Mother's Day Brunch:: Blueberry Crumble Cake (SELF Magazine Feature)

Are you looking for a delicious and easy recipe to prepare for your Mother's Day brunch Sunday? I recently collaborated with Self.com to create a recipe that was inspired by a recipe my mom used to make growing up, so I settled on a Blueberry Crumble Cake.  This cake is incredibly moist and it has an addictive layer of crumb topping that makes it irresistible when paired with coffee.  You can find the recipe here. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

So I finally did it, I opened my first can of pumpkin, since I inspired myself from last weeks post. Deciding what to make was hard but starting the day with a bit of pumpkin is not a bad idea, so I decided to bake Pumpkin Donut Muffins - a unique and delicious hybrid between a donut and a muffin.  They have the moist texture of the former but the comforting goodness of a muffin - the outside is brushed with melted butter and rolled in cinnamon and sugar.  This donut/muffin pairs perfectly with a steaming cup of coffee on a crisp fall day.  Continue for more...

Concord Grape Jam

During my college years I practically lived off of peanut butter and jelly.  It wasn't out of desperation or lack of money, I just loved the taste of (crunchy) peanut butter combined with grape jelly.  Whether for breakfast or lunch, even sometimes dinner, this combination filled me up and really wasn't a guilty meal when using natural peanut butter and jelly.  And then of course comes the grape jelly made from the Concord Grape. I have confessed my love for this fruit a few times, but I wanted to be able to say that I could make my own natural Concord Grape Jam in my own kitchen.  I was pleasantly surprised just how easy it is to make your own - the only time consuming part is removing the seeds from the skin.  This jam is the perfect partner to a peanut butter sandwich (of course) or spooned atop Greek yogurt or dolloped on a crusty baguette. Luckily, these grapes haven't even reached their peak season, so a few more batches might be in order.  Continue for more...  

An Apple Harvest & Apple Oat Muffins

Apple picking is something that I look forward to each year for both the tradition and the beautiful scenery of the Hudson Valley.  The landscape is a welcome reprieve from the city with its gentle rolling hills and billowy white clouds.  As the season is beginning to settle in, I look forward to reintroducing certain ingredients that make fall, well fall.  I begin warming up my baking routine with spices like cinnamon, ginger and freshly grated nutmeg, nothing is quite like a home that is fragranced with this aroma. After picking an extremely large bag of apples, I decided to make Apple Oat Muffins to welcome a recent weekend.  These muffins are lighter than traditional muffins because they do not require any butter, just buttermilk to give them a lot of moisture, while the oatmeal gives them a wonderful texture.  Continue for more... 

Concord Grape Corn Muffins

As the summer days begin to draw to an end there is one thing that my foodie self looks forward to - grapes.  I am not talking about the globe grapes of the green or red variety, I am talking about table grapes like Concords and Niagras that enter the picture early fall at farmers markets.  Something about their rich fruity taste seems like an indulgence, but actually they are packed with healthy nutrients like polyphenols that can prevent free-radical damage.  I typically just eat these grapes by the mouthful, but I decided that with my first purchase of the season I would make Concord Grape Cornbread, which turned out to be a delicious decision.  The cornbread is infused with lemony goodness thanks to the lemon zest while the grapes hold their shape and practically burst in your mouth.  

A Mother's Day Brunch & Mastering the Pancake

Are you looking for the perfect brunch item to serve for your Mother's Day brunch? Well look no further than these pancakes right here - they are delightfully light and the best part is that they do not come from a yellow box.  I found that they key to making a great pancake is what you do with the eggs. One of my favorite brunch spots in Brooklyn is the Buttermilk Channel - if you are ever in the area I urge you to go, their brunch menu is out of this world.  I typically get an omelette but one particular day, I managed to convince my sister to let me try her pancakes and they were knee-buckling good - they were fluffy and had a hint of richness that I couldn't put my finger on - I honestly still don't know the ingredient, but it tasted like vanilla laced bourbon.  These pancakes are very similar in texture since instead of adding the entire egg, you separate it and whip the egg whites into stiff peaks which is then later added into the batter. This creates for an amazingly light and fluffy pancake that would be an amazing star at your next brunch.  Continue for more...

Raspberry Corn Muffins

If there is one comfort food that I crave it is corn bread.  Nothing is quite like eating your way through a thick slice of this subtly sweet baked good served alongside of a piping hot cup of coffee.  I wanted to make a version of my long-time favorite confection so I added  raspberries; however, the berries were not as sweet as I had hoped (thank you eternal winter!), but they did add the perfect blend of sweet and tart which is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Continue for more...

Creating A Luxurious Life: The Breakfast Tray & Homemade Pain au Chocolat

I am excited to start off a new series today called 'Creating a Luxurious Life', which will be a monthly feature that shows little ways to incorporate bits of luxury into your every day life.  Today, I am beginning with one of the weekends biggest indulgences - breakfast in bed.  

Breakfast in bed seems like such a luxurious idea especially during the fast-paced week.  But on the weekends when there is more time to linger, nothing is quite like waking up to a beautifully arranged breakfast tray with hot aromatic coffee, a flaky pastry and fruit served alongside the weekend newspaper.  When it comes to eating breakfast I'll be honest, I am not that big of a fan eating something sweet first thing in the morning. I will have the occasional muffin if I make them but I usually like to stick with eggs for breakfast, however, I will make an excuse for my favorite french pastry, a pain au chocolat or chocolate croissant.  Continue for more...

Weekend Breakfast::Caramelized Banana Muffins with Browned Butter Glaze

I love bananas, they are healthy snack and always provide just the right amount of energy before my runs, but I can never seem to eat them quick enough to prevent them from ripening too quickly.  Fortunately when you have a few ripened banana's laying around on a Saturday morning the only thing to do is to turn them into some sort of banana treat. I stumbled across this recipe in the October issue of Cooking Light dedicated to quick and easy breads that are on the lighter side - meaning they are not loaded with a lot of oil and butter.  I decided to make Caramelized Banana Bread with Browned Butter Glaze and let me tell you, they were out of this world.  

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Granola

I currently have an over-sized bag of apples sitting in our apartment from our recent apple picking excursion.  I can guarantee that they will be gone before too long, since I have been eating about three to four a day and I keep thinking of ways to incorporate them into meals.  I love granola, but only when it is homemade. I feel that store bought has way too much unnecessary sugar and fat.  I decided to bake healthy Apple Cinnamon Granola to eat for breakfast layered between Greek yogurt or just to nibble on as a snack. Continue for recipe...

Spiced Zucchini Bread

 As the days slowly begin to get shorter, I am beginning to think about fall baking - pumpkin bread, warm drinks filled with seasonal spices and a plethora of apple desserts.  A great prelude into fall baking is zucchini bread, as it incorporates many of the same ingredients that are used in fall recipes.  Growing up I was never a fan of zucchini that was grown in our garden, but when my mom made a batch of zucchini bread, my tune slowly changed to actually liking this green vegetable.  I opted to make spiced zucchini bread, an intensely flavorful treat thanks to an array of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.  I paired this bread with vibrant billy buttons, or as I refer to them as balls of sunshine.  When you look at them, don't they just make you happy?

*All photographs by Alison

Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins

 Happy Sunday! I hope that everyone is having a relaxing weekend, while the weather is still a bit finicky here in New York, I am still in complete spring mode.  I am happy because berry season has begun -  my favorite fruit season. It begins with strawberries and then leads into raspberries and blueberries.  To warmly welcome this fruitful season, I thought I would share a recipe that I recently whipped up for Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins that I served at brunch last weekend.  I rarely eat muffins, but when I do, I prefer them to be healthy, while not sacrificing flavor.  These muffins proved to be moist and fluffy, while the sweet strawberries added a burst of natural sweetness.    

 

A Few Things: I always like to taste the fruit that I am baking with, especially if it is seasonal - the sweetness of the strawberries allowed for me to add a little less sugar into the batter.  In order to finish the muffins off, I decided to roll the tops in melted butter and then I combined cinnamon and sugar and rolled them into the mixture before serving.  You could definitely substitute strawberries for blueberries, peaches, rhubarb, or raspberries and I am sure the outcome would be just as delicious. 

*Photographs by Alison

Whole Wheat English Muffins with Roasted Honey Almond Butter

I love English muffins, so when I came across this recipe for a whole wheat version, I just had to make it.  This proved to be a nutritious and amazing way to start off the weekend. They were light and fluffy thanks to the nooks and crannies and incredibly easy to make.  I had to ask myself why I had never looked into making them before.  I topped my muffins with the homemade honey almond butter below.   

I am quite the sucker for peanut butter - whether combined with chocolate, honey, bananas or jelly, this tasty topper has one of my food staples since college.  I have never considered this to be a vice, as natural and organic peanut butter is very good for you. It is loaded with fiber, protein and it is a good source of healthy fats.  I will admit though that eating it for breakfast day in and day out can get a tad boring, so I decided to make almond butter.  It could not have been easier or more delicious, spread atop a freshly baked English muffin.  

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the almonds for 10 minutes, making sure they are just toasted.  Place almonds in food processor and blend for approximately 6 minutes until the oils have released and you have a butter consistency.  If desired, place 1 tablespoon of honey and blend by hand.  

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls

Nothing is quite as tempting as the smell of cinnamon and sugar fragrancing the house on a cold weekend morning.  I typically stick to eggs, toast and fruit on a Saturday morning, but recently I was craving something just a bit more comforting, like cinnamon rolls.  I wanted to make a  more grown-up recipe that was just a little different than the rolls I used to eat growing up, so I settled on the Italian inspired hazelnut cinnamon rolls. They were absolutely divine.  Between the nutty, almost chocolate tasting hazelnuts, the caramel-like consistency of the filling, to the fluffiness of the bread, this was quite the breakfast treat.  

A Few Things: I chose to make my own dough (actually, it's my boyfriends unbelievable secret recipe, I am working on him to share it) and frosting, just because I had all of the ingredients on hand. You can choose to make the recipe version, which calls for mascarpone cheese and buttermilk, but I wanted something just a little lighter. 
I whisked the following ingredients together:
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon milk (I used skim)
1/4 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

(The ultimate breakfast treat)