spork me

Well, I’ve been incredibly slack about posting after a couple epic work and non-work overseas adventures, but I’ll be back in action once I run out of 2 minute noodles and remember how to use my washing machine.

In the meantime, here’s some gratuitous breakfast porn.

Festive Toast

Not that long ago, I went to a little hole in the wall Lebanese place in Sydney, where they had hummus, and festive hummus. I’m not sure what necessarily makes something festive or not, but it seemed like the most appropriate thing to call this jazzed up toast.

Ingredients:

2 pieces of bread
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp dukkah
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp butter
Sprinkle of salt

In a sandwich press, start to grill the bread. Mix up the rest of the ingredients and mash with the back of your knife to form a spread and all the spices are mixed into the butter. Once the bread is pretty brown, split the spread between the 2 slices, and grill for 2 or 3 minutes more, until golden.

French Herb Omelet with Avocado and Tomato

This round at the omelet worked much better, mostly because the stove worked. Served with avocado and tomato on a fresh roll.

Herb Omelet with Avocado

I saw a link to this video on how to make a French herb omelet on Eating Things with Noah, and after watching it a few times thought I’d give it a try. I made some no-rise bread, I chopped herbs, oiled the pan (I don’t have a small non-stick, so I attempted to “season” the All-Clad), and turned on the stove. It turned off. I turned on the stove again. Off. The electricity was flowing, but the heat wasn’t coming on. Bugger.

Into the oven goes my 2 herb omelets, which I baked for about 7 minutes, stirring a bit 3 minutes in. With a slice of bread and some avocado, it was still nice, just a bit disappointing that my precious stove didn’t work.

After 3 days of testing it out to see if it was a fluke, the repairman came at 8am… only to have the heat come straight on. Of course.

Herbed Scrambled Eggs with Chorizo, Tomato, Cheese, and Cilantro Pesto

I made some quick rolls out of the frozen pizza dough, and the rest came together while they were baking.

Ingredients (pesto):

1 garlic clove
1 bunch of cilantro
Half bunch of parsley
1/4 cup or so of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Blend and season accordingly.

Ingredients (eggs):

2 large eggs
1 tbsp of the pesto
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Whisk the eggs and pesto, and in a hot pan, whisk and shake the pan so it doesn’t stick and the eggs form nice folds. Once it’s forming pieces let it sit, and flip over in the number of pieces you’ll need for sandwiches (I made 4 small ones, but you could make 2 large).

Brown the chorizo, assemble with sliced cheese and tomato and a bit of pesto on the roll.

Poached Egg with Crispy Parma Ham and Sauteed Kale

Really lovely breakfast, just saute kale with the juice of half a lemon and some minced garlic. Fry the ham for 2 minutes on each side, and poach the eggs. Serve on a nice thick slice of bread.

Rye Fougasse with Oyster Mushrooms, Basil and Parmesan

I ran out of bread flour, and tried this recipe for a quick bread with half rye flour. It takes an hour to rise, and then goes straight in the oven, so it’s a pretty quick on on the weekend. While it was rising, I mixed up 2 cups of sliced oyster mushrooms, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and set aside until it was time to made the fougasse. Spread the mixture over the dough and top with 1/2 cup grated parmesan, and bake for about 15 minutes on as high heat as your oven goes.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Mixed Mushrooms and Zucchini

I bought a pack of fancy mushrooms, and this recipe both provided a nice dinner, as well as enough leftover veggies to mix into pasta, with a big of grated cheese, to bring to work for lunch. A one pan meal, and takes about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs with thighs
1/2 bunch chopped thyme leaves
2 portabello mushrooms, quartered
Several handfuls of other mushrooms (oyster, enoki, king brown, trumpet… whatever you can get your hands on. Equivalent of 2 of those grocery store containers)
1 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves
2 small zucchini, sliced
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Pat dry chicken skin and season with salt and pepper. In a hot oven-proof skillet, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and brown chicken, skin side down, for about 5 minutes on high heat. In the meantime, mash the garlic with some salt in a mortar and pestle. Flip the chicken and cook for 2 minutes before removing from the pan. Saute the onions, garlic and thyme for 2 minutes, then add your mushrooms and zucchini, coating with the oil and pan juices. Throw your chicken on top, and bake for 20 minutes at 200C / 375F. Served with bread and a small wedge of brie.

Sage Toad in the Hole with Tomato and Avocado

This is a pretty classic breakfast, but I added a bit of a twist to it to make it “extra awesome”. You’d be surprised how much flavor this adds, and it would probably work with most fresh herbs. Enjoy.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 thick slices of bread
2 eggs
8 sage leaves
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
Salt, pepper, and butter

Made an egg-sized hole in the middle of both pieces of bread. Heat up a pan to medium, melt about half the butter, layer 4 sage leaves (2 under where each piece of bread will go), and put the bread on top. Crack an egg in the middle of each, put on the rest of the sage and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, flip (adding the rest of the butter), and cook for another 3-4 minutes to finish. Serve with tomato and avocado on the side.

Scrambled Eggs with Chili Prawns and Goat’s Cheese and Mint

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
2 prawns, cooked or uncooked, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
4 tbsp goat’s cheese
1 tomato, sliced
1 cup baby spinach
2 slices of bread
1/4 cup chopped Vietnamese mint
Salt, pepper and oil

Mix the eggs and milk, and set aside. Saute the prawns with the chili, and season with salt and pepper. In a pan on medium heat, pour in the eggs, whipping constantly, until they change in color and start to set. Once they’re quite thick, stop stirring and flip to finish cooking on the other side.

Layer spinach and tomato on the bread, top with eggs, season with salt and pepper, and add the cheese, prawns, and finish with mint.