I may be the only person who doesn’t like the sugar-crusted, cake-like, sugar bombs that coffeehouses are regularly passing off as scones.  They generally taste like overly sweet bricks.  Hard, bland and more appropriate for breaking windows than eating for breakfast.  Once I discovered that this is not the true incarnation of a scone, I was more willing to give them a try.  A proper scone is light, moist yet crumbly and only mildly sweet.  That’s my kind of scone.

These almond scones perfectly fit the bill.  With only two tablespoons of sugar in a full dozen scones, these only have a hint of sweetness.  Toasted almonds permeate the dough and when served fresh from the oven they are moist, flaky and a perfect accompaniment to a morning cup of coffee or tea.  Feel free to slather them with butter or lemon curd. We won’t judge you.

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As a perpetual city dweller, my eggs generally come from a styrofoam crate that will take a million years to break down. The eggs are perfectly white, uniform in size and predictably tasty. I had seen farm fresh eggs sold at farmer’s markets but never understood the appeal. My grocery store eggs were just fine.

Then I tried farm fresh eggs. While visiting my boyfriend’s family in Michigan, I made a trip to their family farm. We drove fifteen minutes down the road, visited the chickens, cows, horses and corn fields and came home with breakfast. Talk about eating locally!  These eggs were incredible and I’m already contemplating ways to install a chicken coop on my rooftop back home in New York.

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I’ve had this scone recipe from the incomparable Heidi, waiting in the wings for a few weeks. I’ve become slightly obsessed with agave nectar and, since Heidi already used a natural sweetener (maple syrup), I thought this would be a perfect recipe to experiment with.  I should probably warn you … when you come home from the store with a mountain of strawberries that look as beautiful as these do and you happen to have just enough milk in the fridge for one batch of scones … you might end up having what I’ve termed a Sudden Strawberry Scone Emergency.

Fear not, this emergency can be easily and quickly handled.  However, there is only one way to put out the fire: Make strawberry scones immediately.  Luckily, these only take about 35 minutes to prep and bake (plus a few minutes for cooling … if you can wait!).  Upon devouring these perfect little scones, your Sudden Strawberry Scone Emergency will be under control in no time.  At least mine was!

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Crepes get a bad wrap.  Notoriously difficult to make, most people wouldn’t dare attempt them at home.  My easy, one-step solution for that: Lower your standards.  Don’t expect picture perfect crepes every time.  Don’t expect paper thin, French perfection.  Expect something that will taste divine, be filling and healthy … yet perhaps not perfect.  Honestly, in all the times that I’ve made these, I think they’ve come out perfectly thin, flat, and round exactly zero times.  And you know what?  They still tasted fantastic each time!

As a peanut butter lover, I can honestly say that these crepes have a distinct, yet not-over-powering peanut butter flavor.  They can be made sugar-free by replacing the sugar with Splenda (which I always do).  They contain no flour (gluten-free!) and are primarily egg pancakes, so they are very low on the glycemic index and are perfect for people looking for a sweet breakfast without all the carbs.  I drizzle mine with some agave nectar, but you can replace that with maple syrup or powdered sugar.

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Food memories play such a unique role in our eating experiences and food personalities. The first time I was introduced to Irish soda bread was through my great aunt. She took me to a bakery in New Jersey where you walk through the inner workings of the bakery and grab hot, fresh loaves directly off the bakery racks, fill up a paper bag with fresh bread, take it to the counter where they slice it to your preferred thickness and individually bag the loaves. I had never been to a bakery like this and I was fairly certain it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. (And since I’ve never been back, it has managed to retain its whimsical, does-it-actually-exist quality.)  The magical racks of so many different types of fresh bread were intoxicating. My aunt insisted on filling my bag with a variety of bakery goods, including Irish soda bread.

I began nibbling on the loaf during the bus ride back to New York and I couldn’t stop!  It was dense, lightly sweet from the currants, and tangy from the caraway. In short, completely addicting. Somehow I managed to save enough to share with my roommate at the time who had never tried it before either.  We both were hooked!  After demolishing the one loaf, we were on a mission to find this illusive Irish soda bread from New Jersey again.  Luckily, being in New York, we really only had to open our eyes … since it is sold in regular grocery stores all around the city.  And, as we came to find, was the standard sandwich bread at a touristy ice cream parlor only a few blocks from our apartment.

When we needed a break or just a moment to digest our thoughts, Em and I would venture over to this touristy spot and indulge in an order of Irish soda bread.  It was served slightly toasted with butter and was probably way too expensive, but we were too young to care.  It was a remarkably simple comfort but at the time it was exactly what we needed.  These days I still find myself drawn to Irish soda bread when I’m in need of something comforting.  It always reminds me of good family, good friends, and good conversation.

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There was a time, a few years ago, when I suddenly became very self-conscious about the fact that I did not own a waffle maker. Despite spending many lazy weekend mornings making waffles as a kid, I had never, in my adult life, sought out a waffle maker. Maybe it was the space they take up (which can be a lot for someone with a kitchen as small as mine!). Maybe it was the fact that they are good for making exactly one thing (how very Alton Brown of me!). Maybe it was simply a desire to leave the complexities of waffle making to the professionals.

Then suddenly, this past summer, something came over me and I needed a waffle maker. It was as if not having a waffle maker was a symbol of all that was wrong in the world and if I had a waffle maker all would be right. I was torn between the fancy, flipping-upside-down Belgian style ones and the classic flat versions. All the reviews I came across basically said that nothing compared to the antique Sunbeam waffle irons that had been in the someone’s family for decades. Well, of course I had to search around Ebay for weeks, ok, months, until a classic Sunbeam showed up that wasn’t going to cost more than the value of the waffle iron in shipping.

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During the depths of winter and the bone-chilling cold that comes with it, nothing comforts more than something hot, something thick enough to stick to your ribs, something tasty enough to break you free from the drab-ness of winter.  Oatmeal is neither a revolutionary nor a terribly novel addition to one’s collection of winter standbys.  However, there are delightful little ways to make this traditional breakfast far more exciting and tasty.  I have to thank Kalyn for the initial inspiration for this dish, and my dear friend Josh, who apparently is a peanut butter oatmeal lover.

This is less a recipe than simply a suggestion for experimentation.  I never use actual measurements and frequently just adjust the seasonings to my taste at the moment.  I do, however, always start off with steel cut oatmeal.  Unlike the standard rolled oats (think Quaker) that are most common today, steel cut oats haven’t been processed yet so they are round little grains.  Due to their unprocessed nature, they don’t cook nearly as fast as the flattened/rolled oats do (although I have seen Quick-Cooking Steel Cut Oats at the store but have yet to test them out).  Many people prefer steel cut oats because of their nutritional value (they are more fibrous and less processed than their rolled cousins which is great for people looking to up their whole grain intake!) however, I love their extra nutty flavor and almost chewy texture.

Traditional instructions for steel cut oatmeal generally require about 30 minutes of stove top simmering.  Frankly, when you are reaching for the oatmeal chances are good that you have no interest in standing over the stove for 30 minutes.  I certainly don’t!  I’m sure that my fellow-foodies would be appalled at my admitting that I actually cook my steel cut oats in the microwave (gasp!).  In a large bowl, combine about 1/4 cup of the steel cut oats with about 1 cup of water.  I always throw in a pinch of salt for flavor.  Then microwave at about 3/4 power level (on my machine it’s power level 7, but you probably will have to fiddle around with your levels to see what works . . . like I said, this isn’t really a recipe, more a license to experiment) in 5 minute intervals, stirring every couple minutes until it reaches the desired consistency.  Yes, this is a cheater’s method for what is traditionally a labor of love.  And, yes, you will probably still spend 15 minutes in front of the microwave.  But, hey, it saves you from washing a big pot afterward!  And for me, that’s justification enough.

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