This is like a grilled cheese sandwich, but for breakfast. Made with whole grain bread instead of white bread and filled with fruit instead of sugary jam, it is a low glycemic index food, meaning it will help keep your child full until lunchtime.
2 slices whole grain bread
1 Tbsp (15 mL) peanut butter
1 banana, sliced
1 tsp (5 mL) maple syrup
Dash cinnamon
Spread peanut butter onto bread slices. Top one slice with banana, drizzle on maple syrup, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place second slice of bread on top and then grill sandwich using a grilled sandwich maker. Serve.
Makes 1 serving.
Each serving contains: 406 calories; 12 g protein; 13 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 65 g carbohydrates; 8 g fibre; 322 mg sodium
source: "Kid-Friendly Breakfasts", alive #347, September 2011
Stovetop or toaster oven version
If you don’t have a grilled sandwich maker, oil a skillet, heat it over medium-high heat, and grill the sandwich, letting it cook for about 2 minutes on each side. You can also grill the sandwich by brushing it with oil and using a toaster oven with a grill setting to grill it for a few minutes on each side.
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.