Green Eggs and 'Ham'

Here's a healthy deviation to your morning scramble that will maximize the nutritional profile while minimizing calories and saturated fat, keeping you full and focused all morning long. My favorite substitution for meat ( ham in this case ) for nearly any recipe is a hearty brown mushroom. They absorb what ever you cook them with and they will develop a deep, satisfying flavor by using roasted garlic, smoked paprika and black pepper. The real trick to getting a healthy scramble is by substituting one of the yolks for a spoonful of greek yogurt and using fresh avocado and nutritional yeast in place of cheese. Adding lots of vegetables will obviously drive up the fiber and mineral content while filling you up without adding heavy animal products. One egg white contains 17 calories, while a whole egg has 70. One yolk isn't a big deal but when you omit the others, it keeps the saturated fat to a bare minimum while still giving you some good protein, which you certainly need in the morning to jump start your metabolism. I used kale but you can substitute spinach or swiss chard if you prefer.

INGREDIENTS
2 green onions, chopped, white ends omitted
5 spears asparagus, chopped leaving the tips whole
2 - 3 cremini mushrooms or a portobello, sliced
big handful of kale, stemmed and chopped
fresh jalapeno, minced ( or crushed red pepper to taste )
half of a ripe avocado
2 -3 eggs, one yolk and the rest whites
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt ( optional )
roasted garlic powder
smoked paprika
nutritional yeast
sea salt + black pepper to taste
olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Whisk together one whole egg and 1 or 2 additional whites. Whisk in the greek yogurt and set aside. Warm a saute pan to medium and add the olive oil. Add the asparagus and the mushrooms and the jalapeno if using. Season them with salt + pepper, a sprinkle of the garlic and the paprika. Let them go for about 5 - 6 minutes. Add the kale and the green onions and 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast. Cover the pan for about 2 minutes just enough to steam the greens. Pour this mixture off into the bowl you will be eating out of. Return the pan to medium and add a little more olive oil or butter or ghee. Add the eggs and stir constantly until just scrambled. Season to taste and pour them on top of your vegetables. Top with fresh avocado slices and parsley.

ENJOY!

Spring Vegetable Omelette with Fresh Mozzarella

The word omelette is kind of traditional and this recipe is far from that. Typically, you layer the ingredients inside the egg and fold it over to make a half moon but I don't really stick to a method. It's really more like a hard scramble. The secret is not to overwork the eggs because they will start to fall apart. Moving them across the pan in large sheets keeps them firm and in larger pieces. I also served my cheese on the side in fresh wedges instead of melting it on top, cafe style. I love eating food that's in season. It's always going to be the freshest in the markets and of course, if you are growing it yourself. This is a good way to incorporate lots of greens into your breakfast. I have so many varieties in my winter garden right now that I eat a combination of them with every meal. I prefer a 2:1 ratio of whites to yolks, so I separated a couple of mine. You can use whole eggs if you prefer. Take a little walk through my winter garden of greens with me on the way to the recipe....

This beautiful, blue kale is my all - star. It performs better than any other cool weather green. It's strong, hardy and vigorous! I keep it pinched back all winter long, eating the larger leaves first. The baby leaves are sweet and tender enough for salad. 

This mesclun mix of lettuces are the glamour girls of the greens. Lacy, pointed and dotted with dark red, they are super delicate and perfect eaten immediately picked and always raw.

Spinach is second in line for hardiness. It hardly blinks under snow and freezing temperatures when protected. Keep the leaves pinched once a week and you will have it until May. It's delicious cooked or raw. I use it both ways all the time because it's so versatile.

This intermix of mache and chervil are really pretty together. Mache has a very green flavor and tastes best mingled with other lettuces. Chervil has a distinct anise flavor and is complimentary with fish, lemon and vinegars.

INGREDIENTS
Fresh, organic eggs - 2 per person, either separated or whole, whisked
asparagus, tough ends trimmed, diced
cherry or grape tomates, halved or quartered
shallot or red onion, thinly sliced
fresh garlic, minced
baby kale or spinach, cut into ribbons
fresh jalapenos, sliced (optional of course)
other optional ingredients could be sliced mushrooms, zucchini or bell pepper
parsley, chopped
fresh water mozzarella, cut into triangles or medallions
olive oil + butter or ghee
sea salt + black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Warm a saute pan on medium and add the olive oil. Add all of the vegetables except the tomatoes, greens and parsley. Season with a little salt. Cook about 2 minutes. Add about a tablespoon of butter or ghee and the tomatoes, greens and parsley. Season with black pepper. Add the eggs. Using a flexible spatula, move the eggs across the pan in sheets, careful to keep them firm and in large pieces. Adjust the salt + pepper. Cook until they have just set. Serve on a nice plate, arranging the wedges of mozzarella around one side and garnish with any reserved parsley and black pepper.

ENJOY!

Winter Vegetable Quiche

I love making quiche because the combination of ingredients are endless and I can just throw together whatever I'm in the mood for or when I need to use up a bunch of produce. Also, it's perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's easy to reheat and tastes so good when you take a little extra time to make your own crust. I used to be really intimidated by my mom's homemade crust but all it takes is making it once and you will always prefer it over something frozen. And as far as quiches go, there are a million recipes out there which vary in the amount of eggs, milk and cheese used. This one uses a modest amount of dairy and lots of tasty vegetables. 

This homemade pie crust looks golden and dreamy in natural light, waiting to be filled with beautiful winter vegetables.

QUICHE
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 cup of shredded mozzarella (swiss, provolone, cheddar and gruyere all work fine too)
2 tablespoons of flour
1|2 pound mushrooms
about 2 cups of greens - I used baby kale and spinach
1|2 cup sweet peppers such as red or yellow bell, chopped
1|2 cup diced red onion
3 cloves minced garlic
sliced tomatoes
1|4 cup good sausage or bacon are good in here too - I used soysage to keep it vegetarian
a big pinch of dried mustard
salt + pepper
crushed red pepper flakes for heat
smoked paprika
nutritional yeast (optional)
freshly grated parmesan for the top
olive oil or fresh butter for the saute

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 375. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, flour and nutritional yeast together and set aside while you make the saute. Heat a skillet and melt in your oil or butter. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, mushrooms, garlic, dried mustard and crushed red pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Add your greens and a splash of water. Cover and turn off the heat for another 5 minutes. The greens will wilt and turn bright green. Stir in your cooked sausage, bacon or soysage if using and season with salt + pepper. Spread the shredded cheese in the bottom of your pie crust. See the highly recommended recipe and directions for my homemade crust below. Spread the vegetable mixture over the cheese. Pour the egg mixture in last. Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle them with black pepper, smoked paprika and parmesan cheese. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the pie is firm in the middle and has risen. Allow it to cool for at least 15 -20 before cutting into it. I always serve cooked dishes with something raw. In this case, I made a small avocado salad on top of a handful of the reserved, uncooked greens and drizzled the whole thing with Sriracha! It is so good any time of the day. Hearty, satisfying comfort food that is full of essential nutrients, minerals, fiber and healthy fats and proteins. Of course, there is room for many optional embellishments here. Go crazy with it and make something unique!

HOMEMADE PIE CRUST

6 tablespoons of COLD butter

1 1|2 cups unbleached, organic white or whole grain pastry flour

4 tablespoons cold water, milk or buttermilk

pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the flour and salt together. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles crumbly sand. Mix in the water with a spoon until just combined. Don't overdo this step. If you don't have a pastry blender, you can use a food processor. See photos in my previous post about how to use a pastry blender and what it looks like here. Flour a clean surface that you can roll it out the dough on. Using a rolling pin, start rolling the dough outward in a uniform circle until it's an inch bigger than your pie plate. Gently lift it up and center it in your dish. Press it into the corners gently and crimp the rim with your fingers or shape it around the fluted edge of one. Use scissors to trim the edge neatly. I always roll the extra dough out and put it on a sheet pan for a few minutes to make little pastry chips. You can crumble them up on top of your salad or eat them on the side. Who doesn't love a little extra crust?

ENJOY!!