Food Friday - Breakfast or Dessert!

From Tracey G.

This is one of those recipes I am so glad I ran across and so glad I tried! I absolutely love it and have since realized the base batter would take blueberries really well too! That was Harry's idea, he doesn't like raspberries much because of the seeds, admittedly I am not a seed fan either, but I love raspberries too much to let it stop me! (But I do buy seedless jams when I have that option!) I think just about any berry would work really lovely in this now that I stop to think past raspberries and blueberries.

It does call for almond milk, and the first time I made these I happened to have some around and have had it around since because I really do like the stuff. But I suppose if you don't have it, regular milk or skim would work well too. It's worth a try anyway!

I originally made these to use up some frozen raspberries I had on hand and some ricotta cheese I had left-over from another recipe I'd made. It's so nice when something like that happens, and you end up with a lovely product to show for it!

There's really not too much to say about the recipe. It initially sounds like a bit of work, but it's really not and does come together rather easily. The only thing sort of time consuming is whipping the egg whites up, first time I did it by hand, lol, I now make that aspect of it in the stand mixer, just to save some time - they're whisking up while I'm getting the rest of the stuff going.

This is another recipe I found courtesy of Taste Of Home in one of my magazines!

Lemon-Raspberry Ricotta Pancakes

(found here: Lemon-Raspberry Ricotta Pancakes)

Yield: about 24

1 1/2 cups cake flour or all-purpose (I've only used all-purpose)

1/4 sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla flavored)

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

3 large eggs, separated

2 tsp grated lemon peel

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (I've only used frozen)

Whipped cream, maple syrup and additional raspberries

1) In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk the almond milk, ricotta cheese, egg yolks, lemon peel, lemon juice and almond extract until blended. Add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened . In a clean small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. Gently stir in raspberries.

2) Lightly grease a griddle;  heat over medium heat. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook until bubbles on top begin to pop and bottoms are golden brown. Turn; cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with whipped cream, syrup and additional raspberries.

Nutritional Facts - 3 pancakes (calculated without toppings): 203 calories; 5g fat (2g saturated fat); 79 mg cholesterol; 254mg sodium; 31g carbohydrates (7g sugars, 2g fiber); 8g protein


from Kris B.

Hands down, breakfast is my favorite meal.  I'm not always fond of mornings, but breakfast food of any kind always makes me happy.  During the school year, however, I am a creature of habit - vanilla yogurt topped with cheerios and blueberries, a banana, and the obligatory cup (or two) of coffee every morning.  Now that it is summer, our morning routine is a bit less structured.  Translation: I am not teaching any 7:30 am classes so I am more coherent and creative when it comes to fixing and eating breakfast.   And now that my hubby is retired, breakfast may have more variety even when I go back to school in the fall!  That is exciting.

The best thing about summer eating in general is all of the fresh veggies and fruit.  It all looks so good at the market.  I was trying to think of a good way to use all the fruit I have in a creative breakfast, without just making a fruit bowl as a side.  When my kids were little, I used to make "fruit pizza" - sugar cookie dough, vanilla frosting, and fruit topping.  I decided that I wanted a variation on that that didn't begin with a cookie base.  Don't get me wrong; sadly, I would be perfectly happy to eat cookies for breakfast, but neither the scale or my waistline would be very happy with that choice. Lol!  I searched for a recipe that had a healthier "crust."  I found one that is perfect!  It is created from cereal and rolled oats.  The "sauce" is cream cheese and powdered sugar.  The toppings are the fruit of your choice.

This is probably not the recipe I should have chosen to share this week.  I week ago, while dicing figs for a fig compote,  in addition to cutting the figs, I also sliced my finger, which required a few stitches.  Because of this unfortunate encounter with my knife, I am not allowed to use knives at the moment. :-)  As you can tell, there is quite a bit of sliced fruit used here.  Since my husband placed the moratorium on knife use, at least for me, he got to slice all of the fruit.  I am glad that he was willing to help.

Whether it is scrambled eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, or fruit tart, I will eat breakfast foods any time of day for any meal.  This fruit tart is no exception!  And like the sugar cookie fruit pizzas that I made for my girls, this also makes a fantastic snack or dessert as well!

INGREDIENTS
For the base
1 Cup breakfast cereal with flakes (I used vanilla-almond Special K.)
1 Cup rolled oats
1 Cup sweetened coconut
3/4 Cup honey or maple syrup  (( used honey.)

For the "sauce"
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (or other extract, starting with 1/2 tsp and working to taste)

For the topping
Fruit of your choice (I used strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, peaches, and banana

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a 9 inch tart pan with cooking spray and set aside.  *Do use cooking spray rather than butter because the tart is refrigerated before serving.  If you use butter, it will harden and the tart will be difficult to remove from the pan.

Use a rolling pin to crush the cereal into crumbs.  mix them with the oatmeal, coconut, and honey or syrup.  Press this mixture into the prepared tart pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool completely before adding the next two layers.

Using a mixer, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar and extract.

Once the crust is cooled, spread the cream cheese mixture on top.  Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.

While the crust and cream cheese chill, slice the desired fruits.  Remove the pan from the refrigerator and arrange the fruit on top, pushing it gently into the cream cheese mixture.  Return the completed tart to the fridge for about 30 minutes.

To serve, remove rim from the tart pan and slice into ten pieces.

Nutritional Facts : 270 calories; 6.3g fat (4.1g saturated fat); 10mg cholesterol; 144mg sodium; 52g carbohydrates (38g sugars, 2g fiber); 3.9g protein

***I also can't type very well with the stitches in my finger, so I apologize for any typos here!