Gingerbread Waffles

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 to 5 large Belgian waffles

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/3 cups milk, warmed to room temperature
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups (290g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• Melted butter or cooking spray for coating the waffle iron.
• Powdered sugar for serving (optional)

Special Equipment:

• Waffle iron

METHOD

1 Make the waffle batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, and egg until everything is well incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt together.

Gradually mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. (I usually pour half of the flour into the wet ingredients and stir until the flour is absorbed before adding the rest of the flour.) Mix until you no longer see streaks of flour. Small lumps are okay.

2 Let the batter rest as you preheat your Belgian waffle iron to medium-high. Warm the waffle iron for at least 5 minutes, or until a drop of water sizzles on contact with the griddle.

3 Make the waffles: Brush melted butter onto the waffle iron or coat with cooking spray. Scoop 2/3 to 3/4 cup of the batter into the waffle iron and use the bottom of the cup to spread the batter around into the edges. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or according to your waffle maker's instructions, until the waffles are golden brown on the outside. Remove the waffle from the iron with tongs or a fork and place on a cooling rack.

Cook the remaining waffles and serve immediately. Sprinkle waffles with powdered sugar, if you like, or serve with whipped cream and maple syrup.

Peanut butter, banana and chocolate baked oatmeal

Ingredients

• 4 cups old fashioned oats, gluten free certified if necessary
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tsp chia seeds (optional)
• 2⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 mashed bananas
• ½ cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Optional toppings: sliced banana, coconut whipped cream, ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium sized bowl and mix.
2. In a large bowl, add the almond milk, sugar, vanilla, maple syrup and lemon juice and mix together. Next add the mashed bananas and peanut butter and carefully beat with an electric mixer until bananas and peanut butter are evenly incorporated.
3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Add in chocolate chips. Pour mixture into a greased 9"x13" baking dish and shake dish or use a spoon to make sure everything is evenly spread out. Bake oatmeal for 20-25 minutes, until set. Can be served immediately or re-heated each morning. Oatmeal bake will last for about 5-7 days in the refrigerator.

Gluten-Free Banana Oat Pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 small bananas (9.5 ounces), mashed
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1 small lemon, juiced)
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oat flour*
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil (or butter), lemon juice and honey (or maple syrup).
2. Beat in the eggs. (If your coconut oil goes back to its solid state like mine did at this point, just warm the mixture for short 20 second bursts in the microwave, stirring between each, until it is melted again.)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
4. Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. With a big spoon, stir just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Do not overmix!
5. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes. You may want to thin out the batter a bit with a touch of milk or water.
6. Heat a heavy cast iron skillet/non-stick pan over medium-low heat, or heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil the surface with coconut oil, butter or cooking spray. (If you're using a non-stick electric griddle, you might not need any oil at all.)
7. Once the surface of the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on it, pour ¼ cup of batter onto the pan. Let the pancake cook for about 3 minutes, until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cake.
8. Once the underside of the pancake is lightly golden, flip it with a spatula and cook for another 90 seconds or so, until golden brown on both sides. You may need to adjust the heat up or down at this point.
9. Serve the pancakes immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.
Yields about 8 pancakes.
A note on the gluten free: These pancakes are gluten-free, so long as you used certified gluten-free oat flour or certified gluten-free old-fashioned oats.
*How to make your own oat flour: To make oat flour out of old-fashioned oats, simply pour one cup of oats into a food processor and process until it is ground well. One cup before and after grinding measures just about the same, believe it or not! That's a fun little tip I picked up from the King Arthur cookbook.
Preparation tips: This whole grain batter is thicker than most, so it's more difficult to gauge when the pancakes are ready to flip. I learned that it's easier to go by the timer: set it for for 3 minutes for the first side, then flip and wait another 90 seconds for the other side to finish. The time will vary depending on your temperature setting, but that's about the time it should take for pancakes that are fully cooked and golden on each side.
Freeze it: These pancakes freeze well. (I've never met a pancake that doesn't.) Commenter Megan had good luck making the batter the night before, refrigerating it overnight, and proceeding with the recipe the next morning (add a splash of milk to thin out the batter).
Make it dairy free: Just use coconut oil instead of butter.

Cinnamon Rolls

From http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/1-hour-easy-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/

 

Yield: 11-12 cinnamon rolls

1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls

This delicious and easy cinnamon roll recipe can be ready to go in about an hour!

Prep: 40 mins Cook: 20 mins Total: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 envelope instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (approx. 2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 egg

Cinnamon-Sugar Filing Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp. butter, (completely) softened

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk (if needed)

(Optional Substitution: Standard Icing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk

Directions:

To Make The Dough & Filling:

Combine milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Continue heating in 20 second intervals, pausing after each to stir, until the butter is melted and the milk is warm to the touch but not hot. If needed, let the milk mixture sit for a few minutes until it is warm but not hot.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour (not all of the flour), sugar and salt until combined.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (*see note below for an alternative method of making this by hand*) fitted with the dough hook attachment, add yeast and lukewarm milk mixture and stir by hand to combine. Add the flour mixture and egg, and beat on medium-low speed until combined. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to form a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Continue beating for 5 minutes on medium-low speed. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your filling by whisking together sugars and cinnamon in a bowl until combined.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured work surface. Then use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 14 x 9 inches in size. (If you want all edges to be even, you can use a pizza slicer to cut the dough into a perfect rectangle.) Use a knife or pastry spatula to spread the softened 1/2 cup of butter out evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Then sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Beginning at the 14-inch edge, tightly roll up the dough. And then give the final seam a little pinch so that it seals. Use a piece of dental floss* to "cut" off the two ends of the roll (an inch on each end - discard that dough) so that they are even. Then cut the remaining dough into 11 or 12 equal pieces. (11 rolls seem to fit in a pie plate, while 12 rolls fit in a rectangular pan.)

(*To cut dough with dental floss, simply break off a piece of floss about 12 inches long. Then very carefully slide the middle of the floss under the dough to the place where you want to "cut". Then pull the ends of the floss up and cross over the top of the dough. Then give a quick tug to literally cut all the way through the dough. This is the best method for not squishing your dough while cutting it -- although the standard knife method still works too.)

Place each of the cut cinnamon rolls into a greased pie plate or 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Then cover again with a damp towel, and leave the dish in a warm place to rise for 25 minutes.
While the dough is rising, make the icing (instructions below).

When the rolls have risen, uncover the dish. Then place on the center rack of the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden and cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes. Drizzle with your desired icing and serve.

To Make The Cream Cheese Icing:

Either in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, or a mixing bowl, whisk softened butter and cream cheese together until combined. Then whisk in powdered sugar until combined. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin.

To Make The Standard Icing:

Whisk together butter, vanilla and powdered sugar until combined. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of milk to thin. If the icing is too thin, add a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to thicken.

**If you do not have an electric stand mixer with a dough attachment, you can simply stir the ingredients together, and then knead by hand for 5-7 minutes.

Waffle Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon white sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.
2.	Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

Popovers

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

30 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

12 popovers

There are three secrets to great popovers: Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter, fill each section not more than half full and no peeking while they're in the oven!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus softened butter for greasing pans
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously grease aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups with softened butter. You'll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek
.

Cinnamon Brown Butter Breakfast Puffs

From Smitten Kitchen

Adapted from Betty Crocker and others

If you don’t wish to use buttermilk, you can replace it with regular milk and nix the baking soda (keeping the baking powder). I like to get the toppings ready first because they take so little time to bake, you don’t want to be scrambling to have something to dip them in.

Yield: 9 to 12 standard muffin-size puffs or 30-ish miniature ones. Try not to overfill as I did or you won’t get as great domes on them.

Coating
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Puffs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing muffin cups
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 12 standard size or 30 miniature muffin cups, or line cups with paper liners.

Prepare coatings: In a small saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat and continue to cook it, stirring frequently, until brown bits form on the bottom and it smells nutty and heavenly. Immediately remove from heat and set aside. In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Set aside as well.

Prepare puffs: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Mix in 1/3 of flour mixture, followed by 1/2 of buttermilk, repeating again and finishing with the flour mixture. Mix only until combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling only 3/4 of the way. (I filled mine higher and they ended up spilling over a bit and doming less than they are capable of.) Bake standard sized muffins for 20 to 25 minutes and miniature muffins for 12 to 14 minutes. When finished, muffins will feel springy to the touch and a tester inserted into the center will come out clean. Transfer them in their pan to a wire rack.

As soon as you feel you’re able to pick one up, take your first puff and roll the top and upper edges in the browned butter. Don’t be afraid to pick up the browned butter solids at the bottom of the saucepan; they’re the dreamiest part. Let any excess butter drip off for a second before gently rolling the butter-soaked cake top in cinnamon-sugar. I find if you roll too firmly, or have too much wet/not absorbed butter on top, the sugar can clump off, which is heartbreaking. Transfer puff to wire rack to set and repeat with remaining puffs. Eat warm.

For an even more indulgent, doughnut-like puff: Make an extra two tablespoons of the browned butter and roll the whole puff in it and the cinnamon sugar. (I usually have enough cinnamon sugar to fully roll the puffs.)

Do ahead: Puffs are best within hours after they are baked. They can be made it advance and stored in a freezer bag until needed, too. Simply spread them out on a baking tray and reheat them until warm in the oven.

Crème Brûlée French Toasts

From Smitten Kitchen

Makes 6 servings

Toasts
1 loaf unsliced white bread, brioche or rich bread of your choice
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon orange zest
1 vanilla bean or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping
2/3 cup granulated sugar

Cut bread into 1 1/2-inch thick, generous slices; a 9-inch loaf should yield 6 slices. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, liqueur, and vanilla extract, if using. If using a vanilla bean, halve it lengthwise and scrape the pulp into a small dish. Whisk vanilla bean with one tablespoon of custard, then whisk in another and a third tablespoon, then pour the vanilla bean-custard mixture back into the main batter. This avoids having vanilla bean clumps that don’t disperse in your batter. Don’t you hate that?

Preheat oven to 325. Arrange bread slices on the smallest rimmed tray that will fit them in one layer (encourages maximum absorption) pour custard over slices. Allow them to absorb the custard for 30 minutes, turning the slices over at one point to ensure they’re soaking it up evenly. [Do ahead: You can also soak them overnight in the fridge. No need to flip them if so.]

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer custard-soaked slices to prepared sheet, arranging them with a smidge of space between each to avoid making one French mega-toast. Flipping them halfway through if you wish, bake French toast slices for 30 to 35 minutes, until a slim knife inserted into the center of a slice and twisted ever-so-slightly does not release any wet custard. Keep warm until ready to serve.

To caramelize the tops: Either leave toasts on their baking sheet, or transfer to a serving platter. Have ready a small offset spatula and a potholder or trivet to rest your caramel pot on.

Melt remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a small, heavy, completely dry saucepan over moderate heat, stirring with a small spoon or fork until fully melted and the color of honey. Move it over to the potholder or trivet you’d set up and working quickly, spoon one generous tablespoon caramel over your first slice of toast, spread it thinly and evenly with your offset spatula and repeat with the remaining toasts. Because your caramel will continue to deepen slightly in color (veering towards almost-too-toasty) as you work, it’s best to work quickly but carefully. Let no fingers or forearms be harmed in the melted sugar’s path and should a single drop land on the counter or on your towel or on the rim of the plate, do not swipe it. Just leave it until it cools.

[Hot water will melt all hardened caramel and make your clean up job easy. Simply soak your pot/spoon/spatula and all will melt off.]

Serve with fresh berries and if you’re feeling extra fancy, loosely whipped cream. We don’t find that it needs any maple syrup.

Alternative top-caramelizing method: A really obvious question here would be “But would the broiler work?” The method would be to sprinkle each toast with 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and let the broiler do the torching for you.

Blueberry-pecan baked french toast

Ingredients:

1-2 baguettes (depending on size) - I used whole grain baguettes
6 large eggs
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pecans
1/2 stick butter (plus 1 teaspoon butter)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries

Directions

1. Butter a 9×13 baking dish. Cut 1 1/2 inch slices from the baguette and arrange in one layer in the dish (about 6-8 slices). Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a large bowl and pour evenly over the bread. Refrigerate mixture, covered, until all liquid is absorbed by the bread, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
2. When you are ready to bake and serve, preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pecans evenly in a shallow baking pan and toast in middle of oven until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Toss pecans with 1 teaspoon butter. Alternately (and this is what I did), toast the pecans in a skillet in one layer over medium heat, stirring often. Toss with 1 teaspoon butter. (I did this the night before to save time the morning of.)
3. Sprinkle pecans and blueberries evenly over bread mixture. Cut remaining 1/2 stick butter into pieces and heat with remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan, stirring, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and bake mixture 30 – 40 minutes or until any liquid from blueberries is bubbling.

Fluffiest Pancakes Ever

Ingredients:
225 grms plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tbs sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
300ml milk
30 gms butter, melted and cooled

butter for frying

Directions:
Add the first sixingredients to a blender and mix until the all ingredients are incorporated. Transfer batter to a jug (this makes it much easier to pour). Add a small knob of butter to a frying pan and pour a small amount of batter. Fry on one side until bubbles start to form on the top side. Flip over and cook the reverse side for less than thirty seconds. Serve with maple syrup.

Note: This recipe yielded 12 pancakes. You may need to add extra milk once the batter is sitting for a while as it may become slightly thick. Just add enough to get the same consistency as you started off with.

Chocolate French Toast

from Donna Hay, The Instant Cook

Serves 4
16 slices soft baguette
100 g (3 1/2 ounces) dark chocolate, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) milk
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
unsalted butter for frying
confectioners’ sugar, extra, for dusting

1. Spread half the baguette slices with the melted chocolate and sandwich together with the remaining slices.
2. Combine the eggs, milk and confectioners’ sugar, then dip the sandwiches into the mixture.
3. Cook in a large buttered frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes each side or until golden.
4. Serve warm and dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

Zucchini Breakfast Casserole Recipe

INGREDIENTS
6-8 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups grated zucchini (from 2-3 fresh zucchinis)
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (from 4-5 fresh tomatoes),
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil (from about 20 leaves)*
4 cups cubed day-old bread (from about 4 slices)
Olive oil
*Chiffonade basil by stacking a few leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, slice thin, starting at one end of the cigar and working your way down.

METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, Tabasco, salt and pepper.
2 Prepare the vegetables and bread. Once you chop the tomatoes, squeeze excess moisture out of them by pressing them in a sieve, or wrapping in paper towels and squeezing. Add the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini to the egg mixture. Moisten the bread cubes with a little water then squeeze out any excess moisture using paper towels. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture.
3 Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish generously with olive oil. Pour the egg vegetable mixture into the baking pan and even it out in the pan. Place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The casserole should puff up and brown lightly. If it hasn't after 30 minutes at 350, increase the heat to 425° and cook for 5-10 minutes further. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 6-8 portions.

Caramel French Toast

from Bon Appetit

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 1-inch-thick slices French bread
Powdered sugar
Fresh blueberries and raspberries
Your choice of syrup

Mix butter and brown sugar in small bowl to blend.
Whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and spices in large bowl to blend, and soak the bread slices in the milk mixture until they are good and soaked, at least 5 minutes. 10 is even better.

Melt 4 tablespoons brown sugar-butter mixture in large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. (If you can't fit them all in one skillet then only use 2 tablespoons butter mixture and save some of the next batch.) Spread remaining butter mixture over bread. Add bread slices to each skillet, butter side UP. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn slices over. Cook until bottoms are deep brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

Divide French toast among 4 plates. Sift powdered sugar over. Top with blueberries and raspberries; drizzle with syrup.

Easy Breakfast Party

From Jamie Oliver

INGREDIENTS:
For the Meat
1 x bunch tomatoes on the vine, stalks removed and the base of each scored
4 x field mushrooms, peeled and the base of each trimmed
2 x black puddings, sliced --> probably will substitute for this!
8 x sausages
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
10 x rashers dry cured, smoked back bacon
For the Eggs
12 x (large) organic eggs
1 x splash milk
110 g butter
To Assemble
good white uncut bread, for toast
HP sauce
tomato ketchup

To Assemble
Get a large roasting tray and line up the tomatoes in it, scored side up, with the mushrooms, the black pudding and the sausages. Let everything overlap so that the flavours really get in there. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper then place under a preheated medium grill.

Prepare the scrambled eggs by whisking with the milk. Melt some butter in a non-stick pan and pour in the eggs. Keep the heat low and gently stir to scramble. Remove the tray from under the grill and drape the bacon across the tomatoes and black pudding. Place back under the grill. When the eggs are just about done, season them and serve on some thick slices of toasted bread with a bit of everything else on your plate too!

Zucchini Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients
6-8 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups grated zucchini (from 2-3 fresh zucchinis)
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (from 4-5 fresh tomatoes),
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil (from about 20 leaves)*
4 cups cubed day-old bread (from about 4 slices)
Olive oil
*Chiffonade basil by stacking a few leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, slice thin, starting at one end of the cigar and working your way down.

Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, Tabasco, salt and pepper.

2 Prepare the vegetables and bread. Once you chop the tomatoes, squeeze excess moisture out of them by pressing them in a sieve, or wrapping in paper towels and squeezing. Add the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini to the egg mixture. Moisten the bread cubes with a little water then squeeze out any excess moisture using paper towels. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture.

3 Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish generously with olive oil. Pour the egg vegetable mixture into the baking pan and even it out in the pan. Place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The casserole should puff up and brown lightly. If it hasn't after 30 minutes at 350, increase the heat to 425° and cook for 5-10 minutes further. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

Makes 6-8 portions.

Blueberry scones

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons kosher salt
zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
3/8 pound (1.5 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
1/8 cup raw (turbinado sugar) for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, 1/8 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and half of the zest.

Add the cold butter and mix with a hand mixer until the butter is the size of peas.
Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture and mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy and sticky.

Combine the blueberries, the rest of the zest and 1/8 cup of flour, add to the dough, and fold in until blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and knead the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough.

Roll the dough into a log and cut triangles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or silpat.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with raw sugar, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for a couple minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Blueberry Muffins

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

Muffins
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.
2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
4. Following photos above, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS WITH FROZEN BLUEBERRIES
Note: Our preferred brands of frozen blueberries are Wyman’s and Cascadian Farm.Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, substituting 2 cups frozen berries for fresh. Cook 1 cup berries as directed in step 2. Rinse remaining cup berries under cold water and dry well. In step 3, toss dried berries in flour mixture before adding egg mixture. Proceed with recipe from step 4 as directed.

Crustless Quiche

6 eggs
1 cup milk, whole
1 cup heavy cream
6 oz swiss cheese, grated
1 lb asparagus, sliced at an angle into pieces
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 dried chili, crunched
grey sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat oven to 425. Spray quiche pan with olive oil and set on a cookie sheet. Heat butter and olive oil in a frying pan, add shallots and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Drain back any olive oil/butter mixture into the frying pan and add the asparagus, chilie, and sea salt, cook until bright green and just slightly cooked but crunchy, about 5 minutes. Add shallots and toss, just to coat. Remove from heat and spread into the quiche pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, add the milk and cream and blend until mixed. Fold in the cheese. Pour over the asparagus. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes, until set in the middle and lightly golden on top. Serve. Eat.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and mix well.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture. Add vanilla. Gently stir in strawberries.

Spoon batter into muffin pans.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins.

Bake at 400º for 20-25 minutes.

Makes one dozen muffins. (Make sure you eat them the day you bake them. They aren't so great the next day.)

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 rounded cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Whisk together all ingredients except chips until just combined.
Heat a griddle over medium heat until hot and lightly brush with additional oil. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto griddle and sprinkle each pancake with about 1 1/2 teaspoons chips. Cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden-brown, about 1 minute. Flip with a spatula and cook other side, about 1 minute more. (Lightly oil griddle between batches.)