A Double Martha Day: Breakfast Quinoa and my Favorite Brownies

I have a love/hate relationship with Martha Stewart. Sure she is snooty and out of touch with the real world, but she also has some really great recipes. Today I had the pleasure of making two of Martha's recipes in one day: one new one and one old standby.

A few weeks ago my sister pinned Martha's recipe for Breakfast Quinoa on Pinterest. Being a lover of both quinoa and hot hearty breakfast dishes, I put this on my mental list of things to make soon (and also repinned it on Pinterest). Earlier this week my friend Kelsey wrote about another recipe for breakfast quinoa on her blog, reminding me that this was something I really wanted to try. So, this morning I made Martha's recipe, with two slight modifications. The recipe calls for fresh blueberries and as February isn't the best time to be buying blueberries, I opted to use frozen mixed berries I already had in my freezer. I put them in the fridge to defrost overnight so they would be ready to go in the morning. Martha also recommends whole or lowfat milk and I used skim. I am pleased to report that the breakfast quinoa was very yummy and I most definitely will be making it again. Next time I think I would put a little more cinnamon and add a splash of vanilla. I am looking forward to trying it with different toppings - I think raisins, almonds, bananas, and apples would all complement it well.

Brownies are one of those basic desserts for which all bakers should have a go-to recipe. My go-to is the recipe for Fudgy Chocolate Brownies from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. The recipe is also available on Martha's website. These are really the best brownies I have ever had and they consistently come out wonderfully. The only time I ever bake brownies with a different recipe is when I make peppermint brownies around the holidays. Martha wasn't kidding around when she called them fudgy.  The key to these brownies is making sure you do not overcook them. I made a batch today to take to my triathlon team's board meeting. Unfortunately most people were more enticed by another person's cupcakes, so not many of them were eaten. Their loss if you ask me!  That just leaves more to share at the office.