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.
A Christmas brunch with friends is always a fun way to kick off the season and see everyone before diving into family festivities. This event is the spark that lights the holiday season, and it doesn’t have to be a big elaborate affair. Keep it simple and easy … a brunch menu needs just a few things.
- Something ‘homemade’ (such as egg/bacon filled pastry)
- Something fruity (purchased is great)
- Something to drink (mimosas/coffee)
Elevate your Christmas brunch with this easy-to-assemble savory pastry made simple with a tube of crescent rolls! Filled with scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and lots of melty cheese and served with a side of salsa. It’s kind of reminiscent of an egg croissant sandwich.
Pillsbury crescents are so versatile, you can make all kinds of things with them. Of course you could also make your own dough for this breakfast, but why slave in the kitchen when you don’t have to.
Customize this pull apart breakfast ring with your favorite ingredients. Eggs, bacon, peppers, hash browns, ham, different cheeses, spinach, artichokes, asparagus … your choice!
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Cheesy Egg & Bacon Breakfast Ring
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat about 4 minutes or until cooked but not crisp, turning once.
Set bacon aside; drain all except 2 teaspoons bacon drippings from skillet.
In a medium bowl, beat 1/3 cup of the milk, the eggs, salt & pepper with a whisk until well mixed. Stir in leeks or bell pepper (if using). Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook 5 to 6 minutes or until eggs are scrambled and thickened throughout but still moist.
Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. On lined cookie sheet, arrange triangles with shortest sides toward center, overlapping in a star shape & leaving 4-inch round circle open in center. Crescent dough points may hang over edge of cookie sheet. Press overlapping dough to flatten.
Place a slice of bacon on each of the triangles. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of the cheese into widest part of the dough. Spoon eggs over the cheese. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the cheese. Pull points of triangles over eggs and cheese, and tuck under dough to form ring (filling will be visible). Carefully brush dough with remaining 1 Tbsp milk; sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup of cheese.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool slightly, cut into slices and serve with salsa.
Recipe Notes
- Pillsbury Crescent Rolls were introduced in 1965 and quickly became a household staple. The idea for these rolls came from a food technologist named Vic Mills, who also invented Tang, the powdered orange drink. The iconic crescent shape was actually created unintentionally by a Pillsbury engineer who was trying to design an easy-to-separate dough tube.
CELEBRATING LABOR DAY!
It’s hard to believe Labor Day weekend is here already! In our part of the world, it signals the last of those coveted summer days. Celebrated in Canada as a national statuary holiday weekend. Labor Day weekend gives us an opportunity to enjoy family & friends before summer is officially over.
Part of Canada’s appeal is its four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall. We are entering the season of the fall harvest and the leaves on the trees begin their transformation to stunning shades of orange, red and yellow.
When I was giving thought to food for this day, a nice seasonal vegetable strata came to mind. For most families there’s ‘places to be and things to see’ on this day so why not start it with a breakfast dish that can be prepared the day before and baked in the morning.
Unlike quiche and frittata, strata originated in North America. The first known recipe, the cheese strata, dates back to 1902 and contains bread, white sauce and cheese.
A strata is usually a savory egg-bread casserole that’s baked in the oven or microwaved. Strata’s can be made with a variety of fillings including meats, cheese, vegetables or fruits. Usually, the bread and fillings are layered in a casserole dish with the egg mixture poured over top. The dish can be prepared the night before (or at least 2 hours before cooking) to allow time for the bread to soak up some of the egg mixture. What you’re left with is a fluffy, bread-pudding-like meal that’s completely customizable using your favorite ingredients.
Hopefully this strata will be a good choice for your family on this holiday.
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Tomato Zucchini Strata
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Instructions
In an extra-large skillet, melt butter over low heat. Add tomatoes & zucchini. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tomatoes begin to lose their firm round shape; remove from heat.
Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 2-quart baking dish. Top with half of the zucchini mixture & half of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining bread cubes, zucchini mixture & cheese.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, parsley, basil, chives, garlic salt & pepper. Carefully pour egg mixture evenly over bread mixture in dish. Using the back of a spoon, gently press down on layers. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
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Remove casserole from fridge. Bake for 60 minutes or until puffed, golden & set. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
The TikTok tortilla trend is one of the best ‘hacks’ on folding tortillas to come out of 2020 Covid quarantine.
Starting online with a simple threefold of a large flour tortilla, each layer contains a different ingredient that folds into a perfect triangle that is then toasted in a skillet or panini press for a hand-held snack. This wrap method is especially convenient for those on the go as the folds prevent the hot fillings from spilling out, which can happen with normal sandwich wraps or quesadillas.
Plus, the trend ensures that you’ll get a perfect bite of fillings every time.
These folded wraps are endlessly customizable, which makes them great for summer when we are all so busy with summer activities. Making a quick wrap and being able to run out the door or maybe just steal a quiet moment on the deck seems like the perfect idea to me.
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Breakfast Wrap Tortilla
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Instructions
Lay out a tortilla flat. In the middle of the tortilla along the bottom half, make a cut half way up the tortilla.
Put your ingredients into the four quadrants of the tortilla.
Start with one section and fold them one over the other.
Place the stacked tortilla in a greased skillet or panini press until golden brown.
