rose petal jam

How do you like your eggs in the morning?

The other morning, I think it was Sunday, I wanted to make scrambled eggs for brekkie. However, Dom wanted to go for a run and by the time he got back, got showered it was more like brunch time. Sundays can be like this, it’s probably the only day of the week where it seems OK to have two meals rather than three. Probably because there is often the promise of a big roast dinner later on!

So, scrambled egg didn’t sound enough. Not in quantity but in flavour. Now don’t get me wrong, I love scrambled eggs with their soft blandness and I rather immodestly think mine are some of the best I have ever had (after much practice, I used to make eggs like rubber!), but brunch needs more of a kick to it don’t you think?

So this is what I came up with, purely from bits and pieces that I had in the fridge and store cupboard. I decided to make something with a bit of a kick, mainly for Dom who embraced curry for breakfast when we travelled to Sri Lanka and loves all things spicy.

Spicy scrambled eggs

Two spring onions, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Half a courgette, diced
1 red chilli, deseeded and cut into little slices
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
4 eggs
Wholemeal bread toast
Few leaves of basil (coriander or parsley would also be ok)
A little oil

Make the toast and keep warm (I find this easier than trying to make whilst trying to make the eggs which nearly always ends in burnt toast!)

Gently fry the onion, garlic, cumin, chilli and courgette until softened and aromatic

Beat the eggs in a bowl and then pour over the veggie mix

Add some chopped basil

Scramble the eggs by gently cooking the eggs over a low heat until they are a sloppy consistency. Don't over stir, just fold the set egg from the bottom of the pan into the liquid egg. At this point, when they are still a bit runny, be brave and remove from the heat. The heat of the pan and in the egg mixture will do the rest of the cooking. If you keep it on the hob until they look done they will end up over cooked.

Serve on top of the toast and garnish with the remaining basil.

You could put whatever you have and like into this, peppers would be good, cheese added at the end would be nice, maybe some parmesan? I think if I had had some I would have used coriander over the basil but in a way I was glad it was the only fresh herb I had as it was a nice contrast and not the obvious choice.

Make it your own, but make it. It’s dead easy, very quick and would make not only a great brunch but would be a fab quick tea before having to rush back out to meet friends etc.

Let the sunshine in!

What do you do when you get up on a grey and wet Saturday? Make a breakfast full of sunshine! I got up this morning and it was the worst kind of start to a weekend. The sky was gunmetal grey, the light looked ominous and I could hear the gentle pitter patter of rain against the windows.

As I walked into the kitchen to put the kettle on I spied two juicy peaches and started to think what I could do with them. As Dom was going to the gym after breakfast I knew that a peach alone, even if I poached it in rosewater and served it with Greek yoghurt…mmm… it wouldn’t be enough.

So what else to do? And then it came to me. Roasted peaches with American pancakes and maple syrup!

I first had American pancakes in a proper American diner in San Mateo, California in 1998 and have never forgotten the experience. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a crepe and pancake Tuesday is always celebrated at our house, but there is something really satisfying about their American cousins that I just love. Light and slightly stodgy at the same time and usually with the addition of maple syrup and some sort of fruit, blueberries, raspberries, I am not fussy.

Roasted Peaches with American Pancakes and Maple Syrup

you will need;

2 peaches
maple syrup
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
115g plain flour
150ml full fat milk
oil/ butter for frying
some unrefined caster sugar

Firstly, halve and stone the peaches and then cut into eighths. Put on a baking tray covered with foil or baking paper and sprinkle with unrefined caster sugar. Not too much, maybe a scant desert spoon for the lot.

Put in a preheated oven, maybe 175 degrees C and cook until they have gone slightly caramelised and a mixture of puckered and shiny. Remember to turn after about 20 mins – takes 35 mins in total but keep an eye on as depending on how ripe your peaches are will take longer/ less time. Mine were firm but with some yielding.

For the pancake batter, mix all ingredients with a whisk or in a blender until completely smooth. The batter should be thick but capable of being poured/ dolloped.

Heat a frying pan. We have a tefal pancake pan which is good as it has no edge and therefore it is easy to get your spatula underneath the pancakes when it’s time to turn. Don’t even try to flip American style pancakes, it will ruin your day before it’s properly begun and we wouldn’t want that now would we?

Oil the pan and get making the cakes. You need enough mixture to make a pancake which is about 10cm in diameter. Cook on a medium heat. You’ll notice that air bubbles will start to appear on the raw side of the pancake in the batter. When there are many of these and the cake is looking golden around the edges then carefully, using a spatula, flip over to the other side. Cook for another 2 mins or so until you feel the pancake is cooked through.

Once all you pancakes are cooked (you should get about 6 out of this recipe) then stack on plates, top with the roasted peaches and a generous slug of maple syrup.

Whatever the weather is doing, you’ll have sunshine and thoughts of California inside and that’s what counts.