Friday I'm in Love... with BetterOats oatmeal

I am NOT an oatmeal kind of person. In fact, it usually grosses me out with it's disgusting texture. But somehow I found myself drawn to the hot cereal aisle, and the packaging of BetterOats lured me in. And considering they were only $1.50 for 5 servings (once I tried and loved them, I went back for more, only to find them on sale for $1!), I decided I wouldn't be breaking the bank to try them out.

First off, I love the packaging. Tall and thin boxes filled with tall and thin bags (which double as the water measurement system), decorated with bright colors - they're easy to spot on the shelf. Plus, the top front of the box pops off, making it easy to see how many are in the box and easy to line up a whole bunch of boxes at once.

And the taste? Well, I wouldn't be writing about it if I didn't like it. The pomegranate was my favorite - tart and sweet, especially when I added fresh pomegranate arils on top - until I tried the cinnamon plum spiced. It's SO GOOD - fruity with just a hint of floral, well spiced but not overpowering, and just plain tasty! I guess I can't say I'm not an oatmeal kind of person any more.

Mini Cinnamon Buns

Every January for the past few years, I spend a weekend at my friend Ann's house while her husband goes skiing in Vermont. Inevitably, the weekend turns into an all-you-can-bake affair, and I'm pretty sure Ann's favorite part is when I wake up before she does and bake something out-of-the-ordinary for breakfast. This year's treat? Mini cinnamon buns, as found on Can You Stay For Dinner?

I had been planning on making cinnamon buns for our extravagant breakfast, but all the recipes I was finding (including the one in the new Flour Bakery cookbook, which I ended up making other delicious things out of) involved yeast and many hours of rising time. So when I Stumbled (a great way to find food blogs, by the way) across this ready-in-half-an-hour recipe, I knew I had hit paydirt.

My buns didn't come out quite as pretty because I used a mini muffin pan, and the cups were the size of the sliced rolls, which didn't allow room for them to spread out. However, I think I prefer how mine looked - since they couldn't spread to the sides, they spread up, into little conical shapes, which made them look a little more substantial than they were.

Mini Cinnamon Buns from Can You Stay For Dinner?
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter, softened slightly
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
milk (about 1 Tbsp)

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease the cups of a mini muffin pan, and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the cream and mix until the dough just pulls together and is soft and moist.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until you have a roughly 12x7 rectangle. Smear softened butter all over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture evenly over the butter. Starting at one of the 12-inch sides, roll the dough up into a tight spiral.

Use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 24 small spirals. Place each spiral into a cup in the prepared baking pan. Bake about 12-15 minutes, until the buns are lightly golden. Cool on a wire rack.

While the buns are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and a splash of milk until smooth. Add a little bit of milk at a time until the glaze is just slightly runny (you don't want it too watery, so go slow!) Drizzle the glaze over the buns before serving.

Fruity Oaty Bars Make A Man Out Of A Mouse

Around the time that we were planning our Dollhouse party, our friend April, who lives in LA but visits Boston every year around her birthday, said that she wanted a Whedon-verse themed party for her birthday. We spent the intervening months brainstorming party ideas based not just on Dollhouse, but also Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and my beloved Firefly.


I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to make Fruity Oaty Bars, which has a commercial (above) that unlocks seemingly-crazy River's potential in Serenity. I brainstormed ideas for ages - I didn't want to just dye something with colors to make it match the commercial. I ended up combining a few recipes to include both fruit and oats, as well as to keep the colorful look.

The resulting Fruity Oaty Bars are pretty tasty and would make a great breakfast snack. The texture is similar to a muffin, and it's not terribly sweet. The blueberry and strawberry sections had the strongest taste, while the mango and kiwi sections just tasted vaguely fruity. I would make this again (probably with just a single fruit) just to have on hand for breakfast.

Of course, I had to wrap them individually to make them look like something shiny you would buy in the Core planets. I wanted to wrap them in gold foil, which I thought I had on hand but didn't. I opted, instead, for a copy of the local Chinese newspaper, which I grabbed from a newspaper box on my corner, and added a picture of the Fruity Oaty Bar Girls that I grabbed off the internet.

Fruity Oaty Bars
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups fruit puree (your choice - I used 1/3 cup strawberry, 1/3 cup blueberry, 1/3 cup kiwi, and 1/3 cup mango)
food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a glass baking dish with parchment paper, letting the edges overhang so you can remove the baked bars easily. I used a 7x12 baking dish, which seems like an odd size, so use something that is relatively long and narrow.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and oats and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugar and mix well. Place each fruit puree in a different mixing bowl and divide butter/eggs/sugar mixture evenly between them; mix well (and add food coloring if you want the colors to be bold after baking). Divide flour/oat mixture evenly amongst the bowls and mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened.

Arrange the colored batters in long, thin stripes down the baking dish. The batter will be thick, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get the colors to line up next to each other. Make for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely before cutting.

To serve, cut into slices, making sure to include some of each fruit.

Of course, there was more to the Whedon-verse party than Fruity Oaty Bars. Everyone came in costume - we had Inara, Kaylee, Simon, River, Jayne, Drusilla, Faith trapped in Buffy's body, Faith, and the Man himself, Joss Whedon. We enjoyed Some Kind of Hot Cheese, burgers from Double Meat Palace, and Simon's birthday cake (in miniature, above). We also had tons of themed drinks: Kaylee's Gussied-Up Engine Wine Coolers (strawberry juice, vodka, and riesling), Lorne's Seabreezes (grapefruit juice, vodka, cranberry juice, wedge of lime), Mudder's Milk (depending on who was drinking, it was either beer or Baileys), Wonderflonium (bright greet kiwi strawberry fruit punch and gin, although any bright green juice would work), and my favorite, Badger's Finest (iced tea, applejack, and slices of green apple).

What would you include for a Joss-themed party?

Cheap Eats: Kupel's Bakery

There are plenty of places around to grab a bagel sandwich, but you're often limited in choices or end up paying more than you'd like. At Kupel's (pronounced "couples") just outside Coolidge Corner, though, you have a whole slew of options and get a tasty sandwich for just a couple of bucks.

Kupel's bagels are baked fresh daily in a wide range of flavors. They're chewy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. This Bostonist favors the jalapeno bagel, with just enough spice to make it interesting, but there are so many choices, you could take home a dozen with all different flavors. For the full sandwich experience, choose from a variety of spreads (like honey walnut cream cheese or hummus), fish (like white fish salad or lox) or eggs, and a variety of veggies. You can choose from a number of sandwiches, named mostly for local sports heroes, or pick your own toppings to get exactly what you want.

If you're still hungry after your bagel, pick up a pastry for dessert. The cases are filled with choices, and each type of pastry typically comes in 3 or 4 different flavors. Kupel's hamentashen are so popular, they're made year-round, with fillings like poppy seed and apricot, and they come in two different sizes. This Bostonist loves the flat tires, huge disks of puff pastry with layers of filling (like lemon or chocolate) and sprinkled with coarse sugar, because it's almost impossible to eat one in just one sitting.

Kupel's is located at 421 Harvard Street in Brookline. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 6am-8pm, Friday 6am-7pm, and are closed Saturday. They are also Kosher/Pareve.

Originally published on Bostonist.

Blackberry Scones

There's something so very greedy about berry picking, and it's not just the inherent one-for-now, one-for-later mentality as you pull them off the branch.

My friend Melody invited me by her house to pick blackberries from the wild bushes nearby. After being thwarted by some rain, I finally got my chance - sunny, gorgeous weather in the low 70s. I grabbed a big metal bowl and started exploring her yard. I found the two major areas (back yard = huge bushes with giant berries, front yard = medium bushes with much smaller berries like the ones above) and got to work.

And it was as I was picking that I realized how greedy I was becoming. I worked the whole area, picking only what I thought was ripe and wasn't to hard to reach within the brambles. But as I walked back to my car along the bushes, I realized how much more fruit was on there. Had I missed all these ripe berries the first time, or had they magically ripened in the sun in the last few minutes?

All in all, I probably went over each bush four times, collecting more and more fruit every time. And yet I continued to become greedy. At every pass, I would pick berries that maybe weren't quite dark enough and reach that much further into the thorns, scraping up my arm but coming back with a handful of sweetness. I found myself concocting plans for my next visit, including bringing leather gardening gloves and maybe some clippers to cut off unruly branches. And all for berries in someone else's yard!

Back home, I sorted the berries by size: the smaller ones were perfect for baking, while the larger ones were delicious as-is. I turned to my copy of The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, which is my absolute favorite baking book, and found a great recipe for fresh berry scones. I was a little turned off when I was instructed the grate the butter - it was like herding cats (which I coincidentally also did this weekend...) - but the results were worth it. Oh, and I adapted the recipe slightly because I can't ever manage to read directions correctly...

Blackberry Scones (adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, frozen, plus extra for melting (about 2 Tbsp)
1 1/2 cups fresh berries
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (about 1/2 a large lemon)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream

On the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into a small bowl. Once grated, place butter back into the freezer. Place berries in a bowl and set in the freezer - they do not need to freeze, just get sufficiently chilled.

Preheat oven to 425 ° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and baking soda. Add in the grated butter and lightly toss until the butter is evenly coated. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and sour cream, then add to the flour mixture. Fold in with a spatula until just combined.

Turn out dough onto a well (and I mean well) floured board. Lightly knead the dough until it just pulls together, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky. Pat the dough into a 12-inch square, then fold the top third and bottom third of the dough over the middle (like folding a letter). Then fold up the sides of the dough over the middle to form a square. Place dough on a floured plate, then place in the freezer for about 5 minutes so the butter doesn't soften too much.

Place the dough back on the floured board, and roll out to a 12-inch square. Arrange berries on top of the dough and lightly press them in. Roll the dough up into a tight log, pinching the ends and seam shut. Flatten the log into a 12x4-inch rectangle. Cut the dough lengthwise into 4 even rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles (8 total).

Place scones on baking sheet, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops of the scones are golden brown. Turn the sheet once during baking. After baking, transfer to a wire rack to cool.

My Father's Popovers

The snow today left me wanting one thing - popovers. I couldn't help but give in.

For my parents' wedding, they received a Farberware Open Hearth Rotisserie. As far as I know, it has only ever been used to make roast beef for family gatherings. When it comes to cooking on the rotisserie, the task falls firmly in my father's domain, much like the grill. In fact, when I was growing up and we had roast beef for dinner, he would take on even more of the meal and make popovers to go alongside. And although the beef is always juicy and well-cooked, the popovers are my favorite part of that meal.

When I moved out of my parents' house, this was one recipe I made sure to have with me. Popovers are definitely a comfort food for me - the edges are crunchy, the inside is soft, and the whole thing is amazingly buttery and delicious. Sometimes I use the batter in a large glass dish and sprinkle in chopped apples, but for this snowy day, I opted for the traditionally large and billowy popovers, baked in individual ramekins.

My Father's Popovers
6 eggs
2 cups milk
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease 6 8-ounce ramekins (you can also use a muffin pan, but you'll get smaller popovers) and arrange on a baking sheet; set aside.

In large bowl with mixer on low speed, beat eggs until frothy. Add milk and butter and beat until combined. Add flour and salt and continue to mix until there are no lumps. Pour batter into ramekins, filling until 3/4 full.

Bake for 60 minutes, then make a small slit in the top of each popover for steam and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Croissants are Surprisingly Easy

Another snowy weekend, another desire to bake. This time, I went with something a little more difficult than biscuits, and something I've only dreamed of making - croissants. I've always thought that croissants must be this time-consuming, nit-picky endeavor, since it is so difficult to find a truly delicious specimen. But as I started to tackle this recipe, I was astounded to discover that each step is fairly easy and short - it's just the waiting period between each step that makes this seem to take forever.

True, it took almost 24 hours to complete the croissants, but active time was under an hour. The result was exactly what I was looking for - buttery, flaky, light-as-air pillows of dough that practically dissolve on your tongue. I'm very happy to know that when I want the real deal, I can now make them at home, instead of driving all over, looking for something that may or may not sate my craving.

And since this was an experiment (I didn't even know if they would turn out at all - better to have low expectations when trying something "difficult," I feel), I opted to try both plain and chocolate croissants. Both turned out splendidly, and I actually liked splitting the batch in half so I could have both flavors. If you do split your batch, use only about half the chocolate I listed below, and save any chocolate that doesn't get folded into the dough for melting and drizzling.

Croissants

3 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp instant or rapid rise yeast (about 1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup warm milk
3 sticks unsalted butter
1 large egg, beaten
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional)

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 2 3/4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. With the mixer at low speed and the dough hook installed, slowly add milk and mix until the dough begins to pull together, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough becomes sticky and elastic, about 8 minutes. If the dough isn't forming roughly into a ball by about 5 minutes, add 1/4 cup more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and put the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Lay out a large sheet of parchment paper on a counter. Sprinkle 1 Tbsp of flour on the parchment, then lay the 3 sticks of butter side by side on the flour. Sprinkle 1 more Tbsp of flour on top of the butter, then top with another sheet of parchment. Working with a rolling pin, gently pound the butter until it is softened and the flour is incorporated. Roll butter into a 12-inch square. Keeping the butter in the parchment, refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out dough so that the butter square will fit diagonally in the center. Place the butter in the center of the dough in a diamond shape, with the corners of the butter at the middle of the sides of the dough. Fold the dough over the sides of the butter so that they meet in the middle and press to seal shut. Roll the dough out to a 14-inch square, sprinkling on more flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Once dough is rolled out, fold the square into thirds, like a letter, to form a rectangle, then fold that rectangle into thirds to form a small square. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll out the dough again, lightly dusting with flour to prevent sticking. Repeat the previous folding process, folding the dough into a rectangle and then a square. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper (rimmed baking sheets are best). Roll the dough into a 20-inch square. Cut the dough into two halves down the middle.

For regular croissants, cut each half into 3 rectangles, then cut each of those pieces diagonally into 2 triangles. Cut a small slit into the wide end of the triangle, then gently roll the dough, starting at the wide end and moving towards the point. Place the croissants on the baking sheet and curl the arms around to form the crescent shape.

For chocolate croissants, cut each half into 6 even rectangles. Place a tablespoon of chopped chocolate at one end, then roll the dough up around it into a log shape. Arrange on the baking sheet with the seam on the bottom.

Loosely cover shaped croissants with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 to 16 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°. Brush the croissants with egg wash and place the sheets in the oven, using both racks. Bake until golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Rotate and switch the baking sheets halfway through baking. Serve warm or at room temperature. For chocolate croissants, wait until the croissants have cooled, then drizzle with melted chocolate.

Biscuits That Will Keep You in the House

Well, I knew my winter hibernation instincts had kicked in a while ago, but that's been more evident than ever lately. I have to convince myself to even leave the house, where there are warm pajamas, tv shows to watch, books to read while snuggled under my covers... and delicious baked goods, right out of the oven.

This isn't a new recipe to me, but I realized I hadn't yet put it up on here. And I can't imagine that I'm the only one who's been into hibernation lately (especially with the temperature in the teens this week), so I thought I'd share. These biscuits are simple to throw together, and they come out of the oven in no time - so you can get back in bed before your feet can even get cold.

A few notes:
This recipe works easily if the butter is cut up into little chunks first. I like to cut mine into about 90 pieces - slice the stick into three equal pieces lengthwise, then rotate 90° and slice into another three pieces lengthwise (so you'll have 9 long pieces). Then cut width-wise to form little cubes - 10 slices will get you 90 pieces total.

When you knead the dough, try to do so as little as possible. Overworking the dough will make it tough. Similarly, once you have stamped out the biscuits, gently rework the scraps into another 1-inch thick disk and cut more biscuits. The second batch will be slightly less tender and flaky because the dough has been reworked. By the time you get to a third batch, the dough is pretty tough, and the results aren't very good at all.



Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces and chilled
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add in butter and, working quickly with your hands, press the flour mixture into the butter, rubbing between your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring until it is all combined into the flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead until the dough pulls together into a uniform consistency. Flatten dough out with the palm of your hand until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and lay bottom-side-up on the baking sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 400° and rotate the pan. Bake for another 10-13 minutes until golden brown. Best served warm.

French Toast Muffins

Ah, the first snow of the season. The French Toast Alert System over at Universal Hub is only at Guarded, but I wanted to inaugurate the season with something French toast-like. Sadly, I have no bread in the house (I clearly didn't pay any attention to the FTAS), so I opted for French toast muffins instead. A little maple, a little cinnamon and nutmeg, a sprinkle of sugar - almost better than the real thing.

French Toast Muffins
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup butter (5 1/3 Tbsp), melted

Topping
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and mix to combine. Add milk, egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and butter and whisk together until well combined. Pour into a greased muffin tin, filling each cup until 3/4 full. In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping. Evenly sprinkle the topping over each muffin. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Cheap Eats: The Paramount

Unless you have a hankering for IHOP, there are few places in this city where you can get quality breakfast throughout the day. Luckily, the Paramount on Charles Street serves breakfast all day long, for just those times when you need to feed those cravings.

Open since 1937, the Paramount has been serving up tasty food for over 70 years. The restaurant is set up cafeteria-style, and you have to wait in line to order and pay for your food before you find a table. They cover all the breakfast highlights - pancakes, waffles, omelettes, and full breakfast plates. The pancakes are fluffy and huge, and the banana pancakes get rave reviews. The malted belgian waffle with fresh fruit is literally covered in a thick mix of different fruits and is a quite a substantial meal. With the wait in line before you place your order, you get plenty of chance to look at what other diners are enjoying before picking out your own delicious meal.

The Paramount is located at 44 Charles Street in Beacon Hill. The day menu is served Monday-Friday, 7am-4:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 8am-4:30pm. The restaurant serves dinner from 4:30-10pm. Avoid the Paramount for weekend brunch if you don't like long lines (and really, who does?).

Originally posted on Bostonist.

This is What Sunshine Tastes Like?!

Last month, I was at the Market Basket near my parents' house and, while browsing the "healthy" section, stumbled across a new cereal from Kashi. Now, I've been known to go on Kashi kicks - the Go! Lean Crunch bars were a feature of a particularly long kick, well over a year - and it's clear to me that this new cereal, Honey Sunshine, will be in my pantry for quite a while to come.

Kashi calls Honey Sunshine "puffy cereal pillows," and that's a pretty accurate statement. They have a fantastic crunch and tons of honey sweetness. I've never been one to put milk in my cereal, so I've really enjoyed the crunchy goodness of this stuff. It's reminiscent of Cap't Crunch, only less-sugary and more satisfying (thanks to an increase in fiber).

Unfortunately, Market Basket has been the only place I've been able to find Honey Sunshine, and that means a drive out to the suburbs. On my last visit, I ended up buying 4 boxes, which she keep me happy for at least a little while. Anyone seen this anywhere else around Boston?

Henrietta's Table, Harvard Square

I like getting my family into this whole blogging thing :)

My aunt was in town for a conference and invited me to join her for a "research" breakfast at Henrietta's Table in Harvard Square. We had a great time chatting and eating, since it's so hard to spend any one-on-one time talking at our large family get-togethers (the eating, on the other hand, is never a problem).

I went for an omelet with spinach and feta, served with hash browns and toast. On my first bite, all I could taste was butter - which was a lovely thing. In fact, I think you can see a nice sheen of butter in the picture above. Sadly, however, the eggs themselves were overcooked and too thick. It may just be my own tastes, but I favor omelets that are more tender and thinner. The spinach, though, was excellent, simply folded into the center of the omelet. It was clear that this was incredibly fresh spinach, and I could have eaten a mound more of just that. The accompanying sides were very satisfying - the hash browns were crispy and golden and just delicious, while my choice of toast, the sweet anadama bread, was cut in big, thick slices. Definitely a hearty and filling meal.


My aunt went with the poached eggs and bacon on anadama bread with hollandaise sauce and asparagus. Again, the eggs were overcooked, with the yolks not runny but firm all the way through. But everything else was great, including the hollandaise with a pronounced lemony zing.

This was my second time at Henrietta's Table (the first was for a wedding shower), and I really appreciate the restaurant's use of fresh and in-season produce. Definitely makes me want to go back for lunch or dinner, when eggs aren't the main focus. (Oh, and also because the seasonal drink menu looks killer!)

Dutch Babies, Two Ways

I saw this recipe the other day for a make-at-home Bickford's Big Apple, the one thing I always order at Bickford's. So when my roommate suggested pancakes this morning, I was thinking something more along the lines of a Dutch baby rather than a traditional pancake. My recipe is super easy - it only takes a couple of minutes to get the batter ready, and then you get to kick back while they bake in the oven... no slaving over the hot stove, flipping each pancake.

I opted for the traditional topping of melted butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar, while my roommate went with mixed fruit- bananas, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries, topped with powdered sugar.


Dutch Babies
4 eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup sifted flour
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp soft butter

Preheat oven to 400°. In a blender, process eggs on low until light and frothy. Add the rest of the ingredients and process on medium until smooth, scraping down the sides if anything sticks. Butter 2 9-inch cake pans. Pour batter into pans and bake for 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Custard

So it's gotten warm again here, despite the chill last week. However, I did all my shopping when it was cold, so my foods for the week reflected that. The weather was putting me in the mood for pumpkin - in fact, I had a pumpkin soup lined up that I didn't get around to.

Anyhow, I've been eating this ridiculously easy custard for breakfast all week, and it's been a real treat. It's healthy, but it tastes decadent (and a lot like pumpkin pie). I especially like the kick the cayenne pepper gives without standing out too much.

Pumpkin Custard adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
3/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
16 oz can of pumpkin
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in pumpkin, milk, orange juice and eggs. Divide among 6 ramikins.

Set ramikins in a high-walled pan. Pour in an inch of boiling water. Bake until firm around the edges and slightly puffed, about 40 minutes. Remove from water bath, cool completely and refrigerate.