Apple-Cinnamon Dutch Babies for Two
I woke up early one morning last week to a glorious sunrise. I took a short walk up the hill, made my coffee and decided it was the perfect day to make the apple Dutch babies that have been floating around in my head. Dutch babies, also known as Dutch or German pancakes, are baked in the oven instead of cooked on a griddle like the typical American-style buttermilk pancake. This was my first fall-themed Dutch pancake of the season, an apple-cinnamon version, with maple-whipped cream on top.
Baked Eggs and Ebelskiver in Hood River
Pretty much my favorite thing about visiting a new town or city is the eating. For vacations (back in the day), I would research where to eat and drink months in advance. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. My daughter recently went to Iceland and she and her friend had dinner reservations booked for every night long before they went. Priorities. Come to think of it, when she was studying abroad in Italy during college, she made a video depicting her food journey. That’s my girl! A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to enjoy a girls weekend with my three sisters, my daughter and niece. Coming from five different cities in Oregon and Washington, we chose to meet in Hood River. I have only been to Hood River once before, which is hard to believe since I grew up in the Northwest. Anyhow, my favorite meal while I was there was brunch at Broder Øst, a Scandinavian spot adjacent to the historic, hip Hood River Hotel. The egg dishes are served baked in cute individual-sized cast iron skillets. I ordered the “Seasonal Fritters” (which happened to be pear), served with baked eggs, chicken apple sausage, ricotta and maple syrup – perfect solution for someone like me who can never decide between a sweet or savory breakfast.
Asparagus quiche with brushetta topping
Question for all the mothers out there: Do you want Mother’s Day breakfast in bed? The popular vote says no thank you. Apparently, this tradition dates back to the 1930s when American media suggested that children serve breakfast in bed to their moms. Personally, I’d welcome a lovingly made, hand-delivered bedside brew, but keep the food in the kitchen where it belongs. Don’t get me wrong, I do have sweet memories of my two young kids carrying breakfast into the room with their smiling proud faces peering over the tray. But that time has passed, and luckily it was before I became a coffee drinker. Today, eating in bed would totally mess up my routine of slowly savoring my morning coffee and letting the day soak in before I think about breakfast.
Challah bread ups your morning toast game
Avocado & Egg Toast | Overnight Crème Brûlée French Toast
There aren’t many things better than the smell of warm bread baking in the oven. Well except for eating that warm bread with a big slab of melty butter smeared on top. Bread is one of the world’s oldest foods. In fact, Egyptians were buried with loaves of bread to provide sustenance in the afterlife. (Hmm, perhaps one can live by bread alone.) Most of us probably remember our moms or grandmas baking bread; and depending on your age, you may remember bread machines being a big trend in the 90s. But chances are you may have never made your own bread. Well, now is the time. Baking bread has been extremely popular during the pandemic. The act of making bread with your own two hands provides the ultimate fulfillment. It’s comforting, relaxing and provides a form of creative expression. Plus, the end result is delicious and makes everyone in the house happy. I recently made my first challah bread that beyond just giving us thick slices to enjoy, lent itself to a breakfast of avocado and egg toast one morning, followed by a custardy blueberry French toast the next. (And I think my husband snuck in an afternoon BLT.)
Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting
My mom was a “lunch lady” for 20 years. She was the resident baker (as opposed to what I envision as the much-less-glamorous salad maker) at River Road Elementary for half this time. Her responsibilities included regularly making huge batches of rolls and cinnamon rolls. Rumor has it that more than one custodian or teacher would sneak into the cafeteria in the early morning hours to procure a freshly baked cinnamon roll. I can’t imagine anyone being able to resist that yeasty, buttery, cinnamon aroma wafting down the school corridors. It’s not surprising that my mom’s cinnamon rolls were in high demand, as her proficiency with cinnamon rolls began long before the school cafeteria. Cinnamon rolls covered in maple frosting are forever imprinted in my four siblings’ and my childhood memories. On the days when my mom would make bread, she would spend what seemed like all day in the kitchen rolling dough, punching it down, and forming pans of dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. I remember this being one of my favorite dinners—buttery (in those days it was Nucoa) rolls with a pot of homemade chili. We would wait patiently all day for the decadent cinnamon rolls to come out of the oven for dessert. With seven of us, they went quickly, but I remember enjoying them even more for breakfast the next day.
Blueberry therapy: Baked Oatmeal and Homemade Pop Tarts
Now is about the time of year when I’m ready for summer again. I know it’s not rational, but I always feel like winter should be over after Christmas. Yet we have at least three months before it starts getting warm enough for me. I find myself dreaming about sunnier days and drafting my summer bucket list. One activity that’s always on the list is blueberry picking. Every year we visit (a number of times) Bybee Nims Farms for fresh blueberries. We pack our freezer full so that in the middle of the winter we can treat ourselves to some blueberry therapy. Blueberry pancakes and muffins are a given, but when I saw Karista Bennett's recipe for Oregon Blueberry Cardamom Baked Oatmeal, I decided Washington Blueberry Cardamom Baked Oatmeal needed to happen! Once the blueberry discussion started, my slightly blueberry-obsessed husband suggested that I make homemade blueberry pop tarts. That’s the only nudge I needed.
Dessert for breakfast (part 2)
Cranberry orange scones and Thanksgiving morning pie
My favorite morning routine this time of year is to sit quietly by the fireplace and enjoy a cup of coffee and a warm scone in all its buttery gloriousness. Pretty close to perfection. This is how I plan to start my Thanksgiving day. I’ll take my time and look leisurely through the lists I’ve made and figure out my prep and oven schedule for the day. When everyone else wanders down the stairs, they can help themselves to coffee and cranberry-orange scones, yogurt and homemade granola studded with dried cranberries, or dare I say, pumpkin pie!
Dessert for breakfast (part 1)
Over-the-top pancakes, waffles and French toast
I’m a firm believer that eating dessert in the morning – when you have the entire day ahead of you to work off those calories – is not only acceptable, but beats eating dessert before you go to bed (looking at you pint of Vanilla Swiss Almond Häagen-Dazs). Seriously is there a better time for dessert than breakfast? If you type “is it okay to eat dessert for breakfast” in your browser’s search bar, you’ll be rewarded with results that totally validate this decision. As much as I love something sweet in the morning with my coffee, I find it’s best to balance that sweet tooth with a savory protein. That’s why fried eggs go with pancakes (I confess that I’m a syrup and yolk mixer), sausage goes great with French toast and all that syrup, and it’s why someone decided to add bacon to maple bars. While grabbing a cookie with your coffee could do the trick, why not serve up some extra-decadent pancakes, waffles or French toast this holiday season?