Somali style chicken and eggs

I came across suqaar with eggs and loolah on a somali cooking blog this morning and couldn't let it go.

Except suqaar= beef cubes.

So I used chicken.

And I didn't have the right spices.

But not following directions is a specialty of mine.

I started by chopping three chicken breasts and browning them. Then I added a couple tablespoons oil with parsley, garlic powder, cumin and paprika. 

Next I separated peeled plum tomatoes from a can with my fingers. Four. Poured in some extra juice. When that cooked, I added the eggs.

Baked French Toast with Blueberries

I won't be home for dinner tonight and I saw some odds and ends around the kitchen that needed to be consumed. Eggs. Bread. Yogurt. We have fresh berries and those need eatin' quick.

So I prepped baked French toast. This will sit in the fridge and be baked uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes. This is a small portion. Serves 3 but the portions are not large.

I hope my family saves me some. I'm not sure how the yogurt will work out.

In a bread loaf pan, that I heartily greased with butter, I layered two slices of cinnamon raisin bread and then blueberries and a bit of brown sugar. Maybe two tablespoons. I had three layers of bread and two layers of blueberries.

Now the "sauce" I added to every layer as well. It went something like this:

- four eggs

- nutmeg

- ground cloves

- an ounce or two of half and half 

- about a cup very vanilla soy milk

- about 1/3 cup plain yogurt

Whisk. The yogurt may be a mistake. We'll see.

My husband baked it for 40 minutes at 350 and it turned out delightful. Though the child did not care for it. But she ate hers.

Egg and pepper sandwiches

I'm not a big fan of green peppers. I neither like nor dislike them, but every once in a while I get really hungry for egg and pepper sandwiches.

It's far from a culinary triumph but it hit the spot and fulfilled the craving.

It started as one large green pepper, four eggs, and some buns. We had a mismatch of buns. Two kaiser and a potato hot dog bun. Child requested the hot dog bun.

We sliced the peppers into long slivers and fried them over low heat in olive oil & butter. I sprinkled them generously with garlic pepper.

Once the peppers changed to a more mellow color and softened, I jacked up the heat and added the scrambled four egg mixture (I had added about 1/4 cup water to it). 

And that is it. 

So good I want another.

Icy morning egg sandwich

My daughter has a two hour delay this morning so I made us a fried egg and roasted red pepper sandwich on a toasted jalapeño bagel. I sliced that puppy in half and we shared... I had fried up two eggs so we got plenty of good stuff to start our cold day.

She also got a side of tropical fruit (various papaya and pineapple) and pears.

Apple Custard

My husband is whipping up a variation of his mother's dinner in one dish and I'm attempting an apple custard dessert.

I buttered a Pyrex dish and layered about 4 Macintosh apples on the bottom. Sprinkled them with sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Made a sauce of melted butter and triple sec. Poured it over them.

I whisked three eggs, some sugar, vanilla and almond milk and poured that over the apples.

Topped with lots of sliced almonds and put in the oven at 350 to bake for about 40 minutes.

Baked omelet

Since our chicken sitting adventure began, we have received 31 eggs (I think)    from our feathered friends. 

We've had a round of fried egg sandwiches and then last night husband made chocolate chip cookies.

Tonight we got home from a long day at work and I had dinner all planned. Preheat oven to 400.

We toasted the last six slices of Pepperidge Farm rye bread and put some sweet potato fries on the cookie sheet.

We whisked about eight eggs (we lost count), added a little cold water and whisked some more. I got a 11x7 Pyrex pan and swiped it with some oil. 

In the bottom of the pan I poured the remaining bruschetta we made a few days ago. I sprinkled lots of local broccoli    on top. Poured the egg mix on top of that. Added some of last night's roasted peppers here and there. 

Put it in the oven.

The fries needed to be flipped after 12 minutes. About five minutes after that, I pulled the omelet out of the oven and sprinkled some tiny pieces of extra sharp cheddar on the top and seasoned it all with fresh ground four-color pepper, a touch of garlic powder and some Italian seasoning. I returned it to the oven for five more minutes.

I ate my portion on the rye bread like a sandwich, complete with horseradish sauce.

The bruschetta really made the vegetables zesty and juicy. This was incredible.

Chicken-sitting

A friend of a friend is heading to a conference in Pittsburgh and needs someone to care for her chickens. I thought it'd be a great lesson for my nine-year-old.

We headed out to the farm this morning for our chicken care primer and the chickens had laid 4 eggs since their owner had gathered eggs earlier in the day. So my daughter collected them-- still warm! 

We brought them home, washed them and made a big broccoli-tomato omelet. The tomato came from our garden.

Breakfast after bloodwork

As some may know, I have a past history of stress-induced severe anemia. This is what ended my almost decade of a vegetarian lifestyle. This also ended my relationship with my former doctor, and led my to a new team of medical professionals who make me feel like they care whether I live or die.

That's a good thing in a doctor. 

So, today I pledged I would take care of my annual bloodwork. Fasting. And of course, my child, the early riser, sleeps until 9. 

But I manage not to eat and we walk to the lab about a half-mile from the house. It's about 9:30 and I'm sweaty already. 

We get home at 10:10 (walking home I'm mentally calculating the distance to the nearest diner). I am completely inept at making coffee. No matter what I do, my coffee turns out double strength. This made me very popular in the Lehigh Valley News Group newsroom. Reporters like caffeine.

To make a decent cup of coffee, I have to use my little espresso machine. Which I did. I took advantage of the fact that I had the espresso brewer out to warm and steam some almond milk to give my daughter a hot cup of chai with local raw honey. I drank what didn't fit in her cup and it was good!

Breakfast was scrambled egg wraps, with a pinch of garlic pepper and a drizzle of Annie's Organic Cowgirl Ranch and a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese.

Scrambled egg tabouleh wraps

My husband just made scrambled egg wraps with cheese and I added tabouleh and roasted red pepper dip to mine. It worked really well. Now we have to run out to the farm for more eggs!

Crazy Food

I love food. This is a phenomenon that occurred during my transition to adult life. I was a picky eater as a child and grew up on junk food.

I'm known now as the nutrition Nazi mom
who packs weird snacks and lunches. I'm the one who loves to cook and loves to grocery shop.

I love vegan cooking. I love gluten free cooking. I love cooking with local ingredients. I love harvesting my gardening. I love canning.

And Oh My Goodness! I can't wait to open that last can of spiced apples I made from local apples.

But I also love Doritos, Girl Scout Cookies and brownies. I have a soft spot for froo-froo coffee drinks. And I love a good cheesesteak or a hot baguette with butter and jam.

My point is: food is personal. Food is individual. Every family has a different relationship with food. Every body has different responses to food.

So, whatever you eat: savor it.
Whatever you eat: eat it with loved ones.

And every once in a while have ice cream for dinner or a crazy concoction like this (delicious by the way):
- 2 eggs, fried in coconut oil
- one tortilla shell
- horseradish sauce
- lots of raspberry salsa
- 2 jalapeño poppers

And maybe someday, I'll feed the world.

Zippy Egg Wrap

In a tortilla shell:
- one egg fried in coconut oil
- half a spicy black bean burger from Morningstar
- home canned salsa

Breakfast for lunch

Ham, spicy cheddar omelet and parsleyed fried potatoes

Garden omelet with feta

Using up leftovers, so these chunky omelets used everything up. Family loved them, but they wouldn't have been so yummy without the feta.

Serves 3.

Whisk in bowl:
- 5 eggs (last ones from the farm)
- about 3 tablespoons water
Add:
- about 3 cups torn greens from the garden. I used sorrel, lettuce, escarole, and basil.
Stir and toss in hot skillet, generously oiled with extra virgin olive oil.
When the omelet firms on the bottom but still gooey on the inside sprinkle
- about one cup crumbled feta
Once it's mostly firm, fold it over and cut it three
This is when I maniacally flip mine back and forth to make sure the egg cooks all the way through

Zesty egg wrap

For my breakfast I scrambled an egg from Klein Farm, placed it on a small flour tortilla with Klein Farm's garlic cheddar and greens. I added Archer Farms Raspberry Salsa and a slice of Morningstar vegetarian bacon. Served with sun-brewed unsweetened, decaffeinated black tea with organic rose hips.

Baked mashed sweet potatoes and omelets

Since we have an extremely tight budget as of late, we're using the last of our roasted asparagus and spinach for yet another meal. That means I've made three meals from one box of frozen spinach and one sale bunch (12 ounces) of asparagus.

For three people, I used six eggs, a touch of half and half and a pile of spinach and asparagus for the omelet. Once the omelet got fairly solid, I added a thin layer of extra sharp cheddar.

As an unusual side dish, I mashed some sweet potatoes and baked them at 375 for about thirty minutes. Here are the ingredients I used (and it turned out fabulous):

- one egg
- about 3/4 cup brown sugar
- about 1 cup Very Vanilla soy milk
- 29 ounces canned sweet potatoes, syrup drained
I beat that until smooth and added:
- one handful regular raisins
- one handful golden raisins

Almond pancakes

Tonight I made dairy-free almond pancakes with hot strawberries. For dinner.

Honestly, the jury's still out on whether or not the sliced almonds in the pancakes worked or whether I should have placed them on top with the strawberries.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Very Vanilla Silk
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons walnut oil
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons baking powder
About 3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat eggs and add other ingredients. Fry up on hot griddle or frying pan in butter.

About 15 pancakes.

Strawberry topping
16 ounces frozen strawberries
1/8 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons strawberry preserves

Heat strawberries in microwave or thaw in fridge. Combine water & sugar in saucepan and stir well. Add strawberries, their juice and preserves. Heat to boiling.

Let boil about five minutes.

Hard Boiled Eggs

I realized today that I haven't given my tortoise cheese or eggs in months. So I'm making her a hard-boiled egg.

I hate hard-boiled eggs so I was fairly certain I remembered how to do it-- eggs in water, boil, cover and let sit 15 minutes.

But just to be sure I googled it, and found this:

http://m.wikihow.com/Hard-Boil-an-Egg

Avoiding failure

Today started strong. It's December first so I have to forgive myself for blowing November's food budget in a flurry of ear tube surgery, report card rewards, stress eating and Thanksgiving.

Breakfast was vegan pumpkin waffles with maple syrup from the freezer.

Lunch was hurried after an eye doctor appointment so it was a bowl of Boo Berry with unsweetened soy milk.

So I had to make myself something hearty for 4 o'clock snack (before work.)

I opted for two scrambled eggs in small tortilla shells, Archer Farms summer fruit salsa and a touch of pepper jack cheese.

Pizza eggs

My daughter asked for fruit loops for breakfast. I let her pick any box of generic cereal from Aldi's aisle last shopping trip. I don't consider cereala real breakfast. Even with soy milk for extra protein I just don't think it has enough heft to really get you through the morning.

I gave my daughter some choices as to how to make it more acceptable. She chose scrambled eggs, which surprised me because she usually moans and groans when I make scrambled eggs. So to avoid disappointment, I made pizza eggs.

PIZZA EGGS

- dollop of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 large eggs scrambled eggs
- a sprinkle of papa john's pizza seasoning
- a sprinkle of parsley
- a couple tablespoons six Italian cheese blend from Target (Market Pantry brand)
- ketchup to taste

Combine eggs, seasoning and parsley. Lightly oil your pan and heat. Add eggs, scrambling to desired doneness. Reduce heat, top with cheese and ketchup. Let cheese melt. Stir and serve.

Breakfast for dinner

I looked in the cupboards and in the fridge and felt uninspired. So, I started brainstorming with the family.

Soup. Something breakfasty. Pasta.

"Oh!" the child exclaims. "Breakfast for dinner."

Husband suggests omelets. I remember the fresh broccoli I bought at Target and all the cheese I have leftover from yesterday's spinach dip. And the last round of that HUGE bag of tator tots from Aldi.

Bingo.

Ingredients:
- leftover blueberry cobbler coffee in the carafe
- one teaspoon vegetable oil
- one teaspoon garlic powder
- two tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 5 eggs, beaten
- ridiculous amounts of fresh broccoli
- 2 ounces sharp cheddar
- 2 ounces mozzarella
- tator tots

Preheat oven and cook tator tots while preparing eggs. In pan, spread oil, garlic and chives. Stir until chives are fragrant.

In separate bowl, combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Pour into very hot pan. Add broccoli, cover with cheese, fold when eggs solidify.

Serve with coffee, tots and a side of 50/50 Frank's Red Hot and ketchup for dipping tots.