A WHOLE LOTTA SUNSHINE

Recipe: Wholesome wholegrain pancakes with sunny scrambled eggs

Time taken: A hour (if you’ve readymade your batter)

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 125g wholemeal flour, 300ml milk, 1 teaspoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of crème fraiche, a little butter, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper.

Hi readers!

It’s SUNDAYYYY. And my opinions have not changed! This is still by far the best day of the week. On Sunday, everything slows down to a steady pace, and the world expects nothing of you.

Dressing? Very optional. Exercise? It’s the ‘Day of Rest’. Opening letters? No sirree! In the words of Vernon Dursley… “There’s no post on Sundays”.

 

And you can just CHILL. I know it’s January and we’re all buzzing with New Year’s Resolutions and brimming with our Good Intentions and all. Like yesterday I jogged! And had fun doing it! But c’mon we all need a rest from time to time. Take it easy today. This one’s on me.

And have fun! Because Sunday is…

That’s right! Now I got a yoga class DVD for Christmas (!!!). One which guides you through a practice and combines traditional yogi moves with sort of a ballet twist? For added grace? And I’m not sure how this is going to go but it sounds to me like A LOT OF FUN. So I’ve saved this for today to try out, as my End of the Week Treat to Me! And I’m excited to give this a go later. Do you have a treat lined up for yourself today? Surely you do! How can you make today a little bit more special for yourself? Give that one a think. Because I sense you deserve something special going on today.

 

For now though… I must reveal… exactly what’s got me in such a good mood today. And it’s a superstar recipeee! Mexican wave!

 

So this, basically, was my most awesome breakfast this morning. And if you do one thing today I encourage this to be that you check your cupboards (GO RIGHT NOW) and make sure you have all the ingredients so that you can make this for your breakfast tomorrow. And thus fill your belly with sunshine! I know tomorrow is a big day for a lot of people…

…Putting on proper clothes for work or the library…

…Where you’ll be reading things…

…Writing things…

…Using the power of your mind…

… And so you need one hell of a breakfast to kickstart this big day! And what are you eating? On the menu we have: Wholesome wholemeal pancakes with sunny scrambled eggs. :)

 

 

So, today, I’m feeling a lot like Matilda. You may have noted. As many of my generation were, I was raised with the magic of Mara Wilson and her special powers as Matilda. This girl could read the whole library and she could make things fly using her special powers. She was the best. Childhood hero. And whenever I’m using my brain powers for the good of geography deadlines, I channel my inner Matilda in order to power through my workload!

And I thought I would share this with you because A… why not channel your inner Matilda, too? Do it! And B… Matilda is a big believer in a good breakfast. No word of a lie…

…The girl does crazy things with cereal…

…And she can whip up some bloody good pancakes!

 

So basically you have a big day tomorrow and you need to make magic happen. When Matilda makes magic happen she starts the day with a superstar breakfast.  Therefore, you need one too.

And so here’s how you go about making your wholesome wholemeal pancakes…

1. Measure 125g wholemeal flour into a bowl along with a pinch of salt.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I found wholegrain rye flour in our cupboard and went with it. With success to follow! This leads me to believe that any flour involving a variation of ‘whole’ should do the trick. I’m talking wholemeal… wholewheat… wholegrain… you name it!

2. Make a well in the middle of your flour and pour 300ml milk into this.

3. Crack an egg into the well and add a teaspoon of oil.

4. Whisk it all up! This is your batter now. You have to leave this to stand for at least half an hour.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I did steps 1-4 the night beforehand and left my batter in the fridge overnight, just so I’d have less hassle on a hungry belly in the morning. The batter seemed fine for having been left overnight, so I recommend this plan.

5. Make sure the radio is on playing some tunes! Heat your oven to a low temperature (like 100˚C) and from your cupboard take out 3 plates and both a saucepan and a frying pan.

6. From your cupboard take out your crème fraiche, butter, eggs and pancake batter (if it’s been chilling in there while you caught some zzz’s).

7. Heat a little oil in your frying pan and then add 2 tablespoons of pancake batter to the pan.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: I was using a mould-type thing to make my pancakes into duck shapes. So, if you have one of these too, set it in your frying pan and then pour your batter into the middle of the mould. Otherwise, just pour your batter into the middle of your frying pan.

8. Leave the pancake to cook for a couple of minutes until solid and golden underneath, then flip it over so the second side of the pancake can cook (removing your mould if you were using one).

9. When this side of the pancake is golden too, scoop your pancake onto a plate to cool.

10. Pop some more oil in your pancake and repeat until you have 4 pancakes cooling on your plate.

11. Then, go on to make 4 more pancakes. But this time when they’re ready stack them on a plate in the oven rather than out on your counter, so that they stay warm while you’re making the last of your pancakes!

12. As you’re making your final couple of pancakes, you want to heat a little butter in your saucepan until it melts. Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs into a mug and stir them together with a fork, so that they form a yellow yolky mix.

13. Pour this mix into your saucepan along with a glob of crème fraiche and a pinch of pepper.

14. Use a fork to stir this all together, until your eggs cook and scramble!

15. Take your stack of 4 warm pancakes out of the oven and tip your eggs over the top of them. And there’s your breakfast, baby!

ChefBeHere Top Tip: When the other 4 pancakes you made are fully cooled, you can pop them in a Tupperware to keep to eat up soon. I’ve popped a little piece of kitchen towel between each one to separate them, incase they were thinking of sticking together. Not on my watch!

And here’s my plate of gorgeousness from this morning :)

I know, right? This came together so well! How did I make this in my kitchen??? It looks really impressive on the plate and this recipe tasted INCREDIBLE. Like, I know I’m more enthusiastic about eggs than your average girl, but this recipe tasted like the bomb. Pancakes… WITH EGGS. Now I have a new way to eat eggs! I love them more than ever. This is good because GUESS WHAT I HEAR…

Unbelieavable. And, as well as this recipe tasting like nothing on Earth, it’s super healthy. It’s got whole grains and protein and sunshine in it! And this plateful will fill you up to no end, I promise. Gah.

So, I compel you all… go make this. Get out of bed half an hour early and you will not regret this. And THEN share with me your thoughts on wholegrain pancakes! Did you like them? How did they compare with regular pancakes for you?? Are they any match? And what would you liken the taste of these babies to?

I thought they tasted… like pancakes. And a bit like brown toast, maybe. I read online that you can eat these babies with sweet toppings as well as savoury, so when I reheat my pancakes I have left I’m going to top em up with fruit n honey. Mmm. On that note…

Flip safely all,

Hayley


 

EAT AN ODDITY

Recipe: Egg Tomatoni

Time taken: ¾ of an hour

Ingredients: Eggs, cherry tomatoes, Quorn pepperoni slices & mayo

Hi readers,

It’s our last day of 2014! As I write we’re literally on the cusp of a New Year. It’s terrifying! Can you believe it’s been 15 years since we were celebrating the Millenium?? That was 15 years ago! My mind BOGGLES. I strongly recommend just pouring a drink later and trying really hard not to think about the big picture. That’s what I’ll be doing!

And I’ll be pouring a drink… in Newcastle! That’s right… after some stressful travel yesterday I left Sheffield’s snow behind and made it back up north for NYE in The Toon! To celebrate Geordie-style!

Aaaaaand I’m back in the proper ChefBeHere kitchen! Hurray! I’m back to having my own cupboard and using our beat up student kitchenware. And, after some hefty deliveries from Asda and Holland & Barrett, the house is full of food! Whey! In a student house, there is no greater joy.

And I’m back to having my freedom with food! In one way this is because when you’re a student at home, a lot of the time I guess you get looked after and fed up, and generally catered for by mum and dad. For a very brief while you have VIP status in the house and this tends to bring with it, at least in my home, some proper home cooked grub! So you relinquish your freedom over what you eat, and in turn you play no part in the preparation of any meals. It’s lush.

ALSO though, I think everyone has less freedom with food at Christmas. You’re dealing with buffets and restaurants meals throughout the festive season. A cheese board here and there. Some roasted chestnuts. Constant ‘nibbles’. On the big day, obviously, you’re eating a full roast. There’s usually some kind of pudding/fruit cake/gateaux/cheesecake/trifle (maybe all of them) involved. Then you’re eating turkey sandwiches for far too long in the Christmas aftermath. All those chocolates that were under the tree? You’re opening boxes left, right and centre. It’s never ending!

Half the time, I think, there’s a voice in your head that’s like “I JUST WANT AN APPLE… ONE APPLE”. Or, you know, something of the kind. When there’s a constant stream of rich foods and booze on offer it seems silly, but if I could have chosen my food this Christmas I think I’d have picked something much smaller and simpler a lot of the time!  

Now though, on December 31^st, we’re pretty much at the end of it all. And there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! Sure, you might have one more buffet to tackle tonight. Maybe the leftovers tomorrow. But then… you can eat ANYTHING. You’ve got your freedom back. And I encourage you not to be boring. You have power: go crazy! Literally, eat any weird shit you like. Throw things together that you never have before! Get ODD with it. Why not? You’re not feeding this food to a crowd of twenty anymore… just you!

So, this lunchtime, I had so many new foods in and I’m so unused to preparing my own food that I didn’t really know what to do with myself in the kitchen. I had the vague notion I should make something healthy. I wanted something warm as it’s frigging ICY here. I had eggs to use up. And so things got odd. But I prepared, readers, a masterpiece!

I call it the Egg Tomatoni. And here’s how to make yours…

1. Heat the oven to 200˚C and boil the kettle.

2. Place 3 eggs in a saucepan, pour your boiling water over them and leave the pan to heat on a hob.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: FOR CHRIST’S SAKE PUT A LID ON THE PAN. Otherwise, you will anger me. Things boil quicker with a lid on and so you need to have the hob on for less time. As a result, you use less energy. Hence, less global warming. Simples.

3. Leave your eggs to boil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop 6 cherry tomatoes in half. Dance around.

4. After 10 minutes, remove your pan from the heat and drain away the water. With your eggs in a sieve/colander, pour cold water over them to cool them down.

5. Then use your hands to peel away the shells of your eggs. Bin the shells.

ChefBeHere Top Tip: First, tap each egg with a teaspoon in order to create a crack in the shell. Then you can get it off neatly.

6. Chop each of your eggs into quarters and arrange them around the edge of a bowl.

7. Place a cherry tomato-half between each bit of egg.

8. Arrange some Quorn pepperoni slices artistically in the centre of the bowl. I popped an extra cherry tomato in the middle of them, too.

9. Safely transport your bowl into the oven to warm for 20 minutes.

10. After 20 minutes, carefully remove your bowl from the oven and drizzle the contents with some mayo/salad cream/dressing. Serve up your lunch. Bon appétit!

I created this beauty!

Isn’t it odd? So odd! I was thinking this while it cooked. What a weeeeird bowlful of food. But, somehow, good. I liked this! I like eggs; I like tomatoes; I like Quorn. I’ve never had Quorn pepperoni slices before, but basically they just taste like spicy Quorn. Similar to all other Quorn. I’m going to put them on pizza soon. But, also, they worked in this lunch! It was a weird coming together of flavours. But it was a good one. Plus, it looks funky. And it’s not altogether unhealthy. Win!

So, to edit this recipe… I think the eggs are fundamental. But you could switch the tomatoes for maybe… olives? Button mushrooms? Little squares of pepper? And your Quorn pepperoni slices; they could be subbed with… any other kind of Quorn? (It all tastes the same!) Some halloumi cheese? A very mini quiche? Literally, anything that springs to mind that doesn’t sound undeniably awful.

And there you have it! Fancy a rather odd lunch? Definitely give this one a try. It’s up there with the oddest. And let me know what you think! Did you enjoy this? Would you ever eat it again? Fill me in! And I want to hear any suggestions you may have for equally odd meals I could try. I’m embracing all mealtime oddities this January. And I hope you do, too.

This will be us

On that note… all the best for 2015, amigos!

Party safely,

Hayley