Tag: Breakfast

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Breakfast Recipes

500 Miles?

We have walked a fair few miles so far on our motorhome tour of Scotland, though perhaps not quite the 500 that Scots duo Craig and Charlie – The Proclaimers – sing about in their popular singalong folk anthem.

My main photo above was taken on one such walk through terrific scenery – along the Aberdeenshire coast from Stonehaven to the centuries-old silhouetted ruins of Dunnottar Castle. Very gothic.

A hearty, filling breakfast is essential before setting out on a hike like this. It will probably come as no surprise that breakfast meal of choice on this trip has been Scots porridge oats. The classic Scots dish is incredibly nutritious, oats being a good source of fibre and healthy fats. Add in some fruit, nuts and seeds and you’ll have all the fuel you need for an active day in the great Scottish outdoors.

My version of porridge may not necessarily be one for the purists, as it is made in the motorhome’s microwave oven. However, it is is made entirely from local ingredients that we have picked up from shops, been gifted or, ahem, scrumped en route.

The core ingredients are oats and milk, the oats puffing up as they warm in the heat of the milk. To this I add at least one fresh fruit. At a small, very remote, rural site that we camped on in the Borders, the farmer told us to help ourselves to the plump fresh blackberries from the hedges. These work well in porridge as they burst in the heat, flavouring and colouring the oats purple.

Scottish raspberries work just as well, giving the porridge a pinkish hue.

Another pitch in Aberdeenshire was in an orchard, where we were offered as many crisp apples from the trees as we wished. Chopped apple is great stirred into the warm oats.

We have also picked up various sprinkles at refilleries in Oakham and Stonehaven – chopped nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and some dried fruit. Refilleries are great for motorhoming as it’s possible to buy and carry on board just the quantity required.

The method is simple. Put 4 – 5 tablespoons of Scottish oats in a microwavable bowl, and cover it in semi-skimmed milk. Add in berries if using.

Microwave on full for around 3 mins, stirring half way through. Keep an eye on it, and when it starts to bubble up the sides of the bowl, remove it.

You may need to act pronto here, otherwise it can easily erupt, volcano-like, all over the sides of the bowl making a holy mess of your microwave.

Stir in your sprinkles of choice, a swirl of local honey if you like, and enjoy. With this warm, hearty fuel inside you, you’ll be ready for a healthy outdoor hike. Even if it’s not quite as far as Craig and Charlie’s. Here are the Proclaimers with I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

Categories
Breakfast Desserts Recipes

Spiced Plum Compote

A plentiful supply of fresh plums has been arriving off the trees and into the ADK kitchen recently – I guess it’s that time of year. Here’s a very quick and easy way of cooking them up for use either as a breakfast topper, on oats or muesli, or as a dessert, with milk or natural yoghurt (see above). There are only 4 ingredients and the whole exercise will take about 10 mins.

And it’s delicious.

Servings

At least 6 servings.

Timings

10 mins.

You Will Need

  • 9 – 10 fresh plums
  • 1 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
  • juice of 1 lemon

Method

  1. Chop the plums and discard the stones. Place in a saucepan with the other ingredients.
  2. Bring to a boil and stir, then reduce to a simmer for 5 – 10 mins. Switch off.
  3. Allow to cool, and serve over oats, nuts and seeds or muesli, with milk or natural yoghurt, as a breakfast or dessert dish.

Customise It!

If you don’t have 5 spice, then mixed spice, cinnamon or nutmeg will be fine. Another idea is to chuck a cinnamon stick into the saucepan as the compote is cooking, if you wish.

Today’s addition to the Playlist is a track that came on a few days ago while I was driving. I’d forgotten how great it was, especially with the unmistakable jangling sound of Johnny Marr on guitar. Add in Bernard Sumner from New Order on vocals and you have one mighty Mancunian supergroup. This is Electronic with Get the Message.

Categories
Bakes Blog Snacks

Viva Vegemite!

My Lonely Planet guide book to Australia advised that one of the foods I must try when I was here was Vegemite. I have followed that advice and very much enjoyed this institution of an Aussie delicacy, in many forms. The most memorable is the Vegemite Knot pastry, shown above, more of which I shall explain in a moment.

My first encounter with the stuff was in a road side cafe on Phillip Island in Victoria. Having stopped for a coffee (a long black with milk on the side – they do not do americanos here), I noticed that the snacks menu included two thick slices of sourdough toast, with butter and Vegemite. Sounded too good to turn down, so in a few moments the plate shown below arrived.

I soon learned that serving on thick buttered toast is a really good way to enjoy it. The dark, rich spread combines with the butter to make a salty, malty, creaminess that sinks into the warm toast, and complements the crispy crust. The taste is similar to the Marmite that we have in the UK, but much more buttery and creamy, and easier to spread.

Shortly after this, I invested in my own jar at Coles, one of Australia’s major supermarket chains, and the above has become a regular form of breakfast!

Vegemite is made from yeast extract and is a good source of B vitamins. The culinary ingenuity of Australians has led to it being incorporated into more and more foods and dishes, including marinades, stocks, soups and stir fry sauces. Savoury bakes are also fair game, see my photo below – cheese and vegemite twists, anyone?

Or possibly even a flavouring for roast chicken? This was on sale, hot, in Coles:

And so to the photo that started this post – the Vegemite Knot. I found this in Rollers Bakehouse, a great cafe in Manly, by Sydney’s north beaches. Someone has made the inspired decision to combine Vegemite in a creamy, almost caramel-type sauce and drizzled it on choux pastry, topped with chopped scallions (spring onions) and what I think are chia seeds. It tasted unique and wonderful, managing to be both sweet and savoury at the same time.

Suitably inspired, I will be taking a jar of Vegemite home with me and plan to experiment with its use in baking. My current thoughts are to adapt my tried and tested recipe for National Trust scones, to include cheese, Vegemite and possibly some local water cress. Watch this space for a future post!

Choice of music for the ADK Playlist has to be the only track I know that famously references the Vegemite sandwich. Here’s Melbourne’s own Men at Work with Down Under.

Categories
Breakfast Recipes Snacks

Banana Oat Breakfast Bars

The recipe for these first appeared on page 66 of the February 2005 issue of Sainsbury’s Magazine. I know this because I ripped the page out and have kept it carefully ever since. I have lost count of the number of times I have made these – the recipe has proved reliable as a fresh, tasty and healthy snack for breakfast, lunchboxes, car journeys, filling the gap at half-time at a football match etc.

Servings

Depending on how you cut these, it will make 16 squares or around 20 rectangular bars.

Timings

15 – 20 mins preparation, plus baking time 25 mins.

You Will Need

  • 75g mixed nuts
  • 110g margarine
  • 75g demerara sugar
  • 3 tablespoons golden syrup
  • 200g rolled porridge oats
  • 75g self-raising flour
  • 40g dried cranberries
  • 2 medium ripe bananas
  • 1 egg

Method

  1. Spread the nuts across a baking tray and toast in the oven at 180C for 5 mins.
  2. While the nuts are toasting, combine margarine, syrup and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently until all have dissolved into a thick paste.
  3. Remove the nuts from the oven and chop in the food processor with blade fitted. Leave the oven on.
  4. Combine nuts, flour (sifted), oats and dried cranberries in a bowl.
  5. In a separate bowl, peel and mash the bananas, and mix in the egg.
  6. Combine the banana/egg with the oats/flour and give it a good stir. Finally , add in the syrup/sugar paste. Mix well so that there is no dry flour and all the oats are covered in the brown syrupy paste.
  7. Tip the combined mixture into a traybake tin. The one I use is 20cm square, but it also works with a rectangular tin measuring 25cm x 16cm ( I have made both with these ingredients).
  8. Bake in the oven, still at 180C, for 25 mins.
  9. Remove and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool, invert it on to a chopping board, then carefully invert it back again on to another board. You can then chop it into rectangular bars or squares, as you wish. These will keep in a tin for up to 3 – 4 days, though they are usually all gone well before that!
Categories
Breakfast Recipes

Blueberry and Apricot Muesli

This breakfast dish looks and tastes great – the bright blue and orange combination making for a lively, satisfying and healthy start to your day.

Servings

Makes one bowl for immediate consumption!

Timings

5 mins to prepare

You Will Need

  • 4 – 5 dessert spoonfuls of rolled oats
  • 1 dessert spoonful of pumpkin seeds
  • 1 dessert spoonful of sunflower seeds
  • 1 dessert spoonful of mixed dried fruit
  • a handful of fresh blueberries
  • 1 fresh apricot, chopped
  • a few dessert spoonfuls of natural yoghurt
  • 1 dessert spoonful of chopped nuts

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients, other than the yoghurt and nuts, in a breakfast bowl. Reserve 2 – 3 blueberries and apricot pieces.
  2. Top with the yoghurt, sprinkle over the chopped nuts, and add the reserved blueberries and apricot to garnish. Enjoy.

Customise It!

Keep to the core ingredients of oats, seeds, fruit and nuts, otherwise swap in whatever is fresh and seasonal or whatever you have to hand. Raspberries or strawberries work well, and later in the summer I will be using freshly picked blackberries. Add milk in place of yoghurt, and add a swirl of honey if that’s your thing.