Low Carb Lemon Squares ~ adapted from mygutsy.com

For the crust:
1 1/2 c almond flour
2 T honey
2 T butter
1 T vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all crust ingredients well until it forms a ball. Press into a greased 9x9 pan and bake 15 minutes.

For the filling:
1/2 c lemon juice, recommended: Italian Volcano organic lemon juice
3 eggs at room temperature
scant 1/4 c honey
1/4 c melted butter

Whisk filling ingredients until well mixed. Pour filling over hot crust, return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes. Take care not to over bake, crust will burn easily. Wait 30 minutes minimum to slice. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Yield 16 lemon squares.

Enjoy for breakfast topped with berries and honey for a decadent treat!

Pecan Porridge ~ adapted from Deliciously Diabetic

1/2 c pecans

1/4 c whole milk

1 egg

heavy cream, for serving

2 T coarsely chopped pecans, for garnish

Pulse pecans in food processor until finely ground (some texture is ok). Place pecans, milk, and egg in a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened. Serve hot with cream and extra pecans. Yield 2 servings.

Grain Free Granola

1 c pecans
1 c walnuts
1 c cashews
1/2 c slivered almonds
1 c unsweetened flake coconut
3 T coconut oil, melted
3 T maple syrup, more to taste
1 t vanilla
1 t sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

Coarsely chop pecans, walnuts, and cashews. In large bowl, toss all ingredients until well combined and coated with oil and syrup. Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cool completely, store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 weeks. Yield 4 cups granola.

Cranberry Orange Muffins with Walnuts

3 c unbleached or whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c coconut oil, melted
2 T applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c orange juice
zest of one orange
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c craisins

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners and spray lightly with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients, add oil, applesauce, eggs, milk, and orange juice. Stir just until combined. Fold in zest, walnuts, and craisins. Mix just until incorporated. Divide between prepared muffin cups and bake 18-20 minutes.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins ~ adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen

1 3/4 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 c oats* (quick cook or old fashioned)
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 c honey
2/3 c coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1/3 c nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425°. Line regular 12 muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk honey and oil by hand. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Whisk in yogurt, applesauce and vanilla until well incorporated. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine. Do not over mix.

Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners. Bake at 425 for 3 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake for an additional 15 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

* I used Coach's Oatmeal in this recipe. They give a chewy texture and lots of fiber.

Chef's Note: Although not particularly low in calories at 248 per muffin, these are wonderful! So moist and very light.

French Toast

1 loaf homemade bread, 1 day old
6 eggs
1/2 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/4 t cinnamon
4 T oil, canola or vegetable
4 T butter

Heat 1 T oil and 1 T butter in medium cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in large, flat bottom container. Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices and place in egg mixture, 2 pieces at a time. Soak bread 30 seconds per side. Place in preheated skillet and cook until golden brown. Repeat with remaining bread, adding oil to skillet as needed. Serves 6.


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Fruit Compote

1 ~ 14 oz can sliced peaches in 100% juice, do not drain
1 c fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1 cinnamon stick
Fresh ground nutmeg

Slice peaches into quarters. Place peaches with juice, cherries and cinnamon stick in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cherries are soft. Remove from heat and add fresh ground nutmeg. Stir and serve warm over pound cake or allow to cool completely and stir into plain greek yogurt.


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Black Bean Omelette with Jack Cheese

2 Eggs, beaten
1/2 c Black beans, canned, rinsed and drained
1/4 c Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 T Salsa
Dash ground cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat 9" cast iron skillet over medium heat. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Add salt and pepper to eggs and pour into heated skillet. Using a spatula, gently scrape half the cooked egg to the center of the skillet and tilt the skillet away from the egg to allow raw egg to re-coat the skillet. Repeat until no longer able to move any raw egg to the side.

Sprinkle beans and cheese over the center of eggs and spread with salsa. Add cumin and fold eggs in half over filling. Cover skillet with dinner plate and remove from heat. Let stand 2 minutes. Place omelette on plate and serve. Serves 1.

Panettone French Toast

1 Loaf Panettone Italian cake
4 Large eggs
1/4 c whole milk
Ground cinnamon, optional
Orange marmalade
4 T Butter

Cut four 1/2 inch thick slices from Panettone cake, then cut slices in half.

Melt butter in 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Beat eggs with milk and add cinnamon, if desired. Dredge slices of cake in egg mixture and place in heated skillet. Cook over medium heat until egg is browned and cooked through. Turn slices over and repeat until done.

Top with marmalade and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Greek Style Yogurt

As a child, I couldn't get enough lime or lemon yogurt. It was so deliciously creamy and tangy and I loved it. Today however, the American food market has changed so many rules regarding food safety that the fresh tasting yogurt of my childhood has been replaced with something more like... um... I can't really describe the current yogurt selection in the American market but I know I don't like it. But today I had a pleasant surprise. So much so that I decided to write a post about it so you can share in my excitement!

A few months ago I purchased Greek Yogurt at my local market. It was unsweetened plain yogurt to which I added dried fruit and a handful of granola with a drizzle of honey. It was good, but not spectacular. Last week I purchased several flavors of Oikos Greek Yogurt by Dannon. (As an aside, when I was in France I ate a LOT of Dannon yogurt as it was the most like the yogurt of my past. American versions of European foods are usually atrociously sweet and not nearly as good as their European counterpart)

I purchased these flavors:
Fruit on the Bottom: Blueberry; Peach; Honey
Traditional: Key Lime




The Fruit on the Bottom selections were creamy and had a nice balance between sweet and tangy. I would give them a rating of 8 out of 10 stars and would probably purchasse them again. But the real surprise came when I ate the Traditional Key Lime. For some reason, I decided to get some graham crackers to dip into the yogurt. Well, it IS Key Lime yogurt so the idea to add graham to mimic a piece of pie really wasn't a genius idea but I'd like to think so.

You could crush the graham crakers and sprinkle them on top of the yogurt to get the texture more similar to pie but I just dipped the crackers right into the yogurt and scooped it up and ate it.

And it was wonderful.


Chef's Note: After viewing the Dannon Oikos website, I believe the secret to why I loved the Key Lime yogurt the best lies in the difference between the "Traditional" and "Fruit on the Bottom" and that is fat.

In case you didn't know, fat is where the flavor for food resides and American's have decided fat in any quantity is evil. So in order to get non-fat foods palatable, manufacturers add artificial fats and extra sugar because the human sense of taste is highly tied to fat content in food. Without fat, food tastes flat. Never mind that the calorie content is the same in non-fat foods as in low-fat, manufacturers are attempting to sell a product and Americans will buy the non-fat over the low-fat every time.

But not me.

The Dannon "Fruit on the Bottom" yogurt is non-fat while the "Traditional" has 4.5 grams of fat per serving and I could definitely tell the difference. Maybe everyone can't tell a difference, but I can and now that I know why I prefer the Traditional yogurt, I doubt I will purchase the Fruit on the Bottom yogurt again.

Puffins ~ adapted from Bakerella

Puffins are pancake batter baked in muffin cups making them pancake-muffins, or Puffins. Bakerella's recipe called for 1/2 c chocolate chips in the batter with more sprinkled on top. Because I'm not five-years-old, I don't particularly like that much chocolate for breakfast so I adjusted the recipe making the chips optional. Feel free to add more if you like but if you do, don't be surprised if all you taste is chocolate and not the pancake.



1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2 T sugar
2/3 c buttermilk
1 egg
2 T pure maple syrup
2 T melted butter
1/4 c chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a medium mixing bowl. In second bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined. Fill muffin cups no more than 3/4 full and sprinkle with chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until set and tops are no longer shiny.

Let cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. You may need to use a toothpick around edges to loosen Puffins from pan. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup for dipping. Yield 24 puffins.

Toasted English Muffin

Today I am wishing for fall but alas, Phoenix doesn't do fall. In September we go strait from "why would anyone choose to live in this heat?" to "why doesn't everyone want to live here?" and we park there until June.

Don't get me wrong, I love living where we can go outside anytime without putting on an additional outfit for warmth. However, being a red-head with fair skin I tend to be drawn to autumn colors. The texture of bare branches and turning leaves cast against a clear blue sky is my idea of what "fall" should look like and since I can't have that experience by looking out my window, I have to fake it with indoor decorations.

And with food.

This morning I am craving a fall-like food for breakfast but it's still too hot to turn on my oven except to broil toast. I scrounged my fridge until I found what would get me by until it cools outside and I can bake something with pumpkin. (I LOVE pumpkin in breads and cakes and cookies... Pumpkin pie? Not so much.)

What makes this particular breakfast "fall-like" are the specific ingredients that taste like fall to me. I used mini Wild Maine Blueberry English Muffins topped with extra tart Orange and Lemon Marmalade and a cup of tea.

Extremely satisfied with my breakfast, am I.


The Perfect Toasted English Muffin
1 fork-split English Muffin
1 t butter, softened at room temperature
1 t orange marmalade

Preheat broiler to high and adjust oven rack to highest position.

Using a fork, pierce sides of muffin all the way round until it splits into equal halves. Butter inside of each half and place on baking sheet, butter side up. Position baking sheet directly under broiler and toast muffins until edges are golden and butter is bubbly. Remove to plate and top with marmalade while still hot. Serve immediately. Serves one.

Chef's Note: Please use a FORK to open "fork split" muffins to allow the air-pockets inside the muffin to be torn open yielding greater surface area for butter distribution. This is why I buy English muffins to begin with, for the crunchy way they toast up.

If you slice them open with a knife, the muffin will come apart looking like regular bread instead of having the nooks and crannies that toast so beautifully when coated with real butter and placed in the broiler. If you use a knife, you might as well put the muffins in the toaster. Or, just buy wonderbread. Please, for the love of breakfast, don't do this.

Blueberry Crumb Cake ~ Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Cake
1/4 c plus 1 T butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
2 c flour
2& 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c half & half
1/2 c milk
2 to 3 c fresh blueberries

Topping
6 T butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 c flour
1/4 t salt

2 T sugar to add after baking, optional

Preheat oven to 350°.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Add flour mixture and milk (with half&half) alternately in three additions until incorporated. Gently fold in blueberries until evenly distributed.

Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in cake batter and spread until even.

In third bowl (or using the empty bowl from the flour mixture), combine topping ingredients and cut together using a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over top of cake.

Bake cake 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle last 2 T sugar over cake immediately after removing from oven, if desired. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Serve warm as dessert with ice cream or as breakfast with softened butter or unsweetened whipped cream. Serves 12.

Chef's Note: Who am I kidding? I didn't need any ice cream or whipped cream, I just ate it warm right from the pan!

Belgian Waffles

2 c flour
2 t baking powder
4 large eggs, separated
2 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla
4 T butter, melted
2 c milk
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat belgian waffle iron. In medium bowl sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside. In second bowl beat together egg yolks and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla, melted butter and milk to eggs and sugar, whisk to combine. Combine egg-milk mixture with flour mixture and whisk just until blended. Do not over mix, small lumps will remain.

In third bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into waffle batter (use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold) approximately 40 strokes.

Coat waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and pour enough batter in iron to just cover waffle grid. Close and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Top with butter and real maple syrup. Serve immediately. Makes 20 4-inch waffles.

Smoked Sausage and Bell Pepper Skillet Scrambler

1/2 lb smoked sausage, cubed
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
1/2 t salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

In large skillet, heat sausage and pepper over medium heat 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from pan to papertowel to drain. Whisk eggs, milk and salt until well combined. Add to pan with sausage drippings. Scramble eggs and cook until almost dry. Return sausage and peppers to eggs and continue cooking until eggs are no longer shiny, about 3 minutes more. Serves 4.