Happy Mother’s Day! ~ Egg Roulade

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My mom said she was up for something new this year, so for Mother’s Day brunch I tried an egg dish unlike anything I have ever tried before …An egg roulade. The original idea was from America’s Test Kitchen Light & Healthy 2011 magazine. They do such a nice job testing recipes at that magazine, and this was already a lightened recipe, so I followed it pretty closely. Don’t want to mess with a good thing! 😉 It turned out to be an exceptional dish, we thought…It was both delicious and the presentation was impressive. Plus it was really quick and easy to make. That’s a combination I thought I would pass along on this blog! 🙂

Egg Roulade

5 oz fresh baby spinach

¼ cup water

¼ skim milk

2 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour

10 large egg whites (You can find egg whites already separated in a little carton near the egg section at the grocery store…It saves discarding 10 yolks)

5 large eggs

1 garlic clove, pressed to a paste

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 oz grated Gruyère cheese

Place your oven rack in the middle position and preheat to 375. Coat an 18 by 13 inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Then cover it with parchment paper, taking care to make sure it goes up the sides as well. Then spray the parchment liberally. Set aside.

Place the spinach and water in a microwave safe bowl, cover, and microwave on high for about 3 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted. Transfer the greens to a colander, and press out the excess liquid.

Whisk the milk and flour together in another bowl. In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper until well combined. Then whisk in the milk and flour mixture.

Pour the combined egg mix onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with the spinach and cheese. Bake until the eggs are just set, about 11 minutes, rotating the pan once half way through the baking process.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Beginning at the short end, use the parchment paper to roll the eggs over in a tight cylinder (like a sushi roll.) Then use the parchment to transfer the eggs to a cutting board, and slice it crosswise before serving.

PS. Instead of bacon, we like to cook thin slices of prosciutto in a sauté pan on the stovetop. It gets crispy just like bacon. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s a nice alternative! Much leaner, too :).

Happy Seafair ~ Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins

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*About the photos

This is Seafair weekend in Seattle, which is an annual summer celebration including hydroplane racing and an air show featuring the Blue Angels. We live very close to the flight path where the Blue Angels fly, so I get a great view of the synchronized air show from my kitchen. Occasionally, the jets come close to breaking the sound barrier and they cause the kitchen to rumble and shake a bit as they fly over!

This year happens to be a cooler and wetter weekend than usual.  I find that when the weather cools down I like to make our home cozy and warm with baked goodies. That along with all of the Seafair festivities inspired me to bake what I’d like to call “Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins!” 🙂

I found a really good blueberry muffin recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and I changed a few things to make it a little healthier. (I used less sugar, I substituted whole-wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour and I switched the butter to applesauce.) It takes advantage of the fresh summer blueberries at the market now. The extra non-traditional step of swirling homemade blueberry jam into the muffins makes them very flavorful and special. The lemon zest and sugar topping also gives them a fresh and crunchy finishing touch.

Blueberry Blue Angel Muffins

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

1/2 tablespoon lemon zest

2
cups fresh blueberries

1
cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon, plus 2 tablespoons

2 1/2
cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 1/2
teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2
eggs

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4
cup canola oil

1
cup buttermilk

1 1/2
teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees with the rack in the upper middle position. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

Bring 1 cup of blueberries and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mash the berries with a potato masher and stir frequently until the mixture is a little thickened and reduced to about ¼ cup. Take off the heat, and let cool.

For the topping, stir together 2 tablespoons of sugar and the lemon zest in a small bowl until combined.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of sugar and the eggs together until they are well incorporated. Slowly whisk in the applesauce and oil. Then whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla until everything is blended well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg mixture and the remaining blueberries into the flour mixture until everything is just moistened.

Divide the batter equally into the 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be completely full. Then put about a teaspoon of the cooked berry jam mixture onto the center of each muffin. Using a chopstick or other skewer, swirl the jam into the batter. Then sprinkle the lemon sugar equally over the muffins.

Bake about 17 minutes, until the muffin tops are firm and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.

Happy Seafair!

*Watching the Blue Angels air show while enjoying a plate of blueberry muffins on the deck :). As a funny side note, the right photo would have been very very cool since the plane on the right proceded to come straight over our house, but I ran into the kitchen when he got closer! Ha ha! They are *loud.*

Tropical Banana Coconut Bread

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I have a tendency to buy a bunch of bananas that we can’t finish before they get really really ripe. That’s why I make a lot of banana bread and banana muffins! Peeling and freezing them stops them from ripening too far, and then I always have some ready to grab whenever I want. One of our favorite recipes for these bananas is banana coconut bread. As the weather gets warmer, I get more and more in the mood for something tropical, so I’ve made quite a few loaves so far this spring :). The original recipe was from Cooking Light magazine, and it can be found at MyRecipes.com. I changed it slightly to make it a little simpler (using things I usually have in the kitchen) and to make it a little healthier. For example, I substitute one more banana for the yogurt, since I usually have a lot of bananas to use. I also substitute canola oil for the butter, and it works just fine. This bread recipe is pretty forgiving, so you can add some extra goodies if you like, such as chopped macadamia nuts. They are one of my favorite additions.

Banana Coconut Bread

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup granulated sugar (a little less if the bananas are very very ripe)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut, plus a little more for the top

Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and oil until they are well blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add the mashed banana and vanilla, and whisk until they are incorporated. Add the flour mixture, and mix until everything is moist. Stir in 1/2 cup of coconut and any other dry goodies you think would be yummy. Spoon the batter into a 9×5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with a little coconut on top. Bake for about 1 hour and 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

A slice of this bread goes very well with a cup of coffee in the morning, since coffee is tropical too! 🙂

PS. Our backyard squirrel, who is a frequent visitor, also enjoyed a little of the stale end of one loaf. So cute!