Nerves before a trip

A bed of tomatoes and roasted garlic with a poached egg on top sprinkled with crispy prosciutto.

As you can tell I am fairly obsessed with the San Marzano tomatoes.

The dogs also got some:

I just got back from having my hair cut and colored. I tried to take a picture but it came out awful. I will try again tomorrow.

The dogs are fed and I am heading out again. I leave this coming Wednesday but these days of prep are zooming by!

Night all!

Mini frittatas

I am still working on getting enough protein everyday.

So, this morning I decided to make mini frittatas.

This is a super easy recipe. You just mix all the ingredients together and then pour into the muffin tin.

They went into a 375 degree oven for 14 minutes. Your oven time may be different just keep an eye on them and take them out of the oven when they are puffed up and set in the middle.

They do deflate when they come out of the oven.

I ate two for breakfast and I put the rest into Ziploc bags and popped them in the freezer. Now I will have a handy protein snack to munch on anytime!



Mini Frittatas

Makes 6-8 mini frittatas

Ingredients:

2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 Tbsp of fresh chopped basil
1/2 Tbsp of dried parsley (fresh chopped would be better)
1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan
a pinch of salt and black pepper

Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Fill each muffin well almost to the top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven till set. Check after 10 minutes and take them out when they have puffed up and are set in the middle.

Enjoy!

Coddled egg for one

Coddled egg for one with buttered toast.

 
This morning I wanted coddled eggs. 

Coddled eggs is a dish that seems very indulgent and in the traditional version it is since it uses butter and cream.

I still wanted all the texture and flavor but made in a way that trimmed down the heaviness of the dish.

The first step to trimming down the recipe was using a sandwich thin instead of regular bread to line the ramekin and using Earth Balance spread instead of butter to coat the inside of the ramekin.

Next I used some finely shredded cheese so I could get good coverage over the bread without using a lot of cheese.

 And keep in mind that this ramekin is small.

To replace the cream, I combined 1 tsp. of Tofutti cream cheese and mixed it with 1 tsp. of unsweetened soymilk. 

2 tsp. of the 'cream' mixture went on top of the egg along with some fresh chopped parsley, a pinch of salt and some black pepper.

 

Then I placed the dish in a shallow pan that I filled with 1/4" of water. The steam from the water is essential in making these eggs. 

Then the whole thing went into a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cook for a little less or a little more depending on if you like your eggs runnier or firmer.

This dish turned out great! 

The egg was cooked through but still had a silky texture. The combination of the gooey-ness of the cheese with the richness of the 'cream' and the bright herb flavor of the parsley made this dish a winner.

Coddled egg for one
 Serves 1

Ingredients:  

1 egg
1/2 of a sandwich thin
1/2 tsp. of Earth Balance spread
2 tsp. of shredded cheese
1tsp. of Tofutti cream cheese
1 tsp. of unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp. of chopped fresh parsley
1 pinch of salt
ground black pepper to taste


Instructions:

Line a single serving size ramekin with the Earth Balance spread. Cut the sandwich thin to fit the bottom of the ramekin. Press the bread into the bottom of the ramekin.

Top with the cheese and crack one egg on top.

Whisk together the Tofutti cream cheese and the soy milk until the mixture is smooth. Spoon 1 - 2 tsp. of the mixture over the egg, depending on how rich you want the dish. Sprinkle the top with the parsley, salt and pepper.

Place the ramekin in a shallow baking dish and fill the bottom of the baking dish with 1/4" of water.

Cook in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Namaste yoga and the perfect egg

My split pea soup turned out great. I was going to post the recipe this morning but I got distracted with making the perfect hard boiled egg.

Not a sign of that icky green ring!

I found this great picture illustrating the progression of the icky green ring as you continue to overcook an egg.

[source]

My trusted method for cooking perfect hard boiled eggs? 

Start with a pan of cold water. Carefully place the eggs in the pan of cold water and put the pan on a burner set to high.

When the water just starts to boil (and before it starts a roiling boil) pull the pan off the heat and cover the pan. 

Set a timer for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, drain off the water and run cold water into the pan for a few moments and let the eggs sit in the cold water until they cool.

I chopped up two of the egg whites along with a bit of yolk.

The dogs got to enjoy one 1/2 of a yolk each.

Egg yolk with a drizzle of olive oil for the dogs.

I enjoyed the chopped egg with a small bowl of my split pea soup.

I will include the recipe for this soup in my next post.

This was my entire breakfast:

Split pea soup topped with chopped egg, one scoop of Amazing Grass with water and a small cup of coffee.

I am currently fairly obsessed with doing the 30 minute Namaste yoga segments that used to air on the Discover Fit&Health channel.

Thank goodness for DVR's otherwise I would have been out of luck when the Fit&Health channel decided to cancel the show.

Have I ever mentioned that I am also obsessed with collecting demitasse spoons??

I ate what??

The first stop on my outing today was:

The hunt begins for Kenmore U vacuum bags.

They were out at Sears - this Sears store is closing soon so their supply was sparse.

Then I was forced to go to Walmart. Which is not my favorite place since it is giant moving diorama of what is wrong with American consumerism. But the people watching is always fun.


I finally found some vacuum bags and then I was heading to the checkout stand when I spotted this:

Yeah, it's things like dried beef on a shelf that make me slightly scared about shopping at Walmart.


Then I remembered my Mom used to feed us creamed chipped beef on toast which uses the above pictured dried beef. Yikes, some childhood memories are made to be forgotten.

I pass by this on the way home so I had to stop in - 

And I picked up this for lunch - 

It was very tasty!

And I didn't bother to read the ingredients which was a good thing because after I finished eating and I was uploading the photos I noticed this - 

Those little white things with the eyeballs? Yup, those are the anchovies.

Would I have gobbled it down with as much enthusiasm if I realized I was chomping on teeny tiny baby fish? Probably not. But at least I got more fish in my diet:-)


And I did successfully re-register with the Y so I will be hitting the gym tomorrow - Woot!

Baked eggs in puff pastry

This is a great way to start the weekend. I highly recomend it.

Egg baked in puff pastry with tomatoes and cheddar cheese.

Yesterday I found frozen puff pastry squares at the local store. These are much easier to use (especially when cooking for one or two) than the larger sheets of puff pastry.

Breakfast started with these ingredients:

Cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese and fresh basil.

I used the pastry squares to make puff pastry cups to hold my baked eggs.

Cherry tomatoes (quartered) and a pinch of cheddar cheese.

Chopped fresh basil and parmesan.

Then I cracked an egg into each of the cups.

Yup, I broke the yolk on that one but it still turned out great.

They went into a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes (for slightly runny eggs).

Baked egg with basil and parmesan.

I topped each cup with a pinch of salt and pepper before it went into the oven.

This dish was fast and very showy - it would be perfect for a fancy brunch as you could easily cook 12 at a time.

I also had a Cara Cara orange.

Woot!! It is Saturday!

Movie night and a bright morning

Last night was movie night.

Oh, and a hot dog night. Not every meal needs to be nutritionally perfect - and last night was one of those nights. 

Hot dog, sauerkraut, mustard, mac and cheese, rye bread and potato chips.

 And the movie:

I really liked the movie - It is definitely not a laughfest - but it was a nicely paced - if dour movie.

Yesterday, I snagged this loot at the farm stand.

Kale and salad mix.

Purple cabbage, green cabbage and cilantro.

Beautiful flower petals in the salad mix!

I picked up a half dozen eggs at the farm stand - so this morning I had an egg over-easy over some pan skillet home fries - topped with salsa.

Wonderfully fragrant cilantro.

And really strong Kona coffee.

A surprise and the secret ingredient

I am sure I noticed, when I was feeding the dogs dinner last night, that the kibble container was empty. 

I suppose if I only fed kibble - the empty dog food container would hold more significance. Last night, I am sure (at least this is what I tell myself), I just shrugged and thought, "I will need to cook the dogs breakfast."

But in my pre-caffeinated state this morning, it was a surprise :-)

This was my breakfast:

This was the dogs breakfast:

This is not a snack portion - but a meal size portion. Abby's meal on the right is slightly smaller.

I will admit to being clumsy and losing the yolk out of Abby's soft boiled egg while I was peeling it. Hence the extra little bit of smoked salmon on her plate.

If you haven't guessed yet - the secret ingredient is Tobiko!

I have been trying to get more caviar into my diet. The nutritional power punch it provides (Omega-3's, calcium, phosphorus, protein, iron, magnesium, Vitamins B12, B6, B2, C, A and D and amino acids).

But it is high in sodium and cholesterol - so it is best served not as the main meal, but as a garnish.

Brown rice with fish sauce and wakame with a soft boiled egg and tobiko.

Soft boiled egg with tobiko and a crispy potato slice on greek yogurt topped with tobiko and scallion.

A refreshing glass of lemonade in my new, very pretty glass.

Time to get some work done!