xo breakfast

Greetings from sunny southern California. I made you breakfast.

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This is How We Granola

I made a joke that it was going to bother me to not have a 2017 post, but I guess it was no joke.

This granola has been in my drafts for over a year, and has pretty much been on the kitchen counter since then. 

It went with West to his first year of preschool, and it is quite often breakfast on the mornings I work there (because of course it’s a co-op preschool). 

Once, I even served it for the snack. With freeze-dried blueberries, bananas, and Straus vanilla whole milk yogurt, it’s a “banana split” for the 3 to 4 year old set.

It’s how I say thank you(!) to the teachers for the off-duty time (when I have the granola to myself, with milk and chocolate), and miss you to friends and family.

The recipe is a slight variation on Nekisia Davis’ olive oil and maple granola, with coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, sometimes coconut nectar for the maple syrup, and less of both, for a gentler kind of sweetness. (The fruit this year was shockingly sweet.)

I’ve made this granola with both olive oil and butter and have noticed an extra crispness with the olive oil, which I like. Sometimes I do sliced almonds if there’s been a misunderstanding with walnuts. 

And there’s always an extra handful of coconut chips for West, who likes to find the biggest pieces of granola and call them cookies.   Maple & Olive Oil Granola Adapted from Nekisia Davis Makes about 6 cups

1.5 c. rolled oats 1/2 to 1 c. unsweetened coconut chips 1 c. pecans and/or walnuts, some whole, some chopped 1/2 c. sunflower seeds 1/2 c. pumpkin seeds scant 1/4 c. coconut palm sugar scant 1/4 c. maple syrup or coconut palm nectar 1/4 c. olive oil (I use Californian because I am one) heaping 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 300ºF and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the oats, coconut chips, nuts and seeds together. 

In a small bowl, whisk the coconut sugar, maple syrup or coconut nectar, olive oil, and salt. Pour this into the oats and mix well, until everything is evenly coated. 

Spread the granola out in an even layer on the sheet pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, giving it a stir every 10 minutes, until well toasted. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

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Buckwheat Banana Muffins

This is our stock banana muffin. I wanted to make something like the deep, dense buckwheat banana loaf West and I once shared on the milk crates at GTA. Or that he ate and I tasted a piece that fell on his sweatshirt. 

Alanna had just the recipe I was looking for, full of wholesome flours, but also butter. There’s cream cheese too, but I never have it on hand, so I use creme fraiche instead and add a bit more salt. 

I also sneak some sugar out, but the bananas do need to be at their ripest. And (whispering now) I actually prefer white (or off-white organic) sugar for these, to get those buckwheat tones and crackly tops. 

West helps with the mashing, egg cracking, and sprinkling. Measuring the vanilla is his favorite part. He once poured half a bottle into the bowl. 

Sometimes we put pieces of leftover chocolate bar on top, (whispering again) the chocolate I eat after he goes to bed. 

Buckwheat Banana Muffins Adapted from The Bojon Gourmet Makes a dozen

3 oz. oat flour (or 3 oz. rolled oats ground in the food processor) 2 oz. buckwheat flour 2 oz. sweet rice flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 3 very, very ripe bananas 1/3 c. organic sugar, plus more for sprinkling 6 TB butter, melted 4 oz. creme fraiche  1.5 tsp vanilla (or half a bottle) 1 egg 1/2 c. walnuts, toasted and chopped chocolate, if you like

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a muffin pan with paper cups. In a medium bowl, measure the oat, buckwheat, and rice flours. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Give that all a whisk.

In a larger bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk in in the sugar, butter, creme fraiche, egg, and vanilla. Fold in the flours, nuts and chocolate. Scoop the batter into the pan, filling the cups almost to the brims. Sprinkle with sugar. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched. Cool the muffins on a rack.

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Tartine’s Sourdough Brioche

I brought out the big, buttery guns for the end of New Breakfast Week.

You know that recipe that you bookmark, flip to over and over, read, and read again, but never make? The sourdough brioche in Tartine Bread was mine. 

(I’m posting this late, and there is New Breakfast Week afterparty is at 8am, so please turn to page 144 in the book for the six-page long recipe.)

I’ve gotten pretty good at the country bread and variations on it, but at the brioche, I balked. It required the use of a stand mixer, a leaven and a poolish, and a nerve-racking amount of eggs and butter (given in grams, of course).

But it wasn’t even that bad. I like to think it’s because I’m a more practiced, patient person, but sometimes with bread, you just get lucky. I halved the recipe – that’s stlil five eggs and two sticks of butter. And I mixed it all by hand. A stand mixer has nothing on toddler mom arms.  

And in case you were also wondering, sourdough brioche really does taste different than regular brioche. More buttery than eggy, with the slightest tang and a hint of yellow birthday cake. It felt a little like we were eating cake for breakfast, too. 

But what Azusa made, now that is a cake. Here’s hoping we do another New Breakfast Week soon, and cappuccinos even sooner. 

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Eggs Poached in Ramekins

I watched Jacques Pépin poach an egg like this and had to try it.

Mistakes were made.

The egg, cooked in a ramekin in a pan of boiling water, should have been unmolded on top of the bread, which should have been toasted and buttered, so that I could call it a crouton like Jacques did. 

Also, I did not bake the bread, which bothers me. And I used only one herb (chives), and had no other vegetables(?!) to add. (We did have the best California Keitt mango of the season on the side.)

It’s a neat way to poach an egg, though. Faster, too, since less water needs to boil, and maybe less messy. But what I like most is what the 2 year-old likes most: the cooked egg is a perfect circle.

Speaking of perfect, this was Azusa’s breakfast today.

Eggs with Herbs Poached in Ramekins Adapted from Jacques Pépin Makes as many eggs as you like

butter eggs herbs such as chives, tarragon, chervil, about 2 tsp per egg toasted and buttered bread for serving

Set half an inch of water to boil in a large saucepan (one with a cover). Butter the ramekins and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Press the herbs into the bottom and sides of each ramekin. Crack an egg into each. 

Place the ramekins in the pan and cover. Gently boil for 4 minutes, until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. Run a knife around each egg to unmold. Serve on top of a crouton.

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Heidi Swanson’s Giant White Beans with Kale

Of course I was going to put an egg on this, but really, it didn’t need it. 

I wish I could tell you what kind of giant white bean I used, but the bin was mislabeled. And later, I will go into too much detail about cooking beans from scratch. 

But for now, all you need to know is, cooked this way, the beans taste like In-N-Out French fries. 

After the light frying in olive oil, they’re deftly layered with kale, garlic, toasted walnuts, nutmeg, lemon and Parmesan, but not too much of anything. West ate the walnuts first, kale last. Everything, except a few beans he said were “weird.”

Azusa also made vegetables for breakfast: Shiitake and Shimeji Mushroom Okayu and Rice with Okra and a Poached Egg. Are we moms or what.

Pan-Fried Giant White Beans with Kale Adapted from Heidi Swanson via Food52 For 2.5

1/2 a bunch of dinosaur or lacinato kale, stems removed 2 TB extra-virgin olive oil 2-3 handfuls of cooked large white beans (no weird ones) 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 c. walnuts, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed 1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated zest of 1 lemon scant 1 TB lemon juice 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Chop or tear the kale into bite-sized pieces. Wash and shake off excess water.

In the biggest skillet you own, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beans in a single layer and stir to coat. Cook until light brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes, then flip the beans. Cook this side for another 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. 

Stir in the kale and sait, cook just until the kale wilts, about one minute. Stir in the walnuts and garlic, cook for 10 seconds. Stir in the nutmeg and cook for 10 seconds. Stir in the lemon zest and juice Remove from heat. Serve dusted with Parmesan.

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Kim Boyce’s Seeded Granola

Since West hasn’t napped since he turned two, I’ve had put him to work in the kitchen. 

We made this Seeded Granola together for New Breakfast Week. I measured, he poured, then enlisted the honey bear to help clean up the mess. The recipe comes from Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain, which I’m so sure is on your bookshelf, I’ll just tell you it’s on page 134.

This is not your usual granola. No nuts, just seeds – pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds. Oats, wheat germ. Cayenne pepper. 

Then you cook butter, brown sugar (I used muscovado), and honey for what seems like too long a time, until it’s dark and shiny. Then you hurriedly mix it into the oats and seeds, before your toddler gets his first sugar burn. 

The end result is the ideal granola: big, glassy shards that stay crisp in milk. The cayenne brings out a bit of savoriness, but not enough to make adding milk and fruit weird. Stephan thought it tasted like Greek sesame candy, which also means he ate it. 

West liked the granola, but he also liked the raw wheat germ. 

Azusa, my co-conspirator in this new breakfast challenge, also walked the sweet/savory line this morning with these Caramelized Onion Muffins. Fingers crossed she has leftovers. 

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Peach Chia Shake

Truly, I have found a soul sister in Azusa. She also has a 2 year-old, who West is so over the moon about, he says she can sit in his chair.

We hang out Wednesdays and sometimes Saturday mornings at the Pasadena farmers market. (Sometimes without the kids, but don’t tell them, and especially don’t tell them about the Mother Moo popsicles.)

Azusa cooks. Obsessively, of course, with cookbooks, scans of cookbooks, online bookmarks, carefully chosen ingredients, and the most thoughtful meal plans. We have much to discuss. Over coffee, of course.

Our poor, neglected blogs come up often – hers is the elegant, Japanese home cooking blog, Humble Bean.

So this is our plan: 5 new breakfasts this week, and 5 blog posts to go with. (Before midnight, so I had better type faster.)

Here’s where I confess I have been making the same breakfasts over and over and over.

This Peach Chia Shake is from Amy Chaplin’s At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen, which Azusa introduced me to, and which we refer to so often we now just call it “the book.” It’s summery, smoothie-like, and Stephan refused to try it.

How’s that for shaking things up.

Peach Chia Smoothie Adapted from Amy Chaplin For 2 (even though I halved the original recipe)

1 TB chia seeds 3/4 c. almond milk 1.5 (a little over 1 lb) large peaches, pitted and quartered 1 TB coconut butter or extra virgin coconut oil 1 tsp raw honey, or to taste

Put the chia seeds in a large jar. In a blender, combine the almond milk, peaches, coconut butter, and honey. (I also added a pinch of salt.) Blend until completely smooth.

Pour half of this mixture into the chia seeds. Shake or stir well, making sure no seeds stick to the bottom of the jar. Add the rest of the mixture and stir or shake well again. Chill in fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

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Canal House Lentils

In a strange turn of events, we’ve been eating lentils for breakfast.  

We got the idea from Stephan’s dad, who got it from Tim Ferriss. Tim tells his 4-hour body disciples to eat a breakfast of eggs, beans or lentils, and a vegetable.

I don’t believe in diets, but I believe in starting the day with vegetables, especially if the toddler set (surprisingly? unsurprisingly?) is still into them. (He’s obsessed with donuts too, but that’s for another post.)

There was some nonsense about making the breakfast in three minutes using canned lentils and frozen spinach that I also ignored so I could finally try this recipe. (And I buy that cute savoy spinach at the farmers market, or make slow-cooked kale – tell you about that later, too.)

I cook the lentils on Monday night and we eat them throughout the week. It feels very Canal House. Not complicated, not hurried. I like that feeling. Canal House Lentils adapted from epicurious Makes a week’s worth of lentils.

2 TB olive oil 1 medium leek, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced or pressed 1 TB tomato paste 1 c. green lentils, picked through and rinsed 2.5 c. water 2 TB reduced sodium soy sauce (or 1 TB regular soy sauce) salt + pepper to taste scallions, thinly sliced, for serving (optional)

In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leek, garlic, and tomato paste. Cook until the tomato paste begins to darken, about 5 minutes. 

Add the lentils and water and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and creamy, about 45-55 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and add salt and pepper to taste. Top with scallions if you like. Or avocado.

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Huckleberry's Chocolate Chunk Muffins

I'm a big fan of the Sabzi questionnaire, so I was stoked when Sara invited me to her loveliest of blogs to fill it out. 

The questions are fun, and so telling, too, like your fridge contents and favorite food-related movies. It was so nice to think and write about something other than the meal plan (ooh, chicken noodle soup, Persian-style).

I needed a photo of me in my kitchen, but it felt too weird being in there, not doing anything. So I made muffins.

The recipe comes from Huckleberry, one of my favorite places for a beachy breakfast on the (other) Westside. Zoe Nathan had me at the amount of chocolate she calls for here. If you use the fancy kind (as you should), it's like two bars of chocolate. 

I only had one, but it was a way fancy Dandelion one (thanks, Mae!), so I made half the recipe. I left it in big pieces and recommend you do the same, so that in between squares of chocolate, you get the cake, and just the cake, which has a taste and texture a bit like a macaron.  

And get this: you can refrigerate the batter in the pan and bake the muffins the next morning! How leisurely is that. They can also be filled with fruit and used as bribes at naptime.  

Huckleberry's Chocolate Chunk Muffins Adapted from Zoe Nathan Makes about a dozen.

3⁄4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature 3⁄4 c. + 2 TB sugar, plus more for sprinkling 1 tsp salt 2 eggs 1 1⁄4 c. all-purpose or spelt flour (spelt was wonderful) 1⁄4 c. almond flour 1 1⁄2 tsp. baking powder 1⁄2 tsp. baking soda 3⁄4 c. plain whole milk yogurt 1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract 210g 60 to 70% cacao dark chocolate, very roughly chopped

Line a 1-cup muffin pan with paper liners. (My pan has half-cup cups, half this recipe made 10 muffins.) 

Cream the butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and beating well after each addition. Fold in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, yogurt, vanilla, and chocolate, mixing just until incorporated. 

Fill the muffin cups to the top – these bake pretty dense. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  

The next day, take the pan out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Sprinkle the muffin tops with a bit more sugar, if you like. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and the tops spring back when touched. Do not overbake. 

I made a cup of coffee too, of course. And it’s not just my kitchen anymore. 

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Arugula Pesto (For Avocado Toast, Of Course)

Or, how to get your kid, who shows a genuine interest in salad greens but still gags on them, to eat arugula.

You also get to have the best avocado toast ever.

Am I taking too many liberties with avocado toast here? Is it too late to make that my new year's resolution? 

Anyway, pesto on (under?) avocado toast is nothing but nice. The original recipe calls for a whole cup of olive oil, but I don't have the nerve and use half that. Less salt, too. And I don't measure the arugula, it's just as much as I can pack into the food processor and still close it. 

While I'm being a vegetable libertine, a side of roasted roots is nice, too, for those pesto-avocado-egg yolk drips and splatters. These were purple carrots and quick pickled beets leftover from dinner.

Something with chocolate next time, lots of chocolate, for eating all those vegetables. Arugula Pesto  (adapted from Max and Eli Sussman via epicurious) Makes about a cup of pesto.

1/2 c./2 oz. walnuts 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed 2 c./2 oz. arugula 1/2 c./2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 c. olive oil 1/2 tsp. salt

Pulse the walnuts, garlic, arugula, Parmesan, and salt in a food processor to blend. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Proceed with avocado toast making. Or just dip vegetables, bread, fingers in the pesto. You can also try eating it by the handful, but only before bath time.

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West's Oatmeal Pancakes

(Guess what my new year's resolution was.)

I've been meaning to write a little something here about feeding a baby ever since West turned 6 or 7 months old and ate a spoonful of avocado.

That was over a year ago. (Really?!)

But I regret nothing except the severely limited wardrobe while breastfeeding and the first time we gave West yogurt.

For posterity's sake, West's other first foods were softly cooked egg yolks, often with avocado, sometimes with mashed Japanese yam with leeks, Stephan's roast chicken, Judy Rodgers' roasted applesauce, Roy Finamore's broccoli cooked forever, and Asian pear grated with a microplane. 

He eats what we eat. Or is it we eat what he eats?

This was West's first pancake, and the only pancakes I make now. They're that good.

It's Molly's oatmeal pancake recipe, which calls for a decent amount of oats and an almost indecent amount of butter. I use arrowroot instead of the all-purpose flour, because I waited a while on wheat for West, but also because it makes a better pancake, one with extra crisp edges and a crêpe-like chew. 

I also sleep better when there are oats soaking overnight. West's Oatmeal Pancakes (adapted from Orangette) Makes about 6 parent pancakes + 2 baby pancakes.

1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (extra thick are extra good here) 1 c. buttermilk 1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted (plus more for the pan) 1 egg 1 TB maple syrup (or you can use sugar, or just leave it out) 1/4 c. arrowroot flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt maple syrup and fruit for serving

The night before, mix the oats and buttermilk together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

The next morning, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir (I use a fork) it into the oats. Whisk in the egg and maple syrup, then the arrowroot, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Heat your pancake pan over medium high until drops of water sizzle on it. Add a small pat of butter, then scoop the batter into the pan, about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per pancake (give them some room to spread).

Cook the first side to a crisp golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes.

Serve with maple syrup and fruit. Extra fruit if West is at your table.

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G&B Coffee's Almond and Macadamia Nut Milk (For a Cold Brew Latte)

I'm a sucker for a fancy coffee. Made with exact measures of pedigreed beans and milk, by the skilled hand of some serious, stylin' gentleman or lady, on an espresso machine with a name like an Italian sports car, served in a little glass cup, in a Danish modern setting.

It's a real and necessary treat, especially when your day thus far has been spent trying to get a baby who is not a toddler, but a runner, to put some pants on. 

All my other food purchases are nothing but sensible, I swear. I have those bulk bin codes memorized. And some afternoons, I do try to make a fancy-ish coffee at home. 

G&B make a drink with this milk that Oliver says might be the best iced latte in America. It's certainly the best nut milk I've ever had, even made at home, not quite following the instructions, with a blender that is not a Vitamix. So creamy, with a hint of brown butter from the macadamia nuts, and a caramelized sugar note from the dates.

With a pour of syrupy, chocolatey cold brew coffee (Secret Squirrel is my favorite), a little something sweet, but not too sweet (an almond date bar, the new Jenny Lewis album), it's the perfect late afternoon pick me up. Especially if you get that baby, still without pants, down for a nap.

G & B's Almond and Macadamia Nut Milk (adapted from Charles Babinski and Kyle Glanville via The New York Times) Makes one quart.

1 generous cup/150 g of almonds, blanched (or soaked — keep reading) 1/2 c./50 g macadamia nuts 1/3 c./40 g pitted dates 1 liter filtered water

G&B's method is to soak the almonds, macadamia nuts, and dates in the filtered water at room temperature for at least 12 hours. But if, like me, you use skin-on almonds (and/or mild paranoia about phytic acid), give the nuts a good rinse after soaking. Then pinch the skins off the almonds, put everything in the blender, and fill it to the 1L line with fresh filtered water.

Blend at highest speed possible for 3 to 4 minutes. Strain using a nut milk bag or a fine mesh sieve lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Use a spatula to press on the solids.

The end nut milk should be silky and creamy, not gritty. Strain again with fresh cheesecloth if necessary. The milk tastes even better the next day and keeps in the fridge for about a week. 

To make a cold brew latte, mix cold brew coffee concentrate with the nut milk in a 1:2 ratio, or to taste.

(West's bear rug coaster is the handiwork of dandyrions.)

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Caramelized Boysenberry + Yogurt Pops

Dear Billy: can it be Popsicle Week every week?

Part raspberry, part blackberry, and so wholly Californian, when they finally show up for that split second at the farmers market, I want to hug them. I totally would, if they weren't so soft and smushy.

I had bookmarked Yossy's beautiful recipe for ice pops made with cold, creamy vanilla-speckled yogurt and caramelized fruit, and thought boysenberries could maybe take the place of rhubarb (long gone around here). I was also out of honey (hi maple syrup) and only ever have full fat yogurt (hi baby).

(Speaking of West, he eats boysenberries before blueberries. Gasp.)

Thanks to Billy of Wit & Vinegar for making Popsicle Week happen. Many, many more icy treats to bookmark here. Try not to lick the screen. Caramelized Boysenberry + Yogurt Ice Pops (adapted from Apt. 2B Baking Co.) Makes 8 pops in this mold. 

1 c. boysenberries 1/4 c. + 2 TB maple syrup (or honey) (and more or less to taste, I used less for sweet berries) 2 TB water 2 c. Greek yogurt 1/4 c. milk 1/2 a vanilla bean

In a small saucepan, bring the 1/4 c. of maple syrup and 2 TB of water to a boil. Cook until lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. 

Add the boysenberries, turn the heat down to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries start to break down and look jammy, about 7 minutes. Cool completely. (I used a metal bowl that I had stuck in the freezer.)

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, 2 TB of maple syrup, and vanilla. 

Layer the yogurt and fruit in the pop molds. Freeze for 30 minutes before inserting the wooden sticks. Then freeze until solid, about 4 hours or overnight. Run under warm water to unmold. 

Print by Sean Mort. I stare at this every day.

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Japanese Yam Pound Cake

Since he hasn't met a yam he didn't like, then eat, then wear, I thought this cake should be at West's first birthday party.

I also thought Clementine's banana cake ought to be there, too, and Kim Boyce's iced oatmeal cookies, Gramercy Tavern's bar nuts, a cooler full of iced coffee and fancy water, a bench full of friends, and a giant red balloon.

West ignored the balloon but was really into the cooler, a squirrel, and friends' half-eaten cakes. 

In a way, I found the recipe for this cake at the park, listening to Spilled Milk, on a walk to get that yammy baby to take a nap (he's definitely not into those). Molly said it tasted like a spice donut, which sounded so good, so my-kind-of-cake, I had to idle the stroller to look it up.

Having since baked the cake with an assortment of leftover sweet potatoes, I must say it's especially good and my kind of cake made with Japanese yams. Less syrupy sweet than the orange kind, they taste a little like chestnuts. The resulting cake, too.

I really do need to idle here more often. I miss this. I miss you! How have you been? What did you have for breakfast?  Japanese Yam Pound Cake (adapted from Nancie McDermott's Southern Cakes via Orangette) Makes one 6-cup bundt cake.

1 1/2 c. + 2 TB flour (some or all whole wheat pastry flour is good here) 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 c. milk* 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 4 oz./1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 c. light muscovado sugar (or 1/2 c. white and 1/2 c. light brown)  2 eggs 1 c.  roasted Japanese yam, mashed

*I blended the yam and milk together with a handheld immersion blender, adding more milk as needed to get it smooth.

Preheat oven to 350ºF, butter bundt pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and yam. Add half of the flour, mix just until combined. Add half of the milk. Gently fold in the rest of the flour, followed by the rest of the milk.

Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean — start checking after 25 or 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 20 minutes then turn cake out onto a cooling rack.

A glaze is optional. The original recipe has one that soaks into the cake, but it was a bit too sweet for me. I used this one, for more of a glazed donut-like shell. 

Basic buttermilk glaze: 1 c. powdered sugar 2 TB buttermilk 1 tsp. vanilla a pinch of salt

Whisk together. Spoon over cooled cake.

And just in case you need a recipe for yams. West's Roasted Yams Makes many, many yams.

yams olive oil, coconut oil, or melted butter Himalayan pink salt (optional)

For white, yellow, purple yams, preheat oven to 350ºF. For orange yams, 400ºF.

Wash and scrub the yams, then pat dry. Slice in half. Rub with oil or butter and salt. 

Roast cut side down until soft and caramelized. Start checking orange yams after 40 minutes. All other yams, wait at least an hour. 

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Olive Oil Avocado Toast

Avocado toast had something to do with that. For sure.

Breastfeeding too (still) (sigh), Molly's granola bars, and lovingly packed family dinner leftovers. Proof croissants and Sidecar doughnuts. Coffee. At some point, Stephan learned how to roast a chicken like a real Frenchman and got way into Japanese yams. But let me tell you about my avocado toast first.

Really, it's one of those meals you don't need an ingredients list or recipe for, just a bit of methodology. Mine starts with Chad's bread, my favorite for any and every kind of toast, and a shot glass full of olive oil.

That's a lot of olive oil, I know, but it really brings out the best in everyone. The bread is more crisp and chewy, the avocado and egg yolk, extra buttery. Also, I'm of the thinking that all that good fat can only do you good. Your boyfriends and babies, too.

Make it California Olive Ranch olive oil, since I'm naming names here. I use a pastry brush to slick most of the oil onto the bread slices, then toast them in a blistering cast iron skillet until they get that lacquered, golden look.  

In the meantime, I choose my finest avocado. Though really, my avocado guy picks them for me, and really, they are all the best, even in the winter. (California, man.) Since I'm making this for two (or three-ish), I mash the whole thing, but not too much, with a little salt and pepper.  

Once the toast is out of the skillet, I dial down the heat and fry the eggs in the leftover olive oil. While those are frying, I pack the avocado on top of the toast. Sometimes it's as thick as the bread itself. Good times, those are. 

West's first foods were soft-cooked egg yolk and mashed avocado, when he was around six months old. He's nine ten eleven(?!) months now and eating avocado and scrambled eggs by the fistful. Also, sand.

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It's a Giveaway: My Berlin Kitchen

Of course I said yes when the nice people at Viking/Penguin Books offered me a copy of Luisa Weiss's My Berlin Kitchen, now in paperback, to give away here. 

That's how I ended up in the kitchen, with the book off my shelf and much contented sighing, making this Pflaumenkuchen. That's German for a pillowy yeasted coffee cake topped with plums. Oh, but I had mostly pluots, so really it was a however-you-say-pluots-in-German-kuchen.   

Also, the computer. Because I want to remember that even though I made the crust way too thick, the Pluotenkuchen when eaten in the park, with a baby who furrows his brow at cakes (also, trees), was just perfect.

Maybe you need this kind of spark, too. Definitely, you need to try this cake. To enter to win the book, leave a comment below by 11:59 p.m. PST, this Friday, September 6th. The winner will be chosen at random. You can tell me what you had for breakfast.

Update: This contest is closed.

[xobreakfast]

Coffee Cardamom Popsicles

There's a popsicle party happening over at Billy's! As usual, I'm running late, because I can't decide which shoes go best with my popsicles. 

Because he is that much fun (see: Wit & Vinegar), Billy says you can have popsicles for breakfast. So here's your morning cup of coffee, cold and creamy, on a stick. 

I must confess I drank one.   

Coffee Cardamom Popsicles (adapted from Elizabeth Howes via Food 52) Makes about 10 pops in this (the best) popsicle maker.

freshly ground coffee to brew 2 cups 2-3 cardamom pods 1-2 TB honey 1/2 c. heavy cream

Toast the cardamom seeds in a dry pan until fragrant. Add them to the ground coffee and brew two cups using your preferred method. Stir in the honey and heavy cream to taste. 

Pour the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until almost set, about one to two hours. Insert popsicle sticks, then put them back in the freezer until fully set, about three to four hours, or overnight.

Have one with your breakfast.