a farm fresh breakfast

That picture, right up there, is what we had for breakfast at my house this morning.  It was a pile of sauteed spinach, crispy bacon, yolk-spewing egg, and finely grated cheddar, all perched on top of a simple slice of toasted bread. 

I can't really take too much credit for its creation.  I mean, I did conceive of the combination, prepare the ingredients, and construct the finished product, but the real work was done by the farmers who fattened the hogs, tilled the fields, milked the cows, and cared for the chickens.  It's not that I came up with the most incredible combination of flavors here, friends.  The magic of this dish lies with the quality and care that was put into the production of its parts.

huevos rancheros

9:01 am

I'm working on enhancing my creativity level for weekend breakfasts.  Eggs are always a given, usually fried, and, lately, our plates haven't been dressed with much more than a piece of toasted bread.  Not that eggs and toast isn't a fine breakfast every now and again.  The combo is a definite winner when speed is of the essence.  But let's face it.  It's boooriiiing.

So today those eggs are getting a bit of a makeover.  A tortilla or two.  Some tomato sauce spiced with onions and chilis.  A touch of sharp cheddar.  And some cilantro from my windowsill herb garden.  I've decided that today would be an excellent day for huevos rancheros.

Chard Potato Cakes with Poached Eggs & Spicy Italian Sausage: A Holiday Breakfast

Home for the holidays for me translates into "home with time to make slammin' breakfasts".  The latter has so much more significance, so much more meaning.  Wouldn't you agree?  

Breakfast is like this much coveted yet incredibly neglected art form for me.  I'm aware of  its status as a marker of health, and I even make sure to include some oatmeal or yogurt or fruit in my morning routine most of the time, but I would hardly say that I give my comrade, Breakfast, the attention and regard that it truly deserves. 

That is why holidays and vacation time are so so sweet.  I spent a couple of hours making that meal you see pictured.  Ain't gonna happen on a school day, friends.

Frittata with Asparagus, Spinach & Morel Mushrooms; Cajun Homefries on the Side

I just moved into a new apartment with my sweetheart. It's a fantastic place in northeast Seattle with huge south and west-facing windows that our plants absolutely adore, a covered balcony that will soon support this year's herb garden, and a washer and dryer in the unit. Movin' on up, people. The very best, best part about our deluxe apartment in the sky (yup, top floor) is the kitchen. It's huge. OK, not 600 square feet, island in the center, breakfast nook to the side huge, but compared to the other apartment kitchens I've lived with, this one is monstrous. I could do a cartwheel in it if I were agile enough ('if' being an important, key word here).

I've wasted no time breaking in the new space. Even with finals looming in the not too distant future, I've been in the kitchen whipping up breakfasts and dinners like it's no body's business. My suppressed creativity (from all those years being squashed into tiny kitchens, no doubt) has finally burst out of me, and the result has been one delicious meal after another (if I do say so myself :). Dan and I have been oohing and ahhing for the last week and a half over the flavors and aromas that have come together in our new home. It's been a great way to settle in as we work our way through the pile of boxes stranded in the middle of the living room floor. We're almost ready for dinner guests.

One night last week I decided that we just don't eat enough brunch. The idea for a frittata and home fries soon followed that realization. Of course we had asparagus on hand, so I knew that would go in. I also had onions and spinach from the farmers market, and I happened to have an ounce of dried morels courtesy of Marx Foods left over from my winnings through the Foodie Blogroll. This meal plan was on the up and up. Here's what I concocted that night.

Frittata with Asparagus, Spinach & Morel Mushrooms with Cajun Homefries
serves 2-4

2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2"-3/4" cubes
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning (we use Tony Chachery's)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 T. butter
1/2 C. (heaping) onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb. asparagus, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 oz. dried morels, rehydrated (broth saved for another use), coarsely chopped
1 handful baby spinach leaves

For the potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  In a medium bowl, toss potato chunks with olive oil and cajun seasoning.

Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet, and place in the oven.

Bake for 12 minutes, remove from oven and toss on the pan. Return to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

For the frittata:

Melt the butter over medium heat in an 8" oven-safe skillet (I love my cast iron!). Add onions and saute for several minutes until beginning to turn translucent.

Add the garlic and asparagus pieces, season lightly with salt and cover the pan with a lid, leaving a space for steam to escape. Steam/saute in this manner for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the asparagus is slightly tender but still crisp.


Add the morels and spinach, replace the lid and continue to saute for several more minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted (don't overcook your veggies at this point! They should still be bright green and crisp).


Whisk salt and a few grinds of black pepper into the beaten eggs and pour over veggies in skillet. Turn heat to low, cover skillet and let cook 6-8 minutes, until set around the edges but still wet on the top. Meanwhile, preheat your oven's broiler.


Place your frittata (skillet and all) under the broiler for about 5 minutes until the top is set and golden brown in color. Keep an eye out so it doesn't burn! Remove from oven, slice into pieces and serve hot with a side of spicy homefries.

* This recipe can easily be doubled for guests or your hungry family. Use 8 or 9 eggs, and up the pan size to 10" or even 12". Also, frittatas are really versatile. Try using different veggies or mushrooms, adding bacon or incorporating some of your favorite shredded cheese. Get creative! 

There's Just Something About a Duck...

I grew up eating a lot of eggs. Fried, scrambled, hard-boiled, whisked into casseroles and cakes. Our fridge was never without at least a dozen of those white orbs, lined up two by two in their paper carton. Although a fare share of our breakfasts did include them (over-medium, please!), it wasn't just in the morning that eggs made appearances on our plates back then. We ate egg salad sandwiches at lunch time, and my mom's 'Creamed Eggs on Toast' was a family favorite at the dinner table (think gravy with sliced, boiled eggs served over toasted bread). I loved eggs then, and I am absolutely enamored with them now.

Of course, as a child, we only ate chicken eggs. They were perfectly white, grade A large, uniform in size and shape, purchased from Kroger at least once a week. If you had tried to feed me a brown egg when I was a child, or even worse, one from some animal other than a chicken, there would have been hell to pay. I knew what eggs were supposed to look like and from which farm animals they were supposed to come.

But then I grew up. And I realized that those eggs I'd been so adamant about eating weren't really all that good. I started eating brown eggs which were pretty tasty. And then I started buying eggs from a farmer which were all different colors and sizes. Those were really tasty. And then one day, I ate a duck egg. It was magical.

Never before had I experienced such richness, such creaminess as that which spewed forth from that shell. I was immediately in love. I ate fried egg sandwiches like they were the only edible thing left on Earth. It was euphoric to have the gooey, yellow yolk dripping from my chin. Have you ever had a hard-boiled duck egg? You must. They are luscious.

Besides the unbeatable flavor and texture, duck eggs have other benefits, as well. One is that they contain more albumen, the protein in the white, which gives them more structure when they're cooked. This makes them powerhouses for leavening your baked goods. Those cakes will be fluffier than ever!

On the nutrition front, duck eggs also get high marks. They are an excellent source of protein, iron, potassium and all nine essential amino acids. For a look at the nutrition content of duck vs. chicken eggs, check out the table on this site. Since the yolks are larger, duck eggs do have more saturated fat than their chicken counterparts, but the difference is slight (only about 3g). With all things considered, the extra fat is a small price to pay.

I buy my duck eggs locally from Sky Valley Family Farm out of Startup, WA at the University District Farmer's Market. I have also seen them for sale at Whole Foods and Seattle's local co-ops, PCC and Madison Market. Check your local health food store and farmers market to see if duck eggs are available in your community. You'll love them, I promise.

Below is a recipe for egg salad that I recently tried out. It was adapted from this one at the Food Network and tasted pretty good. Not nearly as good as my mom's, though.

Egg Salad

makes 4-6 servings

6 duck eggs, hard-boiled, cooled & peeled
1/4 C. mayo
1 T. chopped, fresh dill
1 T. whole grain mustard
2 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 T. chopped, fresh chives (I used garlic chives)


Place the eggs in a medium-sized bowl and coarsely chop with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir while continuing to cut apart the eggs. I like to leave mine a little on the chunky side. 


Smear onto bread for traditional sandwiches, dollop onto crackers as dainty appetizers, or serve alongside raw veggies as a killer dip. Enjoy!