This is not my recipe. Not in the slightest. The full credit for this goes to Susan from Wild Yeast. Nevertheless, breakfast perfection has been achieved and it is my sworn duty to report such wins to you!
Sourdough hot English muffins with scrambled eggs. Just what the doctor ordered.
[ Makes: 8 | Time: 24 hours | Cost: $4 ]
[ Joes Rating: 4 / 5 | My Rating: 4.5 / 5 ]
Ingredients - Sponge
110 g starter
160 g plain flour
100 g wholemeal flour
275 ml soy milk
Final dough
75 g plain flour
1.5 teaspoon agave or ½ teaspoon stevia
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
¾ teaspoon salt
Polenta to sprinkle
Method
- Mix the sponge ingredients together. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and allow to rest overnight.
Cover and rest
- Add the final dough ingredients and mix to incorporate. Turn out on a clean bench and mix by hand. The dough is very sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour. The mixture will thicken up after a lot of kneading – about 8 – 10 minutes.
When you start to knead, the dough will be extremely sticky. Resist the urge to add flour!
- Use a bread scraper to get the dough off the bench and sprinkle with flour.
The dough will still be sticky but it will be usable.
- Flatten the dough on the floured bench until it is about an inch thick. Use a cutter or a glass to cut out the muffins. Dust the outsides of the muffin with polenta.
- Cover and let proof for an hour or three.
- Heat a frying pan with a little oil over a low to medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes on each side, turning regularly to maintain shape.
- Cool on a wire rack. To use, slit the muffins with a fork and toast until golden.
before and after toasting.
Observations
- I’ve made these several times now with mixed results. Take my advice; don’t allow the sponge to rest for more than overnight. It fails to rise when it’s rested for more. Make sure you allow it the second rest period after its been shaped.
- Diabetic Note: There is nothing too evil here. Treat it like you do bread – one or two slices is allowable. More will wreak havoc with your blood glucose levels.
- Ethical Note: Sourdough – enough said
I mentioned the bread scraper. It is a firm but flexible piece of plastic that is excellent for scraping bowls and manipulating dough. If you are getting aboard the sourdough train, make sure you get yourself one.
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Tags: brea, breakfast, Cook, diabetic friendly, dough, Environmental, Ethical, Flour, Muffin, Sodium bicarbonate, Sourdough, sustainability
Hello Mr. Zebra
Can I have your sweater?
Cause it’s cold, cold, cold
In my hole, hole, hole.
Tori Amos – Mr Zebra
Its cold. So very cold. My fingers aren’t even working properly and I’m typing with mittens on! (No comments on not knowing cold from you Alaskans!) You know what this calls for, right? Yup, Porridge!
Apple Porridge
[ SERVES: 3 | TIME: 15 MINUTES | COST: $2 ]
[ JOES RATING: 4 / 5 | MY RATING: 4 / 5 | BRITTANYS RATING: 4 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 green apple
1 cup oat flakes
3 cups water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
soy milk
brown sugar or agave to taste
Method
- Peel and core the apple. Cut into small bite size pieces. Place the apple in a small pot and bring to the boil with enough water to cover the apples. Stew until soft – about 5 minutes.
- Add the cinnamon, oats and water to the boil. Stir over a moderate heat until the oats are tender. This may take 5 minutes. Add a little more water if all the water has been absorbed but the oat flakes are still tough.
- Remove from heat and serve in a bowl with soy milk and sugar to taste.
Apple and Cranberries work a treat!
Observations
- Good grief, Charlie Brown. Even Brittany enjoyed this one! Its warm, filling and nutritious. Definitely a crowd pleaser during winter.
- I often add sultanas to the mix and sometimes cranberries. It depends on what is in the cupboard. Toasted nuts sprinkled over the top at serving are a real treat!
- Diabetic Note: Oats are Low GI so are much better for you than wheat based cereals and breads. As much as I hate to admit it, porridge is a much sounder diabetic option than sourdough bread.
- Ethical Note: Oats are a sustainable crop often undervalued in agriculture. According to the North American Millers Association, “Oats are especially valuable in environmentally sustainable crop rotation systems, helping to ensure sound cropping and soil conservation practices.”
My serving had agave on it for sweetness. Joe and Brittany opted for raw sugar.
- Good & Good For You: Summer Porridge aka Yogurt Oats (afridgefulloffood.typepad.com)
- Zingy porridge (cheapeasydelicious.wordpress.com)
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Tags: breakfast, diabetic friendly, environmental friendly, porridge
Traditionalists will have to just look away now because this recipe is far from traditional! Yesterday Brittany made those gorgeous strawberry and choc chip pikeletes and today I decided to enjoy the last of the strawberries as a sort of coolis syrup with my morning pancakes.
[ Serves: 2 | TIME: 30 MINUTES | COST: $2 ]
[ JOES' RATING: 4 / 5 | MY RATING: 4 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 cup strawberries
½ cup sugar * (see notes below)
½ cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice * (see notes below)
Method
- In a pot, combine the strawberries, sugar and water and cook at a moderate heat until the syrup has thickened and the strawberries have melted. This may take about 20 – 30 minutes.
- Just before serving, add a little lemon juice to freshen it up.
- Pour over pancakes and serve with ice cream, cream or with a splash of icing sugar.
Observations
- Traditionalists would have cooked this for a little longer, not used the lemon and would have strained it to remove the chunky fruit remains. Personally, I like those chunks for texture. Suit your own tastes on this one.
- Don’t cook this too long or too rapidly. The trick is a rolling simmer. Over cooking will result in a tasteless syrup while cooking it at a higher temperature will reduce it too quickly and not give the strawberries time to melt and to give over their delicious taste.
- Don’t over do the lemon juice or you will lose that strawberry flavour. A squeeze is literally enough – 1 teaspoon at most!
- This was served hot with my delicious sourdough pancakes.
- Diabetic Note: This would be far from diabetic friendly if I used ordinary sugar. Instead, I use a commercially produced sugar substitute. As a result, my blood sugar results are just fine.
- Ethical Note: I love using odd bods that would end up in waste. The sourdough starter and strawberries are classic examples. The strawberries were looking sad with age and it was now or never for them and I chose the now option!
“Rhianna, why do your pancakes look a funny shape?” you ask.
“Because, dear reader, sometimes taste tests become before you remember to take photos!”
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Tags: breakfast, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Garden strawberry, Lemon, Lemon juice, no meat monday, Sourdough, Sugar, sustainability, vegetarian
A few weeks ago, I spotted a photo on someone’s blog of this. Despite having spent a good half hour or so searching through my RSS feed looking for it, I couldn’t find it. If this was your idea, please speak up so I can give you the credit you deserve. As I only vaguely remembered the photo, I kinda invented the filling. It was a delicious way to start the day though, and is highly recommended!
[ SERVES: 3 | TIME: 25 MIN | COST: <$4 ]
[ JOES' RATING: 4 / 5 | MY RATING: 3.5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
3 wholemeal bread rolls
3 free ranged eggs
½ cup diced red capsicum
½ cup diced spring onions
½ cup grated cheddar or crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup shredded parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C
Carefully cut the top off the bread rolls and pull out about half of the stuffing.
Place layers of filling into the bottom before cracking a whole egg into the middle.
Cover the eggs with layers of filling, topping off with a layer of cheese and seasoning
Bake in oven for about 15 – 20 minutes, until the egg has set.
Serve immediately.
Observations
- Our rolls dried out pretty fast, so use a cup of water in your oven to keep the air moist.
- I used a folk around the edges to test if the eggs had set firm. This method allowed me to serve them while the yolks were still slightly soft.
- Diabetic Note: Ohhh angry blood glucose levels were angry! This much bread did not make my insulin happy at all.
- Ethical Note: We used day old and two-day old bread rolls for this. What a sensational way to use up leftovers and reduce waste! The parsley came from our garden and cheeses were locally made – added bonus points for us!
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Tags: Bread, bread rolls, breakfast, Eggs, Free Range
I do love it when our dear friend Kat comes to visit. She comes once every two weeks for a night of delightful food, fine wine, great company and the odd Disney cartoon. I may have mentioned previously that Kat is a professional chef, and is an awesome source of inspiration. This mornings breakfast is a classic example. We had just come home after an hours walk along the water and was trying to decide what to have to eat. Kat suggested French toast to use up left over sourdough bread from last nights chicken cacciatore dinner. As I was not familiar with the process of making French toast, I let Kat do the work… for educational reasons, of course…
[ SERVES: 3 | TIME: 30 MIN | COST: <$3 ]
[ JOES' RATING: 4/5 | MY RATING: 4/5 | KatS RATING: 4/5 ]
Ingredients
½ Sourdough Loaf (Vienna Style, cut thickly)
3 free range eggs
200 ml skim or low-fat milk
Sprinkle of Nutmeg
Method
- Mix the eggs, milk and nutmeg with a whisk. Soak the bread in the mixture until absorbed – approximately 5 minutes
- Place the bread in a well oiled hot pan. Cook for four minutes per side, ensuring it doesn’t stick.
- Serve once the bread is firm to touch and cooked evenly both sides.
Observations
- Can this woman cook, or what?
- You can top these little delights with your choice of toppings. I opted for the fruit version you see above while Joe ate his with tomato sauce and Kat had hers on a more savoury side with just salt and pepper.
- Diabetic Note: This whole dish is heavy on the carbs, but kept us all full for several hours. Diabetics can technically eat this dish, but watch your serve sizes and of course what toppings you use. For me, banana always sets my blood glucose levels off, but oh my goodness… it was worth it!
- Ethical Note: French toast is also known as pain perdu which literally means “lost bread” or day old bread. It is a way of using older slightly stale bread, rather than wasting it. More food is wasted in this world then eaten, so do your best to reduce food wastage.
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Tags: Bread, breakfast, diabetic friendly, egg, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, frenchtoast, fruit, Maple syrup, Milk, no meat monday, Sourdough, sourdough bread, vegetarian
SUCCESS!
I have the absolute pleasure to announce that after the crashes of last nights sourdough focaccia failure, I was able to redeem myself with these awesome sourdough pancakes. The original recipe was posted Linda Wilbourne over at Bread, Wood Design and More. I have to admit that I stumbled upon something totally amazing and through my own errors and omissions, made something that we all loved – a rare feat for this household.
The deliciousness of hot sourdough pancakes served with fresh local organic fruits and a drizzle of maple syrup.
[ SERVES: 2 - 3 | TIME: 15 MIN | COST: <$2 - 3 ]
[ JOES' RATING: 5/5 | MY RATING: 4.5/5 | BRITTANYS' RATING: 4.5/5]
Ingredients
1 cup sourdough starter
1 free ranged egg
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar (or sugar substitute)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
Method
- Melt the butter and mix with the soy milk.
- Beat the egg and combine with the starter. Add the remaining ingredients and incorporate well.
- If the batter is a little thin, add a little flour.
- Cook in a hot pan by adding two tablespoons of batter and tipping the pan to spread it out.
- Serve hot, topped with fruit and a drizzle of syrup.
Observations
- When I warmed the butter in the microwave, I over heated it slightly. I added the milk to it to cook it back down before adding it to the batter mixture. When I added it the batter and eggy milky mixture happened, the baking soda and sourdough reacted to the heat and the batter magically doubled in size. It was light, silky and supremely airy.
- I actually forgot to add the egg, and it wasn’t until I did the washing up that I noticed it still sitting on the bench! Whoops!! Just the same, they were delicious and I’ll be making them again (probably tomorrow) with the egg in them. Look out for variations of this recipe such as wholemeal flour, fruit additives, eggs, yoghurt ect.
- What a brilliant way to use the cup of starter that gets discarded every day! nom nom
- Diabetic Note: You just know that my dietitian just had a heart attack but I used a sugar substitute that is suitable for baking. My plate is the one at the back with the two tiny pancakes and fruit. (These are actually served on bread and butter plates, not dinner plates so the size is deceptive.) The only thing here that my diabetes has issue with is the banana, so I only had a little bit – perhaps ¼ banana. I guess this breakfast is probably two exchanges, give or take.
- Ethical Note: What’s not to love here? I used my own sourdough starter which is full of beneficial natural cultures. I am avoiding packaged pre-packaged pancake mixes and I am using fresh local fruits. I use whole wheat flour and where possible, I use organic flours. At the end of the day, this meal is fairly sustainable with little environmental damage.
This batter hasn't been whisked. The bubbling action you see here is a result of the sourdough and the baking soda. Fantastic, isnt it?
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Tags: breakfast, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Flour, Free Range, no meat monday, Pancake, Sourdough, sustainability, vegetarian
Don’t you just love a good hearty breakfast? If I don’t have something substantial for breakfast, my entire day suffers. And do you know when it’s even most important to have a good hearty breakfast? The morning after a night of awesome food, brilliant company and general beverage (over) consumption. The lovely Kat came to visit us last night for our customary fortnightly catchup. Joe wined and dined us and I wish I had of gotten photos of his spectacular efforts, but alas, the thought didn’t occur to me until we had consumed every last mouthful! You will just have to take my word for it – his spaghetti meatballs with wholemeal pasta dish was satisfyingly tasty and his berries with Chantilly cream dessert was heaven sent! But I digress…
It would be rude of me to send anyone from this house with an empty belly. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to feed people. Its how I express myself and to me, preparing a delicious meal is the ultimate expression of caring. It’s always a little scary serving Kat with samples of my kitchen creativity though, as she is a chef. I adore teasing some cooking tips from her though and she never fails to impress. This morning I teased this amazing gem from her… *queue heavenly music and rays of sunshine* Yoghurt in your pancake batter.
[ SERVES: 4 | TIME: 20 MIN | COST: <$5 ]
[ JOES' RATING: 4/5 | MY RATING: 4/5 | BRITTANYS' RATING: ?/5]
Ingredients
2½ cups wholemeal flour
1+ cups yoghurt
1+ cups soy milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
Method
Bash Stir all ingredients with a stick spoon until dead thoroughly mixed.- Warm some oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Using a large spoon, put some batter into your pan. Use the back of the spoon to spread out.
- Turn after a few minutes or when the edges are golden brown. Remove from the pan once cooked on second side.
- Serve in a stack of two with all kinds of divine manna of the gods: fruits, cream, ice cream, maple syrup….
Observations
- I used some low far berry flavoured pot set yoghurt and the flavour and sweetness of the yoghurt could be tasted with each bite of pancake. It actually added a fantastic dimension to an old family favourite. I cant imagine yoghurt-less pancakes any more!
- This batter was a little thicker than I had intended, as I was going by feel rather than a recipe. In hindsight, I should have added more yoghurt and soy milk to thin it out a little.
- The pancakes were
a little quite dense. A little more baking powder would have done the trick. Next time, Id double the amount. Just the same, the heaviness of them gave them quite a rustic feeling.
- Diabetic Note: I wouldn’t class this meal as Diabetic friendly as it would be quite heavy in carbohydrates, although, with a little alteration it could definitely fit the bill. Diabetics should not have more than two pancakes, and definately should skip the syrup, ice cream and cream. Otherwise, I think it would be fine. I have to admit that I stayed full for a very long time from just two pancakes with fruit, and skipped morning tea as a result. Ultimately, maybe it could work on a 24 hour scale, but check with your dietitian.
- Ethical Note: I have switched to using wholemeal (also called whole wheat) or blended flour where possible. Not only is it healthier for you, but it is better for the environment. Wholemeal utilises all of the grain as opposed to white flour which discards the germ and bran. Wholemeal has no additives and is not produced using the heat and bleach treatments that white flour does. By contrast, white flour requires refortifying, having killed available nutrients through such processing techniques where wholemeal does not. Additionally, many brands available on supermarket shelves boast being produced from 100% Australian Flour, lowering the carbon miles of the product!
- Wholemeal pancakes! (kerrycooks.wordpress.com)
- Healthy, Delicious and Nutritious Pancakes (befitandeatmerry.wordpress.com)
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Tags: Baking powder, berries, breakfast, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Flour, fruit, hearty, Ice cream, Pancake, sustainability, vegetarian, Whole grain, wholemeal, wholemeal flour, Yoghurt
Joe has been a muesli lover for a long time. Recently, he started to compare the ingredient compositions of the more popular brands, as well as some of the more upper market varieties. The ingredient composition, sugar content and additives in then left him quite disgruntled. I decided to see if I could make my own that would compare well with some of his favourites.
[ Serves: 30+ | Time: 15min | Cost: $18 - 25 ]
Ingredients
750g rolled organic oats
750g Weetbix (wheat, sugar, salt, malt)
500g Rice Bran (Nu-vit brand made from rice flour, rice bran, purne juice)
250g Cornflakes (Sunsol brand made from Maize, sugar, salt, corn, glucose)
2 x 350g Fruit & Nut Mix (Aldi brand made of nuts (42%), raisins (15%), Sultanas (15%), seeds (28%))
500g Diced Apricots
250g Shredded Coconut
250g Dried Cranberries
250g Diced Dates
Method
Mix well and store in air tight containers.
Observations
- The mix I make lasts Joe and me about one month or so, and different things get rotated in and out as I see things on special. The composition doesn’t always remain the same, and I alter it to our own tastes. (For example, Joe noted two weeks ago that it was getting too nutty for him, so I added some more fruit and grain.) Play around with this to taste
- I was putting in wheat meal, but we decided to used up an open box of weetbix by crumbling the weetbix into the mix. Works well! But be warned, it does contain sugar and salt.
- Joe prefers toasted muesli normally, and I have offered to toast this for him on several occasions, but we always seem out of time. You could easily give this a dry fry to toast off the grains and oils (such as in the coconut) for a delicious alternative.
- I have fresh fruit on my breakfast every single morning. I change it regularly – sometimes mango, sometimes blueberries, sometimes banana and sometimes strawberries. I have been known to add random fruit at times like passionfruit and kiwifruit. Whatever I have on hand.
- Brand plug: I try to use Sunsol products for my grains and fruit. The company is of a high ethical standard. The products are usually quality (with limited salt and sugar) and are often competitively priced for health food products.
- Diabetics Note: I try to have ½ to ¾ cup only. With the soy milk and fruit, I am breaking the carbohydrate budget. It is, however, a fantastic start to the day, so I persist. I now have the serve size down to a fine art and my BGL’s thank me for it. Just a word of caution: bananas hate me. If I add banana, I expect my BGL’s to be crazy high later. STOP PRESS: This time around I added weet bix for fibre and have found that my sugars are higher than they were with just wheat bran added.
- Ethical Note: We have searched and searched and searched for quality Australian apricots without success, and had to relent and buy Turkish apricots. Potential radio activity aside, we try to buy locally when possible. Finding quality dried apricots grown in Australia is our ongoing mission.
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Tags: apricots, banana, breakfast, diabetic friendly, Muesli
