Health in a Bowl

One of our favorite breakfast selections at Corner Bakery is their Swiss Oatmeal. After a satisfying bowl,   we don't feel bogged down, our mind is clear and most importantly we feel like we have consumed good, clean-food. Here is our copycat recipe:

For 2 servings

1 6 ounce container fat free vanilla yogurt (we used Cascade Farms fruit sweetened). 

1/2 cup quick cook Irish Oats

1/2 cup soy milk, plus extra to use before serving

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract

2 tablespoons dried currants (or you could chop up raisins)

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds

2 tablespoons chopped green apple skin-on

2 tablespoons chopped banana

(you can make this what you want-we just stuck to the original CB recipe)

The night before:

In a medium bowl, add the vanilla yogurt, vanilla, dried currants, and 1/2 cup soy milk. Stir to combine - then add the oatmeal. Stir again, cover w/plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. 

Before serving the next day add a couple of tablespoons soy milk to the oatmeal mixture and stir. It should look like thick pudding. Add the cranberries, banana, and apple. Mix in.

Place in 2 serving bowls. Top with toasted almonds. You may want to garnish as we did in the photo below. We like the natural sweetness of the fruit, but you may want to drizzle some honey on top if you like a lot of sweet. This recipe is served cold-uncooked.

You know we are crazy about taking the best care of ourselves that we can. We mix it up a little on the weekends, but we can afford to because our normal regime observes a healthy lifestyle.

Live a life that is well spent! Not tomorrow...today? Why not! Take care of your beautiful self!

This Swiss oatmeal is loosely based on Muesli, the popular European breakfast cereal. It's raw and chock full of whole grains, nuts, seeds, and fruits. The originator was a Swiss physician, Maximilian Bircher-Benner in 1900. He created it for his ailing patients with great success. Sound familiar? That's how our breakfast cereals came into being too. We've veered a little away from that concept though here in America. Muesli and Swiss oatmeal are full of complex carbs, fiber, fresh or dried fruit, yogurt/dairy, seeds and nuts, all having heart healthy benefits. It's a choice, your choice, choose wisely, eat wisely, my loves.

Christmas Breakfast

Misshapen, rustic, heavenly, Christmas Breakfast Cinnamon Rolls. These are worth the little bit of time it takes to make them. We only make these once a year at Christmas. It's just too hard to work off the extra pounds, it will be lots of veggies and clean eating beginning tomorrow! Beware these cinnamon rolls are really delicious with their light ethereal texture and cream cheese frosting. Just luscious!

Here's the recipe: (makes 2 round cake pans~ each pan serves 6-8)

The Dough Ingredients

2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each packet)

1/4 cup warm water (between 110 and 115 degrees)

1 1/2 cups warm evaporated milk

1 stick butter-or 1/2 cup, softened (you will need butter to grease the pans too)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

6 cups all purpose unbleached flour

To begin~

1. In a small bowl, place the warm water and 2 packets yeast. It will get foamy in a few minutes, meanwhile go on to the next step.

2. Put a 2 cup measuring full of water in the microwave and heat for 5 minutes. This is where your dough will rise.

3. In the work bowl of a stand mixer, add the 3 eggs, warm evaporated milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Mix until the ingredients are combined.

4. Add the foamy yeast scraping out all the bits that cling to the bowl.

5. Add the 6 cups flour. Mix for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is smooth.

6. Scrape the very soft dough into a pre-oiled large bowl (use canola). Cover with plastic wrap and place in the pre-warmed microwave. Note: Do not turn the microwave on with the dough in it, this is just a warm place to allow the dough to rise.

**It will take 1 1/2 hours for the dough to rise.

7. Prep for next step. Make a cinnamon filling:

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 packed tablespoons brown sugar

1 stick softened butter

5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

canola oil

1. Spread 3 tablespoons canola oil over the inside surface of a jelly roll/cookie sheet with edges.

2. Punch down the risen dough, and place 1/2 of the dough on the oiled cookie sheet.

3. Using your finger tips, press the dough over the surface of the pan, like you would pizza dough. It will relax and hold it's shape as you go. (the very edges may pull in, that's okay)

4. When the dough is pressed over the surface of the pan, then spread the surface with 2-3 tablespoons very soft butter.

5. Sprinkle the buttered dough with cinnamon sugar.

6. Beginning at the bottom corner of the dough lengthwise, gently roll the dough~go from one side across and continue moving up until you have a long roll.

7. Gently cut into 2 inch pieces with a sharp knife.

8. Place in buttered cake pans, I use high sided 9 inch cake pans.

9. Cover with plastic and begin the rising process same as before in the microwave.

In one hour, pre-heat your over to 350 degrees. Your cinnamon rolls will be ready to bake, remove the plastic and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove from oven to cool!

Cream Cheese Frosting.

6 tablespoons butter, softened room temperature butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 small 3 ounce cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk ~ you may need more or less

To begin:

Place all the above ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or mixer. Combine until creamy. Spread over the top of the warm cinnamon rolls.

Serve

Chocolatine

This is a charming little French restaurant named, Chocolatine! Located on T.O. Blvd in T.O, it has lots of character and quaintness. Let's just get away from all the hub-bub and put it all on simmer and enjoy the pleasure of each other's company.
Good strong coffee!
French pastries made right on the premises.

Nutella crepes.
Vanilla and pistachio macarons

A peek inside.
The bill

Tartine, San Francisco, California

One weekend several years ago we drove feverishly through San Francisco trying to find Tartine Bakery. We never could find it! We gave up and moved on to the next place on our list of places to visit. It haunted us that this great bakery could be so hard to find. Last week, one of our "foodie" coworkers dropped off a Tartine postcard and announced everything they had was "devine".

So we post to those of you who read our blog and live close to the Bay Area, please go and try Tartine. There are 2 locations. 600 Guerrero St at 18th, and 561 Valencia Street in San Francisco. Elisabeth Prueitt and her husband, Chad Robertson are the proprietors. They are well travelled and both trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. They bake their rustic breads in a wood fired brick oven. They have lots of accolades and are found in the "Best Of" San Francisco. We have their first cookbook and intend to put it to good use until our next visit up north.

Most products are organic, meats come from Niman Ranch, the coffee is organic, from Four Barrel, and most dairy comes from Straus Family Creamery, which is huge in the food movement in the Bay Area.

~Look at the lovely rustic crust on these slices of country bread~
~The crumb is just right and this bread appears to be studded with nuts~

~Elisabeth is an award winning pastry chef~

~Elisabeth and Chad~

~Views of Bar Tartine~

561 Valencia Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 487-1600

Toast

~One of the best toasts~Brioche~

We've had a craving at Beckwith Road for a slice of "real toast". We pulled out our "Bouchon" cookbook, Thomas Keller was consulted and we spent the day making brioche bread. Can you believe there are videos that tell you how to make toast? What is a good piece of toast without a great slice of bread?? Thomas Keller's recipe for brioche is on page 324, if you want to give it a try; otherwise head to the best bakery you have in your area and have them slice the bread just the way you like it. I love all the curly corners, the crumb, the flavor, of brioche, it's got it all going on. When we were in Napa last, our hotel breakfast was supplied by Bouchon Bakery. We could not get enough of the cranberry, pistachio mini brioche. They were divine! One or two might have made their way into our purses for a midnight nibble.

We paired our perfectly toasted bread with individual frittata. There are many recipes for frittata, including Martha Stewart. Essentially a frittata utilizes leftovers, or not, is egg based, may or may not have cheese in it and contains things like herbs, potatoes or pasta, sun dried tomatoes, garlic or onions, garden vegetables, meats, etc. Since they can be served at room temperature fritatta take the stress out of trying to get everything to the table "hot".

Summer Lovin Tart

~Tomato Parmesan Summer Tart~

~The key ingredients~

Tomatoes from the garden, grated Parmesan cheese, Gruyere cheese, Pancetta bits, cream and butter.

~Recipe~

This recipe calls for 4 large tomatoes. The first step is to salt the tomatoes with aprox. 1 teaspoon of salt. I lay them on paper towels on a cookie sheet. The salt will season the tomatoes and cause the juices to release from the tomato slices so that your tart will not be soggy. Now you can proceed with your recipe.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

1 cup AP (all purpose) flour

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

3-4 tablespoons ice water

1 tart pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I use my Cuisinart to make the dough. I put the flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper in the work bowl. Give it a quick whirl. Add the butter bits, and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the ice water ( I used all 4 tablespoons). Run the Cuisinart until the dough just comes together. Stop and remove from the work bowl of the processor. Press the dough into the tart pan. Keep your fingers floured as you go. I start with the edges first and work my way in to the center. Prick with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes or until the shell is a light golden color. Remove from the oven and add the filling. Return to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the top has a light golden crust. Serve with a green salad.

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

4 tomatoes, that were already salted and drained of their juices.

2 ounces Pancetta bits, sauteed in a dash of olive oil. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels when they are crisp and golden brown.

1 small onion, thinly sliced and sauteed until translucent in the same pan the Pancetta was cooked in.

2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, roughly minced

1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded.

2 Large eggs

3/4 cup cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

dash cayenne

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Whisk these ingredients together, eggs, cream, salt, pepper, cayenne, parmesan. Set aside.

To Assemble:

Add Pancetta bits to the precooked crust. Add onions. Add tomatoes spacing to cover the bottom. Add basil. Cover tomatoes with a light layer of Gruyere cheese. Top with the custard filling and bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Cinnamon Rolls In A Snap!

Quick, Simple, Instant Gratification!

I made an Apricot Tart a few days ago. As you may or may not know, the Pepperidge Farms puff pastry comes with 2 separate sheets of dough. I had already used one sheet for the tart. The other one was just hanging around and in the back of my mind~ I knew I needed to use it up. It's Sunday am and I'd like to give the fam a quick~nothing says loving like something from the oven treat. First thing, I turned the oven on to 375 degrees. I grabbed the said puff pastry, some cinnamon, sugar, butter & toasted, sliced almonds. I unrolled the puff pastry, lightly spread room temperature butter over the dough. A light sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon and then a scattering of almonds. Rolled it up~tightly. Grabbed my cookie sheet, plopped a Silpat liner on it. I sliced up the puff pastry roll into 1 inch slices. This gave me 12 pieces. I spread them out on the sheet, slid them into the oven and in about 15 minutes, I had wonder of wonders, cookie size cinnamon rolls with caramelized bottoms (from the sugar). Delightful! Just to top it off, I placed 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons room temp. butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1-2 tablespoons cream into a small bowl, whisked it up and spread it lightly upon the toasty surface of the cooling rolls. When you bite into these treats, they are crispy, light, delicately flavored treats. You won't feel like you have a stone in your tummy afterwards. Well unless you ate them all!

Apricot Jam

~Apricot Jam~

Soon the dilemma of what to do with all these apricots will be over. These seasonal stone fruit with velvety skin and a soft, fleshy, sweet interior has kept me on my toes to make sure they don't go to waste. My solution now is to can some jam. I researched recipes and decided that a variation of David Liebovitz's would be best. There isn't much pectin in apricots so, I am using liquid fruit pectin to make sure the jam sets well.

~Finished Product~

7 cups fresh apricot chunky puree (I removed the skin by blanching the apricots in boiling water for a couple of minutes and dropping them into a cold water bath~the skin slides off~beware not to overcook though or you will have mush)

6 cups granulated sugar~ use more or less than this depending upon the sweetness of your fruit

7 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1-3 ounce packet of liquid pectin~made by Ball

12-half pint canning jars

Note: you could make 1/2 or 1/4 of this recipe and store in the fridge if you don't want to do the full-on canning process. I did follow the USDA canning guidelines which can be found online.

1. Place the skinned apricots in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse into a rough chop. Pour into a large stockpot or canning pot. Continue until all the apricots are chopped.

2. Add the remaining ingredients. Cover the pot and cook until the apricots come to a rolling boil. At this point make sure your heat is no higher than medium-high so the contents at the bottom of the pan do not burn. Stir occasionally. Cook, uncovered~skimming any foam that rises to the top to ensure the jam is clear. After a period of time, the jam will begin to thicken and reduce down. The color will darken, and when the jam is at 220, drop a dab of jam on a small plate and place in the freezer for a few minutes. Now check to see if your jam has thickened to the right consistency, if not continue to cook it until you have the results you are seeking. At this point, I added a split vanilla bean to my jam.

3. Remove from heat and package or store in containers. Follow USDA canning guidelines or place in containers to refrigerate.

~Every summer canning was a part of our family life. Peaches were probably our family favorite. It is always comforting to hear the ping from the jam jars as they cool, letting me know they are sealed properly. We use lots of apricot jam throughout the year. It makes a great base to dip egg rolls into. By just adding a small amount of Asian sesame oil and soy sauce to the apricot jam you have a lovely dipping sauce. A jar could also be reheated with finely diced jalapeno pepper and then cooled and poured over a block of cream cheese for a treat to eat with Wheat Thins or favorite crackers.~

Sugar & Cinnamon Krispies

~Simply Delightful Morsels for Coffee or Tea~

Recipe:

8 slices white bread, crusts removed and sliced in half to form a triangle.

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or use a Silpat.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. For an additional flavor boost, use vanilla sugar-made by storing a vanilla bean in several cups of sugar for a few days.

Brush the bread triangles with melted butter. Lightly dredge them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place each sugared bread on a prepared cookie sheet.

Place in 325 degrees oven for 10 minutes. Remove the Krispies from the oven, turn them oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and eat right away or store in an airtight container. These are delicious dipped in coffee or tea!

As small children living in Iowa, we were frequently served a variation of this recipe from our mom's farm kitchen - it might be just one side of the bread buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and broiled in the oven to delicious perfection. She could make wonderful treats using bread as a base~brown sugar & butter sandwiches or radishes & salt on buttered bread or tomatoes, salt & mayo sandwiches or sliced cucumber sprinkled with salt on buttered bread. These were frequent offerings in the summer when the our garden was at it's peak of production. She found the most creative ways to use everything!

This recipe was inspired from a similar one found on Orangette Blog.

Peach Pancakes for Fathers Day

Phyllis B's Famous Peach Pancakes

aka. Mom, Gram, Sister, #44

~She will always be remembered for her famous peach pancakes.~

~List of Ingredients~

6 Ripe Peaches

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can whipped cream (the point and spray kind)

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and carefully drop in the fresh peaches. Let them sit in the hot water for 2-3 minutes. Test one of the peaches by dropping it in a cold water bath~making sure the skin slips easily from the peach. Remove the remaining peaches if they are ready to skin. (don't overcook~this will just take a couple of minutes) dropping them in a cold water bath. Remove the skin and slice each peach into bite sized slices. If any juice lands on your cutting board, add that to the peaches. As you are cutting up the peaches, place them in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of the water to the peaches, and with the other 1/2 cup water, add 2 tablespoons corn starch and mix well~set cornstarch mixture aside. Add 1 cup sugar (less or more depending on peach ripeness) to the peaches. Place the pan full of peaches on the stove over medium heat. The peaches will release some of their juices as they cook. Cook on medium to medium high for 4-5 minutes. Remove the pan of peaches from the heat source and stir in the cornstarch mixture~being careful not to break up the peach slices if you can. Place the peaches back on the stove and gently stir 2-3 minutes longer until the juices begin to thicken to a syrup consistency. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and place the peach topping in a serving bowl.

Now whip up a batch of your favorite pancakes.

Top with warm peaches.

Top peaches with a fluffy mound of whipped cream.

Serve to raves!

As an homage to the famous Phyllis B, I cooked these pancakes in her cast iron skillet just as she had when we were little. Then when she was able to purchase an electric griddle, she would make scores of pancakes at one time.

It's Not Breakfast, It's Not Lunch, It's Brunch!

Relaxing weekends, great friends and family, delicious food

HEAVENLY!

Eggs in Puff Pastry

Little filled treats!

1 package frozen puff pastry, THAWED (leave overnight in fridge)

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated-plus more for topping

3 eggs

1-cup cream

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Dash cayenne

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 medium onion or 2 shallots, peeled and diced (1/4 inch)

1/2 red bell pepper, diced (1/4 inch) save the other half for potatoes

6-7 slices smoky bacon, slice into 1/2 inch pieces (this is done by stacking and slicing all together) It will seperate with the heat in your skillet as you begin to stir it.

10-Asparagus spears, use tips and tender tops cut into 1/2 inch pieces. 

YOU CAN USE WHATEVER VEGETABLES AND MEATS YOU PREFER. CANADIAN BACON, SAUSAGE, ARTICHOKES, MUSHROOM, PLAIN, ETC. You are in the drivers seat.

To Begin:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Prep  12-cup regular muffin pan by spraying it with vegetable spray. 

In a large skillet cook bacon.When the bacon is almost done add the onion, bell pepper and asparagus. Cook until all the vegetables are cooked, but still colorful. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Set aside to drain on paper towel.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with  a whisk, add milk, cream, flour, salt, pepper and cayenne. When combined, add Parmesan cheese.

You are now ready to roll out the puff pastry. Grab your rolling pin and lightly flour a countertop or pastry board. Remove one of the puff pastry sheets and lay it on the floured surface. Lightly dust the top of the pastry too before you roll it (just a little) into a square. If you use Trader Joe's puff pastry, it is in a square ready to go. Now cut dough in 1/2 and then each 1/2 into 1/2 again. You will have 4 equal squares. Repeat with the other sheet of pastry. (you will have 8 squares total) Ease each piece of pastry into the prepared muffin tin. Don't poke or it may tear, just lift by the corners and ease it in. Let the edges hang over for now. 

Next, fill each muffin space with a heaping spoonful of the bacon/vegetable mixture. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheese and pour the egg mixture over the top of each. Bring the pastry corners to the center and pinch. Brush tops with some of the egg filling and generously sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining squares.  Any leftover filling can be baked in custard cups. 

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. 

Serves 6. Serve with O'Brien Potatoes

O'Brien Potatoes (we have an O'Brien in our family)

2 pounds white rose, red or Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and each pierced with a knife.

1 medium onion or 2 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced 1/2 inch

salt, pepper to taste

Dash cayenne

2-4 Tablespoons Canola oil

2 Tablespoons butter

2-3 Tablespoons chopped parsley

To begin:

Place potatoes in a microwave oven and cook 3 minutes. Stop, turn the potatoes over and continue for 3 more minutes. Larger potatoes may take 10+ minutes. Remove potatoes as they  

become tender when pressed upon. Don't overcook!

Meanwhile, heat saute pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add onions and cook until they are soft and caramelized. Press the oil from the onions as you remove them to drain on a paper towel. Add bell peppers to saute pan and cook until they are soft, remove and add to onions. 

Cut softened potatoes into bite size pieces. Place more oil and butter in saute pan. Add potatoes. Place a lid on top and cook until all the surfaces are toasty and golden, turning every few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and dash cayenne. (At this point you can make this dish ahead) When ready to serve warm the potatoes, stir in the onion and bell pepper. Top with parsley and serve. Enjoy!

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, " What's the first thing you say to yourself?" " What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today? said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said." A.Milne, "The House at Pooh Corner"