The other day Brion & I were in a ‘Winners’ store and were looking through the gourmet food section. A couple of Pol’s Gourmet Preserves caught our attention. One was the Strawberry Chia Preserve. The preserve combines ripe strawberries with chia seeds, date juice, and lemon juice, cooked in vacuum boilers. It is marketed as a healthy and natural product with a focus on natural flavor and consistency. Pol’s utilizes vacuum technology to maintain the strawberries’ natural qualities during the cooking process. They also emphasize the use of natural base ingredients and the absence of additives beyond the natural components.
We purchased a jar even though I wasn’t sure at the time what I would use it for since neither of us use a lot of preserves on toast. Of course, it didn’t take long to find a way to incorporate it into a recipe.
I have childhood memories of my mother making an orange bread loaf. I always thought it was so unique because it used the fresh orange zest from two whole oranges. The flavor was so distinct along with the bread being wonderfully moist. This recipe was one that has remained with me over the years, long after I had left my parents’ home. I used it numerous times over the years in my food service career in different applications.
Today I decided to swirl some of this interesting preserve into my mother’s orange bread loaf and the flavor was even better than I thought it would be. This orange loaf recipe is perfect for when you need a make-ahead dessert. I like it even more on the second day because the orange aroma (and flavor) becomes even more vibrant.
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Orange Bread w/ Strawberry Chia Preserves
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter or line an 8" x 4" x 3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Peel oranges thinly & finely chop peel. Boil with sugar & water for 10 minutes: cool. Pour into a large bowl & add egg & butter.
In a small bowl, combine flour, salt & baking powder. Add dry mixture to wet mixture alternately with milk.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Top with dollops of strawberry preserve. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, swirl preserve into batter making sure not to over stir so it creates a marbled effect.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until bread tests done. Remove from oven & cool on wire rack. As I mentioned in the blog, the bread tastes better the second day if you can wait that long to try it.
I’ve probably posted at least twenty different kinds of scones on the blog over the years, but I had yet to make scones using chai ‘liqueur’.
There are many recipes using chai spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and anise. I wanted to incorporate the actual liqueur in these scones as well to pop up the flavor a bit more.
And while most fruits pair well with chai, some may have a delicate flavor that won’t taste great with the various spices in chai. When selecting these fruits, always go for dried options such as raisins, prunes, dates, apricots, figs, and peaches.
These scones make an excellent choice for breakfast or as an afternoon snack this time of year.
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Apricot Chai Liqueur Scones
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Instructions
Scones
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place in a large bowl.
In a small bowl combine egg, chai liqueur & sour cream. Add wet mixture to flour mixture along with the apricots. Stir ONLY until combined. Do NOT overmix.
Divide dough in half. Using a spatula scrape each piece of dough onto the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Dip the spatula in flour, then flatten each piece of dough to about 1-inch in height as well as forming it in a circle shape. Cut each round into 8 wedges.
Bake scones for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet. Recut the scones. Cool slightly on wire rack.
Icing
Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, chai liqueur & milk. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until light & fluffy. Pipe over scones.
Recipe Notes
The amount of sugar used in these scones is what you prefer personally. I only used the 1/3 cup which makes them nice to serve with coffee.
Not all of us are veggie lovers. Lucky for me, I have never had a problem enjoying just about any vegetable.
Root vegetable desserts aren’t exactly a new concept. Carrots, beets, zucchini, parsnips and pumpkin are naturally sweet and mild in flavor. Depending on the vegetable used, you will only taste it very faintly after baking. Parsnips, traditionally used in savory dishes, can bring a subtle sweet tenderness to your baked goods. When roasted or sautéed, their sugars caramelize richly and are well complemented by a variety of seasonings such as orange or lemon zest, ginger and cardamom.
As the autumn weather turns cooler, root vegetables like carrots and parsnips convert their starch to sugar. After a few fall frosts, parsnips develop a higher sugar content than those harvested before the freeze.
I realize parsnips are not for everyone. It probably seems a bit odd to make them the ‘star’ in dessert but I have to say Brion & I loved these scones.
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Parsnip & Orange Scones
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Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & spices. Work in the butter using your fingertips just until mixture is unevenly crumbly. Stir in orange zest.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the grated parsnips, eggs & milk until smooth. Add parsnip mixture to dry ingredients & stir until all is moistened. Do not OVERMIX.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrape the dough onto the parchment & divide in half. Round each half into a 7-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Using a bench knife that you have run under cold water, slice each circle into 8 wedges.
Brush each wedge with milk than sprinkle with coarse sugar. For the best texture & highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
Preheat the oven to 425 F. while scones are chilling.
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center of a scone should come out clean.
Remove the scones from the oven, re-slice wedges & serve warm. Wrap any leftovers airtight & store at room temperature. Reheat BRIEFLY in microwave, if desired.
Recipe Notes
For a little extra flavor you could sprinkle the scones with a coarse CINNAMON sugar instead of just plain or add a bit of cardamom spice to the batter.
Strawberries … one of spring’s (or really any time’s) best flavors. Add some scones with their heavenly, lightly sweet, moist and perfectly fluffy texture. Together, it’s really a match made in heaven.
The wonderful thing about scones is that you can create so many different flavors – whether they are savory or sweet! Today my choice was to pair strawberries with sweetened adzuki red beans. It’s the perfect blend between a classic American pastry and the most popular Korean bread filling.
One of the great things about red bean paste is how it can be paired with almost anything! Well…… maybe not everything, but with dessert ingredients, I have found that it is very versatile. Red bean paste, also known as ‘Anko’ in Japanese, is a popular ingredient used in many traditional Asian dishes. It is made from adzuki red beans that have been boiled, mashed, and sweetened with sugar and smoothed by oil, butter or shortening. The texture of red bean paste can range from thick and smooth to slightly chunky. Commercial ready-to-use red bean paste is available in most Asian stores and is super convenient. If you have the time and prefer to make your own, look for canned, ready-to-eat adzuki beans which allow you to skip the lengthy process of cooking the beans and go straight to the last step of mashing the paste. A wonderful time saver.
Soft, strawberry scones paired with a creamy, sweetened red bean paste make them hard to resist. These seasonal bites make a great addition to a brunch menu!
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Strawberry Cinnamon Scones w/ Sweet Red Bean Filling
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Instructions
Scones
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt.
Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until the dough resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in center of ingredients, add milk all at once, mix quickly with a fork to just combine ingredients.
On a floured surface , roll dough out thinly to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a 4-inch cutter.
Place a Tbsp of red bean paste ( I used the whole 500 gm pkg for the 36 scones) on one side of each round. Fold the round in half with red bean paste inside. In a small dish, combine sugar & cinnamon. Melt butter & brush tops of each half moon lightly with butter. Generously sprinkle each scone with cinnamon mixture.
Place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven & cool on a wire rack.
Topping
Clean & hull strawberries. Dice berries in small size. Combine with either purchased or homemade strawberry gel. Top each scone with a spoonful of glazed strawberries. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Strawberry Glaze
1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup water
• Using a food processor, puree the fresh strawberries & set aside.
• Combine the sugar & cornstarch in a saucepan.
• Then, stir in the pureed strawberries & water.
• Next, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Cook while stirring the glaze for 3-5 minutes, until thick.
• Remove the pan from heat push through a sieve. Cool.
Guacamole is everywhere these days. Hailed as a nutrient-dense superfood and mixed into everything from omelets to smoothies, prior to the 16th century, avocados were unknown to all but a select few.
When the conquistadors landed in present-day Mexico, they found the native Aztecs eating a green dish called ahuacamolli, made with a never-before-seen fruit. Five hundred years later, it’s found at every Super Bowl party and Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Mexico continues to be the world’s largest producer of avocados. They remain a staple of Mexican cuisine, with slices often accompanying traditional dishes like tacos. But avocados are perhaps best known for being mashed, spiced, tossed together with tomatoes and onions, and scooped up with tortilla chips as ‘guacamole’.
Which brings me to another idea — savory guacamole muffins! This recipe is interesting in that it incorporates all the things you would use to make guacamole in a muffin. They not only make a stand-alone tasty snack but can also be paired with some cheesy scrambled eggs, salmon or cured meats, especially if you’re aiming for a comfort-food-type meal.
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Savory Guacamole Muffins
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners.
Place avocado in a bowl. Using a fork, roughly mash. Add butter, egg, milk & cheese. Stir to combine.
Sift flour, chili powder & baking powder into a bowl. Add avocado mixture. Stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden & scones spring back when lightly touched.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve.
A bagel for breakfast is the best way to start the day. A bagel fills you up in a way that a piece of bread never could, the chewy and dense texture just feels right in the mouth. And if it’s a salmon and avocado bagel with a poached egg and tomato as well …. perfect!
This recipe will work with all sorts of bagels … plain, cheese, onion, garlic, multigrain, pretty much any savory bagel will do. Toppings for a sandwich like this are very personal. Roasted salmon combined with the fresh flavors of tomato and avocado to go with the poached egg and chewy bagel.
It is the roasted garlic mayo and red onion that really makes this breakfast bagel sandwich sing! The fresh red onion flavor and hint of garlic meshes perfectly with the creamy mayonnaise to make a truly wonderful topping!
If you like all these ingredients, this bagel sandwich will taste like pure heaven!
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Breakfast Bagel 'FEAT' (fish, egg, avocado, tomato) Sandwich
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Instructions
Salmon
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Place the salmon on a baking sheet, leaving a little room between each piece. Drizzle each salmon fillet with ½ teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Put the salmon in the oven & set a timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, take the salmon out of the oven & let it rest for a few minutes. It will be very tender, the flesh will have turned opaque, and there will be only a few tiny spots of white showing. Slice each portion in half.
Poached Eggs
Bring a pot of water to a gentle boil, then salt the water. Meanwhile, crack an egg (or 2) into a small cup. With a spoon, begin stirring the boiling water in a large, circular motion. When the water is swirling like a tornado, add the eggs. The swirling water will help the egg white wrap around itself as it cooks.
Cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the egg (or eggs) to a dish.
Bagels
Slice bagels, lightly butter & toast on a griddle. Spread the toasted bagel with roasted garlic mayo. Assemble the sandwich by layering with roasted salmon, red onion, tomato slices, salmon, avocado slices & poached egg. Top with remaining bagel half if you wish or serve it on the side.
Recipe Notes
- In a 400 F. oven, salmon needs to bake for 4 minutes per ½ inch of thickness.
- ½ inch fillet – 4 minutes
- 1 inch fillet – 8 minutes
- 1 ½ inch fillet 12 minutes
The Tim Hortons Fruit Explosion Muffin is a super tasty treat that combines the goodness of a moist vanilla cake muffin with bursts of fruity flavor. While the exact creation date isn’t widely documented, these muffins have become a beloved staple at Tim Hortons. Founded in 1964, Tim Hortons is an iconic Canadian restaurant known for its quality coffee, freshly baked goods, great fast-food and hockey roots. Great tasting coffee (the ‘double double’) is at the core of their identity.
If you’re a fan of Tim Hortons’ Fruit Explosion Muffins, you’ll love these homemade versions. Another reason to try a copycat version is the calorie count. From what I understand, the Tim Hortons version comes in at 360 calories per muffin whereas this recipe trims it down to a ‘healthy’ 166 calories for the medium size and 331 for large ones.
The combination of sweet and tart flavors from the fruit creates a wonderful balance with the natural sweetness of the berries complementing the muffin base. Sour cream is a secret ingredient that makes these muffins extra moist. They’re soft, cakey, tender and in the center, have a little fruity surprise of blueberry jam.
The options for making this treat are endless—swap out the berries or try different fruit fillings. Whether for breakfast or a snack, these muffins are a burst of fruity goodness! Another bonus is that these muffins freeze beautifully, making them convenient for busy mornings.
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Fruit Explosion Muffin
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 3 muffin pans with paper liners.
In a large bowl, combine sour cream, oil, applesauce, eggs & vanilla with a whisk. Stir in sugars until combined completely. Add flours, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Stir just until combined then fold in berries.
Spoon 1 Tbsp of batter into the bottom of each liner, spreading it cover the bottom completely. Top with 2 tsp of jam & cover with remaining batter (about one heaping tablespoon per muffin cup), covering the jam as best as you can.
Bake for 23-25 minutes or until golden brown, toothpick comes out clean & batter around berries appears set. Cool to room temperature & serve.
May be stored at room temperature for 2-3 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
Recipe Notes
• This amount of batter will make 18 regular size muffins or 9 large.
ENJOYING SHROVE TUESDAY!
Shrove Tuesday is a day of feasting and celebration before the 40 days of fasting known as Lent. Celebrated by Anglo-Saxon Christians, participants would attend confession in order to be ‘shriven’ (forgiven for their sins). A bell rang to call everyone to church. This bell came to be known as the Pancake Bell and is still rung today.
Pancakes got their start as a breakfast food around 1100 AD, when Shrove Tuesday (sometimes called Pancake Day) became a traditional way to use up eggs, sugar and fats before the fast, and making pancakes was the perfect way to do it! The ingredients of pancakes also symbolize four pillars of the Christian Faith. Flour for sustenance, eggs for creation, salt for wholesomeness, and milk for purity.
Before the 1800s, it wasn’t uncommon to use snow (which contains ammonia) in place of baking soda in the batter, and until the 1800s, brandy or wine was often used in place of milk or cream! The name was changed from flapjack to pancake in North America in the 1870s, and maple syrup became the topping of choice in the 1880s. Then in 1931, Bisquick was introduced, and home cooks began making even fluffier pancakes with less time and effort.
This oven pancake is made similar to a Dutch or German pancake except instead of putting the filling on after its cooked, its baked right into it. This oven method also eliminates having to cook pancakes individually on a griddle which is more time consuming when everyone is hungry!
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Strawberry Rhubarb Oven Pancake
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Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, melted butter, milk & vanilla. Add flour, sugar, baking powder & salt & mix well to combine. Try to whisk out most of the lumps, but it's ok if some remain.
Melt 2 tbsp butter in an 8- or 10-inch ovenproof skillet (such as cast iron) over medium low heat. Swirl to cover the bottom & sides of the pan. Add the sugar & cinnamon. Stir. The mixture will look dry at first but will loosen as the sugar melts.
Add the diced rhubarb to the pan and cook, stirring with the sugar until rhubarb starts to become soft. Add diced strawberries & cook for another minute.
Spread the fruit out into an even layer & add the batter mixture. Turn the heat off the pan & move the pan to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 F. & bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Flip the pancake by running a knife around its edges to loosen it from the pan & placing a plate larger than the pan on top of it. Use an oven mitt & flip in one smooth motion. The pancake should release from the pan easily.
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Crullers. Fritters. Old-fashioned. Cake. Twist. Glazed. Jelly-filled. Whatever style and flavor of donut comes to mind when you’re craving one, odds are that it is something decadently sweet and sugary. But have you ever tried a savory donut? Instead of glazing your donut with sugar or filling it with cream, top it with some herbs and coarse sea salt for a change.
Donuts are a perfect food. Whether they’re raised or cakey, frosted or glazed, stuffed or iced, they are grand. Each and every one of them. We could subsist on sweet donuts for days, only we would miss the taste of salt (and the ability to see our toes).
Enter the savory donut. Savory donuts are not new to the world. People have been experimenting with making donuts viable lunch or dinner options for a long time. I personally am not a fan of deep-fried things whether they are sweet or savory. So, my recipe challenge today was to make a savory raised baked donut. Since potato dough is one of my favorites, why not go with a savory sweet potato donut!
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Savory Sweet Potato Donuts
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Instructions
In a bowl, combine yeast, 1/2 cup flour & 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Let sit for about 20 minutes until frothy.
Cook & mash sweet potato; add it along with the remaining 3/4 cup lukewarm water, 4 cups flour, olive oil & salt to the yeast mixture. When dough forms, knead for about 7-8 minutes until the dough is soft & satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap & allow to rise in a draft free area until doubled in size.
Lightly grease your work surface with olive oil. Put the dough on it & pat it out with your hands or rolling pin into a 12 x 14-inch rectangle. Using a donut cutter make 12 donuts. With the remaining scraps, divide equally into 8 portions and form into balls. You can either leave them as is or cut holes in the centers for the donut 'look'.
Place the donuts in 'donut' pans or on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and allow to raise until doubled in size.
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
Add the rosemary to the olive oil. Very lightly brush the tops with the olive oil and rosemary mixture. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake for about 20 minutes. The tops will be lightly browned. Remove to a rack to cool.
Recipe Notes
- Beauregard is the most common sweet potato sold at grocery stores. The skin is reddish, and the flesh is bright orange and is the sweetest for orange types. The slightly stringy, soft, and moist texture makes it great for mashing into a puree for baking.
Eggs Benedict is a common North American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It was popularized in New York City.
Many variations of eggs Benedict exist, involving replacing any component except the egg such as:
- Avocado toast eggs Benedict – substitutes toast in place of the muffin and adds sliced avocado.
- California eggs Benedict – adds sliced avocado. Variations may include sliced tomato instead of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Atlantic – substitutes salmon which may be smoked, in place of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Blackstone – substitutes streaky bacon in place of Canadian bacon and adds a tomato slice.
- Eggs Florentine – adds spinach, sometimes substituted in place of the Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Mornay – substitutes Mornay sauce in place of the Hollandaise.
- Eggs Neptune – substitutes crab meat in place of Canadian bacon.
- Eggs Omar (steak Benedict) – substitutes a small steak in place of Canadian bacon and sometimes replaces the Hollandaise with bearnaise.
- Huevos Benedictos – adds sliced avocado or Mexican chorizo, topped with salsa and Hollandaise sauce.
- Irish Benedict – substitutes corned beef or Irish bacon in place of Canadian bacon.
Being seafood lovers, Brion & I are having a pre-Christmas treat of scallops benedict for brunch today. Yum!
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Scallops Benedict
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Ingredients
Chive Buttermilk Biscuits
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
Chive Buttermilk Biscuits
Brown Butter Hollandaise Sauce
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Instructions
Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & baking soda. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until coarse crumbs. Add chopped chives. Toss together & make a well in the center. Pour in the buttermilk, stirring with fork to form ragged dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently until dough comes together. Pat or roll into 1 1/2-inch thickness. Using floured cutter, cut out rounds. Place, well spaced, on lined baking sheet. Dough should make 6 large biscuits.
Bake in the 400 F. oven for about 10 minutes before lowering the temperature to 375 F. & baking for an additional 10 minutes or until tops of the biscuits are light golden. Remove from oven & keep warm in a basket with a tea towel over it.
Hollandaise Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, watching it until the color turns light golden brown. Pour it off immediately into a heat proof measuring cup, leaving the sediment behind.
In a blender, combine egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice & zest for a few seconds. With the blender on medium speed, slowly pour in hot butter in a thin stream. The sauce should thicken quickly. Pour into a bowl & keep the bowl warm in a warm water bath while preparing the other components of the scallops benedict.
Scallops
Season the scallops with Old Bay seasoning, salt & pepper. Pan sear them in a hot pan with butter & olive oil for only a few minutes per side. Keep warm. Prepare scrambled eggs.
Assembly
Slice biscuits in half, using bottoms as the base. Divide scrambled eggs evenly between the 6 bottom biscuit halves & top each with a couple of seared scallops. Pour some hollandaise sauce over scallops & sprinkle with chopped bacon. Garnish with chopped chives. Top with the second half of the biscuit if you wish.
