Baked Strawberry Oatmeal...

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal

There had been grumblings in weather reports over the past week that more snow was on the way. I chose to ignore the warnings and looked optimistically toward spring. It wasn’t unreasonable, I mean the sun did make a brief appearance a few days ago and crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths were beginning to poke their heads up in my garden. So imagine my surprise (aka horror) when I looked out of the bedroom window yesterday morning only to be greeted by several inches of snow. My husband was ecstatic as he had a ‘snow day’ (I could almost hear the sound of teachers and students all around the UK jumping up and down with joy – parents and spouses….not so much).

It seemed appropriate then that I make a warming breakfast we could eat leisurely while watching daytime T.V. Bring on Homes Under the Hammer, Judge Judy and an unseen Columbo starring Robert Conrad  (that definitely made me jump up and down with joy)!

This recipe for Baked Strawberry Oatmeal on the GE Healthahead website caught my eye awhile back. A snow day in March seemed liked the perfect time to try it out. Not only was it really easy to make but it tasted fantastic. I will be making this again! We had some leftover which we had this morning for breakfast with warm milk. Yummy!

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal (serves 4)

 Ingredients

250ml semi-skimmed (2%) milk

1 medium ripe banana, mashed

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

175g old fashioned oats

40g loosely packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

11/2 Tablespoons powdered flax seed (I used Linwoods milled flaxseed, almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts and Q10)

100g chopped strawberries

100g dried fruit (I used a luxury dried fruit mix with sultanas,currents, dried apricots, dried pineapple, raisins and cherries)

Garnish: sliced strawberries, sliced bananas or other fresh fruit and semi-skimmed milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 190°C / gas mark 5

Lightly spray an 11- x 7-inch baking dish with nonstick spray (I used butter)

In a large bowl, whisk together first 4 ingredients until well blended

Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into prepared dish.

Bake at 190°C / gas mark 5 for 25 to 30 minutes or until top just starts to turn golden brown

Garnish with fresh fruit and add a splash of milk

Enjoy!

Blueberry Pancakes and Country Walks...

Shorne Woods Country Park

This weekend the sun finally came out providing the perfect opportunity for a country walk. My husband and I decided to go to one of our favourite places – Shorne Woods Country Park. It’s a beautiful place for a walk and has a good mixture of trails from gentle and easy going to slightly more rigorous ones including the infamous Cardiac Hill. It really was a joy to be outside in the fresh air listening to the bird song and watching dogs happily retrieving sticks for their owners.

After a lengthy hike our appetites were in full swing. What better way to ‘celebrate’ our walk then by going home and having freshly made blueberry pancakes with a generous helping of Canadian Maple Syrup. A pot of freshly brewed Kicking Horse Coffee on the side made this a real North American treat.

Here is the Blueberry Pancake recipe I used courtesy of the BBC GoodFood website.

American Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients

• 200g self-raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 egg

• 300ml milk

• knob butter
• 150g pack blueberries

• sunflower oil or a little butter for cooking

• golden or maple syrup

Method

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg with the milk, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and whisk in the milk to make a thick smooth batter. Beat in the melted butter, and gently stir in half the blueberries.

2. Heat a teaspoon of oil or small knob of butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Drop a large tablespoonful of the batter per pancake into the pan to make pancakes about 7.5cm across. Make three or four pancakes at a time. Cook for about 3 minutes over a medium heat until small bubbles appear on the surface of each pancake, then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden. Cover with kitchen paper to keep warm while you use up the rest of the batter. Serve with golden syrup and the rest of the blueberries.

Enjoy!

Shorne Woods

Canadian Maple Syrup

Blueberry Pancakes

Omelette With Fresh Herbs And Cheese....

There is a real art to making the perfect omelette. I will confess that I haven’t quite mastered it yet (they tend to be a bit on the mangled side), but I do like to try. For me the key ingredients in any omelette (aside from the eggs) are fresh herbs, freshly ground black pepper and some grated cheese. That’s really all you need for a perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner! Well actually add some freshly sliced tomatoes and a few slices of whole meal toast on the side, and you’re away!

Unfortunately our tomatoes aren’t ready for eating yet – but they are getting there. So for this meal we used tomatoes from our local farm shop. I really can’t wait till we can use our own!

Luna Raye’s Recipe For A Fresh Herb and Cheese Omelette.

Ingredients

6 eggs (I always used organic and free range).

Fresh Herbs:1 Tablespoon Sage finely chopped.

3 Tablespoons Curly Parsley finely chopped.

3 Tablespoons Tarragon finely chopped.

4 Tablespoons Chives finely chopped.

¼ Cup of grated mature cheddar cheese, (You can also use Gruyere).

Salt and some freshly ground black pepper to taste.

3 – 4 Vine tomatoes sliced and served on the side.

A few slices of buttered wholemeal toast cut into triangles.

Directions

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk.

Add the grated cheese and the chopped herbs and mix together.

Season with some freshly ground salt and pepper.

Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and when melted add the egg mixture. It’s important NOT to let the butter brown as this means the pan is too hot.

While the mixture is cooking use a spatula to lift the edges of the omelette so that some of the uncooked mixture runs underneath.

When the omelette is set (or a golden brown colour) underneath it’s time to flip it over. It will still be slightly runny on top and as you flip it, it will finish cooking through.

This is usually where I cross my fingers and hope for the best (or more likely I call my husband in to deal with it so that I can go and pour the wine!)

NOTE: Tonight I finally realized where it was all going wrong. For too long I was trying to cook ‘Kent’s biggest omelette’ in my kitchen. This is NOT a good idea and it makes omelette management very tricky. More often then not a large portion of it ends up on the stove top (which I then have to clean – not fun!). So the key to success is a smaller pan and cooking each omelette individually.

Have fun experimenting with different herbs and above all – enjoy!

Fresh herbs for my omelette; Parsley, Chives, Sage and Tarragon.

Omelette with Fresh Herbs and Cheese.