Breakfast, Again

It struck me that I seem to blog about breakfast a lot.  So I checked.  There are 41 posts that mention breakfast, and of those, 10 involve a change in the regular breakfast routine.  It might seem like I have a problem... Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day, though, and this really shows in my life.

Today's post is not really a New Thing for Today post.  This is something I changed, didn't think it significant, but haven't changed back.  A little while ago, I returned the stereo to its rightful owner.  This meant I had no radio in the breakfast area.  I like to listen to the radio over breakfast.  There is, however, a radio in my bedroom.  Also, we've just finished (technically) summer, and I've found the ceiling fan in my bedroom more effective at cooling than anything else.  Both these factors have resulted in me having breakfast in bed most days.  Luxury!  Bonus - if necessary, I can plug my phone in to charge and still check Facebook over breakfast.  And check the time regularly (yes, that's slightly more important).

The other change that has evolved is the day I have eggs for breakfast.  For years, Monday was eggs day.  But Monday is also (weather permitting) PT day.  I've realised it's slightly comfier for my insides if I have my regular muesli breakfast before PT.  Both meals have the same fat/carbs/protein quantity, but the muesli feels lighter for a pre-workout meal.  Eggs are now usually Sundays, and on random days, I'll totally change things up and have a smoothie.

Eggs in Purgatory

I was given 2 recipe books for Christmas: Nigelissima and Cook with Jamie.  I don't want to turn this into a food blog, but there will be a fair few cooking posts in the near future.  Today's recipe was not the first (in fact, I have quite a backlog already), but as it's New Year's Day, and this was listed under the heading 'To Start the New Year', I thought I would post this one today.  (See how far I've come?!  I can do out-of-order posting, occasionally...).  So, from Nigelissima, Eggs in Purgatory... Or what to eat when you're feeling like hell...  (Yes, that's really the subheading.  No, I didn't feel like hell this morning).

Ingredients:
1 x 15 mL tablespoon olive oil
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes or 1/4 teaspoon pouring, or to taste
1-2 eggs
2-3 teaspoons grated Parmesan.
To serve:
grated Parmesan (optional); chilli oil (optional); bread (mandatory).

(I feel I should come clean here - I estimated with all the quantities except the tomatoes and eggs.  And I didn't actually time anything, just estimated - but I have excellent internal timing, if I do say so myself).

Method:
Pour the olive oil into a small frying pan, then grate in (or mince and add) the garlic, scatter in the chilli flakes and put the pan over a medium heat, stirring, for 1 minute.
Tip in the tomatoes, stir in the salt (I don't use salt), and let it come to a bubble.  It's got to be hot enough in which to poach an egg.
Crack in the egg/s, sprinkle the Parmesan over it, leaving some of the yellow yolk still exposed, and partially cover with a lid.  Let it bubble for 5 minutes (make coffee and toast), by which time the white should be set and the yolk still runny, but keep an eye on it.

Remove from the heat and serve - if so wished - sprinkled with a little more Parmesan and some chilli oil, and some bread to dunk.

Super easy.  Super-carbed as well though...  but I can get over that.  With the first mouthful, I realised just why this is great if you're not feeling so crash hot.  And why this is such an apt name.  Eggs in Purgatory are mighty fiery!  Even with just a sprinkling of chilli flakes at the beginning, the whole dish was rather hot, and I had to get tissues and turn on the fan.  This will be a dish for when I have a cold, for sure.  The other tiny dilemma was just how to eat this - I thought a spoon might be necessary but it turned out that a fork was just fine.

Happy New Year!

Sweet Soy Omelette

This is from a Jill Dupleix recipe book (Good Cooking: the new essentials).  There are a few double page spreads of a focus ingredient used in different, quick recipes, and I'd just skipped over them, except for the lime page.  Mmmmm lime....  But back to the soy.  Needing a quick dinner tonight, the soy omelette said, Try Me, and I did.  Everyone else listens to the illustrations in cookbooks, right?  Yeah, I thought so.

Beat 2 eggs with 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp mirin.  Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok, swirl to coat, add the egg mixture, swirl again, loosen the sides, and you're good to go.  Can be rolled and sliced to add to fried rice, soups, or stir fries (as pictured).  It is delicious. 

As you can see, mine is a little darker on the underside.  This is what happens when you take photos while cooking.  It's looking good, put the camera down, and suddenly it's gone all crispy.  Be warned.

Scrambled not Fried

My first alteration to habit for the year had two parts.  Normally, I have eggs for breakfast on Mondays.  New Year's Day being a Sunday allowed for a more leisurely breakfast.  Normally, I fry my eggs - less effort required, and the timing fits well with the frothing of the milk for my coffee.  More time allowed scrambling, which I hadn't done for ages (years?).  When time permits, this is a good change.