French Toast ~ Mmmmm

So, every time I go to a Coney Island (a diner, for those of you who don't live in Michigan) for breakfast, I order french toast. I don't like egg dishes, waffles don't really appeal to me and really the only thing that sounds good is french toast dusted with powdered sugar. Oh, and a side of hash browns, of course! When I make french toast at home, I use a cashew based batter. I've tried several recipes and finally decided, ENOUGH! I will make up my own recipe. I tested it out on my family this morning. My husband liked it, and that's good enough for me!

You can use whatever bread you have on hand, but I used Great Harvest's Cinnamon bread and it was amazing!

Batter Ingredients:

1/2 cup cashews (you could try another nut such as blanched almonds if you have allergies to cashews)

1 cup water

5 dates

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup soy milk

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. honey

1/8 tsp. almond extract

Instructions:

Blend cashews and water together until very smooth (no gritty pieces at all). Turn off blender and add dates. Resume blending until very smooth. Add flour, milk, salt, honey and almond extract. Blend until all is combined well. Pour into a wide dish. I use a pasta bowl that's not very deep. Dip bread slices into batter and fry on a medium hot skillet until nicely browed on both sides. Serve with your favorite toppings! We enjoy fresh strawberries and a touch of whipped cream, or peanut butter, applesauce, and syrup.

Enjoy this healthy alternative to regular french toast! If you have any leftovers, these freeze well and make a quick breakfast if you are short on time. Just pop them in the toaster and you're set!

Three Bean Chili

Our church hosts an annual Chili Cook Off in the fall and this was my entry. At that point in time I was trying an elimination diet for my newborn son: no dairy, no soy. I took this recipe because it was chock full of vegetables and taste, but had no soy products such as Morningstar Farms Griller Crumbles. I have adjusted a few things recently, cutting back a bit on the spice and adding vegetable broth to reduce the sodium content. Enjoy this hearty chili with some crunchy cornbread on a cold winter night.

Ingredients:

1 Tblsp. Olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly minced

2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles

1 (15 oz.) can peeled, diced tomatoes in juice

1 (15 oz.) can vegetable broth

2 Tblsp. chili powder

1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern beans

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas

2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, or 4 cups homemade black beans

1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, bay leaves, cumin, and salt. Saute until onion is tender then mix in carrots, garlic, and green chiles. When vegetables are heated through, add chile powder, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer approximately 45 minutes. Stir in corn and continue cooking for 5 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Cornmeal Scones

I happened across this recipe for berry-cornmeal scones when we lived in Colorado. My husband is an avid outdoorsman and he loved to take a few of these hearty treats with him on his mountain climbing expeditions.

Cornmeal gives this recipe a satisfying crunch and succulent blueberries pop with juicy sweetness.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup margarine

1 tsp. finely shredded lime peel (you could also use lemon or orange)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or raspberries), thawed

2/3 cup sour soy milk (*see instructions below)

1 tsp. vanilla

*To make sour soy milk: For each cup of sour milk required, place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to equal 1 cup total of liquid. Combine and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before using in your recipe.

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Using a fork, cut in margarine until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add lime or lemon peel. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture. In another bowl combine blueberries, milk and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quickly knead dough about 10-12 strokes until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into an 8-in. circle on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut dough into 10 wedges, cutting only about halfway through to score.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut the wedges and serve warm. Icing is optional.

I drizzled a bit of lime icing over the top of the scones this morning and my daughter loved it! She kept remarking how much she enjoyed the sourness of the lime juice. :0)

*Original recipe in Better Homes and Gardens New Baking Book, copyright 1998.

Cranberry Orange Bran Muffins

My husband visited some of our dear friends for the weekend recently and returned home raving about the delicious bran muffins they had for breakfast one morning. I asked my friend for the recipe because if something is THAT good, I have to try it! These are moist and not too sweet, and the addition of slightly tart dried cranberries and the brightness of orange zest make them irresistible!

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1/4 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tb. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups All Bran Original Cereal (the twigs!!)

1 1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup dried cranberries

a healthy pinch of fresh orange zest

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cranberries in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix All Bran, milk, and oil in another bowl and let stand for about 5 minutes, or until cereal has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir together the dry and wet ingredients until well incorporated and add the pinch of orange zest. Stir until combined. Spoon batter into sprayed muffin tins and bake for about 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees.

The original recipe called for baking for 20 minutes. My muffins weren't done until about 30 minutes, so you'll have to take into consideration that oven temperatures vary.

Thanks to Kellie May for sharing the basic recipe with me! I hope you'll enjoy the additions ~

Yield: 12 muffins

Southwestern Potato Corn Chowder

So, my family are huge fans of southwestern style food. My husband and I spent some time in New Mexico and came to appreciate the versatility of chiles. We've always enjoyed corn chowder, but one day I thought to include some green chiles....WOW! That added a new dimension to an old favorite. Today I spent some time actually writing the recipe down as I made it. (Unfortunately, I rarely do that. Then when something actually turns out, I can't remember how to replicate it!)

Ingredients:

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 medium-large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 can yellow sweet corn (I used the creamed variety, but regular will do just as well)

4 cups cauliflower

1 4-oz. can green chiles

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. cumin

2 1/2 scant tsp. salt

pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a medium stockpot, cook cauliflower. Peel potatoes and cube, then cook in a large soup pot with just enough water to cover (about 3 cups). Spray a small saute pan with cooking spray and saute onion. When cauliflower is tender, place in a blender with sauteed onions and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add cauliflower mixture to potatoes in pot, then pour in drained corn and green chiles. Add seasonings and combine well. Simmer soup for about 20 minutes until it begins to thicken slightly. Serve hot!

You can adjust the seasonings to taste.

Enjoy! :0)

Breakfast Millet

I'm not sure if you are like me, but when the weather gets cold, I crave hot cereal. There's only so much you can eat oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits, etc. I remembered having millet for breakfast once a long time ago and decided to try to recreate it. Millet has an interesting texture when it's cooked, but I like it....and believe it or not, my four-year-old liked it too! "Ummmm, this is so good, Mommy! It smells good AND it tastes good." Those words are like music to my ears.

I made this super easy by using my rice cooker. The proportions are for using a rice cooker, so I'm not sure how it would turn out if made any other way.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup millet

Scant 2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in rice cooker. Use white rice setting or if you don't have specific settings, just cook as you normally would for white rice. Super easy, huh? You could add chopped nuts, dates, coconut, or any other topping and it would still be delicious.

Serves: 3 generous portions.

Awesome Find

To all my vegan friends who can't indulge in soy: An awesome find! I've been on a special elimination diet for the past week to determine what could be causing my newborn son to have some digestion issues - No soy, no dairy whatsoever. My husband and daughter went on a date and brought me back something special: Purely Decadent Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert made with Coconut Milk. The only flavor that doesn't contain soy or dairy is the Cherry Amaretto, which is fine with me! It is absolutely delicious. I just had to share. Now, off to....Well, I'll let you guess! :0)