Hilltown Families 
GIVEAWAY: In the Breakfast Nook with the Kids
Share a Recipe and Win a Breakfast Giveaway Package
Including Groceries, Coffee & Maple Syrup
Are there recipes that have been passed down in your family that have a story that you share with your kids at the breakfast table, like Maple Pumpkin Muffins or your grandmother's Buckwheat Pancakes? Whatever your morning breakfast or brunch fare might be, we invite you to share it with us here on Hilltown Families. Share a recipe and be entered to win a fabulous package (valued at $185) to get your family in the kitchen cooking breakfast or brunch together! Deadline to enter to win is Wednesday, March 28th by 7pm (EST).
How does food bring your family together? Maybe you enjoy cooking with your kids, sharing family meals together, shopping for locally grown and/or produced foods, exchanging stories at the kitchen table… however it is that food interweaves into your family one thing is certain, food has a way of bringing families together both in the kitchen and around the table.
This maple harvest season Hilltown Families is inviting our readers to share their favorite breakfast recipes with us for a collection of recipes and stories we are putting together for a new project we’re working on called Seasons at Our Table. Share your favorite recipe and be entered to win a fabulous package to get your family in the kitchen cooking breakfast or brunch together (details below)!
Are there recipes that have been passed down in your family that have a story that you share with your kids at the breakfast table? Maybe your mother had a Ukrainian Crepe recipe passed down from her grandmother, or your in-laws have taught you how to make Beignets you love to drench in local Maple Syrup. Or maybe there are new recipes you share with your kids that someday might be passed along to your grandkids? Maybe together you like to steam up a classic Boston Brown Bread for breakfast with a unique twist, Blueberry Buckle at the height of blueberry season with fresh whipped cream, or an Italian Frittata with eggs from your backyard flock for brunch… Whatever your morning breakfast or brunch fare might be, we invite you to share it with us here on Hilltown Families!
ENTER TO WIN: Share a recipe and be entered to win a fabulous package (valued at $185) to get your family in the kitchen cooking breakfast or brunch together! Hilltown Families has partnered with three local businesses to help make the morning breakfast hour easy and enjoyable with your family. Our giveaway package includes a gift certificate to shop at River Valley Market Co-Op in Northampton, an amazing gift box from Dean’s Beans coffee, and maple syrup from Dufresne’s Sugar House. Deadline to enter to win is Wednesday, March 28th by 7pm (EST).
Here’s the full story of what you can enter to win:
River Valley Market Cooperative (Northampton, MA)
River Valley Market is a cooperative grocery store in Northampton devoted to supporting local farmers and food producers! Open to the public daily from 8am-9pm with a great selection of fresh, local and organically grown foods from fresh produce and dairy to fresh meat and cheeses. Some of the special things you will discover in the aisles of this grocery store are friendly helpful staff, a fabulous selection of house made sausages, a deli with a salad and soup/hot foods bar that also serves up hot and cold sandwiches made to order, a natural supplements department, hundreds of foods in bulk, and fair trade chocolates and coffees. River Valley Market is located just off I-91 exit 21. www.rivervalleymarket.coop
GIVEAWAY: River Valley Market is offering Hilltown Families readers a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to shop local for your family meal! (Value: $50)
Dean’s Beans (Orange, MA)
Social activism, ecological responsibility, and great coffee meet at Dean’s Beans, a family-owned certified organic, fair trade coffee roaster. Offering fair priced, great tasting products that support peaceful social change, Dean’s Beans is characterized by an unyielding commitment to ethical business practices, people-centered development, and sound ecological practices. The quality of their products is a reflection of the quality of life of our farm partners. The health and strength of their communities are integral to our success. We design and fund grassroots development projects in the villages where we buy our beans. To read about these projects please visit our website at www.deansbeans.com.
GIVEAWAY: Dean’s Beans is offering an amazing gift box which includes a 12oz. bag of Moka Sumatra, a 12oz. bag of Peruvian French Roast Decaf, a Putumayo CD with music from the coffeelands, Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee written by Dean Cycon, Dean’s Bean Travel Mug, a Large Dean’s Beans T-Shirt, a 12 oz. bag of Organic Hot Cocoa Mix, a 12 oz. bag of Organic Baking Cocoa, a 24 oz. bag of Organic Sugar, and a pound of Dark Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans. (Value: $85)
Dufresne’s Sugar House (Williamsburg, MA)
Located in the beautiful hilltowns of Western Mass, Dufresne’s Sugar House has been making award-winning maple syrup for four generations. That’s over 100 years of sugaring experience! The Dufresne family works for the maple sugaring season all year round, practicing sustainable forest management, and harvesting their syrup with a smoke-free, wood-burning evaporator. They offer three grades of 100% pure and natural maple syrup, along with maple candy, maple cream, maple sugar block and Indian sugar. Their maple candy make great table/party favors and all maple products are available for both home and commercial use, shipping out daily to customers from MA to California. Find out more about Dufresne’s Sugar House at www.berkshiremaple.com.
GIVEAWAY: Dufresne’s Sugar House is offering 2 quarts of their finest maple syrup! (Value: $50)
HOW TO WIN
Your chance to win a breakfast giveaway package (valued at $185), including a $50 gift certificate to shop at River Valley Market Co-Op in Northampton, a gift box from Dean’s Beans coffee, and maple syrup from Dufresne’s Sugar House, is as easy as 1-2-3 (4)! To win simply:
- CONSIDER INVITING YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS TO SHARE THEIR RECIPES TOO by selecting the Facebook icon below,
- SHARE YOUR FAVORITE RECIPE(S) YOU LIKE TO MAKE FOR/WITH YOUR FAMILY BREAKFAST/BRUNCH HOUR in the comment field below and be sure to tell us your
- FULL NAME (first/last), where you
- LIVE (TOWN/STATE) (must include your town to be eligible), and
- ACCURATE EMAIL (we never share your email address).
- From our favorite entries (so make them good!) we’ll randomly draw a winner and share their name below.
IT’S THAT SIMPLE! — Deadline is Wednesday, March 28th by 7pm (EST).
[Photo credit: Muffin (ccl) Dennis Wilkinson]
THANKS!!!! There are so many good recipes here that I can’t wait to try.
Congratulations to:
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Another great opportunity to participate in our "Seasons at Our Table" project... Enter to win a Small Farm Share from Crimson & Clover Farm in Florence, MA for the 2012 season by sharing a family recipe you're looking forward to preparing this spring with fresh local produce, embellished with the story behind this favorite dish!"]
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Becky has won a breakfast giveaway package (valued at $185), including a $50 gift certificate to shop at River Valley Market Co-Op in Northampton, a gift box from Dean’s Beans coffee, and maple syrup from Dufresne’s Sugar House- and should contact us at hilltownfamilies@gmail.com.
Huge thank you to everyone who participated in the promotion by sharing their favorite recipe they like to make for/with their family breakfast/brunch hour! Check out all of these great recipes:
This recipe is wonderful and easy since you can make it the night before and bake it in the morning.
French Toast Bake
12 slices of day-old French bread
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Arrange bread in a greased 13″x9″x2″ baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture. Combine butter and remaining sugar; drizzle ove the top. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
South Hadley, MA
These recipes all sound so great, I will be trying some. Thanks for sharing.
This is my go-to brunch torta rustica. I think it came from Bon Appetit.
We have had it every Easter morning for years now so I suppose it’s a newer tradition.
16 1/4-inch-thick baguette slices
1 TBLS butter
12 ounces fresh spinach
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed
1 1/2 c grated Fontina cheese
3/4 c diced roasted red peppers
6 large eggs
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 c whole milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch baking dish. Place few baguette slices in bottom of dish. Melt 1 tbls butter in large pot. Add spinach until just wilted. Transfer spinach to strainer; cool. Squeeze spinach dry.
Heat same pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage. Sauté. Mix into spinach; mix in 1 cup cheese and peppers. Spread atop baguette slices in bottom of dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend.
Whisk in last 4 ingredients. Pour over spinach mixture and stir lightly with fork to distribute evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over. Bake torta until puffed and golden and center is set, about 55 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before serving.
*My* favorite breakfast, and one that my daughter still loves to eat (despite going through the toddler “picky” phase right now) is Eggs and Greens Frittata. We use local kale and local eggs when possible. My almost 3-year-old helps buy tearing the kale off the stems, and taking the eggs out of the carton.
Eggs and Greens Frittata
Serves 2
Three eggs
milk, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
half of a bunch of kale
1 clove garlic
butter or olive oil
Tear the kale leaves off the stems. Chop the leaves into little shreds.
Chop the garlic. Whisk together eggs and a splash of milk (if using). Salt and pepper the eggs according to your preference.
Heat an oven-safe skillet on the stove. Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil or a pat of butter (or both!). Cook the garlic for one minute. Add the kale. Cook and stir until the kale cooks down (it will shrink down significantly). Pour in the eggs. Stir, and cook for one minute. Put the whole skillet under the broiler for three minutes.
Carefully scoop out of the pan and cut in sections like a pizza. Serve with warm sourdough bread and butter.
Jennifer Page, Amherst, MA
This blog got my attention, when i read “Maybe your mother had a Ukrainian Crepe recipe passed down from her grandmother…”
Growing up in Ukraine in a family of 5 not having much, crapes are my favorite and easy to make, because once you make them anything can go inside, the possibilities are endless, i will write a few.
You can make them plain, but if you do make them with filling, fry them lightly to be crispy from both sides.
One thing i want to say is it takes a bit practice to make them thin, but once you get a hold of it its piece of cake =)
~Crapes~
1,5-2 c – flour
500ml – milk or water (or water+milk)
2-3 eggs
1tbs – sugar
1tbs – oil (any kind, i use sunflower or grape seed)
pinch of salt
Mix it all together and let it rest for 20 minets
For just plain kind add some lemon zest for that extra flavor
Different fillings
Cheese
250g- cheese-Tvorog, (this could be tricky its like a curd cheese which is best if not found in stores to make your own)
2tbs – sour cream
50g – raisins (golden is best)
1/4 of one lemon
2-4 tbs – sugar
Cheese mix with sour cream and fully grinned all together 1/4lemon+sugar (that could be done in food processor), raisins soak in hot water for 15 miners unless they are soft already. Mix it all together and here is your filling
Meat
Any kind of meat (chicken or beef) cook it till its done (you can make a broth by cooking meat that way)
Blend it in food processor till its very fine,
1-onion cut and fried till its golden color with batter or oil
add meat to it and mix it all add sugar and pepper to taste
I always make it to my taste and never measure meat and onion that is for personal preference, those are everyone favorite =)
My favorite breakfast/brunch recipe is German Apple Pancake. The presentation is impressive for family and guests.
Baked apple and caramelized sauce under a puffy pancake–Yummy and pretty easy to make and everyone can be served at once!
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup canola oil (or butter)
3 medium sized tart apples such as Granny Smith, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of clove and/or cardamom
BATTER:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioner’s sugar
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Heat oil or butter over medium-high heat in an ovenproof 10-inch skillet preferably cast iron. Add apples, granulated sugar, and spices and stir occasionally until the apples are just a little soft and sugar begins to caramelized, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
2. Beat the eggs. Add the salt and milk and whisk. Gradually add the flour and mix in with a fork or whisk.
3. Pour the batter evenly over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the pancake is golden and puffed about 18 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and let the pancake rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Bring to the table.
5. I cut and serve the pancake using two wide spatulas. First I separate the pancake from the sides of the skillet and a little underneath by using the corner of a spatula to scrape it clean off the sides. I use the spatula to cut the pancake in half and then into quarters or sixths. Since I left the skins on, I use two spatulas to push apart slightly the wedges so they are cut clean of each other and separated. While holding one spatula up against the interior side of a wedge, I shovel the spatula underneath a wedge to serve it.
Serves 4-6.
Genie Wu of Shutesbury, MA
I love to use french bread in the usual french toast recipe, but I add orange zest (and a teensy amount of o.j.) to the egg mixture. Makes it extra yummy.
Here is our fav weekend recipe:
Basic Waffle Recipe
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 table spoons of maple syrup
• 2 eggs,
• 1-1/2 cups warm milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter.
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cups of Walnuts
In large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
In separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Beat until blended.
Serve with whipped cream and strawberry syrup!
Strawberry Syrup
Frozen strawberries heated and mixed with Maple Syrup
Tony(a) Lemos
Ashfield MA
One of my favorite special breakfasts as a kid is butterfly pancakes, and I’ve recently started making them for my kids for a treat. It’s more of an assembly than a recipe.
2 pancakes (use your favorite recipe; I particularly like to use blueberry pancakes)
2 strips of bacon
1 sausage
Place a pancake (or half of a divided pancake) on either side of the sausage. The pancakes are the wings, the sausage is the body. Place the bacon in a v above the sausage for antennae.
Sara Barry
Haydenville, MA
Sorry for posting again I forgot to post my town.
Glenda Datsko, Millers Falls
A few years ago I found out my dad’s meal that his mom would make was ramps and eggs. We were living in Florida at the time and I didn’t know what ramps were. With a little internet investigation I found a place in Pennsylvania that would ship ramps in season. I ordered some for his family reunion and surprised my dad and his 6 brothers and 4 sisters with breakfast the first morning. The family was raised in West Virginia and they hadn’t had that for a meal in 50 years. Lots of love and memories were shared over that meal. I sauteed 1lb. ramps in 2 tbsp. of butter, added one dozen eggs, scrambled. Salt and pepper to taste.
My maternal grandmother, Mary Viola (Gamblin) Goodwin, used to make amazingly delicious Blueberry Cakes and they are still my favorite thing to cook with blueberries. Here’s her original recipe with notes on my modifications in making them over the years:
Blueberry Cakes
2 cups flour (Grammy used white; I use whole wheat pastry flour, or sometimes half and half w/ unbleached white)
3 tsp baking powder (or 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar + 1 tsp baking soda)
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup shortening (I use canola oil)
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup maple syrup)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries
Measure dry ingredients and set aside. Mix wet ingredients (first beat egg, then add one at a time: oil, sugar or maple syrup, milk and vanilla), then add sifted dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Fold blueberries in last. Drop in good-sized clumps spaced well apart on two large greased cookie sheets – the cakes will spread as they cook, rising up slightly in the middle. Bake at 375• for 30 minutes. Makes a dozen cakes.
Eat them hot out of the oven – you can spread butter on the bottom if you wish, or just eat as is. Yum!
We have a favorite winter with a summer variation breakfast. In the winter, we make oatmeal with banana, berries and walnuts on top. In the summer, we have Side Hill Farm yogurt as our base, with banana, fresh berries and cashews on top. Yum!
Jackie MacNeish, Ashfield, MA
We love french crepes with lemon, powdered sugar and real maple syrup.
These have white flour and I am trying to get the ingredients down for ww flour (Hodgsons MIlls only), some almond flour and a little wheat gluten to hold it all together. I love these because they have so many eggs in them that I don’t feel I need to add protein to this meal that is full of carbs! It’s complete on its own.
MIx the drys, mix the wets, mix together.
Ingredients:
3/4 c flour,
1/2 t salt,
1 t baking power,
2 T powdered sugar,
2 eggs,
2/3 c milk (buttermilk is the best),
1/3 c water,
1/2 t vanilla,
lemon rind zested.
Pour a thin layer into the skillet to make crepe like pancakes.These are a little thicker than true crepes. Once cooked, sprinkle with lemon juice, powered sugar and maybe a tad of maple syrup.
Makes about 4 crepes. If you cover this, you can store in the fridge for several days and they are fine. In addition to brunch, they are perfect for school mornings too!
Becky Castro, from Northampton, MA
Our favorite breakfast is millet and tofu. I lived on a communal farm in the early 90s (pre-babies) and we had this almost every morning. It is now our favorite comfort food.
Millet and Tofu:
serves 4
Boil 1.5c millet in 3c water. (I use a pressure cooker. Just combine millet and water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and wait til the pot stops hissing.)
While you wait for the millet to finish steaming:
Chop 1/2-1 onion.
Saute in oil for a few minutes.
Add 1 block of tofu, diced into small bite-size pieces.
Saute with onion.
Add Bragg or soy sauce to taste.
Toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet.
When millet is ready, scoop into a bowl, top with tofu mixture. Add toasted sesame seeds, some olive oil and a dash of salt.Other delicious toppings include:
lecithin
pumpkin seeds
hot sauce
We also have this for dinner frequently. We add kale to the onion and tofu mixture.
It is also excellent the next day, so we sometimes make a large batch and eat it for a couple of days. We use up leftover millet and tofu by turning into a sandwich spread or veggie dip. Just add mayo (or nayo), garlic powder, black pepper, and chopped pickle, and a bit of pickle juice. This is excellet for lil ones to scoop up with veggie sticks.
A little Savory Breakfast:
2 Sweet Potatoes
1 One Red Onion
2 Carrots
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Thyme
1/4 Teaspoon Fresh Rosemary
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons balamic Vinagar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
6 eggs
2 Tablespoons ice water
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
Cut Veggie about twice the size of a peanut. Put in a large Mixing Bowl. In a small mixing bowl wisk together syrus/oil/vinager and spices. Pour over veggies and coat well. Put in a 9 x 11 pyrex Dish. bake in a 425 oven for 40 min. Tossing every ten min.
Mix eggs/salt/water and begin Cooking scrambled eggs. as eggs begin to cook add veggies. Finish as you would scrambled eggs.
Plate and Drizzle with fresh maple syrup
I used to love “puffy pancake,” a mix of 1/2 c flour, 1/2 c milk, 2 eggs, baked in a cast iron pan prepped with 3T melted butter. Baked in a hot oven until the pancake rises and turns golden brown. We’d take it out and top with confectioner’s sugar and fresh lemon juice, or a little jam or — during sugaring season — maple syrup. My kids love it as much as I did. What’s not to love? It’s candy for breakfast.
As I child, I grew up having challah with our Friday night dinner, and we continue that tradition. Perhaps the best thing about challah is the French toast we make with it the following morning. It’s the same recipe my mom made when I was a child – quite simple. Some milk, one or two eggs, a T of sugar – the key is thick slices of challah soaked in the mixture before cooking in butter until crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. The one change I make to my mom’s recipe is real maple syrup, a delicacy I had never even heard of growing up in Baltimore.