Peach Jam – Almond Crumb Bars

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If you follow me on SnapChat, you might have seen that a few weeks ago, I snapped about tons of fresh peaches from my family’s tree, and snapped a story where I was making peach jam. That peach jam failed…since I didn’t have enough pectin and was too cheap to buy more at the time. However, my dad and sister, seeing that it was an absolute fail, and that I reused old jars, set out to re-make my failed jam. They bought new canning jars and my sister cooked the recipe. Now she is legitimately a Jam Queen. She has made 15 jars of jam (since we had SO much super ripe needed to be eaten peaches). Also, it is grape season here in Lodi. This year, due to the hot, dry weather, the grapes ripened early. Since Lodi is full of wine grapes, my dad went to go pick some and now, my sister has made grape jelly! Needless to say, we are a jam obsessed household now. My dad, being the French baker he is, has made croissants filled with jam (see picture below), and I can’t wait until the holidays, where I can make cookies!!! But since it’s summer, I figured crisps, and cobblers are the best to use our supply. I didn’t have an 8×8 pan, so I put the batter in cupcake tins. Turned out perfectly!!! So you can use either to get the same result – light, jammy, crispy, almond-y, and yummy. It’s perfect for breakfast!

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Banana Walnut Muffins!

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As you may have noticed, I have a new Put a Ring on Annie logo! I had commissioned this new logo from my friend Joyce Lin, who is a fabulous artist. I would love to formally introduce her to you all in my next post. I wanted to do her justice for doing a great job and for putting up with my demands. But first, let me introduce you to Banana Walnut Muffins. Bananas are a favorite amongst so many people when fresh, and when they turn brown, they become this intense flavor-bursting specimen. It really takes over the space you are in with its smells. When baked, it’s comforting and warm. Warm is a good word to describe bananas. I am going to use it from now on. Like I said in my last post about Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins, muffins are an amazing thing – they can be frozen, thawed, and microwaved back to the day it was made. Also, it leaves blackish streaks in your baked muffins which makes it look swirly cool!!! If you haven’t noticed, please notice now – it’s super cool! It can even warm up your hands while you walk to the bus stop. True story – I do this everyday!

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Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins!

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More pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin!!! I made these in an effort to conserve energy in the morning and grabbing and going with my breakfast as a leave the house to board a bus. I learned awhile back that you can freeze muffins and then when you want to eat them, place them in the fridge overnight and it should defrost. Pop them in the microwave and you have got a hot muffin! How fun and convenient!! It’s like when I learned you can do that with bagels – one of my obsessions. More on that obsession some day. These muffins are packed with nutrition – pumpkin, quinoa, spices. It is an easy way to pack quinoa into your routine if you don’t want to cook it all the time. Quinoa is very high in protein so you can eat it to fuel your day! It is basically a seed, and it is fascinatingly related to spinach, beetroots, and tumbleweeds (I actually once had a friend tell me that he thought tumbleweeds were fake things that crossed in Bugs Bunny’s path in the cartoon…I basically choked in laughter.) Anyway, these are perfect fall breakfast foods! Enjoy them today!

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Buttermilk Pancakes <3

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Breakfast – the most important meal of the day! Since I work now, I try to eat a large and healthy breakfast, and then snack through company food throughout the day. For dinner, I try to eat a big salad to offset my food offerings of the day. It is already fall and another year has gone by without achieving the elusive flat stomach – but now I’ve got coworkers who want to motivate each other to lose the fat! More pressure = more success? I hope so!

On another note, I can’t wait to maybe have a kitchen again so I can start creating for fall recipes! Stay tuned!

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Dutch Baby Pancake with Fresh Berries!

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In light of Germany’s win yesterday at the World Cup, I decided to post this late post of my German pancake/Dutch baby! It is made with lots of eggs and milk and is super eggy to taste. I showed this to my friend and she asked if it was an egg pancake. Apparently our moms made these German pancakes without knowing it – my mom used to mix together a high egg to milk ratio with some flour and it was an eggy tasting pancake. Definitely not your traditional pancake. I like this because it is simple and you get to top it with whatever topping you like. I chose some berries because it is in season right now! Better get those antioxidants during bar study!

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Greek Yogurt Pancakes with Chia Seeds

 

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My parents came down for my graduation and since we went to Utah for family vacay, we spent all of our meals at restaurants. When we got back to San Diego, all we wanted was a simple homemade meal and breakfast. Since my dad is a fantastic cook, he ended up cooking 2 dinners at my place – tons of seafood like fish, lobster and shrimp. It was definitely super relieving and comforting to eat homemade food after like 12 consecutive meals outside and 2 buffets in Vegas. I made breakfast one morning and decided on some Greek yogurt pancakes with some chia seeds for some omega-3s and some berries for antioxidents. Simple and quick and so delicious!

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The Soufflé Pancake!

If you like pancakes, but always slip into food coma after, this soufflé pancake is the right one for you! It is super light and fluffy but doesn’t compromise on the breakfast favorite. In fact, it is super interesting – I have never seen anything like it, unless you have been to Berkeley’s Bette’s Oceanview Diner! My sister has been talking about this place since she first went and have been trying to perfect the recipe for it. Because she did, I am sharing it with you! You can swap the bananas out for another type of fruit or just eat it plain with lots of maple syrup or raw honey. Such a treat!

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Salvadoran Pupusas

I first had pupusas at this cute little Latin American breakfast joint called Sun Rise Restaurant in the Mission – I was drawn to it because of the colorful cabbage and carrot salad on top of seemingly fried dough. My friend and I quickly ordered a huge breakfast- 2 kinds of pupusas stuffed with zucchini and spinach and cheese with chilaquiles. These pupusas were simple – it really is the salsa and the cabbage that make this breakfast delicious. I loved the runny simple salsa and the simple cabbage salad that had a hint of vinegar. It was a great combination! And what I didnt realize is that it is super easy to make and super healthy too. I love a good simple healthy power breakfast. My roomies mom makes them for her sometimes and she stores the cooled pupusas in sandwich bags and she re-heats them whenever she is ready to eat it. Perfect for the on-the-go breakfast types. Give it a try today!

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Kuku sabzi (Persian Greens Frittata)!

Kuku sabzi: it is a delicious Persian herbs frittata with a healthy serving of all the greens you need in a day! How did I get to try this super ethnic dish? I lived with this girl during the last week when I was in SF and her mom had come up from LA to help her move her things. They were hungry and had no way of getting to the grocery store at that hour. So her mom whipped this up for their dinner and my friend and I had a slice. It was sooooo good and refreshing!!! Her mom had made frozen packets of mixed greens for her so she could eat her veggies and make this dish which I thought was really cool if you are short on time. She also made it on the stovetop which looked super easy, so I think I will try next time. I made my own version with the veggies and herbs I had on hand, so feel free to mix and match!!!

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Acai Smoothie and Avocado – Power Breakfast

So I am back on the skinny grind- meaning I need to diet and exercise again to go back to my pre-summer weight. In addition, I plan to tone up the abs area asap (anyone got ideas)? I just came back to San Diego after a fantastic Summer in San Francisco. I came back and I was immediately struck by food poisoning. Apparently that didn’t do anything to my body besides put it in pain, so even poison can’t get rid of my excessive fat. Therefore, I am back on the skinny grind!

The first step to the skinny grind is to eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Why? It jump starts your body into gear after a long night sleep. It increases the metabolic rate (how fast you burn calories) and tells your body what to expect during the day. If you don’t eat breakfast, your body won’t process your next meal as quickly because your body is going to want to save everything because it doesn’t know when you will eat next. It is super important to have a breakfast routine! In addition, if you don’t eat breakfast, you tend to eat a bigger meal. That is obviously not good.


My current breakfast item is avocado on toast and an acai smoothie!!! In a previous post about acai bowls, I explained to you the benefits of acai. Pack that nutrition in the morning, and you are good to go! Avocado is a good fat, and a good alternative to slathering butter on your toast in the morning. So try this in the morning! (I also am obsessed currently with those 2 food items, I even eat/drink it for dinner!)

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