Whole Wheat Crepes with Nutella and Berries

Posted in Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

Crepes are a favorite breakfast item in our household. They are very easy to make and can be tailored to each person’s taste with the addition of their favorite fillings and/or spread. These crepes are especially good (and good for you) because they are made with white whole wheat and 1% milk.

I usually go for Nutella or sweetened cream cheese for the spread and lots of fresh berries, berry compote etc. for the filling. Here is a tip about cream cheese – make your own sweetened cream cheese to limit the amount of sugar. It just takes a tablespoon or so of confectioner’s sugar to sweeten about 1/2 cup of softened cream cheese. Feel free to grate a bit of lemon zest into it with a dash of vanilla!

Crepes can be enjoyed at room temperature. That means, you can cook all the crepes first and then, finish them off later with the spread and filling. Perhaps, you could just set the crepes with the spread(s) and filling(s) and have everyone compile their own! 🙂

Whole wheat crepes with fresh berries

Servings: 4
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Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup 1% milk
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon honey
Extra butter or non stick spray for cooking the crepes

Spread
Nutella
Sweetened cream cheese

Fillings
Fresh berries
Banana
Sautéed apples
Mixed berry compote

Preparation
1. Thoroughly blend all of the crepe ingredients through honey in a blender. I used a handheld mixer to whisk the mixture.
2. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes so the air bubbles disappear.
3. Heat a small sauté or frying pan over medium high heat. Either melt a dab of butter or spray with a non-stick spray.
4. Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter and quickly swirl to coat the bottom.
5. Let cook for a minute and flip to the other side. Continue cooking for about 30 seconds or so.
6. Remove crepes to a plate and keep aside till ready to assemble.
7. When ready to assemble, spread a bit of nutella or cream cheese. Fill with fruits or compote of choice or just enjoy plain with just the spread.
8. Finish off with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

10May2014

Berry-licious Scones

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Happy Mother’s day ladies! I hope all you moms out there have a wonderful day tomorrow! I know, I know, we are supposed to stay in bed till breakfast is ready and not worry about anyone spilling hot coffee on themselves or burning their fingers in the stove or oven etc. And your kids ordered you to just take it easy and relax the whole day! THE WHOLE DAY! Yikes!

Am I the only weird one out there that finds it near impossible to just sit still and watch all the rumblings in the kitchen. You know, I am OK with the family CLEANING, DOING LAUNDRY etc., but when it comes to cooking or any kitchen related task, I think I develop some sort of an anxiety. Hmmm….maybe not so much anxiety, but perhaps a longing to be in there, in my kitchen, where I am always ME!

Yes, for the love of my kids, I will let them do what they please on Sunday! But I couldn’t help but share with you a pre-Mother’s day recipe that is likely to be a winner! I came across this recipe at http://www.averiecooks.com. I modified the recipe only slightly by replacing half the flour with white whole wheat. I am starting to fall in love with KAF white whole wheat!

Scones are an indulgence of mine! I especially like the cinnamon-pecan and chocolate chunk ones! Yum. But in honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to make a batch with berries! Personally I think there is something about Mother’s Day and BERRIES! These berry-licious scones are light, almost muffiny and delicious! I hope you get to make them and enjoy! WARNING: The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the scones to cool so you could drizzle the lemon glaze and devour it in one inhale! 🙂

Berry-licious Scones

Servings: 8
Time: 40min
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Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 heaping cup mixed berries of your choice (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons of coarse or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top

Lemon Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon (slightly less) lemon juice

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Mix the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Using two forks or pastry cutter, incorporate the cold butter into the dry mix (just like how you prepare a pie crust). Once the butter is sufficiently incorporated, the flour mixture will resemble very coarse crumbs. (This is one of the least favorite tasks in the kitchen for me – for no good reason!)
4. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl. Stir in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
5. Fun begins. Gently stir in the wet ingredients into the dry mix just until barely incorporated. Like with muffins, pancake batter etc., over mixing will result in tougher end product. The “dough” will be rather sticky and wet, but avoid the temptation to grab more flour for a CPR!
6. Fold in the berries. If using frozen berries, do not thaw them prior to using.
7. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface (use about couple of tablespoons of flour for the surface) and gently knead to bring the dough together. Just a few movements. If the dough is too sticky to form into a general circle or square, add another tablespoon of flour, but no more.
8. Pat the dough into a circle about ….diameter and ….thick. Alternatively you can form the dough into a square …x….. For circle, cut it into 8 wedges. For square, cut initially into 4 squares and each square diagonally into 2 triangles. You didn’t know you were going to use geometry here, did you? 🙂
9. Using a spatula, transfer the scones to the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with turbinado or coarse sugar if desired. Bake the scones for about 15-18 minutes till the top is lightly golden.
10. Remove from oven, let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. GLAZE: Mix the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle about a teaspoon on top of each scone. Let the glaze set prior to serving.

ENJOY!

29Apr2014

Protein-Packed Banana-Date Muffins

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Adapted from a Cooking Light (July 2007) recipe, these muffins were just what I needed to make use of two ripe bananas!

I modified the original recipe by adding in more protein and cutting down on sugar. These muffins use predominantly white whole wheat flour, some soy flour and Greek yogurt. Although the muffins are on the dense side, they are very flavorful and not overly sweet. Banana-date combination yields a wonderful natural sweetness – so much that I might be tempted to cut down the sugar a little more from the 1/2 cup. Best part yet is that these muffins have barely any added oil or butter. Just 2 tablespoons for 16 muffins! Original recipe does not have any though.

These muffins store well for a few days and can even be frozen and thawed to serve for a grab ‘n go breakfast or snack.

If you plan to use Greek yogurt instead of regular plain yogurt, you might want to consider adding few tablespoons of milk to loosen up the batter a bit and add little extra moisture. Since Greek yogurt is double strained, it is much thicker than regular yogurt. I will certainly be adding the extra milk in my next batch. Also, although the original recipe does not mention any flavorings, I think either cinnamon, vanilla or almond extract will round off the flavor of these muffins.

All in all, a winning recipe and would be keeper! Try a batch and let me know what you guys think!

Protein-Packed Banana-Date Muffins

Servings: 16 muffins
Time: 45 min
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Ingredients
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon wheat bran
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup yogurt
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 large egg
2 tablespoons oil
3/4 – 1 cup chopped dates tossed in a tablespoon of flour
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans or almonds
3 tablespoons ground flax

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners or lightly spray with cooking spray and a dusting of flour.
2. Combine flours with oats, brown sugar, wheat bran, baking soda and salt.
3. Combine yogurt, banana oil and egg.
4. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine.
5. Fold in dates and nuts.
6. Spoon into muffin cups and top with a light sprinkling of ground flax.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes till muffins are golden brown on top and are baked through.
8. Remove from oven, let stand in the muffin pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
9. Store them tightly covered.

(NOTE: Tossing the dates in flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.)

26Apr2014

Layered Cherry Coffee Cake

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Last night was one of those busy evenings when I was trying to make multiple treats almost simultaneously – occasionally confusing myself as to which sifted flour mixture went with which recipe! 🙂 All fun though! I ended up baking a batch of funfetti sugar cookies, low sugar almond-orange biscotti and this amazing layered cherry coffee cake.

You see, I have had this canned lite cherry pie filling in the pantry for couple of months waiting for me to do something with it. I would think of many ideas, but never really took the next step to actually making them. So, in an effort to bake some sort of a little breakfast treat, I looked for ideas when I came across this amazing recipe (courtesy Rose Garden Inn Bed and Breakfast). I made a few minor changes such as using lite cherry pie filling, light sour cream and half white whole wheat flour. Also, I toned down the topping by using half the sugar and just about 1/3 cup of flour.

I have to make a special note about this recipe/batter. My batter was very thick, so after starting to spread half the batter in the 13″X9″ pan, I started to wonder if I should scoop it out and bake as layered muffins. It just didn’t seem like enough batter. Also, after layering the cherry filling, the top batter layer was even more challenging. As you see in my pictures, there are swirls of red from trying to smooth out the batter to cover the entire top surface of the cake. I figured if the taste is good, who cares about the looks. However, to my pure joy and satisfaction, the cake baked perfectly.

I am planning to make this again over summer with fresh summer berries lightly coated in sugar instead of pie filling and also baking them in individual muffins cups/liners. Who knows, maybe I will even replacing all of the flour with white/regular whole wheat. Can’t wait! In the meantime though, I hope you guys give this a try at your earliest! It will make even an April showers day seem enjoyable!

Layered Cherry Coffee Cake

Servings: 13x9 cake
Time: 1 hr 15 min
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Cake Ingredients1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 can lite (low sugar) cherry pie filling

Cake Topping
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour a 13″ x 9″ baking pan and set aside.
2. Sift flours with salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cream butter. Add sugar and beat till creamy and light, adding eggs one at a time.
4. Add sour cream and extracts and mix well.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well to incorporate. You can use a spatula or your electric beater on low setting.
6. Spread half the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing with a butter knife or spatula to cover the bottom. This will be a thin layer.
7. Spread the pie filling over the batter. Follow with the remaining batter, again smoothing to cover the pie filling.
8. Combine all topping ingredients to resemble bread crumbs and spread over the top of the cake.
9. Bake for 50-55 minutes till cake is done.

23Apr2014

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

Posted in Breads, Breakfast, Simple and Delicious by serendibbeginnings

Don’t you agree zucchini is one of the most underrated vegetables? It has a mild flavor that works well for slicing it up to enjoy with your favorite dip. It’s flavor could be amped by sautéing with garlic and other seasonings. It could be grated into pasta sauces and quick breads as a way to increase the nutritional value without altering the taste.

Although my kids will eat pretty much any veggie, there are few veggies that I need to be creative with so I don’t have to listen to too much whining. 🙂 Zucchini is one of them! However, this quick bread with grated zucchini and chocolate chips was a winner! Yes, tiny specks of green did give away the hidden secret, they still continued to bite into the bread! This to me means a winning recipe.

The original recipe is from King Arthur Flour website. I modified it only slightly by replacing some of the flour with ground flax. I did not add any nuts in this attempt, but I would love to throw in some chopped walnuts or pecans in my next batch.

Give it a try! I think you will enjoy it!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Quick Bread

Servings: 12 slices
Time: About 1 1/4 hours
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Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly whisk eggs, honey, oil, brown sugar and vanilla.
3. Sift together, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in ground flax.
4. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients, stirring till well combined.
5. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.
6. Transfer batter into a 9″ x 5″ lightly greased and floured loaf pan.
7. Bake for 50-55 minutes till top the bread is baked through.
8. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve or store well covered.

11Apr2014

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

Here is a yummy recipe just in time for your weekend breakfast, although this could be whipped up for a weekday starter as well.

Orange-Ricotta Pancakes

Pancakes are simple yet delicious, especially when you mix in various add-ins like nuts, chocolate chips, diced fruits etc. One of my favorite type of pancake is the one using ricotta cheese. Ricotta goes incredibly well with citrus, specifically orange or lemon – either combination is irresistible. I have made these pancakes with both orange and lemon and I must say each had its own nuances when it came to taste and flavor and I enjoyed both types.

This recipe is a spinoff from the original found on Williams-Sonoma website. I made couple of changes including using a combination of all-purpose flour plus cornstarch instead of cake flour and replacing some of the flour with ground flax. I also used 2 extra large eggs and juice from only 1/2 the lemon – although next time around I will try a whole lemon. Lastly, you can certainly add in some chocolate chips to these pancakes – who can resist the combination of citrus and chocolate?!

These pancake are already slightly sweet, so they just need a light drizzle of maple syrup or honey – or as suggested in the original recipe, raspberry sauce! Yum!

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Servings: 12-14 pancakes
Time: 40 min
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Ingredients
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup 1% milk
2 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (could use up to a full lemon)
1 1/4 cups MINUS 1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup ground flax
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt, divided
Chocolate chips, optional

Preparation
1. Mix ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
2. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, ground flax, baking powder and 1/8 tsp salt.
3. Stir in dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined.
4. Whisk egg whites till frothy. Add remaining 1/8 tsp salt (I used kosher) and continue whisking until soft peaks form.
5. Slowly fold in about 1/2 the egg whites into the pancake batter and follow with the rest.
6. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease and prepare the pancakes as usual.
7. Serve immediately with your favorite syrup or raspberry sauce.

10Apr2014

Sweet potato pie bread

Posted in Breads, Breakfast by serendibbeginnings

If you give me a choice between pumpkin and sweet potato pies, I would definitely pick the latter! Not that I don’t like pumpkin, but more like I have a little more love for sweet potato. I enjoy them so much that I can happily enjoy a bowl of plain roasted sweet potato – with absolutely nothing added in!

Sweet potato takes on a whole new flavor dimension and sweetness when you roast them in the oven. You simply scrub and wash them, wrap them in pieces of foil and bake for about 45 minutes at 375F. Voila! You have divinely flavorful bright orange spuds with caramelized sugars oozing out of them!). Roasted sweet potato can be used in soups and other dishes, but I chose to make a quick bread using them. Yes, you can certainly substitute canned version, but as you can imagine, oven roasted spuds taste far superior!

This quick bread has notes of cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Next time, I will also add a bit of ground cardamom for an exotic flair. I replaced half the butter with pureed prunes. This not only reduced the amount of fat, but also added a rich color to the finished product. Also addition of sour cream in this recipe makes the bread very moist.

Although my kids usually turn up their noses for roasted sweet potato, they devoured this bread. Certainly a keeper recipe!

Sweet potato pie bread

Servings: 12
Time: 60 minutes
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Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup pureed prunes
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cut pureed roasted sweet potato
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly spray a loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together butter, pureed prunes and sugar.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine. Stir in vanilla.
4. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and ground spices.
5. Add the sweet potato and sour cream to the butter mixture.
6. Stir in dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in pecans if being used.
7. Scoop the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the top.
8. Bake for about 45 minutes, till toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool and slice.

24Feb2014

Pineapple Muffins

Posted in Breads by serendibbeginnings

This recipe was the result of my attempt to use up a bunch of crushed pineapple I had leftover. I debated between a cake and a muffin. The more I considered the options, the more I was leaning towards a muffin. Ultimately, one has to think of the end users – in this case, primarily my kids.

Muffins are a great grab ‘n go breakfast item – especially if they are homemade with some love added to it in the form of healthier ingredients. This was you don’t feel like your kids are eating cupcake for breakfast.

This is a rather simple recipe that could be put together in a jiffy. I actually made these while also preparing dinner.

Pineapple Muffins

Servings: 12
Time: 20 min plus baking time
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon ground flax
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 eggs
1/2 cup minus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, thaw and drain)
1 tablespoon flour

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine all dry ingredients from flour till baking powder in a large bowl.
3. Lightly whisk eggs and combine with crushed pineapple, oil, vanilla and sugar in a small bowl.
4. Slowly add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine.
5. Coat blueberries in a tablespoon of flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins.
6. Slowly stir in the berries.
7. Scoop the batter and fill a 12-muffin pan almost to full. You can either use a paper liner or spray the pan with non stick spray. I went with latter to get a nice golden color.
8. Bake for about 18-20 minutes till muffin tests done (insert toothpick and see if it comes out clean).
9. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and remove for storage.

23Feb2014

Perfect Waffle

Posted in Breads by serendibbeginnings

Everybody loves a good ol’ waffle right? I enjoy waffles as a meal item or as a base for an occasional ice cream sundae! Back in the college days, I remember how my friends and I looked forward to waffle bar Sundays, when there will be a nice little waffle bar set in the cafeteria with all sorts of yummy toppings. Yeah, those days, we would create our own masterpiece of fully loaded waffle that served both as a meal and dessert in one! But that extent of indulgence is far and few in between now a days, but I continue to make different type of waffles about once a week. At this rate, I keep telling myself I need to buy one of those Belgian waffle makers or at least a rotating type of equipment, but so far I am still holding onto my regular old basic machine. (Note to self: Take the plunge and buy a new one already! Yes, along with an ice cream maker!).

This particular recipe uses an unusual ingredient – cornstarch. It somehow helps to decrease the potential sogginess caused by steam during the cooking process and results in a waffle that is pretty toasted and crispy on the outside, yet soft and chewy on the inside. Also, incorporating stiff egg whites into the batter results in a light crispy texture.

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Personally, I prefer a plain waffle topped with fruits, honey and occasionally a tiny dollop of fresh whipped cream. Sometimes, I do like to make it a bit special with some semi sweet or dark chocolate chips and maybe a sprinkling of chopped nuts. Let your creativity run wild and use whatever topping your little heart desires! I promise you will enjoy every last bite of it!

A quick note about this recipe: Sometimes you hear people say when you use buttermilk/yogurt in a batter, you typically will have to use baking soda instead of baking powder. I used the latter in this recipe and it worked great!

Perfect Waffle

Servings: 4
Time: 20 minutes
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Ingredients
1 1/2 cups enriched all purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract (or vanilla)
1/4 cup oil
Cooking spray

Preparation
1. Measure out the dry ingredients and mix well in a medium bowl.
2. Combine egg yolks, yogurt, milk, extract and oil in another bowl and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whish egg whites till stiff peaks form.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently with a spatula or whisk.
5. Now, slowly incorporate the beaten egg whites in two batches, taking care not to overwork the batter. You want to retain as much of the air as possible.
6. Follow your waffle maker directions and make your waffles.
7. Serve right away with your favorite toppings.

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