Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

There is so much to love about spring in the mountains. The early morning sun kisses our deck at about 9:00 AM and warms the geraniums in their window boxes so that they reach out eagerly for nurishment and light. Later in the summer they may droop and fade, but in the spring they bring smiles to the faces of all who view them. Someone in a passing boat yelled to me that my deck looked pretty. I yelled back that I was happy to be here and happy with the wonderful weather that allowed my to plant flowers in my window boxes so early. The spring awakening is such a universal renewal of hope and promise that you can’t help but feel energetic and enthused about the future.

We had family visiting. The night before I suggested sausage and pancakes for breakfast, but cousin Chuck said they were not big breakfast eaters. I awoke early on the next morning and decided a simple coffeecake and fruit would be just the thing for breakfast. I flipped through my recipe notebook and found a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for a quick cinnamon streusel coffeecake that sounded good and I had all of the ingredients. It took me no time to assemble it and we were very pleased with the results. The only thing I changed was to make half of the cake recipe in an 8×11 inch casserole and all of the streusel topping. I cooked it for just 30 minutes and the cake was just right.

QUICK CINNAMON STREUSEL COFFEECAKE ( Cook’s Illustrated )

Printable recipe

On this sunny Saturday morning I baked this lovely breakfast casserole. Our friends needed something special to see them off on their journey home, but I am still trying to be mindful of our
calorie intake. This blueberry french toast bake came from Ellie Krieger’s So Easy cookbook. I like her recipes because she packs a lot of nutrition and flavor into her food and not a lot of fat. Also this is one of those great casseroles that you assemble the night before and just bake in the morning. It made the kitchen smell like cinnamon and vanilla and gave me time to prepare the rest of the breakfast while I sipped my morning coffee.

The last two weeks have been a challenge to our commitment to weight lose but we are still on course. I have been walking every day and am thinking of joining a yoga class. Believe it or not, David has joined a Zoomba class at his gym. He is not known for his rhythm and I have a hard time picturing him salsa dancing. At least he is getting a good workout.

Give this recipe a try. It is crispy on top and soft and eggy on the inside with a flavor burst of blueberries and cinnamon. By the way I halved the recipe below and cooked it in a 9″ square pan.

BLUEBERRY-ALMOND FRENCH TOAST BAKE

Cooking spray
1 whole wheat baquette (about 18″ long), cut into 1 ” cubes
2 cups low-fat milk
8 large eggs
8 large egg whites
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the milk, eggs, egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top. Sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Serve hot.

Serving size – 1 4×3 inch piece, 270 calories. 5 Weight Watchers points

Printable recipe

We will be returning to Lake Lure for Christmas. It is exciting to contemplate cold snowy weather, a roaring fire and a fresh Frasier Fir tree decorated with our collection of ornaments from the past. One of our Christmas traditions has always been a breakfast casserole. I have experimented with many versions over the years and yesterday I experimented with this version from Bon Appetit. I love it. Most breakfast casseroles incorporate the bread cubes into the mixture. In this case there is a layer of sourdough baguette slices on the bottom and up the sides of the casserole. The outside slices get nicely crisp and the sausage, egg mixture is nestled in the center. It is full of green spinach and roasted red peppers which give it a festive appearance. This is what I will be fixing for Christmas morning. I have a feeling it will become our traditional dish for many years to come.

TORTA RUSTICA

16 1/4 inch thick sourdough baguette slices, cut on slight diagonal
1 Tablespoon butter
12 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1 1/2 cups grated Fontina cheese, divided
3/4 cup diced drained roasted red peppers (from 12 ounce jar)
6 large eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk (I used skim)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 X 8 X 2 baking dish. (I used a 12 X 8 X 3 inch dish and found it to be just perfect). Place 8 baguette slices in bottom of dish, press remainder of slices around sides.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Add spinach, toss until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to strainer; cool. Squeeze spinach dry. Transfer to medium bowl.

Heat same skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage. Saute until cooked through, breaking up, about 7 minutes. Mix into spinach; mix in 1 cup sheese and peppers. Spread atop baguette slices in bottom of dish.

Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Whisk in last 4 ingredients. Pour over spinach mixture and stir lightly with fork to distribute evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over.

Bake torta until puffed and golden and center is set, about 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Note: Most breakfast casseroles can be assembled the night before and baked it the morning. I have not tried that with this casserole. I will probably fry the sausage, saute the spinach, slice the bread and dice the peppers the night before and assemble the dish in the morning.

Printable recipe

We returned to Richlands, Virginia this past weekend. You may remember that our good friends Barbara and Jim live there. I posted about one of Barbara’s recipes here. The reason for the visit was a surprise birthday party for Barbara. It was a milestone birthday and one not to be missed. Unfortunately our husbands had planned a two week mototcycle trip that was to begin on the day of her birthday. But Jim could not bring himself to leave on her birthday, so a month of deception began. Barbara was convinced that the guys were leaving on Saturday morning. Jim packed his boots and jackets, loaded the bike, gave Barbara a token birthday present, apologized for leaving on her birthday and left. She was a good sport about it, but was depressed. While her Mother and Sister took her to a ficticious birthday lunch, Jim doubled back and everyone descended on her house and waited for her return. Her sister came up with a crazy excuse to turn around and go home and the surprise was a complete success. Here is Barbara’s real present.

They live on a mountain for heaven’s sakes, so what better present than an ATV. It is what every 60 year old biker babe should have. She is looking forward to riding the trails and visiting their log cabin on the old Kentucky Turnpike. What beautiful country this is. This is the view from their house.

After our last visit, in which I posted about Barbara’s beautiful new kitchen, Girlichef commented that I should have posted a picture of the kitchen – so here it is Girlichef.

Sunday morning the guys really prepared to leave on their trip. Barbara fixed a hardy breakfast of skillet biscuits, country ham, milk gravy and eggs. Skillet biscuits are a wonderful alternative to the biscuit challenged. According to Barbara you just follow the biscuit recipe on the self-rising flour bag, but add a little more buttermilk to make the batter of pouring consistancy and bake in a greased iron skillet until brown and cooked through. She inverted the biscuits on a plate and cut them into wedges. Breakfast was delicious and it was a fitting send off to the thoughtful men in our lives.