Happy Hump Day. In honor of the most weekdayest weekday of them all, let me post on the stunning brunch I ate last Saturday. Readers: it will be Saturday again.
The menu:
Lemon zest yogurt with optional granola
Potato frittata with mozzarella and rosemary
Chocolate chip pancakes with raspberry or blueberry preserves
Johnnycakes with butternut squash compote
Dunkin' Donuts Box o' Joe
Assorted desserts
A gluten-free girl's best friend is just that: a best friend who sources out the finest local gluten free baked goods and brings them to the party. I have never been to X's to O's Vegan (& Gluten Free) bakery in Troy, NY. My friend had. She brought a medley of alternative treats to the table:
The GF items were the pecan sandie (at four o'clock) and the double (triple?) chocolate brownie (at noon). The other items were all vegan, except the lemon bar at six. The cupcakes in the middle are french toast flavored, which made them especially appropriate for brunch.
Pecan sandies are always good gluten-free as the nutty flavor masks both flavor and texture. This one was good (I ate the entire thing, post frittata gluttony) a little dry, but nice with coffee, and not too sweet.
The brownie was actually one of the better brownies I've had in life. The quality of the chocolate was superb. The consistency was magnificent. It was a powerful square of invigoration. Highly recommended, next time you're in The Collar City. Oh, and with homemade raspberry preserves? And whipped cream? Stop it. Just stop it.
Besides the lemon yogurt (plain, gussied up with lemon juice, zest, and sugar) the johnnycakes were my favorite. A simple and gluten-free interpretation on the pancake; with more oomph than its white-flour sister.
Recipe for Johnnycakes, courtesy T. Carlson:
1 tablespoon sugar
half teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup boiling water
3-4 tablespoons milk
oil or butter
--
mix the dry ingredients together
put mixture in boiling water, stir well
thin with milk - should be the consistency of "thin mashed potatoes"
drop from spoon onto hot griddle
cook 5-6 min on each side
With the butternut squash topping it was beyond, just beyond. Two of the three sisters, I remarked, with a mouthful of cake. Corn (beans) and squash!
No comments:
Post a Comment