Scrambled duck eggs with green beans, red pepper, and fresh herbs

We bought an egg share with our CSA. This means that along with our weekly vegetables, we also get half a dozen mixed brown, blue, and spotted eggs. They're excellent -- obviously super-fresh, with bright orange yolks and full whites. A fried CSA egg is a thing of beauty, especially split over a piece of sourdough toast. But six eggs is just about as many as we can eat in a week, considering our overall low levels of breakfast-eating and baking. And then the CSA decided to give everyone a sample of half a dozen duck eggs.

Suddenly we had double the eggs, and the duck eggs were nearly double the size of the chicken eggs, so it was more like we had sixteen eggs than twelve. It was definitely time for a couple of hearty weekend scrambles. And why not get the full use out of the CSA by adding plenty of herbs and vegetables?

For our herbs, we used curly parsley and dill, both of which are excellent with egg. I think dill is seriously underused in general, and particularly when it comes to eggs. It's great raw in egg salad, and it's also great cooked into a scramble like this. I imagine that it's similar to the classic tarragon-and-egg combination. Try it!

Scrambled duck eggs with green beans, red pepper, and fresh herbs
serves 2

butter
2 scallions
large handful green beans (or zucchini, broccoli, etc)
1/2 red bell pepper
2-3 duck eggs (or sub 5-6 chicken eggs)
~3 tbsp each fresh dill and parsley (or basil, tarragon, chives, etc)
salt, pepper

Chop your scallion whites, setting the greens aside. Saute in butter in an appropriate egg pan over medium heat.

Wash, trim, and cut your green beans into bite-sized pieces. When your scallions have begun to soften, add the beans to the pan, along with a punch of salt. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, while you dice your bell pepper. When the beans are mostly tender, add your peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes to soften.

Crack your eggs into a bowl. Finely chop your scallion greens, parsley, and dill; add them to the eggs. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Beat with a fork until frothy and well mixed.

When all of your vegetables are tender, add your egg mixture to the hot pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until your eggs are done to your liking.

Serve your finished eggs with a little more pepper or a few fronds of herbs scattered on top. A simple green salad is definitely welcome alongside. And if it happens to be dinnertime, or Sunday brunch, a glass of dry white wine would not go amiss.

Have you ever cooked with duck eggs?

Fresh apricot sauce with honey and black pepper

OKAY. We have just finished hosting John's mom and our niece for a full week of running around the SF bay area and points beyond. Much fun was had by all. The only problem is that I now have roughly 500 posts in my foodblog feed to get through as quickly as possible. Yay?

We didn't do that much cooking in the past week, considering the holiday etc., but one standout was this delightful apricot sauce. It was totally appropriate for multiple occasions. First, we seared some pork chops and served them with the apricot sauce, plus brown rice and garlic chard. This was lovely. But the sauce was even better on our last night, when we made a big batch of waffles for celebratory breakfast for dinner. Apricot sauce, waffles, and butter: yes please.

Of course, at this point I also must point out that our niece's favorite way to eat her waffles -- with peanut butter and maple syrup -- was excellent too. But you don't need me to teach you how to put peanut butter and maple syrup on waffles!

This sauce is very easy to make. Just a quick poach plus a little blending is all it takes to make your own delightful apricot concoction. This also creates what is possibly the most vibrantly orange sauce ever.

If you're planning to use this sauce with meat or other savory devices, I'd recommend adding a touch of something herbal. Rosemary would be ideal. You could either put a branch in the poaching liquid to let the flavor infuse into the fruit, or gently cook the pureed sauce with your rosemary for overall sauce infusion. Either way, you'd end up with something just a touch more complex and applicable to savory dishes.

This makes approximately 1.5 cups of apricot sauce, depending on the size of your apricots.

Fresh apricot sauce with honey and black pepper

6-7 apricots
water to poach
2-3 tbsp honey (adjust to taste, depending on the apricots' sweetness)
10-12 grinds black pepper
stick blender or other appropriate blending device

Put a medium pot of water on to simmer. Halve and pit your apricots. When the water comes up to temperature, add your apricot halves and poach gently for about two to three minutes, or until the apricots float to the surface. They should be lovely and tender.

In a bowl or other container, combine your apricots, honey, and pepper. Puree thoroughly using the stick blender. If your sauce is too thick, you can thin it with a spoonful or two of poaching liquid.

Serve your finished apricot sauce with the delights of your choice. I choose waffles.

How are you eating your fresh summer stone fruit?

Scrambled eggs with tarragon, parsley, potato, and onion

Wait, it's the holiday weekend? It's practically summer! What happened?

A lot of things happened. My ankle is still sprained, which means I've been hobbling around instead of standing up in the kitchen. I've been taking programming and computer history classes, which require a lot of brain and leave me wanting to sit around reading trashy novels in my spare time. And we're semi-suddenly going to London at the end of this week, due to someone having a required work trip. This gives us an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and take some vacation time. I intend to drink lots of coffee, eat British Indian food, and go to all the museums.

SO. That's my life right now. Anyway. Let's talk about food.

The other day I had some leftover potatoes and onions to use up, along with a bunch of fresh tarragon, so I made these delightful eggs.

Nigel Slater says that eggs and tarragon work well together, and I am happy to report that this is indeed the case. I'm especially happy because I don't really know what else to do with a package of tarragon. I think some further experimentation may be in order. But in the meantime, eggs work.

Scrambled eggs with tarragon, parsley, potato, and onion

butter
1/2 small onion
1 small cooked potato
2 eggs
leaves of 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
leaves of 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley
salt & pepper
toast to serve

Melt a pat of butter in an appropriate egg pan. Dice your onion, add it to the pan, and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to soften. (If you're using leftover cooked onion, you can just heat it up with the potato.)

Dice your potato and add that to the pan. Stir and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until hot through.

Crack your eggs into a small bowl. Chop your herbs and add them to the eggs, along with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Mix well with a fork.

If you want toast, now is the time to put it on.

Turn the heat down under your pan and add your egg mixture. Cook, stirring frequently with a spatula, until scrambled to your liking. I like to scramble on low heat; the residual heat in the pan will still keep things going fairly quickly.

Serve your finished eggs with nicely buttered toast. Have some coffee. Yay!

What do you make with tarragon? Seriously, I need some suggestions.

Also, did I mention that our first CSA box of the season is coming right before we fly across the world? There may be some hasty cooking and freezing happening.

Strawberry banana chia smoothie

Strawberry banana: perhaps not the most creative smoothie combination of all time. But hey! It's still tasty and easy, and it's certainly strawberry season right now. Why not?

Besides, the chia seeds make up for it.

I've been experimenting with chia seeds for a few months. They're excellent as a simple oatmeal topping or made into a pudding such as Gena's basic chia pudding. But I think my favorite way to eat chia seeds is to soak them and use them to thicken smoothies.

It's easy to adjust the amounts of seeds and liquid to make a thicker or thinner smoothie. This time, since I was using the classic smoothie thickener, banana, I kept the amount of chia seeds fairly low -- 1 tbsp of seeds for 1/2 cup total of milk and yogurt. It would definitely be possible to double the amount of seeds, eliminate the banana, and add in a bunch of different fruits and vegetables, though. Experiment and see what you like!

I strongly prefer smoothies made with fresh banana to those made with frozen. However! If you happen to have a freezer full of smoothie-destined bananas, you could absolutely use them here. You may need to add some extra liquid or switch out the yogurt for milk to adjust for your desired texture, but otherwise, you should be good to go.

If you make this in a regular-mouth mason jar, you can screw it onto a standard blender base and blend in the jar itself. Fewer dishes = yes please. This also means you can always put a lid on your jar and save the leftovers for later. Super easy.

Strawberry banana chia smoothie

1/4 cup milk or non-dairy milk of choice
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup plain yogurt or non-dairy sub of choice (or more milk)
4-5 strawberries, chunked
1 fresh banana, sliced
1 tsp flaxseed meal, optional

At least two hours before you want your smoothie, mix your milk and chia seeds together in your jar of choice. Refrigerate. Stir to mix twice at rough 10-minute intervals. This will keep your seeds from sticking together in one big lump at the bottom of your jar. Then just leave the jar in the fridge for 2 hours or more. I leave mine overnight.

In the morning, your chia seeds will be ready to go. Add your yogurt, strawberries, banana, and flaxseed meal to the jar (or put everything in a standard blender). Blend until fully pureed.

Drink it! Breakfast!

Do you eat chia seeds? What's your favorite thing to make with them?

PS: I have a sprained ankle. WHY. (It's because the moles dug a hole right in front of the back door. Jerks.)

Sugar snap pea and chive schmear

There were sugar snap peas at the farmer's market! Yay!

I had to make the most of them by eating a few raw. They were very nice that way, either by themselves or dipped into hummus. But it was clear that they would be even nicer mixed into some cream cheese and spread on pieces of hot toast.

I left my peas raw, because SPRING, but this would also work with steamed or blanched peas. Do what works for you.

Also, if you happen to be into the classic pea and fresh mint combination, you might want to give that a try instead of the chives. Double trouble!

Sugar snap pea and chive schmear

~10 raw sugar snap peas
~8 chives
3-4 tbsp cream cheese/tofu cream cheese
salt & pepper to taste
a spoonful of optional milk/yogurt to thin

Break the stem of each pea and pull down to strip off the string that goes down the side of the pod. Discard the waste. Chop your peas and chives into fine slices.

Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork. This will take a bit of effort, since cream cheese can be pretty thick and unmashable. A splash of milk or plain yogurt will help thin it down if necessary.

Spread on the toasted bagel or other bread product of your choice. I used wheat bread, because there were no bagels currently in the house, and it was good.

How are you eating your fresh spring peas?

Rösti with sweet potato

We've talked about rösti a few times before. This Swiss concoction is essentially a big pan-fried shredded potato cake, not unlike hash browns. We like to eat it for big weekend brunches, with plenty of coffee and possibly an egg or two. It's easy, impressive, delicious, and cheap. What's not to love?

This weekend I decided to switch it up and try adding sweet potato to rösti. Since sweet potatoes are significantly harder and less fluffy than the standard white boiling potato -- not to mention sweeter -- I decided against a 1:1 switch. Instead, I used about 1/3 sweet potatoes and 2/3 mixed yukon gold and red. This turned out to be a good ratio: we got some nice sweet potato flavor and color, but preserved the general texture of a classic rösti.

Now, of course, we are thinking about more things to shred and add to rösti. Carrot? Zucchini? Beets could be really excellent if you wanted to top your rösti with a classic sour cream and smoked salmon combination. Fennel might be interesting there as well. And a mixed-veg rösti would certainly be a good way to use up broccoli stems and the odd heads of kohlrabi that come in our CSA box. I'm definitely going to keep this in mind for next fall.

Rösti with sweet potato

6-8 medium boiling potatoes
1 sweet potato
4-6 green onions
salt, pepper
oil or butter to cook (not olive oil -- the smoke point is too low.)

Start out by peeling your potatoes and sweet potato. Shred them with a box grater or food processor, using the largest size shred.

Squeeze the liquid out of your potatoes. We just take big handfuls and squeeze them out over the sink before depositing them into a mixing bowl. You can also use a dish towel or paper towel if you prefer. This step is critical to ensure that your rösti cooks well, so don't skip it!

Slice up your green onions and add them to the bowl. Add a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix everything together.

Heat a 10-inch frying pan or skillet of your choice over medium-high to high heat. I think a well-seasoned cast iron pan is your best bet here, followed by nonstick. When your pan is hot, add a generous tablespoon of oil, butter, or a mix of the two. Swirl the pan to coat well.

Add your potato mixture to the pan, pressing with a spatula to get it reasonably even. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until lovely and golden brown on the first side, adjusting the heat down a bit if necessary. You'll be able to see the color coming up around the edges. The potatoes should also come free of the pan in one big solid cake when shaken back and forth a few times.

Next, flip your rösti. To do this, you'll need some intact oven mitts and a wooden (or otherwise unmeltable) cutting board big enough to cover your pan. Wearing the oven mitts, put the cutting board on top of the pan. Grab the pan and board at opposite sides and flip the entire contraption over onto your counter. Remove the pan to the stove, add a bit more oil if needed, and slide the flipped rösti back into the pan, uncooked side down. You did it!

Cook another 8-10 minutes, or until the second side is just as beautiful as the first. Slide the finished rösti onto your cutting board, cut it into wedges, and serve.

Just about anything that sounds good with potato should be good with rösti. I had mine with plain yogurt and pickled peppers. John had his with ketchup. If you are a proponent of fried eggs with runny yolks, this is an excellent place to apply them.

How do you like to eat your brunch-hour potatoes?

Oatmeal with flax, yogurt, jam, and chia seed

Okay! Things have clearly been busy at our house. Everything we eat lately seems to be something I've written about before. Pasta fagioli, salads with nice homemade dressing, enchiladas, quesadillas: yes, yes, yes and yes. (Although now I am noticing just how old these posts are and thinking about writing them up again anyway.)

These are our house standards, and we love them. It's really nice to have a variety of autopilot dishes under your belt, so during those weeks when you have to commute an hour and twenty minutes (one way) to a conference that starts at 8 am, you can still eat actual food.

I got home Friday night post-conference at roughly 7:45, and John seared me a piece of fish with lemon and parsley, chopped up some romaine for salad, and poured me a glass of wine. It was an excellent plan. Later I fell asleep with my glasses on and laptop open.

This morning I had oatmeal. Want to see some oatmeal?

Oatmeal with flax, yogurt, jam, and chia seed

rolled oats
flaxseed meal
water
salt
yogurt, jam, and chia seed to top

Put as many oats as you want to eat into a small pot, along with a teaspoon or two of flaxseed meal and a generous several shakes of salt. Cover with water to about one finger's width above the oats. Cook over medium-high to high heat for five minutes, or until the oats are done to your preferred consistency, stirring occasionally. A longer boil will mean thicker oatmeal.

Put your finished oatmeal in a bowl and top with yogurt, jam (mine was apricot), and chia seed, or switch it up and add whatever you like.

What are some of your favorite things to eat over and over, frequently when you're too busy to think of new things to make?

Fennel frond, lemon zest, and black pepper cream cheese schmear

Contrary to a variety of expectations, I did NOT pickle the last two heads of fennel that came our way in the CSA box. Instead, I chopped one up and mixed it with a whole lot of other vegetables to roast for Thanksgiving dinner. So good!

However, that left me with a big handful of fennel fronds. What can you do with fennel fronds?

I refrained from simply cramming them all into the half-empty fennel, ginger, and lemon pickle jar, although that was kind of tempting.

Instead, I thought I'd chop them up and see how well they worked in a cream cheese schmear, along with some lemon zest and black pepper. And lo, they worked SUPER WELL.

If you are into the delicate anisey tang of fennel, you should absolutely give this one a try. The fennel and lemon make a refreshing and zingy combination -- an excellent contrast to the creamy creamy cheesy cheese (*cough* *That's a NSFW Foamy the squirrel reference*).

This makes approximately one laden bagel's worth of schmear. Of course, you can always increase any and all of the ingredients at your leisure.

Fennel frond, lemon zest, and black pepper cream cheese schmear

3-4 tbsp cream cheese/tofu cream cheese
2-3 tbsp fennel fronds
zest of 1 lemon
black pepper to taste
optional milk/yogurt to thin

Finely chop your fennel fronds and lemon zest. Mix all ingredients together well, using a fork to blend thoroughly.

To serve, spread on the bagel, cracker, or other toasty bread product of your choice. I had mine on a couple of leftover whole wheat rolls from Thanksgiving. That worked exceptionally well.

Such a great addition to the schmear library. I am definitely going to make this one again, and not just because there is still yet another head of fennel hiding in the crisper.

More schmears for your bagel-topping delight:
- Spicy salsa and bloody mary schmears
- Red onion and dill schmear
- Fresh corn and basil schmear

What are you eating on your bagels lately?

Whole wheat crepes with mushrooms and red pepper sauce

I don't know, you guys. Things have been interesting around here.

I am beginning the slow descent into work busy season, which means plenty of long days reading and writing even more than usual. Incidentally, if any of you are applying to law school this fall, come on over!

John and I took a quick, super-activity-filled weekend trip to Portland in mid-September. When we got back, we both immediately got sick, and we stayed sick for the duration of the month. Yay?

And, of course, the first week of October is birthday week. We have had two delicious yet fairly sedate birthday feasts -- seared sole and green beans for me, plenty of enchiladas for John -- and no birthday cakes, although there may be an apple pie happening this coming weekend. Or possibly more brownies. We'll see.

Right. So with all that going on, let's talk about something simple. Crepes.

The crepe bug bit while we were staying with Danny & Bethany in Portland. Crepes are A Thing at their house, so one morning we all had a delightful brunch filled with plenty of crepes and butter and lemon and jam and sour cream and sugar and homemade blackberry syrup.

Once we were both home and recovered, we clearly needed to make some crepes of our own. So that's what we did.

I actually like savory crepe fillings better than sweet, so the vast syrup spread did not happen at our house. Instead, I made a batch of simple whole wheat crepes while John made sauteed mushrooms and this delightful Jacques Pepin red pepper sauce.

For a super-simple sweet option, we had chopped almonds and CSA honey with some cracked pepper. With a few cups of coffee, it was all exceptionally nice.

I personally recommend letting everyone fill and fold their own crepes. It's much more fun to eat them that way.

You can arrange your filling in a line down the middle and roll up your crepe. Or spread a thinner filling more evenly and fold the whole thing into quarters. Or put a huge spoonful of filling right in the middle and fold the sides up and in to make a square. You do you.

Basic crepes

3/4 cup flour (whole wheat in our case, or use your choice)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp melted butter
veg or other tasteless oil to cook

Start by adding your flour, eggs, sugar, and a bit less than half your milk to a large mixing bowl. Mix everything together thoroughly with a whisk. This will easily break up any lumps -- the trick to avoiding lumps in a thin batter like this is to only add some of the liquid at first!

When your mixture is smooth, add in the rest of the milk and the melted butter and whisk again until smooth.

It's time to cook your crepes! Lightly oil a a nonstick pan 8 inches or more in diameter. Make sure it has a long handle for easy turning. Put your pan over medium-high heat and let it get good and hot before you start cooking.

Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour a small portion of batter into your hot pan. Start from the middle and spread the crepe batter thinly by quickly rotating and shaking the pan. Or you can use the bottom of your ladle to spread your batter, spiraling out from the middle. In either case, you'll want to move quickly to get the batter as thin as you can before it starts to set. Don't worry -- you will get the hang of it and figure out what works for you!

Cook for a minute or two, or until the first side has just begun to brown. Flip and cook the other side for another minute or two, or until done. Remove to a covered plate and repeat until you've cooked all your batter. This recipe will make about 8 crepes, or more if you're particularly adept at getting a thin coating of batter into the pan.

Serve your crepes with whatever filling you like.

Mushrooms sauteed with butter and shallots

butter
shallot
mushrooms
optional splash of vermouth to deglaze
salt, pepper, maybe some thyme and marjoram

Melt a pat of butter in a frying pan on medium heat. Dice your shallot and add it to the butter, along with a pinch of salt. Stir and cook for five minutes, or until translucent.

While you're waiting, chop your mushrooms as finely as you prefer. Add them to the pan, stir, and season to taste.

Cook your mushrooms on medium for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Deglaze the pan with a dribble of vermouth or plain water if needed.

When the mushrooms are done to your taste, use them to fill a couple of crepes. Add a little bit of red pepper sauce to the filling before you roll your crepe, if you like. (If not, a little bit of cream is a good last-minute addition.) Spoon a generous amount of red pepper sauce over the rolled crepes, and eat.

ZOMG. It's so good.

What are you eating for your long, leisurely weekend breakfasts lately?

Tomato & cream cheese schmears: spicy salsa & bloody mary

When you're canning tomato sauce, as I obviously have been, sometimes you end up with a little bit of sauce left over.

What to do with a bare tablespoon or two of tomato sauce? I propose a cream cheese schmear. In fact, I propose two tomato-based schmears: spicy salsa and bloody mary. Tomato schmears for everyone! It's a perfect plan for the end of the tomato harvest.

I made the salsa schmear with tomato sauce and the bloody mary schmear with fresh raw tomato. The tomato sauce had the texture advantage, since it mixed in smoothly and created a thicker schmear. The raw tomato added some water content, which made it tougher to mix in and created a looser final product, but it definitely had the flavor advantage, because peak harvest tomatoes are just that good. Both of these schmears would work well with either tomato sauce or raw tomato; you just have to decide what your priorities are.

These schmears are also ideal if you have not only tomatoes but a few homemade pickles in your kitchen. For instance, do you have a jar of pickled jalapeños? Dice up a few rings and use them in the spicy salsa schmear. Otherwise, fresh jalapeños certainly provide a serious kick.

For the bloody mary schmear, a handful of dilly beans adds a delightful and appropriate tang. I used some refrigerator green bean pickles that I'd thrown into a batch of Emmycooks's spicy pickled peppers, but traditionally canned dilly beans should work just as well.

The intensity of each schmear is really up to you. Do you like a subtle schmear with only a hint of spice? Or do you like a big, in-your-face schmear packed with vegetables and herbs? Add as much or as little of each ingredient as you like for your own perfect concoction.

Hooray for homemade schmears! Don't go to the bagel shop! These are better.

Each schmear will generously cover one bagel.

Spicy salsa schmear

3-4 tbsp cream cheese/tofu cream cheese
1-2 tbsp tomato sauce (or sub finely diced fresh tomato)
1 tsp finely diced jalapeño, or more to taste (raw or pickled)
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1-2 tbsp chopped green onion
1 pinch each of ground oregano and cumin
several good grinds of pepper
optional fresh corn
optional milk/yogurt to thin as needed (or pickled jalapeño brine?)

Mix everything together well and serve on the bagel or bread product of your choice. Garnish with green onion or cilantro if you so desire.

I made the spicy salsa schmear with the aforementioned leftover tomato sauce. You can see that this was done with sauce from the immersion blender batch, since there are a few flecks of tomato skin in the mix. You can also see the thicker texture; check out those knife marks! Stir in a spoonful of milk or yogurt to thin if necessary.

Bloody mary schmear

3-4 tbsp cream cheese/tofu cream cheese
1-2 tbsp finely diced tomato
3 finely diced dilly beans
1 large pinch celery salt
2 dashes worcestershire sauce/tiny dash of soy sauce
hot sauce to taste - 2-3 drops or more
several good grinds of pepper
optional milk/yogurt to thin as needed (or use the dilly bean brine)

Mix everything together thoroughly with a fork. Be aware that the juicy tomato may take a minute to absorb fully into the schmear. But the end result is well worth a few minutes of stirring!

The finished texture will likely be loose enough not to require any thinning. If you find it too thin, stir in a bit more cream cheese.

Spread your schmear on a toasted bagel. Garnish with additional chopped dilly beans or a few celery leaves if you happen to have them.

Hooray for homemade schmears!

Previously on the schmear show:
- Christmas morning red onion & dill schmear
- Fresh summer corn & basil schmear
- The anti-bagel: parsley, green onion, & arugula schmear

What are you eating on your bagels lately? What's your favorite homemade schmear?

Migas with fresh summer corn

Migas! Migas are the best. Who doesn't love spicy scrambled eggs mixed with crispy corn tortillas? I ask you.

One of the best things about migas is how you can customize them with whatever veg you like. We've been concentrating on the all-powerful tomato, but that's not the only late summer vegetable still at its peak. How about the last of the fresh summer corn? How about an assortment of beautiful peppers? How about lots and lots of beautiful fresh cilantro -- or green onion, for those of you? YES.

I used farmer's market corn, a seriously gorgeous, heavy red bell pepper from our garden, and a shiny poblano and a big handful of cilantro from our CSA box. And what a delightful breakfast they made.

I haven't tried making my migas vegan with crumbled tofu, but that could potentially work very well for those of you who don't do eggs. Tofu scrambles are excellent, and this is essentially a scramble with extras -- so experiment away! I bet the results will be delicious.

Amounts are for two servings, but you can very easily double or triple this if you prefer.

Migas with fresh summer corn

4 small corn tortillas
butter/oil
4 eggs
1/2 small onion
1 jalapeño or other hot pepper - adjust for your spice tolerance
1 poblano pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1 ear fresh corn
cumin, oregano, salt, pepper
handful of fresh cilantro or green onion
hot sauce, sour cream, carrot pickle, curtido, etc. to serve

Start by cutting your corn tortillas in half and then into strips 1/2 inch wide. Toast them on both sides in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat. Work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding. When your tortilla strips are nice and crunchy and starting to brown, remove them to a plate and set aside.

Crack your eggs into a mixing bowl and mix together with a fork. Dice up your onion, jalapeño, poblano, and bell pepper, and add them to the eggs.

Husk and de-silk your corn before cutting it off the cob. We've talked about how to do this many times; I like to simply put my ear of corn down on the cutting board, slice a slab of kernels off the side, rotate, and repeat until all the kernels are removed. Someday I need to do a photo tutorial of this, but today is not that day.

Add your corn to the egg mixture. Season with a scant few shakes of salt and plenty of pepper, cumin, and oregano. Stir everything together until well amalgamated.

Add a bit more butter or oil to your hot skillet before tipping in the eggs. Scramble over medium heat until the eggs are just a hair underdone for you. Then add in the reserved tortilla strips, stir, and cook for another minute or two, lowering the heat as needed. The eggs should be perfectly cooked and the tortillas should be warm through.

Serve your migas with a big handful of chopped cilantro or green onion on top. Garnish with whatever seems most appropriate to you -- hot sauce is the minimum at our house. Now eat it all in good health and good humor.

How are you eating the last of the summer corn?

Serious catch-up catch-all

Where am I? What's going on?

Someone got a nice fancy tray of surprise breakfast in bed. I made migas and coffee for ultimate delight.

Note that the tray was too small to hold an actual plate. As such, that is a very full salad plate.

If you have both leftover rhubarb syrup and a garden bed full of mint, you will end up making a mojito or two. Definitely very refreshing on a hot hot afternoon.

I also drank a good pitcher of iced black tea with spoonfuls of rhubarb syrup in each glass. VERY good idea. Possibly an even better idea than the mojitos.

LUNCHTIME.

This kind of melange is so typical that I don't normally bother to take pictures. Seared chicken sausage, green beans, summer squash, parsley, and some red pepper flake, all mixed up with a handful of spaghetti.

The leftovers were good for pre-dinner I'm-way-too-hungry snacking.

On Sunday afternoon we had more green beans for feast spectacular, along with the first apricots and nectarine of the season and a wedge of very crumbly raw aged cheddar.

There was also a baguette and a lot of hummus (not pictured).

Speaking of the first of the season, how about some peas? Boiled, drained, buttered, and eaten.

The tilapia was super simple too. Toss in seasoned flour, sear in butter, cut a wedge of lemon for garnish. The end.

What delicious dishes have you been throwing together and forgetting to post about?

Strawberry ginger yogurt smoothie

It's spring and my system wants all the fresh berries as immediately as possible.

That means it's time for...a smoothie with no banana!

I don't know about you guys, but I cannot stand frozen bananas in smoothies. For a long time, this made me think I didn't like smoothies. (Well, this plus my continued distaste for washing the blender.) But I was wrong, because guess what I can sub in? Yogurt.

So the ubiquitous vat of plain yogurt isn't just for curries, garnishes, and labneh anymore -- it's also my standby for cramming my face full of as much fresh fruit and veg as possible. Hooray!

I broke out the new spring strawberries and went to work.

Strawberries and ginger are an amazing combination in my book, so I punched up this smoothie with a chunk of fresh ginger. If you find the zing of ginger too strong, you can add a small apple, peeled and chopped, but be aware that the yogurt will tame it a bit too. Personally, I prefer the full-zing version, but both are very good. It's up to you and your taste buds. And of course you can always add more ginger for the most exciting smoothie in the land!

I used a standard plain full-fat yogurt for this smoothie. If you happen to have Greek yogurt instead, you can halve the amount and thin your smoothie accordingly with the milk of your choice. It's all good.

Strawberry ginger yogurt smoothie

3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
(optional apple)

Put everything in a blender, with the yogurt on the bottom and the strawberries on top. Liquefy thoroughly. Pour into the glass of your choosing and drink. Makes approximately 1 pint.

This smoothie makes a perfect breakfast or mid-morning break on those days when you can't quite bring yourself to eat something hot. So good!

How are you eating your fresh spring strawberries? Any fantastic smoothies in your current rotation?

Yogurt crepes for pancake day

Two weekends working in a row plus several delivery pizzas plus a lot of last-ditch sandwiches = I'm not planning to have any pancakes for pancake day. I am not going to bake a pie for pi day, though I will probably go to a party and eat pie someone else baked. I definitely won't be corning a beef.

Right. So I wrote that, went to go check out the 300 foodblog posts that have been piling up in my feed reader, and immediately came across all the pancakes in the land. And I remembered I really like pancakes, and I totally have everything I need to make pancakes, and pancakes only take a few minutes to make anyway, right? And then I went into the kitchen and made these pancakes and took pictures of them and ate them.

LET'S DO IT.

I decided to bump up the traditional crepe just a touch by using yogurt. This produced a tender, delightful pancake with just a hint of tang. They were perfect with a squeeze of lemon juice, but if you prefer the full traditional dusting of powdered sugar, go for it.

Since I was only cooking enough crepes for myself, I now have half a batch of batter happily waiting for dinnertime in the refrigerator. I think a savory filling of quick-sauteed spinach with some nutmeg may be in order. Or maybe we'll eat them for dessert with caramelized apple slices. They're such a great blank canvas that practically anything can happen.

I'm still not corning a beef, though. Limits: I can has.

Yogurt crepes

1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt
butter to fry

Deposit your flour in a large mixing bowl. Add your water and beat well with a wooden spoon. (This is a pastry chef trick: by only adding part of your liquid at first, you'll be able to work out all the lumps quickly and easily, without slopping anything over the sides of the bowl.) Add your yogurt and beat to combine. Add your egg and salt and beat one more time.

When your batter is nice and smooth, it's time to fry. Heat a nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Add a bit of butter and swirl to coat.

Use a ladle to spoon your batter into the hot pan. Turn your pan quickly to even out the crepe and fill in any holes. You want to err on the side of too little batter instead of too much, for a nice, thin finished crepe. Cook quickly on each side for about three minutes, or until lightly browned and delightful.

If your first crepe is a disaster, don't panic! It's a kitchen truism that the first pancake is always a failure. Just eat it and keep on making more. You'll get the hang of it more quickly than you think.

Stack your finished crepes on a plate and cover them with a kitchen towel until you're ready to eat.

Yogurt crepes are amazing with practically any filling you can think of. A spoonful of apricot or raspberry jam, a flambeed sliced banana, a layer of Nutella, or a handful of fresh berries are all great sweet options. I am personally much more excited to try out some savory fillings, though. Scrambled eggs, diced chicken and mushrooms, the aforementioned spinach, or a combination of any or all of these, with or without a beautiful creamy sauce--yes please.

Are you eating crepes (or any other style of pancake) for pancake day?

Breakfast burritos with quinoa and red pepper scramble

Why are leftover grains the best? Because if you mix them with eggs and veg, you can make a huge healthy meal of breakfast burritos in under ten minutes. As I remain exhausted and in need of nearly instant sustenance, these were more than welcome; they were necessary.

On this particular occasion, I had a mixture of multicolored quinoa and brown rice hanging out in the refrigerator. Clearly they needed to get into a pan with some egg (and from there into my mouth) as soon as possible.

Breakfast burritos with quinoa and red pepper scramble

butter
onion
red pepper
leftover quinoa or cooked grain of your choice
eggs
salt, pepper
fresh cilantro (or green onion)
flour tortillas
hot sauce/etc to serve

Melt a little butter over medium heat in the frying pan of your choice. Add a handful of chopped onion and cook for about three minutes, or until beginning to soften.

Chop up your red pepper and any other vegetable you might want in your scramble. This really depends on what you have hanging around in the crisper and think would be good in a breakfast burrito. Pretty much anything goes.

Add your vegetables and a little salt to your onions. Cook for another two or three minutes before adding a couple handfuls of cooked grain. Stir everything together and continue to cook for another few minutes, or until your vegetables are tender and your grains hot through.

Now it's time for eggs. I like to add mine right to the pan, so I don't have to wash another dish (crucial when cooking tired), but you can always beat them in a separate bowl before adding if you prefer. In any case, turn the heat down to low and add your eggs. Season with salt and pepper and a handful of torn cilantro or green onion. Then quickly mix everything together with a spatula, stirring well to scramble.

Cook, stirring from time to time, until your eggs are just about done to your liking. Toss a couple of flour tortillas over your pan to quickly steam for the last minute or so of cooking. Again, you can warm them separately if you like, but I like the convenience of this method.

Fill your warm tortillas with your scramble and garnish with the herbs and hot sauce of your choice. Roll them up and eat them immediately, while they're nice and hot. Don't you feel better?

What's your favorite filling for a breakfast burrito?

Mashed potato pancakes with yogurt and pickled peppers

I don't know about you, but I have been SUPER BUSY lately. For the past couple days I've been working setup for Stitches West, a gigantic yarn convention, and if you think that doesn't sound like a lot of work, you've never hauled around a bunch of 100-lb boxes of yarn. The transition between brainwork and physical labor is interesting, to say the least.

So I've had to actually eat breakfast every morning. This is emphatically not normal for me; I've pretty much always felt nauseous if I ate anything within an hour of waking up. My usual breakfast is a lot of tea, but this week that was not going to fly. So it was a good thing that I had half a massive batch of mashed potatoes with spinach hanging out in the fridge, because that meant I could have simple mashed potato pancakes every single morning. They're the perfect solution: they're fast, easy, NOT SWEET (crucial for a non-sugar-crashy breakfast), and don't make me feel sick.

On top of that, mashed potato pancakes are a good vehicle for a variety of toppings. I went in the yogurt direction because I love yogurt and have a big vat of it around. Besides, we all know that sour cream works well with creamy potato--and yogurt, with its similar rich tang, does too.

Super mashed potato pancake!

leftover mashed potato
butter as needed
to top: plain yogurt, herbs, mustard, pepper, etc.

Form palm-sized patties out of cold leftover mashed potatoes. Fry over medium-high heat in the pan of your choice. If you had a lot of butter and cream in the initial mash, you may need no butter whatever in the pan. I certainly didn't, although I was also using a nonstick pan.

Cook for about three to five minutes per side, or until golden brown. The timing will depend on the strength of your burner. If your patties are very thick, you may want to put the lid on the pan for a few minutes to ensure that the middles are hot through.

When your pancakes are done, slide them onto a plate. Top with the savory deliciousness of your choice and eat immediately, as hot as possible.

I ate my pancakes with two different yogurt toppings. #1: thick labneh (i.e. drained yogurt) with whey-fermented brown mustard and black pepper. #2: ordinary plain yogurt with pickled peppers and black pepper. Both of these were excellent choices, although I think I prefer the latter for sheer inclusion of homemade pickles. Hot pancakes with a crispy coating and soft center, topped with creamy yogurt and crunchy, spicy pickled peppers? They were SO good.

Lots of other additions would work really well here, though. If I had fresh dill, you know I would have added some of that to my yogurt. A straight-up tzatziki, such as my tzatziki, would also be amazing.

Hooray for mashed potato pancakes! What's your favorite savory pancake?

Christmas morning red onion and dill schmear

So many people have family traditions of an elaborate christmas morning breakfast, full of every dish imaginable: sweet sticky cinnamon buns and coffee cakes, waffles and french toast drenched in syrup and buried in compotes, muffins bursting with blueberries or cranberries, platters of crispy bacon, savory sausage, or both, and of course the most classic of all breakfast foods: the egg.

We make none of these things. Instead, the traditional holiday breakfast around here is the bagel.

Bagels, unlike most of the breakfasts above, require almost zero effort. All you really need to do is slice them in half, toast them to your specifications, and spread them with your choice of deliciousnesses. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and you have the perfect breakfast.

But on a holiday morning like this, I want at least a little fance. This calls for a homemade schmear!

I decided to try out a combination I've had kicking around in my head for awhile: red onion and fresh dill. I wanted to add chopped capers as well, but our jar of capers turned out to be way too old to use, so I opted for black pepper instead. The results were not only delightfully crunchy, savory, and herbal, but also oddly reminiscent of my favorite egg salad. But then, I tend to use as much dill as possible there, so that makes sense.

If you aren't into red onion and dill, have some more schmear ideas: one and two. So many delicious combinations!

Red onion, dill, and black pepper schmear

cream cheese
red onion
fresh dill
black pepper
plain yogurt or milk, optional

Finely mince about a quarter of a red onion. Pick the leaves off about ten stems of dill and chop them up too.

In a small bowl, combine a couple large slices of cream cheese with the red onion and dill. Grind a generous amount of black pepper over the top. Add a spoonful of yogurt or a small splash of milk for ease of mixability.

Mash everything together with a fork until well combined. Check out the ingredient proportions and add more of whatever you think might be lacking.

Spread your schmear on the toasted bagel of your choice. Eat with impunity.

Also, have a cup of coffee. COFFEE.

Now you will be well fortified to rip open presents.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and get some much-needed relaxation in!

What to do with almond pulp

Have you ever made a big batch of nut milk, only to be left wondering what to do with the leftover pulp? Well, wonder no more!

A couple months ago, when I made up a batch of almond milk to drink in cold-brewed coffee, I was left with a substantial pile of pulp. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I froze it in convenient 1-tbsp cube form for future application. This turned out to be the best possible idea. Now I get to throw delicious almond pulp into various recipes at my leisure!

Most of the time, these guys make an appearance at breakfast. I think my favorite way to use them is in smoothies. They provide great texture and a bit of protein while eliminating the need to use the ever-present frozen banana: a win on all counts.

This time, I broke out a few of the overabundant nectarines in our crisper, and pulled both almond pulp and flaxseed meal out of the freezer. With a whack of plain yogurt, everything combined to make Captain Planet an excellent and easy breakfast smoothie.

Nectarine smoothie with frozen almond pulp, yogurt, & flaxseed meal

2-3 nectarines or peaches
3 tbsp frozen almond pulp
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
several large spoonfuls plain yogurt/your choice of vegan sub

Pit your nectarines and chop them roughly. Add to a blender with your cubes of frozen almond pulp, flaxseed meal, and yogurt.

If you want to add anything else, such as more fruit or greens, now is the time. I think a big handful of mint would go exceptionally well with this combination. Or maybe some shredded coconut...

Blend everything together thoroughly, pour into a glass of your choice, and drink with gusto. Hooray, smoothie!

Okay. So what if you want a more substantial breakfast? Almond pulp can definitely make an appearance there too. I mean, I wouldn't try mixing them into scrambled eggs--that is, unless I were already doing some sort of fried rice presentation. Actually, that might be interesting. Mental note: try more obviously savory things with almond pulp. Anyway, since almond pulp goes beautifully with grains, why not throw a couple cubes into a pan of oatmeal?

In this case, your pulp doesn't need to be frozen (although it can be--it'll just defrost in the pan in that case), so it's an excellent breakfast to make and eat along with your fresh almond milk latte.

Almond pulp & flaxseed oatmeal with bananas, yogurt, dried apricots, & sesame seeds

3 big handfuls rolled oats
2-3 tbsp almond pulp
2 tsp flaxseed meal
large pinch salt
water to cover
fruit, yogurt, & seeds to taste

I never measure anything when making oatmeal, so this is all estimated.

Put your rolled oats, almond pulp, and flaxseed meal into a small saucepan. Season with a big pinch or two of salt. Add water to cover by about a finger's width.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until your oats are done to your taste. You may need to add a bit more water if you prefer a thinner oatmeal. I like mine pretty thick, personally.

Put your finished oatmeal in a bowl and top with your choice of yogurt, fruit, seeds, and nuts. I really like dried apricots and toasted sesame seeds in a bowl of oatmeal, but go ahead and add whatever sounds good to you.

Eat, with almond milk latte optional. Yay, breakfast!

What do you guys do with the pulp left over from making nut milk? I'm thinking I need to branch out into using it in baked goods pretty soon.