cinnamon

February 3, 2011

Ricotta, Cinnamon and Honey Breakfast Casserole

mel dessert, entree, recipe casserole, cinnamon, honey, ricotta

Last April, discount Tom and I spent two weeks eating our way through Italy. For me, salve there’s no greater joy than that. Almost everything we tried was delicious – simple cacio e pepe, epilepsy house-made boar sausage, fresh pecorino cheese, pesto focaccia, tagliatelle with a mountain of shaved truffles… It was everything a food-loving girl like me could ask for and more.

Though we visited some of the major cities and monuments, one of my favorite stops was Cinque Terre – a group of 5 small towns near the Italian Riviera connected by a hiking trail. The hike was tougher than we expected, but you’re gazing at the Mediterranean Sea, while wading through vineyards and olive branches. One of the most beautiful vistas I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness we had a good breakfast that day. A sicilian style pastry that resembles a donut, stuffed with ricotta cheese and drenched in honey syrup. Absolutely amazing. Now, I wish I could eat a ricotta-stuffed, honey-drenched donut every morning, but a girl’s got a figure to maintain. So I tried to take the same flavors and make a breakfast dish that was easier and healthier, but still retained some of the magic of Cinque Terre.

Ricotta, Cinnamon and Honey Breakfast Casserole

This casserole is similar to a baked, stuffed french toast. Stale baguette soaked in a batter of milk, eggs and cinnamon, then layered with fresh ricotta and honey and another layer of soaked baguette. Bake until the top is golden and crisp and the insides are custard-like. A drizzle of honey, agave nectar or maple syrup to finish it off and I could almost recall my perfect hike before heading off to work.

November 4, 2010

Molasses Spice Cookies

mel dessert, recipe, sides & bites cinnamon, cookie, ginger, molasses

Molasses Spice Cookies

Usually I’m a chocolate chip cookie kind of girl. I love the classic with crisp edges and a chewy interior. Nothing fancy and that’s what I like about them. But this time of year, steroids I feel the need to venture out of my comfort zone. I start to crave Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and other confectionary scented with ginger and cinnamon and cloves.

These Molasses Cookies are just what I’m looking for. They taste of Fall and burning leaves and upcoming holidays. I can close my eyes and almost imagine that it’s not 80 degrees outside. They’re spicy and simple. Crisp around the edges and chewy in the middle. The perfect fall cookie.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Oh, thumb and they’re made with whole wheat pastry flour and only 1 stick of butter. Molasses is full of iron, calcium and potassium, cinnamon is has anti-inflammatory properties and ginger is good for colds. So these cookies are pretty healthy right? That’s what I keep telling myself anyway…

July 31, 2009

Gingery Olive Oil Granola

mel breakfast, dessert, recipe, sides & bites almonds, apricots, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, granola, oats, pumpkin seeds, vegetarian

Gingery Olive Oil Granola

Every week I buy a bag of obscenely expensive granola from the grocery store. And every afternoon when my stomach begins to grumble, anabolics I have a some plain Greek yogurt with a good sprinkling of granola. It’s just the right amount of sweet, asthma filling and crunchy for the afternoon and I’ve become completely addicted.

So, when I saw this recipe in the New York Times for Olive Oil Granola, I thought I’d give it try. I’ve been meaning to make my own granola for a long time and just never got around to it. And now I’m wondering what the hell took me so long! Homemade granola is amazing and probably half the price of that fancy stuff I buy.

Gingery Olive Oil Granola

I used slivered almonds and salted pumpkin seeds along with ginger-spiked sugar, cinnamon and cardamom. The olive oil gave everything a rich lushness and I was able to achieve a much more pleasant salty/sweet ratio than the over-sweetened stuff I buy. I am absolutely obsessed with it. In fact, I’m having a really hard time stopping myself from eating it all with a spoon.

Needless to say, I’ll not be buying granola anymore. This stuff is just too good and too easy.

October 24, 2008

Homemade Cranberry Spice Granola Bars

mel breakfast, recipe, sides & bites almonds, cardamom, cinnamon, cranberries, nutmeg, oats, pecans, snack

Homemade Cranberry Spice Granola Bars

I love granola bars of all varieties and flavors. Chewy, prosthesis crunchy, thumb nutty and fruity. I used to stock up at the grocery store weekly, but then I looked at the list of ingredients. Far too many processed food-like substances for my taste, so I decided to make my own. I posted a recipe for Banana Chocolate bars over the summer and haven’t bought a box of granola bars since. The recipe was a huge success and I’ve been meaning to post follow-up varieties, but haven’t been all that inspired. Now that it’s fall and everything is cranberries, cinnamon and nutmeg, I’ve finally found the inspiration I was looking for.

These Cranberry Spice granola bars taste just like the Autumn. Tom thinks they taste like Pumpkin Pie, but he thinks that about everything made with nutmeg. While the recipe and method are almost identical to the summer’s granola bars, the mix-ins give them a unique flavor all their own. Instead of chocolate, cashews and banana chips, I used dried cranberries, pecans and a blend of warming spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and ginger.

Homemade Cranberry Spice Granola Bars

I encourage you to give these granola bars a try. They come together in under 20 minutes, everyone loves them and you can experiment with a huge variety of nuts and mix-ins to make them your own. They also make a filling and nutritious portable snack. Since most airlines don’t even give you a tiny bag of pretzels, I made these for Tom’s business trip and I think they just might be the perfect carry-on plane food.

Related: Banana Chocolate Granola Bars