Pictured here with pulled 'pork' jackfruit, this cornbread was such a hit on the table that evening, I am still kicking myself for not making a double batch :D

The texture is spot on: that bit of flour gives the cornbread a light and bready texture, and there's just so much flavour coming from the cheese with a bit of warmth from the peppers.


Okay, it would still be awesome without the cheese and jalapeños, so that's an option for you too :)

Ingredients:
135 g (1 cup) cornmeal
90 g (3/4 cup) all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, at room temperature, beaten
360 ml (1-1/2 cup) buttermilk, at room temperature
85 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
115 g (4 oz.) Tex-Mex cheese blend (cheddar and/or monterey jack cheese, grated)
3 scallions, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped
jalapeño slices, to top

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 220C or 425F.
2. Line a 20 x 20 cm or 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and melted butter.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl, mix until no more lumps of flour are visible.
6. Fold in the grated cheese, chopped scallion and chopped jalapeño.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, top with jalapeño slices.
8. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
9. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it onto a cooling rack.
Serve warm with a gravy-laden main dish.

Not sure what to do with that eggnog or almond nog? Other than making chai, latte, and hot chocolate, substitute this sumptuous and flavourful liquid for your favourite nut milk in your regular recipes, and you got yourself a Christmas treat.



My budding vegan baker at home pulled out the stops and made her first yeast bake. And what a learning curve it was ... and the rolls came out picture and palate perfect!! I, on the other hand, am not so lucky when it comes to yeast, and happily delegate those recipes to my son, who I call the 'yeast beast'. Seems we have another yeast baker at home. I so happy.



The combined aroma of the almond nog and bread baking that emanates from the kitchen ... especially when it's super chilly outside ... it's just so comforting. Totally drew everyone out of their rooms into the kitchen just to see what's in store for them. They're kind of spoiled, I know :)

Again and again, I find myself taking the average and amping it up big time. Case in point, an already amazing lemon blueberry loaf, like the one over here ... a classic, a favourite, a much-appreciated snack whether you pack it in your kids' lunch or bring it to work. But surely one shouldn't rest on their laurels because this is what happens when you don't ... a lovely crumb exterior that, combined with the lemon glaze, makes this a drool-worthy treat.




If you'd like to make it in a 9x13 pan, I've got a similar recipe here, that makes kinda like a one layer cake version of this. Works for smaller bite-sized treats.


I made these loaves with fresh blueberries, though I'm sure frozen ones would work in a pinch when not in season. Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be hooked.

Ingredients:
480 g (4 cups) all purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
225 g (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
300 g (1-1/2 cup) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 tsp essential lemon oil (optional)
240 ml (1 cup) Greek yogurt
1-1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble:
120 g (1 cup) all purpose flour
200 g (1 cup) sugar
2 tsp cinnamon powder
55 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted, at room temperature

Lemon Glaze:
120 g icing sugar
30 ml (2 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
1. Place the crumble ingredients in a medium bowl, mix with a fork, refrigerate until needed.
2. Preheat the oven to 170C or 340F.
3. Butter and line 2 4x10 inch loaf tins.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, and set aside.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until incorporated before adding the next one. Scrape the bowl down as necessary.
7. Reduce the speed to low and stir in the lemon juice, zest and oil (if using).
8. Alternate adding the flour (in 3 additions) and the yogurt (in 2 additions), beginning and ending with the flour.

9. Pour batter into the loaf tins, run a skewer through it to remove air bubbles, then tap on a towel-lined counter for good measure.
10. Place the blueberries on top of the batter, then sprinkle the cinnamon crumble on top.

11. Bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle of the loaf runs clean.
12. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

13. In the meantime, make the glaze by whisking together the icing sugar and lemon juice. You may need to adjust the consistency to allow for a good 'drip'.
14. After the cake has cooled, pour the glaze on the loaf in a zigzag motion.

I'm willing to wager that banana bread is the most frequently baked good in most households. Yes? Okay, other than chocolate chip cookie. Then as any responsible mother with compassionate kids in the house, I also make ... or until today ... try to make a vegan version of it. The fact that this is the recipe I published, after many I've tried is testament to the awesomeness of this particular one. 12 out of 10 times my previous vegan banana breads turned out gummy in varying extremes. They sunk, they were dense, and most times, I sliced them and baked them again like a biscotti. Now you know what to do with those ones :D



But this is it, folks! This one is a keeper! This recipe is adapted from Peaceful Cuisine's banana bread recipe and I absolutely loved how it wasn't just a vegan-ized version of a classic recipe, where you just substitute the egg with flax seeds, apple sauce or whatever it is. It just is a banana bread recipe. And it works! His recipe is with banana slices, which I have yet to try. Here however, I added chocolate chunks and walnuts, because that's just how we like it.

The recipe is scaled to fit my 30 x 11.5 cm (12 x 4.5 inch) loaf pan. If you have a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, I've also included ingredients for that particular pan. You're welcome :)

Ingredients for 30 x 11.5 cm (12 x 4.5 inch) loaf pan:
400 g all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
300 g ripe bananas, mashed
100 g granulated sugar
80 g vegetable oil
300 g soy (or any nut) milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 g dark chocolate (>70%) chunks
100 g chopped walnuts

Ingredients for 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf pan:
340 g all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tbsp baking powder
250 g ripe bananas, mashed
85 g granulated sugar
70 g vegetable oil
250 g soy (or any nut) milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
85 g dark chocolate (>70%) chunks
85 g chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
2. Line your loaf pan with parchment paper.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the mashed bananas, sugar, oil, soy milk, and vanilla extract.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl, and mix until just combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts.

7. Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting it to a cooling rack to cool further.
Serve warm, or slice and wrap to gift or snack prep for the week.

Breakfast is almost a get-up and go kind of meal. And I know I've done the parenting thing right because none of the kids will leave the house on an empty stomach. Little triumphs!!

So now, all I have to do is make sure the necessary ingredients are there to make this happen. Everyone has their preferences: granola, peanut butter, sandwich spread (you know who you are :D) and sprouted seeded bread. No white stuff, not even whole wheat, because this sprouted seeded thing with fiber in double digits is awesome. So awesome, I even converted my mother!

Okay, so what about the keto folks at home? Well, aside from fresh microwave mug bread, which is a 3 minute ordeal, having a loaf ready in the fridge to toast is sheer luxury! It may even free up some time to make scrambled eggs or a sunny side up!

I've tried a few recipes and tinkered with them too, then finally thought this was the best one ever! I like that there are not 10 eggs there, because I subbed some of them with cream cheese, and it totally works! I like that we don't have to separate the eggs and whisk the whites into peaks and summits before folding them in, necessitating another bowl to wash. I also like that it includes both psyllium husk and xanthan gum, the former contributing to much-needed fiber, and the latter helping to make the bread soft and not crumbly.


This almond loaf is rather 'heavy' or hearty, so I slice them rather thinly. And then enjoy with any keto-friendly topping I stock my fridge with: cream cheese, tapenade, paté, or any of a slew of Dutch cheeses which have now taken over the entire fridge drawer. On weekends, breakfast treats involve egg salad or chicken salad sandwich. Now you see why I'm glad to have a supply of bread in the fridge. It's also that comfort factor ... who doesn't love a sandwich in the morning?

Ingredients:
5 large eggs, at room temperature
100 g (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) cream cheese, softened
120 ml (1/2 cup) melted butter, salted
2 tbsp coconut oil
200 g (2 cups) almond flour
1 tbsp psyllium husk
1 tbsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or bagel seasoning, to top

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F.
2. Line a metal 22x13 cm or 9x5 inch baking tin with parchment paper. If using a glass baking dish, you can leave it un-greased and unlined.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, psyllium husk, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs on high for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the cream cheese and continue beating for another minute.
6. Add the melted butter and oil and beat till combined.
7. Transfer the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and fold until just combined and no visible streaks of flour remain.
8. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the seeds or bagel seasoning on top.
9. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center. comes out clean.

10. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Slice rather thinly as this bread is quite hearty.

Even their cuisine reflects their enterprising nature. Leftover dal is mixed with atta to make a sort of griddle roti, our saibhaji is what came out of leftover mung bean dal and lots of spinach ... and mani seyal, a favorite Sindhi breakfast dish of mine is basically leftover seyal mixed with leftover rotis or manis, which is what we Sindhis call chapatis or rotis.



It's been forever and a half since I had mani seyal, so by gosh, I was going to make a typical Sindhi breakfast of seyal dabroti for tomorrow. Dabroti being bread ... since of course, I am not the kind of lady of the house who is able to whip up chapatis on a moment's notice. I, unfortunately, have never been trained in the ways of that world. So no mani, just dabroti for me.

4 tbsp butter (melted)
For the peanut butter sandwich
8 slices of bread
Peanut butter

For the finishing touches
2 bananas
A bit of honey
A bit of icing sugar

DIRECTIONS
1) Combine the ingredients for the egg mixture in a small bowl. Whisk.
2) Create the peanut butter sandwiches. Michelle suggests to lightly spread peanut butter onto your slices of bread. Michael generously slathers peanut butter onto the slices of bread.
Michelle doesn't want diabetes.
Michael thinks he doesn't have to think about it now.
3) Dunk the sandwich in the egg mixture.
4) Put it in a panini press, non-stick fry pan, or wherever you make your pancake. (We put ours in our Croquade Belgian waffle maker with the fruit-filled waffle plate.)
5) When it's golden brown, serve with a bit of honey and/or icing sugar – and don't forget to add bananas because it will look good for the photos we're healthy!

Bon appétit!

Stratas are really versatile. And I really like to make them for so many reasons: they look great at brunches and potlucks, they need minimum fuss in the mornings, but the best part is: you can put just about anything and everything in it.

Take inventory of whatever is in the fridge, then assemble it the night before. A little meat and some cheese on a bed of almost stale bread will do. Take it further with sautéed mushrooms, spinach and onions. Whatever you have, that will do. Don't forget the milk and eggs, which really, you should always have anyway, right?

Directions:

A visit to Trader Joe's resulted in a few cans of organic pumpkin purée and now I was just waiting for a day off from work to whip this up...