Breakfast

Grab & Go Half Pint Steel Cut Oatmeal Cups

One of my favorite Grab & Go breakfasts is half pint steel cut oatmeal cups.  I make one or two batches each time, loading the half pint mason jars and stacking them in the fridge so that my husband and I can grab one before work or exercise! They are super easy and rewarding both when you are hungry and when someone at work comments on how cute/clever the cups are.

My preferential taste for steel cut oatmeal is Bob's Red Mill which can be found at Costco in large bags for a fraction of the leading grocery store cost and is naturally gluten free.  I also store those large bags in giant mason jars!!

download (13).jpg

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup - Steel Cut Oatmeal, uncooked
  • 1/4 tsp - Salt
  • 2 cups - Water
  • Your Favorite Add-Ins!  Pecans, Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, Agave, Fresh Fruit, Dried Fruit, etc.
  • 4 - Half Pint Mason Jars (8 ounces), with lid and ring
  • 1 - Medium Sauce Pot, with fitted lid
  • 1 - Stirring Spoon
  • 1/4 cup - Dry Measuring Cup, empty and clean

Directions:

Make in the afternoon or evening, prior to the morning you want it.  Place 2 cups water in medium sauce pan and reach boil.  As soon as the water boils remove from heat and add the 1 cup of steel cut oatmeal and 1/4 tsp salt.  Quickly stir the mixture and immediately place lid on sauce pot.  Leave off of hot burner so it doesn't boil over.  Do not remove the lid again as this recipe requires the heat and steam to cook the oats!  Leave for 3 hours.  After 3 hours open the lid and stir the oatmeal.  You'll find it's complete.  Some people leave in the pot overnight and call it "overnight oatmeal" but I don't have time for that!  The whole point of having grab and go oatmeal is so that I don't have to fiddle with it in the morning before work.  Now for the fun part!  Take your empty 1/4 cup dry measuring cup and put two scoops of the oatmeal mixture in one half pint mason jar.  At this time you can choose to mix add-ins with the oatmeal inside the jar or you may wait to add them in before you eat the oatmeal.  Because I like my pecans crunchy I always add in my goodies just before consuming.  However, my husband likes brown sugar in his oatmeal so it is safe to add that in early.  Once you are done filling the jars, wipe the edges of the jar clean and seal with the lid and ring.  Place in your fridge until ready to consume.  One batch of this recipe will make 4 half cup servings of oatmeal.  I like to double my recipe so that 8 half cup servings (8 half pint mason jars) are an easy grab for the two of us.  When you are ready to eat your oatmeal take off the lid and ring and set aside, placing only the glass jar filled with oatmeal in the microwave.  Caution the sides of jar will be very hot! Microwave for thirty seconds to one minute maximum.  I find that the top of the jar where the lid screws on at tends to be cooler than the glass sides but to be safe just remove from microwave with towel.  Stir you oatmeal with a spoon.  Mix your add-ins!  Yummy!!

With Angela O'

download (14).jpg

For Such a Picky Eater: Eating Brains

Photo courtesy of www.goodreads.com of Jeff Hart's bookcover


For such a picky eater I have consumed quite an interesting array of foods in my life.


Pumpkin Blossoms
Ostrich
Alligator
Squid
Lamb Fries (a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Oysters)
Pig Brains
Cow Brains
Bear (In the form of stew)
Buffalo/Bison
Conch
Dandelion Tea
Morel "Sponge" Mushrooms



Yes it is true. Brains, now considered a delicacy by some while most of the population considers them foul. As a child, I ate them fried for breakfast as a side to my scrambled or soft fried eggs.  At the time delish!  As I got older I couldn't handle the flavor any longer and have not touched them since.

The bear was cooked in a stew and was very similar to pot roast except that it had a much more coarse texture than beef.  Simply it would just require getting used to the texture to enjoy.  I can't remember for sure but I believe it was either Brown Bear or Black Bear.

The wonderful Summer of Dandelion tea!  Oh how fond I am of that memory.  Our family friend Rose Penary brought some over one day and then that summer my Gramma and I would dig dandelions so that Paw-Paw (and of course myself and her too!) could enjoy it.  It was so much fun.

Morels are one of my favorite foods of all time.  You know the mushrooms that sell anywhere between $45.00 to $100.00 per fresh pound each year or up to $200.00 per dehydrated pound.  Yup, those.  They were so abundant in Illinois during my childhood that they were considered a major food source for April.   They were also considered a delicacy however, because you physically hunted for them yourselves and they were usually only available for two to four weeks.  Apparently, if you had just the perfect season they might be available for up to eight weeks but I have never experienced that phenomenon. After April showers the sun would come out and heat up the ground and up would pop the yummy fungi.  Some of my best memories are of Paw-Paw and Gramma hunting and preparing the morels with me.

With Angela O'


Multi G-H Nut Cheerios??

So last May I completely swore of cereal.  I have loved cereal since I was a newborn, okay if you want to get picky then a toddler.  I loved it all and my love set in hardcore on those days I would stay at Gramma's house.  She would give me my very favorite of all Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch.  Her favorite was Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.  Over the years it became nothing but comfort food.  In high school and college who didn't want to sit and eat cereal all day.  Especially when it was served in those all-for-the-world-to-see-and-your-mouth-to-drool clear pour mass bins.  Forget the other food. 

In my twenties, I had moved on to Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats.  Somehow, I determined it was healthier than the full-on sugary stuff.  Over the course of nine years, I became a mini-wheat connoisseur determining who made the best frosted mini wheats.  Eventually, I believed that the generic and competing national brands were better at it than Kellogg's themselves!

During my last few months before my 30th birthday I was chatting with a personal trainer friend and we got into conversation as to how cereal is one of the worst things that you could consume.  All junk, just eating candy.  I secretly knew this all along but did not want to admit it.  So to ween myself off, I started eating organic cereal.  Puffins was pretty good.  Then by June I had gone cold turkey.  After a few weeks I didn't miss it.  Then on my 30th birthday I visited my two best friends in Florida.  One of which had a cereal junky family like me.  Oh dear.  I was in trouble.  

So by the end of August I was back on the wagon.  But this time it was a better choice.  My friends had taught me something new...mix cereals.  Well, I used to love Honey Nut Cheerios but they were just so syrupy sweet for me now.  Yuck.  So I thought, why don't I mix them with Multi-Grain Cheerios.  Lots of multi grain, little honey nut.  There you go, that is how I made the perfect cereal.  

Today I am finishing up the last of my double-box pack of Multi-Grain and double-box pack of Honey Nut Cheerios.  It has lasted me since the end of August when I determined I had to load up on my new find at Costco.  It is January of the new year and that is the present me.  If it had been the twenties me four boxes wouldn't have lasted one month.  As I am finishing up this last box I am done.  Not completely done, but just done.  Now that Cheerios has sided with us health-conscious Americans and deemed that their original Cheerios will no longer be made with genetically modified organisms I am going to keep one (only one) box of original Cheerios in the cabinet.  Those will be for those occasions of a quick breakfast or a pre-dinner snack since my husband gets home from work a few hours later than I.  But no longer do I gorge myself on cereal.

~with Angela O'

Photo Credit: www.honeynutcheerios.com

Photo Credit: www.honeynutcheerios.com

Broccoli Cheese Frittata



 I just made this for dinner and it was delish!  You could serve it for a brunch if you so desire.



Ingredients:
1/2 pkg cream cheese, softened
6 eggs
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed or sliced zuchinni (I use fresh broccoli)
4 ounce (aka 1 cup) cheddar cheese, shredded
6 slices firm white sandwich bread
1 tbsp butter or margarine


Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).  In large bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth.  Add eggs, milk, flour, salt and black pepper; whisk until well blended and set aside.
2.  Place onion, red pepper, broccoli and cheese in separate prep bowls.  Using 3-inch (7.5 cm) scalloped or round cutter, cut six rounds out of bread slices (discard trimmings).
3.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; arrange bread slices in single layer over bottom of pan.  Cook 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on one side; remove bread from pan and set aside.  Add onion and red pepper; cook and stir 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in broccoli and spread evenly over bottom of skillet.  Sprinkle with cheese.
4.  Slowly pour egg mixture over vegetables.  Arrange reserved bread slices, toasted-side up, over egg mixture (do not press down).  Place in oven and back 18 - 20 minutes or until egg mixture is set in center.  Remove from oven; serve warm.

Makes 6 servings

*Recipe credit goes to The Pampered Chef

So here's the deal...you can actually get away with using an entire 8 ounce package of cream cheese in this recipe.  How do I know? Apparently because I didn't completely read the instructions until after I made it!  Haha.

~xoxo, hugs and quiches
Angela O'



Pancakes

I have been living off of pancakes since I was born.  They are one of the best foods in the world.  Comforting and delicious.  Thank you to my grandparents for introducing this important food into my existence.  As I entered adulthood I would make pancakes because they were a cheap staple on my grocery list.  I would purchase various brands of pancake mix sold in the breakfast aisle and cook them in a non-stick skillet, using Pam because that was just handy.  But truth be told the absolute best pancakes are made from Bisquick and cooked the traditional way in a cast-iron skillet with oil, thus getting crispy edges.  The cast-iron skillet and oil is the only way that my Gramma makes pancakes to this day.  In fact, I am not sure that she even owns a non-stick skillet.

To make them a little healthier I choose to use corn oil for cooking.  When mixing the ingredients I put in extra milk than what the recipe calls for because Bisquick makes a very thick batter.  Then I top them with a pat of real butter and Log Cabin Syrup.  

Bisquick Pancake from Betty Crocker:

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Enjoy!!



Sometimes I make half of the batter because it is only the two of us, other times I make the entire batch and put them in the fridge for the next day. 

My Day With A French Pastry Chef




One bleak and foggy January Sunday I decided it was finally time to wake up at the crack of dawn, okay well dawn hadn't even broke yet.  It was 5:00 am when I sleepily rustled out of bed only a few weeks ago just so that I could leave the house by 5:30 am to witness french pastry art in the making.  I arrived 4 minutes early and already a french-born Austinite in a chef's coat was rolling out pastry dough with seriously rhythmic sway.  How he performed such edible magic every morning I could not tell you.   

Since September 2012, I've intended to premiere this one-on-one pastry post but a few details had to be worked out as it was my first interview session.  Ever.  So I do apologize for my crazy videographing.  I now understand why journalists bring along a crew.  In the meantime, John and I spent many Saturday mornings trekking up to the Barton Creek Farmer's Market to enjoy our favorite danishes.  The number one danish in our book and the one we introduced to our many friends, Allison Kate Lemp and Tracy Cook was the ever spectacular Spinach & Gruyere pastry.  Ridiculously delicious.  One bite into this mouthful of heaven and I instantly knew that I had to incorporate this pastry chef into my life whether it was with weekly trips to his bakery or with catered brunches for various events.   Just to embark upon ten minutes of what it could be to sit on a Parisian patio meant that it had to be shared with everyone.  And in what better American city than Austin to have a one-hand-held dish with spinach and gruyere, where you are free be yourself in whatever style you choose.  Heck we have a clothing optional park and beach for those who don't know.  Now that is some French inspiration.






I was very fortunate to spend time with Chef Loic at Cinnamon's Bakery.  I have studied french language, have french in my heritage and like many other stateside ladies my heart melts the moment the word's Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, croissant, or macaron is mentioned.  So when I got the invitation to wake up super early I jumped on it.  Why not witness the magic of pastries filled with mushrooms, pumpkin, almond, and chocolat?! Oh and I can't forget the Texas favorite the Big Pig, his twist on the Czech kolache. 



"French Pig.  Born with class." ~ Chef Loic Duchesne

It was nice to hear that the Chef appreciates the logic I live by.  I say bring on the creme and butter everyday.  My Take:  I wholeheartedly believe that the main reason many people in the United States suffer from obesity and such chronic illnesses is due to all of the preservatives and fillers they consume every single day.  I like more simple foods with less ingredients which is why I enjoy hand-making my dishes such as the Alfredo sauce to top my pasta.  I prefer the true and fresh flavors of food commonly practiced in European methods instead of the overabundance of the sugars and fillers that many american restaurants and bakeries use today.  I was thrilled to hear the chef's take on it.



Pictured below is a sweet special he has introduced for Valentine's Day.   The heart-shaped, rose flavored, pale pink macarons are served in a handcrafted white chocolate shell.  I got the honor to try one...and they really do taste like roses.  They were so good that I am craving one as I write this.   Many of you know that I am picky to the extreme when it comes to anything flavored, and these rose macarons surpassed my judgement.  




. . . and this is what became of one young french child who was on summer break with nothing to do many decades ago.  Him and his mom looked through the newspaper classifieds and found a pastry apprenticeship so he wouldn't sit around the house bored.





One week before I headed to the bakery for my scheduled one-on-one time Austin360 produced an article about Chef Loic.  They provided a good look into his background as a pastry chef.  You can check out the link below.

http://www.austin360.com/news/entertainment/dining/french-pastry-chef-thinks-beyond-dessert-trends-at/nTyDS/

cinnamonsbakery.com


UPDATE ON 1/1/2014
Very unfortunate news reached my ears in December 2013 as I took one of my dearest friends to the Barton Creek Farmer's Market to enjoy the chef's pastries.  Chef Loic was struck with sudden illness in October 2013 and immediately passed away.

Mastering a Tiffany Blue Brunch



Mastering a Tiffany Blue Brunch in 3 days was going to be a challenge.  But you know how I love to out-do my challenger.  So here is the scoop.

These tableware pieces are the unofficial, official Tiffany Blue color "Robin's Egg Blue" from the manufacturer Amscan.  Amscan is the parent company of Party City.  Exactly 2 Autumns ago this past September I had the pleasure of visiting the Amscan Corporate Showroom in the gorgeous Westchester County, NY.  There they unveiled their newest party color of Robin's Egg Blue the match to Tiffany & Co.  Of course this color is devoured by brides everywhere but why should brides be the only ladies to enjoy it.


Welcome to the Tiffany Blue Brunch where 17 young ladies celebrated a very special friend's birthday.



I sourced Annie's Cafe, a well-known French bistro in Austin, Texas as the caterer for this event.  Highlights of the brunch were the Ham & Gruyere Frittata and Quiche along with the fresh chocolate croissants.  Each girl enjoyed there juice-tail from stemware making this day a bit more special.


The napkin rings were made using the coordinating Tiffany Blue wrapping paper and pearl/gold scrapbook brads found in the bridal section.

The favor boxes were wrapped in the coordinating Tiffany Blue wrapping paper and hand-tied to present the exact Tiffany bow!  Inside the ladies found a costume pearl & rhinestone bracelet accompined by a bottle of China Glaze's For Audrey nail lacquer. 


The table was to speak solely of Tiffany's, the diamond and pearl decor, the glass "crystal" pitchers and the silver cake stand and platters.

The final touch was the elegant Tiffany box made of fondant cake from Coco Paloma Desserts.  Thank you dearest Paloma for assisting me on this event!  



~With Angela O'



Made-to-Order Breads & Baked Goods from Angela O'

Thanks to the Texas revising the Texas Cottage Food Law late last year I am now able to sell my foods.  Of course it is not legal to sell anything that must be refrigerated so my famous gourmet holiday cheese ball, pies and other confections are out of the equation but I am happy to offer my other goodies!!

Some of the baked goods I offer are:

Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Bundt
Zucchini Bread
Vanilla-Zucchini Bread
Banana Nut Bread
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
Irish Soda Bread
Cookie Varieties & More

Loaves typically run between $5.00 to $6.75 depending on the variety


The law only requires that the food must be for sale at my home so in order for this to be followed one of the three options must be chosen by my customer my customer.  1) My customer can choose to visit my home and place the order, 2) My customer may choose to visit my home and pay for the order, or 3) My customer may choose to pick up the order from my home.

Just comment or send me an email if you are interested.  
angelam.omahony@gmail.com

Annie's Cafe & Bar



 I am lucky enough to have been graced with this wonderful place.  My style it is of course.  A bit of French and modern grace, Annie's Cafe & Bar is such a treat.  I can enjoy a posh drink with friends, a nice dinner with my husband or a beautiful brunch during the day.  Annie's was listed as one of Austin360.com Best Places to Brunch in 2011.  

Annie's Cafe & Bar offers catering services as well.  I have indeed acquired them to produce food for a Tiffany Blue Brunch this weekend.  The menu will include Ham & Gruyere Quiche and Fritata and Chocolate-Filled Croissants.


Love the old French country doors.


A peak of the oven


The Brioche French Toast


The delicious food


A Real Cup of Fruit!



As of August 2012 my husband will have lived Austin for 2.5 years and Annie's Cafe & Bar is the very first place he has received a perfectly delicious cup of cappuccino.


A great summer spot however I can't wait to enjoy myself under Annie's roof this fall.  Mmmmm, I'm already envisioning a warm beignet.

Your Famous,
~ Angela O'








Sourced from www.anniescafebar.com:
Annies Café & Bar is a modern Brasserie in the heart of downtown Austin. Inspired by the bustling bistros and great sidewalk cafés of Europe, owners Love Nance and Sherry Jameson reinvigorated the legendary Day Building at 319 Congress and created a space not only for dining but for meeting, drinking and enjoying life.
In 2008, longtime Austinites Nance and Jameson lost their lease after running the popular lunchtime café and bakery then known as Apple Annies for 26 years. They recreated the café as Annies and moved it to Congress Avenue, the Main Street of Texas. Annies quickly became a favorite with everyone from morning joggers wanting fresh omelets to legislators insisting on Annie's famous meatloaf to locals enjoying perfectly prepared treasures from that morning's trip to the farmer's market. Longtime Apple Annies patrons and newcomers alike discovered Annies as the perfect place to sit, sip and enjoy the revitalization of downtown Austin.
Annie's menu is filled with seasonal farm-to-market food prepared in simple, innovative ways. The café bustles with energy from early mornings, when the irresistible smell of fresh baguettes fills the restaurant, to the noon hour, when business people flock to Annies for a quick healthy lunch, to late nights, when regulars gather round the zinc bar for Austin's finest creative craft cocktails or decadent deserts.
Stop by and see why Annies is downtown Austin's homegrown favorite.

Check out the website for yourself!!


www.anniescafebar.com


319 E Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78701