Tag: brunch

Bread, Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Lightened Up, Snack, Vegetarian

Social Distancing with Cinnamon Walnut Quick Bread for Sunday Brunch

Annie

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You’ve been warned. I said I’d end up baking during these crazy pandemic times. After irrationally craving cinnamon rolls–it is a Sunday morning–, I settled on making a version of Joanna Gaines’ cinnamon swirl quick bread from her cookbook, Magnolia Table. As a Christmas present, I’ve looked through this cookbook, but haven’t had a time to tackle any recipes. Given my brunch cravings and the copious time on our hands, I settled on making Cinnamon Walnut Quick Bread, but a lightened up version of this classic. I still think it’s crazy that the original recipe for this bread was supposed to have 2½ c sugar and a third of a cup of oil. Here, we use just under three-fourths cup sugar, less than a tablespoon of oil, and mix coconut and raisins. It’s perfect right out of the oven, but I recommend it cooling longer than we did, since we were a bit too eager to slice it up, thus left with some crumbly pieces. Ted and I enjoyed this warm, served with a cup of coffee and a side of Greek yogurt and strawberries (see first photo after recipe!). It was the perfect stay-at-home Sunday brunch.

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Lightened Up, Vegetarian

Sinfully Good Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Annie

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I love cinnamon rolls, especially ones that are warm and gooey and right out of the oven. Thanks to Minimalist Baker, here’s an idea for ones that are homemade; they’re lightened up with less butter, use almond milk instead of heavy cream or whole milk and have a little whole wheat flour to round them out. I made these from scratch on Christmas morning and my parents gave them a stamp of approval. With a little patience to let the dough rise, these homemade Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect addition to your brunch arsenal.

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, One Pot Dish, Vegetarian

Obsessed with this Avo Eggs in a Hole

Annie

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I warned you I’d be on a kick after making the Eggs in a Hole with a Garlic Kale Hash I saw in SELF‘s New Year’s Challenge. (The challenge was active for the month of January and was complete with a meal plan and workouts, but still see if you can check out the recipes!) This time making eggs in a hole, I added some creamy avocado, fresh herbs, a kick and tang from banana peppers and protein in the turkey. Just the right amount of flavor and freshness, I give you Eggs in a Hole with a Spicy Avocado Cilantro Hash.

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, One Pot Dish, Vegetarian

Easy Peasy Eggs in a Hole

Annie

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Ermahgawd this is so satisfying. Overall, Eggs in a Hole with a Garlic Kale Hash:

  • Takes 15 min to whip up
  • Can be easily double, tripled — whatever you want
  • Is grainy and hearty, yet somehow still light and full of flavor

Do I need anything else to sell you on this? SELF created a New Year’s Challenge complete with a meal plan and workouts. This recipe for eggs in a hole was in their breakfast line-up and may be my new favorite breakfast; it’s a nice switch from scrambled eggs, shakshuka or breakfast sandwiches. My mom was never a fan of eggs, especially ones with a runny yolk. When I was bragging to my friends how delicious my breakfast was, they couldn’t believe I never had this as a kid. Well, this is “adulting” then at its finest, and it’s never too late to try new things!

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Better Than Takeout, Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, Entrée, Gluten-Free, Lightened Up, Meal Prep, One Pot Dish, Vegetarian

The Simply Sensational Shakshuka

Annie

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I went out to brunch with my friends, Ali and Sam, and naturally Saturday brunch means being basic and heading to Newbury Street. We settled on Stephanie’s, somehow all ordered a side of home fries (apparently sharing wasn’t an option) and sipped on their spicy house-made Bloody Mary’s. (I’m slowly becoming a Bloody Mary fan, and even I want to buy their mix, so I’ll just let that sink in.) We were looking for a savory kind of breakfast — something hearty and filling. I tested out their shakshuka and am so glad I did. So glad, in fact, that I decided to recreate it at home. This looks complicated, but I promise you it’s not. The chopping is a bit time consuming, but otherwise it’s a dump and step back while this cooks kind of recipe — my favorite. I added in more finely chopped veggies for nutrients and depth, but the real flavors are the tomatoes and the spices. Any tomatoes work, but heirlooms are just so pretty and in season now. It would be so easy to serve as a brunch or dinner and you can tailor the poaching of the eggs to being over easy or soft/hard boiled. I’ve already stocked up on the ingredients to make Shakshuka a second (and a third) time.

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, One Pot Dish, Vegetarian

Sinfully Sweet & Savory Sweet Potato Hash

Annie

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Happy Meatless Monday! Here’s a breakfast to satisfy all of your cravings: Cilantro Sweet Potato Hash. Brunch might be my favorite meal; it can be sweet and savory, hearty or light, multi-dish or simplistically plated — there’s just so many possibilities. A few weeks ago, I had a sweet potato bison (yes, bison) hash for brunch in Boston. It was sweet and savory, but also totally decadent and fatty. I wanted to recreate a hash in a nontraditional and also a faster way. Microwaving the sweet potato is much faster than roasting in the oven and the sweet potato still ends up deliciously browned with the onions. Instead of  baking the egg directly in the hash, fry it separately and top the hash. All in all, you have a healthy, colorfully tasty and aesthetically pleasing breakfast that comes together in about 10 min. Enjoy!

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Sriracha Green Eggs (Sans Ham)

Annie

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In honor of Sunday brunch, I thought I’d share my typical Saturday and Sunday dish when I’m craving some eggs: Spicy Green Eggs. Quick, easy and full of flavor (thanks, sriracha). Pack in some creamy avocado, and you’re good to dare. I dare you not to devour these. [If you have trouble cooking eggs or don’t even know where to begin, BuzzFeed has a great rundown of how to cook the perfect eggs — fried, scrambled, poached and soft/hard boiled. With pictures and everything.]

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dairy-Free, Drinks, Snack, Vegan, Vegetarian

Staying “Toasty” in the Snow

Annie

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Yesterday was a good day; a very solid assortment of food kind of day. Despite the blizzard pummeling the Northeast, Boston was graced with a couple inches to still have the feel of winter without being overwhelming. (Btw, thank GOD Boston was spared. We had enough snow last year to last a decade.) I went to the gym yesterday morning, but was saving my big meal for brunch to go with my roommate and one of my best friends from college. I needed something satisfying, savory and that would hold me until we commenced for brunch. Cue the Basil Sriracha Avocado Toast. We had a successful meal at The Tip Tap Room in Beacon Hill. We sipped on mimosas, Blood Maries (just Perin) & bourbon cocktails (see pictures below). We sampled the Everything Bagel Breakfast Sandwich, the Smoked Cheddar & Corn Griddle Cakes with Bacon Maple Syrup (they tasted like cornbread pancakes — delish) and the Tip Tap Signature Omelet packed with brie, asparagus and shiitake mushrooms (pictured below). Given it was snowing and we wanted to stay warm, I also concocted some Blizzard Sangria. Think a quick and easy cranberry and citrus sangria. To put the icing on the cake, toss in a slice of Ernesto’s Caprese pizza for dinner in the North End. Sounds like a good Saturday, right?

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Breakfast/Brunch, Entrée, Lightened Up, Meal Prep

Nothing Cheesy About This Breakfast

Annie

"Lightened Up" Cheesy Egg Bake

This is my dad’s recipe. We had “Lightened Up” Cheesy Egg Bake for Christmas brunch along with our neighbor’s famous Christmas stollen (a German bread baked with dried fruit and nuts and then dusted with powdered sugar — it’s delicious) and fresh fruit. Cheesy Egg Bake is normally made with bread, full-fat pork breakfast sausage, heavy cream, eggs and cheese. We swapped bread for multigrain, cream for soy milk and pork sausage for the leaner turkey or chicken. It’s really quite easy to make and has many options to make your own. Toss in some veggies, swap eggs for egg whites, experiment with bread…the list goes on. Any way you try it, “Lightened Up” Cheesy Egg Bake is sure to please.

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Breakfast/Brunch, Dessert, Lightened Up, Meal Prep, Snack, Vegetarian

‘Tis the Season for All Things Pumpkin

Annie

Pumpkin Scones

When I think of fall, I think of all things pumpkin. Pumpkin lattes, apple cider, pumpkin donuts, mulled wine, pumpkin bread, pumpkin chai . . . We’re getting basic over here. In honor of the first weekend of October, I whipped up a batch of pumpkin scones. Using real pumpkin, egg whites, less butter and unsweetened almond milk, the scones are lightened up. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar rather than slathered with frosting, the scones keep all of the flavor. These Pumpkin Scones will make your kitchen smell heavenly.

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