Here’s what you need:

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups blueberries
• 2 tablespoons of sugar & 1 teaspoon cinnamon (for tops of muffins)

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat oven to 375.

• Cream butter and sugar.

• Add eggs (one at a time) beating after each egg. Add vanilla. Add milk and dry ingredients (adding alternately). Then beat well.

• Stir (not beat) blueberries in.

• Use your muffin cups in muffin pan.

• Fill until overflowing. Use an ice cream scoop for easy transfer… great tip from Sues’ mom! Hi Sharon!

• Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the tops of the muffins.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes.

The second I took the first bites I knew exactly why I loved these. They’re soft, light, fluffy, and satisfyingly sweet in all the right ways. I’ve had many a blueberry muffin in my day and I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to feel like I just ate a rock. These muffins will leave your stomach happy. Plus, they’re the perfect little treat to make for company visiting this Summer! Because who doesn’t love waking up to a nicely buttered blueberry muffin waiting for them at the breakfast table?

[Chels]

Because, really? HOMEMADE POP TARTS? There is absolutely no way I can even think about saying no to attempting it.

Homemade Pop Tarts:

Pastry:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pats
• 1 large egg
• 2 T milk

Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Filling:

• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 4 t all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg to brush on pastry before filling

See? There aren’t too many ingredients; how hard could they be, right? But for real right now? They actually were not that difficult!

First, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Then chop up all the butter (make sure it’s pretty cold) and work it in with your fingers, a pastry cutter, or a food processor.

I used my little pastry blender, but don’t worry because using your fingers is just fine! Do this until it’s blended, but pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it.

Whisk one egg and the milk together in a separate small bowl. And then stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive.

Flour a surface. Make sure you give yourself plenty of space and use tons of flour! It will be a huge pain if your dough starts sticking to the counter.

Divide the dough in half and shape each into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. Then roll the dough out (or if you want, you can wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days).

I just bought the cutest little Martha Stewart mini rolling pin (which I cannot find anywhere online! But I got it at Macy’s).

Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9×12″.

The recipe says to cut the dough to form nine 3×4″ rectangles. But my dough was somehow already off when I rolled it out (I don’t think I divided it evenly enough, so when I tried to roll it out any more, it was getting too thin). So instead, I made six 3×5″ rectangles.

The moral is, you don’t have to follow the EXACT measurements; do what works best for you. I liked that my pop tarts were 3×5″ because it seemed more normal pop tart size.

Now, beat the additional egg and brush it over the dough. This is the inside of the pop tart and the egg will help “glue” the top layer of dough on.

I placed the dough rectangles on my parchment paper-lined

Make the filling! I used the brown sugar/cinnamon filling, but Smitten Kitchen has the recipes for a few other fantastic-sounding ones as well. I was going to try chocolate too, but I decided not to get too crazy for my first attempt.

For brown sugar, cinnamon, mix the sugar, cinnamon, and flour together.

Yum yum, I love anything cinnamon!

Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling onto the tart dough, making sure you leave a 1/2 inch perimeter around the dough. Next time I’m adding more filling and spreading it out a bit more because they definitely could have used more filling.

Then cur your second rectangle of dough the same way as the first one. Since this one was bigger than my first, I got some extra rectangles out of it.

Then place a second rectangle of dough on top of the first, making sure you press around the edges to seal. I had to trim some of my rectangles more since they weren’t the exact same sizes (I HATE measuring things slash math).

Use the tines of a fork to press all around the pop tart, creating the pressed edges. Then poke multiple holes on the top so the steam can escape from the tarts. I used a chopstick to poke the holes on the tops.

I also brushed my tarts with more egg wash and sprinkled some more cinnamon mixture on top. I’d say the egg was not necessary (the recipe didn’t call for it) as it turned my tarts a bit more golden than they maybe should have been,

Now, put the tarts in the oven for about 30 minutes, while your oven heats to 350 degrees.

Bake them for 20-24 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown.

Dig in! Or wrap in foil and put in a box. Not really, but don’t they look a lot like pop tarts? They tasted like them too, but MUCH better! Fresher and less dry and artificial.

My pop tarts were far from perfect. But now if I were to make them again, I’m convinced they would be a whole lot better! And frankly, I’m kind of impressed they came out as well as they did the first time around. Definitely one of the more successful baking experiments I’ve done.

I wasn’t really allowed to eat Pop Tarts as a kid and most especially not for breakfast. And honestly, I probably still wouldn’t eat these for breakfast, but as a treat for a fun snack or dessert, they’re are perfect. And Smitten also gives a whole wheat version, which would be even more nutritious. But everyone on Smitten’s post was talking about the crazy things you could do with these, like a savory version! Spinach and cheese? YUM!

So yes, make these. If mine came out this not-horrible on my first try, yours likely will come out 10 times better!

What are some of your favorite old school treats that you want homemade versions of?

Do you think it’s possible to make your own Gushers? If so, I totally need to try!

I’m up bright and early today sitting at the Richmond Airport. I spent the weekend in Virginia with Chris’s family and had a fabulous time. It’s a quick flight back to Boston, where I will begin my lovely Monday work day.

Happy Monday to everyone!

[Sues]

I know, so organized, right? That shelf goes back quite deep. So, my goal is to actually get through this mess before I move in September. In the meantime, I am fully recognizing where I get my magazine addiction from: my mom. Last weekend, when I was home, she gave me a huge stack of cooking magazines I don’t currently get. I made it a point to go right through them, cutting out whatever I liked. And in a Food Network magazine, I cam across this reader submitted recipe: Jalapeno-Cornmeal Pancakes. With bacon on top. Yes and now. I made them the other night and am totally in love.

Jalapeno-Cornmeal Pancakes (serves 4, or 2 reallyyy hungry people. Ahem)

For the toppings:

• 8 strips thick-cut bacon
• 1 12 oz. jar marmalade
• 1/3 to 1/2 C orange juice
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

For the pancakes:

• 1/2 C blue cornmeal
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 T sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 C milk
• 1 T canola oil, plus more for griddle
• 2 T jalapeno pepper, finely diced and seeded
• 2 T parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 scallions, chopped

The recipe was simple and just slightly more complicated than making a plain old pancake. Of course, you make your own syrup too. And while you definitely should (yum!), you certainly don’t have to if you’re in a rush.

Fry the bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp. Somehow I failed to take photos of the bacon frying, but you’ve seen more than enough bacon frying here on this blog

While the bacon is frying, make the syrup. Heat the marmalade, 1/3 C orange juice, scallions, and jalapeno in a small saucepan over low heat. You can add more orange juice if the syrup gets too thick. Mine didn’t at all. But I was using orange marmalade from Whole Foods that was super fresh and home-made like (with real orange pieces in it).

Keep the syrup warm while you get started on the rest of the pancakes.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. I was a bit worried about finding blue cornmeal, but it was easy to find at Whole Foods (I’m sure bigger regular grocery stores have it too).

Stir in the egg, milk, and canola oil until just combined. The recipe notes that the batter will be thin. It will be. Fold in diced jalapeno, parmesan, and scallions.

Now, heat a griddle or large skillet and lightly oil it. Ladle 2 to 3 teaspoons batter onto the griddle for each pancake.

I was kind of worried because the batter was SO thin. How the heck was this going to make a pancake??

See how “drippy” it looks?

Cook them until the tops are bubbly and then flip them and cook until golden brown.

But it did! The pancakes formed nicely and they were so nice and light and fluffy.

Continue with all the batter.

Now, serve pancakes in stacks. Top with strips of bacon and drizzle with orange syrup.

All I can say is WOW. These were the most heavenly, savory pancakes EVER. I made them for dinner, but think they’d also be a super fun brunch option. I do wish they thickened up a bit more, so next time I might use a bit more batter for them.

The flavors were just tremendous. They weren’t quite spicy enough for me, so next time I might leave some of the seeds in the jalapenos. But if you’re not into too much spice, these should be fine for you. I loved that they had just a little bit of cheese in them– It was barely noticeable, but added some good flavor.

I never even thought to make pancakes with blue cornmeal before, but I’m so in love with the blue hue of these pancakes, I might have to continue using blue cornmeal in my pancakes from now on.

These pancakes take breakfast for dinner to a whole new level. I absolutely love coming up with new pancake concoctions and this one might just be my favorite so far. Definitely on the “make again” list. And I love that they involve the touch of bacon on top. Because what’s a breakfast without bacon?

What’s your favorite “unique” pancake? Any kinds you’ve been dying to try?

Rock Paper Scissors Salon Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the RPS Salon haircut is Christina from Bon Appetit Beantown! Congrats and we hope you’ll share photos of your new cut!!

Everyone else, don’t forget you can still take advantage of the FREE cut with any color service if you mention We are not Martha. And the color services at RPS on Newbury Street are super reasonably priced. Call 617-236-6300 to make an appointment

[Sues]

The combination of fresh raspberries (OK, or frozen) and dark chocolate makes me super happy. The recipe was written in the metric system, which was tough because I never really paid attention in school when we were supposed to be learning all of that. Thank goodness for Google! I’m going to write it out how I did it because I think the muffins came out just lovely. Also, the recipe called for super-fine sugar, but Shaw’s didn’t have that either, so I used regular and had no issues.

Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Muffins (Makes 12 smaller ones or 9 large ones):

• 2 C flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 C sugar (granulated or super-fine)
• 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter (14 tablespoons)
• 3/4 C plain yogurt
• 1/2 C water
• 2 eggs
• 3.5 oz. dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 5 oz. raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 T granulated sugar
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl and make a well in the center.

Melt butter and remove from heat. Stir in yogurt and water. Then add the eggs, stirring well afterwards.

I had a little Mitzi under my feat the whole time. I spent about 5 days with her and think I’m going through separation anxiety without her now! I don’t think she left my side (but mostly my lap) for the entire 5 days I was with her. Isn’t she adorable?

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in dry ingredients and stir to combine. It’s OK if there are lumps. There probably will be.

Chop up your chocolate. I used these awesome little chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s that came in a 3-pack. It ended up being a little over 3.5 ounces, but when is too much chocolate a bad thing?? Especially when it’s dark chocolate!

YUM.

Now, fold the chocolate and raspberries into the batter.

Stir it all together.

And put into prepared muffin tins. I had a muffin tin, but only had cupcake papers, so my muffins are a bit smaller (the recipe ended up making about 12, but it will be less if you actually make them muffin-size).

I filled the tins almost to the top and that seemed to work well. Also, sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of the batter before popping into the oven.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

And serve! On a Valentine’s Day plate, if you have one. Sprinkle the muffins with a little powdered sugar too, if you like.

These are the perfect muffins for waking your honey up on Valentine’s Day. Or making for friends and family. Or for just eating the entire batch yourself. What? Raspberries are fruit and dark chocolate is healthy, right? I brought my muffins home with me to greet my sister and Adam home from Hawaii! And we’ve been nibbling on them all week.

They’re best right out of the oven when the chocolate is all melty and gooey. But you can also pop them in the microwave for a few seconds if you’re eating them later. And they still taste fabulous cold as well!

This muffin is such a lovely combination and you’ll have a tough time finding someone who wouldn’t like it. I absolutely love these muffins for Valentine’s Day, but would gladly eat them the whole year through.

[Sues]

Banana Berry Pancakes:

• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 C light vanilla soy milk (I used regular vanilla)
• 2 T canola oil
• 1 C berries (I used blueberries)
• Maple syrup (if you want)

These pancakes were super fast and simple, like pancakes should be!

In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Add the beaten egg, soy milk, and canola oil and stir to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t worry about lumps!

Spray a skillet on medium heat with cooking spray. Pour about 1/3 C of batter on the skillet and top with a few berries.

Cook 3-4 minutes on each side.

Until the pancakes are golden brown.

Top with more berries and syrup, of course!

Just plain blueberries didn’t look super pretty on the pancakes, so I added some pomegranate seeds. If you don’t know about me and pomegranates, I can eat a whole one in a single sitting (hey, there are worse things to pig out on!). Much better!

If you’re at all skeptical of using whole wheat flour for your pancakes, let me tell you right now, don’t be!! I’ve never made pancakes as fluffy and moist as these. I wonder if it has something to do with the soy milk.

Whatever the case, these are definitely going into my make again file. In fact, I might use whole wheat flour and soy milk for all my pancakes from now on.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I would happily eat these pancakes any time. Could I live off pancakes, pomegranates, and soy milk? Yes, probably. It would take me a mighty long time before I got bored.

[Sues]

Don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a We are not Martha swag-filled tote!

For the past year I’ve been scoping out cinnamon roll recipes. But ugh, they’re so much work, there’s so much waiting, and I don’t have enough space in my kitchen! But then I got The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook. If you don’t know The Pioneer Woman, get to know her! She and I have kind of different cooking philosophies, but I’m totally obsessed with her. She believes in butter, butter, and more butter. I also believe in lots of butter, but I often try to make my recipes a bit healthier. However, I fully acknowledge there are some dishes that absolutely should not be made healthier. Like cinnamon rolls. And indulging is totally OK, especially on Christmas.

So when I saw Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon roll recipe in her cookbook, I knew they had to be made for Christmas. And I’m actually quite glad I waited until I was at my parents’ house to make them because you need quite a bit of room and my kitchen would have been a disaster!

I cut Ree’s recipe in half because hers made 40-50 cinnamon rolls and, um, Christmas brunch is simply my mom, dad, and me, so 50 seemed a bit excessive. Though after tasting how good they were, I would not have minded having 50.

Cinnamon Rolls (makes 20-25 rolls):

Dough:

• 2 C whole milk
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4.5 C flour
• 1/2 heaping t baking powder
• 1/2 scant t baking soda
• 1/2 T salt

Filling:

• 1 C melted butter, plus more as needed
• 1/8 C ground cinnamon for sprinkling
• 1 C sugar, plus more as needed

Maple Icing:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 1/4 C whole milk
• 3 T butter, melted
• 1/8 C strongly brewed coffee
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 T maple flavoring or maple extract

Here’s her full recipe for the 40-50 cinnamon rolls, in case you’d rather have cinnamon rolls for life. Or at least a week or two.

I actually made the dough last night, on Christmas Eve, after returning from our family friends’ annual Christmas Eve party. It had to sit for an hour and I knew we wouldn’t wait that long in the morning, so I figured I’d get it going the night before.

Heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Make sure it’s really hot, but don’t allow it to boil. Set it aside and cool it to luke warm. FYI: I’ve never boiled milk AND oil together… It was interesting.

I ended up moving the mixture into a mixing bowl at this point, too.

Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Then add 4 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place for an hour.

This is where I realized I was going to be up pretty late… Perfect opportunity to finish wrapping Christmas gifts!

Remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining 1/2 cup of flour.

Stir thoroughly to combine.

Now, you can either make your cinnamon rolls right away with the dough. Or you can put it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I put mine in the fridge until morning. I covered it in saran wrap sprayed with cooking spray, just in case it started rising a lot.

I was a little bit worried it would rise out of control through the night. But my mom said it was fine when she got up in the morning. She punched it down for me and left it until I got up.

Place the dough on a floured surface and roll into a large rectangle, about 30×10 inches. This is where I’m really glad I had my parents’ nice big granite countertop. While my kitchen isn’t a bad size, it’s kind of lacking counter space. Plus I wouldn’t really want to put my dough right on my countertop. However, you could always cut this batch of dough into 2 and make 2 separate rolls if space is an issue.

Melt your cup of butter (2 sticks) on the stove.

And pour the butter over the surface of the dough and use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. It’s so much butter, it will probably start running onto the counter. Or maybe that’s just me. Oops.

Generously sprinkle the ground cinnamon and the cup of sugar over the butter. Ree says you can also add more butter if you so desire, but um, the counter here was already getting covered in butter.

Now you need to roll the dough. My mom helped me with this (she kind of has a hard time watching me cook in her kitchen and not getting involved hehe), but it wasn’t as hard to do as we thought it might be.

Start at the end farthest from you and roll the dough tightly toward you. Use both hands and work slowly. Pinch the seams together.

Now transfer the dough to a cutting board and slice 1 1/2 inch slices. Use a sharp knife! My mom and I ended up cutting the roll in half so we had 2 to work with.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of melted butter into desired pie pans or baking dishes. Place the rolls in the pan, but don’t overcrowd them.

Don’t they look totally delicious already?? I’d probably eat them raw. I ended up getting 2.5 pans of cinnamon rolls.

Now you want to cover the rolls with a kitchen towel for about 20 minutes, so they can rise. Then pop them in the oven at 375 degrees for 13-17 minutes. My mom told me if you’re using glass pans to lower the temperature by about 15 degrees, so I actually baked mine at 360 degrees.

While the rolls are in the oven, you can start making the maple icing.

In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, coffee, and salt.

Then splash in the maple flavoring and whisk until smooth.

Taste it and add whatever you think is needed. I added more maple flavoring for a stronger maple taste. Ree says the icing should be thick, but still pourable.

Take your cinnamon rolls out of the oven!! Yup, your whole kitchen will smell amazing!

Honestly, right when I took them out of the oven, I wanted to dig in. I was thinking the icing was totally not necessary.

But I put it on anyway because why not? And I do whatever Ree tells me to do. And yes, I actually think it is kind of necessary. It was so gooey and good.

I don’t even know what to say here. These completely STUNNED me they were so amazing. SO flavorful and moist and sugary and gooey and everything else you want your cinnamon rolls to be.

I have definitely NEVER had better and highly doubt I ever will. Ree isn’t lying when she says when you make these you’ll become famous. And then, “On a less positive note, people will forget everything else you’ve ever accomplished in your life.” Totally agree.

We had a really lovely Christmas brunch, just my mom, dad, and me. Though we really, really missed my sister and Adam who are celebrating Christmas in Hawaii and Chris who is home in Virginia with his family.

My dad made eggs benedict, minus the hollandaise sauce, which was actually a good thing since the cinnamon rolls had enough butter for life in them.

SO decadent and crazy amazing.

So, you really NEED TO MAKE THESE RIGHT NOW! Seriously NOW! I don’t even care if you don’t have enough room in your kitchen; make them on the floor or something. Just do it. You will thank me. And you will thank The Pioneer Woman. And life will be good. So, so good.

I may or may not be eating more right this moment. OK, I totally am.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays with your loved ones!! But I promise, they’ll love you even more if you make these for them

[Sues]

In an attempt to eat more filling and satisfying breakfasts to get my day started right, I stumbled across this recipe for a Southwest Egg Scramble on WholeLiving.com. Normally, I’ll make a scrambled egg, toss some cheese or onions in, but this caught my eye because there were sooo many other crunchy and colorful veggies and flavors in the recipe (hello avocado and cumin)!

Here’s what you’ll need (serves 2):

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 diced orange bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed
• 1 thinly sliced scallion
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt
• Ground pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup shredded white cheddar (1 ounce)
• 1/2 pitted and diced avocado
• 2 warmed according to package instructions whole-wheat flour tortillas

Here’s what you do:

• In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the diced orange bell pepper and let soften for about 5-7 minutes.

• Add scallion, corn, and cumin and cook for about 2-3 (until scallion starts to wilt a little). Season with salt and pepper. Clearly I was still half asleep since some of the peppers are slightly… charred

• Transfer veggies to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

• In a bowl, whisk together eggs and whites, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper,  and 2 teaspoons of water until combined.

• Using the same skillet that the veggies were in, heat remaining teaspoon of oil and add egg mixture and cook until the bottom is set (roughly 30 seconds). Stir gently with spatula, continue to cook and stir occasionally. Add cheese and veggie mixture.

• Serve with a warm whole wheat pita…and orange juice

This was the perfect way to get the day started… I am officially fueled up and ready to go! Looking forward to spending the afternoon with my brother and grandmother

Speaking of eggs (and family!)  please take a look at the gorgeous Eggs Benedict I had Sunday for my sister’s birthday brunch at The Fireplace in Brookline!

I love love love the Fireplace. Sues and I both often rant and rave about it all the time. I always want to try different items on their brunch menu but always seem to order the Eggs Benedict (with bacon instead of ham… surprised?) Delicious, delightful and divine!

After brunch we had a mini photoshoot with the new Nikon P90 I’m testing out. Thankfully we were the only people in the restaurant at the time

my lovely family

the kids!

then things got weird!

After brunch the siblings came back to my place to hang out. We decided to continue testing out the P90 with a “Jumping Contest”… I think my brother wins! Check out how cool his photo came out… it looks like he jumped out of his Sperrys! Sister came in second and I think I lost… although I should probably get a couple extra points for my scarf looking so cool floating in the air!

Fun stuff! I’m really digging this camera especially the 24x zoooooom! I feel like a semi pro and I’m excited to experiment with it more!

Happy Wednesday!

[Chels]

Since I’m at home more now than I ever have been, I’ve been really interested in making things in bulk. Things I that will last throughout the week that I can easily have for breakfast and that can be translated into snacks throughout the day as well. I saw this recipe for Cherry Vanilla Granola on norecipes.com and decided it would be perfect to store and enjoy all week. It’s really simple to make and is a great snack. It helped that I had the majority of the ingredients on hand too!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick cook oats)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 C almonds (I opted not to use this since I’m allergic)
• 1/2 C coconut flakes
• 2 Tbs butter (or canola oil if you want a healthier version… I chose butter)
• 2 Tbs dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C chopped dried cherries (found these at Whole Foods)

Here’s what you do:

• Heat oven to 275 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

• In a large bowl, mix together oats, wheat germ, almonds (if you’re using them), and coconut.

• Microwave butter and brown sugar until the butter has melted. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and stir, making sure everything is mixed together well. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined and the granola starts to clump together.

• Spread mixture evenly over parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

• Open oven, stir granola, making sure to break up any large clumps of granola, and then evenly distribute cherries on baking sheet.

• Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the granola is nice and golden brown.

I decided to follow Mark’s lead and enjoy the Cherry Vanilla Granola as a cereal with sliced bananas and soy milk. The crunchy granola and semi sweetness of the cherries made for a great breakfast that left me nice and satisfied and ready to start the day!

I decided to store the remaining granola so I could enjoy it in yogurt or just by itself. Normally when I have yogurt I toss in some crunchy cereal to make it a more filling snack, but now that I have this recipe I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this more often! These plastic containers that you get at the deli are great to hold on to for times just like this.

Enjoy!

[Chels]

Crepes are one of the most versatile foods in that you can prepare them to be sweet or savory and they can be served for any meal. It’s secretly (or not so secretly) my dream to choose a day and eat crepes for all 3 meals plus dessert. Since February 14 falls on a Saturday this year, what better way to wake your Valentine up than for some crepes? Or maybe you’d prefer to serve them as dessert later in the evening. Whatever the case, we have two crepe recipes that will be perfect for any day of the year.

Once you know how to make the basic crepe, you can do absolutely anything with it (well, within reason maybe). After we were done making Alton Brown’s basic crepe, we chose one savory recipe and one sweet, but the options really are endless.

The Basic Crepe:

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 C milk
• 1/2 C water
• 1 C flour
• 3 T butter, melted
• Butter for coating pan

Simply take all the ingredients (except the butter for the pan, of course) and put them in a blender. Pulse the ingredients for 10 seconds and then put them in the refrigerator for at least an hour. If you’d rather make the batter ahead, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 48 hours.


Once your batter is ready, put a little butter in your pan and pour a bit of the batter in. How much you pour totally depends on how big you want the crepes to be. We made a bunch of smaller ones and used about an ounce of batter. Then we made some larger ones and added a bit more. Basically it’s like making pancakes, except you want them to be much, much thinner. So once you pour the batter in, swirl it around in the pan to spread it out.

Cook for about 30 seconds on the first side, or until it starts browning a little. Then carefully flip it over and cook for about 10 seconds on the other side.

Don’t worry if your first couple are a little rough looking. It might take a few tries before you get the hang of it. Trust me, it took us a bit of practice. But by the end, I decided we should get jobs at Paris Creperie (my favorite little crepe shop in my neighborhood).

Lay crepes flat when they’re done cooking. Make sure if you stack them that they’re not sticking together. Now your crepes are done and you can do anything with them!

Egg, Ham, and Gruyere Crepes

First, we decided to make an egg, ham, and gruyere cheese crepe. We found a Martha Stewart recipe that sparked our interest, but we simplified it a lot so you can easily make it when you first wake up and won’t end up eating breakfast at noon.

While our crepes were cooling, we made standard scrambled eggs to put in the crepes. You can use any kind of cheese you want, but there’s something about gruyere cheese that makes this particular crepe so flavorful and perfect.

We laid down a couple slices of black forest ham, and put the scrambled eggs and cheese on top.

Chels added some parsley flakes too, though we wished we had fresh parsley.

Roll the filled crepes up, put them in a buttered baking dish, and put them in a 400 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes.

The finished crepes were really, really delicious and would make an extremely hearty breakfast. Though we would gladly eat them for dinner as well. And you can easily do any variation on this crepe. Make them a bit more nutritious by throwing in some spinach. Make a bit less nutritious by tossing in some bacon. Or at least have some on the side. Why didn’t we think of that??

Berries and Cream Crepes

The second crepe we made, the sweet one, could also be served for breakfast (or lunch or dinner), but would also make a fantastic dessert. We followed a Sara Moulton recipe and were really pleased with how they came out.

• 2 C fresh mixed berries
• 2 T sugar
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 C sour cream
• 4 crepes
• Berry coulis (recipe below)

Berry Coulis:

• 2 C frozen berries
• 2 T sugar
• 2 t lemon juice
• 2 T rum, brandy, or chambord

Mix your fresh berries with sugar and some fresh lemon juice.

In the meantime, make the berry coulis by combining all the berry coulis ingredients in a blender and processing until smooth. Then pour the liquid through a fine-meshed sieve to get rid of the seeds. If you don’t have a sieve and don’t mind the seeds, no problem! Put the coulis in the fridge if you’re not going to use it right away.

Take a crepe and spread a bit of sour cream on it. Then add some of the fresh mixed berries.

Fold the crepe into quarters and drizzle with the berry coulis. Add powdered sugar on top too, if you like.

Decorate the plate to your liking. Make it pretty!

This was a really amazing, light, but satisfying dessert that, yes, we would eat at any time of day. I think you probably get our point on the whole crepe and versatility thing by now, right?

If you do a search for crepes on Martha Stewart’s website, The Food Network website, Epicurious, etc. you’ll find tons and tons of mouth-watering crepe recipes. You’ll probably end up wanting to eat them for every meal, every day for the rest of your life, like me.

We hope all of our readers have happy Valentine’s days filled with love, family, friends, and delicious food! If you are looking for more V-Day ideas, you can check out our complete Valentine’s Day dinner extraordinaire from last year…or the Valentine’s Day pizza party we had with friends.

[Sues and Chels]