Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

Pear, Raspberry and Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl

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Pear, Raspberry and Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl
I am most definitely a morning person.  I’d way rather meet you for breakfast than stay up until Midnight, trying to keep my eyes open and maintain any feeble attempts at witty conversation as the night wanes and dawn inches closer.

There is no better way to start the day than by having a good breakfast.  Even though getting up at 6:00 AM nowadays means that I am rising long before the sun does, a good, warm breakfast is something to look forward to and makes exiting the warm sheets to the injustice of bare toes on a cold floor just a little easier.

I like to have whole grains as the base for my breakfast and then topping them with some combination of warm or cold, raw or cooked fruit followed by nuts and yogurt.  Many mornings this means cooking up a bowl of old fashioned oatmeal – the kind with large flakes that have not been chopped before they are rolled. (read this article by the Kitchn for a clear explanation on the difference between various types of oats)  These are quick to make: 15 minutes max and I am sitting down to eat.  If I really want to treat myself to a fine start for the day, I use a whole oat groats; but this means I either need to plan ahead or plan more time in the morning.

The great thing about whole grain kernels (think wheat berries, spelt berries, barley pearls, brown rice kernels, and the less common whole oat groats) is that they reheat really well. The same goes for steel cut oats, a morning treat I absolutely love. So although the grains may take 30 – 45 minutes to cook, you can do that well in advance and either refrigerate them if you will be consuming them soon, or, even better, cook up a huge pot, spoon the cooked grains into unlined muffin tins, and then pop the frozen grain pucks out, freeze them in a zip-lock bag or plastic container, and you’ll have a quick breakfast that you can thaw and enjoy in minutes.  If you fill each muffin cup to the top, you’ll have 1/2 cup servings (approximately 250g) ready to go.  If the grains are a bit dry when you reheat them, add a small amount of water or milk to loosen them up and they will look and taste freshly cooked.

Whole grains are an excellent food choice for those who want to live a healthy lifestyle.  An article published in Harvard School of Public Health’s Nutrition Source, Health Gains from Whole Grains says that an increase in the consumption of whole grains reduced the risks for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Cancer.  Further, because whole grains contain a lot of fiber, your digestive health also vastly improves as a result.  In a chart published in the same article, it is recommended that 25% of our daily diet should consist of whole grains.  (For more information, read about the Healthy Eating Plate).

Unlike your average breakfast of cold cereal, which is largely made from refined flours, whole grains are minimally processed, so they retain all the marvelous benefits that are so good for us:  complex carbohydrates, key vitamins and minerals.  This article by the Mayo Clinic explains why.

This breakfast bowl calls for brown rice, but feel free to substitute the whole grain of your choice. The chewy, nutty satisfying grain pairs really well with this lightly sweetened, warm pear-raspberry topping. If you are reheating grains, the topping can be quickly made while the grains are warming up.

Now sit on down and Carpe Diem!

Pear, Raspberry and Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl
Pear, Raspberry and Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl

1 cup / 2.5 dl brown rice

2 cups / 500 ml water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup / 3/4 dl milk (non-dairy milk works well here too)
1 large pear, peeled and cut into large dice
1 cup / 2.5 dl fresh or frozen raspberries
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup / 1 heaped dl crushed pecans
1/2 cup / 250 ml plain, unsweetened greek or turkish yogurt

Combine the rice, water and salt into a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a full bowl; reduce heat to low; cover; and cook for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, drain the rice in a strainer, return it to the pot, add the milk, bring it to a boil, reduce to medium, and allow it to simmer as the milk absorbs for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the topping.  Combine the pear, raspberries and maple syrup in a small pot.  Bring to a full boil, then remove from heat.  Add the vanilla extract, stir to combine, and set aside until the rice has finished cooking.

To serve, divide the rice between four bowls.  Divide the pear & raspberry sauce over the top.  Add a large spoonful of yogurt to each bowl, then top with crushed pecans.  Serve warm.

4 servings.


Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Bread

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Pumpkin Bread revisited

Pumpkin Bread from Starbucks used to be one of the things I waited for as summer faded into a sweet memory, the leaves fell around me creating a glorious carpet of yellow, orange and red, pumpkins starting popping up at every turn, and the weather got steadily colder.  I’d pop into my local cafe, alone or with friends, order a double tall latte or a chai tea latte and a thick slice of the Pumpkin Bread.  If alone, I’d sip and munch and read; when together with friends we’d laugh and talk and catch up on Life.

I am long way away from those friends now (miss you all!), and I don’t frequent the local Starbucks here in Helsinki so I don’t even know if they serve Pumpkin Bread.  But what I do without out fail every year is make Pumpkin Bread of my own to settle into to the new season, and serve it to the friends and family I’ve found here.

Hokkaido pumpkin and Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Bread

This year, I created a new recipe for Pumpkin Bread.  I wanted to use barley flour as it has a pleasant sweetness to it that I thought would pair well with pumpkin, and it creates a very soft crumb.  I’d used olive oil with pumpkin once before so I knew that it works (even better than butter!) so I added that too.  And then I’ve been working on recipes that replace refined sugars with natural sugars, and have been playing with molasses as a nearly forgotten sweetener. The molasses in here plays really well with the variety of spices in the Pumpkin Spice Mix, though I’ve toned the molasses down just a tiny bit with the addition of honey.

This is not a recreation of the Starbucks version.  What you end up with is a dark, intense, lightly sweetened Pumpkin Bread, with a nod toward gingerbread and with a light tangy note from the buttermilk.  It’s a delicious combination, particularly when you top it with a bit of creme fraiche and then bite into the pecans and dried cranberries scattered throughout.  Feel free to swap the pecans for walnuts and the cranberries for raisins, if you wish.  Also, if you like a slightly sweeter bread, double the amount of honey.

Get your ovens warming and your coffee brewing, folks, you don’t even need to leave home to try this one.  And you may find that it’s a healthier version than the one I enjoyed all those years ago.

Pumpkin Bread with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of pecans and dried cranberries

Pumpkin Buttermilk Bread

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.  Lightly oil a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl whisk together:
1.5 cups whole grain barley flour (all-purpose or gluten-free flours can be substituted)
3 teaspoons Pumpkin Spice Mix
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

In a small bowl combine:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup molasses (see note below)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons honey

Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir well to combine thoroughly.  Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with soft moist crumbs.

Serve individual slices with a sprinkling of pecans and dried cranberries and a spoonful of creme fraiche. (Try making your own creme fraiche, you’ll love it!)

Serves 12.

Note:  if you don’t have molasses, you can replace both the honey and molasses and instead use 3/4 cup coconut sugar if you want to skip refined sugars, or 3/4 cup brown sugar, (which is, depending on the brand you buy, either unrefined sugar with residual molasses, or white sugar with molasses added to it.)

Make it Yourself: Creme Fraiche

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Two simple ingredients + Time = Creme Fraiche

Ah, creme fraiche!  That lovely, creamy, slightly tangy, completely decadent dairy product.  The one that works equally well with both savory and sweet dishes:  serve it up with Blinis, caviar, red onion and a little cold smoke salmon, serve it along side your morning omelette, add a generous spoonful next to your morning scone or your afternoon chocolate cake or Pumpkin Bread – any way you spoon it up, it raises the dish it’s added to to a whole new level.  It’s a soured cream, but it’s not Sour Cream; the bacterial cultures used to make cream fresh are much milder and sweeter than the American Sour Cream, and the resulting product is less thick and more viscous.

According to Wikipedia, European labeling disallows any other ingredients besides cream and a bacterial culture; however when I went to the grocery store to buy creme fraiche a few days ago, the long list on the back of the creme fraiche container, which included modified starch, guar gum thickener, locust bean gum and pectin in addition to the cream and bacterial culture, influenced my decision to save the recipe I had in mind for another day so that I would have the time to make my own creme fraiche.

This European manufacturer’s creme fraiche, like many commercially manufactured creme fraiche products around the world, has these starches and stabilizers added to it in order to keep it shelf-stable for a longer period of time.  The ingredients added for shelf stability, however, make creme fraiche less stable for cooking; whereas creme fraiche made with only cream and a bacterial culture are excellent not just for cold dishes, but for adding to sauces or foods that will be cooked as the high buttercream content and lower protein content means there is no risk of curdling. (Source:  p. 49, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee)

You are not going to believe how easy it is to make your own creme fraiche if you’ve never done it before.  It’s a case of combining two easy-to-find ingredients, stirring them to combine, putting a lid on it, and leaving it on the counter for 12-18 hours to let time and bacteria work their magic.

The best store-bought or homemade creme fraiche should contain only two ingredients:  Cream and a souring agent/bacterial culture.  Any more than that and your wasting your time.  This is a place where you want to keep it simple.  Just like with good dark chocolate, less is more.  If you don’t need the creme fraiche right away, consider making your own.  If you start now, you can use it for breakfast tomorrow already.

Creme Fraiche served with Cranberry Pecan Pumpkin Bread

Make it Yourself:  Creme Fraiche

1 cup / 250 ml cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk / piimä

Combine the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid.  Stir well to combine.  Secure the lid tightly and set on the countertop at room temperature for 12-18 hours.  You’ll know that it’s ready when you tilt the jar slightly and the contents don’t move.  It’ll be a lightly thickened, completely smooth and utterly decadent treat.

Makes 1 cup / 250 ml.