Egg Avocado Toast

 

It's hard to get more pure than a three ingredient breakfast like this.  A perfect fried or poached egg on whole grain toast with mashed avocado. Salt & pepper optional.

Spring forward!

Egg Avocado Toast
Serves 2, easily halved or doubled

Ingredients
2 slices whole grain toast
1 avocado, mashed
2 fried or poached eggs

Method

1. While bread toasts and eggs cook, mash a ripe avocado roughly with a fork.
2. Spoon a generous layer of avocado on warm toast.
3. Top with cooked egg.  Link here for a great tutorial on how to cook our "froached eggs."
4. Enjoy!

Baked Scotch Quail Eggs

A platter of Scotch Quail Eggs makes a convenient do-ahead football tailgate or fall brunch offering.

A Scotch Egg is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat.  A portable meal, they can be found throughout Europe as a fast lunch, snack or picnic food.  In the U.S. it is common to find them at English-themed pubs, served either hot with dipping sauces or at room temperature to accompany a beer.

Daylight Savings Time ends here next Saturday night. With the clocks being pushed back an hour, next Sunday is the best day of the year for a fall-back brunch.  Take that extra hour to enjoy a leisurely Sunday featuring graze Scotch Quail Eggs.

Scotch eggs are usually deep fried to cook the sausage but they can be baked.  Baking is far less messy but creates its own challenges.  We found that chicken eggs were a little too large to wrap and bake successfully.  The sausage meat slipped off the egg by the time the meat was cooked through and the amount of sausage needed for one egg was a larger snack than required.

Using quail eggs, about a quarter the size of a chicken egg, turned out to be the solution.  Their small size makes them easy to wrap and because they require less sausage, cook quickly enough to hold onto the inner hard boiled quail egg through the process.  I also prick a hole in the top, through the sausage layer, that lets steam escape and keeps the sausage sticking to the smooth egg.

Baked Scotch Quail Eggs
Yield: 8

8 quail eggs, hard boiled and peeled*
3/4 pound raw bulk sausage meat
2 cups bread crumbs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F
2. Cover a cutting board with wax or parchment paper to protect the board from raw meat. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with a thin layer of oil or spray oil.
3. Divide sausage into eighths.  Take a portion of sausage and spread it in a thin circle on board.  Lay egg in the middle and wrap sausage up around sides and top of egg.  Use your hands to form into a round ball.  It will look like a large meatball, about 2 inches in diameter.  
4. Repeat with remaining eggs and sausage.  
5. Spread breadcrumbs in a wide soup bowl or pie pan.  Roll each ball in the bread crumbs and place in the baking pan.  
6. Give the Scotch Quail Eggs a thin coat of oil.  This is easiest to do with a spray oil.
7. Use a skewer or toothpick to open a small hole in the top of each Scotch Egg.  This will prevent the inside from building up steam that could cause the sausage to slip off the egg. 
8. Bake at 375˚F for 30-35 minutes, until sausage is cooked through.  
9. Place cooked eggs on a paper towel to drain excess oil.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.  Eat within 3 days.

Serving suggesitons:
Serve with a mustard-spiked mayonnaise dip.
Cut in half to add to an appetizer platter.  Their small size makes a manageable mouthful.
Slice Baked Scotch Quail Eggs to nestle inside a warm roll for breakfast.

*To hard boil quail eggs, place eggs in a medium pan and add enough water to cover by an inch.  Bring the water to a boil then remove from the heat and cover the pot for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, drain and add cold water to stop the cooking process.  Peel eggs immediately.  Their skins are very thin and will be easier to peel right away.  Be patient, they are more delicate than chicken eggs.  Do not be surprised by the greenish-blue color under their shells.  This is the inner membrane and commonly has a blueish tint. 

What else can we wrap in sausage? ¡Scotch Jalepeños!
Cream Cheese-Stuffed Jalepeños can be baked alongside Scotch Quail Eggs.  Allow these to cool completely so that the cream cheese is firm when sliced.  Or enjoy an oozing Scotch Jalepeño. 
Core seeds and membrane using a grapefruit knife. Tin foil allows you to bake the whole pepper without tearing.  Peel the blistered skin after baking at a high temperature, 400˚F, turning the pepper once or twice. 

Sausage sticks to a peeled jalepeño better than an unpeeled one.  An uncooked pepper will not cook further once wrapped in sausage.  Use a plastic sandwich bag to squirt cream cheese or any filling into the pepper.

Good Morning California! Croissant Avocado French Toast

California cousins inspired this Good Morning California! Croissant Avocado French Toast filled with savory ingredients including bacon, cheddar cheese and fresh summer tomatoes.  Slices of avocado as garnish signal the west coast nod.  Thanks to croissants being available in most supermarkets, you can make this simple baked french toast on either coast.

It's summertime and no one wants the kitchen to get too hot so we baked this pie-plate recipe in a toaster oven.  The dish serves two to four people so if you are making this for a brunch crowd, bake three of four using a regular oven. 

As with most baked bread puddings and quiches, this very likely keeps well and can be reheated or served room temperature with a side salad.  Sadly, we have no leftovers remaining to help us test the theory.

Good Morning California! Croissant French Toast
Serves 2-4

Ingredients 
2 large croissants, split horizontally
1 teaspoon vegetable oil to oil pie plate
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
salt & pepper
3 slices cooked bacon
1 ounce shredded cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 sliced tomato
1/2 avocado

Method

1. Toast split croissants on lightest setting to help dry out the centers.
2. Meanwhile, oil 9" pie plate. 
3. Preheat oven to 325˚F.
4. Lay toasted croissants, face up, in pie plate.  
5. Mix together eggs, milk, sat & pepper.  Pour over croissants.  Use a fork to ensure egg custard mixture moistens all crevices of bread.  Let dish sit at least 15 minutes (covered and refrigerated overnight is OK too).
6. Break apart bacon and tuck in between croissants.  Lay tomato sliced in a nice pattern as top layer.  
7. Bake dish for 20-30 minutes at 325˚F until egg custard is slightly puffed and beginning to brown on top.  Check the center with a knife to ensure that the egg custard has cooked through.  
8. Let rest five minutes.  While dish is resting top with avocado slices. 

The Light Big Breakfast: Ground Turkey and Egg Tostada

Can breakfast be substantial and still feel light?  If you have an important morning ahead of you or want to serve something a little more exciting for a Sunday breakfast, a tostada is an easy option that doesn't take much more talent or effort than scrabbled eggs.

That's because the recipe is made with eggs stirred into cooked ground turkey.  The turkeu is lightly seasoned but you can up the heat easily with extra jalepeños and hot sauce.  To mimic the flavor of chorizo sausage, add a pinch of smoked parpika with the other spices. 

The recipe is flexible and invites variation based on what you have in your kitchen.  The lightness come from ricotta cheese folde into the eggs and ground turkey but if you don’t have ricotta in the house, you can use another soft fresh cheese like cream cheese, goat cheese, queso fresco or even cottage cheese. 

I like corn tortillas but if flour ones are your favorite, that’s fine too.  This dish is even good without the tortilla for those cutting back on carbs.  Use the recipe as a launching off point and you won't go hungry.

Ground Turkey & Egg Tostada

Ingredients for one:
¼ lb. lean ground turkey
¼ jalapeño, diced (seeds removed)
1 egg
2 T ricotta cheese (or other fresh soft cheese like farmers cheese)
Pinch cumin, coriander, marjoram
Salt & pepper to taste
1 corn tortilla (toasted or fried)
Toppings: extra cheese (grated cheddar, jack), sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce or salsa

Ingredients to serve four:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 jalapeño, diced (seeds removed)
4 eggs
½ cup ricotta cheese
½ teaspoon each cumin, coriander, marjoram
Salt & pepper to taste
4 corn tortillas (toasted or fried)
Toppings: extra cheese (grated cheddar, jack), sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce or salsa

Method

1. Brown the turkey over medium heat.  Whne cooked thoroughly, drain any fat.  
2. Add diced jalapeños and spices. Cook for a minute more.  
3. Meanwhile crack egg/s into a small bowl and scramble with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Pour eggs over hot turkey in sauté pan.  Lower heat and stir to start cooking eggs.  Top with ricotta cheese by small spoonfuls.  
5. Use a spatula as the eggs begin to solidify to turn the egg-turkey mixture and incorporate the cheese.  Do not mix the cheese in completely.  When eggs are set but still soft, cut portions with a spatula and slide onto warm tortillas.  
6. Top with your favorite add-ons.

Good enough-- and fast enough- to be dinner too.

Anniversary Meringues

Last June, I recalled our niece's wedding with a dessert that echoes the flavors of the wedding cake, raspberry and lemon, in an Isles Flotant for Two.  This year, the anniversary tribute gets even simpler with make-ahead vanilla meringue cookies that sandwich raspberry sorbet and get a little crown of lemon curd.

Meringues are easy to make and can be stored in an airtight container for days.  The sandwich cookies can be made on the spot with a scoop of sorbet and a drizzle of warmed lemon curd.  If you'd like a softer cookie, make the sandwiches, wrap in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer until you are ready to serve.  Warm lemon curd in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and drizzle over the cookies or bring to the table for dipping. 

The basic formula for meringues is 1 egg white to 1/4 cup sugar.  A pinch of cream of tartar will help the egg whites form nice peaks when you whip them.  Here is the recipe using two egg whites, which makes about 14-16 meringue cookies.

Pure note: you can purchase good quality meringues if you do not have time to make them and assemble the sandwiches from there.  Check the label to pick ones that have few ingredients and ones that you recognize. 

Two Egg Whites Meringues
Yield 14-16 cookies

Ingredients
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300˚F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad.  
2. Place egg whites in a large, very clean bowl.  Use a hand mixer or whisk to beat egg whites until they are frothy.  
3. Add sugar, about a tablespoon at a time while continuing to whip mixture.  About halfway through adding the sugar, add cream of tartar.  Continue adding the sugar a bit at a time.  Beat until egg whites form stiff peeks.  Note: on more humid days, this will be more challenging. You can add bit more cream of tartar.  If, after 10-15 minutes, you still do not have very stiff peeks, proceed with the recipe.  There is enough air beaten onto the egg whites to create lift in the oven.  You will not be able to create intricate details or pipe your cookies but you will be able to spoon dollops onto the cookie sheet to make little puffs, perfect for a ice cream sandwich.  
4. Stir in vanilla. 
5. Next, spoon (or pipe) batter onto cookie sheet.  Each cookie should have 1-2 tablespoons of batter and be placed about an inch apart.  
6. Bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes, puffed but not browned.  Do not open oven to check on meringues.  
7. Turn off oven and allow meringues to cool slowly as the oven cools.  This will create a dry and crisp meringue. 

Store cookies in an airtight container.

Variations
Chocolate mint chip ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Frozen banana "ice cream" with butterscotch sauce

Avgolemeno kicks off March

March promises to be full of rain and sleet around here.  These are soup days.  It feels like it should be spring but instead, the weather leaves us chilled.  Soups have the appeal of stews with a light touch.  They are satisfying on these days when many of us step out for a run or hike and the promise of warmer, more active days ahead.

We are planning a number of soup and salad dinners this month.  Happily, there are better and better choices for canned, frozen and shelf-stable soups with more attention paid to lower sodium and better ingredients.  Still, nothing beats homemade and even the most fast-food tainted among us can taste the difference.  Throughout March, we’ll show off some fast soups and “short cut” soups to get more soup ladled out into bowls everywhere.

The Broth Question
The first short cut is to find your favorite low sodium broth that you can go to as a base.  We prefer broth over bouillon cubes and low-sodium whether canned or in aseptic packages.  You can always add more salt later (and herbs and spices) but you cannot take it out so start with a broth that tastes of vegetables, poultry, beef or whatever is on the label—not just salty water.  Buy a few different brands and have a little taste test to find your house brand.
(To make your own broth from scratch, see the simple method from November 27, 2009’s post at http://purefoodsproject.blogspot.com/2009/11/whats-next.html)

This recipe for Avgolemeno Soup, the famous Greek soup using only broth, rice and lemon thickened with eggs, is a great example of an easy yet impressive “homemade” soup.  It is nothing short of amazing with your own homemade broth, but you will be happy with what can be done at the end of a work day using a canned low sodium versions. 

Sometimes, just before serving, we add spinach to extend the meal or cooked chicken leftovers which help to deepen the broth's flavor.  For a vegetarian version, vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken broth.  Now, no matter how it sleets outside, a bowl of Avgolemeno and a salad will make you feel better. 

Avgolemeno
Serves 2, may be doubled and tripled

Ingredients
1 14-oz can low sodium chicken broth
2-3 ounces water
½ cup cooked rice*
2 eggs
juice of half a lemon
salt, black pepper, dill (dried or fresh)

*orzo, the tiny pasta that is shaped like rice can substituted.  Cook it in the simmering broth for about 8 minutes before adding egg-lemon mixture.

Method

1. Heat broth and water in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add rice and stir to break up any clumps.  
2. While broth heats place the eggs in a small bowl and add lemon juice.  Whisk to combine as you would with scrambled eggs.  
3. Ladle a ¼ cup of hot broth into the eggs.  This will “temper” the eggs so that they will not curdle when poured into the hot broth.  
4. Remove broth from heat and using a fork or wide spoon stir the broth and rice while pouring the egg mixture into the broth.  The soup will thicken and each rice kernel will don a coating of lemon0infused eggs.  
5. Taste the soup and add salt, cracked black pepper and dill to your taste.  

Serve immediately.  Promptly cover and chill any leftovers.
Bonus: this is good reheated for breakfast!

Cheesy Corn Squares

I’ve made these throughout the summer to preserve the fresh flavor of corn after an over-ambitious purchase or two.  Fresh uncooked corn can be removed from the ear and frozen in serving portions to enjoy all winter.  Likewise, these cheesy corn squares are easy to pack and freeze in 4-square packets for a quick lunch or dinner with salad. 

Cheesy Corn Squares are based on a cheese squares recipe that uses a easy savory baked French toast base.  This provides a nice puffy platform that crisps around the pan’s edges.  Once you make this recipe, you could add any vegetable.  While corn is still in some farmers markets buy a few extra (this recipe only needs 2-3 ears).  Later in the fall enjoy Cheesy Corn Squares with a bowl of hot soup. 

Cheesy Corn Squares
Yield: about 24 squares

Ingredients
1 loaf Italian or French bread, sliced in 1/2 in slices on the bias
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk (low fat or regular)
2 ears of corn (1 1/2 cups) steamed,  cooled and niblets removed from ear
3 cups grated cheese- Cheddar or Monterey Jack or combination (roughly 8-10 ounces)
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk (low fat or regular)
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Method

1. Prepare a 9” X 13” baking pan by buttering or oiling lightly.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.  
2. Pour evaporated milk in a pie pan and dip slices of bread in to absorb liquid.  Press the bread between your fingers to squeeze out excess milk.  Lay dipped slices side by side in the baking pan.  Arrange and tear pieces to cover the bottom.  The bread layer will reform as one platform during baking.  
3. Spread half the grated cheese over the bread layer.  Next layer corn and jalapeños followed by a last layer of cheese.  
4. In a small bowl mix eggs, hot sauce and milk to create a savory custard mixture.  Pour custard mixture over top cheese layer allowing liquid to soak into all layers.  Use a wide fork or spoon to evenly press the liquid into the squares.  
5. Bake squares for 30-35 minutes at 350˚F until browning at the edges and cooked through and puffy in the middle.  
6. Cool 10 minutes before cutting into squares.  (A plastic picnic knife will preserve your pan.)  

Serve squares hot from the oven as an hors d’ouevre  or pack along for your next tailgate—they taste good at room temperature too. 

Variations
This is the kind of recipe that can serve as a technique for you to build your own favorite.  Think about pizza topping you like or one of these fall-inspired combinations:

• Mushrooms, Swiss cheese, green onion, (optional cooked sausage meat)
• Roasted zucchini, eggplant, peppers with a layer of tomato and dried basil.  Use mozzarella and Parmesan for the cheese layers

Baked Eggs Buffet

Clockwise from upper left, Asparagus-Ham-Mushroom-Raclette Cheese, Spinach-Tomato-Mozzarella-Parmesan, Cheddar-Bacon-Jalapeños

Baked eggs deliver easy and pure protein at a brunch, ski house breakfast or a simple Sunday morning with family.  For family, you might pick just one type of filling but the real charm of a baked eggs buffet is that it can suit all tastes, finicky to exotic, meat lovers and vegetarians.

A baked eggs buffet has just the right amount of participation from diners but leaves the cook in control.  Everyone gets to add favorite fillings, just like at a restaurant omelet bar, hand over their creation and have it baked.  No one but the cook needs to be at the oven.  Easy on the cook who only needs to supervise the prep and keep an eye on the eggs baking. 

The buffet is easy to set up and the fillings can be made the night or day before.  Set out buttered ramekins, fillings and a bowl of eggs.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F and invite diners to fill their ramekin with fillings, egg then more filling.   Top with cheese and a drizzle of hot water or cream.  Bake the eggs as they are handed in.  Each one takes 15-20 minutes so skiers can continue to get ready or brunch guests can sip on coffee and enjoy nibbles from a fruit and muffin platter.  An extra timer will help keep the cook on track for seconds or late arrivals.

Ramekins are very hot when they come out of the oven.  Use tongs or a well insulated pot holder to handle and serve each on a small salad plate to keep hands clear.  Add a side of toast for dipping. 

Baked Eggs
Ingredients
1-2 eggs per ramekin
Butter to coat ramekins
Fillings- about 1/4-1/3 cup per ramekin
Cooked vegetables and meats, cheeses like asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, minced peppers (any variety), roasted potato slices, any cured ham, cooked chorizo or breakfast sausage, cheddar, feta, swiss, raclette, mozzarella, Parmesan. 
Hot water—about a teaspoon per ramekin (helps egg set and remain tender). Warm cream can also be used effectively.

Method

• Preheat oven to 350˚F and prepare fillings (cook meats and vegetables if not yet prepared).
• Butter ramekins generously.  
• Place a layer of filling elements in bottom of ramekin.  Crack egg over filling. Top with more filling.  
• Spoon hot water over mixture.
• Place ramekins on a baking sheet or baking pan.
• 350˚F 15-20 minutes.  For a runny yolk, check at 15 minutes. 

Serve hot ramekins on a plate. Offer hot sauce, extra cheese, salsa or just salt and pepper.

The filled ramekins just before going into the oven.

Egg Cups To Go

Somewhere between a crustless quiche and a Spanish tortilla, Breakfast Egg Cups are a simple make-ahead meal for the morning.  They even freeze well so you can make a double batch for the week.

A lot of us who need to use our brains for anything during the day agree that breakfast must include a lean protein and some tasty low-carb ingredients.  Because you can make them ahead, reheat them in a microwave or pack them for a commute, Breakfast Egg Cups are a pure solution and really nice if portion size or calorie conscious eating is on the menu. 

There are as many filling variations as there are omelette ideas.  If you are really determined about calories this fall, you can substitute all or part of the whole eggs in this recipe with egg whites and stick with vegetables like spinach, zucchini, mushrooms and asparagus and meats like Canadian bacon rather then the higher carb/fat options.  You can use low fat cheeses or cottage/ricotta cheese as well. 

At other times, you might like combinations like potato-chorizo-manchego cheese, asparagus-blue cheese-bacon or smoked gouda-mushroom-sausage. It almost sounds like party fare.  In fact, if you bake a batch in mini-muffin tins rather than the regular muffin pans here, you have a very nice hot hors d’oeuvre for last minutes guests.

Breakfast Egg Cups
Makes 6 cups, one serving equals 2 egg cups
Ingredients
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup cooked chopped vegetables (zucchini, spinach, asparagus, potatoes)
optional: up to 2 tablespoons extra cheese (blue, cheddar, swiss, havarti, smoked gouda, goat cheese) and/or 2 tablespoons cooked diced bacon, chorizo sausage, Canadian bacon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Lightly spray muffin tins with oil. (You may use lightly sprayed paper liners.) 
2. Break eggs into a small mixing bowl and mix well.  
3. Add remaining ingredients and spoon into 6 muffin tins.  Fill any empty cups 1/4 full with water to prevent burning.)
4. Bake 15 minutes, until eggs are set.  As with quiche, you can remove them to cook when the centers are still a little loose.

These are easy to take along as is or packed in a warm roll.  

Foraging for Chanterelle Mushrooms

Nothing suits the pure foods mantra like the foods we gather ourselves.  Last week my brother took me to a few of his secret spots in Vermont for chanterelles.  These are the gold-orange mushrooms that look like open parasols from below with gills reaching down the stem.  Not technically gills, but to us amateurs very similar. 

Speaking of amateurs, it’s smart to go mushroom hunting with an expert, preferably a regular forager for the particular mushroom you are searching out.  Matthew has taken me before but I still needed a refresher on identifying them and he checked my basket as we went along.  The more you see them, the easier they are to identify.   Most wooded areas can sustain chanterelles and in Vermont they can pop up seemingly overnight from late spring into September. We had luck at the base of pine and beech trees and along the length of fallen, decomposing trees. 

The forager’s attire and equipment list is short: long plants and shirt to discourage bugs, closed toe shoes to step through the forest’s uneven floor, an optional brimmed hat to protect eyes and face if you like to crash through underbrush, a basket for your finds and a pen knife to cut the stems cleanly. 

At home, Matthew used a dedicated paintbrush to clean our chanterelles.  Now the hard part—to enjoy that evening sautéed in butter over pasta or the next morning in omelettes?  The flavor of a chanterelle is delicate so it pairs well with noodles and eggs.  Don’t be tempted to add many more ingredients or the flavors will overpower your chaterelles.  Potatoes, poultry and seafood also provide a nice match for chanterelles.

Restaurants pay about $20 per pound, nice if you are hitting a gold rush of chanterelles but not a sustainable living.  (Mushrooms are light.)  Still, its nice to know the going rate so you can pat yourself on the back while enjoying a delicacy sought by chefs and diners at multi-star establishments.

Cleaned chanterelles store well in a paper bag in the refrigerator and can be frozen (uncooked) to use within 3 months.  To freeze, lay whole mushrooms on a small baking sheet and place in the freezer.  When mushrooms are frozen, in about 2 hours, place them in a re-sealable plastic bag marked with a use by date.

We decided on open-face chanterelle omelettes with a side of goat cheese.

Behold, the Simple Egg

A perfectly cooked hard boiled egg with a just set yolk and a white that is easily held in hand or chopped to create the perfect deviled egg or egg salad is easy to achieve but takes getting to know your equipment.  Every chef has the timing down but that doesn't mean it will work on your stove, in your favorite pot and in the temperature of your tap water.  Try my basic 6-6-6 technique and adjust to our kitchen's timing:

1. Place eggs straight from the refrigerator in a pot, covered with cold tap water, top on the pot.  
2. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.  
3. Once water is boiling, lower heat and place the top askew so that a slow boil is maintained for 6 minutes.  
4. After 6 minutes, remove from burner and let eggs sit in hot water an additional 6 minutes.  
5. Drain and fill pot with cold water.  (If you are cooking more than 3 eggs,  rinse a few times to ensure water surrounding eggs is cool.)  
6. Let eggs sit in cold water 6 minutes.  Peel and store or enjoy immediately.

Hard boiled eggs don't need to be ice cold to enjoy.  If you are using right away on a chef's salad or a snack, try them while they are still warm.  Lovely.

Soft Boiled Egg Variations
Now that you can make a perfect hard boiled egg, here's how to make a soft boiled egg that is the perfect protein portion over a bed of steamed spinach or toast.  Fast for breakfast, satisfying for lunch, perfect for a light dinner.

Use the same technique as above but once the water begins to boil, remove the pot's lid, lower the heat and allow enough heat for a slow boil for 2 minutes.  Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and quickly run under cool water so you can handle the shell.  Over a bed of spinach or toast, use a knife to rap the egg's middle and open it up.  With a spoon scoop out the egg white allowing the yolk to ouze out like a thick sauce. A little salt and pepper completes the picture.

A raw egg (out of its shell) can also be placed in a ramekin or custard cup of hot steamed spinach, lightly covered and microwaved 35-45 seconds to create a poached egg effect. Slide it onto a broiled mushroom for an elegant first course.

Bleak Night Huevos Rancheros

When things get a bit desperate and the end of winter seems well out of sight, a flexible recipe for Huevos Rancheros makes surviving worth it.  A few beers don’t hurt either.

Huevos Rancheros are essentially nachos with an egg on top.  Within the basic layers lots of variation is possible making this one of those dishes that you can pull out of a hat.  The first time I ate this was in the Yucatan at a little restaurant inside the entrance to some Mayan ruins.  Our hotel had a nice restaurant but my friends and I learned quickly to hop the local VW bus (without a side door) to the ruins and eat desayuno with the workers.   The meal was simple and that’s been my inspiration since: eggs, cooked beans, salsa on a corn tortilla with a side of fried plaintains.  For this northern version, I substituted roasted turnip fries for plaintains.   Home fries made with white or blue potatoes are good here too.

Its all in the layers:
Base- corn tortilla (grilled pizza crust, even tortilla chips if desperate)
Beans- canned black low sodium cooked down with some oregano, cumin, salt, ground coriander
Salsa (purchased is fine but take a peak in your larder and get creative here)  chopped tomato, mild peppers, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, smoked chili, onion, tomatillos can combine in many variations in a pinch to create a tempting salsa.
Fried eggs (poached if you feel like it)
Cheese (cheddar, queso fresco)
Garnishes; extra salsa. Scallions, black olives, jalepenos (pickled roasted), sour cream, cilantro, avocado

If you’d like a more formal recipe….

Huevos Rancheros Fonda del Yucatan
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 corn tortillas
Canola or vegetable oil
1 can low-sodium black beans
2 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, cumin, chipotle chili powder
1/4 teaspoon each ground coriander and salt
1/2 cup salsa (home made or store bought)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
Garnishes and extras: sliced scallions, black olives, jalepenos (pickled or roasted), sour cream, cilantro, avocado

Method

1. For each serving, drizzle a little canola oil onto an oven proof dish (pie plates work well) and dip 2 corn tortillas in oil on both sides.  Place in a 400˚F oven to crisp while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  
2. Heat up a can of low-sodium black beans (no need to drain) and add cilantro, dried spices and salt.  Lower heat and continue to cook until juices are absorbed, stirring occasionally.  
3. Once beans are heated, fry eggs in a little olive oil.  Cook eggs “sunny side up” and remove from heat when whites are firm but yolks are still runny.  
4. While eggs are frying, assemble dishes.  Remove tortillas from oven and pile on beans followed by a bit of salsa then carefully transfer the eggs, one on each tortilla.  Sprinkle with cheese and return to hot oven to finish eggs and melt cheese.  
5. As soon as cheese has melted, remove pie plates from oven and transfer to warmed plates.  Place another spoonful of salsa on top of each egg and add garnishes to your liking.   

On the side—roasted turnip fries with smoked paprika (400˚F for 20 minutes).  You can dip them in ketchup but here they taste great dipped in the runny egg yolks and the sour cream.  They are nice cross between sweet potato fries and traditional fries from white potatoes and can be roasted while the tortillas crisp.

I found this fun rendition online.  Great idea to serve a crowd:
http://www.designeatplay.com/?p=482
Huevos Ranchero Pizza- very clever and communal too.

Breakfast of Pure Champions

Switch out a few things to purify your breakfast habits and you will feel it around your waistline and around 10am when your energy reserves are still there for you.     

Lunch for Breakfast   
Many Americans consume over half of their daily sugar quotient by 9am.  Cereal, toaster cakes and tarts, energy bars and functional drinks provide a quick meal that promises to jump start the day but by mid-morning our bodies are wondering when the next sugar hit is coming.  The front of the box says its wholesome but you know you should be reading the label on the back to get the full picture.  Still, this is what we see in the grocery aisle marked breakfast so it’s got to be good for us, right?

Instead of sitting down to dessert every morning, try something really revolutionary: lunch.  Widen your idea of what a breakfast sandwiches can be.   A ham sandwich on rye, turkey on whole wheat,  peanut butter and bananas on multi-grain toast, grilled cheese with tomatoes, avocado or red peppers can all qualify as breakfast. They are fast, portable and will give you more staying power through morning meetings and classes.  If you like eggs but don’t have time to scramble some in the morning, scoop some pre-made egg salad or sliced hard boiled eggs and sliced tomatoes on a hard roll and head out the door.

With a few extra minutes you can assemble a mini whole wheat pita pocket filled with Canadian bacon, a fried egg or egg white and an ounce of cheddar cheese.  This is a first class treat and packed with long-lasting, valuable foods.  You can make a batch of these and freeze them individually in aluminum foil for a toaster-oven breakfast sandwich ready in minutes. My mother taught me to make open-faced Swiss cheese melts over grilled mushrooms and rye toast.  Sauté extra mushrooms tonight and have a fast elegant breakfast tomorrow.  What do all of these sandwiches have in common?   Some protein with a whole grain carbohydrate.  Some even pack in a little dairy.  That and the fact that you can pronounce every ingredient in your breakfast.

Blender Breakfasts
Energy drinks are easy to grab on the go from convenience stores and vending machines but did you know that low fat milk (also widely available) has the perfect balance of protein and carbs for replenishment?  Just make sure you get the real thing, not an enhanced version (which generally means added sugar).  You can also get serious benefits from downing a, 8-ounce shot of low-fat chocolate milk.  For those with bigger ambitions and a blender try these quick morning smoothies:

For chocoholics, a Chocolate Monkey smoothie….
Thank the banana for no added sugar and a nice dose of potassium.
6 oz low-fat or non-fat milk
1 small ripe banana, cut in chunks )try a frozen one)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add half the milk and the banana to the blender and mix on low until the banana is smooth.  Add remaining ingredients. 


For fruit lovers, a Freezer Fruit smoothie is available year round.  Because the fruit is frozen it thickens the shake naturally. 
6 oz low-fat or non-fat milk
4 oz fruit juice (orange juice, pineapple, pomegranate, cranberry)
1 cup frozen fruit: mangos, peaches, berries, any combo
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
Blend all ingredients together first on low, then for a few seconds on high to get a frothy mixture.

Toasties

Think your toaster strudel is doing the trick? Sure, it’s fast and satisfies a sweet tooth’s craving for energy but you could do better.  Try a fruit and cream cheese burrito with a cinnamon spiked all-fruit spread.  You’ll get an immediate lift plus more long lasting back-up ingredients.   Assemble the night before and heat it in the toaster oven or eat it straight from the fridge. 

Toasted Fruit Burrito
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 ounce cream cheese or ricotta cheese (heaping tablespoon)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash vanilla extract
1/2 sliced fruit of your choice—peaches, pears, mango, baked apple, berries, etc
1 tablespoon jam or all-fruit spread- any flavor

Spread the jam on tortilla, leaving a two inch edge.  Next spread a layer of cream cheese or ricotta cheese over jam.  Pile fruit down center of tortilla, leaving edges clear.  Roll tortilla into a burrito by folding the bottom edge over the fruit. Fold the sides over perpendicular to that edge and close burrito by bringing top flap over the three folded edges.  Refrigerate overnight and take it on the road or heat in a toaster oven until the tortilla is crisped and the filling is warm.  Enjoy.

Have Your Bagel and Eat It Too
Have you noticed things getting larger?  The average size of a bagel has almost doubled.  Cut you bagel in half and slather on a full ounce of low fat cream cheese.  It’s the cream cheese that is holding the bagel and you together for the morning not the excess bread.  An ounce of low fat cream cheese has 2 grams of protein, 4% of your calcium requirements and about 55 calories.  If you choose a (normal-sized) bagel with some whole grains you can add in another 6-7 grams of protein.

Speaking of protein, take a road trip to England or South America where beans are on the breakfast menu.  Baked beans on toast and black beans on a corn tortilla both pack a wallop of protein and taste great plain or with a poached egg on top. 

94% say breakfast is most important meal but only 43% eat breakfast…
Many dieters make calorie cuts at breakfast.  Turn this idea on its head today.  Instead of trimming the life out of the early part of your day, feed your body and supply it with what it needs to get through the day. It’s much more fun to add up then cut back when it comes to calorie counting. By ensuring you have enough energy and nutrition reserves at the start of the day you will not be tempted to overeat at lunch and during the afternoon.  I aim for at least 300-350 calories in real foods by 10 am every day.

Dessert- The End
Enjoy cereal but put it in its proper place: dessert.  Serve it after dinner with milk and dried fruit (try warm milk).  Crunch it up on top of fresh fruit and bake it to make a cereal fruit crisp and add ice cream or frozen yogurt.  Layer it into a parfait-to-go with plain yogurt and berries as an after school snack.  And when the box is empty, take a fresh look at the cereal aisle and in the natural food section of your grocery store for something with less sugar to try in desserts next month.