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Savory Vegetable Strata

Savory Vegetable Strata

veggie egg bake

Though I love egg bakes, known as “stratas” in more refined circles, I’ve been steering clear of them since being diagnosed with a dairy allergy. But a recipe for a vegetable heavy strata in USA Weekend magazine provided the vision and gumption needed to create a dairy free egg bake that tastes good. Thankfully, the end product was delicious. In fact, delicious enough to satisfy breakfast and brunch guest who are allergy free.

Savory Vegetable Strata

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
cooking spray
1/2 of Costco brand roasted garlic baguette, cubed* (about 5 cups)
12 large eggs
2 cups almond or rice milk (or a combination of the two)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 ounces chopped broccoli, steamed until tender but still firm, or 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
4 ounces imitation mozzarella cheese shreds (1 cup)
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

If using fresh broccoli, steam it and set aside to cool. Heat half the oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 3–5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and allow to cool.

Heat remaining oil in same skillet over medium-high heat and cook mushrooms, stir occasionally, until water evaporates and they begin to brown, 5–7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Coat a 9 X 13** baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange bread cubes in the bottom. In a large bowl beat the eggs, milk substitute, and mustard until well-mixed. Add the vegetables and cheese substitute. Pour mixture evenly over the bread, so liquid soaks into bread uniformly. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover strata and bake until top forms a light brown crust, 60–70 minutes. Serve immediately.*** Serves 8

*Or use a regular baguette and add 3 cloves of minced garlic to the onions during their last minute of cooking. Just be sure the baguette is dairy free.
**This makes a big panful. I divided it between 2 smaller pans, then baked one and froze the other. Even so, we had leftovers.
***The original recipe called for 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese to be stirred into the milk/egg mixture. Hiram sprinkled Parmesan on his helpings and said it did the trick.

Breakfast Salad? Are You Kidding Me?

Breakfast Salad? Are You Kidding Me?

When I read the name of recipe in USA Weekend Magazine the weekend before Mother’s Day, my reaction was…breakfast salad? Are you kidding me? But a quick skim of the ingredients showed the recipe met the requirements for our healthy eating checklist:

Non-dairy for me √
No sugar for Hiram √
Lots of veggies for both of us √
High protein for high exercise days √
Easy to make √
Easy to substitute ingredients √

So last night, we tried the recipe – turning it into supper salad by serving it with baguette on the side – and it immediately received the coveted Hiram seal of approval. Not a wow-this-is-good seal of approval. But a wow-how-soon-will-you-serve-this-again seal of approval. Yup, it was that good. Don’t take my word for it, though. Try it and leave a comment about your family’s reaction to breakfast salad…any time of day.

Breakfast Salad

8 slices Canadian bacon (original recipe called for 4, but no way would Hiram go for that)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (original recipe called for balsamic vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups lightly packed, washed baby spinach leaves (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup sweet red, orange, or yellow pepper thinly sliced (original recipe calls for 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

Cook Canadian bacon in lightly oiled skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning once. Remove from skillet and cut into 1/2″ strips. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Place spinach leaves and sweet peppers into a large serving bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat evenly. Spoon spinach/sweet pepper mix evenly onto four dinner plates. Top each serving with 1/4 of egg and Canadian bacon. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

My husband quit eating sugary foods a couple months ago for health reasons. His decision meant I needed to come up with a new method of preparing and serving pancakes, another one of our favorite breakfast-for-supper meals. Therefore, I was delighted when a recipe for blueberry buckwheat pancakes was published in the February 3 – 5 edition of USA Weekend Magazine. When I served them, we were both delighted to discover they were delicious and satisfying. You’ll be delighted to know the recipe received the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval. Rock on!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

3/4 cup buckwheat flour (I ground buckwheat groats in my coffee grinder)
3/4 cup whole grain pastry flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup non-fat milk (I left this out as I prefer a thick batter)
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable, corn, or canola oil

3 cups fresh or (thawed) frozen blueberries (I used 1 1/2 cups frozen berries, thawed)

In large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl beat together the buttermilk, milk, honey, eggs, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine into a lumpy batter. Fold in one cup of the blueberries.

Use a 1/4 cup measure to ladle batter onto a hot, non-stick griddle or seasoned electric skillet. Flip the pancakes when the top is riddled with bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Serve with remaining blueberries (our frozen blueberries created a good deal of juice, so we used it too) and maple syrup.

Between the blueberries and their juice, the pancakes were naturally sweet. I used only a tablespoon of maple syrup on my stack and Hiram used none at all. If you give the recipe a try, leave a comment about how it worked for your family.

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate

My daughter Anne loves chai tea. I’ve tried it a few times at my favorite coffee shop. Though I love it’s spicy, mellow flavors, most chai teas are too sweet for my taste. But when USA Weekend Magazine (Jan. 20-22 edition) published Pam Anderson’s recipe for chai tea concentrate, I decided to give it a try.

The biggest challenge presented by the recipe was finding all the spices. Thankfully, we have a bulk food store nearby, and I was able to find everything there. (Did you know cardamom costs $70+ a pound? Thankfully, they sell it by the ounce!) Other than gathering the ingredients, this recipe was easy to follow.

Compared to the cost of specialty drinks at the coffee shop, this recipe is a bargain, even with the price of cardamom. Not only that, Hiram gave the hot chai drink his coveted seal of approval. The ingredient list for the recipe below matches the original one exactly. But, I added more details to some of the directions.

DYI Chai Tea Concentrate

4 teaspoons each ground ginger and cinnamon
4 teaspoons fennel seeds, ground (I ground them in a coffee grinder)
2 teaspoons each ground black pepper, cardamom and corriander
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup loose black tea such as Earl Grey
3/4 cup blue agave
2 tablespoons molasses
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Heat spices in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until fragrant and smoke starts to rise, a couple of minutes. (This sounds so weird, but it works!) Add 1 quart of water and tea; bring to a simmer.

Remove from heat, cover and let steep for about 10 minutes. Strain out tea and spices. (I strained out the tea and ground spices by lining the strainer with a cloth.) Stir in agave, molasses, vanilla, and lemon juice.

To serve, combine 1/4 cup concentrate with either 3/4 cup hot or cold milk or water. The rest can be covered and refrigerated up to a couple weeks until ready to use. (The photo shows the concentrate in the background and a cup of tea made with 1/4 cup concentrate and a 3/4 cup mixture of equal amounts of water and milk.)

Dutch Baby with Cranberry-Orange Syrup

Dutch Baby with Cranberry-Orange Syrup

According to the calendar, this is the first day of February. According to the pile of grease-spatted notes on my desk, all the new recipes from our family Christmas celebration still haven’t be shared with y’all. So it’s time to look at another of the delicious treats we sampled when the kids were home.

Today’s recipe for Dutch Baby with Cranberry-Orange Syrup comes from Pam Anderson’s CookSmart column in USA Weekend Magazine‘s December 23-23, 2011 issue. I’d never heard of them before, but knew it would make a hearty, vegetarian breakfast treat. So see what you think of the sweet version of this eggy, puffy pancake and come back next week for its savory companion.

Dutch Baby with Cranberry-Orange Syrup

1 cup skim milk (original recipe calls for whole milk)
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup marmalade
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons butter

Adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk milk, eggs and salt in a medium bowl; vigorously whisk in flour until mostly smooth with a few small lumps; let stand for a few minutes and whisk again. Or use a blender for instantly smooth batter. (I used the blender method – super easy.)

Bring marmalade, cranberries and 1/4 cup water to simmer over medium heat; continue to simmer to light syrup consistency, just a few minutes; cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile heat butter in a heavy-bottom 10 inch skillet (cast iron works well) over medium heat until light golden brown. Pour milk mixture into skillet. Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden brown, 15-17 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil until very puffy and golden brown. (Careful on this step. As the picture shows, it goes from golden brown to that’s-not-burned-it’s-nicely-browned-now-shut-up-and-eat-it in a flash.) Serve immediately from the skillet and drizzle with sauce.