Chocolate Waffle Recipe

My husband Lulu has a sweet tooth, so I woke up early this morning and prepared a sweet breakfast. I made chocolate waffles, topped with kumquat whipped cream and strawberries. I served the waffles with a cup of soy milk. I placed everything on a tray and added a freshly picked rose from the garden. I knew Lulu was going to love it.

I'm sure you all know the saying "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" Well I might not say it enough how much I love seeing my husband happy. Nothing fills me with more joy that seeing his smile when I wake up in the morning. I might be wrong, but I think these little treats are part of the success of our 7 years of marriage. 

Plantain Stuffing Recipe

We had a little bread left-over from the Superbowl party, and instead of wasting it, I turned the stale bread into a delicious side dish. I added plantains, water chestnuts and green beans, then finished the dish with crumbled goat cheese. I paired the plantain stuffing with veal scallopini.

Ginger Honey Cornbread Recipe

I am a big fan of both gingerbread and cornbread. I thought it would be fun to combine the flavors of the two, and so my ginger honey cornbread was born. I decided to go all out with intense ginger flavor, so I used freshly grated ginger, candied ginger, root beer and last but not least ginger honey.

The result is a strong, mildly spicy cornbread, which we absolutely loved. It's fairly simple to make, easy to transport and can be made a day in advance.

Sweet Potato Bread Dinner Rolls

I knew these dinner rolls would be great conversation pieces because of the Okinawan sweet potatoes. They don't really add more flavor but they turn the bread into an interesting, purple color.

Sweet potato bread preparation is very similar to making brioche, except mashed sweet potatoes are added to the dough. My trick is to mix sugar with dry yeast and warm liquid and let the mixture develop for a few minutes before stirring it in the bread dough. Resting time is essential for making bread.

Cheese Sandwiches with White Kidney Beans

I always tell the girls that the most important ingredient for cooking is TLC. Making cheese sandwiches is no exception. There must be several layers that bind together properly for the sandwich to be a success. For this version (made for a picnic during our recent trip to Ashland), I had fresh strawberries left-over. So I blended the fruits into a purée and mixed it with cream cheese, sun dried-tomatoes and chives. I spread the strawberry cream cheese into cheese Kaiser rolls and topped it with cannellini salad, which provides the protein for the vegetarians in my family.

If you too are planning picnics with your family before school starts again, give this easy recipe a try. And if you're looking for back to school ideas for your children, this recipe might be it!