breakfast

Fruit Pastries

Posted on by Ang Anderson

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Alright, I have to admit that Saturday mornings are by far my very most favorite morning of the entire week. Especially when we do not have to be anywhere. It’s just our little family of four, sleeping in and then enjoying a delightful breakfast. Slow. Leisurely. Relaxing. Totally enjoyable. Totally delightful. The best mornings EVER! This is mostly because we are together. All of us. No one is rushing off to work or school. And we have the morning completly at our leisure. To sip coffee. Shop online. Visit with each other. (With kids in activities, a free Saturday morning is a rarity – especially in the winter with two hockey players! We cherish DEEPLY.)

It is on these mornings that I like to make something special for breakfast. It could be pancakes or french toast. Or it could be something a bit more exquisite. These chocolate pastries come to mind, using our dear friend puff pastry. (puff pastry = easy and yummy) But I have also made these delectable pastries with fruit filling, rather than Nutella, and they are (almost) equally as thrilling. My son would disagree because he is a Nutella Lover with capital letters. It’s his most favorite food that comes in a jar. I am pretty sure he would eat it for all of his meals if he could. Sadly (for him), his mother would not let that happen. Never. Ever. She can be a bit of a nazi with food and sleep but also highly believes in everything in moderation and Leisurely Saturday Morning Breakfasts are at the top of her list of high priority items.

So, here is the deal, you make these but you just substitute your favorite fruit pie filling in place of the Nutella. I’m hoping I had most of you at “puff pastry”. After all, you are my people! 🙂

And if you are feeling like chocolate, well, by all means use the chocolate recipe! It will rock your Saturday too.

I also feel the need to provide photos for those visual folks {like me}

Sweet fruit pastries straight out of the oven – before being decorated with gorgeous glaze.

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and here they are with some lovely glaze drizzled across them…

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There is some seriously flakiness going on here! (are you salivating yet?)

and here is a sneak peek inside the scrumptious fruit pastry…

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Now, go and make these for your clan! They will love you for it.

Even more than they already do! Here is the recipe for Fruit Pastries. Cheers to Saturday mornings!!

Also…it’s like the 10th month of winter over here in good old Minnesota. And it’s only Tuesday. But I’m already wishing it were Saturday. {sigh}

I also wanted to give you time to get the ingredients that you’ll need for your Leisurely Saturday Morning Breakfast! 😉

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Summer Cake

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Strawberries are bursting forth in the great north woods. Well, not in the woods but in the fields. You know…strawberry 🎶 fields 🎶 forever 🎶.  *insert best Beatles singing voice*

(Side note: My kids get so mad at me because hearing just a few of the right words strewn together, matching any song lyrics I have ever heard, causes me to break into song. Case in point.) 

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Anyway, a cool summer evening and some berries prompted me to get my summer cake on.

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If you’ve got strawberries or any berries in your possession, you are free to make this delightful cake.

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Go ahead. I dare you.

Here is the official Strawberry Summer Cake post from Smitten Kitchen and official printable recipe. I left it completely un-tweaked, except for the fact that I did not measure my berries and Deb used a much prettier baking dish. While you are there, you should check out more posts on Smitten Kitchen. It’s a beautiful blog and the author even has her very own cookbook. It’s a wonderful one to add to your collection.

P.S. My daughter came in as I was writing this and part of her sentence contained “all you need is…” and what do you think I belted out? Oh, yes. *imagine more beautiful singing* 🎶 All you need is love, love,…🎶 love is all you need. 🎶 Then she said, no, you also need a house and we had a brilliant conversation on what we really do need.

Love (see how I did that?), 

Ang

Toad-in-a-Hole

Posted on by Ang Anderson

Isn’t it amazing how food can evoke a memory? An emotion? One bite can bring you right back to the place that you first tasted the delectable delight. So, it is for me and the infamous ‘toad-in-a-hole’.   I had my first taste in Australia. The trip of a lifetime with each moment solidly etched in my brain. My dear friend Catherine made them for us one morning at her home in Adelaide.

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We grew up with what we referred to as ‘dunkin’ eggs’. We loved my mom’s basted eggs and loved dunking our toast in the runny yolks even more. At the risk of showing my slightly weird side, I like to eat the surrounding egg white first and then dive into the yolk. When I was little, I would take my fork and push down gently until the yolk squirted out. It was a test in pressure and fun to watch it burst. (Sometimes I still do that!)

I recently introduced my children to the ‘toad-in-a-hole’ and they LOVE it. My daughter asked for ‘toad-in-a-hole’ four nights in a row, for dinner! When asked what her favorite food is…you guessed it!  Toad-in-a-hole.  It is so simple and easy, and healthy too.

 

Here are my very basic steps for Toad-in-a-Hole:

Choose your bread.  You can use any variety you prefer. We have enjoyed with our standard whole wheat but have also delighted in the flavor of sourdough. Generously melt butter in cast iron pan and turn heat to medium-low.  Cut a hole in a slice of your choice of bread with a biscuit cutter or upside down glass.  Lay the bread in the pan.  I put the circle part in the pan too.  Let it toast a bit in the butter and then crack an egg in the hole you created in the slice of bread.  Salt and pepper to your liking.  Give it a good minute or so and then carefully flip so that the other side of the egg has a turn.  You can cook to your liking for the yolk, runny or all the way through or anywhere in between.  I also flip the circle here too so it gets nicely toasted on the other side.  Remove from pan and serve.

Side Note:  I have switched entirely to cast iron but you can use whatever pan you normally use to make eggs.  I swear food TASTES better and I can’t believe I didn’t make the switch sooner.  Old school is the way to go.  😉

If you are looking for a new take on your egg and haven’t had the pleasure of this simple dish, I invite you to try it.

While names abound, I prefer to call it ‘toad-in-a-hole’ as it was first served to me by my kind and gracious Aussie friend.

Thanks Catherine – for bringing me back Down Under with a simple breakfast dish.  Cheers!