Picture-worthy breakfast - Eggs + Sage

by Karolina, 23rd August 2012

It all started with this...

This lovely big bunch of fresh sage. You should probably know that fresh sage is not easy to come by where I live. So when I saw it on the farmers market I immediately grabbed a bunch.
And lovely it was indeed. It worked wonders on pork, added to baked vegetables,with chicken and other combinations that week.

However...being a fresh herb it was deteriorating rather quickly and I had to use it up before it lost its glory :)

So there it was, my picture-worthy breakfast.
Simple and quick, and well..yummy :)

Scrambled eggs with sage.

Sage leaves first gently fried on butter to release all herby goodness.
Tnen obviously eggs, salt and pepper and that's it. And that's enough.
Nothing else is needed (OK, maybe a slice of good bread).

Believe me, it was really tasty...Actually don't believe me - try it for yourself!
How little leaf can make a huge difference (one little step leaf  :))

So yes, there's not much else you can do - straight to get some sage and eggs and making breakfast (have it even for dinner if you wish :))

And guess what...when I went to the market week after, they didn't have sage anymore!

A picture-worthy breakfast

by Karolina, 22nd July 2012

Usually my breakfast is quick and simple - muesli with milk, pot of yoghurt, a fruit. But during weekends sometimes I like to treat myself to more elaborate meal to start the day.

 This time I made myself nice sandwich:
wholemeal bread
+ camembert
+ fig jam
+ fresh thyme

I really liked this combination of tastes: sweet jam, smooth but little spicy camembert, earthy/salty bread and fresh herby taste of thyme. Yummy!!!
You should try it yourself.
I think this would work really well as a quick starter for informal party as well.
I'm big fan of cheese and fruit pairing lately.
I'll show you some other options soon.
But until then...Enjoy your breakfast!

And what you are having for breakfast? Any inspiring ideas?
I'd love to hear from you!

Strawberry fields...(with rosemary)

by Karolina, 19th April 2012

Spring is here!!! Yay!!!
Spring symbolizes for me everything nice and pretty - my birthday, flowering fruit trees, sun rays waking up all creatures and plants around, new and colourful fruits and veggies...
I could probably give up all other seasons for Spring - mild & nice Spring.
Are you fan of Spring as well?

I would like to show you today little breakfast/dessert recipe.
It's a celebration of my favourite colour - Red :) and even better - it has strawberries in!

I like in this recipe for its simplicity but at the same time refined taste.

It combines cheese (Philadelphia style or any similar cheese), strawberries and....rosemary syrup.

Yep...rosemary, you read it right. 

First time I tasted combination of sweet with rosemary was in cute little cafe in Krakow where they served raspberry mousse with rosemary. It intrigued me...I tried it..and I was caught...Absolutely exquisite combination!

So this time I decided to try it in a little bit different combination.

You know what you're thinking - rosemary syrup - it sounds like some awful cough syrup.I promise - it is not. It smells divine and is excellent addition to cocktails and fruits.

First the syrup - really easy to make.

I usually do in proportions 1:1 - sugar + water and add a few sprigs of rosemary. Let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved, cool down, take out rosemary and...ready :)

Check the recipes for simple rosemary syrup here or here

Once we have syrup ready...time for yummy cheese delight

Strawberry cheese with rosemary syrup

250 g cheese

a few strawberries

2-3 tbs rosemary single syrup

Mix the cheese to fluff it a bit, add syrup spoon by spoon until well combined. 

Cut strawberries into chunks or slices and add to the cheese mixture. 

If you like it very sweet sprinkle with confectionery sugar.

Enjoy!

Tell me how you like it. 

I'm really, really curious how you'd like the combination of fruit and rosemary syrup.  

This will be excellent with rasberries too...I'll definitely try when raspberries will be in season.

Bon appetit!

Pin + Pan

by Karolina, 4th April 2012

I'm a huge fan of Pinterest - it's great for organizing inspirations & ideas. Finally a can find recipe or DIY I wanted to make easily and without spending an hour going through all the links I saved in Favourites :) Check out my boards- maybe you'll find something inspiring as well.
This leads me to today's subject. I start a new feature in the blog: Pin+Pan.
I will be sharing some recipes I pinned and trying them out.

You're with me?  Then let's start...

And we do actually start with something what might be the beginning - a breakfast.
In my case it ended being a dessert though :)

Oatmeal Honey Waffles
The recipe via Pass the Sushi, originally from Southern Living 2008 Annual recipes
(slightly changed by me - see the comments below)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked oats (I used oatmeal straight away, so skipped the first step of the recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cup low-fat milk (I used normal milk)
• 4 tbs melted butter
• 2 tbs honey

Preparation:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Line a baking pan with aluminium foil and spread oats over pan evenly. Bake 10 minutes, stirring often, until the oats are lightly toasted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pulse oats in a food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. (skipped this step as I had oatmeal on hand)

2.Preheat a waffle iron and spray with non-stick spray if needed. (not needed in my case - thanks to Teflon covered waffle maker ;))

3.In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and ground oats (oatmeal).

4.In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until soft peaks form.

5.In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, melted butter, and honey; stir into oat mixture. Gently fold the egg whites into the oat mixture.

6.Pour about 1/3 cup batter onto waffle press and cook until golden. Serve with butter and syrup if desired.

 I got 7 waffles out of this amount - but I guess it depends highly on your waffle iron.

I served my waffles with :
- Nutella (for my boyfriend)
- Strawberries and sugar (for me)

So, what's my verdict on this?

Great!!!

You know what's the best - it's healthy (definitely healthier than normal waffles)...but without "it's good for you so don't complain if it doesn't taste good" feeling.
Best mark - my boyfriend really liked it and was suprised when I told him (after eating) that actually it doesn't include sugar but does include oats.

 Bon appetit!