Strawberry Shortcake Waffles

Hi. I've spent too much time talking about how much I love breakfast food to not share more breakfast recipes, so here I am. With waffles and whipped cream, which makes me feel like Leslie Knope. These are the important things in life.

Anyway, let's talk podcasts. I love them, because I like having stuff to listen to while I walk or clean or do other mindless stuff, and audiobooks are way to expensive. Most of mine revolve around either true crime or psychology, but I'm open to most things, so if you have recommendations pleeeease send them my way.

Let's see, on the true crime vein, I loved Serial. Season 1 is much better in my opinion, but both are good. Sarah Koenig takes you inside her investigations of a couple crimes, and I loved "seeing" it all slowly come together. She also lets her listeners form their own opinions which I really appreciate.
I also highly recommend Serial Killers, if you're into that. They spend a couple weeks on each serial killer and talk some about the psychology of psycopathy, and I LOVE that. Neither of the hosts have psych degrees, so their opinions are kinda questionable sometimes, but other than that, GREAT. Just don't listen if you're easily scared.

For psychology, I highly recommend Invisibilia. They talk about different human phenomena and the reasons behind them, such as our insatiable need to solve things--even if it's a problem that should maybe be left alone. There are a lot of deep truths about life and human nature in this one and sometimes it makes me cry.
Another one is The Hilarious World of Depression. Comedians come on and talk about their experiences with depression and other mental illnesses, and I'll be honest--if you have the right sense of humor, they have a point. Depression is kind of funny.

Strawberry Shortcake Waffles
waffles
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cups milk

topping
1 pint strawberries, sliced
2 tbsp sugar (more if it's not berry season)
juice of 1 lemon
whipped cream

1. Start by browning the butter: place the butter in a pan over medium heat. As it melts, swirl the pan a bit. It will start to crackle--this is the water boiling out. It's a good thing. Once the butter turns light brown, remove from heat and let cool.
2. Next, make the topping. Gently stir together the strawberries and sugar. Dribble in the lemon juice, then set aside to do their thing. This is called macerating; it means the strawberries will release their juices.
3. To make the waffles, stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Create a well in the center, then add eggs, vanilla, and butter. Stir together.
5. Add milk and stir until smooth. Let sit while you preheat the waffle maker.
6. Butter the waffle maker and ladle in about 2/3 cup of batter (depending on size of your waffle maker). Cook for about 3-5 minutes.
7. Serve waffles with strawberry topping and a swoosh of whipped cream.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Poorly lit kitchen strikes again

Hi. What's this? Another cinnamon roll recipe? Yeah, sorry. I love them to death. Also, where have I been for the last few months? I don't know. Death by undergrad...which I finished. Thank God. Planning a wedding (I said yes to the dress, and cried). Working two jobs which were equal parts rewarding and draining. Trying to enjoy my last semester of undergrad with the people who supported me along the way.

More recently: handling a bizarre and unpleasant turn of events that left me jobless post-graduation. After handling the aforementioned turn of events, I really just haven't felt so good, mentally or physically. Once I finished crying (change is really hard for me), I attacked the job hunt, trying to figure out what the hell you do with a BS in psychology. I have a couple things going, but let's wait until the ink is totally dry until we talk about them.

Dough is calming. Especially the proofing stage. I love.

Quick anecdote: In the process of making these, I somehow touched the heating element of the oven, which I don't recommend. That was quite awhile ago and I finally have all my fingerprints back. Yay.

In other news: I'm applying to medical school, which is weird and daunting but also fun. I've started having weekly brunches at my apartment because honestly, friends, pancakes, and good coffee are better medicine than anything else I've found. Stuff hurts, change is hard, but I think my goal shouldn't be to force joy, but to love the people I care about as deeply as I can and to find the happiness in the time I have with them. Easier said than done? Sure. But cinnamon rolls help.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

rolls (adapted from Joy the Baker)

1/4 oz yeast (this is the amount in the little packets)

1/2 tsp +1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup milk (higher fat content=better)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 yolk

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

filling

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp maple syrup

3 green apples, diced

dash of salt (unless you're using salted butter)

glaze (only if you reallllllyyyyy have a sweet tooth)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1. Start the dough by adding 1/4 cup warm water to the 1/2 tsp sugar and yeast. Let sit until foamy, about 15 minutes. If it doesn't foam, your yeast has issues.
2. Add the remaining sugar, milk, brown sugar, egg, and yolk. Stir until combined.
3. If you have an electric mixer (I'm jealous), fit it with a dough hook and add the flour half a cup at a time. If not, still add it only half a cup at a time, and use your muscles to smooth it out after each addition.
4. Let rise for 2 hours. In the last half hour of the rise, make the filling.
5. For the filling, melt the butter and combine with remaining ingredients, other than the apples.
6. When the rise is complete, dump out of the bowl onto a floured surface. It should be fairly fluffy. Gently roll out into a rectangle.
7. Spread filling on top of the rectangle, then sprinkle on the diced apples.
8. Carefully roll up the dough into a tight tube, then slice with a sharp knife. I got 8 rolls.
9. Place in buttered pans, then allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
11. For the glaze, whisk together the sugar and milk. Pour over hot rolls. Serve and enjoy.

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

I'm having an issue. I have a recipe and pictures, but I don't have too many words today.

These were a part of my annual holiday baking binge (which isn't much different from my every day life, but still....). I've realized I love working with dough, so I made cinnamon rolls a couple different ways, but these were my favorite.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and wish you a happy new year.

Yum.

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze
Ingredients

dough (adapted from How Sweet Eats)
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 package dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

filling
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar

glaze
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Heat milk in microwave for about 1 minute, until lukewarm. Add vegetable oil and sugar, stir. Sprinkle in yeast and let sit about 15 minutes, or until foamy.
2. Move mixture to an electric mixture and add flour, baking soda, powder, and cinnamon. Stir until combined, then run mixer for about 6 minutes, kneading until dough is elastic and smooth.
3. Allow dough to rise for 90 minutes or until doubled.
4. Punch the dough down, then empty onto a floured counter. Roll out into a rectangle, making sure dough is roughly 1/2 an inch thick.
5. To make filling, combine melted butter, sugars, and cinnamon. Spread evenly on the dough, then roll into spiral tube.
6. Slice into 1-inch sections, then place rolls into a buttered pan. Let rise for 30 minutes.
7. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
8. To make glaze, blend ingredients together. Pour over warm rolls and enjoy.

Banana Bread French Toast with Salted Pecan Caramel and Bourbon Whipped Cream

So....that's a mouthful. But look at it. It was going to just be the banana bread and the whipped cream, but I found pecans in the freezer and can't leave well enough alone. So now there's caramel sauce too.

So what is this? Dessert? Breakfast? Brunch? I mean, technically it's probably all of them, but I like to think it's brunch, because I'm honestly infatuated with brunch right now. Like, I love the food, but something about brunch is just so inherently classy (at least in my head). It seems like the type of thing you pull out the nice fancy plates for and wear your pearls and some pretty lipstick.

But, knowing me, I'm usually in yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Or pajamas. And an apron. Sometimes. Because if I'm eating brunch there's like an 80% chance I made it, or at least helped make it. 

I think brunch sounds fancy because it usually involves champagne? Or some other type of cute cocktail, at least. And those are fancy. In my 19-year-old opinion.

Anyway, welcome this to your brunch party. It's a fun guest. I promise.

Banana Bread French Toast
banana bread (adapted from How Sweet It Is)
1/2 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
3 ripe bananas, mashed smooth with a fork
1 egg
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

French toast
2 eggs
3 tbsp half and half
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter

salted pecan caramel
1/2 cup pecans, chopped roughly
1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp half and half
1/4 tsp salt

bourbon whipped cream
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp bourbon
1 tbsp confectioner's sugar

1. Start by making the banana bread. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and cream cheese. Add the banana, egg, and Greek yogurt, mix until smooth. Add in dry ingredients. Bake at 350 in a greased loaf pan for 70 minutes.
2. While the banana bread is cooling, start the caramel. Add the butter and brown sugar to a pot over medium heat. Stir until totally melted. Add in the pecans, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.
3. Make the whipped cream. Place the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer in the freezer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the cream to the mixer and beat on high speed for about a minute. Add sugar and bourbon. Continue to beat until soft peaks form.
5. Once the banana bread is cool, cut two inch-thick slices.
6. Whisk together the eggs, half and half, cinnamon, and vanilla. Soak each slice of banana bread in the mixture for 2 minutes, flip, then soak another two minutes.
7. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add French toast, cook for 3 minutes per side, then plate.
8. Top the toast with caramel sauce and whipped cream. Enjoy!
   
   
   

Bacon and Egg Bake

The alternate title to this post would be "Fairly Serious and Reflective Stuff Sandwiched in Between Pictures of Food", but that doesn't quite roll off the tongue, so you get the above instead.

I recently switched my major from biochemistry to psychology. This has been a huge change, and heartbreaking and wonderful and terrifying and exciting....all at the same time. In the words of one of my residents, "You walked away from a major that you were 85% done with halfway through your junior year?" Yes. I did. And yes, I'll still graduate on time, and yes, I understand that this sounds like a dumb decision. Yes, I did only have two classes and two labs left to complete my biochem degree. But I just couldn't do that anymore.

I am, in so many ways, a goal-oriented, type A, perfectionist. Being honest enough with myself to recognize that the goal I'd been working so hard on for so many semesters just wasn't for me was a truly painful process. I don't quit things. I never have. I don't give up, and I push myself as hard as I can. Finding the courage to admit, to myself at first and later to others, that studying biochemistry just wasn't making me happy was by no means easy. Finding the courage to walk away from it was even harder.

But here's the thing, the truth of the matter, just the facts: biochem was making me miserable. Plain and simple. And a couple of people have asked which class did it for me, pushed me into actually switching. The answer? There wasn't a class. This wasn't about a class. This wasn't a spontaneous decision. This was the realization that I'd been hating my classes for about two years and had been hoping that a semester would come where it would all click and be fun again. But that semester didn't come. 

Yes, biochem is difficult. The classes I was taking were difficult. The classes I'm taking now are easier. But here's the gospel truth: I am happier already, not because I know the classes will be easier, but because for the first time in a very long time I am excited to learn about the subjects I'm studying. I look at my schedule for the semester and get excited, not anxious. And that means the world to me. So here's some eggs. They're like me: scrambled, but I like to think they're still pretty good.

Bacon and Egg Bake
Ingredients
1 tube crescent rolls (8 count)
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
6 eggs
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp fresh basil, torn into little pieces
salt and pepper to taste

1. Unroll the crescent roll dough, but don't tear the perforations. Lay it in the bottom of a 9X9 in. pan (spray with nonstick spray if it's not nonstick already). You'll have to fold the dough into shape, or I just ripped it into sections of two little triangles and layered them the way I wanted. Press down with your fingers to sort of flatten it out, but don't get hung up on that.
2. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles on top.
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Add a splash (about 2 tbsp) or water or milk. Add the cheese, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix with either a whisk or fork, making sure to mix quickly, incorporating air. Pour into pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

French Toast Breakfast Sandwiches

I realized that I hadn't posted a breakfast recipe yet. To make up for that momentary lapse, I made you this. It's a sandwich that will make your life better.

Praise.

Yes, I feel a little silly about posting a sandwich recipe, but this one is special. The bread part is FRENCH TOAST. So good. We also have bacon, egg, and a Dijon syrup sauce. Seriously incredible.

Yaaaaaaas.

This will brighten up any morning, I promise. No matter what time you had to get up for class, this will make it better. Get ready.

French Toast Breakfast Sandwiches
Ingredients
2 1-inch thick slices of day-old challah bread (or French, or any other sturdy bread)
3 eggs
3 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Dijon mustard (with the specks, aka stone-ground)
1 tbsp maple syrup
3 slices bacon, fried

1. Whisk together two of the eggs, the milk, and the cinnamon. Place the bread slices in the mixture.
2. After two minutes, flip the slices, allow to soak for another two minutes.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat, add butter. Cook the toast for two minutes per side, until brown and crisp on either side.
4. Combine the mustard and syrup. Drizzle as much as is desired onto one or both slices of toast.
5. Cook the egg however you like; I fried mine over medium. Add the egg to the sandwich, then top with the other piece of toast.
6. Slice in half and enjoy.