Treat Yourself to Breakfast in Bed

This morning I decided to have breakfast in bed.  Whether you are fixing for one or for a couple it’s a fun decadent treat.  I quickly created a cranberry pineapple pecan relish to spread on a cinnamon raisin bagel, brewed a cup of cranberry breakfast tea and set up a little table in the morning sun by the bed.  Ahh, what a way to start the morning!

Balsamic Strawberry Jam

A couple cups of strawberries from the grocery store produce isle and I visited in the kitchen today.  They landed in a pot with some Balsamic, sugar and lemon peel.  Half an hour simmering on the stove and a big spoon full on toast…I’m in strawberry heaven!  I started out thinking I’d make this for a brunch for friends but I may eat the entire half pint jar before then!  I know a couple of you are reading this right now, thinking…call me!   Girls, come on over and I’ll show you how to make this super easy recipe with some fresh strawberries, then we’ll eat another jar while we peruse over more strawberry recipes at the bottom of this post. 

Fresh strawberry Banana muffins with chocolate drizzle

We spent a beautiful morning at a local Farmers Market with the grands.  They wanted to buy everything in sight.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are so pretty, aren't they?  Before going I charged the mini ipads so they could practice their photography skills and take images of interesting things we bought and some we did not buy. They captured some pretty interesting shots, especially the five year old.  We bought some bright strawberries so I can participate in this months Ultimate Recipe Challenge which is strawberries. If you like strawberries and if you're looking for some new ways to use them in recipes then you'll definitely need to peruse the recipe round up and check out our Pinterest Board with even more recipes.

I made this strawberry banana muffin recipe some time ago because I had strawberries that were getting too ripe and one lonely banana that begged to be baked right away.  That particular day I wanted to make a breakfast muffin but discovered I had left my muffin tin at the family farm.  Not to be deterred I pulled down several coffee mugs and built the muffins for great grand and I to enjoy together.  Now that strawberries are in season again I remembered how easy the recipe is and decided I NEED it again.  Seriously, as soon as I thought about that hot muffin with chocolate spilling off the top and the sweet little bites of fresh fruit inside I was done for.  So here it is again and you can make one to enjoy too.

If you like recipes using fresh fruit, you'll like these too:

• Strawberry balsamic sauce
• Old fashioned blackberry cobbler
• Strawberry Jello Pie
• Raspberry Cheesecake in a jar

Strawberry Banana Muffin with Chocolate

by Jeannie

Cook Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients (12 muffins or 6-8 mugs)

cake batter

• 1 1/3 Cups flour
• 2/3 Cup sugar
• 2/3 Cup 2% milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

fruit layers

• 1-2 bananas, chopped
• 12-16 strawberries, chopped (1 per cake and 1 to garnish each cake)

Drizzle

• Chocolate syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour muffin pan or 6-8 mugs

Mix first 6 ingredients for batter

Put a little batter in each muffin pan (about 2 Tablespoons

Drop in a few pieces of chopped banana

Add a little more batter

Drop in a chopped strawberry

End with batter on top, 1/3 full

Bake 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

Drizzle on some chocolate syrup and be prepared to be astonished at how delish it is!

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Plum Scones and After You by JoJo Moyes

I really liked reading After You by JoJo Moyes.  Sometimes sequel books leave me feeling disappointed, but this one did not.  Although it is about recovering from loss and moving forward with life it was well written and pleasing and a great after story to Me Before You (made into a movie).   I can only complain about the food they had in this book!  HA!  I usually get inspired to cook something from the book I am currently reading, this one…

not so much.  I don’t see me buying beef cheeks much less cooking and eating it!  There were other exotic dishes I am not familiar with and will have to spend some time on Google to find out what the heck they are.  I did however enjoy some tea and Plum Scones while reading.  If you like scones, they are really simple and easy to make.  I had some fresh plums given to me this week so I substituted three chopped plumbs minus the pit and used a little less milk because the plumbs were juicy in my Apricot and Amaretto Scone recipe.  They were scrumptious, much better than I imagine the biscuits described several times at her meetings were. [smiling at the thought] The adapted recipe is at the bottom of this page.

I’ve thought about being a tourist in London but with my fear of traveling abroad I doubt I’ll be dealing with the rough neighborhoods exhausted in this book.  I would however enjoy touring the castle home of some wealthy locals.  I would especially like finding my way through mazes and gardens like those described in the book.

The main character in this book, Louisa, was a grief survivor from the first novel.  Her story really started in the first book and takes off full throttle in After You.  I like the way Moyes builds her character with the way she must deal with all the people in her life.   I felt satisfied the story was complete at the end though I’d like to read a follow up on several of the book characters, both hers and Lily.  No spoilers here, you’ll have to read the book to find out who Lily is.

I'd recommend this easy read to young adults +.  The language is jild ih American standards.  I'm not sure how vulgar some of the words might appear to Europeans.  There are references to sex that could make a conservative blush, but really it was pretty mild.  The story starts with energy and progresses well with all the side stories and characters being relevant to the whole setting.  I rate it a 4 out of 5 stars because a 5* book for me is a total surprise at the end.  It's not difficult to see where this story is headed.

Fresh Pum Scones

by Jeannie

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: brunch breakfast snack bread

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Ingredients (8 wedges)

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tablespoons cold butter till it resembles coarse sand
• 3-4 ripe plums
• 1/3 cup milk

Instructions

Stir together dry ingredients.

Use a pastry cutter to cut butter into dry ingredients until it resembles small peas.

Chop fresh ripe plums and discard the pits.

Make a well in the center of the flour/butter.

Add plums and milk.

Quickly mix together just until a dough ball forms.

Add a little more flour if it is too sticky.

Pat the dough into a 2" thick circle.

Cut into 8 pie shaped wedges.

Sprinkle granulated sugar over top.

Place wedges on cookie sheet or oven griddle.

Bake 370° F oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a little before sprinkling with powdered sugar or drizzle with a powder sugar glaze.

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Fried Peach Cobbler Fritters

One day I was commenting to my Aunt I love peaches and wishing I could work a trip to Weatherford Peach Festival in and the next day Brother In Law was bringing me a bucket of peaches!    He was riding a horse by an unoccupied house and saw a small peach tree so loaded with peaches the branches were breaking off.  He talked to the property manager and got permission to pick some peaches.  He doesn’t cook or eat them raw, but knew I’d like them.  How lucky am I?   They smell wonderful and the pink skins are so pretty. This morning the little grands are here for breakfast so I mixed up a fritter recipe plus some delicious juicy ripe peaches for a delectable breakfast that tastes like a bite of fried peach cobbler.  The best part is that they only take minutes to make.

Wild plum coffee cake

The cool thing about summer is all the fresh produce.  Brother in law brought over some wild plums from his place this morning because he says he doesn’t eat them.  The biggest portion will become jelly but I saved some of the thick pulp to make an easy coffee cake with wild plums to see if I can change his mind.  The recipe is so simple the little grands helped prepare it.

In a large pot I covered about 2 pounds of tart wild plums with water and brought to a rapid boil over a high heat.  Actually I didn’t have to wait for them to boil, the skins started to crack and pop open before that so I removed them from the burner and peeled the skins.  If they are soft enough to squeeze the seeds out, do it.  If not, cut the plums in quarters and discard the seeds with the skins you peeled off. 

Now you make a dough that you can easily spread in the pan and build a topping with the plums.  That sounds pretty simple and it is.  I’ll give you more details in the recipe below.  After it is baked and completely cool (about 20 minutes) drizzle on a powdered sugar icing.  It was great with coffee and delicious after dinner served a-la-mode too.  The little grands were active helping with this recipe and they loved the result.

Wild Plum Cookie Bar

by Jeannie

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: breakfast dessert snack plum coffee cake

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Ingredients (serves 12)

batter

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar for batter
• 6 Tablespoons butter for batter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg

topping

• 12 ripe plums, peeled, seeded
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

Peel, quarter and remove seeds from plums. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in 6 Tbs cold butter.

Make a little well in the center of the flour and pour in milk and the egg.

Pierce the egg with a fork and gently beat into milk.

Slowly stir flour into milk/egg until it is all incorporated together.

Spread the dough into a well greased 9 x 13 pan.

Pour the melted butter over the dough.

Arrange the prepared plums on top of the buttered dough so that when you cut it into 12 squares each sections will have a plum. Don't worry if your plums are squishy if you used the blanching method to remove the skin & seeds. It will be fine.

Mix the sugar and spices together and sprinkle all of it across the top.

Bake 350° for 40 minutes.

Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool at least 20 minutes.

Combine the milk with powdered sugar for a pourable icing you can drizzle across the cooled bar cookie.

Slice and serve.

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Raspberry Crumb Coffee Cake Pin Win

Another great Pinterest Win.  I knew the second I read the recipe I wanted to make it.  The recipe is as easy as it looks and as tasty as it sounds. The only cake I really like is coffee cake and cakes with extra’s in them like fruit or nuts and this one is right there.  I had almost all the ingredients minus a couple of really important ones.  I didn’t have milk or enough eggs.  How did I manage, you ask?   I modified the recipe with some substitutions every cook needs to know. 

Cranberry Orange Amaretto Scones

I made my first scones in honor of St. Patty’s Day.  I researched several recipes and read up on historic Irish foods.  There was some debate on whether scones came from the Irish, Scottish or England but it doesn’t matter because they did make something like it on griddles.  They remind me of something between a sweetened biscuit that doesn’t rise much that are delicious.

How to make a fresh apple upside down coffee cake with Nutella

Hubs walked slowly through the kitchen looking around hopefully for something sweet to eat this morning and finding nothing exciting slowly walked to his office.  I took the hint and looked to see what I had that would satisfy a sweet tooth and would enhance the cup of coffee I had been sipping and savoring.  Two apples were in the fruit bin so... 

Monkey Bread for Two

Yesterday was a beautiful 70° day and I took advantage of it getting out and about but another cold front blew in last night so I get to bake today.  I like baking in cold weather for several reasons: warms the kitchen, smells wonderful and the food is comforting.  Right now I am enjoying the cinnamon smell of a small batch of Monkey Bread.  I cook for two most of the time so I adapted the recipe down for us.  Here is my super simple recipe…

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Muffin

Breakfast does not need to be boring!  Great Grand woke up asking for cupcakes.  If you’ve seen my Grandma book page, you know I will find a way for every grand to get their Nini wish!  So, using a “not too sweet” cake recipe we added fruit and made perfect breakfast cupcakes.  I discovered earlier this week that I left my cupcake pan at the last family farm party, so I used mugs as my muffin pans.  They made cute little cakes.  Here is the recipe so you too can grant your little persons request.
  Recipe:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter & flour muffin pan or 6-8 mugs
• Mix together in a medium mixing bowl:
  1. 1 1/3 Cups flour
  2. 2/3 Cup sugar
  3. 2/3 Cup 2% milk
  4. 1/4 cup butter, softened
  5. 1 egg
  6. 1 teaspoon vanilla
  7. 1-2 bananas, chopped 
  8. 12-16 strawberries, chopped (1 per cake and 1 to garnish each cake)
  9. Chocolate syrup
• Mix first 6 ingredients for batter.
• Put a little batter in each muffin pan (about 2 Tablespoons) and drop in a few pieces of chopped banana
• Add a little more batter and drop in a chopped strawberry
• End with batter on top, 1/3 full
• Bake 350 F for 25-30 minutes.
• Drizzle on some chocolate syrup and be prepared to be astonished at how delish it is!
• 

I personally loved eating mine straight from the mug,

Great Grand liked his on a plate so he could drizzle the chocolate all over it himself. 

He dipped his extra strawberry in the chocolate puddles.

1929 Cook Book

I love cook books, don't you?  I buy them because they entice me, for wedding gifts, for "luv you" gifts and for no reason at all!  I haven't counted them, but there are more than two very large plastic bins full.  I know this because we have been preparing our house for market, packing up the clutter.  Clutter.  That is practically an insult to my beloved cook books! [scowl]

I brought one bin full in to my mom's a couple of weeks ago to allow my sister and our girls to look through them.  We all share a love for cook books. [satisfied smile]  This particular bin held two of my favorites.  The first is a Better Homes & Garden Cook book I received from my dear Aunt for a wedding gift in 1970.  It is tattered and torn and scribbled in from use.  The first page I have written a note to my oldest grand daughter.  She asked to have it when I part from it or from this earth.  On page 148 is a sugar cookie recipe.  The note beside it says 7/8/2006 tea party with Grandad and the invitation we made together for her to present to him is there. [nostalgic sigh].

The second book is one my mother in law gave me.  It is a Good House Keeping book that was not sold, but given as promotions with magazine subscriptions.  It is a 1928 8th edition.  I brought these two books back home with me.  I couldn't bear to put them in storage, so I plan to pass them to my BG Grand and my daughter the very next time they come over.  [happy dance]

Some 1929 Recipes

Apple Fritters

2 medium-sized sour apples

Batter mixture

Powdered sugar

Pare, core and cut apples in eighths.  Cut in slices and add to batter.  Drop by spoonfuls and fry in deep fat. Then roll in powdered sugar.  (I added a little cinnamon and cut the apple in tiny chunks.  The larger pieces were a bit too crisp in the final product)

Banana Fritters

4 bananas

2 teaspoonfuls lemon juice

Powdered sugar

Batter mixture

Peel, scrape and cut bananas in halves, lengthwise, Then  cut in two pieces, crosswise.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Let stand thirty minutes.  Drain, dip in batter, and fry in deep fat.

Batter:

1 cupful flour

1 1/2 teaspoonfuls baking powder

3 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoonful salt

1/3 cupful milk

1 egg

Mix and sift dry ingredients.  Combine milk and egg well beaten and add to dry ingredients, while eating constantly. 



Coffee Cup Food

I have decided, seriously - I need a coffee cup food cook book.  If you're anything like me, I always seem to have a little more than I needed for a recipe of scrambled cooked ground meat, breakfast sausage, 1 or 2 pieces of bacon, or cubed chicken that I stash in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  I always have frozen vegetables too.  Coffee Cup recipes would make a single meal in a few minutes using up those ingredients. Tonight I made french toast in a mug.  I had no idea how much I would like this.  Seriously good.

Coffee Cup French Toast
Ingredients:
2 slices bread
1 egg (I reduced this by using egg substitute =1/2 egg)
1Tablespoon milk
cinnamon
syrup
powdered sugar

1. Cube 2 slices of bread and pile it in the cup.  I used some whole wheat bread I intended to bake croutons out of this week.
2. Crack 1 egg into a separate cup, scramble with a fork or use egg substitue like I did.  I did reduce the egg to 1/2 after the first time I made this and liked it better.  Add 1 tablespoons of milk plus a sprinkle  of cinnamon.  
3. Pour the mixture over the bread cubes. Give it a minute to soak into the bread and gently turn the bread to coat.
4. Microwave one minute, then add ten seconds at a time until it's cooked to your liking. I cooked mine 1 1/2 minutes.
5. Top off with syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Here is the last few bites before I remembered to take a photo!

Here are some other sites I found some great single serve microwave recipes:
fruit muffin:  http://boutthere.com/2011/05/16/the-weekender/

fluffy cake:  http://thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/11/aunt-bettys-1-2-3-cake.html

 Cheesecake!  http://www.2stews.com/2009/09/cheesecake-in-mug.html