Tag Archives: brunch

Mar12

Apple walnut muffins

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We took the dogs camping at Leo Carillo State Park this weekend, and for breakfast I made a batch of apple muffins (in advance, not at the camp site). We finally finished off the huge back of apples that my dad brought us!  In addition to eating them plain, I made an apple crisp recently.

For the muffins, I used the recipe from Joy of Cooking.  I was really impressed with their portioning!  I multiplied the recipe amounts by 1.5, and it made exactly 18 muffins.  We ate them the next morning after sitting in a freezing car overnight, and they were still moist.

Apple Walnut Muffins
Adapted from Joy of Cooking (2006 version), makes 18 muffins

2 1/4 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/8 c sugar
2 1/4 c diced peeled apples, with their juice
1 stick butter (8 T), melted
3/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in medium-sized bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Add the apples, stir in, and allow to stand for 10 minutes. This is what makes the muffins flavorful and juicy!

Add the butter and walnuts to the eggs, sugar, and apples. Stir to combine. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir gently to combine. The batter will be thick and somewhat lumpy.

Spoon batter into the muffin tins, so that each cup is about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes.

Jan23

English pancakes (crepes)

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My mom is from Liverpool, England, and she used to make us crepes all the time growing up. She called them “English pancakes,” and we’d eat them with lemon and sugar.

She’s out of town right now, so I could not get the recipe from her. Instead, I used a basic one from allrecipes.com. The recipe does not say that you have to refrigerate the batter before making the crepes, but my mom would always chill her batter for a thinner consistency.

Crepes
Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
1 c flour
2 T butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the skillet

For filling, you can use any of the following: Granulated sugar, lemon wedges, sliced apples, fruit preserves, sugar, Nutella, berries

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and water. Add the salt and flour, and stir until the batter is smooth. Stir in the melted butter.

(Optional) Chill for 30 minutes or more.

To cook, heat a skillet over medium high heat and grease with butter. Pour 1/4 c of batter into the skillet, and swirl it around so that the it coats the pan. When the bottom is golden and it can be removed from the bottom of the pan easily, flip the crepe and cook the other side.

Fill the crepes with the filling of your choice and roll loosely to serve.

Jan16

Sausage, artichoke, potato salad omelet

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Paco and I had a few people over to watch the epic 49ers/Saints game on Saturday (I am by no means  a football fan but this game was intense), and we have some leftover sausages, potato salad, and artichoke salad. To me, this sounded like the makings of a delicious omelet. You can use whatever you have in your fridge. Leftover grilled vegetables or fresh vegetables would be fine, and if you don’t have leftover sausage, you can just brown some regular breakfast sausage (or bacon/ham/pork product of your choice) and throw it in.

“Leftover” Omelet

5 eggs
1/4 c. milk
black pepper
cheddar cheese, grated
cooked linked sausage, diced
leftover potato salad (this one did not have a ton of mayo), with the big pieces broken up
leftover artichoke salad

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray or butter a loaf pan.
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the milk, pepper, half of the cheese, the sausage, potato salad, and artichoke salad.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the mixture.

4. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.