My special “Breakfast in Bed” Series continues today with “Breakfast in Bed – Fancy Pants Version”. This series is designed in preparation for Mother’s Day or any time that you want to spoil that special someone with that extra effort.
Beds across the nation will be warmed up with the love of children to their mother’s showing them just how much they are loved and appreciated by that extra effort to take care of Mom as she takes care of them each and every day. Today’s installment features a fancy kicked up breakfast. Some of it can be prepared ahead of time, but some elements are meant to be done the morning of. And unlike my first installment, Breakfast in Bed – Kid Friendly Version where most everything was disposable, this version takes a bit more effort because after breakfast there will be dishes to do and we don’t want to leave that to Mom!
So, again if you are Mom and you are reading this, now is the time to hand the computer or tablet over to your significant other or older child (as there are way too many breakables involved here for a youngster) and turn away. I will now be addressing the Preparer.
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Some of the elements here such as the Chocolate Covered Strawberries and the Codfish Cakes can be made a day in advance. Then other elements, such as the Tea, the OJ and the Southwest Veggie Omelet need to be prepared the morning of. Although, you should definitely refrigerate your oranges for the OJ, otherwise you will have warm OJ.
Start with your Mom’s favorite tray. This is mine. I bought it the last time I visited St. Michael. It is hand-made and adorned with hand crafted St. Michael’s signature blue and white tile. The scene depicted here is of the ‘Portas de Cidade” or Gates to the City. The Portas de Cidade is a famous landmark in Ponta Delgada, St. Michael’s capital city and is a source of great pride for all Azoreans.
Here is a mini tutorial on how to make delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries from scratch:
Like I mentioned above, These can be done the night before, but they can also be done same day so long as you have a chilled area for them to set up quickly.
Start with some fresh strawberries. Wash and dry them thoroughly. Moisture is melted chocolate’s worst nightmare.
Next, pour half the contents of a chocolate chip bag into a microwave safe bowl.
Pop it in the microwave. Start off with one minute on high. Stir. Every 15 seconds, stir until you get the proper consistency.
When your chocolate still has this much texture to it, it should be ready to stir into melty goodness.
When your chocolate looks like this, you are ready for dipping!
Give each strawberry its own individual bath.
Be sure to have a plate or cookie sheet covered with parchment paper to receive the dipped strawberries so they may cool and firm up.
Once you have them all dipped and ready to so, get them to a cool place to chill.
Next, here is a mini tutorial on how to make fresh squeezed orange juice:
There is nothing like fresh squeezed orange juice. It is not like the kind in the carton. The nutritional value of the fresh squeezed is far superior to anything you might find at the supermarket.
Start with some beautifully ripened oranges. It is a good idea to refrigerate these over night, otherwise you will end up with warm OJ, not great.
I found that one large orange was enough to fill a juice glass. Obviously this depends on how large you can find the orange and how juicy they are. Cut them in half to start.
Here are three different methods to getting one delicious glass of OJ:
The first method of juicing is just to hand squeeze the orange into a glass. I find that this is the least efficient way as you will have a hard time squeezing out every drop.
The next method is a much more common method, using a juicer. This one has the little rim that catches seeds, nice! You will want to work the orange onto the juicer with a bit of elbow grease to get every last drop.
The third option is the squeeze juicer. This baby really gets every last drop out and prevents seeds from falling in the juice! I always find it funny how it almost seems like the orange is put in backwards, but it literally turns the fruit inside out.
This main plate features a Southwest Veggie Omelet and Codfish Cakes. Recipes and tutorials are detailed on their respective postings. Take a look, the omelet tutorial teaches how to make the perfect omelet and customize it to your tastes.
Although you may think of Codfish Cakes as a lunch or dinner item, it is especially good in the morning and with some eggs, so give it a try.
And last, but not least is the tea. I found this little gem while traveling in Utah. I fell in love with this hand-made beauty and started collecting personal tea pots ever since. If you are looking for a lovely gift for Mom, check out Golden Moon Tea, they have some great high quality teas and tea ware.
Supplies you will need:
* Pretty Tray
* Pretty plate
* Pretty napkin
* Crystal juice glass
* Personal Tea Pot
* 3″ glazed tile
* silverware
Food and drink:
* Southwest Veggie Omelet
* Codfish Cakes
* Fresh squeeze Orange Juice
* Chocolate Covered Strawberries
* Tea (don’t forget whatever your Mom takes in her tea, ie. sugar, milk, honey or lemon)
Have fun and remember to think about what your Mom loves and tailor her Breakfast in Bed to what she likes best! A nice handmade card goes a long way too!
Whether you are Portuguese, French or Irish, Mashed Potatoes transformed into a ‘crispy on the outside creamy on the inside’ side dish is something you won’t want to pass up! This recipe is great for using up last night’s mashed potatoes and eating them for breakfast or brunch. Of course if you want to make this dish and you don’t have left over mashed potatoes… just make enough to yield about two cups of mashed potatoes.
