Snow Day Worthy Chilaquiles, ie: "Breakfast Nachos"!

Nachos for breakfast! Corn chips, cheddar cheese, salsa, and eggs, we can not go wrong. I fell in love with chilaquiles while living in San Francisco. They are soul filling food, soft, layered with melty cheese and a warmth from the chilies which makes my whole body excited for the day ahead.

On the this epic snowy day in New England, this is just this food I want to eat. A warm hug of a bowl of breakfast without much washing up.

I like the chips when they are somewhere between crispy and soft. Like a bowl of cereal, there is a moment of perfect crunch balance to achieve, and then it keeps fading to to soggy soft demise of the corn ship. Beautiful and delicious.







For one portion:
Crack and beat two eggs into a bowl. Set aside.
Chop up some cheddar cheese (Yes, ya'll it's lactose free!)
Heat a skillet with a little bit of olive oil.
Pour in about a 1/3 cup of delicious red salsa into the pan. Wait till it is sizzling and bubbling.
Pour in the eggs, and a handful of corn chips. And the cheese.
Give it several stirs in the pan.
Add another handful of corn chips.
When the egg has cooked, the cheese will have melted.

The corn chips hopefully will be still crunchy.

(Chips soften up fast. I find TJ's organic yellow corn chips are great. Tostitos are too thin and get soggy, if thats what you have, add them at the last second.)

Tip it out onto a plate. Serve with hot refried beans if you've got em. And crema or sour cream if you want.

delicious quick and easy chilaquiles

Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes with Cranberries and Apples

Ok, so I have been on hiatus from writing for a week or two. Life got busy and between running from jobs to projects, getting to the gym and back, and lets be honest- Netflix, the blogging lost out. I have been cooking a lot, things like soups which turn out well, but I took no photos of the process because...its just a soup and I was hungry. So I am back, and here is a weekend pancake recipe to kick off the Thanksgiving week with ingredients like cranberries, pumpkin and spices. Happy weekend before thanksgiving, which means menu planning and planning all the planning ahead we can do. Like, what day should I make my pie crust? As of now, still undecided. 

It is paleo, and thus low sugar. Wanting more sweetness in the pancakes, but not having any sort of sweet juice in the house I used an unusual technique of soaking dried fruit to extract some of the sugary flavors. Prunes, figs, or dates work well as they have a high sugar content. I used prunes here. So take about a 1/4 cup of dried fruit (9 prunes) cover with boiling water, let steep for 5-10 minutes, while you whip together the rest of the pancakes. You will want 1/4 cup of this fruit juice to put into the pancakes, the now soft dried fruit can be eaten or used on oatmeal tomorrow, or chopped up and put into quickbread, stuffing, or whatever!

So grab a can of pumpkin, some coconut oil, eggs, and your favorite "milk" product and lets go. Melt your coconut oil, I throw the jar into the microwave for 30 seconds and that does the trick. Whisk the eggs, pumpkin, "milk", and oil together.

Measure the arrowroot and almond meal into a bowl, break up any lumps before adding it into the wet ingredients. Add the spices and other dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. (spices from top, clockwise are: cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and clove.)

Then add anything we missed, like maple syrup, prune juice, vanilla and apple cider vinegar. The batter is thick and custard-like.

Fresh cranberries are easily run over with a knife for chunks and bits which cook quickly in the batter. I always have some fresh cranberries in my freezer, which can easily be sliced up while still frozen. Stir the beautiful red berries into the batter and away we go.

I find success in a medium low heat, number 3 on my stove. And in my cast iron griddle pan which takes up two burners. I use coconut oil to grease the pan, since there is already coconut oil in the pancakes themselves. And because it is tasty and makes pancakes brown nicely. (Yes, butter is awesome too, I'll leave this choice up to you.)

Pour batter onto the griddle in 2"-3" rounds. If it does not flow easily, add more "milk". Cook slowly, bubbles will appear across the surface of the pancake when it is ready to flip. These can be delicate and my favorite tool is a fish spatula, it has an angled tip and is very thin, so it slides right under the pancakes. 

Once flipped over, they PUFF up, and when the pancakes reaches a puffy stage which is at the maximum puffyness and just before it begins to deflate...this is when it is done. Remove the pancakes from the griddle and begin to pile them up. Pour, cook, flip, cook, pile up. Repeat until done. 

Call everyone to the table and serve pancakes with maple syrup and cut apples.  

Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes with Cranberries and Apples

Serves 3-4

Wet ingredients: 
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
2.5 T coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or 1 packet stevia)
1 t vanilla
1/3 cup fig juice (something sweet)
1/2 cup hemp or almond milk (more as needed)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Dry ingredients:
1/2 cup arrowroot flour (or potato starch)
1 cup almond meal (or quinoa flour)
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 t salt

Fruit:
1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
Sliced apple for serving
maple syrup for serving


Enjoy! ;)

Baked Pesto and Egg Tomatoes: Stuffing Part 3

A few things about tomatoes; The longest tomato plant ever measured was 65 feet and USDA says they are 25,000 varieties of tomato. Other sources claim only 10,000. Still a lot of varieties.

One of these varieties is a stuffing tomato! They resemble a cross between a tomato and a bell pepper, with thick walls, empty space inside and very little juice.





They are the sort of thing you may find at a farmers market, or more likely a friends garden. My uncle grew these beauties with red and yellow stripes.

They are light for their size and all the seeds hang clustered in the middle.

The innards are easily scooped out using your fingers. The seeds and ribs can be gathered in a bowl and thrown into a stew or whatever you are making next.

Some people like to stuff tomatoes with tuna salad or rice. This is part of my series trying out healthy takes on stuffed veggies, see my stuffed poblano peppers and paleo vegan stuffed mushrooms.

What I like best with tomatoes is PESTO! Set the tomato cups upright in a baking dish, scoop in a spoon of pesto into each, drizzle a tad bit of olive oil (I'm not sure if this is necessary but it felt right at the time) a sprinkle of salt and fresh ground pepper.



The other thing I love most with tomatoes is eggs. Well, to be honest I also love mayonnaise. That will have to be another day. Today I loved eggs the most. The way Brits serve warm tomatoes cooked on the griddle alongside morning eggs and toast. Sunny diced tomato folded into scrambled eggs, or a pan of shakshuka. Sign me up.

Easy as pie, tip a cracked egg into each tomato cup. Hopefully your tomatoes, like mine, would be the perfect size for an egg.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper for good measure. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on them towards the end, the whites should be set and the yolks still have a softness.

This is tricky to achieve, if you figure it out send me a message. My baked eggs always turn out with a nearly solid but still creamy yolk. I wish they were more runny, but I strongly hate loose uncooked whites on my plate. I have big goals for my life, figuring out baked eggs is one of them.

Serve alongside a salad for an inventive brunch dish. Every bit is delicious, When cut into the tomato bowl gives way, the egg slides apart, and the hot basil pesto covers everything. Decadent and special and yet healthy and feel good food.

Baked Pesto and Egg Tomatoes

serves 2

4 stuffing tomatoes

4 fresh farm eggs (on the small side)

4 tablespoons of basil pesto

drizzle of olive oil

salt and fresh pepper

good balsamic vinegar and salad for serving

Cut off just the tops of the tomatoes and remove the innards to prepare for stuffing. Place in a baking dish. Put one tablespoon of pesto in each tomato. sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil if desired. crack one egg into each tomato. Bake in a 375° oven for 20-25 minutes until the eggs are cooked to the desired level of done-ness. 

Serve alongside a salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Earl Grey Infused Peaches

 

Peach season is nearing the end as farm stands turn over to apples and pears. This is how I ended up with a few not-so-perfect peaches. A little overripe, a little splotchy maybe, but still a good fruit. This is a quick trick to gussy up lackluster stone fruits. Such as the ones which don't quite ever ripen and those which ripened to fast...it's hard to be a fruit. Last year I did loads of jam making, the favorite of everyone being Peach Earl Grey Jam, this is a quick rif on that and it only takes 10 minutes at most, and far less sugar.

Brew Earl Grey Tea, you need 1/2 a cup. Dice a few peaches. Get a spoon of sugar

Put tea, peaches and a spoonfull of sugar together in a saucepan. Turn up the heat, make it boil.

Turn to a simmer for about 5 minutes. The liquid reduces a syrup and peaches are tender and infused.

Serve in all types of luscious ways; in yogurt with chia seeds like I did for breakfast. 

On vanilla ice cream for desert. 

As an accompaniment to plain sponge cake. 

On waffles. 

In oatmeal. 

Mixed into rice pudding even!

Ill note that I prefer to leave the skins on, when I have organic peaches which haven't been sprayed.  This is different, I know a lot of cooks like to skin their peaches, but I believe the skin has wonderful flavor and I find the textures appealing.  Plus it is probably filled with vitamins, that's what I was told as a child. (If they are not organic and you want to remove any pesticides the peaches can be skinned by a quick poaching.)

Earl Grey Infused Peaches

 

2-3 peaches

1 tablespoon honey or raw sugar

1/2 cup Brewed Earl grey tea

Brew the tea, steeping for 4 minutes. Wash and chop the peaches. Place into a small saucepan. Add the honey and tea. Turn on high, bringing the liquid to a boil. Stir occasionally, keeping the liquid at a low boil. In 5 to 10 minutes the when the tea has cooked off, the remaining liquid will have become syrupy and the sugary peaches will begin to sizzle, turn off the heat.   

Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge. 

I do Sophie Dahl's Cardamom Rice Pudding and make it Vegan

This is a story about the rice pudding I made for my culinary book club night, which was all I felt like eating because I have had a toothache for a week and today after having my tooth fixed, I get to eat the leftovers which will be perfect because it is soft, warm and feels like a hug from the inside which is exactly what I need. I would like to thank Sophie Dahl for giving me an excuse to make a delicious and enormous pot of pudding, and for my flakey book club where only half of us showed up, which means, more pudding for me! 

Sophie, if you ever read this, I really loved your book. Voluptuous Delights, was...perfectly delightful. Good storytelling must run in the blood, I found the chapter intros a wonderful read, loaded with imagery. The recipes are simple in a familiar way, a nice twist on ideas here and there, rifs on comforting foods. Our book club dinner was yummy, on one of the first chilly evenings of fall our menu was perfect! Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Harissa, Grilled Croquettes and Aubergines (zucchini and eggplant) with Halloumi cheese, Veggie Lentil Pie with Champ, and Cardamom Rice Pudding. All Ms. Dahl's recipes went well together, making a lovely dinner to ring in the fall season. And notably all vegetarian, hoorah! 

For those Americans who aren't aware, Sophie is the grandaughter of the beloved Roald Dahl. Ms. Dahl is known in the UK as having an enviable career modeling, blogging and food writing. However, she is quite lovable, and I think we would be good friends.  

Back to the rice pudding. 

Sometimes rice pudding is cooked in a pot on the stove, sometimes it is an oven affair. Ms. Dahl does hers on the stove. I very nearly followed the recipe. I tried, but now that I am counting up my changes, there are many. Im hopeless! So, my recipe here is based on hers, she uses cows milk and white basmati rice, and the mace was my addition. And she uses raisins but I had run out and used dried apple instead. 

Nobody noticed the hemp milk instead of cows milk. The end result was heavily spiced and warming. Raisins would be nice, as they are more juicy than apples. But apples are all about fall. Try it with both!

Cardamom Rice Pudding

8-10 servings

5 1/2 cups unsweetened hemp milk (or almond milk)

1 cinnamon stick

1 blade mace

1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla pod

8 cardamom pods

1/3 cup organic sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup dried apples

1 cup water (if needed)

The process is quite simple. Heat the milk, cinnamon stick and mace to a simmer in heavy bottomed 6 or 8 qt pot. Stir in the rice and vanilla extract. Keep at low heat for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and that the milk does not boil up. 

Crush the cardamom pods, discarding the pod and keeping the seeds. When the rice, as Ms Dahl puts it, "looks like a soupy milky risotto" stir in the sugar, cardamom seeds, almonds, and dried fruit. 

Cook on very low heat for another 10 minutes. If it gets too dry, add water or more milk. The rice will be tender when done. Past the al dente stage. If it still has a bite, it needs more cooking. 

It is lovely served on its own, or with fresh fruit or even jam. 

This is a very lovely desert since you can make it ahead, and keep it in the oven or on top of the stove and heating it up when dessert comes around. It also makes a good breakfast. 

This pudding is so yummy, I had to resist eating it all while I was taking these pictures before book club. I wish Sophie was my friend, if you are looking to make somebody a friend, you made them some rice pudding, it will win them over. Seriously.

Lemon Poppyseed Waffles with Strawberries

Today was a waffle day. I woke up thinking about them and got to it right away. I began with a simple waffle plan and it evolved to a lemon poppyseed batter. These are very simple, just a stir together batter. And the cooked peaches are so good, ill write up that recipe for you too. 

Later this afternoon, I found out my sister also woke up thinking of waffles! But hers hat cheese and ham, I will try that next weekend if she sends me her recipe! 

These lemon poppyseed waffles were tasty crispy. I use this amazing lemon powder from Penzies spice company however the zest of one lemon could be used instead. Toasting the poppyseeds briefly in a hot pan wakes them up and brings out more of their flavor.

Lemon poppyseed waffles   about 14 waffles

1 cup all-purpose flour.

1/2 cup potato flour (or starch)
1/2cup quinoa flour
1 cup applesauce
4 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup oil grape seed or olive oil
1 tablespoon poppyseed
1/2 teaspoon lemon powder or zest of one lemon

dry ingredients. wet ingredients.

Plug in waffle iron and sent to heat up.
Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl stirring them up with a fork. In another larger bowl crack the eggs, measure the yogurt, and applesauce. Beat wet ingredients together with a wooden spoon until combined. Dump in half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Stir to combine, add the remaining half of dry ingredients stir in until no dry spots are visible. Add the poppyseed and lemon powder if you haven't already. Add the oil lastly to the entire mixture.

lemon poppyseed waffle batter

Scoop appropriate amount of waffle batter onto the waffle iron, close and wait until the top opens easily and waffles are golden brown.

Lemon poppyseed waffle batter

This recipe makes nearly 14 waffles give or take depending on your waffle iron. If you have many leftover as I did they're easy to freeze, lay them out on a baking tray and place the entire thing into the freezer for several hours, no more than a few because they will dry out or get mysterious freezer burn. So after they have frozen at least on the outside take the tray out of the freezer put all of the frozen waffles into a freezer bag. Keep in the freezer until need. To thaw frozen waffles is so easy, put into the toaster or pop them into hot frypan and breakfast is done!

Asparagus Chard & Cherry Tomato Frittata

Asparagus Chard Tomato Frittata

I admit that frittatas are my go-to dish for breakfasts and lunches when I am serving a group of people. Nobody seems to be tired of them, in fact, they always seem to be enjoyed. I was bringing breakfast up to my parents house for a very sunny Mothers day, homemade scones, turkey bacon, and of course frittata. 

5 Reasons Frittata is Awesome:

1: Cooked and served in the same pan.

2: Equally delicious when hot, cold or room temp.

3: Travels well to gatherings.

4: Versatile, almost any veggies go into it.

5: Even frozen veggies, and you cant tell!

Also two things I aways have in the house are eggs and veggies. Once mastered they aways come out perfect, so it is a no brainer to put them together. Sometimes I make them for the two of us for dinner, and it is a good way to use up leftovers too.

A secret is to cook all the water out of the veggies first. Soggy sautéed veggies equals a soggy frittata. I find when I use frozen veggies they have much less water and this is very easy.

Asparagus Chard & Cherry Tomato Frittata

drizzle of olive oil
handful of sliced mushrooms
pinch of salt
bunch of Swiss chard or other leafy greens sliced in skinny ribbons
6-7 fresh farm eggs
1/2 cup water or milk
6-8 cooked asparagus (thaw and dry if using frozen)
cherry tomatoes
cheddar cheese, sliced thin

I use a 8" cast iron skillet, it holds the heat well and the bottom never burns. An oven proof non stick pan would be ok. Cook the mushrooms in olive oil and a pinch of salt on high heat so they soften and release their juices. Throw in the ribbons of swiss chard. I find frozen chard, spinach or kale are really handy here. Put them frozen right into the pan.) Cook the greens and mushrooms so they wilt, and then keep cooking until any collected water in the pan is dried up. Turn the heat to low.

drizzle in olive oil and stir is around so the pan has a thin gloss of oil, this helps keep things from sticking. Arrange the greens so they cover all the pan, no need to press them down or make a fuss, the point is to have them scattered all over.

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the water or milk, a good pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. Beat the eggs very well with a fork or fancy egg mixing gadget. Pour the well beaten eggs over the greens. If necessary use a fork to move the greens so the beaten egg is evenly everywhere, but don't disturb the bottom very much, ok. Keep the heat on low.

The top of the frittata allow for making pretty patterns if you want. Scatter asparagus and cheddar cheese on the top of the eggs, and place the raw cherry tomatoes on top also.

Step away for about 7 minutes, the eggs cook slowly from the bottom up. And it will be finished in the broiler. When the egg at the edges has set, and steady tiny bubbles come up in the center take a look, you will be able to tell the egg has set in the lower 2/3 of the pan. The upper part will still be liquid.

Turn on the broiler in your oven. When it is hot, put the frittata under it to cook. It is smart to stay close as this can go fast or need to be spun around a few times. So babysit the broiler for this part. Allow the top to cook, first it will set and the eggs will be cooked but pale, then the cheese will start to bubble (awesome) and the top will turn dark golden brown in parts (awesome).

Remove it from the broiler when it looks delicious. If you are worried about the eggs being cooked through, stick the tip of a knife into the center and pull back so you can see if it is still wet. Real wet eggs can go back onto the heat (either broiler, oven or stovetop) for some more time.  If the eggs are just a little wet let it sit for 5 minutes and they will finish cooking all on their own.

Sweet Potato Dessert Waffles

It was late evening and I really wanted a waffle. So I pulled down the waffle maker, it was worth it.

The sweet potato waffles are good, and I will make them again. Sometimes I have roasted sweet potatoes in my fridge, but this time I used this frozen-mashed-sweet potato that you can sometimes find at Trader Joe's. And when they do have it, i buy a lot. Because its just cooked mashed sweet potato with nothing else in it, and you can use it in baking! And waffles!

I put super dark Taza chocolate chunks on top of my waffle. Covered it with another waffle. Put in in the microwave for 30 seconds...to melt it...Yes I did, this is a dessert waffle!

 

Topped it off with fresh organic strawberries. And maple syrup, obviously! It was decadent and hit the spot. 

Sweet Potato Waffles

2 cups almond flour

4 Tbs coconut flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato

4 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tbs coconut oil, melted

2/3 cup almond milk

Extras:

Dark chocolate chunks

Strawberries 

Maple syrup

Turn on the waffle maker so it heats up.

 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in a second bowl so they are very smooth.  Then combine them, mixing thoroughly.

Make your waffles, per specifics to your waffle iron. Easy as pie.

Zucchini Paleo Waffles

Sweet, not savory -these waffles were tender and fluffy with prominent baking spice flavor - which was cozy, perfect for a slow Sunday morning. I found the recipe at The Saffron Girl and it worked so well, i didn't change anything, except to add in some cloves. Well done, they were gobbled up by two of us Next time, I will make at least a double batch, so I can put some away in the freezer for mid-week breakfasts and snacks!

I suppose you could leave out the sweetener and make a lunch-worthy savory sandwich sort of waffle... next time!

Ingredients, makes 6

• 1 cup grated zucchini (about one medium zucchini)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1/2 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (canned)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tablespoon agave nectar (optional)

Process

1. Preheat the waffle iron.
2. In a food processor or blender, pulse the zucchini, eggs, coconut oil, milk and agave until smooth.
3. Add the baking soda, spices, coconut flour and almond flour and pulse until well blended.
4. Pour a spoonful into each waffle iron, and bake according to waffle maker instructions. NOTE: for waffles with a more crispy outside, use coconut oil spray on the waffle irons.
5. Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup, and i found a drizzle of coconut milk was delicious! Like peaches and cream!