them through my fingers. But do it however you like. And save those whites for an omelet or something. No need to be wasteful.




Combine five egg yolks in a small saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk constantly over VERY LOW HEAT (the lowest your burners will go), until yolks are frothy, and just starting to thicken. Remove from heat, and add 1/2 of the tangerine-lemon juice mixture to stop the cooking. Continue to whisk constantly.




Put the mixture into your blender, and add remaining juice mixture, 1/4 teaspoon vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Puree.




Reduce blender speed to low. In a slow stream, add three sticks of melted butter. If necessary, add butter in batches, pureeing on low between batches.




Drizzle over something yummy.




And look how well it stores! Still liquid and drizzleable, even when cold! See, I'm not really mean. I am so nice to you. You may now shower me with appreciation.


enjoy!

Lemon Curd Ebelskiver, or, Lemon Stuffed Pancakes

Did I mention that the simple girl cooks? Oh yes, she does. Part of why I cook is because I like to. It's fun. But another part of why I cook is because people need to eat. I know I do. I'm hungry. ALL THE TIME. Like, three times a day. And sometimes, more often than that.



Oh yeah, and cooking makes my life simpler. No really, it does! Home cooking means you have control over what goes into your body. YOU. Not the bored teenager picking their nose as they slave over a crackling french fry bin. Not the corporate giants with their pre-packaged processed food-like edible substances. Not the snooty gourmet person serving ridiculously overpriced tastes of food. To be honest, we hardly eat out anymore. Every time we do, we think "we could have made this at home. And it would have tasted better. And it would have cost less."

So, here's what's cookin!

Ebelskivit, which is fancy for Stuffed Pancakes. With Lemon. MMMMMmmm.

You will need the following:



Pancake Mix. I use Trader Joe's pancake mix. You can use whatever you want. Or you can be really fancy and make your pancakes from scratch. Whatever floats your boat.
Milk.
Oil.
Eggs.
Lemon Curd. I made my own at Christmas. But you can buy yours from the store. I promise it will still taste as good.
Lemons.
Powdered Sugar.

That's all! Can you tell I shop at Trader Joe's? And they're not even paying me for the publicity. I just like them.

Oh. You will also need this:



It's an Ebelskivit pan. I don't usually have pans that are JUST for one thing, but I like to think that this pan is useful for lots of things. Like lots of different kinds of ebelskevit. Also, I got it for Christmas, so I didn't buy it. Mine came from Williams & Sonoma, but I think you can also get them other places, like Bed Bath & Beyond. But if you don't have one, don't worry! You don't need to rush out and buy them. You can still make these in a flat pan and they will taste great. They just won't come out in fun little ball shapes.

First, preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Stick a cookie sheet in there. This is to keep your ebelskiver warm while you make the rest. Now mix up your pancake mix according to package direction. Actually, I never follow the package directions. But mix up some pancakes however you like them.

Now Heat up your pan. I heat mine on medium high, but I'm impatient. Put 1 spoonful of batter in each cup. Top with a little dollop of lemon curd, like this:

Repeat, until you have a whole pan full, like this:



Now top them off with another spoonful of batter. Mmmm. Now for the fun part. Once they look done around the edges, take two tooth-picks, or skewers, or forks, or whatever you have, and quickly flip them over.

They are done, when they are done. That is, the batter is cooked all the way through. Everyone knows when pancakes are done though. Pop they out of their little cups and put them on the cookie sheet in the oven. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.

Now for the glaze. THE GLAZE, you say? Of course! What's a pancake without syrup? Take a lemon. Cut it in half. Squeeze the juice out of it. This should equal 2-3 tbs.



Now add 1 cup of powdered sugar to it. Mmm. Whisk well.

Remove ebelskivers from the oven. Turn the oven off. Its job is done. Arrange tastefully on a serving plate. Or not. It's up to you. Brush generously with lemon glaze. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

I know I did.