Breakfasts and Berry Crumble Recipe

Whenever we have buttermilk in the fridge we usually make a big batch of waffles, and freeze them for quick weekday breakfasts.  We just pull them out, break them in half, and toast the two halves for a beautifully crisp, but tender waffle.

I've been topping them with a bit of Greek yogurt lately (sometimes also with a drizzle of maple syrup), and then other topping such as cacao nibs:

And another day I added fruit and granola too:

We've had a couple breakfasts out:

Other breakfasts have included oatmeal with almond butter, melon, a sprinkle of dark chocolate and coconut:

And another oatmeal bowl with PB, coconut, dark chocolate, and Saskatoon berries:

Speaking of Saskatoon berries, I had a few people ask for my berry crumble recipe, which is adapted from my sister's apple crisp recipe.  

Saskatoon Berry Crumble (Crisp) 

- 4 cups fresh or frozen Saskatoon berries* (thawed, and drained)
- 1 T butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 T (approx) tapioca pearls*

- a layer of Mary Macleod's butterscotch shortbread crumbs (optional)

Topping (maybe double or increase this if you can't find the butterscotch crumbs, as the topping is the best part): 

- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1/2 cup quick oats

Butter a casserole-type dish.  Toss the berries with the sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca pearls.  Dump the berry mixture into the dish.  Sprinkle the berries with a layer of the butterscotch crumbs.  Melt the margarine, and mix with the flour, brown sugar, and oats.  Sprinkle this over everything.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  I covered it for 20, then uncovered for 20, but you can really do whatever you like.  Serve it warm with ice cream! 

*  Google Saskatoon berries, as they go by other names depending where you live (in the US they might be June-berries).  You could sub for blueberries.  Mine were mostly thawed, but I was impatient, and it still turned out great.
* Tapioca pearls will soak up extra liquid; you won't even know they are in there.  Find them in your baking aisle. 

What have you been eating for breakfasts these days?   

 Have you ever had Saskatoon berries?  How was your weekend? 

Galette - Winging It

On Sunday evening when we got home from Saskatoon, we BBQd some salmon, and a potato/ beet/ bacon mixture.  On the side, we had Greek salad.  We had chopped the raw bacon up and put it into the tinfoil with the chopped potatoes and beets.  The bacon fat cooking in with the veggies made everything so flavourful.

Yesterday morning I toasted some homemade bread for breakfast.

I spent the rest of the day going for a long walk ...

Making ginger, peanut noodles with chicken for lunch ...

And finishing a book in the back yard.



I also made a galette for the first time ...

Earlier this summer when I made peach pie, I had a bit of leftover pie dough.  I didn't know what to do with it.  My mom used to always make cinnamon twists with her leftover pie dough, but I don't have her recipe (if anyone knows about these, and has the recipe, I'd love it). 

I hate to admit it, but I have thrown out leftover pie dough before *gasp!

I ended up wrapping the dough tightly in plastic wrap and freezing it.  Yesterday I thawed it out, and decided to just wing it and make a galette.  I got about a cupful of frozen Saskatoon berries, and sprinkled about 2 T of sugar over that, about 1 tsp of cornstarch (to thicken), and about 1 tsp of tapioca pearls (to soak up some of the excess liquid).  I put about 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, and about 3/4 tsp of vanilla, and tossed this all together.  Again, I was just making this up as I went along, so none of the measurements are exact. 

I rolled the dough out, piled the berries into the middle, and folded the sides up like so ... 

I brushed the top with an egg/ water mixture, and then put it into a pre-heated oven (400 F).  I didn't know how long it would take, so I just checked it every 10 minutes or so, until it looked perfectly golden and bubbly.  It probably took around 35-40 minutes.

When Christopher got home from work he dove right into this, just picking it up and eating it like a hand-pie.  He promptly told me that I am not allowed to throw leftover pie dough away again ... haha, yes dear ;-)  It was a hit, and made enough for 2-3 servings.

Have you ever had a galette?  Made one?  What do you do with leftover pie dough?