Tag Archive | Speculoos

Mon Dieu!

Jul14
Speculoos breakfast cake for dessert

I fell asleep watching Drag Race France, even after a nap this afternoon. This oxygen thing is taking a toll. I’ll be grateful when it’s resolved and I have more energy in a day. Meanwhile, I’m grateful for Drag Race France, and for Boyz Lunch, and for all the fun I had in the kitchen this morning. Mon Dieu! It was 95 degrees outside and I slaved over a hot oven all morning, baking first that Speculoos breakfast cake at last, and then homemade hot dog buns. Both were delicious.

Lunch underway, a kitchen whirlwind this morning
I’m grateful for these herb scissors: boy, do I love having the right tool for the job! The Herby 3 Bean Salad recipe calls for ¾ cup fresh herbs, and this tool made short work of chopping the dill, fennel leaf, parsley, basil, and rosemary from the garden.
Herby Three Bean Salad, with garden fennel, last summer’s green beans, and fresh herbs, plus some canned beans, store-bought red onions, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
I’m grateful, as always, for the technology to find the right recipe for the job. I found hotdogs in the freezer this morning and decided that’s what’s for lunch, but had no buns. I searched ‘quick hotdog bun recipe,’ and pretty quickly found Bonnie’s 30-minute bun recipe. Amazing!
The last of the Homestead all-beef hotdogs from the freezer, saved after they weren’t needed at Michael’s memorial party almost exactly a year ago. I’m grateful for a chest freezer filled with wholesome local meats and garden produce, and also for this new Staub grill pan/lid that just happened to arrive yesterday with its cocotte bottom.
A perfect July luncheon.
And a restful nap afterwards for the chef and the tiny sous-chef.

Speculoos

Jun29

What?! Is it peanut butter? Is it some kind of other nut butter? How had I never heard of it before?

It looks like peanut butter. It spreads like peanut butter. It sticks to your fingertips and the roof of your mouth like peanut butter. But it tastes oh so sweet. I’m grateful to have learned about this delicious cookie butter!

I was browsing recipes on Food52 and found this breakfast cake recipe. Cake is one of my staple breakfast foods so I clicked to learn more. Looks like a simple, fast recipe and I had everything I needed except this mysterious ingredient, speculoos. Or speculaas, if you’re Dutch. Found it on Amazon. The recipe calls for half a cup of cookie butter, but I haven’t gotten a chance to bake the cake yet. I’ve already eaten at least half a cup on graham crackers leftover from the chocolate mousse bar crust. It’s a great dessert at night when I don’t want the caffeine of coffee ice cream, or the buzz of chocolate. I hope this jar lasts long enough to bake the cake I bought it for.