whole wheat breakfast cookies
Goodness! How the time has flown between my posts recently. I have many recipes to share… it’s simply a matter of making the time to share them! Today I offer you my humble breakfast cookie. It’s quite a tasty treat, and not just to be eaten at breakfast (though I find it best during the morning hours after my coffee). This cookie came about while visiting Michigan recently for a cousin’s wedding. Between the ceremony and reception (there was a good two hours), Graham and I and my brother and his family decided to spend a little time in this adorable little coffee bar, called Clique. The barista introduced himself by name and with a handshake and made us the most delectable beverages. It was a great welcome to the Midwest.
Graham and I shared a cappuccino and one of their “Ultimate Breakfast Cookies.” I liked the cookie a lot.… Continue reading
iced oatmeal applesauce cookies
I hemmed and hawed a few days over what to bring to my sister’s house for our Mother’s Day celebration. I leafed through various cook books and magazines and finally settled on these lovely iced cookies and a batch of my snickerdoodle blondies. I had just enough butter and flour, and all the other mix-ins, to make the two. It’s a rare occasion when my fridge is not stocked with multiple sticks of butter and even rarer when my flour bins are nearly empty. So I was oh so thankful that I just so happened to have the 21 tablespoons butter, exactly 1/2 cup of my homemade applesauce and the few cups of flour required to whip up both desserts. I say whip, but it took about two hours, including cleanup.
But I still made it to church, squeezed in some lunch, crafted the desserts and made it to… Continue reading
cinnamon-swirl banana muffins
If you happen to be craving cinnamon rolls, or perhaps a piping hot slice of banana bread smothered with a good pat of butter, this muffin (equally delicious as a loaf) marries the two most scrumptiously and will certainly hit the spot. The first few times I made this banana-cinnamon-sugar treat, I made loaves, but Sunday I had a crowd to feed so I experimented with muffins. I was taking these beauties to a gathering of musical people who were helping my husband and fellow band-mates record their newest album. I figured muffins would be a welcome guest and much easier to handle than slices of moist and cinnamon-sugary bread. They turned out perfect and were handled, consumed and enjoyed by all in attendance.
Making muffins is a tad more labor-intensive, requiring you to split the batter and the cinnamon sugar topping twice each amongst the dozen muffin tins. Whereas… Continue reading
spicy ground venison
To celebrate May, I have for you a simple, tasty recipe for ground beef, turkey, venison or any other game. I’ve made it with ground venison several times, and over this past winter, it became somewhat of a comfort dish for Graham and me. I usually serve it over black barley or wild rice with a healthy blanket of Sriracha sauce atop. We think it’s the best.
Something about the heat of the sauce coupled with the hearty, healthy venison and the crispy vegetables mixed throughout, pleases the brain and tongue simultaneously, leaving you wanting more and more. A healthy lure, I’d say. And serving it over a not-too-filling bed of rice or barley, tames down the heat just perfectly, yielding the most superb lunch or dinner any time of year (not just hunting season, mind you).
I’ve made large batches before and frozen leftovers in dinner size portions, making… Continue reading
glorious morning muffins
I had these muffins while we were in Hawaii that I fell in love with. So we returned to the coffee shop I purchased them from several times to purchase and consume them again and again. (I say we, but it was really just me.) Once home, I experienced slight muffin withdrawal. So it was just a day or two after being back in my own kitchen that I decided to whip up my version of these great, glorious muffins.
You see, I had taken notes our last morning on the North Shore, while eating my last, glorious muffin. The four of us (Graham and I and our two friends) all shared a picnic bench, facing the ocean, and with our coffee and pastries in hand, we took in the morning and the beautiful seascape before us. It was grand. But before long, while the others still gazed longingly at… Continue reading
get well smoothie
I’m back! And in a very faraway land. I’ve missed writing and posting pictures of food. And my excuse for being gone so long? Well, I am in a faraway land (Hawaii to be exact!) but I was also sick for a few weeks, and the thought of making food or even looking at food caused my stomach to tumble. But, I’m well now. And back in the kitchen. In fact, I called Graham in to celebrate just a few mornings ago, when I was in the midst of making a delicious omelet. One filled with rosemary (pulled fresh from the rural Hawaiian roadside), asparagus, potato and feta. I was cooking again! And oh how good it felt.
So why are we in the magical and dreamy state of Hawaii? We are most fortunate to have very good friends living here. It certainly doesn’t hurt that they live in a… Continue reading
pear crisp
Now those are some purty pears. When I saw them at the market, in a 3lb bag for only $1.97, there was no question as to whether or not they were coming home with me. I’ve adapted a new way of grocery shopping. Instead of making up my list (checking it twice) and shopping from the list, I now go to the market and fill my trolly (as the Aussies say) with all the produce on sale that week. So that did mean that last week’s planned chicken pot pies (Mr. Bates’s Mushroom and Chicken Pie from this book to be exact) became mushroom and barley stuffed peppers, and apple crisps became pear crisps. But heck, I’m saving money and playing The Price Is Right in the process.
Speaking of games in the grocery store, once Graham and I actually witnessed a real, live Supermarket Sweep. It was while… Continue reading