Breakfast Week - Shake Up Your Wake Up!

Breakfast. The most important meal of the day or so the saying goes. During the week its often a case of throwing some toast or cereal down your throat as you rush around organising the family and trying to get everyone out the door, but at the weekend it can be a more relaxed and much more impressive affair. The annual Breakfast Week celebration this year runs from 25th - 31st January and champions the importance of breakfast.

To kick off the celebrations I received a fantastic Breakfast pack from award winning online butchers Donald Russell. Arbroath Smokies, Smoked Haddock, Smoked & Unsmoked Back Bacon, Smoked Streaky Bacon, Beef Sausages, Pork Sausages, Artisan Pork Sausages and Diced Streaky Bacon. First to get eaten was the streaky bacon. Forget bacon on pancakes, bacon IN pancakes is where its at.

BACON IN PANCAKES

The basic pancake recipe is my Grandmothers (she of the famous Grandma Monearn's Shortbread) hence the imperial measurements. Not sure what she'd make of my adaptation.

200g Donald Russell Smoked Streaky Bacon
4oz Plain Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp Bicarb of Soda
pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
Milk

Grill or fry the bacon until cooked and set aside. 

Sieve together all the dry ingredients and make a well. Add beaten egg and mix. Gradually add milk whisking well until you reach a dropping consistency. 

Preheat a buttered griddle or frying pan on the hob. 

Dip a bacon rasher into the pancake mixture until well coated, allow any excess batter to drip off before placing in the pan. 

Once the pancake starts to bubble turn over with a palette knife to cook the other side. 

Drizzle with maple syrup, eat and enjoy!

I'm not sure if its just a Scottish thing but in the Foodie Quine household Tattie Scones are always a must when it comes to a cooked breakfast. Home made ones taste so much better than shop bought. Very simple and economical make especially if you have some leftover mashed potato lurking at the back of the fridge. Give them a try, once you do you'll never look back.

TATTIE SCONES

Makes 8 scones

200g mashed potato

25g butter

50g plain flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

good pinch of salt

Mash the butter into the potato (you may need to warm it if its leftovers) 

Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder and mix until thoroughly combined. 

Divide into two balls and chill in the fridge.

Liberally flour your surface and roll out gently to form two circles about 1/4" thick. 

Cut the circles into quarters and prick with a fork.

Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan. 

Smear on some butter with kitchen roll. 

Once hot cook scones for about 3-4mins on each side until golden brown.

Baking Mad sent me a lovely selection of Billingtons Sugars and Glace Cherries, Allison Flours and a bottle of Nielsen Massey Vanilla Extract. With these I whipped up the most fantastic Cheese, Bacon & Tomato breakfast muffins using Allinson Flour and Billington's Sugar. Miranda may not be a fan of the savoury muffin concept but I most definitely am. Great for breakfast, served with soups or simply as a snack. There are lots more fab baking recipes at www.bakingmad.com for me to try out the rest of the ingredients. I wonder if I could get away with Chocolate Cherry Cake for breakfast?

I'm a member of the Happy Eggs Taste 100 Blogger Network and was very intrigued by the sound of the January recipe on their 'Nice Pecks' calendar for Thai Scrambled Eggs. Scrambled Eggs are a fantastic choice for a healthy, fuelling breakfast, but can sometimes get forgotten about or thought to be a bit bland. However I assure you that when combined with chilli, ginger and coconut, the humble scrambled egg becomes truly awesome! The January #HappyEggsTastemakers challenge was to come up with my own twist on the breakfast classic.

SMOKED HADDOCK SCRAMBLED EGGS

Serves 4

2 fillets Donald Russell smoked haddock

1/4 pint milk

2 bay leaves

6 black peppercorns

8 Happy Egg Co eggs 

Salt & pepper.

Butter

Smoked paprika

Snipped chives or spring onions

Poach the smoked haddock fillets in a frying pan along with the milk, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for 2 minutes then take off the heat and set aside whilst you prepare the eggs.

Lightly whisk together the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a non stick pan and melt a generous knob of butter in it. 

Pour in the egg mixture and lightly scramble.

Remove the smoked haddock from the pan and flake. Mix half through the scrambled eggs as they finish cooking.

Serve up the eggs and top with the remaining smoked haddock and a sprinkle of smoked paprika and spring onions or chives.

I couldn't blog about breakfast without mentioning one of my favourite breakfast experiences. Cooked breakfast on the shovel of a steam train. Read all about it on Footplate Fryup at Deeside Railway. Definitely not a breakfast I'll forget in a hurry. 

Donald Russel have provided a promo code for readers of Foodie Quine to use. FQ1501 will give you 10% off your order. Valid until 31/12/15, Order must be over £30, Offer excludes half price boxes. www.donaldrussell.com

"Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper" 

Disclosure : Thanks to Donald Russell, Baking Mad and The Happy Egg Co for providing me with products for inclusion in this post.