Seasonal Sundays (Week 36) Lazy Weekend Breakfasts

Pssst. [whispers] Hey, it's me, your breakfast genie, a day early on a Saturday. Are you ready to rise 'n' shine? Because I've got some breakfast ideas, eggs sure, but also pancakes and muffins and ... because here's hoping everybody gets at least one lazy morning this three-day weekend. [still whispering, but louder] C'mon. I'll put the coffee on and cut up some fruit. Let's make breakfast!

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

As ever, thank you for welcoming me into your InBox and RSS feed reader. It's your kitchens, your lives, I conjure while writing ...

Dressed yet? No problem, jammies are encouraged on lazy weekend mornings. Besides, mustn't we use gorilla grip to string out these late-summer moments, slightly cooler already (here, blessedly, where you are too?) and inviting lingering at the table? Why yes, we do.

Best put on another pot.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: By all rights, that should be our dog Luka welcoming the morning sun. Instead, he's mesmerized by the Super Blue Moon which rose from the east clarion clear on Wednesday night. He just s-t-a-r-e-d. We did too ...

In Praise Of ...

• ... GOOD NEWS FOR SMOOTHIE LOVERS! Does Blending Fruit in a Smoothie Affect Its Nutrients? (NYT gift link). A Takeaway: "... in a few small studies that measured adults’ blood sugars after they consumed fruit blended or whole, researchers have found reassuring results." Time to update Healthy Smoothies!
• ... NEVER-NOTICED TRADER JOE'S PRODUCTS Registered Dietitians' Favorite Trader Joe’s Products, mostly they're prepared food, so no wonder I've only noticed the almond butter up until now. But I'm hot to try the tofu ... that doesn't need pressing!

Made Me Think ...

• Forgotten Americans (of a Different Type) A quick summary: "We hear endlessly about the minority of Americans who support or tolerate Donald Trump. We hear from them at Trump rallies, we listen to what they say in diners. By comparison, we hear little about the majority of Americans who oppose him." Who's ever once read an article trying to understand "Biden Country"? There's Trumpers and Never-Trumpers but who conjoins those in active support of our sitting president? Am I a "Bidenist"? Damn Straight.

May I Suggest ... a Link?

Let me just presume that if you're reading this, well, you're both a cook and a recipe collector. Don't the two kinda go together? And that means you tuck aside interesting recipes all over the place and then, dang, where is that chicken recipe that looked so good anyway? Here's an idea. Start a folder on your phone, call it "Kitchen Parade" or "Alanna" or whatever makes best sense to you. Then save the recipes you're most interested in right there in one place. Easy Peasy.

• Start here?
• breakfast & brunch recipes

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SEASONAL INSPIRATION: Seven Lazy Weekend Breakfasts

• THE RECIPE Manna Café Oatcakes (Oatmeal Pancakes) Famous pancakes from a much-missed restaurant. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Triple-Banana Oat Pancakes Just oats, banana and egg but the pancake taste and texture we love!

• THE RECIPE Baked Eggs with Ratatouille Vegetables
• ANOTHER TAKE Ratatouille Omelettes A food hit worthy of a hit movie!

• THE RECIPE French Scrambled Eggs Eggs cooked slowly with a few vegetables, creamy and soft. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mexican Scrambled Eggs (Huevos Revueltos a la Mexicana) From Diana Kennedy, the most famous eggs in Mexico.

• THE RECIPE Crustless Quiche with Roasted Peppers Cottage cheese adds body, protein and richness.
• ANOTHER TAKE Crustless Quiche with Greens & Garden Vegetables Another Master Recipe.

• THE RECIPE How to Make a Spinach Omelet Quick, healthy breakfast with fresh or frozen spinach.
• ANOTHER TAKE Everything Bagel Breakfast Salad Just minutes to throw together yet filling and satiating.

• THE RECIPE Cornmeal Muffins with Apple Studded, garnished with fresh apple.
• ANOTHER TAKE Cornmeal Muffins with Peaches Barely sweet, pretty muffins with great texture.

• THE RECIPE Overnight Coffeecake Mix the night before, bake in the morning to serve warm. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mom's Blueberry Coffeecake A family favorite, for good reasons.

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE Hurricane Rice with Shrimp & Sausage A Cajun skillet, on the table in 30 minutes. (PIN This)

Compliments!

WOW! An anonymous fan (hey, who are you???) recently left this comment about A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables dating wayyyy back to 2005, that's like a thousand years in Internet time.

I almost cried! It's the perfect description, I wish I'd written it myself.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to do about A Veggie Venture. Its recipes are mainstays here on Seasonal Sundays but I haven't posted anything new in over two years. Thoughts?

Anyway, many thanks to the wordsmith who left this description ...

"A Veggie Venture" is a delightful food blog dedicated to celebrating the world of vegetables. Penned by the enthusiastic "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg, a seasoned food columnist hailing from suburban St. Louis, this blog is a treasure trove of culinary creativity. With over 1300 diverse and complementary vegetable recipes, the offerings span the entire alphabet from Asparagus to Zucchini. Whether you're seeking seasonal delights or timeless staples, the blog caters to every palate, ranging from savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper. The collection encompasses a wide spectrum of dietary preferences, including Weight Watchers, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-carb, paleo, and whole30 recipes. Alanna Kellogg's passion for vegetables shines through, making "A Veggie Venture" an inspiring destination for those seeking both simple and special vegetable-based dishes.

Looking Ahead ...

• September 1-4 - Labor Day Weekend (Labour Day in Canada!)
• September 10 - Grandparents' Day
• September 15-17 - Rosh Hashanah
• September 23 - the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere
• October 1 - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Fall
• October 7-9 - Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend
• October 7-9 - Columbus Day Weekend
• October 31 - Halloween
• November 1-2 - Days of the Dead (All Saints)

Looking Back ...

• Summer's Not Over Yet (Week 35) (PIN This)
• Memorable Summer Sides (Week 30) (PIN This)
• Zucchini Season! (Week 29) (PIN This)
• Melon Season! (Week 28) (PIN This)
• Summer Potluck Favorites (Week 27) (PIN This)
• Summer Ice Cream (Week 26) (PIN This)
• Summer Sandwiches (Week 25) (PIN This)

Déjà Vu

Something useful ... or thoughtful ... or interesting ... or fun ... from Seasonal Sundays, this same week.

FROM 2022 This is such an easy way to stay alert, aware and then take action. Sign up for Chop Wood, Carry Water, a 6x weekly email, each one with targeted, timely suggestions on who to call/write/text about what, including easily adaptable scripts. I realllllly look forward to her Sunday posts, which list all the "wins" from the week. For anyone who's sad / frustrated / afraid of all the things going/gone wrong in our country, the Sunday posts will lift your spirits.

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from the last week, not including the hummingbird food, roasted beets and quick microwave sweet corn on repeat this time of year.

• THIS WEEK This is perhaps my #1 summer recipe that really-really deserves a lot more love!! All the ingredients are familiar, they're just combined in a way that's oh-so-alluring. Please, pretty please? Try this one!
• THE RECIPE Sweet-Corn Soup with Shrimp Familiar ingredients combine into something unusual and surprising.

• THIS WEEK We had a little, um, freezer-door-left-open incident, leaving us scrambling to save a bunch of meat and especially, the beautiful fish from Sitka Seafood Market (new name! same excellent wild-caught sustainable fish). I made a double batch of this summery chowder, jam-packing it with shrimp and sable (instead of shrimp and scallops). Oh so good! I will say that the sable turned soft the second night, I wouldn't use it again unless intending to eat it all that first night. I also subbed a little zucchini for the okra, it needs more cooking time but tasted great. My 3x5 recipe card now reads: Make this every year, without fail. The tomato makes it really summery,
• THE RECIPE Summer Seafood Chowder Shrimp and scallops in a milky broth, with barely cooked tomato, corn and my favorite vegetable this summer, okra.

• THIS WEEK The farmers market had really pretty roma tomatoes, I roasted a bunch, knowing that with all that chowder, we'd want some little open-faced sandwiches too. And this is so me: thick slices of My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe toasted in a skillet, spread with a little Homemade Ricotta and topped with a couple of pieces of roasted tomato. What a feast!
• THE RECIPE Roasted Roma Tomatoes Turn so-so supermarket tomatoes into something special.

• THIS WEEK While I was making chowder (and cooking 20 pounds of ground beef for the freezer), my husband fired up the smoker to hot-smoke several pounds of salmon and sable. WOW. So good. So one night, I switched up my go-to recipe for a smoked-fish salad supper, using smoked sable instead of smoked trout, romaine instead of arugula and strawberry jam instead of peach preserve for the dressing. Wow. A feast.
• THE RECIPE Arugula Salad with Smoked Trout & Peach Preserve Dressing A simple but special summer meal.

• THIS WEEK Some of that smoked salmon went into a batch of this simple spread, it was just lovely with a bottle of Alsatian blush wine on a simple Charcuterie Board when a friend dropped by for a little hummingbird watching and to watch the Super Blue Moon rise. It's pretty easy to find hot-smoked salmon (not lox), definitely a winner, here.
• THE RECIPE Smoked Salmon Spread Healthy appetizer, tastes rich and indulgent.

• THIS WEEK Speaking of hummingbirds, wow, in the past few days do we not have a near-constant airshow of hummers swooping and swirling in our yard, swinging on the perches, resting in the trees, coming in for long, slow feeds. It's enchanting! It's maybe a little late to start feeding this year but not too early to start planning for 2024. (Yikes! 2024!)
• IT'S FOR THE BIRDS Hummingbird Food Just sugar and water in the right ratio. It's fun! (PIN This)

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Chicken a la King A retro Quick Supper, tender chicken with mushrooms, veggies in a creamy sauce. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Turkey Tetrazzini A good way to use up leftover turkey or roast chicken.

• THE RECIPE Summer Three-Berry Pie An all-berry pie (or fruit crisp), glistening with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Peach, Cherry & Blueberry Fruit Sauce or Fruit Soup A special three-fruit combo, especially good on chocolate ice cream. (PIN This)

Something to Read

PICK ONE? Horse (affiliate link) by Geraldine Brooks. What a book, story telling at its best. If you consider just one in this longer-than-usual book list, make it this. It's a mesmerizing inside look at enslavement, horse racing, a search for identity and independence.

All the Sinners Bleed (affiliate link) by S.A. Crosby. Ha. It's hard to tell from this week's book list but I actually mark more books as "DF" (didn't finish) than those I finish. When I get really stuck, I turn to books with plot, often thrillers and crime fiction. I will read a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g by this author, whose genre is called "Southern noir". He writes about race and culture in a dark, gritty revealing way. I also recommend Blacktop Wasteland.

Small Things Like These (affiliate link) By Claire Keegan. This is a short book, just 128 pages and would be a lovely book club read over the holidays.

The Skin I'm In (affiliate link) by Sharon Flake. This is another short book, my seven year-old grand-nephew and I listened to it in the car, both of us fascinated.

NO TIME TO READ? Maybe You Really Do? How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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