breakfast

Roseadela’s in Salem

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Roseadela's front counter

When I visited Salem recently, I took inspiration from a vlogger who often shares her many day trips from where she lives in Seoul.

I’m not a morning person. For me, that means that I like to lounge around at home and have nice slow mornings, even if I get up early. On weekends, it takes a lot for me to leave the house in the morning. But that’s what Cari does! It would also mean that there would be less traffic for the hour long drive from Quincy, so maybe I could get there quicker.

Also, I usually avoid driving in the rain or snow. It rained the night before, but there were only supposed to be passing showers in the morning and it would dry out by the afternoon. So I figured I’d go. I really wanted to see the art exhibit, As We Rise, and it was going to close the next day.

Neither of my assumptions ended up being true, but I’m still glad that I went. The exhibit was wonderful and will be a separate post. I was stuck in a couple of downpours while driving and there was way more traffic than I expected. But as I walked around Salem, it was great!

breakfast at Roseadela's

I hate rushing through breakfast, so I didn’t eat before leaving home. When I arrived in Salem around 10am, I was starving and needed caffeine. There was plenty of street parking, but I chose a parking garage near the museum. When I came out of the elevator on the street level, I saw a small cafe and shop called Roseadela’s. It’s the cutest place with such cozy vibes!

There was so much to choose from for a sweet or savory small breakfast. I ended up getting a simple egg and cheese sandwich and a latte. Both very good and hit the spot!

I ended up coming back again when I was going to get my car to leave. I would have loved to buy just about everything in there. Since that was not possible, I picked up a few things that I really liked to gift to some people. They have an online store as well where you can purchase some of their many offerings.

Roseadela's shop wall

The photograph on the wall is stunning and I asked the owner about it. It looks like it’s from another time and place. But it’s actually her and her daughter posing at a photography studio located in the same building!

Stopping at Roseadela’s was a great way to start my half a day in Salem and I was ready to head to the museum next!

The Farmer’s Daughter Restaurant

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cranberry apple skillet cake at The Farmer's Daughter

The Cranberry + Apple Skillet Cake at The Farmer’s Daughter in Easton is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

On a scale of one to five stars, I give it six! The description sounds amazing: “cornmeal baked pancake. roasted cranberry. apple. pear. cider farm syrup + cinnamon honey butter” and it’s better than it sounds. It might sound like it could be too filling or too sweet. But it’s not. It’s the perfect amount of sweet and bits of sour with the cranberry. The amounts of fruit and pancake are perfectly balanced, so it’s not so dense that you couldn’t eat much.

It tastes amazing without the butter, but when you spread the butter on it and taste it, the experience elevates even higher. Like to a spiritual level.

The downside of The Farmer’s Daughter is that everyone wants to eat there. So there is a wait. And it was very cold this morning. Luckily, there is a decent amount of street parking and more parking behind the restaurant. Once you give your name, you can wait in your car and are called when a table is ready.

I was meeting a friend, who lives in the area, so she arrived first and started waiting for us. Once we were seated, we both ordered the Pumpkin Chai Latte.

pumpkin chai latte at The Farmer's Daughter

There is an extensive drink menu for brunch and the most beautiful concoctions kept parading by us as we watched in amazement.

Our lattes were very good, but we both thought they tasted like turmeric. Sort of looked like it too. Not sure what that was about.

Anyway, back to the skillet cake. It was so warm and made me appreciate the cold weather. When you’re warmed from the inside, that cozy feeling you get. Like you want to just snuggle in a blanket, watch a movie and enjoy being inside. That’s the feeling. I prefer the summer, but autumn and winter have a coziness that can’t be beat.

The menu is so creative, playful and inviting. The offerings are unique and make you feel appreciated as a customer. Like even though the owner doesn’t know us, she adores us anyway. What a wonderful experience. Just wow. And the service is wonderful too. Top notch. I’m looking forward to many more meals there.

Recipe: Caramelized Apple Dutch Baby

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Carmelized Apple Dutch Baby on a plate.

Happy New Year! We’re living in the future! Well, actually the present. But that number — 2020. It seems like the future. Like when we were going from 1999 to 2000. It’s really just one day apart, but mentally it feels like a big jump. Going from one century to the next and one decade to the next. Also, now we’re really deep into the 21st century. It feels big.

So I decided to begin this first morning of the year and decade by doing something that I’ve been planning to do for quite some time. I made a Dutch baby for breakfast. These German pancakes were the darling of the food blogger world for many years. As I was reading yesterday, the main character in the novel just happened to make one. That sealed it for me.

A Dutch baby is similar to a popover, which I have made before. The dramatic thing about both is that they puff up without using any leavening. When I made popovers, they puffed up.

The Dutch baby did not puff. I have to admit that I was disappointed. Now I realize that the instructions in the recipe that I used didn’t stress using a blender or electric hand mixer to combine the ingredients. That vigorous mixing would have added more air prompting the puff. I forgot about this until looking at my popover recipe. Next time I’ll remember.

Also, just to let you know about the coloring. I keep a mixture of white flour combined with other healthier flours (ingredients) for better nutrition. The current combination is coffee flour and flaxseed meal. So the brown color of the Dutch baby might not be the same if you use plain white flour.

I’ve adapted this recipe from one on the blog Simply Scratch. Let me know if you try it and Happy New Year! 🎉

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Single Serving Caramelized Apple Dutch Baby

INGREDIENTS:

Caramelized Apples:

  • 1 apple cut up
  • 1 T butter
  • 2 T brown sugar

Dutch Baby:

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 1 T butter (for the skillet)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Put the butter in a small skillet on medium heat and coat the sides. Add the apples and brown sugar. Stir and cook the apples for about 10 minutes. They will become tender and caramelized.

While the apples are cooking, combine the ingredients for the Dutch baby in a blender or use an electric mixer in a small bowl. Stirring with a whisk or a spoon is fine, but unless you whisk for longer than I did, it won’t be enough to get a lot of air into the mixture so that it will puff up in the oven.

Put the butter in a medium cast iron skillet on medium heat and coat the sides. When the butter sizzles, pour the batter into the pan and place in oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the pan with a spatula and place on a large plate. Pour the apples on the Dutch baby. Sprinkle cinnamon and powdered sugar over the top. Enjoy!

2-Ingredient Banana Pancake Experiment

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2-ingredient banana pancake breakfast.

This past week, I saw a recipe on The Kitchn for 2-ingredient banana pancakes. It looked like a good idea for a quick high energy breakfast that might taste incredibly good. So this morning I decided to try it.

While the recipe is technically just two ingredients, there are several other ingredients mentioned as optional extras. I got a bit carried away and should have kept it simple.

I added a tablespoon of leftover granola, which is probably fine. I added a pinch of salt, some vanilla and baking powder. Also probably fine.

Here is where I veered off the road with my breakfast. Last year, I read an article in Brandeis Magazine about coffee flour.

Coffee flour, developed by Brandeis biophysicist Dan Perlman ’68, got media outlets and many other observers buzzing this winter.

Two decades ago, Perlman and nutritionist K.C. Hayes developed the “healthy fats” blend in the Smart Balance buttery spread. Now, on his own, Perlman’s invented and patented what he says is a healthier form of coffee.

Needless to say, I was intrigued. So I searched for coffee flour and ordered some from Nuts.com. The coffee flour has been sitting in my fridge lonely and unopened for months. So I decided to put a couple of tablespoons into this recipe. Well. It didn’t really work.

My excitement over this new recipe, and probably and ironically my lack of coffee, caused me to forget that the coffee flour should be mixed with regular flour.

Anyway, I took a picture of the pancakes. Not my best work! The flavor wasn’t great, but it was edible. Next time I’ll just stick with the two ingredients!

For the coffee flour, I’ll add it to the flour mixture that I keep in the fridge. Have you ever tried coffee flour?

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Photo Credit: The Kitchn

Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage vs MorningStar Farms Sausage Patties

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Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage

My go to product for veggie sausage, veggie burgers and other veggie based foods is usually MorningStar Farms. I’ve tried so many different veggie products and always come back to them.

But I like mixing things up a bit sometimes and trying new products. I noticed Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage on sale this past week and decided to buy it. This morning I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised.

It’s a teeny bit more work making Gimme Lean sausages than MorningStar. It comes in a package where you scoop out the mixture, form patties, then cook it on the top of the stove. The cooking time was pretty quick though – about five minutes. The flavor and texture are quite good.

I imagine that I could cook it up without forming patties and using the sausage in a stir fry, sauce, frittata, quiche and more.

During the week, it’s much easier and faster to use MorningStar Farms sausages, because I microwave them for a minute and they’re done. But for other times, I can see using Gimme Lean. The company that makes them is Lightlife Foods and they have a wide array of foods, from pasta, to bowls and other snacks.

Have you tried any of their foods?

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Photo Credit: Lightlife Foods