18 Bento #255 - Olympic Breakfast (and Blog Hop!)

We are so excited for the London Summer Olympics 2012 opening ceremonies tonight!

So what do I have here?  The components are pancakes, a poached egg and maple syrup for dipping. I used a basic Bisquick pancake recipe, poured the batter into a squeeze bottle and drew (and drew, and drew) on a flat griddle.

I started to arrange it on my orange cutting board, but then got out my pizza stone because it's reminiscent of the track and field stadium.

Poached egg in a flower silicone cup.

The ubiquitous Olympic rings. I wasn't about to attempt the official London games logo.  I painted them with my all-natural food color powders.  I simply love them, they are so easy to use!  

We are so ready to watch the athletes do what they do best!  Our favourites to watch are gymnastics and swimming.

Now, hop on over and see what Corey at Family Fresh Meals did for her Olympic theme!

Make sure to push the button above, on every blog, to enjoy the hop till you get back from where you started. Have fun!!

5 Citrus-Maple Baked Pears

Kinda early in the season for baked pears, right?  Well, those of you in colder climes might enjoy this little comfort until the green shoots of spring decide to poke their bonny tips through the frost.  

I got this idea from my Thai cooking class with Chef John Wilson a few weeks ago, and I've tweaked it a little here.  The recipe couldn't be simpler, there really is no measuring involved so you can't go wrong.

You'll need:

Firm baking pears (like Bosc)

chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts

chopped dried fruit like cranberries, figs or dates

orange juice

maple syrup or honey

salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

First, scoop out the cores with a melon baller or spoon.  Arrange the cored pears in a baking dish sprayed with a little cooking spray.  Then add the tiniest sprinkling of salt over the pears.  It helps bring out the flavor. 

Put an equal amount of nuts and fruit in the hollowed out cores, and then drizzle into the cavity equal parts maple syrup and orange juice.  What I have pictured here is way, way more than you will actually need.

Make sure it stays in the hollow, otherwise it will burn in the pan.  I know this, because I tried poaching them in orange juice.  Let's just say it doesn't work too well, and your elbows will be hurting from all the scrubbing you'll have to do afterwards.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the center can be easily pierced with a fork.

Serve with some delicious vanilla bean ice cream!

Citrus-Maple Baked Pears

You'll need:

Firm baking pears (like Bosc)

chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts

chopped dried fruit like cranberries, figs or dates

orange juice

maple syrup or honey

salt

-Preheat oven to 350F.

-First, scoop out the cores with a melon baller or spoon.  

-Arrange the cored pears in a baking dish sprayed with a little cooking spray.  

-Then add the tiniest sprinkling of salt over the pears.  It helps bring out the flavor.  

-Put an equal amount of nuts and fruit in the hollowed out cores, and then drizzle into the cavity equal parts maple syrup and orange juice.  Make sure it stays in the hollow, otherwise it will burn in the pan.  

-Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the center can be easily pierced with a fork.

10 Baked French Toast, Revisited

Last night I had the urge to bake, and since I eschew the kind of baking that calls for a lot of precise measurements, I decided to do something simple.  I had that gorgeous unsliced sourdough loaf I got from the Mennonite bakery, and since I have so much other sliced bread on hand, I hated to freeze it.  I resolved to cube it up and do the baked French toast recipe again.  I didn't really do anything differently except I added both blackberries and blueberries, but next time I do, a friend suggested I might use peaches - what a great idea!

I cannot tell you how good this smelled!

Voila!  Perfection.

Maple syrup is gooooood.

Oh my gosh!  Seriously.  The topping makes it's own caramel that melts into the top, and drizzles down when you cut into it, fresh out of the oven.  There was nothing left to do except serve up a couple slices for the fam, then pack up the rest for my husband's office.  If you were one of those people, I hope you enjoyed it!