Baked Egg, Nested in Avocado

This is a healthy, highly nutritious breakfast that's very easy to make. It requires pretty much less than five ingredients: the avocado, the egg, and whatever spices/sauces you want to flavour it with. For this one, I used salt, pepper, pesto and Sriracha sauce.

Here's a link to some of the healthy benefits of the avocado. Read here.

I made this for Easter Sunday breakfast at home, a few weeks ago. I served the avocado with some Green Tea & Chocolate Waffles with berries. It was a very interesting contrast in taste and texture: the crispy edges of the waffle with the creaminess of the avocado; the subtle sweetness of the chocolate in the waffle, with the tartness of the berries and spicy, savoury flavour of the toppings on the avocado. If you'd like to see the recipe for the waffles, click here.

Green Tea and Chocolate Waffles

This is my "go to" recipe for Belgian waffles. It's very easy to make and if you make the batter the night before (leave it in the ref, covered) and cook it the next morning, the waffle becomes fluffier, as the yeast has had time to grow.

You can make it plain too (and omit the green tea and chocolate).

I sprinkled the waffles with confectioner's sugar and served them with blackberries and raspberries.

Baked French Toast with Caramelized Bananas

This is a delicious breakfast, and making it will fill your kitchen with the scent of cinnamon and caramelised bananas. It reminds me of Christmas mornings.

Zucchini, Carrot & Orange Cupcakes

Yes, these cupcakes have vegetables. But your little ones won't even notice them. They're very fragrant too, what with the orange zest and juice.

Dutch Baby with Fresh Fruits, Mint & Chocolate

I have been Missing in Action in my blog for the past two weeks. :(  Was very busy at work and also went on a family trip to Italy! It's a good thing I have a "draft post reserve," and I'm calling on it right now by sharing a recipe of Dutch Babies. (Some Italian recipes later, after I experiment some more in the kitchen...)

Ever heard of Dutch Babies? It's a pancake cum popover cum Yorkshire Pudding that is served at breakfast. Actually, it's not even Dutch; it's American! It originated in Seattle, Washington and was first served at Manca's Cafe in the 1900s. See more of the history here.

A Dutch Baby, served in a cast iron grill. This version has fresh strawberries, plums, blueberries, mint, underneath a layer of melted chocolate.

Anyway, regardless of its origin, we love having it from time to time at breakfast. We love the crispy edges of the Dutch baby. Hubby eats the edges first, to enjoy the oven baked crispness, while I save the edges, the best for the last. Whichever way it's eaten, it's a Saturday morning breakfast family favourite.

Breakfast Quesadilla

This quesadilla was inspired by something I always eat for breakfast whenever I stay at the Westin Cincinnati Hotel, while on business trip to the global headquarters. The American version is HUGE (am I surprised?) and contains corned beef hash, an omelet and lots of cheese. This smaller version has the omelet, homemade shoestring potatoes, smoked salmon and cheese, and it's not as huge a portion as the original I ate. It's served with sour cream and fresh basil leaves.

Crown of Nutella Rolls

This may look very fancy and hard to bake, but it is actually one of the easiest doughs to handle. The dough is easy to make, and who doesn't love Nutella? The buns have that hazelnut goodness, and are crisp on top, due to the polenta. I balance the sweetness and richness of the Nutella with some chili powder and sea salt.

If you're not eating all of it once it gets out of the oven, reheat the rolls in an oven toaster or oven to enjoy the same warm, gooey goodness. Best enjoyed with coffee and tea.

My Crown of Nutella Rolls

Cheat's Orange Flavored Mini Croissants

I call this the Cheat's Croissants because the puff pastry is not made from scratch, but is store bought. I learned how to make puff pastry when I went for the short course at Le Cordon Bleu, but when you're not a full time chef and when you don't have an air-conditioned kitchen in a hot and humid country like Singapore, it's just so difficult to make it from scratch. You must be some kind of gastronomic masochist to be able to do it, when you have limited time and no air-conditioning. :)

Anyway, I cheated and made these croissants with store bought puff pastry. They still do have a personal touch, with that homemade sweetened orange rind, and orange syrup which I did make from scratch. But if you have no time and you really want to be a "double cheat", you can also get store bought, chunky orange marmalade. :)

The family loved it and once they devoured it, they immediately gave suggestions for other flavours, like peach, Nutella, chocolate...the possibilities are endless...for more cheating!

Matcha (Green Tea) Crepes with Berries

My daughter loves Japanese culture (she's studying the language as well), and now that she's here for a visit over the holidays, it just seemed appropriate to make some breakfast crepes flavoured with matcha (green tea).  These crepes are easy to make and were made with a regular pan (I don't own a crepe pan). They're filled with matcha flavoured sour cream, topped with fresh berries and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

Recipes with Chia Seeds - Healthy and Filling at the Same Time!

Ever heard of chia seeds? They come from a mint related flowering plant from Mexico and Guatemala. Apparently, in the 80s, they were used as "pets." You grow them and they look like cute turtles, hedgehogs or even afros on a bust (they have a Barrack Obama one, lol):

A Chia Pet.  The seeds have emerged as the newest health craze.

But these past few years, chia seeds have also emerged as the newest health food, an excellent source of omega-3 fats and fiber. More here about chia: Chia Health Benefits. It's a very versatile, healthy food, because it is practically tasteless (and thus, doesn't interfere with the flavour of the food that you're adding it to) and expands when you mix it with liquid, making you feel fuller.

Here are two recipes of chia which we regularly eat in the family.  You will find that chia keeps absorbing the liquid it's in, so when you set aside the food and eat it later, the liquid might be gone. Just add more liquid (milk, coconut milk, broth...whatever it is that you used in the recipe) to dilute it. And for recipes which are soupy like the two below, stir the chia in the liquid from time to time after a few hours, because it will get clumpy if you just leave it untouched.


MANGO "SAGO" CHIA
Serves 4 people

Mango "Sago" Chia. Healthier than the original and just as refreshing!

Homemade Baked Apple Granola

Homemade baked apple granola, served with sour cream.

This is a simple, healthy breakfast treat that you can make, instead of getting commercial granola. It has the healthy crunch of oats, the fragrance of dessicated coconut and the vitamins from green and red apples.