Today’s recipe might just be my favorite one from The Breakfast Book project so far!

I loved the pancakes because of their “bowl” or “flower” shape which could be perfectly filled with a fruit salad and because of their extremely light texture which lets you pair them, if you prefer, with your favorite jams, all guilt-free. And of course, prep is, like with Cunningham’s other recipes, fast and simple.

Note: I chose to do two 8-inch pancakes, which I then stacked for a flower effect, but I’ve given the times and temperatures for this as well as the other options indicated in the book.

Note2: The hubby and I enjoyed these pancakes with some strawberry and pineapple jam. 100% thumbs up.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

(For one 12-inch Baked German Pancake, two 8-inch ones, or four 6-inch Dutch Babies)

1. Preheat oven to 350, 375, or 450°F depending on the serving size you choose above (one 12-in, two 8-in, or four 6-in). Butter ovenproof skillets of according size (or pans).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then add the milk and blend well.
3. Very gradually, sift the flour and salt into the egg mixture, while also whisking to blend smoothly. Add the melted butter and mix in well.
4. Pour the batter into your skillet(s) or pan(s) and bake for, again accordingly – 25, 20, or 15minutes.
5. Once your pancakes or Dutch Babies are ready, sprinkle them with lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar. Serve.

Liking this recipe? Check out other delicious creations from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, prepared by my fellow bloggers: Rachel, Natasha, Aimee, Sammy, and Emily.

September. Can you believe it’s already September? This summer has been such a busy one, I’ve barely noticed it fly away. And yet, evidence of the approaching season change is everywhere: fog, rain, wind. Fortunately, this week’s recipe from The Breakfast Book for our little project will sure get you ready for the colder weather.

Calas. Those little deep fried cakes are flavored with nutmeg and are quite unique with a very distinct taste. They also remind me of mekitsi – a traditional Bulgarian dish from my childhood, which is very similar (except for the rice involved) – and that’s always a bonus point

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups water + ½ cup warm water
• ½ cup long grain white rice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
• vegetable oil for frying
• powdered sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Bring the 1 ½ cup water to a boil. Add the rice and salt, lower the heat, and cook until mushy (about 25 minutes). If there’s any liquid left, drain well. Transfer the rice to a medium bowl and mash with a fork.
2. In a small bowl, stir the warm water and the yeast together. Let rest for 5min until foamy, then stir into the rice. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight.
3. On the next day, in another bowl, beat well the eggs, then mix in the sugar, lemon zest, nutmeg, and 1 cup flour. Transfer to the rice mixture and mix well. Stir in final ½ cup flour. Cover again and let rise for at least 30 minutes. (I waited 60 minutes for the batter to get really “fluffy”).
4. In a large, deep skillet, pour vegetable oil to about 1 ½ inches deep and heat. Drop a tiny bit of batter to test when the oil is hot enough to try. Once it is, drop batter by heaping tablespoons. Fry several calas at once, without overcrowding the pan, 1 to 1.5min per side, depending on the size. When done, transfer onto paper towels to absorb any excess oil before serving.
5. Finally, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

And while you are enjoying those, don’t forget to check out what my fellow bloggers are doing for the Cook the Book project ;-): Rachel, Natasha, Aimee, Sammy, and Emily.

Do you know what I enjoy most about Marion Cunningham’s breakfast book? The simplicity behind her amazing recipes. It requires great skills to take basic ingredients and quickly turn them into a delicious meal that doesn’t leave you longing for anything else.

Such is her Original Bircher Muesli recipe I picked up from the chapter on cereals for our Cook the Book project with fellow bloggers — Rachel, Natasha, Aimee, Sammy, and Emily.

The combination of lemon juice and honey with the oats works perfectly. Add in the fresh fruits and all you need is a little summer sun to complete your morning.

Two small adjustments I made: I doubled the oats (from 1 tbsp to 2) and used blueberries instead of blackberries. I then served it with some slices of a favorite “health” bread.

Ingredients:

(for 1 serving)

• 1-2 heaping tablespoons rolled oats
• 3-6tbsp water
• 1-2tbsp cream or milk
• 1tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small apple, unpeeled and grated/shredded/sliced very thinly

Directions:

1. Soak the oats and water in a small bowl overnight.
2. When ready to serve, stir in lemon juice, honey, and cream/milk. Add apple and blackberries. Serve and enjoy!

I came across “bannocks” while browsing the “Quick Breads” chapter of The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. I had never heard of them before and, of course, that was all I needed to pick them from this chapter for our Cook the Book project.

Turns out, bannocks are primarily of Scottish origin and are quite similar to scones. In fact, from what I’ve read on Wikipedia, the two terms can sometimes be interchangeably, or bannocks cut into wedges can be called scones. It all depends on the region.

Well, to tell you the truth, no matter how you decide to call those, they are pretty awesome. Bannocks are extremely fast and easy to make (in fact, I don’t think I’ve made any type of bread that fast before) and very tasty too. And, while the recipe comes from a breakfast book, they are perfect for literally any time of the day. I believe they’ll also make a great, easy to carry, energy snack for all runners out there

Initially, I had decided to make the cheese version, but ended up dividing my dough and making the original as well (with no cheese). Verdict: both the hubby and I found the Cheddar version (pictured as piled wedges) tastier as the cheese helps balance out the oats and gives another dimension to the taste.

Ingredients:

(for 8 bannocks)

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/4tsp salt
• 4tbsp cold butter, but into small pieces (I used unsalted)
• 1cup shredded (sharp) Cheddar cheese
• ½ cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 ° F and slightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together rolled oats, oat flour, Cheddar, and salt. Add butter and mix you’re your hands until the mixture turns into coarse crumble. Add water and keep mixing until it is absorbed.
3. Dust a flat surface with a bit of oat flour and transfer dough to it. Keep kneading until smooth, then cut in half and form two balls. Press and pat down each ball to form a ¼-inch circle. Cut each into 4 wedges. Place onto baking sheet and into the oven until golden (about 20 minutes).

I really hope you enjoy these bannocks. They have definitely inspired me to research and cook more Scottish recipes! But, before I do that, let’s not forget the other awesome recipes presented this week by the ladies doing this project with me

• Rachel, Ode To Goodness
• Natasha, Claro Southwick
• Aimee, Homemade Trade
• Sammy, Rêve du Jour
• Emily, The Bon Appétit Diaries

I’m sure all of you have heard at least once how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I myself believe it’s of great significance and a good breakfast can give us a little extra strength to tackle a long, busy day.

Of course, there’s also no denying that we often tend to rush in the morning so we want to keep things simple. But, that’s just another reason I’m so glad that for our “Cook the Book” project, we’ve chosenThe Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. Because this week is time for our Chapter #2 post and that means toasts!

The recipe I’ve chosen is the Apple & Cheese Toast and is perfect for making your breakfast a bit fancier while still being practical as it’s really, really quick to do. Perfect for any day, including Mondays — isn’t that a great way to start your week?

Ingredients:

(for 2 toasts; picture shows only 1)

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (original called for 2, but I found 1 to be enough) + some more to butter the bread
• 1 apple, peeled and sliced (I chose a green apple and decided to keep the skin on)
• 2 slices bread of your choice (mine was multigrain)
• 1/3 cup grated (sharp) Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small (8- or 9-inch) nonstick skillet over medium heat to get down slightly browned. Add apple slices and cook until they soften — about 3 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
2. In the meantime, toast the bread, then lightly butter it. Spread the Cheddar on top and place the toasts on a baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese melts. (Alternatively, if you are really in a hurry, use microwave.)
3. Finally, top toasts with apple slices and enjoy

See? I told you it’s a super fast recipe! No excuse for ignoring breakfast anymore!
For more great recipes like this one, please check out the blogs of the other great ladies that are participating in the project:

• Rachel, Ode To Goodness
• Natasha, Claro Southwick
• Aimee, Homemade Trade
• Sammy, Rêve du Jour
• Emily, The Bon Appétit Diaries

Finally, one last note. The author of the book, Marion Cunningham, has unfortunately passed away last Wednesday She was 90 years old. It is really sad news, but I’m truly hoping that our project will serve as a sort of homage to her and to her work.

Memories are peculiar.
We can forget important things and yet remember some other trivial ones, with no logical explanation. Then, those mundane marks in our subconscious will influence our future decisions, without us even realizing it.

When, I and 5 other wonderful ladies — Rachel (our project organizer!), Natasha, Aimee, Sammy, Emily — decided to undertake a lil’ project for our food blogs based on The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, each of us had to choose a recipe from each chapter. As I sat down to browse the various (and vast) options, my eyes set immediately on a recipe for the first post on Yeast Breads. Orange Rye Bread.

For some reason, my mind insisted I was craving rye. And since I love oranges, I could only try to imagine how wonderful the two would be together.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized “rye” was perhaps the only English word for which I can exactly pinpoint the moment I first heard and learned it. It was the day I had to read the novel the Catcher in the Rye.
(Note: for those that don’t know, English is my third language which is why “rye” was unknown to me.)

To be honest, I don’t know if and how much influence that fact has impacted my choice. But, I know for sure that the word rye must have apparently made enough impression to remain this memorable  a decade later.  Hopefully, the recipe I’ll present to you will be just as memorable — just try and taste it and get back to me in 2022

My own opinion is that it is quite worth it and that, if it’s an example of what the next chapters are going to be like, I’m really going to love The Breakfast Book. Because it was a charm to work with the dough, and the result was a fluffy, light, and flavorful bread. Perfect for a bright morning with a good cup of coffee (or tea!).

While I did make a couple of changes, I will post the original next to the changes I made. So here it is:

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp dry yeast (original: 2 packages)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1tsp + 1tbsp sugar (I used white)
• 2 cups rye flour (I used light rye)
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbsp finely chopped orange zest (original calls for 2, but doesn’t overwhelm the bread at all)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warmed milk
• 2 tbsp soft/melted butter (original: 2 tbsp shortening)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (original: about 1.5 cup)

Directions:

1. Combine warm water with the 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let rest for about 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add rye flour, caraway seeds, orange zest, salt. With wooden spoon, stir everything together, but not too much.
3. Add milk, butter, sugar, and egg. Mix again with wooden spoon, then slowly add the all-purpose flour until the dough begins to form a ball. At this point, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth — it took me about 5 min, though the book calls for 6-8. (The dough will be quite soft and sticky, that’s normal).
4. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest until it doubles in volume. Give it a punch, then divide it into two. One half place in a greased bread pan, and the either divide into 8-10 equal parts and form rolls to place on a greased baking sheet. Let rest for another hour, then preheat oven to 375F and bake.
5. My rolls needed 16 minutes to be ready (book calls for 20-25) and my bread took about 40 minutes (instead of 45). I suspect that my oven might be stronger and that I should test at 350F next time, although I think both the bread and rolls turned out great. They are really delicious and very satisfying. Soft, they are perfect paired with some butter right after they get out of the oven.

Hope you enjoy this recipe! I certainly did! And please, check out the posts of the wonderful food bloggers that are participating with me in this project:

• Rachel, Ode To Goodness
• Natasha, Claro Southwick
• Aimee, Homemade Trade
• Sammy, Rêve du Jour
• Emily, The Bon Appétit Diaries

Lastly, Happy 4th of July to all of you tomorrow!!!

A couple of weeks before last Easter, my mother-in-law offered me a book with various egg decorating techniques. My attention was immediately caught by the Ukrainian Easter eggs or the so-called “Pysanky” (pysanka for singular). They were so pretty and looked so intricate. I had to try this technique.

There was only one small problem. I needed a kistka — the wooden pen you can see on the right of the post picture — and I didn’t have enough time to order one. I therefore just used my usual (“Bulgarian”) way of decorating the eggs and kept the book in mind. In the beginning of March, with Easter just about a month away, I thought of it again and immediately ordered a Pysanky kit online.

I chose a traditional kit, with a traditional kistka, as I wanted to experience the “real” thing. (My other options: more modern kistki, or to make things quite easier — an electric one.)

Basically, you put beeswax in the little tunnel of the kistka, heat it to melt the wax, and use it as a pen. I managed to decorate 9 eggs before promising myself that next time I decide to use this technique I would order the electric kistka. I can tell you that using the traditional one is a pretty effort and time-consuming activity. Even after the first 3 eggs (after which you get used to the method), it’s not easy. Though, once you melt the wax and begin to uncover the end result of your hard work, you realize it was quite worth it.

Of course, I didn’t even attempt to do any of the complicated designs (check those out, simply beautiful!), but I did my best to learn the process. Here’s in short the idea:

• Use white empty egg shells (edit: or hardboiled eggs, though I preferred not to as the dyes are not edible and, in my experience, they’ll go beyond the shell). (To empty the egg shells, you use a rather big needle and pierce carefully both ends of the eggs, piercing also the yolk. Then you either use a special tool to empty the egg, or blow from the top to empty all the contents into a bowl.) Make sure to seal the the holes with beeswax, or else the dyes will enter the egg during the dips, making a big mess later.
• Choose your design. The pamphlet that came with the kit recommended using a hard lead pencil to draw the design on the egg so you can follow it, but I didn’t like that because you could see the marks even after the dye, and you can’t erase them.
• Start working from light to dark (white -> yellow -> blue or green ->  orange -> dark red). Whichever elements you want to be in a certain color, you must cover with wax. For instance, to make white vertical or horizontal lines, I’d take the egg before dipping it in any of the dyes and would draw the lines with the  wax. Then I’d proceed. If I wanted green lines, I’d do them after dipping the egg in green, before the orange dye.
• At the end, melt the wax, bit by bit, on the egg by holding it close to a candle and wiping it off often and quickly.
• Enjoy your Easter pysanka!

Hopefully, this is an idea you’ll like and that you might even consider to decorate your own Easter eggs In any case, despite being a little early: Happy Easter to everyone!

Earlier this month, I saw a post on “Rundstykker” a type of Danish breakfast bun, on the blog My Danish Kitchen. This made me think of the bread I used to eat myself back home. Of course, the desire to make some immediately emerged.

I pulled out of the bookshelves one of my Bulgarian cookbooks and started looking for the type of bread to make. I decided to go with a pitka with honey. I made a couple of modifications to the original recipe and then, got down to work.

I’ve got to say I was a bit surprised by the end result because the texture and taste resemble much more a mix of Kozunak (a traditional sweet bread made for Easter) and brioche than what I consider a pitka. (Just in case you wonder what I consider a “real” pitka: imagine a pita if it had actual bread filling inside it rather than forming a pocket.)

Yet, the result is delicious. It’s fluffy, light, and, despite the honey, it only has a hint of sweetness which makes it great both for jams and more savory additions. While I sticked to blackberry jam, the hubby loved it with cheese. In fact, the hubby was quite responsible for this bread disappearing quite amazingly fast…

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Pitka with Honey

Ingredients

• 3oz yogurt at room temperature
• 2/3cup + 1-2tbsp warm water
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp butter, melted + about 2 more melted tbsp for greasing
• 1 large egg, separated into white and yolk
• 17oz all-purpose flour
• honey

Directions

1. On a large baking sheet, place parchment paper.
2. In small bowl, mix together the 2/3 cup water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand until foamy.
3. In large bowl, mix together salt and flour. Make a small well in the center. On the side, add the 4 tbsp butter, yogurt, and egg white.
4. Add the yeast mixture to the well in the flour and mix all ingredients together until you get a smooth dough. If needed add the extra 1-2 tbsp warm water. The end result should be a soft dough, slightly sticky too touch, but not actually sticking to your fingers.
5. Divide dough into 3 balls and let them rest in a bowl high enough to let them rise. Cover with plastic wrap top of the bowl and then with towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour. The dough should double in size.
6. On a slightly floured surface, roll out first ball to form a thin round layer. Brush lightly with melted butter. Then brush/drizzle 1 tbsp honey. Repeat with second ball and place on top of the first. Roll out third ball, but do not brush with anything (no butter, nor honey). Place on top of the first top.
7. Out of the layered dough, cut triangles as if you were slicing a round pizza. (I recommend using a pizza cutter, and cutting the round through its center, into quarters, and then into smaller triangles). You should have 12 equal-sized triangles.
8. On each triangle, at the flat (non-pointy) end, drizzle or spoon 1/2 tsp honey, then roll the triangle as a croissant. Place on parchment paper on baking sheet and let rise for another 1 hour in a warm place.
9. Preheat oven to 375F.
10. Take a round dish and grease it. Arrange “croissants” in it to fit the space and into a pyramid-like structure. Brush with egg yolk and place in the preheated oven.
11. Bake until golden (about 40 minutes). (Do not succumb to the temptation of increasing the oven temperature because the dough takes a long time to get any colors. It will happen almost suddenly. I did increase the temp to 400F, and this resulted in slightly burning some parts of the pitka.)

Happy Monday everyone! While you might not all be happy that the weekend is over, do not worry: I’m bringing you a recipe to sweeten the week ahead! In fact, the rose water in those little gems make them so sweet, a single one will be enough to completely satisfy your dessert cravings!

How did I decide to make this? Well, as you might know from my last post, I was in Dubai last weekend. On our way back home, my husband and I grabbed a few boxes of local sweets to give out to friends, and of course, I had to grab one for ourselves (or rather myself ) too.

The box contained 4 chocolate covered dates filled with different nuts. I loved them so much, I decided I had to recreate them! But also, I was really tempted by the use of rose water which is rather popular in Bulgaria (as the country is quite famous for its roses and is one of the biggest producers of rose oil in the world).

Chocolate Covered Dates Stuffed with
Pistachios & Rose Water

(for 10 dates)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pistachios (you can also use almonds, walnuts, or another type of nut if you’d like)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp rose water
• 10 large medjool dates
• 3/4 to 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (again, you can substitute with another type of chocolate)

Directions

1. Place pistachios and sugar in food processor or blender. Process for about 30 seconds or until the pistachios reach a very grainy consistency. (If you don’t have a processor/blender, you can also chop very finely the pistachios.) Transfer to a small bowl, then add the rose water. Start mixing with your hands until everything starts coming together into a kind of nutty dough. (At first it will look as if you need more rose water. As you keep mixing however, you’ll see it’s not the case. If you add too much rose water, it will completely overwhelm the other ingredients.)
2. Take dates and slice carefully each one lengthwise on one side. Remove seed, then gently fill with pistachio mixture.
3. Over medium-low heat, place chocolate chips in nonstick saucepan. Let melt slowly, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon. In the meantime, place wax paper over a platter. Then, take each stuffed date and dip it in the melted chocolate until it is fully covered. (Use the wooden spoon to help yourself and be careful not to burn your fingers… although it’s a good excuse to lick some of that chocolate!) Place covered dates on wax paper, sliced side up so the pistachio mixture doesn’t stick. If desired, you can decorate with a bit of extra stuffing mixture on top.
4. Once all the dates are covered, place platter in fridge and let cool until the chocolate becomes hard. Remove from fridge 5 minutes prior to consuming, then enjoy! (Btw: the dates taste even better after a night in the fridge.)

Good morning and good Friday everyone!! Today is a big day for me. I’m currently travelling to visit Dubai (can’t wait to visit the spice souk! and much more of course). But, I’m also doing my first guest post! Many thanks to Jenny from Savour the Senses for this opportunity!

For this special occasion, I’ve of course prepared very special cupcakes.

Sour Cream, Almond, & Saffron Cupcakes with Cardamom & Sumo Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Please, click on the above link to check out the recipe as well as Jenny’s lovely blog! And have a great weekend!