Tortillas and Oranges » breakfast

Caramelized Onion Tart

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 20:14:17 +0000

The morning I gave birth to may daughter Grace, I missed a brunch. My good friend Jo brought brunch to me. This tart was included. I was famished. It was perfect.

4 large Bermuda onions, sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, picked
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 whole eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1(9-inch) parbaked pate brisee tart shell
Saute onions in oil and butter until caramelized and golden brown, then add thyme and a pinch of salt. Remove from pan and allow to cool. In a bowl, add heavy cream, eggs, nutmeg, and onions, season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into tart shell and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until center does not jiggle.

Foods Class: Lesson 1: Pancakes

admin — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:58:25 +0000

This week I began teaching a foods class to a local school. During that hour, I had more fun than…oh wait, I had a really fun summer so it hasn’t been that long since I had that much fun.

Our first lesson consisted of a brief introduction (Hi. My name’s Mrs. Snow. I love to cook. I’ve been cooking since I was 4.), a funny story (about the time I forgot about some homemade cookies that ended up in a moldy container in my 5th grade classroom. Long story), a safety tip (washing hands is the first thing you do before you cook), and finally–a lesson on pancakes.

The recipe is below. This is a great first foods lesson for junior high aged children. There were able to follow the directions and had so much fun dropping in different items into their pancakes.

(almost healthy) Oatmeal Pancakes (from scratch)

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 ½ cups buttermilk

¼ cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, measure all dry ingredients. (oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt)

2. Using your hands, make a well or a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil)

3. Preheat electric griddle to medium heat. If using a stove, place pan over medium heat. Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.

4. Using a large metal fork, quickly whisk eggs into buttermilk and oil. Once egg yolks are combined into the wet ingredients, use rubber scraper to mix batter together.

5. Begin cooking pancakes. Drop ½ cup of batter onto hot pan. Drop any “mix-ins” into cooking batter. Wait for small bubbles to appear on cake. (These bubbles are important and indicate when a cake is ready to be flipped.)

6. Flip pancake when bubbles appear and “pop.” Once flipped, cook cake on the other side for 45 seconds. Slide onto plate and enjoy with your favorite syrup!

Breakfast: Quinoa Porridge

admin — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:55:07 +0000

This summer my sister-in-law said to me, “I want you to give me cooking lessons.” Don’t worry dear Reader, I laughed. She is a good cook in her own right and didn’t need much from me. After she requested the lessons but before she came to my house, I sneaked away to visit sister-friends in Berkeley (oh you know the kind…you can’t call them girlfriends when they are oh so much more). While I was there we had many discussions about what we would teach people to cook if we had the chance. Those discussions naturally led to a lot of recipe sharing. This is one of those recipes. It is from Linda–an elegant lady who sews as well as she cooks–and that is saying something. Let my love for quinoa flow and flow. And now let us eat it for breakfast.

Quinoa porridge*

*Start this recipe the night before. Instructions below want you to soak the grains for 12 hours.

2 c. Quinoa

2 c. Whole milk plain yogurt

2 Tb. Whey (This is the liquid that builds around your yogurt. You may want to gather it ahead of time.)

2 Tb. Butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

Diced mango

Diced apples

3/4 c. Roasted nuts

Pure maple syrup

Whey: scoop out a hole in the yogurt. Scoop out whey when it forms and put in a glass jar in fridge(unless into recipe).

Rinse quinoa. Put in bowl and add warm water to 1/2 inch above quinoa. Add whey and let soak 12+ hours. Rinse again. Put in pot and add water to 1 inch above quinoa. Bring to a boil; then cook on low for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Enjoy.

Dessert: Fresh Peaches with Syrup

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:36:38 +0000

What can I say? It’s this simple:

Make buttermilk syrup and let it cool in the fridge (can be done even a few days in advance). Recipe below.

Buy peaches at your local farmers’ market.

Wash, peel, and slice peaches.

Drizzle peaches with buttermilk syrup.

Serve.

Email me because you can’t believe how amazing this idea is. TortillasAndOranges@gmail.com

I know, I know.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 cup butter
1 cups buttermilk
2 cups sugar
1 t. baking soda
4 T. Karo syrup
2 t. vanilla

Cook in a large pot (it bubbles up!) Keep stirring for 7-10 minutes at boiling temperature. Now, make sure you boil it long enough. The first time I made this, I didn’t boil it long enough and it was too runny.

Thursday Flashback: Oatmeal Cookie Style Oatmeal

admin — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:55:29 +0000

The school train is rolling down the tracks. So here is a great post from the past to add to our growing collection of great school morning breakfasts. Enjoy.

Originally published January 29th, 2008

Oatmeal is a perfect food. It is easy to cook. It is easily influenced by other flavors. It is healthy. My kids eat it. At our house, we eat oatmeal from both ends of the spectrum–steel cut fancy oatmeal all the way to generic brand instant oatmeal from the cheapest grocery store. This year, I started experimenting with oatmeal. After several tries, I came up with a flavor to beat all, if I do say so myself. I chose instant oatmeal because I usually make this on a school day morning when time is of the essence. It is so full of tastiness, it reminds me of eating an oatmeal cookie. If your children have yet to develop a taste for almonds, omit them if you must.

serves 4

4 cups water
2 cups instant oatmeal (more depending on desired consistency)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons slivered almonds

Bring water to a boil. Add oatmeal. Stir over low heat. Add extracts, brown sugar, coconut, and almonds. Mix. Add more oatmeal or anything else. Serve. Watch your children smile.

Breakfast: Spinach, Feta and Eggs

admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 02:51:39 +0000

Don’t be jealous. Here is this morning’s breakfast:

I started with sautéd onions. While they were sizzling I unloaded the dishwasher. When the onions were just right I added the spinach and let it wilt just a bit.

After that I added the eggs and feta and mixed it all up. It was amazing. I suggest you try it.

Breakfast: Heavenly Pancakes

admin — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 11:13:26 +0000

That’s right. They taste like you are eating a cloud; or at least sitting on a cloud eating a pancake. As the summer winds down and school ramps up, here is a killer pancake recipe.

Heavenly Pancakes
3 cups all purpose flour
7 teaspoons baking powder (yes, you read that right)
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 ½ cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift flour and baking soda together. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Make a well in the center and add milk, vanilla, eggs and butter.

Lightly oil and heat griddle. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup or a really big ice cream scoop, place batter on hot pan. Lightly brown on both sides and serve hot. Don’t forget the butter and syrup. Although my favorite pancake topping is fresh raspberry jam. Oh man.

Cooking: A Family’s Other New Year

admin — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 08:37:40 +0000

September is a funny month to me, and I’ll tell you why. I feel like it’s another “new year”. In fact, in my life I have three “new years” within one calendar year: January 1st, January 21st, and Whatever Day School Starts. Let me explain.

I am a big fan of resolutions. December 31st usually finds me curled up with a brand new notebook, mechanical pencil, and a mug of mexican hot chocolate; furiously scribbling down my ambitious resolutions. And because my resolutions are just that–ambitious–I usually stumble right out of the gate; that is until January 21st–my birthday. While you may think January is a really crappy month for a birthday–think again. I always take that grand day to rewire my January 1st resolutions and recover from what is usually a false start. On January 21st, I really get going. My year proceeds smoothly until the summer chaos undoes every habit I’ve worked so hard to acquire. Until school starts. That’s right folks, the first day of school is yet another New Years Day in my book. I always have new goals, plans and projects that I implement on the first day of school; which is why I’m excited about this week. School starts on August 21st. This year is rather sad for me because my youngest, Pops, is starting kindergarten. I am at a crossroads in my life and scared to death about it. But until I’m ready to face that little issue, I’ll think about food. I am revamping my girls’ hot breakfast rotation. Now, you know I am a Hot Breakfast Fanatic. Really, I hate cold cereal more than life itself and think of it as my mortal enemy. I hate, hate, hate it–as a breakfast that is. After school snack–totally acceptable. My hot breakfasts consist of four choices:
1. Eggs and toast
2. Oatmeal
3. Cream of Wheat
4. Waffles or pancakes

That’s it. I don’t make anything else. My girls have informed me in no uncertain terms that they are sick of the rotation. So what amazing hot breakfast am I missing? What could I make in a limited amount of time that would knock their socks off? Help me, and happy new year.

Breakfast: Don’t Forget Where You Come From (Cream of Wheat)

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:14:36 +0000

Cream of Wheat--Not just for your Grandmother.

Growing up on a farm, as cliche as this sounds, we had hot breakfasts most mornings. My favorite hot cereal was Ralston, which is hard to find nowadays. Another favorite was and is Cream of Wheat. I introduced Cream of Wheat to my children when they were babies. They love it. In case you’ve forgotten about it, I’m here to remind you. Let’s be clear–I’m not talking about the prepacked, pre-sugared instant stuff. Yuck. I’m talking about the stuff you add to boiling milk to create a creamy hearty goodness. I buy mine in the bulk section of Winco or Whole Foods (where it is actually labeled farina).You’ll find my method below. And don’t get me started about potential mix-ins or toppings. That could be a whole other entry. Enjoy.

Cream of Wheat

2 cups water
2 cups milk
3/4-1 cup dry Cream of Wheat (or Farina from your bulk section)

In a large saucepan over high heat, bring two cups of water to a boil. Add milk. Once both milk and water are brought to a boil, slowly add Farina/Cream of Wheat while you stir with whisk. Stir constantly over medium heat until cereal thickens (about 5-7 minutes). After cereal thickens, off heat and continue stirring. It may appear a little lumpy and that’s ok. All the better to scoop with your spoon. Divide into four bowls and serve with various toppings.

Add ins: As cereal starts to thicken you may add raisins (regular or golden), craisins, coconut, or various nuts.
Toppings: The very best part–Fresh berries, cinnamon sugar, honey, butter, rasbperry jam (my personal favorite), brown sugar, turbinado sugar, or anything that sounds delectable to you.

Thursday Throwback: Whole Wheat Waffles

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:42:29 +0000

While we’re on the subject of yummy breakfast. Don’t for get this oldie but goodie: (originally published March 1, 2009)

Last week I found an extra gallon of milk that had to be used, and fast. So, I made a double batch of whole wheat waffles. I cooked them, cooled them, piled them into ziplock freezer bags (each one separated by little squares of parchment paper so they wouldn’t stick together). Wha-La-our very own homemade, whole wheat eggos. In the morning, I grab a few, toast them for a few minutes, and the school girls are very happy.

Whole Wheat Waffles (Large Batch)

2 1/2 cups sifted whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons sugar, brown or granulated (I use brown)
2 1/2 cups milk
6 eggs, well beaten
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together dry ingredients. Combine eggs, milk, oil, cinnamon, and extracts. Stir in flour mixture. Bake in waffle iron.