Category Archives: Breakfast

Maple Drizzled Gingerbread Scones

Breakfast, Muffins, Scones & Quick Breads, Recipes January 6, 2015 Comments: 2

 Maple Drizzled Gingerbread Scones

maple gingerbread scones with maple drizzle

maple gingerbread scones with maple drizzle

Happy 2015 to you all, and to start off the New Year, here’s another taste of the holiday season with these maple gingerbread scones. maple gingerbread scones

I love making gingerbread cookies this time of year, something I was introduced to when I spent my first Christmas Eve with Colin’s family way back when we met in college.  A few years later, my mother in-law “faxed” (that gives you an idea of how very long ago this was…) me a recipe she found for a very traditional Scandanavian gingerbread complete with cardamom and then she gifted me my first jar of the very same spice, a rare and expensive find at the time.  I’ve seen so many recipes for various gingerbread cookies, cakes, etc that do not include cardamom, but to me gingerbread just isn’t the same without.  It is an intense spice, a very small amount is all you need and if it’s not to your taste or you have trouble finding it, you could certainly skip it.  If you like Indian food, cardamom pods are those strange looking green things found in many restaurant’s “fragrant basmati rice”.

When I saw Pinch of Yum’s recipe for maple glazed gingerbread scones, I knew I just had to try them, since I both love gingerbread and scones!  Of course I changed up the recipe a bit, adding oats as I seem to do with almost every baked good and of course adding in cardamom as I do with my gingerbread cookies (you’ll have to wait until next Christmas for that recipe!).  I also cut back a bit on the butter and sugar and swapped out the milk for buttermilk.  What you end up with is a dense, cakey textured scone (which is just perfect to me) with a good hit of spice.  The scones themselves are just lightly sweet, so the maple drizzle adds a nice extra bit of moist sweetness without making them cloyingly so.

heart shaped cookie cutterThese maple gingerbread scones make a nice breakfast treat with a little side of yogurt if you like.  Also perfect for an afternoon snack.  I like to make mine with a heart shaped cookie cutter, but you could use a square or round cutter if you prefer or even just cut them by hand into squares or triangles. 

maple gingerbread scones

Maple Drizzled Gingerbread Scones

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

Adapted from “Pinch of Yum” Maple Glazed Gingerbread Scones

Makes about 11-12 scones

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

4 Tablespoons frozen unsalted butter – grated

1 extra large egg

¼ cup real maple syrup

¼ cup molasses

½ cup buttermilk (I use lowfat)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Continue reading →

Pumpkin Oatmeal Mini Muffins

Breakfast, Muffins, Scones & Quick Breads, Other treats, Recipes November 7, 2014 Leave a comment

I know, I know, every food blog and website you go to right now has pumpkin recipes and here’s one more! pumpkin oatmeal mini muffinsBut these little muffins are a perfect and healthy treat.  I bring these to my son’s class for Halloween and Thanksgiving parties and the kids devour them without getting  all sugared up.  These are also great for an afternoon snack.  The maple syrup works perfectly with the pumpkin flavor and makes it taste just like autumn in a little bite.  pumpkin oatmeal mini muffins with pecansThese muffins are delicious as is, or if you so desire even better with some chopped pecans. I love making these as mini muffins, but they’re just as yummy as full size muffins if you prefer.pumpkin oatmeal mini muffins with pecans

pumpkin oatmeal mini muffins

Pumpkin Oatmeal Mini Muffins

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

Adapted from Angie Walker’s Pumpkin Banana Oatmeal Muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup pumpkin puree – I use canned pumpkin

1 large ripe banana – mashed

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

¼ cup apple juice

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup canola oil or other oil

Additional – about 2 Tablespoons of oats & a bit of Raw Sugar – to sprinkle on top

Optional: ½ cup chopped nuts, pecans are my preferred – I skip this when making for a school event

Continue reading →

Lemon Chia Tea Cake

Breakfast, Desserts, Muffins, Scones & Quick Breads, Recipes October 26, 2014 Comments: 9

 

Lemon Chia Tea Cake

Testing this recipe has been like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in trying to determine the perfect amount of lemon to use.  The household tasters just could not come to agreement. The first few times I made this with the juice and zest of just one lemon and it was really tasty with a very nice mellow lemon flavor.  BUT, I decided we just had to try upping the ante of lemon just to see…So the next time I decided to really go for it “go BIG or go home” and added in 2 whole lemons worth of juice and zest.  I didn’t change anything else in the recipe, even though the extra lemon added in another ¼ cup of liquid.  The result was intensely lemony, but not excessive and the extra juice made for a really moist cake, whereas one lemon made for a drier crumb but easier to get a nice clean slice out of, which is a plus for presentation.  Now at this point we came to some disagreement, my husband loved the extra zing of lemon, but my daughter (who still happily ate several slices) said it was just too much.  In fact Skyler described the taste as “violently lemony”, which sounded pretty bad to me, but to her teen age self that wasn’t a bad description at all.  To me the taste of the extra lemony tea cake was more like a big smacking kiss of lemon, the way may 5 year old plants a BIG kiss on my face.

Lemon Chia Tea Cake

So on to round 3, which was really more like round 5 or 6, but who’s counting, we’re just eating…Now it was time to split the difference and try it with the juice and zest of 1 ½ lemons, which required another trip to the grocery and me being late to pick up Skyler from swim team practice which ended 30 minutes early that day without my knowing, but hey she got some cake out of it even if she had to sit out in the rain a little extra time. I wonder does making lots of yummy food cancel out numerous late pick ups in mommy universe?  So Saturday morning, one more tea cake was made and this time I used 1 ½ lemons.  One taste and finally we felt this version was just right, nice and moist with a pronounced but not over powering flavor of lemon.  But, I will leave it up to you to decide what is the ideal amount of tart for You.  Lemon Chia Tea Cake

With all that said, I really do love lemon in SO many ways, however I’m not usually a fan of lemon in sweets preferring more of a savory twist on my lemon, but Skyler has been begging for months for me to make lemon poppy seed muffins and then I came across the Clever Carrot’s recipe for Lemon Poppy seed Cornmeal Muffins and since I love corn muffins and lemon I was sold!  As usual, I added a bit of my own twist to it with a little whole wheat flour, some extra cornmeal for added crunch and some coconut oil.  But then when it came time to add the poppy seeds, which I had every intention of using, I found that my ancient jar of poppy seeds had gone rancid, so rather than run out to the store in the middle of baking I tried to figure out a substitute and lo and behold, chia seeds came to the rescue!  Just make sure you add in the  seeds at the very last minute, otherwise they may start absorbing liquid and gel up, which is not what you want.Lemon Chia Tea Cake Batter

The first time around I did make these as muffins but then I decided to try it in a loaf pan and liked it even better (that much the whole family could agree on).  However you slice it, this is a very tasty treat, perfect for an afternoon with tea, served at brunch, as a late night snack or even for breakfast with a side of yogurt and berries.

Lemon Chia Tea Cake

Lemon Chia Tea Cake

Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones

Adapted from The Clever Carrot’s Lemon Poppy seed Cornmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour)

½ cup corn flour

2 Tablespoons corn meal (adds a nice little crunch)

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

 

2 extra large eggs

2/3 cup natural cane sugar

¼ cup coconut oil – either softened or liquid

1 cup buttermilk

Juice & zest of 1 1/2  lemons (or just 1 or up 2, whatever you prefer)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon chia seeds, plus a little extra for sprinkling on top

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Oil a loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (flour through salt), plus the lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and oil.  Next add in the buttermilk, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk it all together.

Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.  Lastly add in 1 Tablespoon of chia seeds.  Pour it all into your oiled loaf pan and sprinkle the top with a few more chia seeds.

Bake at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove from the oven and let cool in the pan, slice it up and Enjoy!

If you prefer muffins – bake regular size muffins for about 17 minutes and mini muffins for 10.  Makes about 15 regular or 26-30 minis.  Just make sure to oil your muffin tin well and skip the paper liners as I find the muffin sticks a lot more to the paper than they do to the pan.

Lemon Chia Muffin

Farmer’s Market Frittata with crisp shitake mushrooms, spring onions & goat cheese

Breakfast, Entrees, Main Dish, Recipes July 5, 2014 Comments: 3
Farmer's Market Frittata
I love this time of year, when our local farmers markets are in full bloom.  I find the offerings of fresh and beautiful veggies so inspiring, I often get carried away and buy way too much!   Leaving with my bags loaded with more than we can usually eat in the week, happily planning meals in my head as I drive home. 
Farmer's Market Bounty

Farmer’s Market Bounty

This week I brought home spring onions with long green tops, more than a foot in length from Taliaferro Farms, shitake mushrooms from Madura Farms and herbed goat cheese from Acorn Hill, plus gorgeous eggs in shades of browns and blue from Wrights Farm which even inspired my five year old Evan to try “oval eggs” (hard boiled) for the first time ever!   WP_20140622_037
I cooked up this delicious and quick version of frittata, starting on the stove top and then finishing it under the broiler to get a nice golden brown top.  I used the spring onion tops, which I think are even more flavorful than the onions themselves and cook up quicker too.WP_20140622_014
I sprinkled bits of herbed goat cheese along with crisp cooked shitakes, all over the top just before placing under the broiler, but any goat cheese you like; flavored with herbs, garlic or just plain, would be delicious here.  Crispy Shitakes and Herbed Goat Cheese
If you can’t find young onions with the greens attached, scallions or leeks would work just as well.  In fact frittatas are so versatile you could really add most any combination of veges and cheese you like and come out with great results!  
Farmer’s Market Frittata
with Crisp Shitake Mushrooms, Spring Onions and Goat Cheese
 Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones
Serves about 4 as a light main dish with a salad or other veggies on the side, also perfect for brunch with a warm crusty roll.
Ingredients:
5 or 6 Shitake Mushrooms
Spring Onion Greens (that’s the onion tops) from about 3-4 onions
Or sub with 2 bunches Scallions OR 2-3 Leeks
6- 8 Eggs (depending upon size)
Grated Asiago Cheese – about ¼ cup or more to taste
2 ounces creamy Goat Cheese
Butter and Olive Oil
Salt (flaked sea salt if you have)
Ground Black Pepper
 
Directions:
Heat a large non stick (oven safe) skillet (either a 10 or 12 inch pan will work) over a medium flame.
Wash, dry and slice the Shitake mushrooms.  Melt a bit of butter (about a teaspoon or two) into the skillet and then add in the mushrooms.  Sauté the mushrooms for several minutes until they get nice and crispy.  Once they’re crispy, sprinkle a little flaked salt and stir around and then remove from the pan.
While the mushrooms are cooking, clean and slice the green onion tops.
Into the same pan you’ve just removed the mushrooms from, add a little swirl of olive oil and then the onion greens.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Sauté until softened and beginning to brown just a bit.
While the onion greens are cooking, whisk together the eggs in a medium bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and add about 2 tablespoons of the grated Asiago cheese.
Once the greens are cooked, spread them flat over the inside of the pan so they cover the entire surface, sprinkle with about a tablespoon of grated Asiago, then pour in the eggs and immediately lower the temperature to the lowest setting.  Do not stir.  Once the eggs just begin to set a bit, gently stir them around the pan.
Drop the goat cheese all over the eggs in small bits and then top with the crispy mushrooms and any remaining Asiago.  Remove the pan from the flame and place it in the oven about 4 – 6 inches from the broiler, turn on the broiler, watch carefully and allow to broil about 1 – 2 minutes until the top of the frittata sets and the cheese begins to brown.
Remove from the oven, cut into 4-6 portions, serve and Enjoy! 
Click here for printable versionFarmer's Market Frittata with Shitakes, Spring Onions and Goat Cheese

 

Corn Berry Muffins

Breakfast, Desserts, Muffins, Scones & Quick Breads, Recipes June 27, 2014 Comments: 2
Corn Berry Muffins img_5175
It all started with a book my five year old brought home from school, a modern day version of Little Red Riding Hood “a new fangled prairie tale”, in my opinion, a truly terrible version of a classic, but it ended with grandma opening a muffin shop for the wolf to work in to keep him busy enough to stop terrorizing the neighborhood AND a recipe for Wheat Berry Muffins.  Upon first reading I assumed it was muffins made with wheatberries, which as much as I love wheatberries, did not sound so tasty to me mixed into a muffin. But, then I realized it was whole wheat muffins with blueberries and “grandma’s” secret ingredient, sunflower seeds, now that didn’t sound too bad.  Evan asked for days to make the Wheat Berry Muffins, but I had an open carton of buttermilk in the fridge that needed a purpose, so I decided Little Red’s grandma’s recipe needed some tweaking and the more I thought about it, I realized how yummy corn muffins are with berries and why not just for fun try to make a gluten free version….hmmm, now I was on to something.  So I spent the morning scouring through recipes and ended up with four different ones I took a little from this one, a little from that one and so on until I came up with the tastiest little morsels, moist and delicious. There’s a hint of coconut, but not overwhelmingly so (in fact, Skyler, who despises all things coconut, upon tasting these for the first time, exclaimed “delicious” and then asked “is there coconut in these?” and then continued to devour the rest and ask for more), a really nice crunch from the coarse cornmeal and a bit of texture from the sunflower seeds, lightly sweet, unbelievably moist and so very yummy.  These little gems are my current muffin obsession.
Corn Berry Muffins
Author: Sweet Green Kitchen’s Jen Jones
Makes about 15 muffins or 12 plus 12 minis
Ingredients:
1 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 cup Coarse Cornmeal **
1/2 cup Almond Flour
3/4 cup Granulated Natural Cane Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon Salt

 

1 cup Buttermilk
2 extra large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
1/3 cup Coconut Oil – liquefied ***
1 – 1 1/2 cups Blueberries (or Blackberries) – about 1 -2 6 ounce containers of berries
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, add in all the dry ingredients; Brown Rice flour, Cornmeal, Almond flour, Sugar, Baking Powder and Salt.  Whisk together to combine.
In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, add in the Buttermilk, Eggs, Vanilla and Almond Extract.  Stir thoroughly to combine.
Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir to fully combine.  Mix in the Coconut Oil.
Gently stir in the Blueberries and Sunflower Seeds.Corn Berry Muffins Mix IMG_5253
Prepare muffin tins with cooking spray.  Pour in about ¼ cup of batter into each muffin cup.
Bake at 350 F, about 20-23 minutes for regular size muffins or 16-18 minutes for minis.Corn Berry Muffins IMG_5535
IMG_5170
Recipe Notes: As an alternative to Blueberries these muffins are also delicious with big juicy Blackberries.  I actually really like making mini muffins with 1 big Blackberry in each one. IMG_5260 Corn Berry Blackberry Mini Muffin
Blackberry Corn Muffin IMG_5292Blackberry Corn Muffin IMG_5300
**A note on Cornmeal – the cornmeal adds a nice little crunch to these muffins that I just adore.  Alternatively, you could use finer corn flour, but you’d lose out on the crunch.  I have also used corn flour with a few tablespoons of the ½ cup subbed out with polenta or corn grits.
***One other note, if Coconut Oil is not available, I think your best bet on substitution would be butter, but I would probably up it to 1/2 cup.
Click here for Printable version