Baking bread is my favorite thing to do. You can never have too much bread or too many varieties. I normally don’t bake soda bread because they tend to be dense. I wanted to give it a go and try to make it a little less dense. The flavors of cheese, bacon and fresh herbs came quick to me as additions I wanted to add. I started to wonder about what additions might make it less dense? Besides a little more liquid from the buttermilk, I felt it needed an egg. The end result didn’t disappoint at all. My whole family loved it! By the end of the day, more than half the loaf was gone. 

I recommend putting out all your ingredients before you start, so you have everything at hand.

Fresh herbs, washed and ready to use. I used parsley, rosemary and a little basil. You can use any herbs you prefer.

 

I’ve included bacon to add that extra bit of savory flavor. Make sure you bake until it is nice and crispy.

Let the bacon sit on a paper towel for a bit to catch the grease.

Make sure you chop your herbs nice and small.

Combine the flour mixture with the bacon, herbs and cheese. Slowly mix them together. By adding them now it prevents them from sticking together and makes sure it is evenly distributed in your bread.

Combine all the liquid and eggs before adding to the dry mixture.

Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and gently combine it together. Make sure not to overmix or knead the dough. If the mixture is to dry add more buttermilk.

With a sharp knife score a cross on top of your bread.

Baked till golden brown and a skewer inside the loaf comes out clean. Before enjoying this delicious bread let it cool on a cooling rack.

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This banana bread is the best, and it makes 2 loafs what is a big plus in a house of 5. It is super moist and has so much flavor. Adding in hemp and flax seeds at the end gives it some extra nutrition for growing kids.

Ingredients 

• Avocado oil: In my bakings I prefer to use avocado oil because of its taste and high smoking point (470-500 Fahrenheit). It’s rich in oleic acid. Dependent on where you live it might not be so easy to find avocado oil, you could substitute it with olive oil.
• Coconut sugar: Is a natural plant based sweetener. I prefer using natural sugar instead of refined sugar in my bakings. But you can if prefer substitute with cane sugar. The darker color of the banana bread is from the coconut sugar.
• Eggs: Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. I always take them out of the fridge the night before baking and let them get to room temperature overnight.
• Milk: I use whole milk but if you prefer to make a dairy free banana bread you can use almond milk. I’ve used almond milk in the past and the end result is still perfect.
• Bananas: Use overripe bananas, the riper the sweeter the bread will turn out. Make sure you really smash the bananas fine before adding. This pretends lumps in your loafs. 
• Pastry flour: With all my bakes of loafs, cake etc I prefer using pastry flour but if you don’t have it you can use all purpose flour too. Have made this recipe with both.
• Baking soda: Used to give the loaf a nice fluffy texture.
• Baking powder: Increase the volume and lightens the texture of the banana bread.
• Salt: Prefer using Redmond fine salt.
• Cinnamon: This gives the the loaf a warm spicy flavor.
• Vanilla extract: Extra flavor to the loaf.
• Chocolate chips: Prefer to use semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks in the bread and a couple of them on top for decoration.
• Hemp seed: Is rich in healthy fats, including omega-3 and omega-6 acids. 
• Flax seeds: Improve digestive health or relieve constipation. 

Preparation:

Make sure you have your mixing bowl ready and another bowl where you can combine the dry ingredients first and also to use to mash your bananas in.

In your mixing bowl you measure first in the coconut sugar then you add your oil. Mix to combine. Then add one egg at the time in while your blender is on low. 

Mix all your dry ingredients in the second bowl. Then ad it to the oil and egg mixture in 3 steps whil your mixer is on low. When just combined turn your blender off and start puréing your bananas with the vanilla and the milk. Really make sure you don’t have any big lumps of banana in it. Because you will have those lumps in your finished loafs. Add this into your blender bowl and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix it. 

Measuring spoons.

Last gently stir in your hemp seeds, flax seed and chocolate chips. Don’t overmix it.

Pour your mixture into prepared loaf pans.

Bake them in a preheated oven of 350 Farhenheit until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Around 50-60 minutes depending on your oven.

Let the banana bread cool slightly in the loaf pans on a cooling rack, around 10 minutes before you take your loafs out and let them cool completely. If you can wait that long…

This is one of my kids favorite, one loaf is always gone the same day. 

Another recipe of a loaf is pound cake you can find here. 

 

   

I discovered the joy of cinnamon rolls in America. This breakfast dish soon became one of my favorites. Originally, I bought the cinnamon rolls that come in cans that allow you to simply pop them out and into your oven. Those have always been an easy favorite in our house but, I knew I had to figure out how to make these myself.

My recipe has been a work in progress over many bakes. I started experimenting with recipes and adding different ingredients each time. This latest version of the recipe is my favorite so far!

This version was created during the season of beautiful citrus. So why not play with one of the citrus flavors? The blood orange gives the frosting a nice pink color.

The addition of the blood orange zest in the flour, and the juice in the frosting, gives it that extra fresh flavor. I add the zest into the flour so that it doesn’t stick together and it spreads out evenly in the roll.

This will be in our weekend breakfast rotation for sure!  Adding the citrus was just what the recipe needed. I hope you will enjoy them as much as we did.

 

 

At my local coffee shop they have these delicious blueberry lemon scones. What I love about them is that they are blue on the inside. However, I often wish that blueberry taste was more powerful. I had to try and make my own version of them to kick that flavor up a notch!

These scones are light and have a cake-like texture. The blueberry compote I added made a beautiful blue dough that keeps its color even after it is baked. 

The base recipe for the blueberry lemon scones is similar to my other scone recipe you can find here. The added egg makes the scone have a nice cake-like texture and reduces the dryness. The combination of milk and heavy whipping cream makes it rich and creamy. Pastry flour is my preferred flour to use for any pastry I make. It is milled to a finer texture than all purpose flour, and is made with a soft wheat for a lower protein content, which helps baked goods produce very tender results.

The compote is easy to make. Combine the blueberries, cane sugar, salt and water in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, slowly warm it until the blueberries burst open and the spoon or spatula you use leaves clear streaks on the bottom of your pan. When you can see the bottom of the pan you have the right thickness, and it is ready to be used in your scone mixture. Let it cool down while you prepare the rest of your dough.

 

 

Pastry flour must be sifted before use. The flour is so fine that it can clump together very easily. While large clumps can be broken up with a spatula, small clumps are more easily missed and can show up as lumps of uncooked flour in your finished product if you are not careful. After sifting your flour, add the other dry ingredients, salt and baking powder. The lemon zest is also added at this point so it doesn’t stick together.

After the dry mixture is combined, grate your frozen, unsalted butter onto the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter. Grating the frozen butter is an easy process which prevents the butter from warming up too much since it can be done quickly.

Combine all liquid ingredients, whole milk, heavy whipping cream, maple syrup and one egg. The cooled blueberry compote is adding after all the liquid ingredients are combined. The compote can be mixed in well with either a spatula or your hands. Work quickly so you don’t warm up the butter.

Remove the dough from your bowl onto a floured countertop. I love to use my silicone pastry mat for this because it is easy to use and clean. Gently form an 8 inch circle with your hands. Pat gently and don’t press too hard on your dough.

After you form a circle, cut it into 8 equal triangles. The dough may be sticky, but adding a little flour to your knife will help to prevent it sticking.

Put your scones on a baking tray with parchment paper. Bake them until golden brown in a preheated oven.

After the scones are done baking, let them cool completely on a cooling rack. While they are cooling prepare your lemon icing. Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice and the powdered sugar. The consistency of your icing depends on how much lemon juice you add. For a thinner drizzle simply add more juice. 

When the scone are completely cooled, drizzle on your icing. If you do this when they are still a little warm the icing will soak into the scones. 

 

 

A good friend of mine makes super yummy fudge every year around the holidays. I was delighted when she agreed to share her recipe with me. 

After I got the recipe, the fun of experimenting began! Butterscotch fudge tends to need less sweetened condensed milk than traditional chocolate fudges. With experimentation I found that half a can was just enough to yield the right consistency. I added in a drizzle of melted milk chocolate chips for a nice pattern on top.

This is a super easy and delicious recipe.  I hope you will enjoy it too. A special thanks to my dear friend for sharing it with me.

 

Every Christmas I like to bake cookies for Santa. Instead of the classic Christmas cookies decorated with icing, I decided to get a little creative this year.

With a basic cookie recipe you can do anything you want! I chose to add some chocolate on top and a homemade caramel to create a soft and delicious center. These cookies are so versatile that you could use jam in the center or skip the filling and just put chocolate on top.

Using a very fine sugar helps it to combine well with the butter, and the cream cheese gives it a nice smooth flavor. I promise you these will be a guaranteed hit, so get creative and enjoy them!

Chocolate drizzle.

Homemade caramel.

 

 

This delicious and decadent Challah french toast is perfect for any Sunday morning. Flavored with vanilla, cinnamon and just a hint of nutmeg. It is easy to make and soon will be a favorite in your house!

Challah bread:

Challah is a braided loaf of bread. The simple dough is made with eggs, water, flour, yeast and salt. I used a store bought challah bread in this recipe but you definitely can bake your own. If you can’t get challah bread where you live, you can always use another soft white bread instead. You could even use my whole wheat bread recipe on my blog too.

Preparation:

When you have all your ingredients set out for your challah french toast, preheat the oven to 250 Fahrenheit. This will allow you to keep the prepared toast hot while you finish cooking the rest of it on the stove. 

In a big bowl combine the eggs, milk, heavy cream, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and a dash of nutmeg. Whisk it all together in a bowl large enough to prevent spilling. 

The addition of nutmeg is just a dash, no need to use measurement spoons. Sprinkle it in to your taste but I just use one tiny dash. Just enough to taste it, but not overwhelming or overpowering. The cinnamon and vanilla needs to be the star in this dish. 

 Baking the challah french toast:

Heat up your pan over a medium heat on the stove. I used a cast iron pan, which is one of my favorite pans in my kitchen. Once your pan is hot, melt a little butter in the pan. While the butter is melting coat the sliced bread in the egg mixture. Be careful not to let it soak up all the egg mixture or you will get soggy challah french toast. My pan was big enough for 2 slices at a time, so I coated 2 slices of 1’ challah bread and placed them in the warm pan. Cook them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side. Once done I placed them in an oven safe dish in the preheated oven. Continue this process until you have finished the rest of the challah loaf. If needed add more butter into your pan between slices.

Serving:

Serve your challah bread with some fresh fruit. I had some delicious raspberries in the fridge, but you can use any fruit you prefer. Sift some powdered sugar over the top of the Challah french toast and add some whipped cream or maple syrup and enjoy!

 

 

When the weather turns cold our family loves to eat a variety of soups and stew. I always like to make something to go along with these meals to soak up the delicious goodness at the bottom of the bowl. These  cheesy buttermilk biscuits are the best side dish to any winter meal.

I used aged gouda cheese in them but, you can choose any cheese you prefer. Cheddar would work just as nicely.

The combination of all purpose flour and pastry flour ensures that the biscuits don’t turn out too dry. This combination should make them nice and fluffy.

 

When we were living in California we did a lot of camping trips. Most were during the winter season for more moderate temperatures. Beach based campgrounds have always been a favorite go-to for our family. California beaches are the best during the winter season because it is cool in the morning and warms up in the afternoon. 

For those trips I always prepared our meals in advance and packed them to bring along. This cornbread is everyone’s favorite. It’s very easy to warm up and can be frozen until you are ready to eat. Chili with cornbread is one meal my kids all love. Mainly for the cornbread! There are many ways to prepare a cornbread. Some recipes use sugar, while others use honey. Instead, I love to use maple syrup! It just adds that subtle sweet note to the cornbread while not being overly sweet.

We’re now living in Pennsylvania, and finally having snowy winters again. This cornbread has turned into a side dish that comes to our table with many winter dinners. I hope you love it as much as our family does!






Baked my cornbread in a cast iron pan. Easy and looks nice, but any baking dish can do.

This easy broccoli soup is one of my family’s favorite! Super easy and quick to make. The combination of broccoli with the potatoes makes it extra creamy and delicious. Sautéed shallot gives it an extra flavor.

In my kitchen I use a lot of sambal oelek

Essentially Sambal Oelek is an Indonesian raw ground chili paste that isn’t very spicy. The spice levels are comparable to Sriracha but have far less lemon, making it less sour. The ingredients include chili peppers, vinegar and salt which add a little extra kick to your dish. I have been able to find it in most supermarkets. If you can’t find it, don’t worry, because this dish will still be delicious without it.

Adding lemon juice to this meal makes a difference because it adds a high back-note. The acid activates your taste buds the same way salt does. For this reason I always add a little to my soup towards the end of cooking. The addition of heavy whipping cream gives the soup its extra creamy texture. Once the cream and lemon are added to the soup, and it is fully incorporated, then you can taste if the soup needs more spices to suit your personal preference.

I added turmeric for its heath benefits because it is an anti-inflammatory antioxidant. If you choose to add this in you can combine it with the salt and fresh black pepper. 

I like to add the Sambal Oelek just before adding the broth. Saute it for 30 seconds or until it is lightly fragrant. Next you add the broth and bring it to a boil. I am using chicken bone broth. If you prefer it to be a vegetarian dish you can substitute vegetable broth. If you don’t have bone broth, regular chicken broth will work.

I like to use a hand blender to blend my soups. It’s easy and quick without any extra mess or large blenders to wash. Our family likes the soup super smooth but you can blend less if you prefer some texture. After you have blended your soup, add the lemon juice and heavy whipping cream. Give it a good stir and taste. If you prefer more of the lemon juice or heavy whipping cream add it now. You can also add the heavy whipping cream just before serving as a decoration on top. Taste to see if the soup needs more salt/pepper. When you’re happy with it, ladle into bowls and enjoy!

I served it with my overnight sourdough bread.