Summer Breakfast Parfait

Dear Foodies,

I will forever be envious of those who can pause in the morning to make themselves a good breakfast before getting started with their day. I wake up with just enough time to get ready for work and rush out the door. Taking a few extra minutes to sit down and enjoy breakfast even if its just a bowl of cereal or a banana makes me antsy. But skipping it entirely isn't an option either so I've found my way around it. I can't stick to one recipe for more than a few weeks but variety is good, right ? I've circled through many breakfast ideas and tricks over the years and will share some of them so I remember when the lull moves in.

We are in the cusp of berry season and stone fruit season leaving us with an abundance of choice. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, plumcots, lychees, jackfruit and the list goes on. Each of them proudly vibrant, plump and bursting with sweet juices making it impossible to not be greedy. But its a good problem to have on hand, pretty much wash-eat-repeat I'd say.

My breakfast during the last few weeks has been yogurt + fruit. I wanted to make it a little more fancy and played with the idea of a parfait. I was out of granola so I made a quick stove top version that was ready in 10 mins. I toasted rolled oats, flax seeds and slivered almonds in some brown butter on really low heat for 8-10 mins until they were evenly browned. I finished it off with some local honey and sea salt to balance out flavors. While this was happening I scooped a few spoonfuls of homemade yogurt into a strainer to get rid of excess moisture. I also pitted plump rainier cherries, roughly chopped strawberries and tossed them with a few blueberries and another drizzle of honey and a squeeze of floral lemon juice.

All three components will be ready in just over 10 mins. All that's left to do is layer them as you please. If you are feeling fancy pick a tall glass or jar like I did, be meticulous in your layering of yogurt followed by fruit and granola. Step out onto your patio and enjoy breakfast under the pleasant warmth of the early morning sun. Or Scene 2 - dump them together with no real rhythm into a container with a tight lid and rush out the door to where ever your day takes you. Either way, you'll enjoy the beauty of summer fruit and look forward to another mornings' breakfast.

Summer Breakfast Parfait

Prep time: 15 mins

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Quick Granola

• 3/4 cup - Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup - slivered Almonds
• 1-2 Tbsp - roasted Coconut chips
• a pat of butter
• 1 Tbsp - Flax seeds
• 2 tsp - Honey
• a pinch of sea salt

• 1/2 cup - Yogurt, strained
• 1 cup - Cherries, Strawberries and blueberries
• 1 tsp - Lemon juice
• 1 tsp - Honey

Method:

1. Place a wide, shallow plan on low-medium heat and spread slivered almond into an even layer. Toast them gently, tossing every few minutes until evenly browned and set aside. Next add butter and heat until it begins to brown slightly. Add oats and flax seeds and toast on low heat till they are turn a nice golden color. Remove from heat, add almonds and while still warm drizzle honey and salt. If adding dry fruits like raisins or cranberries, do so at this stage.
2. While nuts and oats are toasting, spoon yogurt into a strainer (placed over a bowl to catch whey) and place in the refrigerator. 
3. Pit and roughly chop cherries and strawberries into a bowl, add blueberries, lemon juice and honey. You may need more or less honey based on how tart or sweet the berries are.  Place these in the refrigerator as well until ready to assemble.
4. In a tall glass or jar spoon a layer of berries followed by yogurt and granola. Repeat as many layers as the glass will hold and end with a drizzle of sweet juices from the macerating berries.

The combinations are endless with this one - add vanilla bean seeds or extract to the macerating fruits or lemon/orange zest or cinnamon/cardamom or a tiny bit of grated nutmeg. Use whatever combination of fruit you have on hand, I cannot think of a bad one. Jackfruit + honey + pistachios is divine, papaya + candied pineapple + toasted coconut chips, for tropical bliss. Add other nuts to the instant granola - pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, raisins or dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, pineapple or cherries. You know, no rules. And of course, you can flavor the yogurt too or make a compote from some of the fresh fruit, but when simple, weekday-morning-doable can be this good, I'll stick to minimal work.

Cherry & Peach Crumble

Dear foodies,

The summer heat hasn't come to see us this year, but the fruits haven't been as mean to us. Strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, mango, cherries, peaches & nectarines have made their way into my kitchen. Eaten as is or cooked up in jams, compotes, cakes and muffins, I tried to enjoy the bounty as much as I could. Sometime I ended up being greedy and bought more than I could eat. A few sadly made they way into the bin, but the rest became gifts to friends :)

Cherries troubled me the most by going bad really fast, theres only so many I could eat in 2 days! So this time I made a quick and incredibly good dessert called crumble. The first time I made this dessert was from Sug's blog, last year. I've made numerous variations since and have loved all of them. I called it a crisp, but its also very similar to a crumble, an English dessert made with apples or any stone fruit. The original has a butter laden topping made with all purpose flour and sugar. I changed things up based on the crisp I've been making and turned it into a much more tasty and healthier dish.

make-shift cherry pitter - oil bottle lid

Pitting cherries can be a task you would wish you could avoid. There are some fancy gadgets that you could buy to help you out, but you could find similar stuff right in your kitchen. I used the lid of an oil bottle, you could also use a sturdy straw with a wide enough opening I guess. The hole was the perfect size and it was fun pitting cherries this way :D

Cherry & Peach Crumble

Ingredients: fills a 6-inch square dish

• 3/4th cup - Sweet Cherries, pitted & halved
• 3/4th cup - Peaches, cut in chunks
• 1/2 tsp - Cornstarch (or all purpose flour)
• 1/2 Tbsp - Sugar
• 1 Tsp - Lemon juice
  

crumb topping

• 1/4th cup - Pistachios
• 1/3rd cup - Rolled oats
• 1 Tbsp - Whole wheat flour
• 11/2 Tbsp - light, Brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp - Olive oil
  
• a pinch of salt (skip this if the nuts are salted)

Method:

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients and allow to sit for 20-30mins. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
2. For the topping, coarsely powder the pistachio's and oats. Combine it with the whole wheat flour, sugar and olive oil to get a crumbly mixture.
3. Transfer the fruits along with the juices to the baking dish, top it uniformly with the crumble topping and bake for 20-25mins or until the juices start to bubble and the topping gets a brown shade.
4. Cool a bit and serve warm with a scoop of your favorite ice cream flavor or on it own :)

Note: Almost everything in this recipe is interchangeable. You can use any stone fruit, and switch pistachios with your choice of nuts. Jaggery or white sugar could be used as a sweetener. Add some vanilla essence or lemon/orange zest to the topping for another variation or some cardamom powder perhaps ?

This is a fabulous way to enjoy seasonal fruit when you get tired of eating them on their own. Not much work involved but the results are great. I sent this bowl to my neighbor and she called back as soon as she tasted it saying she wanted the recipe immediately. All the ingredients used in the topping are good for you, so anyone watching their diet can feel good about this one dessert atleast, don't count the ice-cream on the side though ;-)

I also made small cherry cakes following Deb's recipe for raspberry buttermilk cake. It turned out fab and the neighbor who got one of the cakes had compliments waiting for me when I met her next :) I skipped the eggs in the recipe and used flax seed powder instead.

The Cherry crumble if off to Vaishali who is celebrating British cuisine in It's a Vegan World July. She was kind to accept my last minute entry :) Simran is hosting AWED this month and has chosen British cuisine, so here's some for her too :) AWED also travels around the world each month and was initiated by DK. Thank you lovely ladies. Have a great week ahead all.

Shortbread Cookies - fruit & nut/salty

Dear foodies,

I hope all of you who had a long weekend last week, had a blast. I surely did :) We had a mini roommate reunion in California. I met up with two of my first and longest roomies from grad school, in California! The three of us lived together for close to three years and there is a nice comfort zone that we've fallen into. I've also shared an apt with two other gorgeous gals during grad school, and one of them is getting engaged next week! Hugs to all of them, love you :) We don't have to be in constant touch (though we do) and don't have to explain our words or actions or anything about us at all. We just know each other, plain and simple. We let our guards down and no topic is off bounds. I am known to lose my temper a bit (yeah, a bit. and I'm going to stick to that), but these gals know how to handle me, really well! I would never be able to do that, and thank God for them :D Its a blessing to have such wonderful girl friends. So when I knew the three of us were going to meet, I wanted to take a gift along. Ofcourse I had to make it myself right ? so I made these yummy shortbread cookies, in three different flavors ;-)

My entry to Click - Cookies/May 2009 hosted by the Jugalbandits, thank you :)

These are on the same lines as the fruitcake cookies I made earlier but a lot more simpler this time. The original recipe by itself is fairly easy to do, but I watched a recipe online for a citrusy and nut filled cookie and wanted to try that this time. I like this recipe cos it does not have any of the egg-substitution craziness and it turns out great every time. I made 3 different batches, one with walnuts and a hint of orange, dried cherries and walnuts in another and the third one was a savory & salty version. All of them turned out great and if I really had to to choose one, I would go back to the fruit n nut combo, though the salty one came really close to the top.

Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter (unsalted) - at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup - All purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp - milk

Fruit & nut

• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp - light Brown sugar (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp - Vanilla essence
• 1 Tbsp - Orange zest
• 1/2 cup - Walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped or combination of nuts and dry fruits
• 1/4 tsp - Kosher salt

salty-savory version:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp - light brown sugar, packed
• 11/4 tsp - Kosher salt (adjust to taste)
• 11/2 tsp - Cumin seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
• 2 tsp - fresh Thyme leaves, finely chopped (optional, use 1Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp - finely grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. I used a hand blender for 3-4 mins on low speed. Add the vanilla essence, orange zest and salt and blend for another minute until the butter is fluffy and the sugar is well combined. (for the savory version, add all the ingredients, but for the parm cheese now)
2. Next add the flour in 1/3rd cup portions and blend lightly. Be careful not to overmix the dough, it'll lead to tough cookies. Blend just until the flour gets combined with the butter. Once all the flour is incorporated the dough will resemble crumbs, the size of peas. You should be able to form a ball with it when pressed together lightly.
3. Add the chopped fruit, nuts, milk and combine together. (Fold in the parm cheese at this point for the savory version.) Tip the dough onto a flat surface and knead lightly to form a round ball. Take some plastic wrap, place the dough on it and shape as a log using the wrap for help. The cross-section of the log will give you the final shape/size of your cookie since the cookies don't spread while cooking.
4. Refrigerate the dough for atleast 30 mins-1hr before baking. When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350deg. With a sharp knife cut the log into 1/2 inch rounds. (If they fall apart you can easily force them together.) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange the cookies 1/2 inch apart.
5. Bake for 15-20mins, checking on them every minute after the 15 minute point. When the edges start to turn a light golden take them out. They will continue to cook for a few more minutes outside the oven. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack so that the residual heat in the pan does not burn them.

These are one of the easiest and quickest cookies you will make. They aren't any complicated steps and the logs freeze really well. I have half a log of each still sitting in my freezer, waiting to get eaten by friends visiting next week. I intended to dip the cookies in chocolate and melted some callebaut bittersweet chocolate and flavored it with some caramel flavored Kahlua. But I was a little impatient I guess and ended up heating it more than I should have. I was using very little chocolate and was microwaving it for 15sec intervals. It looked perfect when it came out from the microwave 30secs later, but the residual heat in the glass bowl made the chocolate seize up on me. I couldn't let such gorgeous chocolate go unused and so I quickly rolled them out and nibbled on them, topped the cookies with them :-P

All the three flavors turned out fabulous. I was initially worried about the sugar I added in the salty version. The butter tasted a lil salty-sweet and I wasn't sure I had made the right decision by adding it. But along with the flour it turned out really good. You could hardly taste the sugar in the final cookies but it enhanced the overall flavor. The Parmesan cheese speckled the cookies in gold when baked in the oven :) The thyme though, did not stand out in the cookies, you might have to use a lot more for its flavor to shine through. The cumin seeds gave the cookies a very nice warmth and taste, very similar to the Indian nankatai.

The sweet versions were great as expected, not overly sweet and crumbly, melt-in-your mouth style. My roomies enjoyed the fruit n nut one with the tartness of the cherries cutting through the richness of the cookies. We snacked on them during our drive to Lake Tahoe and SFO over the weekend. It was a picture perfect weekend, and here are a few of the photographs :D

The solutions to the foodie crossword are up, well N posted them more than a week back, it was me who hadn't updated this space. Solutions! I hope you enjoyed it.

These cookies are being packed up for Mansi of Fun & Food blog, for her Sugar High Friday June edition, Fruit & Nut.

Fruit cake cookies - eggless

Dear foodies,

Happy Birthday !

Fruit Cake Cookie! Isn't that like the most perfect set of words that can be put to together...whats not to love in that combination! I saw this recipe on Ina Garten's show Barefoot Contessa and knew I had to try it out soon. I love fruit cake, but haven't been super successful in perfecting a recipe for it. But to have a cookie that tastes just like it is just wonderful! I like most of IG's recipes, atleast watching them :D She does make a huge quantity of everything though and uses quite a bit of butter, but its her technique & cooking style that I like.

My main attraction towards this particular recipe, (apart from the name :D), was that it called for just one egg, now that could easily be substituted. I wanted to make them the very next day but then I hesitated. Making a whole batch of these decadent cookies with just me around wouldn't be good news for my weighing scale. So I waited for the perfect occasion and it came by earlier than expected. Its my brother's birthday today (Happy Birthday!) and I went to visit him this past weekend. I made a huge batch of these cookies and took them along with me. Trust me, a recipe cannot get any easier and also give such splendid results. A few of my brother's friends tasted it too and they only had compliments for me. *blush*

For those who are familiar with the famous Karachi bakery's fruit biscuits in Hyderabad, these cookies taste very similar to them, actually even better! I now can't wait to try the other biscuits that the bakery sells using this recipe as a base. woohoo! Another advantage with this recipe is that the dough freezes very well. It needs to be refrigerated for 1-2hrs before baking, but you can easily freeze and store it for a couple of weeks in there. Whenever you are in the mood for decadence, bring the dough out, cut a few cookies to bake and send the rest of the dough back to the freezer, soo convenient! Perfect for weekday parties too, and psst, the dough is delicious on its own too :D

For once I thought I will follow the recipe as is, but ended up tweaking it a little since the dough turned out to be really wet. I used a different combination of fruits and also used lesser sugar. I did not have brown sugar and used regular sugar instead. The fruits also contribute to the sweetness of the cookies, so adjust the amount of sugar to suit your needs. Below are the measurements I used, for the original recipe click here.

Fruit Cake Cookies (40-45 small cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup, packed - mixed fruits and nuts, chopped
I used a combination of prunes, raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries & cherries. For the nuts, I choose unsalted roasted pecans (cashews will be great too)
• 1 Tbsp - Sherry or Red wine
• 1/2 Tbsp - lemon juice
• 1/2 Tbsp - Honey

• 1 stick - unsalted Butter (~ 8 Tbsp), at room temperature
• 1/3 cup - sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Cloves
• 1/4 tsp - powdered nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp - Orange zest
  
• 1/2 tsp - pure Vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp - ground Flax seeds + 1.5 Tbsp - water
• 1 1/3 + 2/3 cup - All purpose flour

Method:

1. Place the chopped fruits and nuts in a bowl and mix in the sherry/wine, honey and lemon juice. Cover the bowl and let them soak overnight at room temperature.
2. The next day, microwave the ground flax seeds along with the water for 30secs. Using a fork beat the mixture and microwave again for 15secs & beat. Set aside and allow it to cool.
3. In a wide glass bowl (or electric mixer) cream the butter, sugar, salt, orange zest, vanilla extract, clove and nutmeg powders until you get a smooth consistency. It took me 3-4mins using a hand mixer on low speed.
4. Sift the flour to remove lumps. Add all the flax seed mixture and the flour in 1/3rd portions. Mix at a low speed. The dough was really sticky even after the 11/3 cups were added, so I added an additional 1/2 cup of flour and mixed it in with a spatula. Don't over mix the dough since it will develop gluten and you will end up with really tough cookies.
5. Next add the fruits along with any leftover soaking liquid and fold it onto the dough. I added a couple of Tbsps of flour along with it.
6. Divide the dough in half and place each half on the longer end of a 15" wax/parchment paper. Shape and roll it into a log. The cross-section will give you the final shape/size of your cookie. (These cookies do not spread while cooking. I moistened my palms lightly with water to help me shape the logs, or roll the paper on the dough and use it to help shape). Repeat with the other half of the dough and refrigerate for 1-2hrs or until firm. If not using immediately move them to the freezer.
   
7. When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350deg. With a sharp knife cut the log into 1/2 inch rounds. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange them, 1/2 inch apart.
   
8. Bake for 15-20mins, checking on them every minute after the 15 minute point. When the edges start to turn a light golden take them out. They will continue to cook for a few more minutes outside the oven. Lift the foil and place it on the counter-top so the residual heat in the pan does not burn them.

These cookies are dotted with fruits all along and their sweet wine soaked flavor really comes through. I am in love with them. They taste a lot like a fruit cake but in a smaller, more flavorful package, and you cannot have just one. They crumble in your mouth and slowly melt away as you chew on the bits of fruit...bliss!

Last Sunday I made a tiny batch of 6 cookies and the rest of the dough was stashed in the freezer. I kept going back to the kitchen with excuses to have a bite or two and in no time all 6 cookies vanished :D On Thursday evening, all I had to do was slice them, pop them into the oven and pack before heading to the airport. My brother and his friends loved the cookies, and they could not believe it was home made. Did I tell you how gorgeous the weather in Houston is...aah, my heart craved for the sunshine and did not want to come back to this igloo of a place! hmph

When I started out with the recipe I had soaked 2 cups of the fruits & nuts. I refrigerated the unused cup and made another batch of cookie dough on Wednesday. They will be off to a few friends this week. These cookies are soo good that you will want to share it with everyone (and get tonnes of compliments in exchange :-P) I wanted to dip half of each cookie in some tempered chocolate, but I was soo in love with the fruity flavor that I let them be that way. May be you can try that out and let me know how it is ? Deal ?