Eggs benedict is a super easy breakfast to make at home, you’ll never need to go out again to eat this gourmet meal.
The recipe is easy, you simply start with 2 halves of an English muffin, sliced Canadian bacon, two poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and lemon juice.
The Canadian bacon goes on the toasted and buttered muffin, the eggs on top of that, make the sauce and stir in a few teaspoon of lemon juice to taste, ladle the sauce on top , and now serve hot and delicious!
How you make the hollandaise sauce is what makes this dish unique. There are many different herbs and flavors to add to the sauce, such as dill, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice.
There are two worlds of thought for making hollandaise sauce, the from scratch world and the from the ready made packet of dry ingredients world.
I have done both, however the ready made packet method is so much easier, and when I am ravenous for my breakfast, I want something quick and easy to whip up, so I confess, yes I used the hollandaise in a packet for my eggs benedict.
My personal preference has always been adding lemon juice to the sauce , and with lemon pepper sprinkled on top as the finishing touch.
When serving eggs benedict you may add hash browns, or grilled veggies as a side dish, however for me this is all I need on my plate as a complete filling meal.
I made this bread the other day, because I just needed a winter pause on all the sweets in my life.
My goal was to bake something that was savory and had a ton of different flavors, with no sugar.
I think I hit the nail on the head here with this one! The Savory Olive and Onion quick bread has no sugar, and is loaded with flavor and texture in every bite.
I have to confess after I made my test loaf, I added more cheese to my final “real” loaf, as I felt it needed a bit more cheesy texture.
I recommend using a white or yellow onion that is sliced and browned in butter as this leads to creating a good balance of flavor with the olives. You can also benefit from using both green olives with pimentos and black olives for adding texture, saltiness and flavor.
Because I had never experienced this bread before, I was a bit hesitant to take that first bite, I didn’t know what to expect, and was already having sugar withdrawals. Boy was I surprised when I did, this bread is so good, the olives, cheese and onion are in each bite, and the rosemary is right there adding savory and a nice aroma in the kitchen as well.
I am a huge fan of browned onions, I use them every chance I get, I should have been an onion farmer to save me some money, as this is how often I buy onions, all the time, in each weeks grocery order.
I like to always have on hand a white, yellow, and a few red onions in my vegetable rack. I adore the aroma of cooking onions, the taste of browned in butter onions, raw onions in my salads, and sautéed onions on my eggs. I know sounds weird, you should try it sometime to start your day off on the onion foot!
Because I have a nice little home greenhouse inside for the winter, I am able to grow fresh herbs so I always have them on hand for my cooking and baking needs.
I have an assortment of rosemary, oregano, lemon basil and basil, rosemary being my favorite, it has such a pungent, almost soothing aroma. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to use fresh herbs in my bread baking, the fresh herbs adds more of a flavor punch.
The Savory Olive and Onion Bread uses baking soda as the leavening agent, so there is not a lot of rise that happens during the baking, the bread has a nice dense texture, expect the olives and onions to be the star of the show as they take over the interior of the bread.
A tip when using parchment paper to line the baking pan, make sure it is smooth and straight or you get weird bumps and creases in the baked bread.
As you can see, the end of the pan had a crease in the paper, thus giving my bread a creased look on the end. Maybe I could turn this into a baking art form! lol.
Play around with the olives, herbs and cheese, you can use a nice smoky cheese, or a very strong cheese. Perhaps using tarragon, basil and or sage would also be a good variation, along with the multitude of stuffed olives we can choose from.
One of my favorite dishes is eggplant wrap with tahini with fresh vegetables and fruit.
You will need a garden variety of fresh fruits and vegetables for this dish, starting with an eggplant, adding in grape tomatoes, cucumber, kiwi, cilantro, garlic, red onions, sunflower seeds and tahini for the sauce.
Because I am a vegetable snob and don’t like the skin that this lovely produce comes with, peel absolutely everything you can, peel the eggplant, cucumber, and garlic clove and onion of course.
Once peeled chop the produce into bite sized pieces, add the eggplant, onions and garlic to the fry pan with a little hot olive oil.
Set aside the cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, and sunflower seeds, this is your topping once the eggplant mixture is ready .
Lets take a moment here to talk about tahini. This is basically a sesame seed paste as Tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame
Tahini is an acquired taste, a healthy alternative to higher fats sauces, as this is low in fats and sodium, one of my favorites. However the first time I tried it, as I was looking for an alternate sauce and flavor to cook with, lets just say I may have crinkled my nose.
However it has really grown on me, and now I just cant get enough of it, I luv to put it on my cooked vegetables, on toast in lieu of peanut butter, and on rice, for most of my veggie and rice meals.
Once the eggplant, onions and garlic are cooked, lay them on a wheat tortilla, with all the other fresh fruits and vegetables.
Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top, and drizzle on the Tahini, you can use as much as you like, the sauce is absorbed by the vegetables, and really adds to the flavor.
Fold your tortilla up like an open top burrito, and get ready to take a nice big bite. The freshness in that first bite will keep you coming back for more!
Another great way to serve this is in a pita pocket with cilantro on top!
I always luv to bake, and because of this, I am always thinking about baking.
On snowy , cloudy grey days, I go thru my recipe collection and see what recipe inspires my creative baking taste buds.
Todays mission was to bake a recipe that I hadn’t tried in the last 6 months! My mind immediately went to Carrot Cake, one reason is, I always considered Carrot Cake healthy, due to the carrots of course. I just knew that if I bake this, I also have to eat this bread, every last crumb. ( oh darn)
I turn on the music, put the apron on, and prepare to make a big mess in the kitchen while I create! You see a little flour everywhere just doesn’t bother me, it gives me great satisfaction to know that I was so involved in the creating and baking process that I didn’t care about some flour on the counter and floor. I certainly can clean it up when I’m done.
I gather all the ingredients and begin my journey into Carrot Bread.
There’s something about grating carrots that’s very satisfying, how you go from having this whole vegetable in our hand to these wonderfully shredded pieces of the same vegetable, and the aroma of grated carrots is so pleasing.
This recipe is super simple, all you need is a good whisk to blend the ingredients, this is great for two reason, you don’t need to get the mixer uncovered and make sure the correct beater arm is in place. Also when using a hand whisk, you avoid the pitfalls of electric mixing that tend to cause a tough dryer bread, when left on too long. Perhaps because you got distracted and walked away to maybe switch out the laundry load or something, ( not that I’ve ever done that).
A few simple spices make this recipe so easy, also the addition of the baking powder and baking soda are good leavening agents, they add a fool proof way to get a good light airy texture to the bread.
The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla add a nice earthly light flavor to the bread, along with a pinch of salt for good luck! With just the right balance of sugar, you wont get overwhelmed with super over the top sweet bread, the carrot bread has a more down to earth flavor with just the right amount of sweetness.
Once the flour is added into the wet ingredients you are ready to bake!
Because you are using parchment paper to line your pan, you’ll be able to cool your bread quickly, so all that yummy cinnamon cream cheese frosting can be layered on ( if you chose to frost this bread).
I have learned over the years that my oven likes to take its time baking quick breads. Once I reach the suggested time for baking, I gradually increase the baking time by 5-7 minutes, until the toothpick comes out clean and the bread bounces back when I poke it with my finger. You will find that you may or may not need to increase the times on your bakes, as all ovens vary slightly.
I opted not to frost this loaf, trying to watch my calories you know! Instead I added some whipped powdered sugar and milk on top of the break while it was still hot, so that could soak in.
This is the canning recipe for the Italian soup base that I make each year to stock my pantry and get me thru the winter with as many fresh vegetable ingredients that I can put up from the garden in the fall.
These ingredients can also be found at a farmers market or summer fruit stand as well.
You will need to purchase fresh tomatoes, sometimes the farmers markets have 1/2 bushel baskets of seconds, these are really good for this, because you are mashing the tomatoes up anyways, the skin gets removed, so you don’t need perfect tomatoes.
Now you will need white onions, minced garlic and few green peppers, that’s it. Easy Peesey!
To remove the tomato skin, after washing, removing stem and cutting in 1/2 simply add the whole tomatoes to the crock pot, with 1 cup water.
Set the crock pot on medium and let the tomatoes soften and cook down, about 1 hour.
While the tomatoes cook, chop the green peppers, slice the onion. Add to a hot skillet with the minced garlic and some olive oil, cook until until soft, and the onions are slightly browned.
When ready stir the tomatoes until they are mostly mashed into just the pulp. Simply strain or pour out the tomatoes into a larger pot thru a strainer , this will get all the skins out easily which you can discard. Return the tomato pulp to the crock pot.
Add the onions, green peppers, to the crock pot with the tomatoes, add in the oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Let this cook for about 4-6 hours on medium, stir often.
While this is cooking, its time to get setup for the canning process.
Wash the jars inside and out. Boil the rings, lids and jars. When ready set everything aside. I like to use the large cookie sheets to set the jars, rings and lids on, as they can go straight from the boiling water to the cookie sheet which is set and ready on the counter right next to the stove.
As soon as the Italian soup base is done to your satisfaction, ladle the soup base into the clean canning jars, place a lid and ring on top, tighten and place in the hot water bath, per the time needed for your altitude. https://extension.sdstate.edu/altitude-adjustments-home-canning
You can store this soup base up to 18 months in your pantry.
Because I just canned a large batch of my Italian soup base from the bushels of tomatoes and onions I was blessed with this year out of the garden, I immediately start to crave Loaded Tomato soup with Meatballs.
Talk about hearty! this soup has it all.
The Italian soup base comes with all the ingredients you need to start this soup off on the right foot. Which is basically tomatoes pureed (crushed), roasted tomatoes, and green peppers, cooked along with sliced onions, garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bay leaf. I also add in 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can of tomato soup, and tomato paste, water bath can at least 6 quarts jars, and you will have an ample supply to get you thru the winter months.
If you do not have the Italian soup base already canned, the slow cook process starts with the onions, garlic ,and green peppers all lightly sautéed in a fry pan on the stove, add this mixture to the crock pot to start.
I add add skinned roasted tomatoes, this really kicks up the flavor and I top it all off with Italian herb blend of oregano, basil and thyme, bay leaf, garlic powder and onion powder.
After this has simmered for 2 hrs in the crock pot, I add 2 cans of Italian tomato paste to add a final punch of depth and flavor.
I like to make my miniChicken Rosemary and Garlic Meatballs, cooking them on each side, add them and a can of light red kidney beans, fresh chopped kale, (arugula if you can find it at the store) to the soup.
Grab a loaf of garlic bread, put on your slippers and go settle in for a movie and a hot bowl of hearty soup.
Lets hope the weather continues to stay cold, I am so close to devouring my soup!
When you come across a peach tree with low hanging branches from all the heavy ripe fresh peaches, remember one thing, fresh homemade peach salsa. Grab your box and because the tree is leaning over the fence to the road, help the tree out and pick some of these ripe and ready peaches. These peaches make the best peach butter, if they are over ripe and not a perfect peach.
I also look forward to the local farmers market as they sell boxes of peaches each year, I anxiously await this ritual and let the hunt begin once I realize the peaches have come in. I am pretty sure the vendors know me by name, and have the patience of a saint as I pick thru the cases making sure all the wonderful fruit is firm, not bruised and has been slowly ripened to perfection.
Once my box is chosen, I will swiftly take it to my vehicle, and the entire way home I go to daydream land about which peach product I will make first.
You see peach salsa is the most chopping, and peach jam is a longest process with the peeling and stirring and jam setting.
Than there is canning the sliced peaches and peach butter, both are super easy peasey.
I can use a lesser quality peaches on the peach butter from the wild peach tree peaches I pick.
Its always peach salsa that wins, so I stop at the produce stand and purchase the peppers, onions, garlic, and roasted chilis for my creation.
Once I get home, you better watch out, its like a tornado hits the kitchen, pots clanging, water running to fill the pots, bags of produce everywhere, peach boxes on the chairs, and my favorite playlist playing on the “Alexa”.
I start with peeling the peaches by bringing a small pot of hot water to a boil. I put 2 peaches into a small colander and dunk it into the hot water pot, for about 1 min. This process tells the peaches to shed their skin, super easy, you can literally just wipe the skin off the peach. Setting the peach in a bowl of water and lemon juice keeps all the peaches fresh while I dunk and skin all the fruit.
The process goes pretty quick, once the peaches are skinned and the slicing, chopping of the roasted peppers, onions, garlic, and peppers, and de-seeding the hot jalapeno and or serrano peppers is completed.
All the ingredients are added to the large stock pot or two with the vinegar, sugar, and cumin to cook bringing all the flavors together.
One of my most favorite processes of canning, is adding the hot salsa into the clean jars, wiping the rims, and putting a cap and ring on each jar, this is very satisfying for me, to know I made this fresh health salsa all by myself!
The Peach Salsa feeds me all winter. I use it to cook chicken with, on my fish tacos and on my scrambled breakfast eggs.
Rich creamy soup packed with rice, and vegetable goodness in each spoonful.
Sautéing the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in butter adds a depth of flavor that helps to enhance the fresh mushrooms as they blend into the soup base.
By adding the mushroom condensed soup and with the half and half, gives a nice creamy richness to the soup, I like to stick with the half and half just for this reason, to give a nice cream to the flavor.
You can use either a long grain wild rice, or a wild rice blend. I sometimes like to use the premade, wild rice blend to save time. It’s easy to add in, and the rice is perfect, which give the soup a great texture .
When you hear that a soup is rich in flavor, I’m sure you don’t think about a bean, veggies and tomato soup.
However this soup is rich, rich, rich and so fulfilling!
My favorite foody tasting expert gave me the thumbs up for this fabulous recipe I made the other night when the chill in the air forced all the windows closed, and the furnace turned on a bit higher than usual.
One of my soup secrets, is butter, yup you heard it a good dab of butter ( not margarine) add it in with the chopped celery, carrots, garlic and onion just as they start to soften cook, butter gives a nice richness to the soup.
As soon as the butter has softened down a bit, you want to add the can of rotel.
Stir everything together and add in the vegetable stock , green chilis, canned corn, tomato sauce ,canned tomatoes, and water.
Add in the cumin, bay leaf, garlic pepper, chili powder and garlic powder.
Cover and let this cook on low in the crock pot overnight.
In the morning, you better stand back when you take lid off, the aroma that will fill the kitchen will make you run for a snack! Its such a wonderful smell, that you can hardly wait for dinner to eat this soup!
Now its time to add in the cans of beans, and tomato paste.
Cover and put on low for at least another hour.
10-15 mins prior to eating, add the orzo pasta to the soup.
Once the pasta is soft and tender, you are ready to dig in.
Get a bowl, I like to eat soup out of big bowls, that way I don’t have to get up and get seconds,
Have I ever told you about my Potato Latka obsession.
Well I have an obsession with creating, making and especially eating potato Latka. Its the eating part of Potato Latka that I like the most, as the making of these is labor intensive.
First you have to really wash and clean the potatoes, slice them into quarters, run thru the food processor using the grating blade. The best potato to use is the Yukon gold, or russet.
The whole onion needs to be peeled and sliced into quarters as well, so you can alternate between potato and onion in the grating process.
Believe it or not, I hand a hand crank cheese grater/shredder that used back in the old days to make the Latka, talk about labor intensive!
You will want a large bowl on hand to dump the grated potatoes into, as you make more, or finish the bag which ever comes first.
I like to make a lot of Latka, because they make the best breakfast potatoes ever! And if you know my cooking you know that leftovers are one of the best parts of cooking.
Once all the potatoes and onions are grated and this is now in the large bowl, crack in two raw eggs, about 2-4T of flour, salt, and pepper. Once all the potatoes and onions are grated and now in the large bowl, crack in two raw eggs, add 2-4T of flour, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
If you thinks its too dry especially for a large batch, add in another egg. Once you have made your 100th batch it will all make sense, and you will know the exact amount of flour and egg to add. You really cant go wrong with this recipe.
You want to drop about 1/2 C of mixture onto your hot skillet/griddle. Fry up the Latka until golden and cooked thru.
Make sure you have sour cream and applesauce on hand, because you will want to smother you Latka in either or both!
The family meal, has always been pork chops, Latka and lima beans!
To this day whenever I cook and eat this I am filled with warm memories of me and girls sitting at the dinner table thru the years, from the very young children years to now adults years. So many wonderful memories and stories to share, just because of the potato Latka!
