MUSHROOM, MILLET + LEEK FRITTATAS

It can be tested and approved that a solid majority of our friends are either getting married or having a baby this year. I remember thinking last year that 2013 was going to be quiet on the celebratory front, but it has proven otherwise. Once we get back from our trip in April, every weekend seems to be booked with an event. Which reminds me, I need to keep my eyes peeled for dresses. It is impossible to find a dress when you really need one. It's true. In all the talk of showers, my brain starts piecing menus together. I made frittatas for a brunch shower last month. They are so perfect for feeding a group. They're inexpensive, easy to make, go well with baked goods, maybe a simple salad, fruit and mimosas. Am I selling you my shower menu? Something tells me you are familiar with the goodness that is eggs.

After yet another handful of trail mix yesterday, I huffed that I was bored of my routine foods. I go in phases, tending to burn out on something I really loved at one point. It's nice to have something at the ready for snacks or a quick meal to-go when needed. I find the lentil meatballs are good for this. I don't think I have used millet here yet, but now is as good a time as any to bring it in. It is part of one of my favorite salads from the cookbook. It is gluten free, seeing as it is actually a seed, has protein, B vitamins, fiber and is highly alkaline. You can use it anywhere you would use rice or quinoa as it takes on any flavor you'd like, much like those two will.I cook millet with a simple 2:1 ratio. It cooks quickly by bringing the rinsed grain and liquid to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff, cover again and let it absorb the steam for optimum puffy texture. All said and done, the millet takes around 15 minutes. So glad to have these ready for early work days or pre-morning workout when I am easily persuaded to stay home and cook breakfast instead... which will very likely still happen.

MUSHROOM, MILLET + LEEK FRITTATAS // Makes 12

I add a bit of grain (seed) here to make them a more filling grab-n-go breakfast or snack. You could use quinoa or even rice as a substitute.

I am a big fan of sheeps feta, the conventional stuff is usually made of cows milk and doesn't hold a candle to the real thing. Yes it's a bit more expensive but a little goes a long way. Trader Joes has an excellent one from Israel in a green/yellow package.

Lastly, I'm not sure I would suggest using muffin liners, but let me know if you try. I find that with items this wet, you loose half the food getting stuck to the paper.

• 9 eggs
• 2/3 cup cooked and cooled millet
• 1/4 cup cream or milk (coconut milk would work too)
• 1 tsp. sea salt, divided
• 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 8 oz. mushrooms, stems removed, roughly chopped
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 leeks, cleaned, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. chopped chives, parlsey, thyme or mix of these (plus more for topping)
• 8 oz. sheeps feta

Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease a standard muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until well blended. Set aside.

In a pan, preferably non stick, over medium heat, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Yes, dry pan. You saute them around until they sweat off their excess water. They will release water, dry back up and THEN add 1 tsp. oil and saute another minute. Remove and set aside. Heat another tsp. olive oil in the same pan, saute the leeks with another pinch of salt for 8-10 minutes until just browned. Add the leeks to the bowl of mushrooms, add the herbs and cooked millet and stir to combine. Once the veggie mix is relatively cool, add it to the egg mixture.

Fill the muffin tins a generous 3/4 of the way full, the mixture should last you all dozen tins depending on the size of your eggs. Top each with some crumbled feta and bake on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes. The center should be slightly underdone and will finish cooking as they rest. Garnish with any remaining chopped herbs. Allow them to cool for at least ten minutes before gently twisting them from the tins. Serve with your favorite hot sauce.

MULTIGRAIN WAFFLES

The amount of time it took me to purchase a $25 waffle iron makes complete sense in the scope of my personality. I get anxious about making good decisions and wise choices. I try not to waste or have things I don't need or use. If you allow them too, and I regret that I do, little decisions can become big ones getting you caught in the rip current of yes or no, pros and cons, risk vs. gain. I find myself in that current by default - like part of my hard wiring. I swim straight into worry when I could so easily swim around it in the calm, lapping water on the periphery of this angst. Life just happens and mistakes are made. The worry doesn't protect from those truths, it just makes them a bigger deal than they need to be. Ah, yea, I'm not just referring to waffle iron purchases anymore.

So. By way of investing in quality kitchen equipment, I don't expect this iron will last a lifetime. I wasn't sure if we would go in and out of a waffle phase, so I didn't want to buy a super nice one. Do the $200 irons make a significantly superior waffle to the $25 one? I am quite happy with my dinky little guy and don't plan to know the alternative high-end waffle. I've been playing around with flours, butter vs. oil, toppings etc. What I have below is our "everyday" waffle. It's a mixture of a few different flours, nuts and oats to keep them hearty and fiber filled - something not so indulgent that it has to be saved for a Sunday morning. The coconut oil helps them to get a crispy exterior while everything stays moist inside. Breakfast is kind of "a thing" around here, so I suspect there will be variations in my future, but I found this recipe worth sharing from the waffle experiments thus far.

FLAX WAFFLES // Makes 4 seven inch waffles

Inspired by The Fauxmartha and Oh, Ladycakes

Hugh requests chocolate chips in all possible breakfast sweets. It's a tight ship over here. I'll make the mixture, make two without chips then add 1/4 cup chocolate chips to the remaining batter and finish cooking the rest. I wrap up the extra waffles, keep them in the fridge and toast them in the toaster oven the following morning to warm and crisp them back up.

If you don't have these flours on hand, a 1 1/2 cup total of your preferred flours, or GF All Purpose flour will work fine here too. Your milk to flour ratio should be more or less equal regardless of what you use. Almond and oat flours aren't as absorbent as a wheat flour, so my dry ratio is slightly higher here.

• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup milk (great with buttermilk or non dairy beverage of choice)
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. flaxmeal
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 Tbsp. muscavado or brown sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Heat your waffle iron.

Whisk the egg, milk (or non dairy beverage), orange juice, vanilla together. Whisk in the melted coconut oil.

Add the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix well, pressing out any clumps. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir until just combined. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes for the flaxmeal to absorb some liquid. Add enough batter to fill your waffle iron, don't over stuff it. Remove cooked waffle* and enjoy warm.Don't stack them, they'll steam each other. You can keep waffles warm on a cookie sheet in a 200' oven if waiting for remaining waffles.

Top with real maple syrup, fruit, whipped cream, jam, nut butter or my consistent stand by, goat yogurt and pom seeds. 

* Some irons have timers or a light that turns off to tell you the waffle is done. I have been judging mine by waiting until the iron stops steaming, then I know the outside will be crisp. By using about 3/4 cup batter, the waffle takes roughly 4 minutes until it stops steaming. This will vary by iron.

COCO BANANA DATE SHAKE

There is a little fruit & nut shop en route to Palm Springs that is famous for their date shakes. They only have date or date-banana and they are delicious. They are made with the creamiest of ice creams. I remember getting them with my mom and sister when we'd drive out to see my grandma and we swore we each needed our own. We would drink them fast, the cold sweetness being just the refreshment driving through the hot desert. I could get through about half of it before the heavy cream coated my insides and the thought of finishing the whole shake seemed like a task. I can still see the cup they came in in my memory. A taupe-ish color with swooshes of pink and purple and a big thick straw so the chunks of date could get through. I guess I've always had an affinity for all things ice cream. 

Speaking of, in an effort to cool it on the ice cream habit we've come to around here, I am finding alternatives for a more nutritious frozen treat. We're having some warm days this week, so this coconut-banana-date shake is just the thing for an afternoon snack. I don't usually go for bananas in shakes/smoothies, but it keeps everything cohesive and smooth here. The combination is sweet and creamy, without too much of either. This is the shake I have no problem polishing off. 

COCO BANANA DATE SHAKE // Makes 2

I included a note for a bit of protein powder here because the times I am needing a shake is usually when I am a just moderately hungry - early morning before a workout or afternoon slump time. Adding a bit of protein to a shake or smoothie helps it "stick to my ribs" until a real meal. It is by no means necessary. I don't want to pump a particular brand of protein powder, but there are a plethora of plant based options, as well as good quality whey proteins (such as Tera's Whey) that don't have a bunch of junk fillers in them. Read your labels and know you usually get what you pay for on this one. I also like the addition of oats in smoothies and think this would pass for a quick breakfast if you added them here. They make a lot of sense with these ingredients. Let me know if you try it.

If you want it similar to a milkshake or ice cream, use regular coconut milk. The light kind will still be creamy, but much thinner and a coconut beverage (the sort you find in the fridge) will be like an everyday smoothie. Up to you. 

2 cups coconut milk

4 large pitted Medjool dates, chopped up

1/2 scoop vanilla protein of choice (optional)

one small banana, preferably frozen

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 cups crushed ice

splash of orange juice

In a blender, combine the coconut milk, dates, protein (if using), banana, cinnamon, ice and splash of oj. Blend everything together well until the dates are in tiny pieces and everything is smooth. Adjust with as splash of this or that as desired. Enjoy cold. 

KALE + SLIVERED BRUSSELS SPROUT SOBA NOODLES

I typically work on Saturdays, but this past weekend I had the day to myself. The only plan I made was to get up to the farmers market and stop by my grandma's on the way home. I like going to the market alone. I can watch, listen, feel, observe without keeping a conversation or trying to hurry. I collected bags of greens, citrus, deliciously crispy and crazy expensive apples, lots of herbs - my usual loot. Weaving through the people, I swear that every passed mumur was about kale. If that market was any indication, the hype is not passing yet. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the word 'kale', I would have bought more of those apples. So, since I like it, and the general public is still pumped on the dark leafy green, I pulled this recipe from the new Deborah Madison cookbook, Vegetable Literacy, coming out in a few weeks.

The book is serious. It is serious in the beautiful way that the author is comitted to and passionate about her subject. The book is hearty in size (certainly no shortage of information there) and the recipes are quite simple while still offering something unique. The book is divided by broad families of vegetable, and through text and recipes, shows how herbs and complimenting vegetables pair well or can be used interchangably. Heidi wrote a perfect description here. Madison has a long standing reputation in vegetarian cooking, and this book stands as further reference that the woman knows her plant based foods. The front flap says "a masterwork from America's leading authority on vegetarian cooking" - that's really all the introduction it needs.

This recipe comes in two parts in the book. First, I ran across the suggestion in the chapter involving buckwheat, seeing as soba noodles are made of buckwheat flour (at least in part). The recipe suggested tossing the noodles with the kale and slivered brussel sprout salad written in the cabbage family chapter. The thing about me and noodles, is that I like my vegetable:noodle ratio 2:1. I basically like a little bit of noodle in my salad. So when the recipe hinged on the salad recipe that you then toss with noodles, it sounded like I could have exactly what I wanted. The salad on its own is perfect, the addition of noodles classify it as a meal, either way this is a wonderful, quick dish.

KALE + BRUSSELS SPROUT SOBA NOODLES // Serves 4

Recipe adapted from Deborah Madison:Vegetable Literacy

The recipe originally calls for 4 brussels, but I wanted to finish up the bunch I had. I ended up using around 10 and discarding the tough core. There is enough dressing to bulk up the greens here, so the recipe below reflects that change. 

• 1 bunch tuscan kale
• 5 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 10 brussels sprouts
• 1 plump clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds (white or black)
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes
• 4-8 oz. soba noodles
• 4 slivered green onions, for garnish

Slice the kale leaves from their stems and discard the stems. Working in batches, stack the leaves, roll them up tightly lengthwise, and then thinly slice them crosswise into narrow ribbons. Put the ribbons in a large bowl with 1 tsp. of the sesame oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Massage the leaves with your hands until they glisten.

Discard any funky outer leaves from the brussels sprouts. Slice them paper thin (mandoline works best) then toss them with the kale.

Pound the garlic until smooth in a small mortar (I used a bowl and minced the garlic fine). Stir in the vinegar, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss well. This much can be done in advance and kept in the fridge until ready to serve, or enjoyed alone as a salad.

Bring the water to a boil. When starting the noodles, finish the salad with the sesame seeds, pepper flakes and green onions. Cook the noodles according to package instructions and drain well. Toss the noodles with the greens. The noodle salad can be served warm or cold.

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER CUPS

George is like a character you'd find in a fiction novel. He has the quirks of someone made up, except I work with him at Trader Joes demo station in my non-fiction life. He has a curly ponytail, thick glasses, wears shorts year-round, loves beer, does not own a car, cell phone or computer, speaks of the internet like it's something from space. He prefers people at work (both customers and employees) to call him "The Sheriff" and when the song Wild Wild West comes on in the store, he does a little dance complete with his fingers shaped like guns drawn from his make believe holsters, and boogies around the sample station. I can't make this stuff up. If you're not familiar, Trader Joes has a sample station where people come to try a product, and I work the morning shifts after George has worked there the night before. He likes to chat, and to encourage the company of other employees to come talk, he always opens a box of the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. It's like pigeons and breadcrumbs - he opens those up and people flock. When I follow his shift the next morning, there are usually a couple left for me. I've gotten so used to it now that I get sad when there aren't any left under the table. The more people catch on to his secret stash, the less there are to feed my habit at 7 a.m. This is probably a good problem, but I set out to make my own anyway. As far as candy goes, I knew I could make them a little more virtuous at home.

Hugh and I are coming out of a hot cocoa and whipping cream phase and now these almond butter cups are the treat of choice. They are the perfect amount of sweet and rich with the dark chocolate, while the salt on top brightens up the morsel just right. If you're still looking for a Valentine's Day gift or treat to share, these honestly could not be simpler to make and they taste charmingly homemade.

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER CUPS // Makes 12-14 minis or 6 full sized cups

I fiddled around with this recipe based on a current affinity for the dark chocolate PB cups at Trader Joes and applied some tips from Alana Chernila of The Homemade Pantry. You could use any nut butter you choose, but note that the amount of natural oil will vary by type and brand. The honey and powdered sugar help the nut butter sieze up, so use your judgement and add a bit more if needed. It should be firm enough to roll in a ball, press down and easily hold that shape. Because I know someone will ask, I suppose you could use all honey and no powdered sugar, just expect a more tender center.I use these muffin liners. They look nice and peel away beautifully from the candy.

• 7 oz. dark chocolate (not to exceed 70%)
• 1/2 cup natural almond butter
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. fine grain salt
• sea salt flakes for topping

Break up the chocolate and melt in a double boiler (a pot of simmering water with a bowl resting on top). Stir to make sure it is perfectly smooth.

Set out the liners in a mini muffin tin, this helps them hold shape. Spoon about a teaspoon of the chocolate into the bottom. Tilt and twist it around so the chocolate coats the side of the liner and rest it back in the tin. Repeat with remaining papers. Mix the almond butter, honey, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt together until smooth to make the filling. Scoop out a tsp. of the almond butter filling and gently roll it into a ball between your palms. Give it a press down and center it on top of the thin chocolate puddle. Repeat. Spoon chocolate, about another tsp., on top of each almond butter ball to cover completely. You may need to add a few drops more to get the chocolate to level above the bump of the almond butter. Sprinkle a teensy pinch of flaked sea salt on each one and chill in the fridge to set.

They can be kept in a covered container at room temperature or fridge.