Breakfast Biscotti

Oh how I love to entertain - especially for breakfast. These crisp biscotti are a wonderful addition to any breakfast buffet and are very packable for schoolday and workday coffee breaks. This version is adapted from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe book. I could listen to Molli talk all day long - I remember listening to her show when I was in college and loved her soft voice and way of speaking. She is also a wonderful artist.

...And I took the photo of the sky this morning. Isn't it so glorious - too bad it started sleeting a few hours later...

Breakfast Biscotti

3 Large Eggs (I use a combination of eggs and egg replacer)

1/3 cup (packed) Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1/3 cup Canola Oil

1 teaspoon Grated Orange Zest

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (or a combination of White and Whole Wheat Flour)

3/4 cup Rolled Oats

1/2 cup Soy Protein Powder

1/4 cup Cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon Salt (Optional)

3/4 cup Minced Almonds

6 Dates, Pitted and Minced (or you could use some Raisins here)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a baking tray with nonstick spray.

2. Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the sugars, oil, orange zest, and extract and beat together until smooth.

3. In a second bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, and mix until completely blended.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix thoroughly, using a spoon at first and then mixing with your hands as it thickens (It will be a stiff batter - almost a dough).

5. Divide the batter in half, and form it into 2 equal logs, each about 2 inches in diameter. Place them side by side on the prepared baking tray (They can be close together but should not touch).

6. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove, then remove the tray from the oven. Transfer the logs to a cutting board, and cut them into 1/2 inch slices (Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, to prevent crumbling).

7. Return the pieces to the tray, laying them flat on their sides, and bake for 8 minutes longer. Turn them over, and bake for another 8 minutes on the other side. For extra-crunchy biscotti, turn off the oven, and leave the tray in there for an additional 15 minutes or so.

8. Remove the tray from the oven, transfer the biscotti to a rack, and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Have a happy morning...

Matilda Rose

I was very excited to list an item on Ebay that my mom whipped up over the weekend. My mom, Lynette, is a very talented and well-known local artist. When I was younger, I used to help her at some of the local art shows and it would not be unusual for her to sell out. We also used to co-own a store in Westboro (Angels in the Attic a/k/a Angels) and she filled the store with so many unique paintings, dollys and endless original creations which would often sell the minute they hit the shelves. She is now semi-retired (no more big shows or wholesale orders for her) but is coming up with a few items here and there that we are trying out on Ebay and maybe Etsy. I am so happy!!! Check out Matilda Rose. I also lucky enough to have one that Mom made for me! Isn't she so cute? She is a little dolly that fits into a stocking - I love everything about her...

Anyways, you can find her on ebay right now -http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyEbay&gbh=1&CurrentPage=MyeBaySelling&smGHR=true&_trksid=m37. If that link doesn't work, you can find my items I'm selling via my member id - mollikelcarey.

Winter Squash Gallette

Ever since I was a teenager, I have loved to read cookbooks from cover to cover. My family thinks it is funny. This Christmas, my parents gave us Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone - the 10th Anniversary Edition. Every single recipe (yes, I already read the whole book) calls to me and I plan to cook my way through the whole book. Deborah Madison calls this recipe one of her favorite cold weather dishes. This is delicious, unusual and gorgeous and very good left over. Enjoy and stay warm!

Winter Squash Gallette

Gallette Dough (see recipe below)

2 1/2 pounds winter squash (I used butternut)

1 small head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled

1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the squash

1 onion, finely diced

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or parmesan

12 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried

Freshly milled pepper

1 egg, beaten

Make the dough in advance - it will need 45 minutes to rise.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, and brush the cut surface with oil. Stuff the garlic into the cavities and place the squash cut side down on a sheet pan. Bake until flesh is tender, about 40 minutes. Scoop out the squash and squeeze the garlic cloves. Mash them together with a fork until fairly smooth, leaving a bit of texture.

Warm one tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sage and cook until the onion is very soft and beginning to color, about 15 minutes. Add it to the squash along with the grated cheese and seaon with pepper to taste.

Roll out the dough into a 14-inch circle and spread the filling over it, leaving a border of two inches or more. Pleat the dough over the filling, then brush the edges with beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden, about 30 minutes.

Yeasted Gallette Dough

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cups flour, as needed

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a medium bowl and let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Add the oil, egg and stir into the flour. When the dough is too stiff to work with a spoon, turn it out and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Add more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking. Set the dough in an oiled bowl, turn it over to coat, cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, 45 minutes or so.

Blackbirds and Granola

Yesterday was a good day - We telecommuted and got a lot of work done. Also, we got a lot of painting done inbetween our "real" work. My dad surprised us with a visit, bearing presents and surprises. Lots of goodies, including a nice can of claw crabmeat, smoked seafood, fancy crackers and this nice blackbird sampler. Earlier in the day, I made a big batch of our favorite granola - it is lowfat and delicious and we like to have it for breakfast pretty much every morning. It smells so good when cooking, like the best oatmeal cookies. Enjoy! This recipe is for my brother Mike, who recently asked me if I had a good granola recipe... Doesn't it look so nice in our beehive jar?

Gooch Granola

Pureed banana coats the oats and helps to hold this very low-fat granola together. Delicious with skim milk or nonfat yogurt (great snack!) and fresh fruit, the granola can also be used as a crumb crust.

4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds (or any other nuts you have around)

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

1 ripe banana, chopped

3 T pure maple syrup or honey (or brown sugar in a pinch)

1 1/2 T almond oil or canola oil

1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 cup wheat germ or bran

1/2 cup raisins (or whatever dried fruit you have around, chopped)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, combine the oats, nuts and coconuts.

In a blender or food processor, combine the banana, maple syrup or honey, oil and cinnamon and puree. Drizzle the puree over the oats and mix until thoroughly coated. Bake for 35 or 40 minutes, stirring several times, until lightly toasted. Stir in the wheat germ or bran and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and stir in the raisins. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about six cups.

Share Your Spirit

This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun and animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning god, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.

- Walt Whitman