A Winter Weekend Brunch

Whole Grain Oat Biscuits with Faux Smoked Salmon, Spinach and Cream Cheese Fritatta and Everything Yummy Smoothie

I asked my husband what he wanted for breakfast this morning and he said "That egg thing in the pan with stuff in it?" I was pretty sure he was referring to a frittata. So I went to the computer and looked us some recipes. I found one with smoked salmon and cream cheese but all I had in the pantry was canned salmon so I decided to wing it with what I had in my fridge and pantry. The result was a wonderful mid-morning meal that my family lingered over. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Oat Biscuits

Yield: 8 -  3" biscuits

Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free oat flour
1 cup gluten-gluten free flour mix of your choice
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp gluten free oats (either old fashioned or quick work well)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk (you can use water but the flavor will be much richer with milk)

1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp milk for egg wash (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine oat flour, gf flour mix, baking powder, sugar, salt and xanthan gum in a bowl. Cut butter into mixture with a pastry cutter until its the consistency of coarse cornmeal. Add 1/2 cup oats and mix, then add milk and yogurt and mix gently with a fork until it forms a slightly sticky ball. Scrape onto a rice-floured surface and pat out into a disc about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut with a rice-floured biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Form scraps into another disc and repeat cutting until all dough is used. (Note: one of the greatest things about gluten free short doughs is that you don't have to worry so much about "overworking" the dough because there are no glutens to develop) Brush tops of biscuits with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp whole oats. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Serve with butter, honey, or jam and lots of love!

Frittata:

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 7oz can salmon, drained of liquid
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 roasted red pepper, julienne sliced
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
seasonings of your choice (I used 1/2 tsp each of dried thyme and dill but you can use whatever sounds good to you)

Directions:
Set oven to broil. Whisk eggs and milk together and set aside. Use a fork to break the salmon up a bit and pour the liquid smoke evenly over it. You can do this inside the can and save a dish, or you can transfer it to a small bowl for this step. Just make sure not to break the salmon up too much so it doesn't disintegrate. Saute spinach and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat for about 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted and garlic is fragrant. Transfer spinach mixture to small bowl and set aside. Heat a 8 or 10 inch oven-safe saute pan over medium high heat. (I would recommend nonstick but stainless steel works fine too). Add remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add egg mixture then sprinkle the cream cheese over and give it a quick stir with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle salmon, spinach and garlic mixture, roasted red peppers, green onions, salt and pepper and seasonings over egg mixture and continue to stir, as as if you were making scrambled eggs, for about 1 minute longer. You should see chunks of scramble and runny egg. Remove the pan from the stove and smooth out the surface with a rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven and broil for 2 to 4 minutes, or until puffy and light golden. Remove from oven and let sit for a couple of minutes. Now is the time you can get really creative with the presentation. I served mine right from the pan, but you can turn it out onto a pretty plate and garnish with a sprig of fresh dill or parsley and sliced green onions. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream or hot sauce and lots of love!

Everything Yummy Smoothie

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 whole tangerine, seeds, peel and all, cut into eighths or 1/2 cup orange juice
1 banana
1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries or raspberries (I used a frozen blend of all three)
6 large frozen strawberries
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup juice
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Put all the ingredients into the pitcher of your blender and whiz it up! I use my BlendTec Total Blender on the "Whole Juice" setting, but you can use whatever blender you have. If not using a VitaMix or BlendTec, though, I would recommend using orange juice rather than a whole tangerine as it might not get blended as well and you might end up with chuncks or peel or seeds. Serve with love!

More to come with love!