Swedish Pancakes

On a cold, cloudy Sunday my favorite way to start the day is with a home cooked brunch. My secret ingredient to a successful brunch? Swedish Pancakes. I've never been a fan of fluffy buttermilk cakes, I don't like how filling they can be, and they are sooooo last century. If I'm going to make pancakes I prefer these light airy saucers from heaven that are a sweet accompaniment to the rest of the meal. They are similar to crepes but made with less egg and have a slight crisp to their exterior. The only downside is I wouldn't recommend them for a larger party as it takes about 6 pancakes to satisfy one person. On the upside, you won't feel the need for donning your sweatpants after consumption.

Swedish Pancake Recipe

Serves 4

• 1 cup Lund's Swedish Pancake Mix (can be bought at Ralph's or WholeFoods)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs melted butter
• a pinch of salt

Directions

Mix ingredients together until smooth. Batter should be thin with no lumps. Pre- heat skillet. Temperature should be high due to the thinness of these pancakes. I find that putting the burner to a medium temperature works best. There is no need to grease the skillet as you have already added butter into the batter. Slowly pour batter into skillet and let cook until lightly browned on both sides. Top with maple syrup and fruit.

Brunch It Part 1. ~ Eggscellent

One of my favorite parts about the weekend, (and life) is getting to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Which is why I have decided to do a series dedicated to exploring all things related to morning meals.

Sometimes I visit my favorite brunch spots like Gjelinas for their Neiman ranch BLT with a sunny egg, or the Beverly Hills Hotel Fountain Coffee Room for silver dollar buttermilk pancakes with a vanilla milkshake. Decadent? Yes. Costly? Hell yes! Which is why I often prefer to spend my weekend mornings preparing a deliciously simple and cost effective brunch at home.

The Usual Suspects

Eggs

Avocado

Tomatoes

Arugula

Pesto

Spinach
Zucchini
Thyme

Tomato Sauce

Chicken apple sausage

Tofu sausage

Herbed goat cheese

Whole wheat english muffins

Whole wheat toast

Fresh Fruit (whatever is in season)

Swedish Pancake Mix

Butter

Milk

Fresh Maple Syrup

Fresh Orange Juice

Champagne

Of all the items listed, (Swedish Pancake mix being one of my favorites and a future Brunch series topic) the most common dish I tend to make involves eggs. As I don't have a super sweet tooth, I prefer flavorful and creative egg dishes with gourmet additions.

My favorite egg dish is inspired by Huckleberry's Green eggs and ham - Poached eggs, prosciutto, pesto & arugula on an english muffin. I don't eat much pork*, so I substitute the prosciutto with avocado and add sliced cherry tomatoes. In my opinion there is no better tasting egg dish than when it is topped with homemade pesto, arugula, avocado and fresh cut tomatoes on a crispy english muffin. Unless it had bacon! My only weakness. (*Ignore statement and see An Ode To Bacon).

Depending on what is in my fridge, I use this basic recipe to play around with other combinations. Also keeping in mind that eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients to work with I know that I can be creative as I dare. This past Sunday, having only wilted arugula and some heirloom cherry tomatoes, I decided on a resourceful start to my day. Thus arugula pesto was created and drizzled over a fried egg with sliced tomatoes. Simple and succulent!

Other mornings have seen eggs topped with sauteed onions, bell peppers, and tomato sauce. Or a scramble of zucchini, mushrooms, goat cheese, chicken sausage, and fresh thyme. Why not make your own breakfast sandwich with sliced cheese, avocado and tomato? I did! The possibilities are endless and the outcome always the same. Eggscellent ;)

Favorite Ways to Start the Day

Urth Cafe's The Rustic: Two soft poached organic eggs over toasted
whole wheat bread topped with capers, basil oil,
tomato & red onion.

Carmel Bell's open-faced avocado with local olive oil & sea salt on country toast

Organic Omega-3 Berry Boost Oatmeal (v) served with organic soy milk, flax seed oil and flax seeds from Le Pain Quotidien

A sunrise papaya filled with plain yogurt, fresh squeezed lemon, and topped with Anahola Granola

Breakfast By The Sea

I know this is a little dated as it was from my visit to Big Sur and Carmel during Labor Day weekend, but this restaurant was too good a find to not mention. It's not often I find a true gem like this with fresh, organic, seasonal, and local ingredients. We ate breakfast here 3 days in a row. Can you see why?






























Carmel Belle
Doud Craft Studios
Corner of Ocean and San Carlos
Carmel By The Sea
http://www.carmelbelle.com/
Spoondilicious Rating- 10 out of 10

Breakfast is Best

Happy Winds-day everyone! I don't know where you are, but here in LA we have been experiencing some serious wind. Which turns out to be a good thing as it has been clearing our skies from all that smog. Yuck!

Today I wanted to give a quick shout out to two of my favorite products. Of course they are breakfast items since breakfast is my absolute favorite meal. Without breakfast I am like a monkey without his banana. (Grumpy and liable to throwing feces) These two products are my go-to in the a.m. Without them I don't know how I would ever start my day. Both are healthy and delicious and can only be found at Trader Joe's (as far as I know.)

The Morning Star Veggie Sausage Links are amazing. I've been eating these puppies for over 18 years now and have no plans to stop. Ok I know you meat eaters reading this are skeptical. I can see you rolling your eyes and scrunching your nose in disgust. Do not be fooled. Yes there are a lot of unappetizing soy products out there. I admit it. This is not one of them. I know at least 5 hard core carnivores who I have tricked into enjoying these. They are tasty, period. The big problem with these is that you can NOT cook them according to the package. There is only one proper way to cook these guys and I am going to let you in on the secret now.

1. In a skillet
2. Add oil
3. Cook on low-medium heat until cooked through and browned on the outside
4. Add a sprinkle of Mrs. Dash 1 minute before you take them off the heat

BAM! Deliciousness in you mouth.

Whatever you do, DO NOT add water to the skillet as the package says. It makes them soggy and gross. I should probably write a letter to Morning Star to let them in on my revolutionary cooking method. Maybe they'll be so happy by the increased sales they'll offer me a lifetime of free links!

The second product I wanted to mention was Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Raisin Cinnamon Rolls. These guys rock! They are super yummy and pretty healthy for you, not to mention they are vegan too. They are sweetened with fruit juice and only have 2g of fat with a good amount of fiber. I love them topped with butter, peanut butter, Earth Balance, or any other nut butter. They're probably awesome with cream cheese too but I haven't ventured that route yet. They are only lightly sweet (which I love) and have a good cinnamon flavor with a fair amount of raisins.

Together, these two products make an awesome and healthy combo that will get your day off to a good start. I promise.

What's your go-to breakfast?

Anyone know what cartoon character greets everyone by saying "Happy Winds-day"?