Tuscan Baked Eggs

 

I love going out for breakfast.  Since I live in NYC there are so many breakfast/brunch places to try.  And I mean SO many.  It’s endless.  And one is better than the next.  Awhile back I met some friends for brunch in the West Village (my favorite area of the city) at a restaurant called August.  What a charming little place!  Very rustic, which is right up my alley.  Anyway, I ordered their baked eggs dish and loved it.  It was that dish that inspired this, and now I can have a little taste of rustic Tuscany at home anytime I choose.  There aren’t really any exact measurements for this, it’s pretty loose.  If you want more herbs, add them.  If you like alot of cheese, then indulge.  This is a great way to use up leftover tomato sauce.  I had some arrabiata sauce in the fridge that I used.

Here’s what you’ll need…

eggs (2 per person)

tomato sauce (any kind you have on hand)

1/2 tsp chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp chopped thyme

shredded mozzarella cheese

parmigiano reggiano cheese 

salt & pepper

rustic bread, toasted

*gratin dish

Lightly butter the bottom of a gratin dish.  Spoon a few tablespoons of tomato sauce into the dish, covering the entire bottom with a layer of sauce.  With a spoon, make two small wells in the sauce for the eggs.  Gently crack the two eggs into those wells.  Add some salt & pepper.  Sprinkle the rosemary and thyme over the eggs and sauce, then the parmigiano reggiano, then lastly the shredded mozzarella. 

Bake at 400 degrees for roughly 25-30 minutes, or until the eggs reach the consistency you prefer and the sauce and cheese are bubbling.  I like my eggs to still be a bit runny, this way when you break into them with the bread the yolks run into and mix with the sauce.  Like this…

 

White Turkey Chili

I have been having a love affair.  With chili.  It’s not even funny, I really love chili – it’s well known among my friends and family.  It’s become a joke now, come to think of it.  If I at all need to be ‘bribed’ to go somewhere the final temptation is a mention that chili will be served.  Works every time.

I do make the traditional chili with tomatoes and chop meat, I’ve been making it for years.  I recently decided to spread my wings a bit and try a white chili and I’ve been pleasantly surprised!  It’s still chili, but it’s different…a nice different.  It’s lighter, since I’m using turkey meat, and I’m sure more healthy.  The spices are somewhat similar as a normal chili, however, this one is made with chicken stock and tons of cilantro.  And if you’ve read my Tuna Fish Sandwich post you know just how I feel about cilantro.  The other new (for me) and interesting ingredient in this chili is poblano peppers. The poblano is a mild chili pepper that is green and smaller than a green bell pepper.  Most of the heat is found in the ribs and seeds, so if you shy away from spicy foods, be sure to remove them all.  They provide a nice, gentle kick to this chili.  My local market doesn’t sell them but I was able to find them at the Union Square Farmer’s Market.  If you can’t find them you can use three regular green peppers and maybe one small jalapeno pepper (seeds and ribs removed). Here’s what poblano peppers look like…

 

 

I was also able to pick up some fresh corn at the farmer’s market, so I cut the kernels off and added them to the chili.  If you don’t have fresh corn, by all means just add a small can of corn, or even frozen.  I do like how this chili is mostly white and green with just a few flecks of orange from the carrots and yellow from the corn.

Another strange ingredient in this chili is barley.  I just took it upon myself to throw some in, for the heck of it.  You don’t really need it.  I just like knowing it is in there, and I think it helps thicken things up a bit.  As with regular chili, this version improves as it sits in the fridge. 

And let’s not forget the bread!  For me it’s essential to have a very crunchy piece of whole grain bread to go along with this.  I love the crunch!

For all you traditionalists out there, give this version a try,  you just might like it. 

Here’s what you will need…

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small carrot, diced

1 large ear of corn, kernels removed

3 medium poblano peppers, seeds and ribs removed, diced

1 small green bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 1/2 heaping tsp ground cumin

3/4 heaping tsp ground coriander

1/2 heaping tsp cayenne pepper

1 heaping tbsp chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1 pound ground white turkey meat

1 15 oz cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed

5 cups chicken stock, low sodium

2 tbsp barley (optional)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt & pepper

**bread slice and one clove garlic (optional)

Serves 4-6 people.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions, celery, carrot, peppers and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, roughly 8 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, oregano and chili powder, stir to mix and cook for one minute.

Slide the mixture to the side of the pot, add the turkey and cook for 2-3 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces with the back of the spoon.  Cook until no longer pink.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

In a blender, puree 1/2 cup total of both chick peas and cannellini beans with 1/2 cup of chicken stock.  Add puree to the pot with the remainder of the beans.  Add chicken stock , corn and half of the chopped cilantro, stir and bring to a boil.  At this point, if you decided to use barley, add it to the pot now.  Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 30 minutes.  Add most of the remaining cilantro to the pot and stir.  Divide into serving bowls and sprinkle with last remaining chopped cilantro.

Toast bread.  Once removed and still hot, gently rub garlic over hot bread.

Quinoa Porridge

 

It’s gotten a bit chilly in New York in the past day or so.  It’s perfect weather for a nice hot breakfast to start the day.  I love oatmeal and have been having it for breakfast during the colder months for many years.  I just recently tried switching things up a bit and making my regular oatmeal (porridge) with quinoa instead.  And I have to tell you, I like it better!  And I like using the word porridge better now too!

As you might know quinoa is a gluten free amino-acid rich protein seed (not a grain although it is often referred to as one) that is native to South America.  The protein it supplies is a complete protein which means it contains all 9 essential amino acids.  It is close to one of the most complete foods in nature because it contains amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytonutrients.  Whew!  These guys pack a punch.   

It’s a nice change from the plain old oatmeal and I prefer the texture of the quinoa version much better.  It is fluffy and has a slightly crunchy texture.  And here is something interesting…I have noticed that the quinoa version sustains me far longer than traditional oats do, and trust me, I have a very healthy appetite and am almost always hungry! 

This combination of the walnuts, cranberries and raisins is my favorite.  I especially like the walnuts because I like having that crunch.  I find that I search out the walnuts with every spoonful.  You can certainly add any other nuts and dried fruits you love or some fresh ones like blueberries or chopped apples.  I even like adding a few slices of bananas sometimes.  There are many different variations you can try.

I love starting my day with this breakfast.  It’s warm and comforting, it fills me up and is very yummy.

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 cup water

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp chopped walnuts

1 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tbsp raisins

1 tsp agave nectar (honey)

1 tsp plain yogurt (optional)

*Serves one hungry person.

Add quinoa, water, cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the milk in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, walnuts, cranberries and raisins and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency (it will gradually get thicker).  Once it reaches the consistency you like, add the honey and the yogurt (yes, yogurt!) and stir to combine.  Adding some yogurt might seem odd to some of you, but trust me, it provides a lovely silky consistency. 

Dig in!

Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

I had no idea how nutritious red peppers are!  They are an excellent source of vitamins C and A and they contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals (bad things) that cause some types of cancers and heart disease.  Surprisingly, red peppers contain almost three times the amount of vitamin C as green peppers.   Poor green peppers, they just aren’t up to snuff.

Traditionally, stuffed peppers are made with chop meat.  I do make the meat version at times, however, I like to keep things on the healthy side over here, so I try to make it with mostly veggies now, or sometimes I will add some ground turkey.  All versions are delicious.  I like to bring a stuffed pepper with me to work for lunch, and since I make 4 or 5 of them I eat one a day, everyday for lunch that week.  And NO, I don’t get sick of it!  They are so delicious, healthy and filling.  A complete meal stuffed inside a nutritionally packed red pepper.  What more could I ask for?

You will need…

4 large red peppers

1 cup brown rice, cooked

1 large zucchini, small dice

1 large yellow squash, small dice

1 large onion

1 small container crimini mushrooms, small dice

1 can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed up

1/2 cup chopped baby spinach

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tbsp grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

pinch dried oregano

pinch pepperoncino

olive oil 

In a skillet over medium heat coat pan with some olive oil.  Saute the zucchini, squash, onion and mushrooms until slightly softened, roughly 5 minutes.  Add grated garlic, spinach, oregano and pepperoncino and some salt & pepper.  Cook for additional 2-3 minutes. 

 

 

Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes.

While the filling is simmering away, carefully cut out the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and ribs from the inside of the pepper.  It helps to have small hands!  I usually discard the tops, but once or twice I did keep them and put them back on top of the peppers for decoration, like little hats.  Up to you. 

Once the filling mixture has cooked for awhile, add all the brown rice and parsley and stir well.  Turn off the heat and add the cheese.  Mix well again.  I’ll tell you, this sauce (minus the rice) would be perfect over some pasta!  Here’s how things should be looking at this point. 

 

 

Now for the fun part…stuffing!  I love stuffing these guys.  I use a teaspoon for this.  Basically just stuff the filling mixture into each pepper, pressing the filling down into the bottom of the pepper.  Fill them way up to the top.  Just like this…

 

 

In the bottom of a baking dish, I put some water and oil (and some tomato sauce if I have some left over) to keep things moist.  Arrange the now stuffed peppers in the baking dish and sprinkle the tops of the peppers with some olive oil.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 – 60 minutes, or until the peppers have become slightly wrinkly and soft.  I prefer my peppers to still have a slight bite to them.  Some people like to cook them alot until they are very mushy, again – up to you.  As I said, I like mine with a bite, not too mushy.

Get stuffing people!