Peach Dutch Baby Pancake with Cherry Compote

I've been pretty lazy all summer about posting, so I'm going back and adding some stuff I've made over the last couple months... like this amazing delight we had for breakfast one weekend after I got some lovely peaches from the farmers market:

This yumminess would also be great for dessert. The cherry compote is kind of one of of my new favorite things... we had extra and let me tell you, the tart-sweetness is PERFECT over chocolate and/or vanilla ice cream. So good! 

Here's the recipe, which I found in the August issue of Bon Appétit. 

:)

Roasted Vegetable Tart

Do you have a bunch of veggies that you don't know what to do with?  Well here is an idea....make a roasted vegetable tart based on a recipe in Bon Appetit!  I made it and it was great!  Very hearty and filling, and of course tastes amazing with all the different flavors from the veggies.  It is a bit time consuming but well worth it!  Try it!

Green Smoothies!!!

To be honest, I have several things to tell you about, I've just really been lagging with the posting. But I feel the need to follow up that last post about the carbonara with a brief note about my current obsession, which happens to be very healthy. Namely, smoothies! And more specifically, kale smoothies!

I've been making different concoctions involving kale almost every day for a week or so, and I'm hooked. Kale is great in a smoothie because it really just turns it green and packs it full of vitamins, without overpowering the yummy fruits and juices you might use. I've been doing various combos of frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mangos etc.), coconut water or passion fruit juice, banana or avocado, kale leaves, sometimes parsley, a little ground flax seed... etc. So refreshing and energizing in the morning!

Chia Seeds

These little guys are growing more and more in popularity recently due to all of their great health benefits.  They even sell them in Whole Foods now, and I would bet that Trader Joe's is not far behind. Chia seeds have been a staple food source for American Indians for centuries.  Here is a brief list of these benefits:

• Chia Seeds are high in Omega 3s.
• They absorb about 8 times their weight in water, and so athletes like them because they can help hydrate the body.  This can also help with dieters since they make you feel fuller longer.
• They are a complete source of dietary protein, providing all the essential amino acids
• The gel-forming properties of Chia Seeds help to slow digestion and sustain balanced blood sugar levels, which can be helpful in preventing and controlling of diabetes.
• They help facilitate growth and regeneration of tissue during pregnancy and lactation, as well as regeneration of muscles for athletes and bodybuilders.
• They are an excellent source of fiber.
• There has been promise with cancer research and Chia.
• They contain large amounts of B vitamins and calcium.

You can eat Chia Seeds in a variety of ways - mix them with water or juice and just drink them, mix them into your daily yogurt or oatmeal, or you can bake them into breads or muffins.  Here is a recipe for a Chia Seed "pudding" that I recently made:

Mix 1/4 cup of Chia Seeds with 1+1/4 cups Almond Milk and mix well.  (I use Organic Vanilla Amond Milk that is slightly sweetened.  If you use unsweetened Almond Milk, then you can add a squirt of Agave Nectar to the mix).  Add about 1 teaspon of finely grated lemon zest and stir in.  Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours to let the seeds form their jelly shells and so the mixture is tapioca-like.  

Serve with sliced fruit on top.  I ate it with bananas, but it would also be good with citrus fruits or mango.  

Makes about 2 servings.

Good Morning!

While I'm sitting here having my morning coffee, I thought I'd show you the yummy french toast Jimmy made for me this weekend. The only bread we had was a cranberry walnut sourdough loaf that I got at the farmer's market... he was skeptical that it would work well, but it was delicious! Have a good day! :)

Cranberries!

I love cranberries! I've been getting them fresh at the farmers market, and I want to tell you about some delicious things I've made with them lately. First of all, this Pan-Roasted Pork Chop with Cranberries and Swiss Chard which I found on Epicurious is so good and super easy,.. I've made it twice in the last few weeks! This last time, we had a nice dry cider with it that really rounded out the lovely fall flavor profile:

Second, I made some really amazing Cranberry-Orange Scones. I used this recipe, also from Epicurious, but with a few changes. I used fresh cranberries instead of dried, and added a little extra sugar to account for the tartness, and replaced a bit of the buttermilk with some fresh squeezed orange juice. Also I cut them into 16 pieces instead of 8, because they would have been way too huge.

They were so yummy right out of the oven, and even better the next day after the flavors had time to merge further. I'm going to make them again very soon!

The Best Cup of Coffee in LA

I love coffee!  I cannot start my morning without it.  I normally make my own at home using a French Press, resulting in a strong, muddy, rich cup o' Joe.  BUT, there are times when I run out of coffee or half 'n half and need to buy my daily cup.  When we lived in West Hollywood, I would always go to Kings Road Cafe to get my fix.  It was right down the street from us and on my route to work.  Since we've moved I am unable to stop there on my way to work, but I still go there on the weekends sometimes either just for the coffee or to have breakfast.  The coffee is hands down the best that I have had in LA - great flavor, really strong, and leaves a pile of mud at the bottom of the cup (which I believe is indicative of REAL GOOD coffee).  If you live in LA in the West Hollywood area and you like GOOD coffee, please go buy a cup at Kings Road.  If you don't like it, then you don't know what you're talking about! ;)

 

Grub

I had to share this picture because I love it!  Carlinhos and I had breakfast at Grub one morning and this is what they bring to your table for a pre-meal snack...FRUIT LOOPS (with a few Coco Puffs mixed in)!!!  Fruit Loops are by far my favorite sugar cereal.  And we never got to have them as kids, so they are even more special to me.  So I absolutely love that Grub gives them to people for free. :)

p.s. The food is pretty good there too!

Mini Frittatas

I wanted to make something for a snack during the week that involved some protein so I thought of these little fellers: mini frittatas.  They're so easy to make and so cute!

Here goes the recipe I used:

Whisk together 4 eggs, a little milk,  S&P, 3 slices of prosciutto (sauteed and chopped), a little chopped parsley, and some grated Grana Padano.  Grease a muffin pan then spoon egg mixture in.  Bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes or until the eggs have puffed up and are cooked through.

Of course you can use any ingredients with this...ham, cheddar, scallions, tomatoes...the possibilities are endless!  But they are perfect for an elevensies snack, or of course for breakfast.  Hell! I would eat these at any point during the day!

Cheddar Biscuits with Fried Egg & Ham

I recently purchased the latest Los Angeles magazine which is centered around breakfast in LA.  On the cover is a scrumptious picture of a biscuit with oozing with ham, fried egg, and cheddar cheese.  The picture inspired me to make my own for breakfast over the weekend.  I used this recipe from epicurious for the biscuits.

I think if I make something like this again, I would try another biscuit recipe cuz they were good not great.  But the total package was pretty darn satisfying to my thighs! ;)

Chocolate Chip Pancakes!!!!

If you recall, I recently had some amazing pancakes out at one of our neighborhood brunch places. Well, I've been dreaming about them ever since. And I don't even really dream about pancakes! Anyways, I MADE THEM. Oh man they were sooooooo good too! I made them without bourbon banana, and with many more berries, b/c I generally can't get enough strawbs and bloobs. I made the batter less sweet than your average pancake batter, with a touch more salt. I poured it into egg rings on the skillet to make them set up thicker, and added the chocolate chips after a few seconds. Yumm!!!!!

I would eat that s**t

Today Jimmy and I went to Light Horse Tavern for brunch, mostly because we desired the delightful Bloody Mary they serve there.

Little did we know we were about to have one of the most amazing plates of food ever. One of the specials of the day was Chocolate Chip-Bourbon Banana Pancakes. That's right, Chocolate Chip-Bourbon Banana Pancakes. So clearly we were going to order that, and there was also an intriguing Garden Omelette with asparagus, roasted tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

So we went splitsies. The green omelette was very good. But holy-chocolate-chips these pancakes were AMAZING. I commented that "I'm generally a savory breakfast person, but if these pancakes were on the menu I'd eat that shit everytime". I'm sorry to swear but I really was THAT excited. 

Then Jimmy suggested that while "The Foodies Finn" is cute, we should totally change the name of our blog to "I Would Eat That Shit." What do you think?

Nutella and Banana Crepe

I think a lot of people are intimidated by the thought of making crepes.  But they are actually quite easy!!  All it takes is flour, milk and eggs; and then sugar or salt depending on if you want a sweet or savory basic crepe.  I wanted sweet, so I sliced up a banana, smeared on some nutella, and then topped it with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Easy as pie! (but better! if you ask me!)

Good Morning!

One of the many things I love about Mexico is that breakfast there always involves an abundance of fresh fruit, including my favorite, papaya. From Leticia's kitchen in San Luis Potosí, to hotel breakfast in San Miguel de Allende... or breakfast brought right to our towel on a beach in Tulum, and every single morning at Hacienda Las Trancas... desayuno isn't desayuno without papaya and lime. I can eat this stuff every day.

Coffee

Jimmy brought home coffee. He said he picked a flavor to represent us both. :)

Happy Sunday!

I heard some talk about Jimmy cooking up some Eggs Benedict for breakfast this morning. In the meantime, I wanted to give a shout out to our favorite brunch place in the city, or definitely at least one of them. When we lived in the East Village we went to Cafe Mogador like every weekend. We went back last Saturday, and sure enough they still have the best brunch scenario around: for just $13 {used to be 12, but whatevs} you get the benny of your choice with the best potatoes and a yummy salad, coffee and fresh orange juice. It's the best!!!

UPDATE

He deed it! Behold, Jimmy's first Eggs Benedict! Using a clever technique of vinegar {a tablespoon or 2} in just boiled {but no longer boiling} water, he dropped the eggs right into our fancy little egg rings to keep everything in place. Then he turned the heat off and covered, and poached the eggs for about 4.5 minutes:

Meanwhile, he cooked up some bacon for one version of the benny, and using the same pan {wiped out, but retaining some of the precious bacon grease}, sauteed some red onion then wilted some baby spinach for the other version. Here they are awaiting the eggs...

Then, it was all topped of course with Hollandaise. For his first attempted he just used a Knor packet, but next time we're going to make the sauce from scratch. YUM!