Category Archives: Breakfast

Hardcore Hobbit: Rarebit Muffins

Posted on May 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

For those not in the know, Welsh rarebit is a tasty dish of a melted cheese sauce (usually cheddar and mustard) poured over toast and devoured with gusto. In LOTRO rarebit muffins are made with black barley flour, goat cheese, milk and an egg. All fabulous starting points as usual but this time I decided to use some extreme guidance from Nigella Lawson. Her recipe is simply delicious, I lightened it up, changed a few things around and it still came out delish…my husband, the Surly Dwarf, ate about 6 of them. I call that a win! Want to make some too and not feel the guilt? Let’s go!

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  • 275g flour (I used the nutrigrain flour, hurray whole grains!)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 100g rathtrevor cheese (this is a great local cheese made by Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, if you can get it go for it! If not a nice sharp cheddar is good too)
  • 1/4 cup melted light cooking margarine
  • 150g 0% fat greek yogurt (use the kind with no gelatin)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbl worcestershire sauce (keep the bottle on hand for sprinkling)
  • 1/2 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
  1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mustard powder. I don’t always sift but for these I always do. They work out best this way, totally worth the effort. Here I will prove it, I actually sifted.100_2962See? Told ya.
  2. Add the cheese, reserving a couple tbl worth for topping later. Toss to coat the cheese.
  3. In a measuring cup combine the remaining ingredients.
  4. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour, stir until moistened. Don’t over stir, the lumps help make this airy when you bake it instead of dense.
  5. Scoop into a greased 12 muffin tin. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven top with remaining cheese and a sprinkle of worcestershire sauce. Back in the oven for 5 minutes.
  7. Serve while warm but not piping hot. Cheese burns are lethal.

Makes 12 servings. Each serving contains 142 calories, 5.3g fat, 17g carbs, 2.3g fibre, and 7.2g protein. Pretty great for a super tasty savoury muffin. I paired this with a salad topped with my garlic dressing for dinner. Good times. Enjoy!

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Hardcore Hobbit: Bread and Jam

Posted on February 18, 2013 | 3 comments

I thought long and hard about this one. After all, the game makes this one just a little too easy. A ball of dough and some blackberry jam. I need a challenge! So, I made a bread specifically to match with the jam. As it says hobbits LOVE nothing better than bread and jam. I have to make it the best I can! Afterall, what says “I’m serious about bread and jam.” more than making your own bread to showcase your homemade jam? A flavour that I love to pair with blackberries is lime. I know, you would think it’s all tart enough but, I love a lot of zing in my tasty treats sometimes. Especially for something that is so perfect to serve at tea time. I could see this doing just as well with orange instead of lime though if you are looking for a milder flavour. Want to see what I did? Behold, the yogurt lime bun with blackberry jam.

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  • 1 1/2 cup of flour, divided (1 cup and 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup probiotic fat free plain balkan style yogurt (I’m sure greek would work fine too)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • juice of two lime wedges
  • Hardcore Hobbit blackberry jam
  1. Combine 1 cup of flour and the yogurt in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar. Loosely cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place for 3 hours to proof.
  2. Add the remaining flour, baking soda, baking powder and lime juice.
  3. Lightly roll out the dough on a floured surface. Don’t push out all that air we proofed for!
  4. Using a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut out 16 shapes and place on a sprayed baking sheet.
  5. Bake at 425F for 10-15 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool for a few minutes, serve warm with a 1/2 tsp of blackberry jam.

Makes 16 buns or biscuits. Each one contains 51 calories, 0.1 gram fat, 9.6. grams carbs, 0.3 gram fibre, 2.7 grams protein. Add the nutritional values for your jam and you have one pretty guilt free tasty tea time treat. Wow, a quadruple T. Win.

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Easy Eggs Benny

Posted on July 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Hollandaise sauce can be pretty hard to get just right. Traditionally made. I am fond of a shortcut that I use though. For those special treat brunches when only an egg benny will do. Now, the simple parts I’m sure you can figure out on your own, toast an english muffin (multigrain is best!), pan fry a piece of canadian bacon, and poach an egg to medium. Layer them up and then top with this delicious sauce…proclaim yourself the god or goddess of brunch and enjoy.Keep in mind this is a totally bastardized version of making hollandaise but, num.

  • 2 tbl unsalted butter
  • juice from two lemon wedges, more if you like a really tart hollandaise
  • 1 egg
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. In a microwave safe dish melt the butter in the microwave until it boils slightly. About 30 seconds maximum, watch the butter for the right moment.
  2. Crack an egg into a blender. Add a tsp of the melted butter to the egg and blend.
  3. Add the rest of the melted butter, the lemon juice, and seasonings. Blend until thickened and slightly frothy.
  4. Serve immediately.

Serves 4. Each serving of sauce contains 69 calories, 7 grams fat, .3 gram carbs, no fibre, 1.6 grams protein.

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Hardcore Hobbit: Blackberry Jam

Posted on August 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

This tasty jam can certainly be enjoyed in a variety of ways. This is an ingredient recipe in LOTRO. According to the game it is made with blackberries, water, and mixed spice. This then goes on to be the ingredient for so many other hardcore hobbit recipes. I can’t wait! I have been anxiously watching our blackberry bushes all summer. You won’t believe how busy the bees were! Now we have oodles of blackberries and the first thing that absolutely had to be made was this blackberry jam. I like the tartness of the berry so I did not add much sugar at all. If you like a sweeter jam you may want to add more than I did. With the success of this basic jam I am definitely going back to make more. I think the next will be a blackberry lavender jam and a blackberry passionfruit jam. Num! Definitely harvest season around here.

  • 4 cups crushed blackberries
  • 1 cup unsweetened apple juice (I made my own by juicing a few fuji apples)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp light cooking margarine
  • 1 pkg no sugar needed pectin (I call it insurance in case my apple juice doesn’t come through)
  • 1 cup sweetener of choice (I used splenda but honey would be divine)
  • 4 small canning jars
  1. Boil the jars, lids, and seals to sterilize and prep for the jam. Keep them hot until ready for filling.
  2. Strain 2 or 3 cups of the berries to remove the seeds. Blend the strained liquid with the remaining crushed berries in a pot.
  3. Add the apple juice, margarine, cinnamon, and cloves to the berries.
  4. Stir in the pectin until dissolved.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the sweetner of choice.
  6. Stir constantly while boiling for 3 minutes then remove from heat.
  7. One at a time remove jars from the hot liquid, ladle in the jam, leaving about 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rim clean. Top with the sealing disk. Screw down the top. Repeat for the rest of the jars.
  8. Return the filled jars to the boiling water, make sure the jars are covered by atleast an inch of water. Boil for 10 minutes or longer if you are at higher altitudes.
  9. Remove the jars from the water without tilting them. Allow to sit upright and undisturbed for 24 hours.

Makes 4 250 ml jars. 1 tbl of jam sweetened with splenda is 7 calories, .1 gram fat, .5 gram fibre, 2.1 carb, and .1 gram protein. 1 tbl of jam sweetened with honey is 22 calories, .1 gram fat, .5 gram fibre, 5.7 carbs, and .1 gram protein. Contains all the num needed to last through winter for two hungry hobbits.

 

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Hardcore Hobbit: Full Breakfast

Posted on August 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

This is a nice and easy hardcore hobbit to get back into the swing of things. Apparently when hobbits say full breakfast, they truly mean FULL breakfast! This makes a great meal for a busy day when you might not have time to stop for a full lunch. You certainly will not be hungry by lunch time….you might not even be done eating your full breakfast by lunch time. In the game a full breakfast includes mushroom, egg, tater, bacon, pork sausage and chives to make it epic. Yes, we got it all in there, with healthy alternatives! Want to see?

  • 2 chicken or turkey sausages ( I suggest visiting your local farmers market or butcher for some really unique flavours. The one we have here is a chicken, pineapple, curry, and cheese sausage from market on millstream)
  • 1 cup egg substitute (like egg creations, etc.)
  • 2 tbl chopped fresh chives
  • 4 slices of canadian bacon
  • Hardcore Hobbit fried mushrooms
  • potato pancakes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Prepare the sausage and canadian bacon to taste. We did ours on the bbq. Who said the grill is for lunch and dinner only?
  2. Prepare the fried mushroom and potato pancakes and plate.
  3. In a medium heated pan scramble the eggs and plate.
  4. Plate the sausage and canadian bacon and garnish with the chopped chives.

This is another one of those recipes that a nutritional calculation cannot be done for since it all depends on your sausage choices in the end. Choose wisely young hobbits and enjoy a full breakfast!

Is it just me or is that breakfast kind of smiling at us?

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Hardcore Hobbit: Onion and Mushroom Omelet

Posted on July 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Cooked to perfection! In the game this particular omelet is made with mushrooms, chicken egg, green onion and mixed herbs. This just sounds like a great way to start the day or even enjoy a light dinner! To me there is just something so elegant about enjoying a nice light omelet for dinner with a nice glass of white wine….candlelight is required ofcourse. Better yet, a fireplace nearby. Can you envision it too? A beautiful way to shut out the modern world for a bit. Omelets are so beautifully fluffy on their own but this time I wanted to pair it with a bit of a light fluffy mushroom foam. What hobbit would turn down extra mushroom on their mushroom omelet? Indeed.

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tsp skim milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 crimini mushrooms, slice 2 leave rest whole
  • 1 tbl white wine
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • a splash chicken stock or water
  • 1/4 tsp thyme
  • 1/4 tsp rosemary
  • 1 garlic scape, sliced thinly
  • 1 green onion, sliced thinly
  1. Combine the egg, egg whites, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until light and foamy.
  2. Heat a small or medium pan to medium. Add the garlic scapes, green onions, and sliced mushrooms. Stir constantly cooking for just one minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Spray the pan and add the egg mixture. Allow to cook one minute, cut into it to allow more of the egg to leak through the bottom and cook. Careful you don’t scramble! Allow to cook another minute.
  4. While the egg mixture cooks combine the whole mushrooms, soy sauce, white wine, stock, thyme and rosemary in a blender. Blend until a foam forms.
  5. Place the previously cooked onion mixture on half of the omelet.
  6. Fold the uncovered slide over carefully. Slide the completed omelet off the pan and top with the mushroom foam.

Serves 1. The serving contains 131 calories, 5.4 grams fat, 3.2 grams carbs, .8 gram fibre, and 18.4 grams protein. Filling, elegant, and tasty!

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Cheesecake Pancakes

Posted on June 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have totally weirded you out but intrigued you at the same time, haven’t I? So there I was. The morning of my husband’s birthday. He was happily sleeping in and I knew I wanted to surprise him with a tasty but different breakfast in bed. When I looked in the fridge the cream cheese completely caught my eye. Do I think of making some sort of bagel with a custom flavoured cream cheese like a sane person would? No! Instead I begin pondering how a breakfast cheesecake would be done. In the morning, before coffee or tea, a cheesecake pancake is ofcourse the logical answer. Feeling a bit like a kid mixing up a possibly monstrous concoction to surprise the parents with, I get to work. Then, a miracle happened. I served it with a choice of strawberry jam or maple syrup…and it was delicious!!! Decadent yet light, and oh so filling. Cheesecake for breakfast…the world is now perfect. You are welcome, I await my nobel prize. Hehe.

  • 4 oz light cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup splenda or sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbl coconut flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 egg whites
  1. Combine the cream cheese, splenda/sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and coconut flour in a bowl.
  2. In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
  3. Fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture carefully.
  4. Spray a pan and heat over medium low. Spoon about 1/4 cup onto the pan. Allow to cook about 2 minutes on each side achieving a golden brown. If they are a bit dark, don’t worry! It’s cheese, it remains tasty…unless you’ve completely burnt them.

Makes 4 pancakes. Each pancake contains 86 calories, 5.3 grams fat, 5.3 grams carbs, 1 gram fibre, and 6.8 grams protein. Absolutely delicious served with fruit, jam and maple syrup. I think this may even be gluten free…double check that though with your resident gluten free person, I am not a gluten free expert.

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Hardcore Hobbit: Bowl of Oatmeal

Posted on June 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

According to LOTRO this simple breakfast dish is delicious and satisfying. I’ll say! I had this for breakfast and I’ve been full for hours. I love having a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast on a cloudy morning. Especially when I do it up like this. No boring oatmeal for me. I like to throw as much nutritional num in there as possible. In the game a bowl of oatmeal is made with a bottle of water, honey, and a bunch of oats. As usual I take it a bit further than that. The nuts I put in add this satisfying texture and omega 3. The fruit helps you along with those servings you should be trying to get in each day. Then the fibre! The whole combination to me tastes like a breakfast fruit crumble. Did I mention it is super quick and easy to make? Epic win.

  • 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup applesauce of choice (I like strawberry kiwi unsweetened from Motts)
  • 1 tbl chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp honey
  1. Combine the oats, walnuts and water in a bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 minute on high. Cover and allow to sit for 2 minutes.
  2. Stir in the applesauce.
  3. Drizzle the honey on top. It will melt and glaze the top. Enjoy!

Serves 1. Contains 230 calories, 6.7 grams fat, 39.5 grams carbs, 6.3 grams fibre, 5.5 grams protein. Remember a solid breakfast helps you fight orcs and cravings later in the day.

 

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Hardcore Hobbit: Complete Hobbit Breakfast

Posted on June 6, 2011 | 3 comments

Lotro tells us this delicious breakfast is full of potato, egg, bacon, and mushroom. Really, who could ask for more? This one came to us by accident sort of. Weekend breakfasts are my husband’s domain. Lately though he has been strapped for ideas. He told me he was in the mood for eggs though. So we talked it out and concluded that we should poach said egg and place it on a tasty potato pancake. Then he asked if I wanted bacon. To which I countered “you know…if we work in mushrooms…we have a complete hobbit breakfast!”. So, we tried it out and yes it works. Totally delicious and I would do it again. Each flavour comes through and it is indeed those ingredients in their purest form. Best of all, the egg was a perfect medium poach. My favourite kind. I love it when the egg yolk becomes this gooey buttery sauce to tie together the dish. Break the yolk first and dive in, you won’t regret it.

  • 2 medium red potatoes
  • 2 strips bacon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 crimini mushrooms (or mushroom of choice), sliced
  • cooking spray
  • ground pepper to taste
  1. Peel, grate and squeeze the moisture out of the potatoes. Form into two cakes and set aside.
  2. Crisp the bacon in a pan and drain off the fat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until the liquids come out and get soaked up again.
  3. Pulse the mushrooms in a blender to create a tapenade  like texture (chunky, not a puree). Set aside.
  4. Place the potato pancakes in the pan. Cook until golden on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip, press down, and cook until golden. Place on your plate.
  5. Poach the eggs to desired firmness. We use an egg poacher, for the free wheeling way of making these without a poacher you would best refer to Julia Child.
  6. Spoon the mushroom tapenade on the potato pancake. Place the poached egg on top and garnish with your pieces of bacon. Serve!

Serves two. Each serving contains 275 calories, 8.4 grams fat, 37.8 grams carbs, 4.9 grams fibre, and 13 grams protein. What a pretty plate and a tasty brunch that was. Go husband!

 

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Apple Cinnamon Bites

Posted on May 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

These are sort of like bite sized coffee cakes. They have that oh so tasty swirl of brown sugar and cinnamon. Yes, I am totally in love with my little mini cupcake pan. Adorable food is the way to go. You feel like you are totally indulging because you can have three instead of just one. These are awesome with a lovely foamy latte or special tea. These are just so cute! I think I might include these in a tea tray outside this summer. Anyone care to come over for afternoon tea?

  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup splenda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  1. Combine the flour, splenda, baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, mix the applesauce, egg whites, and milk.
  2. Add the flour mixture to the apple sauce mixture gradually. Stir until well mixed.
  3. Spoon 1 tsp of batter into each mini cup of your mini cupcake pan.
  4. In a ramekin combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Top each mini bite with a half tsp of the cinnamon mixture. Using a toothpick swirl the mixture into the bite.
  5. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until golden.

Makes 36 bites. Each bite contains 26 calories, .1 gram of fat, 6.4 grams of carbs, .2 gram of fibre, and .9 gram of protein. So go ahead, have a few!

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