breakfast

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Sanura

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with Strawberry Puree

In addition to watching my sister and I during the day, our new babysitter initially promised Mom a good lunch for us. She didn’t know we were a pair of extreme picky kids, no fault of our own. Blame it on Dad who knew more about cooking, from a chef’s perspective, than most people who brought into the fast, processed food craze starting in the late 70’s. Good lunches meant a bologna and American single cheese sandwich with bleached white flour bread that never spoiled. If mayonnaise or mustard were added to my sandwich, I would rather starve. Hot dogs weren’t a good option, too. Most people served it with ketchup and mustard. Maybe a little pickled relish. After a few weeks of my sister and I refusing to eat, the sitter told Mom; we are too picky to feed. However, we would spend the next few years playing and growing side-by-side with her three lovely kids. She was tough love. Read more →

Roast French Breakfast Radishes with Green Garlic and Pink Peppercorns

Sanura
Roast French Breakfast Radishes with Pink Peppercorns and Garlic Chives served with Chicken Sausages, Turkey Bacon, and a Cheddar Cheese Omelet
Roast French Breakfast Radishes with Pink Peppercorns and Garlic Chives served with Chicken Sausages, Turkey Bacon, and a Cheddar Cheese Omelet

Need to add more vegetables to your diet? Start adding them to the traditional carb-fueled breakfast. Roasting French Breakfast Radishes are a savory addition to any egg dish. These oblong French Breakfast Radishes were purchased at a farmer’s market. In this recipe, pink peppercorns and green garlic chives are used to flavor this mild cousin of the rounder radish.

Read more →

Orange French Toast with Pears and Cherries

Sanura

Orange French Toast with Fresh Pears and Cherries

This year’s commercial love weekend is a lonely feast. My love package of Chocolate Chip Yogurt Cookies, Cornmeal Lime Butter Cookies, and Roast Lemon-Thyme Almonds was shipped last week for the West coast. In the spirit of maintaining a busy mind, this declared romantic weekend is full of freelance work.

However, I’m treating myself to Orange French Toast topped with fresh Pears and Cherries. This version uses stale Honey Wheat Bread made from scratch in my kitchen. French toast is not a popular breakfast dish, because it’s made with soft, commercial bread that has a longer shelf life because of the preservatives. The result is a French toast with a soggy center. It’s actually a recipe at its best with thick slices of French or Italian loaves (since moving to New York, I’ve discovered Challah is a buttery option, too). Such bread is fresh for one day. It’s a great bread to include in a romantically planned menu. I recommend serving half a loaf as garlic bread to accompany a meal of lasagna and salad. By the next morning, the loaf is hard and stale (slice it the night before if making French Bread). Using the mantra, “no food goes to waste,” day-old bread slices are temporarily soaked in a milk and egg mixture, before it’s lightly fried in a skillet. Read more →

Radicchio Frittata

Sanura
Radicchio Fritatta
Radicchio Fritatta

A few weeks ago, Menu-Masters.com, requested a guest post. The website emails weekly recipes and a shopping list to hurried individuals. There are menu plans for the unrestricted, vegetarians and gluten-aware diets. When thinking of what to contribute to Menu-Masters.com, I decided to write about the weekday breakfast. In addition, my thoughts are about crisp radicchio leaves and devising savory recipes with it. One such recipe, a Radicchio Frittata, came to mind. Enjoying this savory egg dish on a weekday is quite possible when meals are planned ahead. When packed and stored right, it’s enjoyed throughout the week. It’s an extravagant (and easy on the budget) recipe. If bacon is omitted, it’s a “Meatless Monday” dish. Visit Menu.Masters.com to read the guest post or get the recipe… Read more →

Sweet Potato Pancake with Pomegranate Seeds

Sanura
Sweet Potato Pancakes Garnished with Pomegranate Seeds
Sweet Potato Pancakes Garnished with Pomegranate Seeds

Before he left our cozy, lovely nest for the warm waters of the Pacific coast, we enjoyed our last breakfast together, Sweet Potato Pancakes with Pomegranate Seeds. The orange from the pancakes and the magenta in the pomegranate seeds are visually entertaining and refreshingly different. Thankfully, this final breakfast was a success, before we briefly parted ways.

During the last two years we’ve been together, every dish made was either a failure or a success. He is the chief taste master. He kindly and patiently tastes various dishes, and he reminds me it’s not the end of the world if a recipe didn’t fare well. What people don’t see are the bad dishes, and the unlucky boyfriend who eats an ill-tasting dish as if it’s their last, choice meal in life. With failure, lessons are learned and a better dish is made than the last one. Read more →