Tag: brunch

Try This— Maple Ginger Glazed Carrot Pancakes With Salted Sour Cream

I’m always looking for a reason to eat sour cream by the spoonful. I revisited this maple ginger  glazed carrot pancakes recipe I shared with you a while back, because I thought I might have the opportunity to scratch that sour cream itch. Anyway, whether you choose to stick with my original savory yogurt condiment, or decide to live like a rebel and slather this in salted sour cream, you will not be disappointed.

For your convenience, you’ll find the original recipe below. Just replace the yogurt with sour cream, and voila! Even though I originally made this for Easter a couple of years ago, this recipe is the perfect addition to any brunch menu! You must try this!

MAPLE GINGER GLAZED CARROT PANCAKES WITH SALTED YOGURT

INGREDIENTS (MAKES 4 SERVINGS)

  • 4 large eggs, beaten to blend
  • 1 pound carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, coarsely grated
  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¼ cup chickpea flour
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons (or more) olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup plain whole yogurt
  • 1 cup spicy greens (such as baby mustard greens, watercress, or arugula)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Flaky sea salt

FOR THE MAPLE GINGER GLAZE

  • 1/4 cup dark maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp butter

DIRECTIONS

  • Mix eggs, carrots, cilantro, and chickpea flour in a large bowl (mixture will be loose); season with kosher salt and pepper.
  • Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Scoop two ½-cupfuls of carrot mixture into skillet, pressing each to ½” thickness.
  • Cook, rotating skillet occasionally for even browning, until pancakes are golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat to make 2 more pancakes, adding more oil to skillet if needed.
  • for the maple ginger glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated ginger, cider vinegar, and maple syrup. Allow the mixture to start to boil before removing from heat (1-2 minutes)
  • Meanwhile, season yogurt with kosher salt and pepper. Toss greens with lemon juice and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season with kosher salt and pepper.
  • To serve, drizzle carrot pancakes with the maple ginger glaze and serve with salad and salted yogurt, seasoned with sea salt and more pepper.

***Use a nonstick skillet! I can’t stress that enough. I tried making these in a cast iron skillet and it was a tiny catastrophe.

***The pancakes themselves can be slightly on the bland side, so spice away. Experiment and be creative! Some folks even throw curry in the mix. If you do that, I’d probably skip the maple ginger glaze.

***If you like the idea of salted yogurt, try these other savory yogurt recipes.

adapted from bon appetit

Try This— 5 Deliciously, Healthy Ways to Have Dessert for Breakfast

Fun fact for the kids: Marie Antoinette’s famous last words were not ‘Let them eat cake‘, but rather ‘Excuse me, sir, I didn’t mean to do it,” after she accidentally stepped on her executioner’s foot. Taking those two phrases into consideration, I started to wonder whether or not she had cake for breakfast the morning of her decapitation, and if she didn’t she probably should have. This, my friends, is how I rationalize eating dessert for breakfast. The logic is baffling, I know, but my sweet tooth is relentless. I actually have 27 and ½ of them (my wisdom teeth and half of a molar were decidedly opposed to being a part of the team). In order to satisfy my love of all things sweet takes dedication, and at times, illogical justification. I can’t wait until after dinner for dessert, and thanks to these recipes, I don’t have to. Best part? They’re totally healthy, guilt-free sweets that don’t rely on sugar and empty carbs to be totally decadent. You must try this!

Porridge Façon Chunky Monkey

Forget what you may have heard, oatmeal is the breakfast of champions. This stick to your ribs breakfast recipe from Clem Foodie is just, roughly translated, Chunky Monkey Oatmeal. But doesn’t everything sound so much fancier in French?

Chocolate Banana Flax Muffins

These decadent muffins from The Butter Half are a game changer. Flax boasts plenty of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, while the chocolate and banana add a one-two punch of antioxidants and potassium. Sinfully healthy!

Healthy Mini Cheesecake

With 12 grams of protein per cheesecake, these tasty mini cheesecakes from Hello Glow are the perfect addition to your breakfast routine. They’re sure to keep you fueled up until lunch without weighing you down.

Chocolate Birthday Cake Protein Smoothie

This creamy, chocolatey slice of heaven from The Seasoned Mom is super simple to make and so delicious, you’ll forget it’s actually good for you too. Just blend almond milk, chocolate protein powder, brewed coffee, cocoa powder, and ice together until smooth. Remember that today is always somebody’s birthday somewhere, so it’s always time for a celebratory cake (there goes that logic again).

Yogurt Toppings

As always, I have to add my favorite go-to breakfast staple: yogurt. There are so many satisfyingly sweet toppings that you can add to your breakfast yogurt. For some amazing ideas, check out this definitive list of naughty yogurt toppings!

Try This— Maple Ginger Glazed Carrot Pancakes With Salted Yogurt

Every Easter, my sisters and I plan out our family’s Easter brunch. We’ve hosted as many as 40 people at my house at one time, serving up a wide variety of foods for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. We fashion miniature Easter baskets and use them as part of our pretty place settings along with fresh tulips around the dining room and kitchen tables. Needless to say, this gets extremely expensive and extremely time consuming. After many years of hosting a vegetarian friendly Easter brunch at my house, we’ve decided to do a potluck style brunch to cut down on the cost and the time that we pour into this Holiday tradition.

I’m pretty excited about this year’s celebration. I’m still going to create those miniature Easter baskets, because cute, but I’m only preparing one dish for this potluck. I really wanted a fresh recipe that could fill up our guests without weighing them down. [Side bar: I became a vegetarian when I was 12 years old. I learned to build meals around a centerpiece of meat, so that when I became a vegetarian, I sought out those over-processed mock meat alternatives. Often times, these mock meat products, when consumed in large quantities, can leave you feeling bloated and sick. No bueno.] Anyway, through my experience of being a vegetarian, I’ve finally discovered that vegetables can actually stand alone as the entree. So this year, I’m preparing carrot pancakes for Easter brunch. They’re part latke, part pancake, and all flavor. You must try this!

Maple Ginger Glazed Carrot Pancakes With Salted Yogurt

ingredients (makes 4 servings)

  • 4 large eggs, beaten to blend
  • 1 pound carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, coarsely grated
  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • ¼ cup chickpea flour
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons (or more) olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup plain whole yogurt
  • 1 cup spicy greens (such as baby mustard greens, watercress, or arugula)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Flaky sea salt

for the maple ginger glaze

  • 1/4 cup dark maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp butter

Directions

  • Mix eggs, carrots, cilantro, and chickpea flour in a large bowl (mixture will be loose); season with kosher salt and pepper.
  • Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Scoop two ½-cupfuls of carrot mixture into skillet, pressing each to ½” thickness.
  • Cook, rotating skillet occasionally for even browning, until pancakes are golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat to make 2 more pancakes, adding more oil to skillet if needed.
  • for the maple ginger glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated ginger, cider vinegar, and maple syrup. Allow the mixture to start to boil before removing from heat (1-2 minutes)
  • Meanwhile, season yogurt with kosher salt and pepper. Toss greens with lemon juice and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season with kosher salt and pepper.
  • To serve, drizzle carrot pancakes with the maple ginger glaze and serve with salad and salted yogurt, seasoned with sea salt and more pepper.

***Use a nonstick skillet! I can’t stress that enough. I tried making these in a cast iron skillet and it was a tiny catastrophe.

***The pancakes themselves can be slightly on the bland side, so spice away. Experiment and be creative! Some folks even throw curry in the mix. If you do that, I’d probably skip the maple ginger glaze.

***If you like the idea of salted yogurt, try these other savory yogurt recipes.

adapted from bon appetit

 

Try This—Savory French Toast

While I’ve been a vegetarian for most of my life (I decided to go vegetarian at the age of 12), I’ve fed my kid meat his entire life. I figured, if he ever wanted to quit eating meat, he could make that decision himself, just as I had done, before he was even a thought.

I did however load up his plate with a lot of vegetables when he was younger. He’s always been a weird eater. He’d eat all of the meat first, then he’d move on to the potatoes or rice or whatever. The very last thing he’d eat were the veggies. He rarely finished all his vegetables. Ugh! It drove me crazy, but it also made me have to be a little more creative when it came to recipes. In order to get him to eat certain things, I had to really experiment with flavors.

I like to think of myself as the adventurous type when it comes to recipes. If a meal is traditionally savory, I always try to make it sweet just to see if it’s as amazing as I think it’ll be. My pasta sauce is usually a bit sweet… I always dump sugar into grits… and I like my stir-frys with ginger and honey. If you’ve been following along with me, you know that I also like to switch things up when it comes to traditionally sweet meals too. Savory yogurt has been a total favorite of mine, and of course all of this has been a pretty big hit with the kiddo. Winning!

Recently, I made some Eggnog French Toast and it is, in fact, totally as delicious as it sounds, but I got to thinking about what it would be like if french toast decided to go savory. Eeeerrrrrrr Mahhhhh Gaaaawwwdddd! Is that even a thing?!! Whatevs. I didn’t even bother looking for a recipe, I just jumped right in. You guys… Seriously, YOU GUYS!!! I honestly think that whoever coined the term ‘food porn’ came up with it after making savory french toast. So, here it is. Even if you’re not a sugar-grits-eating rebel like me or the kid, you must try this!

 

Savory Parmesan French Toast

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients

  • Canola oil, for frying
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus a little more for serving
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 garlic clove,peeled and crushed
  • 6 thick slices of day old bread,  (3/4 to 1 inch slices)
  • Freshly minced herbs like chives or parsley, for garnish

Directions

  • Turn the oven to the warming setting. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and set it near your workspace.
  • Combine the eggs, milk, and cream in a blender and pulse until well combined. Transfer mixture to an 8×8 baking dish or shallow pan. Whisk in the Parmesan, mustard powder, salt, hot sauce, and a very generous amount of black pepper, followed by the garlic clove.
  • Pour about 1/4- to 1/2-inch of oil into a large cast iron skillet (or heavy, flat-sided pan) and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
  • While the oil is heating, add 2 pieces bread to the batter and soak, flipping frequently, until thoroughly saturated with liquid. Add the bread to the hot oil and cook until the bread is golden brown; flip and continue cooking, about 2 minutes per side.
  • Gently shake excess oil from the bread and place on the paper towel-lined sheet pan. Pat the toast with additional paper towels to remove excess oil, if necessary. Transfer the sheet pan to oven to keep warm, and continue cooking the remaining bread.
  • Garnish the French toast with chopped herbs and Parmesan cheese.

This is a versatile little recipe here for sure! There are so many ways to dress this up! For breakfast, make some tofu scramble or scrambled eggs to accompany your savory french toast. For brunch, serve with a lightly tossed side salad. For lunch, slice some avocado and tomato (and more cheese!!!) for a yummy sandwich option. For dinner, serve your savory french toast with your favorite pasta dish.

If you have any leftovers (I totally doubt you will) they can be reheated in the toaster oven.

Adapted from thekitchn

Try This---Ricotta Pancakes

Try This—Ricotta Pancakes

These are amazing! I found this recipe on Let the Baking Begin and I just love it. This is the perfect special occassion/breakfast in bed recipe! Father’s Day is right around the corner and this recipe will make the special men in your life feel like they’re king for a day!
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Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 32 oz (900 grams) whole milk Ricotta Cheese (about 4 cups)
  • 1 egg
  • ½ – ¾ Cup granulated sugar
  • 1½ cups all-purpose Flour + more for shaping the ricotta pancakes
  • ½ tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (optional)
  • Oil for frying

Directions

  • Combine the ricotta cheese with the egg and mix until the egg is well incorporated (if using vanilla add it with the egg); add the sugar and mix again; add flour and the baking powder and with minimal amount of mixing bring everything together into a smooth mass.
  • Using a tablespoon or a large ice cream scoop, scoop the mixture then drop it into the flour. Coat the ball in flour, then gently shape into a flat patty about ½ inch thick. You can shape them all and then fry the ricotta pancakes, or shape enough to fill the pan and while they’re frying continue shaping the rest.
  • To fry the pancakes add about 1 tablespoon of oil to a skillet and heat over low-medium heat. Add ricotta pancakes in, cover with lid and fry for about 2-3 minutes per side or until well browned on both sides.
  • Serve warm with a side of sour cream and a jam of choice.

Source: Let the Baking Begin! Let the Baking Begin!