Good Morning Food

I am often tickled by strings of words, when they can be interpreted in different ways.  For example, the title of this post:  Good Morning Food.  As in:

Mmmm...this is some goooood morning food!

Or:

Good Morning, Food!  Meet my mouth!

Or, perhaps:

Oh, Good!  Morning Food!  (Now I'm just getting ridiculous.)

A while back, I posted a recipe for Petite Crustless Quiches, from French Revolution.  Last weekend, I revisited that recipe, with a little twist.  The twist being in the form of kale, and bacon.  Yum.

We always have "special" breakfasts on the weekend, so called by the Kiddos.  Weekday breakfasts consist of either yogurt with frozen (and defrosted) berries, and homemade granola, or cereal.  So, come the weekend, we all look forward to a more leisurely meal, generally involving eggs, waffles, or homemade bagels.  And a good amount of coffee.  Of course.

The thing with preparing a special breakfast is, in my world, that while it appears to be time-consuming, it never really is.  If the natives (ie, Kiddos) are growing restless, I appease their hunger with a bit of fruit, or a small bowl of cereal, until the real meal is ready.  When guests stay over, there's nothing to it to whip up a batch of something that looks impressive, but is truly simple.  Like these mini quiches.

You could add absolutely anything to these wee bites:  some steamed, chopped asparagus, any variety of herbs, cheeses, proscuitto, pancetta...you name it.  Get creative.  These are delicious served hot, or at room temperature, for breakfast, brunch, or any meal, really.

Here's how I made them:

Mini Bacon, Kale, and Feta Quiches - adapted from French Revolution
-makes 12 mini quiches, serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup crumbled feta
3 or 4 slices of bacon
a few stalks of kale, ribs removed
a couple tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
sprig or two of fresh dill, fronds only, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
butter or vegetable oil, to grease muffin tin

First, cook your bacon.  I prefer to cook mine on a baking sheet in the oven, 400 deg F.  It takes around 15 minutes, turning once mid-way through. When crisp, drain on paper towels, then chop. 

While your bacon is cooking, prepare the rest of your ingredients, beginning with your kale.  Bring a small saucepan of water to boil, and add your kale, with the ribs removed.  Cook on a medium-high heat until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain in a colander, and once cool, squeeze out the excess water.  You will have a small, handful-sized ball.  Chop this up.

Beat eggs, then stir in milk, salt and pepper to taste, herbs, and kale.

Once your bacon is finished cooking, turn the oven down to 375 deg F.  Grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

Add equal amounts of chopped bacon to the bottom of each muffin cup, then pour over the egg mixture.  Add the crumbled feta to the top of each mini quiche.  Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the quiches just begin pulling away from the sides of the tin.  Leave to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes, then remove gently, using a knife to loosen the sides, if necessary.

Easy peasy.  And serious Good Morning Food.

Our family is off for the weekend to the Island, to scout for a place to call home.  I'm whipping up two batches of these babies, to bring along for breakfast:

These bagels are another super simple, yet very impressive meal.  If you have a bread machine, seriously, break it out, and get a batch rolling.  It's a foolproof recipe, and who doesn't love fresh bagels and veggie cream cheese in the morning?

I know I do.  Happy Weekending, everyone!

Getting Rid of the Grizzlies

I never used to think of myself as a breakfast person...or a morning person, for that matter.  Kids change things, though, don't they?  Nowadays, I wake up, grizzly mama bear style, stumbling sleepy-eyed to the kitchen, following my growling stomach to food.  (And coffee.)

With the kiddos in school, breakfast generally needs to be a quick affair, squeezed in before the rush-rush-rush that is the morning routine.  And who wants to eat a boxed cereal every morning?  Not this mama bear, that's for sure.

So, without further ado, here's my recipe for granola.  I found inspiration in several recipes along the way, and tweaked it and tried a new this or that, until I came up with this version.  Which is mighty tasty, if I do say so myself.  It takes only 5 minutes to prep, then a slow bake in the oven, and once it's cooled, there you go.  (Bob's your uncle.)

Hope you enjoy!

Mama Nécole's Granola (to fight off the grizzlies)

Ingredients
Dry
3 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups whole, raw, unsalted nuts (I usually use cashews, almonds, and sunflower seeds, but experiment with what suits your fancy)
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/3 tsp ground allspice (or ground cardamom is tasty too)

Wet
1/3 cup juice (whatever you have in the fridge is fine: cranberry, orange, apple...)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 deg F.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the dry ingredients together.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, then pour over the dry, and stir well to combine.

Spread in an even layer on a rimmed cookie sheet.  I like to have big chunks of granola at the end, so I pack mine down gently with the back of the spoon.  Bake for 25 minutes, then gently stir the granola around the pan, bringing the crisper edges to the middle, so it cooks evenly.  If you prefer to keep the nice, big clumps, don't overmix at this point.  Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until golden, then allow to cool completely.  (The granola crisps up as it cools.)  Once cool, store in an airtight container. Will keep for several weeks.

Serve it up over yogurt, and add in whatever fresh or dried fruit you have around, depending on the season. Peaches are the happening choice right now.  Dates are also scrumptious.

Happy Breakfasting!