sweet miscellany

seasonal plant-based recipes

Baked Eggs: Herb Ricotta Frittata

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I’m not sure why eggs tend to get the reputation as a breakfast food.  Come to think of it, I rarely eat eggs for breakfast unless it’s a lazy Saturday or perhaps someone else makes them for me.  Eggs are one of the most versatile (and cheap!) ingredients in your cooking arsenal so why not elevate them beyond something that you would find on a breakfast platter?

If you have never had baked eggs before, you are missing out.  When you bake eggs in a frittata, the result is basically an egg cake.  The eggs puff up and become golden on the outside while staying soft and almost fluffy on the inside.  Aside from being delicious and quite simple to make, frittatas are infinitely customizable.  In this one, I used up some leftover herbs and ricotta cheese, but feel free to add anything you like.  Serve this frittata for dinner alongside a nice green salad or perhaps some asparagus.  It will serve 4 as a dinner portion.

Herb Ricotta Frittata

1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or other high-heat tolerant oil)
8 eggs
a splash of almond milk (or other milk of your choice)
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Heat the oil in a large oven-proof non-stick skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  While the oil is heating, in a large bowl, gently beat the eggs and almond milk.  Once the eggs are lightly beaten, stir in the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the egg mixture to your hot skillet and then gently place dollops of the ricotta on top.  Continue to cook the frittata, without stirring, until the edges are firm, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the top of the frittata is set, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.
You can either serve slices of the frittata out of the skillet, or, you can slide it out of the skillet and onto a cutting board or plate before serving.  Enjoy!




   

Brown Bread

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When I was younger, Thanksgiving was an opportunity to scout out a new recipe and try it out with my family.  I have collected plenty of delicious recipes from Thanksgivings past, ranging from a butternut squash gratin to an apricot and fennel stuffing.  Why am I mentioning Thanksgiving in September?  Well, one such Thanksgiving, probably almost 10 years ago now, I found a recipe for something called “brown bread”.  It sounded interesting and easy, so I decided to try it.  Since then, it has become a regular at Thanksgiving as well as other times of the year when I want an easy and tasty loaf of bread.

Don’t let the rather bland name confuse you.  This bread is moist and hearty with a slightly sweet and smokey flavor from the combination of brown sugar and molasses.  It is a quick bread, so it requires no yeast or rising time.  You can go from mixing bowl to a warm loaf of baked bread in an hour or less.  I have changed this recipe a bit so that it is healthier, but I think the original may have come off of epicurious if you are interested in trying to look it up.  Normally I enjoy this bread with some jam or butter (or a mixture of both), but I bet it would make some awesome french toast. 

Brown Bread
makes 1 loaf

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/3 to 2/3 cups packed brown sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
1 tbsp wheat bran (opt.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan and line with parchment paper to ensure your bread doesn’t stick.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and brown sugar.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and molasses until combined.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Pour the dough into your prepared pan and sprinkle the top with wheat bran if you would like.  Bake in the middle of the oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.  Enjoy!