Smoked salmon bagel

I am a huge fan of breakfasts and I can't think of any other meal I enjoy more than leisurely breakfasts during the weekend. There is something so nice about eating something and drinking coffee without having to worry about making it somewhere on time. And when during the weekdays I usually have just a quick cup of coffee before rushing out of the door to go to work then during the weekends I usually help myself to a second cup of coffee just because I have time for it. And all while catching up with the some of the tv series or flicking through the Financial Times. 

I can't say that I have my go-to weekend breakfast food as most of the time it really depends on what I have lying around the house. Sometimes I have scrambled eggs or granola or if I've thought a bit ahead and bought the correct ingredients I have a fresh juice or a smoothie. However, every now and then I crave for something quite indulgent and I have to say that for me that just means smoked salmon. And smoked salmon in any shape or form works - on toast with some avocado or as a side to my scrambled eggs. But what I really love is smoked salmon on a bagel with some cream cheese. It's very easy and quick to make, but super tasty and keeps me going for the whole day. 

So, if you're after an indulgent, but quick to make, breakfast look no further. I've also made mini versions of this for a brunch and the two trays I made went down a treat and disappeared in a blink of an eye. And in addition to being tasty they also look very presentable so make a nice addition to any brunch table. 

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

- 1 wholegrain bagel
- Philadelphia cream cheese
- 60g smoked salmon
- Fresh pepper / lemon wedge / dill / capers to serve

Directions

Cut your bagel in half. If your toaster has a bagel toasting setting feel free to warm up your bagel halves in there. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese on both sides of the bagel and top both sides off with slices of smoked salmon. Serve it with a squeeze of lemon and some fresh pepper. Or, alternatively, with fresh dill or capers - the choice is yours. 

Salmon & poached egg on rye bread

Up to that morning I had never poached an egg in my life. It always seemed like too much of a hassle and reading all the comments online regarding how difficult it is to do it properly I just never got the courage to give it a shot. However, as I am a huge fan of having smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on a slice of toast I finally decided to give poaching a try - it's basically the same thing, just looks a lot fancier.

It goes without saying that I did quite a bit of research into how to poach an egg and it was surprising how many different - and conflicting - options were out there. Put salt, don't put salt, add vinegar, no need to add vinegar etc. So when it came down to making the decision which one to follow I decided to go with Gordon Ramsay's version that I found on BBC Good Food and purely for the reason that every other recipe by him that I've tried has come out amazing. And I can now report back that the poached egg was a success as well!

I rarely eat eggs during the week and consider them to be kind of a treat for breakfast as I am great believer that every bite should be savoured, not just swallowed down as quickly as possible. So it is quite nice every now and then to take the extra 20 minutes to prepare something nice and tasty and then enjoy eating it as well. I love how the rye bread provides substance, salmon the richness the poached egg adds just the right amount of creaminess. It's definitely a treat that I'll make for myself again!

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 25g smoked salmon
- Slice of rye bread (or any other bread)
- 1 egg
- Pepper, to serve
- 1l water
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Butter

Directions
Firstly, place the water in a saucepan, add the vinegar and bring to simmer over medium heat. Then, use a spoon to create a vortex and drop in the egg, this way the egg white will automatically curl around the yolk and leave it in for 3 minutes if you like your yolk creamy (for less if you like it very runny and for longer if you prefer it more solid). In the meantime prepare the salmon sandwich - rye bread, butter and salmon - and place on a plate. When the egg is done, take it out with a slotted spoon and dry with a peace of kitchen towel, making sure you don't pat too hard (don't want to brake it). Place the egg on top of the sandwich and serve immediately with some freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Egg with asparagus, grilled ham and onion jam

I know I haven't put up a single recipe in over a month, but in my defence I'm bang on in the middle of my exam period and I have to admit that preparing food has not been my top priority. I basically live off porridge for breakfast, fruits and yogurts for lunch and for dinner I just have some soup that I've prepared in batches in advance. And weekends aren't any different. But after weeks of doing that I really started craving for something different. Having bought a couple of cookbooks for my mum I flicked through them and decided that I should get those for myself as there were a couple of recipes that really appealed to me. And one of them was this one.

If I have the time I love eating breakfast at the weekends at the dining table and trying out new recipes. So when I saw this one I knew I had to have it (and make time for it!). I love having eggs for breakfast - they keep me full for hours. Couple that with crispy ham, juicy asparagus and sweet caramelised onions and what you get is a delicious and filling breakfast. And not just that - on top of everything it is healthy as well!

I can honestly say that I savoured every single bite. Furthermore, I'm already looking forward to the Friday that all my exams are done and I can treat myself to another one of those ...

Ingredients

(Serves 1)
- Olive oil
- 1 small red onion (85g), thinly sliced
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp water
- 25g shaved light ham
- 170g asparagus, trimmed
- 1 egg

Directions
Heat up the gill in the oven.

Firstly prepare the onion jam: heat some oil in the pan and cook onion over medium heat and stirring it constantly. When it is alms soft add vinegar and sugar and stir it until sugar dissolves. Add water and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Set aside and let cool.

Prepare the asparagus by boiling it for around 5 minutes. In the meanwhile place the ham in a single layer on an over tray. Cook under hot grill until browned lightly.

Lastly, heat the same pan that you used for making the onion jam and fry the egg until cooks as desired.

Place everything on the plate and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Recipe from book AWW's "21-day low-fat diet"

Egg white omelette with feta & sundried tomatoes

I once again try to go unnoticed in the law library as I put up this post, feeling slightly guilty that I'm using my study time to do that. The good news is that I will finally get my internet up and running this Friday so there should be no more long pauses between my posts. I have to admit that the month or so that I've been without internet access at home (I still get my emails through to my phone and stuff so I haven't been totally cut off from the world) I have been incredibly productive with my studies. I literally have been so bored that there's nothing else to do apart studying. But in all honesty, I'm happy my time without internet is coming to an end. 

In the meantime I have prepared a handful of dishes that I'm dying to share with you. I always feel that during weekends (or when I have mornings off) I have a nice reason to treat myself to a lovely breakfast instead of just making something quickly and eating it even faster. One of the things that I've wanted to try for quite some time was an egg white omelette. I'm a huge fan of omelettes for breakfast and to me they are something that one should eat slowly, savouring every bite. But as I'm usually in quite a hurry in the mornings, the idea of chopping things up is out of the question. As I had a Friday off a week or so ago I finally got around making the omelette. 

What I really love about this omelette is that it kept me full until lunchtime and I did not get any cravings. In addition, it is simple and relatively quick to make and can be adjusted to any tastes. Have it whatever cheese, veggies or meat you want and you are guaranteed a warm satisfying breakfast. I was tiny bit afraid of just using egg whites, mainly because I thought it would end up as a runny and soggy egg mass, but to my pleasant surprise everything looked very presentable (hence the reason it's going up here). So if you're looking for a tasty and filling breakfast and want to try out something new, give this one a go. Feel free to change the ingredients, load it up with different vegetables or serve with some crusty bread instead of the salad. But I can promise you that even if you don't change anything, this one is still a treat. 

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

- 100g egg whites

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 5 sundried tomatoes, chopped

- 50g Feta, crumbled

- Handful of basil, chopped and some to serve

- Handful of mixed salad leaves

- Black pepper, to serve

Directions

First chop up the tomatoes and basil, crumble the Feta and mix all together. Heat the oil in the pan and add the egg whites. When they start turning opaque add the mix on top of. Once it is almost done, roll the omelette and fry it on each side for another minute or so until cooked thoroughly. Serve immediately with a handful of mixed salad leaves and some freshly ground black pepper.

Blueberry & Almond porridge

When I was a kid, my mum always made porridge for Saturday or Sunday mornings and I remember very clearly that when I moved out nearly 6 years ago I told myself that there will be no more porridge for breakfasts. And so a couple of years passed and the next thing I knew was that I had porridge for nearly every morning... I guess there is some truth in the saying that mothers know the best.

Until recently I used the quick instant oat porridges that came with different flavours or used the neutral one to have with home made strawberry or apple and raspberry jam. Nothing warms you up and fills you up at the same time for hours on those cold winter mornings than a nice bowl of hearty porridge. As I'm trying to make tiny changes for a healthier and cleaner lifestyle I bought I nice big bag of rolled oats and left the instant porridges with added flavourings on the shelf. Instead, I mixed in some almonds and blueberries to make a delicious and healthy breakfast.

I know that making porridge isn't really a recipe as such, but it is a great way to start the day and is easily customised to satisfy even the pickiest eaters - choice of toppings is endless - drizzle yours with some honey, add coconut, different berries, dried fruit or raisins ... I could go on and on about what you could have your porridge with, but whatever you choose porridge makes a lovely filling breakfast that is good for you and guaranteed to keep you going without cravings until lunch.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 225ml water
- 35g rolled oats
- 2 tsp almonds
- Handful of blueberries

Directions
Boil the oats in water (or if you prefer creamier porridge then half water and half milk) for around 15 minutes. Whilst the oats are boiling, wash and dry the blueberries.

When the porridge is done, stir in the almonds, place the porridge in a nice bowl and top it off with few blueberries. Enjoy!

 

Blueberry & Greek yogurt parfait

As promised a while ago I've finally gotten around to post another variation of a parfait and this time with just blueberries. Unfortunately there is no bigger story behind this recipe as it was just an alternative take on the parfait I made few weeks ago.

But regardless of that it makes a perfect snack, breakfast or even dessert and I can't think of anything better to serve at a nice summer BBQ. And not only is it delicious, I am still fascinated about how good the parfaits look like - really make me feel like I am indulging in something rather luxurious and it certainly does not feel like eating yogurt with berries. Different versions of parfaits are definitely going to be part of my summer and I promise not to bother you with just another variation of it but next time I make a parfait post I'll make sure it's something fancier and bigger. But the fact that this is not big nor incredibly fancy, it is still very delicious (and good for you at the same time).

Ingredients

(Makes 1)
- 80g blueberries
- 50g Greek yogurt
- 20g granola



Directions
Layer the ingredients in a nice glass or a bowl and serve immediately.

Strawberry & Greek yogurt parfait

I've been having scrambled eggs on rye bread toast for breakfast for a while and really craved something different. So yesterday when we did out grocery shopping I picked up some nice ingredients - strawberries, blueberries, bananas, Greek yogurt, honey granola - which would enable to make myself whatever I wanted for breakfast. And after giving it some though I decided to make a parfait (fancy way of describing a layered dish). I've seen so many posts of those delicious looking pots that I just had to give it a go at home.

I really love the way parfaits look like. You can combine different flavours (and colours!) to make something that is beautiful to look at, tastes divine and doesn't have a bad effect on your efforts to stay fit and healthy. I decided to just use strawberries on this one, but I'll probably try a mix of blueberries and strawberries in a next couple of days (I'll make sure I'll post it as well).

I made the parfait with Greek yogurt as opposed to normal natural yogurt as I find that it is a lot milder, less sour in taste and as that wouldn't be enough it also has a really nice rich creamy texture. Also, after some googling I found out that it's higher in protein, lower in carbs and sodium than natural yogurt and thus making a perfect ingredient to incorporate into your breakfasts. Coupled with delicious and sweet strawberries, which are rich Vitamin C, and some granola (I used Kellogg's Special K Honey and Nut as I haven't gotten around to making my own) to add some fibre and a nice crunch to the meal.

Have this for a healthy breakfast, lunch or even serve it as a dessert - fills you up, tastes delicious and the colourfulness is guaranteed to light up your mood.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)
- 100g strawberries, chopped
- 100g Greek yogurt (I used 0% fat Total)
- 20g granola

Directions
Layer the strawberries and yogurt in a glass or a bowl (I did 50g strawberries - 50g yogurt - 50g strawberries - 50 yogurt) and then top it all off with some nice granola and enjoy!

Raspberry yogurt muffins

I realised today that I haven't had muffins for breakfast in ages and as we were slept without an alarm this Sunday, a plan to have muffins for brunch sounded perfect. Warm, just out of the oven homemade muffins make an amazing breakfast (or brunch) and they are so quick and easy to make. In addition, muffins come in all tastes and sizes so there's bound to be something that fits your taste.

I've made these muffins quite a few times before, but that was during my pre-blog era. They are incredibly light and moist and have this melt in your mouth feeling. Even my friends who don't have a sweet tooth love them as they are so well balanced between sweet and sour. I love the addition of yogurt in these muffins as it creates the lightness and not the soaked in oil feeling you get with store bought ones.

So, if you're in search for that perfect breakfast muffin that is quick and easy to make and also doesn't end up in you consuming your daily calorie intake during breakfast then this is the way to go. They also keep well for few days (the maximum mine have stayed have been 2 days as usually they are all gone during the day I made them). Have them for breakfast, serve them as a dessert or make them for a picnic - one really nice and universal muffin recipe.

Ingredients
(Makes 12 - approx 160 cal per muffin)
- 50g butter, melted
- 2 dl sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 dl natural yogurt (fat free)
- 3 dl flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 2 dl raspberries

Directions
Firstly melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin cups and preheat the oven to 200C. Then whisk the eggs and sugar. Add natural yogurt, melted butter, flour and baking powder and mix well. Divide the batter up between the holes and press 3-4 raspberries into each muffin cup. Bake for 15-17 minutes.

Recipe from a book called "Muffinid 2"

Pancakes with strawberry jam à la mum

Nearly for long as I can remember, pancakes have always been a special treat for breakfasts. When I used to stay at the countryside house, my great aunt used to make them for us on Sunday mornings or whenever my grandmother babysat us I always could count on having fresh and warm pancakes in the morning. Now I've grown up and it seems that I've been in charge of making pancakes for years. Whenever I go to Estonia I know, even without someone telling me, that I have to make pancakes at least for one morning whilst I'm there. Fortunately, I can consider myself to be very lucky as my other half is also amazing when it comes to cooking - and making pancakes for that matter - so when we're together it's usually him who treats me to pancakes and all I have to do is eat them. Today was an exception, as I really-really wanted to surprise him and therefore made the pancakes that he makes for me, but with added surprise - the strawberry jam that my mum always makes.

Usually every summer, when we have local strawberries, my mum makes the most simple and hassle free jam out of them - she just purees them with some added sugar. The only problem with this jam is that it won't stay good for a long time, but because it's so good and so universal (use it to top up your ice-cream or have it on toast) I've never viewed that as a problem. Also, it can be frozen and then defrosted if you want to save up some for those cold winter mornings when you want to remind yourself of the sweet summertime.

Going back to pancakes, I am really of the opinion that whoever invented them was an absolute genius.  You can have them in so many different varieties and to be honest, every person I know makes different kind of pancakes - thick, thin, small, big, with buttermilk, with berries ... the list is pretty much endless. And on top of that, one could have pancakes for every meal of the day - breakfast, lunch, even dinner or for dessert. I remember when I used to order pancakes with ice-cream and jam whenever we ate out. What makes them even more universal is the fact that you can eat pancakes with anything you wish - indulging in pancakes with sour cream and caviar, reminding yourself of your childhood by having them with home made jam or sugar or just simply melting some cheese and adding some ham for a more filling pancake. Long story short, pancakes are absolutely amazing and you can have my word that this won't be the last pancake recipe to appear on my blog.

PS! It makes the most amazing romantic surprise for that special someone!

Ingredients
(Makes 8 20cm pancakes)
- 110g plain flour
- salt
- 2 eggs
- 200ml milk
- 75ml water
- 50g butter, melted
- 250g strawberries
- Icing sugar, to serve

Directions
Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well into the flour mixture and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs and flour until all the flour has been incorporated. Pour the water and milk into a jug and slowly add it to the flour and egg mixture, whisking whilst you're pouring it in. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and does not have any lumps in it.

Melt the butter in a pan and whisk 2 tablespoons of it into the batter. Set the rest aside and use it to oil the pan.

Put the pan on the hob and heat it up, then turn down the heat to medium and bake the pancakes.

To prepare the strawberry jam, wash the strawberries and remove the green leaves. Set aside 4 nice strawberries and put the rest into a bowl or a jug and crush with a handheld mixer until smooth. Add 1,5 tablespoons (or more if you prefer sweeter jam) of icing sugar into the strawberry puree and mix well. Chop of the remaining 4 strawberries.

To serve, fold the pancakes into sectors and place on a plate, put the chopped strawberries next to it, pour over some strawberry jam and finally sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve immediately.

Pancake recipe by Delia Smith from BBC Food

Smoothies

I decided that instead of making a single post every smoothie, it would make a lot more sense just to put all the smoothies in one single post. I absolutely love smoothies - the real reason why I bought a blender in the first place. It is so easy to make up a smoothie from berries, juices and yogurts that you have at home or to use up some leftovers. To save you the headache, here are some great smoothies to enjoy as snacks, breakfasts or refreshing drinks. I promise, that every time I try out a new one, I will update this post, so if you're into smoothies, keep an eye on it.

Pineapple-watermelon smoothie 
(Serves 1)
- 150g pineapple
- 200g watermelon

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. You could also add ice if you prefer, however, I keep my ingredients in the fridge for few hours before making the smoothie, so it is already nice and cool and as I don't need to add ice I avoid getting the 'brain freeze' feeling when drinking my smoothie.

This is a really refreshing drink, which also fills you up (for a limited time of course). Perfect for hot summer days or as quick snack. Sweet watermelon and a bit sour pineapple create the perfect balance and neither of the ingredients dominate over the other.

Blueberry muesli smoothie

(Serves 1)

- 125g blueberries (fresh or frozen)

- 125ml 0% natural yogurt

- 125ml skimmed milk

- 25g muesli

Put all in the blender and enjoy as a delicious start for the day.

This is one of my absolute and long time favourites. I find this smoothie a great way to kick-start my day. It is filling enough to keep me going for hours and on top of that it is filled with all the goodness one can possible thing of:- antioxidants from blueberries, calcium and protein from milk and yogurt and fibre from muesli. Honestly, what else could one want from a smoothie? 

Raspberry & peach smoothie

(Serves 1)
- 100g raspberries, plus few for decoration
- 1 ripe peach, chopped
- 100 ml cold water

Blend everything until smooth. Serve over ice if wish and decorate with few raspberries.

This smoothie is light and refreshing, but depending on the sweetness of the peach it can also be quite sour, rather than sweet. This would be perfect when served with some crushed ice on a hot summer day to refresh and rehydrate yourself. 

Green smoothie
(Serves 1)
- 1/4 melon, peeled and chopped
- 1 kiwi, peeled and chopped
- 50g green seedless grapes

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve with some mint and ice, or just enjoy by itself. Decorate with a kiwi slice or a grape.

This is light and refreshing smoothie, which is slightly sour. Great for breakfasts or to sip during a hot summer day.

Antioxidant smoothie
(Serves 1)
- 1 Pom Pomegranate juice (240ml)
- 150g mixed frozen berries (or other frozen fruit)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy immediately.

This is a perfect pick-me-up smoothie to have for breakfast that is sweet and sour at the same time. I love the fact that using frozen berries immediately results in a creamy and refreshing drink without having to add any ice and ending up diluting the taste of the smoothie itself.

Blueberry muffins

There are very few things in the life that can beat fresh home baked muffins for breakfast - they are guaranteed to make sure that the day will go well. After having three exams this week (I feel like a wreck), I decided to treat myself for a nice late breakfast, or actually, more of a brunch. When I was thinking of what to have I realised that so many muffin recipes out there require way too many ingredients that I usually don't have at home. Also, as I have a big bag of spelt flour to use up, so I really wanted a recipe using spelt flour and not requiring me to go out food shopping in the morning. However, as usual, books and websites were useless! Therefore, inspired by all the other muffin recipes I decided to improvise and the result was delicious - not too sweet and perfectly moist.

The muffins themselves are relatively healthy (well, as healthy as muffins can be) and thus a guilt free way to start a day. However, as I felt like a deserved a treat, I decided to top the muffins with a delicious cream cheese glaze. Needless to say that it was one indulgent breakfast...

Ingredients
(Serves 6 - 190cal per serving without the glaze)
For the muffins:
- 125g spelt flour (or any other flour)
- 20g sugar
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 65g butter, melted
- 125ml skimmed milk
- 150g blueberries

For the glaze:
- 70g Philadelphia cheese
- 4tbsp icing sugar
- 1tsp vanilla sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/ 180C and line a 12 hole muffin tin with 6 muffin cases (or grease the tin). Then melt the butter and leave it aside. Mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl, add egg, milk and butter and whisk until nice and smooth. Then stir in blueberries, leaving aside 6 to put on top of the muffins. Divide the mixture up between the 6 cases and bake 15-20 minutes until evenly brown.

While the muffins are baking, prepare the cream cheese glaze. Whip all the ingredients together in a bowl until the mixture is even and smooth.

When the muffins are ready, serve them with a tablespoonful of glaze topped with a blueberry.

Very berry breakfast

I love having berries for breakfast, especially when they are in season as they are so sweet and juicy. They are great just by themselves, but eventually it gets a bit boring when just having a bowl of berries by themselves. As I had some left over Greek yogurt in the fridge, I decided to use it up on the berries. Also, I sprinkles some coconut shavings on it - but I am very sure that almond shavings would go even better with the berries. And for added sweetness I drizzled everything over with some honey. The result was a nice, filling, healthy and balanced breakfast. This also makes a really good snack and I would even serve it as a light dessert after a heavy meal - just reduce the amount of berries a bit and serve in a nice bowl or, even better, in a martini glass.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 100g strawberries, quartered
- 50g blueberries
- 50g blackberries
- 50g raspberries
- 70g 0% Greek yogurt
- Clear honey
- 1 tsp coconut shavings (or any other nuts)

Directions
Place the berries in the bowl and top up with Greek yogurt. Then sprinke with coconut shavings (or any other nuts), drizzle over with some honey and enjoy.