Relief for Breakfast Boredom

I don’t know about you, but I get pretty bored with the same old breakfasts. During the week I usually hit on a theme and go with it until the idea is a burn out. For a while it was Smoothies with different fruits and a supplement called Lean that my sister distributed. It was very addictive, filling and good on the waist.

She stopped selling it so I moved on to cereal until I went to the store and a box of cereal worth about a dollar now costs five. I refused to pay it.

Next I switched to grains, grits, whole wheat cereal, quinoa etc. made every which way. In the summer that is just too warming, so I moved on to yogurt or toast and nut butters.

On the weekends I am ready for something more interesting. My sister, Shirley often stays over on Friday nights. We have “our show” on TV or a movie. In the morning, I usually come up with an idea, make our favorite blueberry crumble coffee and while she “comes alive” with her first cup, I head to the store to get what ingredients I need.

Although the daily grind gets boring, breakfast is my favorite meal to have with others. I usually go to Fresh Market, a local gourmet grocery for my ingredients, mostly because it’s quieter than the groceries so I don’t have to “look alive” when I get there. Other times, I walk to the local Publix and pick up a paper to bring back with the needed ingredients.

One week I picked up a juicy, sweet Mango and some fresh baked Tropical Coconut Bread to go with some Liberte’ yogurt. That was pretty tasty but not all that filling.

One of the easier meals that we found surprisingly good was from a recipe in the cookbook, “The Good Egg”. 

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know, it is an egg recipe, Eggs with Beurre Noir (ok if you don’t have a handle on the French language, that is Black butter), Capers and Parsley.  Amazingly enough I had all the ingredients, no store trip required.

Another morning I decided to do the vegetarian thing and made a Tofu Egg Salad.  I know, I know you non veggies may balk, but I wasn’t too excited about the idea either. I am not a big Tofu lover. It turned out to be an easy breakfast, nutritious, and tasty, a nice change from the norm.

This week, I decided to get a little decadent. I found a recipe in a book I have “Breakfast in Bed” called Divine Filled Croissants. I am on a diet restriction now from food that is acidic or spicy, so this was something I could eat (for a salty, spicy, acid loving foods girl it has been a challenge!)

It is extremely rare for me to eat a croissant. I don’t love them. I once took a class on making croissants and after seeing them incorporate what looked like 10 pounds of butter, I figured it might not look good on my heart or hips.  The recipe looked interesting and the croissants seemed to be the best choice, so there you have it, croissants were on the menu.

I didn’t sleep well Friday night. Lots of things on my mind so I wasn’t the “Bright Sunshine” I normally am on the weekend. This time Shirley and I both went to Fresh Market for the ingredients, one of which was Monterey Jack Cheese.  I wanted to find it in a block but they didn’t have it. Not wanting to go from store to store, I bought packaged slices.

Upon arriving home and starting to prepare the ingredients, we noted that the cheese was supposed to be grated, but I had slices. Being the genius and iron chef I am I came up with the solution. I grabbed about 4 slices and rolled them together then tried to grate them. I actually didn’t expect the outcome to be too great, expecting the cheese to crumble, but it didn’t. It was grating just fine. 

I was so proud of my genius until I got about halfway through the cheese. It was at that point that I realized the reason the cheese stayed together so well. It had paper between the slices which I had so nicely grated in with the cheese! So much for my iron chef status! Lucky I had enough cheese to start over, this time throwing it into my mini food processor and crumbling it.

The breakfast was easy to make and it was a nice change. We used wild caught smoked salmon that was of very good quality.  The only change I would have made (besides taking the paper out from between the cheese slices) would be to add some spinach in with the eggs next time.

Today, I spent a little extra time at the gym, hopefully working off the added calories and fat.

Here are the 3 new breakfast ideas. I hope you will try and enjoy them!

Divine Filled Croissants-Serves 4

4 large croissants                    4 Tablespoons butter

8 eggs                                      ¼ cup milk

1 Tablespoon minced fresh

(best) Dill or 1 tsp dried          ½ cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/3 cup finely chopped

Smoked salmon                       ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Optional: Spinach cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Warm croissants in oven for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile melt butter in a medium skillet. In a bowl, beat eggs and milk together; add dill, mushrooms (spinach) and salmon. Pour into skillet and scramble until creamy.

Remove croissants from oven and slice lengthwise ¾ of the way through. Preheat broiler.

Fill the croissants with the scrambled egg mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Broil croissants open faced until cheese is melted. Serve immediately

Eggs with Beurre Noir, Capers and Parsley- Serves 2

4 tablespoons unsalted butter            4 large eggs

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice          2 teaspoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley (don’t leave                                                                 out!)

1 tablespoon small capers,

Rinsed and drained                             2-4 slices of good quality bread, toasted and buttered.

 Warm two plates in oven on the lowest setting (not that I did this!) Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. When the butter sizzles, break the eggs one at a time into a cup and slip into the skillet (or like me, just go for it and put them straight in!) Reduce the heat to low and fry until the whites begin to set (1 minute) Cover and cook until the yolks are cooked to the desired doneness, about 5 more minutes. Transfer the eggs to the warmed plates.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter to the skillet and heat over medium heat until the butter browns, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and swirl to blend. Pour the sauce over the eggs, sprinkle with parsley and capers and serve with the toast. Yum!

Tofu Egg Salad-Serves 1

4 ounces firm tofu

1-2 tablespoons each, chopped celery and chopped onion

Mayonnaise (light, canola or olive oil is good)

Prepared mustard, dill, curry powder to taste

Chopped or sliced, avocado (optional)

1-2 slices a good grain bread toasted.

Dice tofu as you would hard cooked eggs for salad. Add the chopped celery and onion to taste (can add chopped green pepper if you like).

Add enough mayonnaise to make mixture creamy and season with any or all of the above seasonings or others of your choosing (I used mustard and a small bit of curry as I don’t love curry plus a little salt and freshly ground pepper)

Serve on toast topped with avocado if you like or with a slice of avocado on the side.

Have a great week and ….don’t forget to exercise!

Avocado and another great breakfast idea

I have been trying to include more avocados in my diet.  Avocados are actually a fruit. They have a lot of fat. In fact, 75% of their calories are from fat most of which is monounsaturated fat. The fat in avocado is made up of several nutrients, phytosterols, carotenoids, non-carotenoid anti-oxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. Studies have shown these nutrients help keep inflammation under control.  The carotenoids are most concentrated in the dark part of the fruit, closest to the skin. The best way to preserve them is to slice then peel the avocado by hand.

Oleic acid, found in avocados have shown in studies to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol. Avocados are also high in potassium (great for workout recovery) and Vitamin E. All and  all avocado is a fantastic fruit and you can use any leftovers for your skin. http://www.natural-skin-care-info.com/avocado.html

In Texas we found mostly Haas California Avocados at the stores. Haas avocados are the only variety of avocado that is produced year round. The Haas Avocado was patented in 1935. It was the first tree to be patented. The avocados in California prior to Haas were Fuerte. Haas originated from grafting . Today all Haas avocado trees are descendants from the original tree planted in 1926. Haas avocados are small and get very soft and creamy when ripe.

The Florida avocados are bigger with a smooth skin and a more fruity flavor. They are also less creamy than Haas because they are quite a bit lower in fat and calories.  In contrast to the California avocados, Florida avocados only produce from June through February. They are more perishable than the Haas when ripe.

I like to use the Haas for guacamole due to their creamy softness. The Florida avocadoes are great for filling due to their size and sturdier texture. I also like them for slicing.

This week I tried a recipe I found on another blog. It was for Poached Egg on Toast with Chipotle Mayonnaise, Bacon and Avocado. Of course I don’t do bacon so I left that part out. The blog is Closet Cooking written by a guy from Canada.

I tried the recipes, sans bacon and I really enjoyed it. I used California avocado since the Florida avocados have been hard to come by.  I liked it so much that I made it again this weekend for my sister and me. We both enjoyed it.

The only unusual ingredient is the chipotle peppers in adobo. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos. The peppers in adobo are in a tomato sauce. In Texas you can find them in the Mexican section at the grocery store. Here in Florida, I think I found them at Whole Foods Market.

This is an easy breakfast to make but if you are stressed about poaching eggs, a fried egg would substitute just fine.  Mark used to like a store bought salad dressing I found by Marie’s.  I saw it at the store the other day so they still make it. It is Chipotle Ranch. If you are not real motivated to make the sauce or can’t find the chipotle’s in adobo, this dressing is very similar. I might add the lime to it though. The lime is what gives it that extra kick.

I made the sauce using light mayonnaise. That will cut the fat a bit and you can make it up by enjoying the fat in the avocado!

Here is the link to the recipe:http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/07/poached-egg-on-toast-with-chipotle.html

There are other great recipes on the Closet Cooking blog and the pictures are fantastic!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Have a great week….and…don’t forget to exercise!