Sunday Mornings: Gourmet Breakfast & Cornfields

Perusing through the November 2012 issue of Whole Living Magazine, I saw a recipe for Baked Sweet Potato with Maple-Oat Crumble and I knew I had to try them out.

I adapted the recipe a bit, first off my potatoes took 30 minutes longer to bake than listed, then I doubled the granola topping. Good thing I got all crazy and got up early, way before everyone else. They all came down to a hot breakfast, an unusual one, but delicious. Cinnamon apples are a wonderful treat, they can be made with a lot less fat and sugar than most recipes call for. (Yeah, I am calling out Cracker Barrel and its ilk here…and bonus is no modified corn starch!)

Baked Sweet Potato with Maple-Oat Crumble

Ingredients:

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• ½ cup raw almonds, finely chopped
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°, line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Scrub the potatoes and poke holes in them Place on baking sheet, roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until soft when touched and oozing a bit. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, toss the oats, maple syrup, oil, cinnamon and slat together. Spread on a small rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 12 or until golden brown, stirring halfway through.

Split sweet potatoes down the center, mix the potatoes until smooth. Add a drizzle of favorite melty or oil, if desired, then sprinkle granola liberally on top.

Serves 4.

Sautéed Cinnamon Apples

Ingredients:

• 6 apples, a crispy variety, such as Gala
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter or Earth Balance buttery stick (for vegan)
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot (or corn starch)
• ½ cup cold water
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

Add the lemon juice to a large bowl. Peel, core and thinly slice apples, toss in juice.

Heat a large skillet over medium. Melt butter and add drained apples. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Whisk cornstarch and water smooth, add to apples and stir, along with the sugar and spices. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Serves 4.

After cleaning up breakfast I noticed the sun was out. Which hadn’t been in the weather forecast. Looking at the WunderMap on Weather Underground we could see we had a few hours before the next storm came in, so we quickly loaded up the van with the kids and drove over to the corn maze/pumpkin patch at Mosby Farms, along the Green River. The farm had repeated their “Family Deal” on Amazon Local again (we did it last year as well), of which I had happily snagged the deal again (2 adults+2 kids=$12+free gourds and coloring books!). I like Mosby Farms, because while they are not the biggest or flashiest (no petting zoo for example), it is the perfect length for small kids. Last year Walker was exhausted by the end of the maze, this year he was running circles around us. Ford set off on his own and had a blast. And carrying Alistaire in his carrier was a lot easier than last fall, when I was pregnant with him, waddling in the boot sucking mud.

This year they put down a lot of wood chips so the mud wasn’t bad at all – even though it had been dumping for days. This little Ladybug caught my eye –

Blue skies? Sigh – wonderful.

With my three boys – Ford, Walker and Alistaire (Kirk does a great job of hiding from the photos!) –

Walker in the pumpkins –

And “driving” a vintage Ford tractor –

A plane went over. Walker is very fascinated by planes –

“Outta my way!”

Love the old logo –

We had a nice afternoon. As we drove home we were pacing a large train that was heading to the hills – Walker hadn’t been that close to one before and was very enthralled. It was honking loudly. Yeah, he is easy to please!

And then when we got home? The rain came back. A perfect clearing of time….

~Sarah