Genève's Kitchen » Breakfast

Tea for Two

Geneve — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:44:34 +0000

I like tea but I love the food that usually accompanies tea even more. Scones have always been a favorite of mine and from a very young age poppy seed scones were the flavor of choice. I discovered my absolute favorite poppy seed scone at the Rockenwagner bakery stand at the Wednesday Farmer's Market in Santa Monica. This bakery stand became a regular stop along my market tour and I also indulged in their amazing pretzel bread rolls that tasted exactly like the ones I'd find at bakeries in Switzerland. One day I visited the stand and the person working there informed me that they no longer had poppy seed scones. What!?! As soon as I got home I phoned the bakery and was told that they were no longer going to be making those scones but kindly offered to send me the recipe. I waited with bated breath. After a few days there was an email waiting for me with the version of the recipe pared down for the home cook since their version was massive. The scones are slightly different from how I remember them but absolutely delicious nonetheless. They are fantastic with tea or without…

Lemon Poppyseed Scones

(Yields about 8 scones)

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup (or more) whole milk

1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Position rack in top third of oven.

2) Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. If you don't have a processor or it's not large enough to accommodate this you can instead add the ingredients to a bowl and add the chopped pieces of butter. Using your fingers and hands mix the dry ingredients with the butter to produce fine crumbs that are evenly combined – keep working the butter and dry mixture until it's evenly mixed.

3) Whisk egg and lemon juice in medium bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture. Using on/off turns, process until moist clumps form. (Or just stir here if you don't have a processor). Add 1/3 cup milk. Using on/off turns, process just until dough comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry. Using floured hands, gather dough into ball. Flatten into 8-inch round. Cut round into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to large baking sheet; brush with milk. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar (optional).

Bake until scones are golden brown – about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.

Enjoy!

A Delicious Mouthful

Geneve — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 03:47:33 +0000

One of my all-time favorite meals is a simple one of bircher muesli accompanied by some hearty bread and delicious cheeses. This is what I would enjoy as a light supper on summer evenings with my Grossmami in Switzerland. Now, you might be wondering what this bircher muesli thing is that I'm talking about (pronounced BEER-kher MYEWS-li). While it's a mouthful to say, it is certainly a mouthful you'll enjoy to eat. This dish is a simple combination of grated apples, yogurt, rolled oats, and an assortment of fresh fruit and nuts. I love bircher muesli for breakfast and made it today to enjoy with our friends Alicia and Dan who joined us for Sunday brunch. It's super easy to make a large amount and you can keep it in your fridge to enjoy during the week.

Now in addition to bircher muesli we served Italian prosecco with freshly squeezed orange juice and we also made French crepes – as a neutral Swiss I felt compelled to fairly represent both Italy and France in honor of today's World Cup match. (Congrats, Italia!)

Bircher Muesli

4-5 Apples, finely grated
2 Tablespoon lemon juice (this adds great flavor but also helps prevent the apples from browning)
8 Tablespoons of plain yogurt
8 Tablespoons of rolled oats
1 ripe banana sliced
1-2 Cups of grapes
1/4 Cup chopped walnuts
Small handful raisins
1 Tablespoon sugar – taste to adjust for sweetness, depending on the apples and other fruit you may need more/less

Add any other fruits that you have on hand that you enjoy, I added:

1/2 Cup blueberries
1/2 Cup raspberries
1 Nectarine chopped

1) Begin by peeling and grating your apples (this is the only part of the recipe that requires any effort) – add to a medium-large bowl. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and stir into the apples. Add all of the other ingredients and stir together. Taste to adjust for sweetness. Also, you can add more oats or yogurt to change the consistency depending on how you like it.

This is one of those dishes that my Grandmother would make and she'd use whatever fruits she happened to have on hand. You don't have to use exactly the fruits that I've mentioned here – use what you like best. I recommend the banana and grapes though because both add great flavor and the grapes offer a nice crispy burst of flavor in contrast with the softer texture of the oats and yogurt. Another thing that my Grandmother would add is cream – about a few tablespoons to smooth out the consistency and add richness. I usually don't do this because I rarely have cream on hand and I find that yogurt works well on it's own. Feel free to add the cream if you like, though!