Warm & Chewy Cranberry Walnut Bread

Makes 8-10 slices

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup whole wheat flour, sifted

2 tbsp. agave syrup + 2 tbsp. sugar (or your favorite combination of sweeteners)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries (it was half of the small bag of fresh berries for me)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 egg

3/4 cup orange juice (& orange zest if you have some)

2 tbsp. canola oil

1/2 tsp. ea. of ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Chop the cranberries in a food processor until the berries are at least cut in half or smaller. Stir the chopped cranberries into the dry ingredients and coat. Create a well in the dry mixture and combine the beaten egg, agave syrup, orange juice, oil and chopped walnuts. Mix until everything is moist. 

Spray a 9x5x3" loaf pan with oil and fill with bread batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

I love to eat this for breakfast in the winter. I warm up a slice and smear with cream cheese! Of course it is great on its own... or with yogurt on top. It makes the house smell great and is a hit with guests.

Breakfast Æbleskivers (Danish Pancake Balls)

The tradition in my house to make this for breakfast on New Years morning. Let me tell you, it's a great way to start the year off. If you want to get fancy, you can even fill these with a little jam as you turn them.

2 cups buttermilk (or you can use milk with a splash of lemon juice in it)
2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp melted butter
More butter or shortening (for greasing the cast iron pan)


Yes, you do need a special pan, but once you buy one of these you pass it down through generations.

Separate the eggs and use an electric beater to whip the egg whites until they are fluffy and stiff. In another large bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients until combined. Then with a spatula, carefully fold in the egg whites to keep fluffy.

Heat the pan to medium and pour a tsp of melted butter or shortening into each well.

*So the first one might not turn out the prettiest, but you do have to practice and get the technique down.*
Pour 2 tbsp of batter into each well, making sure not to overflow the sides. Once the batter bubbles around the edges (let it cook a minute), use a wooden skewer (or fork) to slowly turn the half-moon pancake over. The uncooked batter in the center will flow out and refill the well as you flip it over. Let all sides turn golden brown and set aside the cooked ones in a kitchen towel to keep warm.

Serve with syrup, powdered sugar, jam, or applesauce!

Quick & Delicious Flaky Biscuits

I love to eat these fresh and steaming out of the oven. You can even add your favorite herbs, cheese, or dried fruit to this recipe to spice it up. Such a treat!

Note: In an air-tight bag you can refrigerate the dough for a day if you want fresh biscuits right out of the oven 2 days in a row!

Makes about 15 biscuits, depending on size

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or you can just use 2 cups of AP flour if that's all you have)
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. cold butter (cubed)
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk + 1/2 tsp. lemon juice)
3 tbsp. honey


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a food processor, combine both flours, salt, butter, and honey. Pulse the food processor a few times until the butter is coarsely mixed into little balls covered in the flour mixture.

Pour the milk into the food processor with the blade running. The mixture should come together to form a ball of dough. (Only add as much milk as it takes to combine into a ball, it might vary in your climate.) Do not over mix! You can always just mix the last bit of flour stuck to the bowl in by hand.

Either roll out and cut the dough with a biscuit cutter or roll into little palm-sized balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes until fluffy and golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack, or just smother them in butter, honey, or jam and eat them as soon as possible. :)

Basic Homemade Crepes

The thing I love about crepes is their adaptability. You can have sweet breakfast or dessert crepes, savory dinner crepes, and even eat them on the go. These are simple to make and are a real treat that is sure to impress your family or guests! Keep your crepes warm in a low temp oven while you cook the desired amount.

This recipe makes 3 crepes, feel free to double or triple it for bigger groups.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. softened butter

Place all the ingredients in a blender a mix on high until frothy. You may have to stop the blender and scape down any flour stuck around the sides and blend again. Refrigerate batter (up to 2 days) before cooking.

For savory crepes: add 1 tsp. of italian herbs (fresh or dry) and pepper to the batter.
Possible fillings: I like to fill with ham and swiss cheese, or even a cooked egg. Or you can fill with sautéed slivers of onions, peppers, and zucchini.

For sweet crepes: add a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Possible fillings: I typically fill my crepes with my favorite fresh chopped fruit. Other fillings I recommend are Nutella, whipped cream, vanilla yogurt, or sweetened ricotta cheese. Finish with your choice of nuts, fresh lemon juice, honey or powdered sugar.

Grease a 10in. pan with non-stick cooking spray. Turn your stovetop to medium heat and let the pan come up to temperature. When the pan is hot, slowly pour a thin layer of batter into the pan and swirl to get an even layer all around the pan.

The edges should start to peel up and bubbles should appear in the center when the first side is cooked. Carefully raise edges with a spatula and flip over. When both sides are lightly browned, add your chosen filling to warm. You can fold the crepe into quarters, or slide onto a plate and simply roll into a tube. Eat while warm!

Combine your favorite flavors and try your own filling combinations. There are so many possibilites!