Mango & Tomato: eggs

4/8/20

Spring Pasta With Leeks, Zucchini, And Peas

This Spring Pasta With Leeks, Zucchini, And Peas is a super quick lunch recipe and was inspired by Melissa Clark's chat last week (virtual) with Politics & Prose.

I submitted a question to Melissa asking what to do with 3 leeks and one huge zucchini. Melissa suggested sauteing both in butter and olive oil, then adding anchovies and serving with pasta.

I don't happen to like anchovies, other than the large fat marinated ones, but did not have those in my pantry (aka one kitchen cabinet).

I used what I had. It turned out lovely.

Spring Pasta With Leeks, Zucchini, And Peas

Ingredients (without exact measurements)
olive oil
butter
leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced in half lengthwise, and then into thin moon shapes
large zucchini, sliced the same as leeks
garlic cloves, minced
salt
defrosted peas
zest and juice of Meyer lemon, or a regular lemon
pasta of your choice, cooked
shaved English extra mature cheddar
6 minute jammy egg (Put eggs into cold water. Bring to a boil. Cover. Turn the heat off. Let stand for 6 minutes. Dunk eggs into ice cold water. Peel. Cut in half.)
sumac

Directions
1. Heat a combination of olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add leeks and saute until they've softened. Try not to burn them like I did.
2. Add zucchini. At this point you may want to cover the skillet with a lid to quickly soften the zucchini.
3. Take the lid off, add garlic, and continue sauteing until the vegetables are cooked through and are golden brown.
4. Season with salt. Add defrosted peas, Meyer lemon zest and juice, and pasta. Combine. Heat through.
5. Serve in a bowl that you made in a pottery class.
6. Top with shaved cheese.
7. Add half of an egg topped with sumac.

This dish is great hot or at room temperature. Also, feel free to forego pasta and instead use the leek/zucchini/pea mixture as a filling for an omelet or a topping for toast!

1/27/20

Meatless Monday: Rice With Plantains, Fried Egg, And Avocado

I love leftovers (imagine Oprah's I love bread). One of the best things about not eating an entire meal at once is that you have a second meal to look forward to.

If you don't have enough leftovers to make an entire meal, you can add a few ingredients and turn the leftovers into an entirely new dish.

Over the weekend, my friend Jenn came and brought Peruvian chicken with yucca fries, rice, and plantains.

I turned the leftovers into a big breakfast, but you can easily eat it for lunch or dinner.

Meatless Monday: Rice With Plantains, Fried Egg, And Avocado

1. In a cast iron skillet, crisp up leftover rice in a bit of olive oil. Add defrosted peas.
2. Reheat plantains.
3. Add a fried egg.
4. Add a sliced avocado.
5. Drizzle with Peruvian green sauce and add a few spoons of salsa.

This was so satisfying!!!

12/9/19

Breakfast For Dinner: Baby Bella Toast With A Fried Egg

Sunday morning, after not being able to sleep in once again, I decided to treat myself to something other than an overnight oatmeal for breakfast and created Baby Bella Toast With A Fried Egg.

There's really not a recipe for this toast: it's more of an idea, but I think you'll like it, and it'll be perfect for a light Meatless Monday dinner.

My friends at Seasonal Roots send me a produce basket once a month and in return, I create a fun recipe and tell you all about it. If you've not tried them, you can use mangotomato code to receive a discount on your membership fee.

Last week's basket included baby bella mushrooms which inspired this dish.

1) Thinly slice bella mushrooms and onion.
2) Heat a swirl of olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms and onions and saute slowly until they have browned. Don't overcrowd the pan. Don't rush. Don't burn the mushrooms.
3) Season with salt.
4) Meanwhile, fry an egg.
5) Toast a slice of olive oil and rosemary bread and smear it with hummus.
6) Top with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a fried egg, a bit more salt, and chopped parsley.
7) Drizzle with green chile hot sauce.

10/28/19

Zucchini, Dill, and Feta Shakshuka from Sababa by Adeena Sussman

Breakfast for dinner? Meatless Monday? Comfort food? Adeena Sussman's recipe for Zucchini, Dill, and Feta Shakshuka perfectly fits all three categories.

Earlier this month, I won Adeena Sussman's Cookbook Sababa (published by Avery) on instagram from Ellie Krieger, and decided to make Adeena's shakshuka recipe yesterday for brunch with friends.

I've made my own version of shakshuka many times before, but thought I could learn a thing or two from a published cookbook author.

What I learned is that I've never spent nearly enough time perfecting the sauce by sauteing the aromatics, layering the spices, using 3 types of tomatoes (raw, pureed from a can, and tomato paste), and reducing the sauce to make a flavorful and thick base for the eggs.

Adeena's shakshuka was a great success at brunch, and I had leftovers today for lunch. I am looking forward to making her green shakshuka next!

Zucchini, Dill, and Feta Shakshuka
Reprinted with permission from the author
Serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizziling
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
6 medium very ripe fresh tomatoes, finely chopped by hand, or pureed in the bowl of a food processor if you like smoother shakshuka
One 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 small, fresh, finely diced red jalapeno, plus more to taste and for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
6 large eggs
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
Pita or other bread, for serving

Set a rack in the top third of the oven. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, season in the pan with salt and black pepper, and cook, not stirring too much, until the zucchini has released its water and is golden and slightly charred around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet, then add the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until the onion is lightly golden and softened but not too dark, 9 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Add the tomato paste, cumin, paprika, coriander, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant and the tomato paste is slightly caramelized, 2 minutes. Add the fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes, and jalapeno. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce has darkened and thickened slightly, 20 to 25 minutes; season with additional salt and black pepper to taste.

Preheat the broiler during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Stir in the dill and return the zucchini to the pan, stirring gently. Use a spoon to form 6 wells in the sauce, crack an egg into each well. Sprinkle with feta around the skillet and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer the shakshuka to the oven and broil until the top of the sauce is slightly caramelized and the whites of the eggs are just opaque but the yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven (use an oven mitt since the handle will be hot), top with fresh chopped dill and more jalapeno, and serve immediately, or cool to room temperature and serve, sandwich-style, stuffed into pitas or piled on top of bread.

NOTES
1. I used orange pepper because that's what I had.
2. I did not add dill into the sauce itself: only used it as a garnish.
3. I used room temperature eggs as to not shock them too much ;)

9/3/19

Spam, Potato & Pepper Hash With A Fried Egg

It may be hard to believe, but I've been thinking about making Spam, Potato & Pepper Hash With A Fried Egg for several days.

It all started after I saw my friend Jazmin post a photo of SPAM at a Minnesota State Fair. I've not had SPAM in ages and decided to buy it. The timing was somewhat perfect as I just had a dental surgery and needed to eat something soft. Oy.

I also had a leftover baked potato, which I think is the perfect potato to use for a hash because it's already cooked! Undercooked potatoes are one of my biggest pet peeves.

The photo above is my breakfast from yesterday because I had a day off and love to have a big ass breakfast on such an occasion.

Spam, Potato & Pepper Hash With A Fried Egg

olive oil
onion, diced
green pepper, diced
SPAM, diced
baked potato, diced
salt & pepper
fried egg
ketchup

Start by sauteing onion and pepper in a skillet heated with olive oil.

Once the vegetables are tender, add SPAM and potatoes and season with salt (just a bit!) and black pepper. Continue sauteing until SPAM and potatoes are crispy.

Serve with a fried egg on top: I prefer mine to have a soft yolk.

Ketchup is optional. Feel free to use hot sauce or sriracha.

Do YOU love SPAM?

2/19/19

Roasted Beet Salad With Chipotle Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet Salad With Chipotle Vinaigrette looks beautiful plated, and tastes even better once you mix all the ingredients together.

I was inspired to create this salad after seeing a picture of beets on my friend Laura's insta story and asking her what she was going to make with them. Laura sent me a link to her recipe for Roasted Chipotle Beets With Goat Cheese & Egg Tostadas. I took some of the same ingredients, added a few extras, and turned it into a salad!

Roasted Beet Salad With Chipotle Vinaigrette
Ingredients
beets, scrubbed
olive oil
avocado, sliced
red pepper, sliced
blue cheese, crumbled
6 minute egg (put eggs in cold water, cover, bring to a boil, shut off the heat, wait 6 minutes, cool in an ice bath, peel, slice)
cilantro
for the dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chiles in adobo
1 tablespoons lime juice plus extra lime wedges
salt to taste

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425. Put beets on an aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, wrap, and roast for about 1 hour, depending on the size. Cool slightly, peel, dice.
2. Arrange the beets, avocado, red pepper, blue cheese crumbles, sliced egg, and cilantro on a plate.
3. Whisk the dressing ingredients together.

For the purposes of the photo, I poured the dressing into a little bowl. You shall pour it onto the other ingredients.

The dressing was awesome! It could also act a a marinade for chicken if you want.

If you love beets, definitely make this salad.

2/5/19

Tater Tot Tuesday: Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole With Italian Sausage & Peppers

Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole With Italian Sausage & Peppers is a great one skillet brunch or breakfast dish to make to share with friends, or can be an easy dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day.

You know about Taco Tuesday, but what about Tater Tot Tuesday? Let's start this new movement ;)

This past Sunday, a few friends came for brunch at my place, and I decided to make up my own version of a tater tot breakfast casserole after seeing quite a few versions on line.

First, I knew I wanted to make the entire casserole in one dish instead of browning the meat in a skillet and then transferring to a baking dish.

Second, I did not understand why some recipes put the tater tots on the bottom: who wants soggy tater tots?

Finally, instead of prepping all the ingredients first, I chopped peppers and onions while the Italian sausage was cooking, and shredded the cheese while the peppers and onions were sauteing: this saved me so much time!

Tater Tot Tuesday: Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole With Italian Sausage & Peppers
Serves 6

Ingredients
16 ounces Italian mild sausage
2 orange peppers
1 onion
salt & pepper
8 ounce block cheese (I used a combination of Mozzarella and Cheddar)
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
28 ounce bag frozen tater tots
parsley, chopped

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a large oven-proof skillet, brown Italian sausage.
3. Meanwhile, dice the peppers and the onion.
4. Remove the sausage into a bowl, and use the skillet to saute the peppers and onion seasoned with salt and pepper until tender, about 10 minutes. Depending on the fat content of the sausage, you may need to add a bit of olive oil to the skillet.
5. Meanwhile, shred the cheese.
6. Add the browned sausage back into the skillet.
7. In the bowl that held the sausage, whisk the eggs with the milk, season with salt and pepper, and add all but 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
8. Pour the egg mixture over the pepper/onion/sausage mixture.
9. Layer tater tots in concentric circles.
10. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes.
11. Remove the casserole from the oven and evenly top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes.
12. Top with parsley.

before

My Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole was a huge success! You can vary the recipe by adding mushrooms or broccoli and changing the types of cheese you use. The leftovers reheat quite well.

This is my table setting: flowers are a must!

10/9/18

Quick & Easy: Fried Egg, Sweet Plantains & Avocado

Some meals are planned. Others are thrown together in minutes. At least that's how I cook.

Yesterday, I had a day off, lunch was put together in minutes from a bunch of random ingredients I had on hand.

Quick & Easy: Fried Egg, Sweet Plantains & Avocado

1. Defrosted cooked white beans became a white bean dip with a bit of salt, bean cooking liquid, chili powder, and fresh basil.

2. Fried egg.

3. Frozen and baked plantains from the night before were reheated in the same skillet with the fried egg.

4. Cut up tomato and avocado were sprinkled with a bit of salt.

5. Everything got a bit of a freshness kick from the lime juice.

Quick and easy!

4/23/18

Meatless Monday: Asparagus, Broccoli & Chevre Frittata Adapted From Ellie Krieger

Spring is finally in the air! Why not make a frittata to celebrate? I adapted Ellie Krieger's recipe by using dill instead of chives, adding broccoli, using more chevre (goat cheese) and topping the final dish with tomatoes.

This frittta is easy to make, can be served hot or at room temperature, and makes for great leftovers.

Plus, the title is fun: ABC (Asparagus, Broccoli, Chevre)!

Meatless Monday: Asparagus, Broccoli & Chevre Frittata Adapted From Ellie Krieger
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's recipe on Washington Post

Ingredients for 4
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch asparagus, thick ends discarded, the rest cut into 1" pieces
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped and washed well
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
7 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (use whatever fat % you like)
salt & pepper to taste
4 ounces chevre (goat cheese) broken into big pieces
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 tomatoes, sliced

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in an oven proof pan. Add asparagus, broccoli, and leeks and saute for 8 minutes on medium heat. Stir in parsley.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with milk, salt and pepper and pour over the vegetables.
3. Cook frittata over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. You want the eggs to set around the edges but not in the center of the frittata.
4. While the eggs are cooking, preheat the broiler and position the oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the top.
5. Arrange chevre chunks on top of the frittata and broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Don't burn!
6. Top the finished frittata with dill and tomato slices.

10/30/17

Meatless Monday: Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast Recipe

Beet lovers, this Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast will have your taste buds doing a happy dance.

I'm not sure why it took me so long to combine pickled beets in a salad with eggs since growing up in Russia, there were multiple dishes in which roasted beets were combined with hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise. The taste was great, the vibrant color was even better.

If you think beets taste like dirt, you need to reconsider. Roast a few beets or buy them pickled in a jar and give them another chance.

My twin has posted several photos of hard boiled eggs pickled in the liquid from pickled beets and turned them into a salad. I decided to go one step further and add pickled beets into the salad!

First, you cook the eggs as you normally do. For me, that means covering eggs with cold water in a small pot, bringing it to a boil, turning the heat off, and letting the eggs sit covered in the pot for 10 minutes. Cool, peel, and dunk into the liquid from pickled beets. Refrigerate.

I found the texture of the eggs change quite a bit and become firmer and almost unpleasant. The color was gorgeous, but even after several days in the pickling liquid, the flavor didn't really permeate the egg.

Instead, I suggest you use regular hard boiled eggs, and then add pickled beets. You'll get the same great color, but better texture.

Pickled Beet & Egg Salad On Avocado Toast Recipe

1 hard boiled egg, peeled, chopped
1-2 pickled beets, depending on size, chopped
mayonnaise, the more the better
whole wheat toast
avocado, sliced

1. Combine chopped eggs and beets with mayonnaise.
2. Top the toast with sliced avocado and beet/egg salad.
3. Serve with coffee.

By the way, the very first photograph in this post shows my avocado tree!! How pretty is it? Have you tried growing one? It's a super long process which has tested my patience several times. The tree will never produce actual fruit, but I love the green leaves!

5/1/17

Meatless Monday: Spiralized Zucchini With Asparagus, Soy Sauce Egg & Avocado

Are you looking for a quick meal that's satisfying and good for you? Then you need to make my Spiralized Zucchini With Asparagus, Soy Sauce Egg & Avocado.

You don't need a spiralizer for this recipe, although it makes for a fun kitchen tool. You can use a peeler to make ribbons of zucchini or simply dice it. This dish is perfect for a light Meatless Monday lunch or dinner and is a good way to use in season asparagus. Mine came from my weekly Washington's Green Grocer order.

The soy sauce egg makes an appearance once again...because I'm addicted to it.

Spiralized Zucchini With Asparagus, Soy Sauce Egg & Avocado
Serves 1

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 zucchini, spiralized
3 asparagus spears, sliced on a diagonal
1 garlic clove, sliced
salt & pepper to taste
pinch red pepper flakes
1 soy sauce egg
1/2 avocado (or just go ahead and use the whole one!)

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Quickly saute zucchini, asparagus and garlic, seasoning with salt & pepper and red pepper flakes. Don't cook the vegetables to death and don't burn the garlic.
2. Serve the vegetables in a bowl {I made this one in a pottery class!} with a halved egg and avocado slices seasoned with Kosher salt.

Have a twirl of a Monday ;)

3/13/17

Savory Oatmeal: Put A Soy Sauce Egg On It!

This Savory Oatmeal with Soy Sauce Egg is so good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

There's really no recipe per se. Make oatmeal whichever way you usually cook it (but make sure to leave out sugar!). Add halved soy sauce egg, sliced tomatoes, fresh parsley and thinly sliced shallots and drizzle with olive oil and top with freshly ground black pepper.

Ta da! I much prefer savory oatmeal over the sweet one, and this idea is great for Meatless Monday.

Tell me how you eat oatmeal!

3/8/17

Put An Egg On It: Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi

Looking for a fun twist on eggs? I've been loving these Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi and have made them twice during the last week and a half.

I remember the time when I was against joining instagram. What was I thinking? Why do I have to be such a late convert to new technology? Now people probably wish I stayed off instagram and did not post a zillion photographs...but that's not my problem ;)

One of the reasons I love instagram is that it serves as inspiration for places to visit, books to read, and recipes to make. Recently I saw a photo of Momofuku soy eggs on Laura's instagram and decided I needed to make them as soon as possible!

The recipe that Laura used and that I used as a template comes from Food52. After reading the comments, however, and using some common sense, I knew I'd have to make several changes.

1) I changed the method for cooking the eggs.
2) I decreased the refrigeration time because a) I did not have the patience to wait the original two hours and b) after 1.5 hours the eggs were plenty salty. I can't imagine what they'd taste like after six hours even if using low sodium soy sauce. Oy.

Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi

Ingredients
4 eggs
6 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar {I used 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, but you can use whatever you have on hand}
3/4 cups soy sauce
4 eggs
togarashi {read my previous post about my obsession}
toast
avocado
tomatoes

Directions
1. Place the eggs into a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off the heat and let stand for 8 minutes.
2. Remove the eggs from the hot water, dunk them into a large bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes and peel after about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the warm water and whisk in vinegar and soy sauce.
4. I found it best to use a tall container for marinating the eggs. Place the eggs in the tall container, pour over soy sauce mixture and refrigerate for 1.5 hours. I used a small saucer to push down the eggs so they were fully immersed in the solution.
5. Remove the eggs and serve halved or quartered topped with togarashi with a side of toast, avocado and tomatoes.
6. If you aren't going to use all the eggs at once, store the remaining eggs in a separate container from the soy sauce mixture, which you could reuse later!

I LOVED these! The yolk was slightly undercooked, there was no need to add any salt, and the togarashi added great texture and a bit of heat.

Come back to see another way I ate these eggs later this week or next week or go check out my instagram feed ;)

10/17/16

Marcus Samuelsson's The Red Rooster Cookbook: Sunday Tomato Eggs

breakfast, marcus samuelsson, red rooster cookbook

When I went to NYC this past February, the one restaurant I really wanted to visit was Red Rooster in Harlem. Luckily, my friends were happy to check it out with me for dinner. I loved the cheerful atmosphere, live band and the food. Well, now you can make some of the recipes from Red Rooster because the owner of the restaurant, Marcus Samuelsson wrote The Red Rooster Cookbook!

The book comes out October 18th, and I'm excited to attend a Macy's Culinary Council event in Washington DC at Metro Center Macy's on October 26th to meet Chef Marcus Samuelsson and to learn more about the book. Additionally, there'll be Harlem-inspired food and entertainment from W.A.F.F.L.E (We Are Family For Life Entertainment) and The Rakiem Walker Project: maybe I'll bring my dancing shoes ;)

For more information on the event and to purchase your tickets, click here.

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Macy's; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I searched for a recipe from the book, I found one for Sunday Tomato Eggs published on WWD. The recipes reminded me of shakshuka, and I decided to make it this past Saturday.

Because I followed the recipe pretty closely, I'm not going to retype it. Basically, you make a tomato sauce using Mexican chorizo, onion, celery and garlic. Of course you add tomatoes (crushed)! The fun additions in the sauce were capers, olives, chipotle in adobo and horseradish!

Marcus says to poach the eggs directly in the sauce and serve them on top of toast topped with buratta and basil.

I already had a hard boiled egg in my fridge, so used that and fresh mozzarella. The recipe was easy to make, and the sauce is delicious if you want to use it as the base for chili or to serve mixed with pasta or on top of polenta!

8/29/16

Tortilla Espanola For One: Prefect Meatless Monday Recipe

Friday night I decided to make Tortilla Espanola for breakfast on Saturday, but ended up not waking up till almost 11 am after a night of salsa dancing and going out for Mexican and Bloody Marys with my friend Sarah instead.

No worries: luckily there are two days in a weekend.

This dish is great for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. If you are making this for Meatless Monday tonight (you have plenty of time to get the ingredients if you don't have them on hand already), add a side salad and you'll be all set.

Tortilla Espanola For One: Prefect Meatless Monday Recipe

Makes 1

Ingredients

2 small Yukon gold potatoes, sliced thinly

water

salt

olive oil

1/4 small onion, chopped

2 eggs

splash of half & half

Directions

1. Cook potatoes until tender in salted water.

2. Meanwhile saute onions in olive oil seasoned with salt in a little skillet. I used my Lodge cast iron skillet.

3. Remove onions from the skillet. Add a bit extra olive oil if needed and layer drained potatoes (I made two layers).

4. Top potatoes with sauteed onions and a whisked mixture of eggs, half & half, and salt.

5. Cook Tortilla Espanola covered on low heat until most of the egg mixture has set.

6. Put the skillet under the broiler for about 5 minutes until the top is golden brown and the eggs are completely set.

How beautiful is this?

You can serve Tortilla Espanola as is out of the cast iron skillet or turn it upside down and serve it no the plate:

8/8/16

Meatless Monday: Whole30 Cold Beet Soup To Beat The Hot Weather

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend.

Last week my twin started #whole30 meal plan for the month of August and asked me to join. I did not want to give up beans, half and half for my coffee, all the boozy beverages and all the carbs. Instead, I agreed to do a modified version of the plan and cut down on white refined carbs, added sugar, and limit my alcohol intake to one or two glasses a week. Not bad.

This cold beet soup is perfect for those of you following #whole30, or Meatless Monday or for anyone who loves beets and wants a refreshing dish for hot summer days.

1. Scrub and dice a few beets. Cover the beets with water, season with salt and cook until the beets are tender. Allow the beets and the liquid to cool completely in the refrigerator.

2. In a soup bowl place cubed beets, cooked cubed potatoes, diced red onion, chopped radishes, diced pickles, sliced hard boiled egg and fresh basil.

3. Pour the cooking beet liquid over the vegetables. Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper and a bit of liquid from the pickles.

4. Enjoy!

A video posted by Olga Berman (@mangotomato) on Aug 5, 2016 at 9:25am PDT

I typically have this soup with an addition of buttermilk, but it was good without it as well. You can add cucumbers and dill and red peppers. This is a great start to dinner or can even be served as breakfast!

8/5/16

Weekend Breakfast For One: Treat Yourself

Whether it's been a slow week or the days have gone by quickly, I'm always looking forward to the weekend. Ideally, I like to sleep in and make something a bit more elaborate for breakfast than a hard boiled egg with chickpeas, salsa and a slice of cheese, which has been my breakfast at work this past week.

Sometimes I go to bed Friday night dreaming of iced coffee, challah toast slathered with mayonnaise and topped with thick slices of tomatoes or avocado toast with sea salt and pistachios.

Occasionally I defrost a croissant from Trader Joe's and impatiently look at the oven clock for 20 minutes while the croissant expands and bakes in the oven.

Last weekend I made something savory and fast: potato and red onion hash with a fried egg and sliced avocado topped with sriracha.

You really don't need a recipe for this of course. The important part is to dice your potatoes into even pieces and start cooking them before adding the onions. Make sure to season your hash with salt and pepper. If you are cooking for one, you can use the same skillet to fry the egg once the potatoes are just a few minutes from being completely done.

Having fresh flowers and iced coffee with a fun straw elevates this simple breakfast for sure!

What are you dreaming of for this weekend? How do you treat yourself?

7/25/16

Meatless Monday Breakfast: Patty Pan Squash & Rainbow Chard Frittata Recipe

What's for breakfast? Do you get asked this question often or ask yourself that? I'm usually an English muffin with cream cheese and smoked salmon or ricotta and peaches type of a girl, but my weight management person (eye roll) told me to switch things up a bit and make a frittata. That was a much easier advice to follow than to do dumbbell exercises (it took me THREE tries to type that correctly).

I love frittata:
1. you can use a million different ingredients
2. it's a one pan meal
3. the leftovers are awesome.

Last week I received a giant bouquet of rainbow chard in my Washington's Green Grocer order and one of my friends suggested I turn it into a frittata. Done!

Meatless Monday Breakfast: Patty Pan Squash & Rainbow Chard Frittata
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
olive oil
3 large patty pan squash, diced
salt to taste
5 large rainbow chard leaves {stems and membrane removed and discarded}, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes to taste
6 eggs
splash of half & half
1/2 cup shredded cheese {I actually used 2 slices of Havarti that I cut into smaller pieces}
sriracha to taste

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large broiler safe pan. Add patty pan squash, season with salt and saute until the squash pieces are golden.
2. Add rainbow chard, garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until the chard pieces have softened. Don't burn the garlic. If needed, you might want to add a bit of olive oil in this step.
3. Whisk the eggs with half & half. Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables, cover with a lid, and cook on medium low for about 7 minutes or until most of the egg mixture has set.
4. Cover frittata with cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese bubbles.
5. Serve wedges of frittata topped with sriracha.

This recipe makes for a great breakfast and can be eaten cold the next day as leftovers. You can also serve this frittata with a salad and toasted baguette for dinner for Meatless Monday. If you aren't a fan of patty pan squash or can't find it, use potatoes or zucchini.

Stay cool!

6/28/16

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas With Spinach & Poached Egg: OXO Good Grips Glass Snap Containers

I strongly dislike cleaning. Strangely enough, though, I'm a fan of organizing (when I feel like it). I love my professionally organized closet, the OXO POPup Containers in my pantry (really just a kitchen cabinet) and various food containers I bought from QVC that have perfectly locking lids.

When OXO reached out to see if I'd like to test out their newly developed Good Grips Glass Snap Containers, I jumped up and down (literally...or maybe figuratively!). These are glass containers that have snap on lids that can be used to prep, store, cook and serve the food. They look good and can go from the freezer to your oven (take the lids off first of course). There will be no spills with these!

The set I received includes 4 round containers of different sizes (which all fit inside one another) and 4 matching lids.

I used these containers to store the prepped ingredients for my Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas With Spinach & Poached Egg and then to store the leftovers. They worked really well!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas With Spinach & Poached Egg
Ingredients

1 sweet potato, peeled, diced {keep the size the same as chickpeas}
1 cup cooked chickpeas
olive oil, salt & pepper
1 bunch spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 poached egg
dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove, microplaned
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper to tasted

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Drizzled diced sweet potatoes and chickpeas with oil and season with salt and pepper in the largest OXO bowl, cover with the snap on lid and shake.
3. Roast the sweet potato and chickpeas in a single layer on a large cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
4. Meanwhile, shake all the dressing ingredients in a Little Salad Dressing Shaker {I love how its green color matches the color of my kitchen}.
5. Toss the roasted vegetables with torn spinach leaves and enough dressing to coat {you'll have some of the dressing left over}. Use 2-in-1 Salad Servers to serve this "salad" and top the dish with a poached egg.

If you have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator in one of the smaller glass containers!

Disclosure: I was provided with the set of OXO products as a gift but was not compensated otherwise for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

5/2/16

Meatless Monday: Roasted Cauliflower With Radishes And Chickpeas

Last year I signed up for a three year subscription plan for Real Simple magazine. I love getting the new issue in the mail. I always think I'll read it right away (or take it on the plane when traveling) and try some of the recipes. My best intentions, however, are usually just that: intentions.

The January issue of the magazine sat on my coffee table since January! ENOUGH, I thought earlier last week. I forced myself to read through the stories, highlight a few products and rip a few of the recipes that looked interesting.

That's how I finally ended up making a version of Real Simple's Roasted cauliflower and radish salad with soft-cooked eggs.

Roasted Cauliflower With Radishes And Chickpeas
Slightly adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients for 4
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
10 radishes, halved
2 cups chickpeas {I used home-cooked ones, but you can use canned}
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
4 eggs
dressing: olive oil, whole grain mustard, sherry vinegar {about equal parts of each}
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
4 slices of toast

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a bowl, combine cauliflower, radishes and chickpeas. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes in a single layer on a large rimmed cookie sheet, shaking the pan occasionally. For a bit of crunch, broil the vegetables for 5 extra minutes.

2. Meantime, poach your eggs.

3. Whisk together ingredients for the dressing, taste, season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve roasted vegetables in a bowl topped with a poached egg, a drizzle of the dressing, chopped hazelnuts and cilantro and a slice of toast.

My poached egg flipped upside down when I was placing it in the bowl and the yolk completely leaked. I'm sure you'll do better!

This was a satisfying lunch and would also make a fun brunch dish. You can roast the vegetables in advance and serve them at room temperature or reheat.

Also, don't forget to follow me on instagram for other things I'm cooking and eating ;)

Happy Meatless Monday!

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