Breakfast Salad~Soft eggs with cherry tomato salad, sprouts and toast

On weekends I like to treat myself. I like to starting my mornings in a healthy way. The idea of salad for breakfast may seem a bit strange but it is a great way to get a jump start on getting those recommended daily servings of vegetables. On any given day it is a struggle for me to consume one measly cup of raw veggies. I find that when I start with salad for breakfast, it motivates me to make healthier eating choices throughout the day.

I must confess that my salads don't require a recipe. They are dictated by what's in season and what I happen to have on hand. Here is a rough guide for you to follow.

Cherry Tomato Salad with Sprouts and Toast

1 serving

Salad

1 tablespoon goats cheese crumbled

1 stalk chive, chopped

5 grapes, halved

5 black olives, halved

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 slice toast

1 tablespoon hummus

1 soft boiled egg

alfalfa sprouts (as much or as little as you like)

Mix all the salad ingredients together. Spread hummus on toast and serve with alfalfa sprouts.

Fat Pork Jam

It has been a fruitful holiday. We have been stuffing our faces with mangoes, West Indian cherries, yellow plums, and guavas. Wars are being fought over the few remaining sugar apples. 

One  uncommon fruit which we found on a drive through the country side was fat pork.  Bite into it and the unusual texture of it's interior, white pulp will clue you in as to the name. The taste is insipid and to be honest it doesn't inspire a second bite. It looks it but doesn't taste like pork fat. The weird, floury texture is only very mildly sweet with a flavour that is barely detectable. The rest of the Caribbean calls these fruit cocoplums. It is something that I remember foraging as a child, although now I cannot for the life of me remember why! 

Foraging, apparently it's a thing. Back when I was a child. It didn't have a name. It was just something we did. Mom and Dad you might want to look away for this part. Sampling little bits of wild, edible, plants and their fruits was a childhood game which was meant to gross out friends. 

Does anyone remember eating the transparent seed coat of the Pride of Barbados seeds? We called it Dead Man's flesh. Yum. There is that 'ick' factor that's so gosh darn appealing to kids~ especially boys.  Reportedly, all parts of the Pride of Barbados plant are toxic but we didn't know that as children. It's a wonder any of us survived childhood! How about sucking the nectar out of the Ixora flowers or eating 'cheese' (pollen) from the stamen of hibiscus flowers? So tell me are there any strange things which you ate as a child that have you questioning your sanity today?

Back to present day and the point of me buying a large quantity of a fruit that my son says tastes like mashed potatoes. 

He is not wrong.

I don't much care for it myself but I had heard that one could use this fruit to make jam. 

How was it? Well, we all liked it. While not likely to replace our all time favourite strawberry or guava jams, it was pretty decent jam.  I would describe it as having a mild rose flavour with slightly woodsy notes.  Part of me wants to call this by its other name and say cocoplum jelly. That sounds a lot more sophisticated and grown up, doesn't it? However the kid in me...

I can't help myself - the shock factor of offering someone a spoonful of Fat Pork Jam is proving to be just too irresistible. 

Fat Pork Jam

(yield about 1 cup)

*No actual pigs were harmed in the making of this jam.

Ingredients

75 fat pork (cocoplums)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sugar

Method

Put the fat pork into into a deep pot filled with water ~ just enough to cover the plums. Boil for about 3 mins. . After allowing it to cool, use clean hands  to smash the fruit and remove the seeds. Pass the remaining pulp through a sieve removing the larger bits of pulp and skin. To this fruit sludge, add 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 cup of sugar. Cook until jam is set. Click here for useful tips for knowing when your jam is ready 

Omelette with Greens and Pommerac

This morning I made this super simple breakfast. It may not seem like much but for me it is quite the deal since breakfast is a meal I usually skip. Now that I am on a spiritual rejuvenation of sorts, i.e. vacation, I find myself wanting to rejuvenate my physical self as well. As such, I am making it my goal to improve on how I start my days. 

Luckily this is not going to be too hard to do since a couple of the fruit trees in my yard are bearing heavily. Right now our pommerac tree is making a spectacular showing. Without a doubt this fruit is set to be a regular feature at my table over the next month. 

Red Pepper Omelette

(serves 4)

8 eggs 

1/8 cup onions (chopped)

1/8 cup red bell peppers

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese ( or any cheese of your choice, grated)

salt to taste

1 tsp oil

watercress

pommerac (sliced)

choi sum flowers

METHOD:

Crack the eggs into a small bow. Whisk with a fork. Add chopped onion and red bell pepper. Season with salt and whisk a bit more.

Heat oil on medium heat in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot pour in the egg mixture, tilting the pan to spread the egg mixture in a circle to cover the base of the pan. 

As the omelette sets use a heatproof plastic spatula to gently lift the edges. At this point depending the type of frying pan you are using you may have to lower your heat. I have a ceramic coated frying pan that cooks best on low heat. Raise or lower heat according to the kind of pan you are cooking with. Occasionally you can tilt the pan so that the liquid runs off the top and cooks. Cook until the base is set and light golden and the top is almost set. The top should remain slightly liquid. Once folded over the residual heat will finish cooking it.

Sprinkle your cheese over the top and using your heatproof spatula fold the omelette in half. cook for a couple seconds more then transfer to a large plate and cut into four pieces. Serve with watercress, pommerac and choi sum flowers.

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Candied Golden Limes ~ What to do with Calamansi?

So it might be that lately I am a little, just a teeny, tiny bit, obsessed with calamondins which are also known as calamansi. A lot of it has to do with the fact that they are a relatively unknown local fruit. Truly, I feel like the fruit version of a modern day orchid hunter when I rediscover some hitherto unknown or fallen out of favour produce. Some of you might remember me getting a wee bit crazy over rumberries, and then again with purslane?

I have had my eye on this fruit for a couple of years and have been wanting to blog about it for the longest while. 

Rather surprisingly, I did not find this in a some remote country district but in a suburb of the capital city where it was being grown as an ornamental by an elderly, Chinese, gentleman. The small tree is quite beautiful when laden down with orange fruit which are about the size of limes. They have an intense, fragrant smell-like Portugals (tangerines) but don't be fooled by the heady aroma. Bite into one and you will be in for a screwed up, sour faced surprise........ugh they are so very sour! Yet, if you know what to do with them, they can be utterly delightful.

Camalodins or calamansi are also known as Chinese oranges or golden limes. The fruit starts off green, then turns yellow and finally orange. It can be used when green since it is just as sour green as it is in its orange state. The fruit is thought to have originated in China and is most likely the result of a cross between a kumquat and a mandarin. It is grown here mainly as an ornamental but not much is done with the fruit outside of using it to season fish. It is quite popular in the Phillipines where it is used commercially in juices and marmalade. 

Now can we talk about breakfast? More importantly, can we discuss how these darling, candied limes have turned my boring, healthy, yoghurt and oatmeal breakfasts into desserts? 

Yum, I love the idea of dessert for breakfast, don't you? 

Candied Calamansi 

Ingredients

1 lb calamansi

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Method

Lay some waxed or parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup granulated sugar on the paper. 

Slice calamansi into thin rounds and remove the seeds. Combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir a few minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved and syrupy. 

Add the calamansi slices and cook until they are translucent. Drain the rinds and lay on the sugared, parchment paper to dry. Let dry overnight or a couple of days. Store in an airtight container.

WARNING: Usually I end a recipe with a cook's tip. This time around I think it more appropriate to end with a warning.  I strongly advise that you do not under for any reason dip these in chocolate! Trust me on this. I am not to be held responsible if you ignore this warning and end up consuming a pound of chocolate covered calamansi in one sitting. Yeah, it.....uhmmmm......has been known to happen.....just saying.

It's no big deal, Lemon curd (Microwave Version)

A spoonful of lemon curd over my breakfast makes my medicine oatmeal go down in the most delightful way! To really appreciate how HUGE a deal that is for me I direct your attention to this.

Those of you who make curd on the stove top know that it involves stirring, stirring, stirring AND stirring over a low heat until the thing thickens. It's a tedious process during which my mind wanders. I start thinking about socks and laundry, I make the grocery list in my head.  I wonder.....dagnabbit will this thing be done in time for the next episode of Game of Thrones? I look down......

Gah! I have scrambled eggs. Not cool.

Today you are gonna want to high five-me.

If we aren't already friends, you are going to want to be my friend.

Hello friends! I have an easy peasy lemon curd recipe for you. It seriously is no big deal to make this. No scrambled eggs, I promise.

The hardest part is keeping the spoon out of your mouth between stirs.  

FYI, you might not want to do that as I have it on good authority that hot lemon curd burns like a motha!

That’s real.

Before this, I purchased lemon curd at the gourmet shop. An extravagance to be sure since this one little jar of curd costs a small fortune. But those days are behind me since I discovered this recipe.

The microwave has got to be the strangest invention of modern times. Almost everyone owns one of these giant, space-age looking heaters but few actually cook with it.

I am one of the few.  Until now....

now I cook curd, a lot of curd.

Please don't freak out.....it's just juice, eggs, sugar and butter stirred in the microwave.

You can totally do this.

And when you are done put a dollop over your porridge,

in your yogurt

or on your pancakes,

bake a lemon meringue pie

or just eat it straight from the spoon, cause yeah ..........that's not strange, not in the least, especially not in my home.

Lemon Curd ( Microwave )

yield 2 cups

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (unsweetened)
3 eggs

1 tsp of lemon zest

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter (melted)

pinch salt

METHOD
Add sugar to lemon juice and taste. Add more sugar a tablespoon at at time until you are satisfied with the taste. Most recipes I have seen call for a cup of sugar so my using 1/2 cup should tell you that I like a fairly tart curd. Adjust sugar to your taste.

In a 4 cup sized glass measuring cup, melt butter and let it cool. To this, add the now sweetened lemon juice, and eggs. Mix well with a whisk.
Microwave on high for one minute.
Remove from microwave and whisk vigorously.
Repeat, microwaving for one minute at a time and whisking until it coats the back of a spoon. (depending on the microwave this will take 3-5 mins)

In my microwave the curd was done in 4 mins.

Spoon test: Dip a small spoon in the curd. Let it cool a bit and run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the curd holds the finger mark, it is done. If the custard flows and closes the mark then it needs to cook some more.

Once the curd is done transfer to a jar and store in your fridge.

Assuming you don't eat it all right away, it lasts 2 weeks.

COOK'S TIP
When I don't have lemons I use a reputable brand of unsweetened, from concentrate lemon juice.

Goat's Milk Yogurt with Rose Syrup and Lychees

Hello gorgeous.

Any day that starts with something that is more like a dessert than breakfast makes me extremely happy.

This indulgent combination of yoghurt, rose syrup and lychees was the brain child of Daily Cookie.  I tasted her yoghurt and just I could not get it out of my mind. My version uses goat's milk but you can make yoghurt with almost any kind of milk. You can use whole milk, skim,  evaporated, powdered milk. cow's, goat's, sheep's and even buffalo's milk. Just remember that the thinner the milk the thinner the yoghut will be. Milk powder can be added to thicken the milk or you can strain off some of the whey to make a soft cheese.

Goats' milk is becoming more popular and can be more readily found in supermarkets here. Recently I discovered a local brand of raw goat's milk. I contacted the producer and was delighted to discover that not only is it raw (unpasteurized), his goats are free of growth hormones and antibiotics so the milk is 100% organic.


I started making yoghurt when my children were babies because I could not find a full or even low fat commercial yoghurt in the supermarkets. Fat free may be all the rage but babies need fats for their development.

Nutritional requirements aside,  I am also keen on having my children develop a taste for a variety of textures and flavours so that later on they might have an appreciation for a wide variety of  foods. Has it worked? For the most part yes. Sweet is not the only flavour in their food vocabulary and they do eat tangy home-made yoghurt with about the same gusto as their Danimals brand yogurt. For my part I actually prefer the slightly sour European styled yogurts which you don't find here.

Do you like plain yoghurt? It's a bit of an acquired taste isn't it?  As much as I am fond of  yoghurt the astringent sour cream flavour of some home-made and artisanal varieties can be a bit overwhelming. For me a good plain yoghurt should be a balance of sour with sweet undertones of creamy milk. If it tastes like paint stripper I won't eat it. I think this yoghurt strikes just the right balance . It's not too sweet nor is it too tangy.

Goat's Milk Yoghurt with Lychees and Rose Flavoured Syrup

1 quart goat's milk

1/4 cup powdered milk (I used cow's milk because I was out of powdered goat's milk)

1/2 cup plain unsweetened yoghurt ( be sure that the label indicates that it is a live culture)

1 can lychees

rose syrup to serve

Method

Sterilize a glass measuring cup, thermometer, a tablespoon, lid of glass jar and a small bowl.

Pour a quart of milk into a clean glass jar ( I used a Welch's grape juice jar but you could also use a glass mayonnaise jar)

Nest the jar on a clean folded kitchen towel in a large saucepan on the stovetop. (The towel will prevent the jar from rattling once the water gets to a boil).

Fill the saucepan with water that comes  half way up the jar. Put a thermometer into the milk ( NOT the water). Put the stove on high heat and bring the milk to 185°F. 

If you do not have a thermometer, the milk is the right temperature just before the milk boils. There will be a some foam on top and the milk around the edges of the jar may be starting to form tiny bubbles. This method of the jar in the milk is better if you don't have a thermometer as the water bath prevents the milk from scorching.

While you are waiting for for the milk to come to temperature fill your sink with cold water and blocks of ice.

Once the milk is at the desired temperature. Hold it at 185°F for about 10 to 15 minutes. If you have the time then holding the milk at this temp for about 30 minutes gives a thicker consistency.

Remove your starter yoghurt from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while you are scalding and cooling the milk.

When the milk is 185°F, Cover the jar loosely with lid and leave to cool. You can hasten the process by placing the pot with the warm water in a cold ice bath in your sink. Do not place the glass jar directly into the cold water initially as it might break. Once the jar has cooled somewhat more ice can be added to the water in the sink and the jar can be placed directly into the cold water.

Pre-warm your oven to it's lowest temperature. For me that's 175°F and turn off the oven.

When the milk has cooled to 115°F, Put the yoghurt starter in a small bowl add the dry milk powder and gently stir in a small amount of the cooled scalded milk. If you do not have a thermometer, wash your hands and stick your finger in the milk. it should feel very warm but you should be able to hold your finger in the milk for about 10 seconds.

Add this mixture to the warm milk and stir everything together to ensure even distribution of the starter.

Replace the lid on the jar. Remove the towel from the saucepan and wring out water. Use the warm towel to wrap the jar and place the yoghurt in a pre-warmed oven.

In about 6 - 8 hours yoghurt should be set. Check on it in 6 hours and if the textures and taste are to your liking you can put your yoghurt in the fridge. If it's not to your liking at this point leave it to set up longer.

Before you eat your yoghurt put aside 1/2 cup in a small sterilized jar to make your next batch.

A Green Eggs and Ham moment...Anchovies and Pissaladière

I know right. Last week surely you thought I was nuts to stand in front of a stove for an hour sweating onions. Here I am this week extolling the flavour of fish and onions on pizza.

Pissaladière is a wonderful pizza-like dish from the south of France. I don't caramelize onions often, once maybe twice a year but when I do I go all out and do a huge batch. So yeah it was a lot of work but it means that I can come home from work, spread my onions on a pita base and in the 5 minutes that it takes to heat this in the oven, dinner is done. The onions go just as well on a traditional pizza dough base and are just sublime on a pastry base. Whatever. Knock yourself out.

I know for some of you the the idea of fish on a pizza seems strange. Let me tell you that there was a time I thought so too. I hated anchovies which was strange because when I was growing up I never actually saw or even tasted an anchovy. It wasn't something that was available in the stores here. In fact, I've been searching my memory to figure out where I got the idea that anchovies were hateful when truth be told I wasn't sure what anchovies even looked like. Stranger even since I totally love these gruesome looking fry-dry.

My opinion of this much maligned fish changed when my favourite brand of Worcestershire sauce was off the market for a while. I tried other brands and they just couldn't measure up. It was only when I read and compared labels that I discovered that the secret ingredient which distinguished my preferred Worcester from it's failing competitors was non other than the 'dreaded' anchovy!

So last year when tinned anchovies and anchovy paste turned up at my supermarket, I decided to try them. To my very great surprise I found that I was already familiar with the flavour of anchovies since they taste exactly like smoked herring albeit much saltier. However the intense brine of these little fish used sparingly goes perfectly with  those melted sweet onions.

To those who say they do not like anchovies permit me to borrow from the character in Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham and encourage you all to try it in the hopes that you discover that you actually like it. Try it, try it and you may. You may I say!

Right so clearly Seuss says it better. No worries I'll not be quitting my day job any time soon:-)

Fear of anchovies conquered. Next up the pound of black, scary, viscous looking eggplant jam I bought at an Arabic shop.  Tell me is there any food you have a pre-conceived hatred of even though you've never actually tried it?

Ingredients

Serving Size: 1 person

1/4 cup caramelized onions

1 pita bread (white or whole wheat)

4 olives (cut up)

1 or two anchovy fillets ( torn into small pieces. Very intensely salty so you don't need a lot)

1 or 2 ozs crumble feta (not traditional to pissaladière but a great add in)

Method

Spread onions on the pita base. Sprinkle cheese, onions, and anchovies. Heat in a 350°F oven for 5 mins or under your broiler on low until it's warmed through. That's it. You're done.

Looking for Life's Easy Button

This blog has been quiet recently on account of work and some family drama... but mainly work. Lately everything has been happening all at the same time and I find myself exhausted and looking for life's easy button. I promise I'll let you know when I find it, until then here is a fabulous recipe for gluten-free muffins.

It doesn't look like much so what's so great about this muffin?  Well these muffins wake you up. Seriously. They are the kick your ass out of bed, put a smile on your face even though you don't feel like smiling muffins. Yeah these are those guys. They sound like this. I know they are a departure from my regular healthy, whole-grain  breakfast muffins but I do have to tell you, recently I've been needing a whole lotta kick ass to roll me out to face the days.

I have said before that I love how quickly muffins can be put together. This recipe is a little different. You can't just dump the ingredients into one bowl and mix. First you must cream the butter and sugar before combining the wet and dry ingredients. Your reward for this little extra effort will be a muffin that has a tender cake-like crumb.

Warm from the oven, oozing sticky blueberries and slathered with even more sweet butter, I can't think of a better way to chase away morning blues than with cake masquerading as a muffin for breakfast, can you?


Blueberry Muffins Gluten-Free
(NB: This recipe works just as well if you swap out the gluten free flour for regular all purpose flour)

3 cups of Dove's farm Gluten Free white flour

1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter or 1 1/4 stick, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon grated lime or orange peel
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (defrosted)
1 tbsp flour (if using defrosted frozen berries)

Method

Use standard 12-muffin muffin tins. Coat each muffin cup lightly with butter. Set your oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until it turns a pale yellow colour. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one. Add the grated lime or orange peel.

Add one half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until it is only just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yoghurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yoghurt. Add the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yoghurt. Beat until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Fold in the berries with a wooden spoon. If using defrosted berries drain the excess liquid and coat them with a light dusting of flour before folding in.

Distribute the muffin batter equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test for  a thin bamboo skewer or a toothpick to see that the enters are cooked. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.
Makes 12 muffins.

High Energy Refreshment

Lately I've been hearing voices.

These voices, they ask me to do things I don't want to do. Most recently these voices have been protesting the amount of time I spend blogging and they are also partially to blame for my delay in posting the reveal about that mystery fruit. I try but it's hard to ignore the voices. I swear, I can even hear them in my sleep!

Voice #1: " Mooooooom, may I have a snack?"
Voice #2: "Mummy, want milk?"
As yet, Voice #2 doesn't speak in complete sentences but punctuates by screaming.

Voice #1: "Moooooooom, he doesn't want to share. Make him share?"
Voice #2: SCREAMS.
Voice #1: "Mom, I want to look at Ben 10."
Voice #2: SCREAMS. ( He wants to look at Doki on Discovery Kids).

Voice #2's communication is more telepathic than verbal...

Voice #1:"OOOOW! Mom make him stop biting."

 ...and sometime physical.

Mom, sipping on her sanity saving smoothie, steps in to prevent a trip to the hospital.

Voice #1:"May I go outside?"

You've gotta know that I'm only pretending these voices are polite. Play along.

Voice #1: "Moooom! Make him stop following me!"
Voice #2: "Mine, bike!"
Voice #1: "Mom, why doesn't he share?"
Voice #2: "Mummy, naughty. Spank you."

Or maybe that was Voice #1 again. Heck, you know you're in trouble when you start mixing up the voices!
Voice #1: "Mom, I'm hungry."
Voice #2: "Mummy, foody!"

Listen. I'll be the first person to tell you that my children are insanely cute, super adorable and so very sweet. Such over the top sweetness can be described by the local phrase  "Sweet too bad". Yep, that's them. They are sweet to the point of badness.  As a matter of fact,  I think I have diabetes on account of all the sweetness or at the very least a toothache. 

The above conversation was only a sound bite of the before breakfast chatter so it's understandable that by mid-morning I am drained and looking for an atidepressant a pick me up. Smoothies are my favourite power breakfast or my  mid-morning energy boast.

Anyone can make smoothies from scratch. There is no need for the pre-mixed powdered stuff which is what you are served at a very popular and in my opinion over-priced, local coffee house. Smoothies are often marketed as a health food. However it never ceases to amaze me when people don't understand that there is nothing nutritious in a drink if your server is shoveling it out of a large plastic bucket. Even worse you're being charged a premium price for inferior ingredients. You might as well be drinking very expensive, milky Kool Aid. I have actually asked to see the ingredient list on the back of one of those buckets and could not pronounce or recognize most of the ingredients. Confused? Click here for an excellent guide to help you rate the quality of your favourite smoothie establishment.   

As long as the basic ingredients are ready to go, a smoothie can be prepared in minutes. Use plastic baggies and freeze fruit or even a mix of several fruit into individual portions. Ehow recommends that half a quart-sized plastic bag makes the perfect portion for one 16 ounce smoothie. I use full fat milk and yogurt in mine so one 8oz is good for me. Freezing fruit in season means that you can enjoy a smoothie even when the fruit is no longer available. Just remember to thaw frozen fruit slightly before putting it into your blender. 

I'm afraid my recipe isn't very original. In fact the idea to put oatmeal in my smoothie came from Food Blogga. Check out her Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie here. Yes strawberries are rather expensive but some people spend much more than this each week on those trashy coffee house drinks. I refuse to feel guilty about the one box of strawberries I buy each year. Have fun and make up your own smoothie combination. Feel like sharing? Take a picture with your mobile phone and post pictures of your own smoothies concoctions. I'd love to see. Share them on the Breakfast Lunch Dinner Punch Fan Page.

Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal - Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup yogurt

1 banana (cut up)
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1-2 tablespoons honey
1 cup milk (or juice, soy or almond milk- whatever you prefer)

3-4 blocks ice

Directions

Purée everything in a blender or food processor until smooth and frothy. Add more milk to thin it out or more fruit and yogurt if it isn't thick enough.

Due to all the insanity on account of the kids being on vacation for the past two months, my post on the mystery fruit is not quite ready. Just one more week of vacation left.  In the meantime if you guessed that the mystery fruit fron the previous post was a Mammy apple, Hooray! You are  absolutely correct. More details on that and the delicious dessert still to come. 

Hot Cross Buns and Bunny Buns

If like me, you are a citizen of a former colonial country, you may well acquainted with the tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday. These simple, sweet buns (sans the cross) are sold throughout the year in bakeries all over the island. On Good Friday, they are dressed with a cross as a reminder of the Crucifixion.

As a child, these buns were always store bought. Often they were a bit dry. Indeed, you considered yourself blessed to find anything more than one or two raisins in a bun. Meh, I never thought that they were anything special. Perhaps this was because they were accompanied by a Catholic mom's sermon about the torture and subsequent murder of a perfectly nice guy who died for my sins. Sheesh...so the next time you put toothpaste into your brother's underwear while he's asleep just remember, YOU killed Jesus!  Not surprisingly my mom wasn't at all put off by Mel Gibson's gory Passion of Christ. I am almost certain that the two of them met over a hot cross bun one Good Friday. From that secret meeting Mel came away with a screenplay for the graphic details of Christ's torture. Oh and in my defense, regarding my torture of my brother, I promise you he always started it.

So these are Easter buns done my way.  I like them heavy with raisins, fragrant with spices and sans the guilt trip. Although I do anticipate an anti, Easter bunny rant from the Rabid Catholic Woman when I roll up with my bunny buns. Whatever.

Let me assure you that whichever version you choose to make, you will find that the texture of these spiced pillows of goodness is close to perfect.  I understand. You are reluctant to trust me aren't you? After all, every other bun recipe out there is claiming that the texture of their bun is otherworldly soft. Do me a favour. Go read the ingredients of your favourite mass-produced soft, sliced bead. Chances are you will see an ingredient called gluten.

Do you see it? If you don't see it on the label of your white bread then for sure it will be in your whole wheat loaf. Ever wondered how come your homemade whole-wheat loaf is more brick like than the mass-produced store bought loaf? That my dear friends is the magic of gluten.

Gluten is also called vital wheat gluten. It makes the dough more elastic and bakers use it to get a more consistent rise and a lighter textured bread. Click here to head on over to Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Gluten where the science behind this ingredient is explained in more detail. For now just trust me on this, Gluten = lighter, fluffier bread. Now hurry. Go make some buns, only three days left!

Hot Cross Buns or

Bunny Buns

Ingredients

1 tbs(11g) dried yeast

1 tsp granulated sugar

185ml (3/4 cup) warm lukewarm milk

125 ml (1/2 cup) milk at room temperature

50g (1/3 cup) butter, melted

1 egg, lightly whisked

4 cups all purpose flour (maybe even 1/2 cup more depending on humidity)

5 tsp vital wheat gluten

90g (1/ 2 cup) granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

1/4 tsp cardamom, freshly ground (about 8-10 pods)

1/4 tsp all spice, freshly ground

3/4 cup raisins

50g (1/4 cup ) mixed peel

Flour Paste Crosses

75g (1/2 cup) flour

80ml(1/3cup) water

Sugar Glaze

2 tbs granulated sugar

160 ml (2/3) cup water

Combine 3/4 cup lukewarm milk the one teaspoon of sugar and the yeast in a small bowl. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 10 minutes or until frothy.

Whisk in the 1/2 cup room temperature milk, butter and egg.

In a large bowl Combine 4 cups flour, vital wheat gluten, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cardamon and all spice. Add the raisins and mixed peel and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. Pour in the milk mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined, then use your hands to bring the dough together. If too sticky add up to 1/2 cup flour one table spoon at a time kneading in between.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 200°C ( 375°F). Grease a 23cm square cake pan. or a flat baking sheet. Punch the dough down with your fist. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 16 even pieces and shape each portion into a ball. Arrange dough portions, side by side, in the prepared pan. Set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes or until dough has risen

Meanwhile, mix the remaining flour and water together in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms. Place in a small plastic bag and snip off the end. Pipe a continuous line down the centre of each row of buns, lengthways and widthways, to form crosses. Bake for 10 minutes 200°C . Turn heat down to 160° C (325°F) to bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through (buns are ready when they sound hollow when tapped ).

During the last 20 minutes of baking prepare the glaze. Put sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Simmer until the glaze thickens. When buns are done, transfer buns to a wire rack. Brush tops with glaze. Set aside to cool slightly.

I don't like the taste of the flour crosses. So before serving I peel them off . I then mix some icing sugar with water. I pipe this onto the bun after removing the flour paste cross. 

These are great fresh out of the oven but they also freeze well and are no less enjoyable when warmed in the microwave.

Makes 16 buns or
3 Bunny Buns and 9 hot cross buns

All Heart, No Hassle Valentine's Day Breakfast

You have heard it before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast kicks starts your metabolism and helps you shed unwanted pounds. Eating a high fibre breakfast is also beneficial for people wanting to lower their cholesterol.

Despite my reading constantly about the importance of breakfast, I am one of those people who struggles with it. It is my least favourite meal and the one I most often skip. Most mornings, I'm quit content with only a cup of coffee or cocoa. Some mornings just a glass of water will do. You see, my metabolism actually rebels at being kicked started.

I am usually up before the crack of dawn to prepare myself for the day ahead. I have never been a morning person and obviously neither is my stomach as I feel physically ill if I eat anything before 10:00am. Definitely a late riser that stomach of mine - lucky bugger.

This year Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday and the kids will be sleeping over by my mother-in-law's. Whoo Hoo! I get to sleep late. By the time I wake up, I know my stomach will be in the mood for this simple yet delicious breakfast.

I suppose, I could celebrate Valentine's Day by preparing something that is a bit more extravagant. However, I am sure anyone with very young kids will agree that keeping meals low-key is always more enjoyable than something more elaborate which leaves you stressed.

Here is an ingredient list for this easy open-faced sandwich. I don't expect that you'll be needing instructions, will you?
sliced bread (rye or whole wheat lightly toasted)
2 slices apple or pear
low-fat or non-fat cream cheese with onion and chives
lime or lemon juice (brush on fruit slices so that they don't turn brown)
strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrent , or my current favourite wild hibiscus preserves

Not So Skinny Bitch

Every once in a while I happen upon a recipe that tempts my inner skinny. That part of me that is buried under the ravages of pregnancy, busy days, skipped meals, little exercise and late at night junk food noshing. I found this vegan recipe for Pecan Crusted French Toast while browsing through my hairdresser's magazine stash in People Magazine Sept 2008.

"Huh?" I thought. "Egg bread (my childhood name for French Toast) without egg."
Hmmm..... I considered.
"No way!" shouted my carnivore self; lover of butter, chocolate, cheese cake, oil down, pizza, ice-cream and other calorific comfort foods, "Don't you dare mess with my "Eggy bread!"

The promoters of this recipe were former Ford model agent, Rory Freedman and former model, Kim Barnouin. They are the co-authors of a diet book called Skinny Bitch. They are both radiant and look the epitome of health and yes ....skinniness.

And so, in the hopes that one day I too might be a skinny bitch...on the outside, as well as on the inside - this recipe entered my life.

Bite after bite I kept expecting to dislike this but it was quite good. Imagine then my surprise to find out that just one slice with honey is approximately 400 calories! Granted these online calculators are not 100% accurate but OMG I had two of these for breakfast! True they did take me through to lunch without needing to have a mid morning bite. As a result I am renaming these Not So Skinny Bitch Pecan crusted French Toast:-)

Here is the recipe with my adaptations in bold.

Not So Skinny Bitch Pecan Crusted French Toast

1-1/2 cups vanilla soy or rice milk
3 tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons chickpea flour or brown rice flour split pea powder
1 cup finely chopped pecans
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil, or more as needed for cooking
6 to 8 slices vegan whole wheat or whole wheat raisin bread
Maple syrup for topping * honey

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy or rice milk, corn starch and cinnamon. Whisk in the chickpea or brown rice flour. Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl. Place the pecans in another shallow bowl.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the coconut oil. Once slice at a time, dip the bread in the milk mixture, turning to soak both sides. Do not soak bread in mix too long as it gets soggy fast. Dip one side in the pecans, pressing to coat. (The pecans don't stick easily on the bread.) Arrange the bread in the skillet (you might have to do more than one batch), pecan side down. Cook 2-3 minutes, until the pecans are well-browned. Carefully turn the bread, and continue cooking until the second side is browned, 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately with maple syrup.