Goat Cheese and Gruyère Frittata

This makes a fabulous and delicious frittata that serves 6.

I found it in one of my favourite breakfast cookbooks- "Sarabeth's Good Morning Cookbook", by Sarabeth Levine. (She's a legend in NYC!)

Frittata

12 large eggs

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup packed arugula

3 oz grated Gruyère cheese (2/3 cup)

3 ounces fresh goat cheese broken into small pieces

Salad

2 cups packed arugula

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tbsp EV olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup toasted raw hulled sunflower seeds

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375F.

2. In a large bowl, using an immersion blender or whisk, beat the eggs until well combined. 

3. In an oven-proof  nonstick 10" skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the arugula and cook for about 1 minute. Add the remaining oil and the eggs and turn the heat to medium low. Cook the eggs just until the they are set around the edges. Stir the eggs with a spatula to combine the cooked and uncooked parts. Continue to cook until the edges are set again. Lift up the edges and tilt the pan so that the uncooked egg runs under the cooked portion. Add the Gruyère and the goat cheese and cook for a minute or two. When the top is shiny but the cheeses are not yet melted, turn off the heat and put it in the oven.

4. Bake in hot oven for about 8 minutes, until the frittata is puffed and the cheeses are melted.

5. While the frittata bakes, make the salad. In a bowl toss the arugula with the juice of half a lemon and 2 tbsp EV olive oil.. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Cut frittata into 6 wedges and serve with the arugula salad on top. Sprinkle each serving with some of the sunflower seeds.

Nutty Honey Mini Rolls

These are  lovely little bites to serve with the first cup of coffee in the morning...

1/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pkg refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 recipe honey icing

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray, set aside. Reserve 2 tbsp of the almonds, For filling, in a small bowl stir together the remaining 2 tbsp almonds, the butter, honey, and cinnamon; set aside.
2. Unroll the dough and cut into two equal rectangles, pinching the edges to form two pieces.
3. Spread the filling on the dough to within 1/4" of the edges. Starting at the long edge, roll up the dough to form two rolls. Pinch the seams. Slice each roll into about 12 pieces (mine are usually about 9). Place each piece in the muffin cups.
4. Bake about 10 minutes or until nice and golden. Cool in the cups for about 1 minutes then remove. Cool slightly then drizzle with the icing. Sprinkle with the remaining almonds.

Honey Icing
Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tbsp honey, and 1 tbsp milk. If needed add a little more milk so that it is drizzly.

Makes about 20-24 rolls.

Honey Oat Roasted Pears

Here's a perfect Autumn breakfast or desert....


1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter. melted, plus a little extra for brushing
3 Tbsp raisins
4 Bartlett or Bosc pears
honey for drizzling
yogurt

Preheat oven to 375F (190C).
Toss the oats, brown sugar, almonds, and cinnamon and combine.
Stir in the melted butter until everything is well combined. Stir in the raisins.

Cut the pears in half and scoop out the core. I slice a sliver off the bottoms so that they stay flat in the pan.

Lay the pears in a baking dish and brush the tops with a little melted butter. Press some oat filling into the center of each pear.

Bake, uncovered for about 25 minutes, until the pears are tender and the oats are browned.

Serve warm, with yogurt and drizzled honey. I also sprinkle some nice raw brown sugar on the yogurt for presentation.

Serves 4.

Canada Blooms!

Yesterday we took a drive down to Toronto to visit the huge Canada Blooms indoor garden show held in the Enercare Center on the CNE grounds. It was the first time we've been and it was really lovely. There were lots of beautiful displays to meander through and to be inspired by. Now we can't wait for our garden to be workable and to get our hands dirty!

It's quite amazing what creative people are doing with plants and flowers these days and the winners of the garden show competitions were on display.