So I thought I’d share this week the little extras I got out of this week’s groceries. Not all of my dinners have provided leftovers, and we’ve had 2 nights with guests over as well. So for a lunch I made crusty BLTs, which I didn’t photograph - I know, kill me… One of my favorite surprises to make Johnathan are Martha Stewart’s (gasp) Spiced Carrot Muffins. Any time I have leftover carrots, which I did this week, as well as some yogurt that was about to expire I make these super easy, super moist muffins. You can also freeze these suckers, unbaked, for up to 3 months. I usually have the rest of the basic baking ingredients around also. And in that vein, I also made a pecan coffee cake for my friends on Thursday night. Again, I had everything on hand and wanted to make a dent in the pecans I hardly ever use, and this also made me finish my stash of butter I bought 2 weeks ago - I know, how Paula Dean of me…..

Desserts aside, I’ve been craving breakfast foods, especially eggs. We love going to this little French brunch place on 18th St when we can get a seat, and they have this amazing baked egg dish called Cocotte. So, without dropping $20/person (well worth it though) I attempted my own. I dug out my ramekins I got as a wedding gift, which I’ve never used, and filled them with chopped spinach, crispy bacon, 1 egg per cup, 1 tablespoon of heavy cream (which was also about to expire) and topped with fresh grated parm. Oh heaven! I did leave them in the oven a couple minutes too long and the egg yolks cooked too much, and weren’t as runny as I’d like, but close enough on a fist try! I turned the oven to 400F and left them for about 10 minutes - I might say you should do about 6-7minutes. They got puffy, and gooey, and the salty bacon was just right. This is a super easy, super impressive brunch for entertaining - I might have to pull this one out at Christmas when we invade our families’ kitchens. Mom, act surprised! The last extra goodie I pulled out of my fridge was a strawberry vinaigrette I made for a spinach salad on Thursday with the edamame pasta. Remember, I bought those enticing 2 for $6 pints of strawberries? Well, here’s how I made a savory use out of them. First I made strawberry vinegar which you have to let sit for a while. Then I continued on with the salad. I tossed about 3 tablespoons of the vinegar with olive oil, spinach, fresh strawberries, and more of the pecans I still had. Such a great sweet summer salad! I also think people are surprised when they see strawberries with veggies, and used in a great savory way. So these are the additions for the week - if you have a stocked pantry/baking section you can still stretch your weekly groceries before they go bad, or they get shoved to the back of the fridge once you go on your next culinary stock up.

Here’s the recipe for the Pecan Coffee Cake

For the streusel:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the batter:

2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs, room temp, beaten

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

salt

confectioners’ sugar to dust

1. Preheat oven to 350F. For Streusel mixture, mix the pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in small bowl and set aside.

2. For batter, put the butter, eggs, sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and well blended. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the mixture and mix gently.

3. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bundt or loaf pan (make sure it’s well greased) and psread it evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel, then gently press the mixture onto the surface of the batter with the back of a spoon.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan, on a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely, then invert onto a serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Tags: Cocette, Martha Stewart, Spiced Carrot Muffins, Spinach, Strawberry, Strawberry Vinegar