Sometimes simple things are really nice. Our schedules around here are often bizarre, given that Cat works nights, on weekends, and we’re homeschoolers. That means that meals here don’t always easily fit into the categories of “breakfast,” or “supper,” or whatever… so having breakfast foods for an early evening meal isn’t something we consider odd, or even rare. Sometimes, though, I’ll give “breakfast” little touches that hopefully make them special. In this case… herbs.
Ok, so it’s been almost a year since I have updated my blog… hopefully *some* of you are still out there! It’s been a crazy year for us… full of good, bad, and in between, but always busy!
I thought it would be appropriate to start back up here with a holiday treat I made tonight. Several weeks back, a friend from eGullet gave me a recipe for Cranberry Swirl Coffee Cake, which has been a hit the (several) times I have made it since. Today, after reading a request from another eGulletteer for a spiced apple “bread” made with those weird, bright green or red spiced apple rings you buy in a jar at the grocery store, I remembered a cake that someone in Memphis used to make with those apple things. So… I decided to adapt Merstar’s recipe to make what I have renamed Spiced Apple Swirl Cake! To be fair, I couldn’t find those bizarre apple rings at my local Kroger, so I bought a can of apple pie filling (shhh, don’t tell!) and doused it with green food coloring to make it look “authentic.”
I might add that in order to revert to Mer’s cranberry coffee cake, you need only substitute vanilla extract for the rum extract and 1 cup fresh cranberry sauce for the apples, then omit the spices. I was pressed for time, so I just bought apple pie filling; you could easily make your own, or try using the red or green apple rings (smooshed up.) I would highly recommend that you choose EITHER red OR green, however… mixing them together will net you something that will look like your cake is sporting a center of brain matter.
Either variation (except, perhaps, for the brain variation) is suitable for dessert, snack table for a meet-n-greet meeting, or even breakfast. 
Enjoy… and happy holidays!
Here’s the recipe…
We needed something special for this dreary, snowy afternoon… the first day together that Cat and I have had in over two weeks! So, I decided to make some savory brunch waffles, filled with carmelized onion and smoked turkey, Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheese, then to top them off with some cheesy scrambled eggs.
Almost impossible to photograph when you’re making ten servings for ten hungry, hungry people (including six teenagers!) eggs benedict still, however, is a crowd pleaser. Next time I make it for just Cat, the Tishlet and myself, I’ll give the photography another shot. Here, however, I will pass along my recipe, as requested.