Weekend Cooking

I had planned a lazy weekend at home with my daughter before we head back to school and work on Monday. In this case, along with the building of a rather elaborate fort that became a car from random wine boxes, I decided to do some cooking for the week ahead.

First up, given that I had eggs from both @Soulfoodfarms and @Omnivore books and many vegetables from my Mariquita Mystery Box was frittata. After pondering the contents of the refrigerator and querying on twitter I decided to opt for bacon, green garlic and Brussels sprouts. As always when I cook, exact amounts tend to depend upon what I have on hand. What follows is approximate. Note that this makes a very sprout heavy frittata, if you would like it eggier, decrease the amount of vegetables.

8 strips bacon
1 bunch green garlic, cleaned and chopped
4 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and quartered or halved depending upon size
salt and pepper to taste
7 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I used 2% as that is what I had in the house.)

In a cast iron skillet, cook bacon until cooked through. I chose to dump out some of the bacon grease, but that is your call. Add sliced green garlic and continue cooking until it softens. Add Brussels sprouts and continue cooking 10 or so minutes. I like my sprouts to remain crisp. In a small bowl mix eggs and milk, flavoring with salt and pepper. After the sprouts are cooked to your liking, add eggs to pan and stir to mix. Allow to cook until eggs set. If you like, and I do, put frittata in the oven under a broiler until the top browns slightly.

Flip pan to remove and serve warm or room temperature. If you are like me, your child will not be interested so you will have leftovers for the week ahead.

This morning my daughter requested waffles. Very often we make waffles on the weekend, eat a few right away and then freeze leftovers for quick weekday breakfasts. I again asked on twitter and received several suggestions. My daughter chose "Crisp Belgian Waffles" sent by @lisasharahall, which, of course, I tinkered with.

The basic recipe called for:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup Rice Krispies (I had no Rice Krispies so substituted a blend of oats, cornmeal and whole wheat flour, as always, trying to up the fiber for my picky eater.)

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Preheat traditional waffle iron to medium. Meanwhile, stir flour, Rice Krispies, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk egg yolks, milk, vanilla, and oil together in medium bowl.

2. With electric mixer or balloon whisk, beat egg whites in bowl to soft peaks. Pour milk mixture over dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Whisk in beaten whites until just combined. Do not overmix; a few streaks of whites should be visible.

3. Pour 2/3cup batter (see note above) into center of preheated waffle iron and use back of dinner spoon to spread batter toward outer edges (batter should reach about 1/2 inch from edges of iron before closing lid). Close lid and cook until deep golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.


Next on tap is a batch of Cranberry-Yogurt-Oatmeal muffins based on a recipe from Joy the Baker. http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/01/oatmeal-blueberry-applesauce-muffins/
If they pass the tough 7 and 8 year old critics currently playing in my living room, I will post the recipe as well.