Sesame Miso Spinach Dutch Baby

Yields: 8 servings

5 whole large eggs (275 grams)

¾ cup whole milk (187 grams)

3 tablespoons white miso (66 grams)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 large garlic clove, peeled

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces spinach leaves (114 grams)

1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (29 grams)

3 ounces freshly grated Gruyere cheese (85 grams)

3 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds (28 grams)

Chili crisp, for serving

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once preheated, place a large (12-inch) oven-safe nonstick pan in the oven. (The pan needs to preheat which should take around 15 minutes.)

In a blender, combine the eggs, milk, miso, soy sauce, garlic and black pepper. Blend on medium for 30 seconds, until thoroughly mixed. Add the spinach, blend on high for 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed. Now add the flour and blend on medium for 15 seconds, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed.

Remove pan from the oven. Add the butter and swirl the pan until the butter is melted. Pour the blended batter into the pan. Evenly sprinkle over the gruyere cheese followed by the sesame seeds.

Bake for 25 minutes until the batter puffs up, browns and pulls away from the sides.

Remove from the oven and slide out onto a cutting board. Slice and serve. Top with chili crisp for an extra punch of flavor.

Maple Corn Flake Granola

Yield: approximately 8 cups

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats (not instant)

3 cups corn flakes

1 cup sliced almonds

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

½ cup raw walnut pieces

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Orange zest from 1 small orange, grated on a Microplane

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups of any combination of the following:

dried blueberries

dried cranberries

dried sweet cherries

black currants or raisins

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 325ºF.

2. Melt the butter with the maple syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat.

3. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla.

4. Combine the oats, corn flakes, almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, zest, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

5. Add the melted maple-butter love to the granola-seed mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated.

6. Evenly spread the granola mixture onto a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and place it in the oven. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, rotating the pan once after 15 minutes (do not stir!), until the granola is a toasty light brown color.

7. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

8. Combine the dried fruit and the cooled granola in a large bowl and gently mix together.

Cinnamon Crème Fraiche Coffee Cake with Pecans

Yield: 1 13x9x2 coffee cake

Streusel Topping:

1½ cups roasted, salted pecan halves

¾ cup dark brown sugar

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces

Place all ingredients in a food processor with the blade attachment and pulse until clumps form, approximately 15 to 20 1-second pulses. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside.

Filling:

½ cup strawberry jam

Cake:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 20 pieces

8-ounces crème fraiche or mascarpone

4 whole large eggs

¼ cup maple syrup, preferable grade B

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Create a parchment sling (for easy removal of the coffee cake) to fit into a 13x9x2 pan.

Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse until combined.

Add the butter and pulse until small pea sized pieces form, approximately 15 quick pulses.

Add the crème fraiche, eggs, maple syrup and Grand Marnier to the food processor. Pulse until a batter is formed, approximately 10 to 15 1-second pulses, scraping down the sides as needed.

Transfer approximately 1/2 of the batter to the parchment lined pan. If you see tiny pieces of butter in the batter, that’s perfectly okay.

Level the batter with an offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Top with half of the streusel topping and evenly distribute the strawberry jam.

Add the remaining batter and level it off again to create a smooth surface.

Complete the cake by evenly dispersing the remaining streusel topping.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through.

Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes before removing the cake.

Tip: for easiest removal of the cake, lay a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board and quickly invert the cake onto the cutting board. Remove the parchment sling if it’s stuck to the bottom of the cake. Invert the cake once again to a cooling rack. Let rest for an additional 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Veggie Breakfast Hash

Yields: 2 servings

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large leek, (3/4 pound), white and light green part only, halved lengthwise and cleaned, sliced into ¼ -inch slices (2½ packed cups)

1 medium sweet potato (approximately ¾ pounds), peeled and diced medium (2¼ cups)

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small bunch curly kale (10 ounces), stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped (7 packed cups)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

2 sunny side up eggs, optional

Hot sauce, optional

Combine the olive oil, leek, sweet potato, ½ teaspoon salt and the pepper in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Cover, stirring occasionally, for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, until the leeks just begin to caramelize and the sweet potato is almost cooked through.

Add the kale (it’s a lot, I know!). Gently fold to combine. Continue to cook, folding occasionally, until the kale is wilted and softens, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and the sesame seeds. Stir and season to taste.

Serve in bowls and top with a sunny side up egg and a dash of your favorite hot sauce.

Blackberry Lemon Cardamom Cake

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Blackberry Lemon Cardamom Cake

Yield: 1 (9-inch) cake

Nonstick spray

¼ cup / 55 grams granulated sugar

¾ cup /182 grams dark brown sugar

1/3 cup / 51 grams whole roasted and salted almonds

1 cup / 140 grams all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon zest (zested on a Microplane), zest from 1 large lemon

½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter / 99 grams, cut into 1-inch pieces, straight from the refrigerator

2 whole large eggs (130 grams)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 (6-ounce) container, blackberries

Set an oven rack to the middle-upper position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Cover bottom and sides of pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment with nonstick spray.

Place the sugars and almond in a food processor with the blade attachment. Run for 1 minute until it begins to clump. Add the flour, zest, baking powder, spices and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter. Pulse 5 to 7 times, until it starts to resemble wet sand. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Pulse until the texture turns into a uniform, thick batter.

Fill the springform pan with the batter, making sure to get every last bit from the food processor. Level out the batter in the pan with an offset spatula. Gently press the blackberries into the batter, evenly spacing them throughout.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Test readiness by poking a toothpick or knife in the middle of a cake; if it comes out clean, it’s ready.

Remove from oven. Place pan on a cookie rack and immediately remove the springform sides. Let rest on pan (on a cookie rack) for 20 minutes before serving.

Boozy Apple Clafoutis

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

2 cups whole milk

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

5 whole large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ cup Gran Marnier

1/3 cup white miso

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3 medium apples (1¼ pound) (any apple you like eating), peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Add milk and 2 tablespoons butter to a small saucepan set over low heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to steam. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the flour and ¾ cup of the sugar to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, Gran Marnier and miso. Whisk until well combined. While whisking continuously, slowly stream in the warm milk mixture into the medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, ¼ cup of sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a large (12-inch) oven safe nonstick pan. Set over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, stir to combine with a rubber spatula. Distribute the apples atop the mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to soften, approximately 5 minutes.

Immediately pour the batter from the medium mixing bowl over the apples. Do not stir.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. The dish will soufflé and the edges should be lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and let sit in the pan, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. It will deflate and the clafoutis will pull away from the edges.

After 10 minutes, place a large cutting board on top of the nonstick pan, then holding both the cutting board and pan, invert the clafoutis.

You can slice and serve while it’s still hot (it may be a bit messy, but it’s still delicious) or you can serve at room temperature. It will firm as it cools.

Serve as is (inverted) or if room temperature or chilled (aka easier to work with), you can flip the clafoutis to be apple side up.

Optional toppings: powdered sugar, whipped cream, ice cream

Cranberry and Coconut Gluten Free Granola Bars

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yield: 1 (13×9-inch) container

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, toasted*

1½ cups toasted, salted almonds

1 packed cup roughly chopped dates

¾ packed cup dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup toasted, salted sunflower seeds

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 300ºF.

*Place oats (evenly spread) on a sheet tray and transfer to the oven until lightly toasted, approximately 15 minutes

Create a foil sling (for easy removal of the granola bars) to fit into a 9×13-inch pan. Lightly spray the foil with nonstick spray.

Add almonds to a food processor with the blade attachment and process until very finely chopped. (No visual chunks remaining)

Transfer processed almonds to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Add dates, brown sugar and salt to the food processor (no need to clean it out) and process until the dates are finely chopped. With the processor running, stream in the vanilla extract, water and melted butter. Process until a smooth thick paste is formed. Set aside.

Add the toasted oats, cranberries, sunflower seeds and shredded coconut to the large mixing bowl that contains the processed almonds. Stir to combine. Add the date paste (be sure to scrape the bowl and blade of the food processor to get every last drop!) to the bowl. Mix ingredients thoroughly using your hands, squeezing and folding the mixture to ensure it’s thoroughly combined.

Evenly distribute the granola mixture into the prepared pan. Press down the mixture to make sure it’s compact and evenly distributed. Transfer to oven and bake for 25 minutes. It will be very lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 1 hour so the mixture can firm up.

Once cool, transfer the granola bar to a cutting board and cut into squares and enjoy!

Bulgur Porridge with Cardamom, Chia and Mango

Watch me make this on my YouTube Channel!

Yield: 4 servings

1 cup bulgur

¼ cup chia seeds

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup coconut cream or heavy cream

2 teaspoons orange zest (1 medium orange), grated on a Microplane

Toppings: shredded coconut, toasted cashews, mango, banana, drizzle of coconut cream

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. 

In a medium bowl, combine bulgur, chia seeds, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and dark brown sugar.

Once water is boiling, whisk in bulgur mixture and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring frequently with a spatula, for 15 minutes, until bulgur is cooked through and softened.

Add coconut or heavy cream and orange zest and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, divide porridge among 4 bowls and add toppings.

Cinnamon Spiced Carrot Ginger Muffins

Watch me make this on my YouTube channel!

Yield: 12 Muffins

½ cup old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup whole roasted and salted pecans (you will also need an additional ½ cup finely chopped pecans – see last ingredient below)

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 equal pieces

2 whole large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup (Zante) currants

¼ cup small diced candied ginger

½ cup grated carrots, grated on a Microplane

½ cup whole roasted and salted pecans, finely chopped

Set an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

Place oats on a parchment paper-lined sheet tray. Once oven is preheated, bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring halfway through, until toasted. Set aside.

Place the sugar and ½ cup of the whole pecans in a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse 15 times until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Pulse 10 times to combine. Evenly distribute the butter. Pulse 10 to 12 times, until it starts to resemble wet sand. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Pulse until the texture turns into a uniform, thick batter, approximately 25 times.

Add the toasted oats, currants, ginger, carrots and finely chopped pecans to a medium bowl. Stir gently to combine.

Transfer batter from food processor to the medium bowl with the ginger carrot mixture using a rubber spatula. Fold to combine with the spatula.

Fill each muffin tin equally with the batter. (It’s just over a ¼ cup per muffin.)

Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Test readiness by poking a toothpick or knife in the middle of a muffin; if it comes out clean, it’s ready.

Remove from oven. Place tin on a cookie rack and let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin.

Summer Fruit Cake Cobbler Crisp

Watch me make this on my YouTube channel!

 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Crisp Topping:

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 cubes, chilled

1/3 cup whole raw almonds, roughly chopped

¼ cup old-fashioned oats (not instant)

 

Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine, approximately 5 times. Add butter and pulse 10 times. Add the almonds and oats and pulse 10 times, until the texture is like chunky sand.

Transfer into a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Do not clean food processor – you will use it to make the cake cobbler batter.

 

Cake Cobbler Batter:

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)

2 large whole eggs

1 tablespoon grated ginger, peeled and grated on a Microplane

2 teaspoons orange zest, grated on a Microplane

2 teaspoons Amaretto

1 cup whole milk

 

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position, then preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom to the food processor and pulse to combine, approximately 5 times.

With food processor running, stream in melted butter and oil. Turn off food processor.

Add eggs and process for 5 seconds.

Add the remaining ingredients. Process for 5 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom (as best you can around the blade) and process again for 5 seconds.

Set aside.

 

Fruit:

3 tablespoons butter, cubed into 12 pieces

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons corn starch

3 medium plums (9-ounces), pits discarded, diced medium

1 (6-ounce package) blackberries

 

Add the butter to a 7×11-inch (2 quart) casserole dish. Place on a sheet tray and transfer to the oven. Bake until the butter is melted, but not browned, and pan is hot, 8-10 minutes. (Set a timer!)

While the butter is melting, add the sugar, salt and corn starch to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add the fruit to a medium bowl.

Sprinkle the cornstarch mixture evenly over the fruit and fold together gently.

Gather your ingredients and bring them close to your oven – it’s go time!

Remove sheet tray with casserole dish (with now melted butter) from the oven. Pour in the batter and use a rubber spatula to make sure you get as much batter as possible into the dish. Evenly distribute fruit throughout the dish –  starting with the perimeter of the batter.  Evenly distribute/sprinkle over the crisp topping.

Transfer dish on sheet tray to the oven.

Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, rotating the sheet tray after 20 minutes, until the the top is golden brown.

Remove from the oven. Transfer dish to a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 45 minutes before diving in.