Homemade Granola

I'm eating this granola as we speak, and every mouthful I am glorified at how deliciously easy this is to make myself.
This takes very little effort and time, plus makes for a great gift!

3-4 cups thick oats
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup canola oil (although next time I want to try coconut oil)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup chopped banana chips
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup coconut flakes


Directions:

• Oven: 325F 
• Combine oats, flax seeds, hemp seeds, almonds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl
• Combine oil, honey, syrup and almond extract in a small bowl
• Pour honey and syrup mixture over the oat mixture. Stir well to combine and have all oats covered
• Lay the oat mixture flat out onto a lined baking sheet. Spread and press it out to make an even layer.
• Baked for 35-40 minutes, or until golden, rotating the pan once halfway through baking.
• Once baked, remove from the oven and let rest and cool for up to 1 hour
• And now the fun part! :) - using your hands, break the granola into pieces (size of your choice)
• Place the granola into a bowl and toss in the cranberries banana chips and coconut flakes

This makes about 8 cups of granola. Stored in an airtight container it should last up to 2 weeks.

As I mentioned, this makes for a great gift but don't seek yourself short; make sure to keep some for yourself also! Your taste buds will thank me!

Marek's Surprise Breakfast! (and tip for the best scrambled eggs!)

How many of you know the secret to making the perfect scrambled eggs?

I've only recenlty discovered the trick!

Breakfast is not my favourite meal to cook so it would often be Marek (my guy) making our weekend breakfasts, which will always consist of the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten!

"How do you do it??" I would constantly ask him. The reply would only be a cheeky grin, aka "that's for me to know, and for you to NEVER find out so that you worship me for my egg making skills forever!".

Which is exactly why Marek was so saddened when I finally discovered the trick myself. Heh heh!

It's so simple, I really don't know why I didn't think of it before.

HERE'S HOW.......

Eggs whisked with a couple dollops of milk, a decent sprinkle of salt and little sprinkle of black pepper. And now for the main trick....cook in a pan on low heat and remove from heat just before they are ready and let sit for about 30 seconds before quickly transfering to the plate (they will keep cooking in the pan so if you leave them in the hot pan they will stiffen and get too dry)

For this breakfast Marek toasted some english muffins, topped with scrambled egg, cooked chopped up frankfurter and some emmental cheese. He then placed them under the grill for a short time just to melt the cheese.

This was so simple and sooooo good!

Cheese and Onion Quiche

I'm realizing more now how versatile quiche can be. Yeah, I know what you may be thinking, this quiche is just a simple cheese and onion quiche. True, but I'm still kinda new at the quiche thing. It's so easy to make and knowing egg can go with just about anything....well, I see into the future....many different quiches are to be created!

Another reason quiche is so great and versatile is that it can be eaten warm or cold! And as I mentioned in the post for my last quiche creation, it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

1 sheet of ready made shortcrust pastry

3 large eggs
2 cups strong cheddar
1 1/2 onion (chopped)
2 tbps olive oil
1 cup soy cream (for a healthier choice use soy!)
1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
- Heat oven to 400° F (gas mark 6).
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to be a bit larger than a 9 inch pie dish. Carefully drape the pastry over the pie dish so there is some pastry hanging over the sides. Lightly push the pastry along the inside edges. Cut the excess pastry away.
- Cover and place in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a pan saute the onions with olive oil on low-medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook onions until they are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Take pie crust out of the fridge and poke several holes in the base, then line with greaseproof paper and baking beans (I use dried macaroni noodles which I keep specifically for this purpose) and blind bake the pie crust for 7-10 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs and soy cream. Stir in the 1/2 the cheese, parsley and the onion mixture.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top and bake until the filling is golden and set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with some salad and grilled vegetables. Delicious!

Smoked Salmon Quiche with a Kick!

This is my very first quiche! I know, this may seem strange to many of you as quiche is often one of the first things people make when learning to cook. Or is it?


I grew up eating quiche allot. My mum made quiche very often. Her pastry always done to perfection. I on the other hand have not yet mastered pastry making so for this recipe I've cheated a bit and used ready and rolled pastry. Don't hate me! ;)


The mix of these ingredients are however completely my own creation. It turned out to be a hit with the recipe guinea pig. Plenty of "mmmmmms" singing in my ears

1 packet of ready rolled pastry (I believe shortcrust is traditional but I had puff pastry on hand)
6 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup single cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup wild smoked salmon (shredded into little bit size pieces)
1 cup jalapeno cheddar
1 red pepper (chopped)
1 tbsp fresh chives (or dill of course! - I used chives because I had some leftover)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
- Place pastry sheet over over proof shallow 9 inch pie dish and form to the bottom and sides. Cut off the edges that are draping over the sides of the dish. Cover pastry with baking paper and fill bottom of pie shell with uncooked beans (or pasta or lentils). This is to weigh down the shell and stop bubbles from forming while cooking.
Cook pie base in the over at 375F/Gas 5 for 10min. Remove beans and paper and bake in over again for another 10min
- Meanwhile combine all other ingredients together in a bowl well
- When pie shell comes out of the oven let it cool for about 5 min then fill egg mixture into the pie base
- Bake in the oven for 30min or until egg is firm and top is golden


The best thing about quiche is that it can be eaten for breakfast lunch or dinner! Also when it comes to the filling anything goes! Any of your favourite veggies, cheeses, seafoods can go nicely in a quiche. The quiche is your oyster....so to speak. ha!

Enjoy!

Eggs Benedict 'Smoked Salmon style'

I love brunch! I love the idea of having such a vast choice of breakfast and lunch dishes to eat as my first meal of the day since I'm not usually hungry until past the typical breakfast time. So when brunch time comes.....Oh yeah! look at this bright and beautiful dish! Who could resist?

Being Canadian many non-Canadians often automatically assumes my favourite breakfast or brunch dish is pancakes dripping with maple syrup (and I am used to this discussion since I'm living amongst the many colours of London people, ie people from all over). But hense pancakes and maple syrup is not my ultimate favourite (however now that I'm talking about I'd love to have that right now!....ok, so I can be a stereotypical Canadian it would seem :-)). Getting to my point....my favourite breakfast or brunch dish is actually Eggs Benedict! Not your typical kind though, I'm a huge lover of smoked salmon, not such a huge fan of ham, so switch 'em and it's yuuummmmy in my books! Got my hollandaise sauce recipe from my cooking bible 'Good Housekeeping Cookery Book'.

Here's what you need -

(Feeds 2 people)
Hollandaise Sauce:
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 black peppercorns
1 mace blade (I didn't have this on hand so left it out, no biggie)
1 bay leaf
1 thin slice of onion
2 egg yolks
75g (3oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
1 1/2 tbsp single cream
1/2 tbsp lemon
salt, black & white pepper to taste

2 english muffins
75g(3oz) fresh smoked salmon, in thin slices
4 eggs

Instructions:
- Make the hollandaise sauce just before serving and set aside

Hollandaise sauce:
- Put vinegar into a small pan with peppercorns, bay leaf, onion slice, mace. Bring
to a boil and reduce to just under 1 tbsp of liquid. Dip pan base into cold water to
stop further evaporation; set aside
- Put egg yolks into a heatproof bowl with 10g of butter and a pinch of salt. Beat
until well combined, then strain in the reduced vinegar
- Put the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and whisk for 3-4 minutes until
mixture is pale and beginning to thicken
- Beat in the remaining butter, a piece at a time, until the mixture begins to
thicken again and well combined. Ensure each addition of butter is incorporated
before adding the next. Do not allow the mixture to overheat or the eggs will
scramble and split. Remove from heat
- Whisk in the cream. Season with salt and peppers, and add the lemon juice

-Poach the eggs gently for about 3 minutes or until the white is just set and the yolk still soft. Place eggs which are finished in a dish of warm water
-Meanwhile slice each english muffin in two and toast slightly. Lay smoked salmon then one egg on each muffin slice. Spoon the hollandaise sauce over top of the egg

Serve immediately for the most yumminess!