Soft Scramble, Serrano, Red Eye Gravy

Soft Scramble, Serrano Ham and Red Eye Gravy Toast

Soft Scramble Serrano Ham and Toast

Eggs – 3 each
Butter – ½ tbsp.
Salt – to taste (about 1/8 tsp)
Cracked Pepper – 2 cracks
Thick sliced Sourdough – 1 slice ½ inch thick
Serrano ham – 4 to 5 pieces thinly sliced
Chives – 1 tbsp minced

Method: Gently whisk eggs until yolk and white is combined. Heat pan over medium high heat and add butter and eggs. Using a rubber spatula continue to stir until curds begin to set. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Toast sourdough in toaster till golden. 

Red Eye Gravy

Butter – 1 tbsp
Nespresso Coffee – ½ cup
Chicken Broth or Water – ¼ cup
Sugar – Large pinch (about ½ tsp)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Brown 1 tbsp of butter in hot skillet, add sugar and stir to combine. Add Nespresso coffee and broth and whisk till combine while letting reduce by 1/2  and gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble: Place eggs on top of toast and drape with serrano ham, drizzle gravy over top and sprinkle with minced chives.

Cardamom, Brown Butter Carrot Cake, Espresso Frosting

Espresso and Cardamom Spiced Carrot Cake (gluten free)

 Spiced Carrot Cake

1 cup - Unsalted butter, browned
3 cup cup for cup gluten free flour  
6 eggs
1.5 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups shredded carrots loose pack

Method: Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9’’ baking pan.

In a mixer add eggs, sugar and mix until fluffy. In a small bowl combine dry ingredients, four, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. In another bowl whisk oil, butter and vanilla.

When eggs and sugar are fluffy, drizzle the oil into the mixer and continue to whisk until light and fluffy. Fold dry ingredients into the mixture and stir in carrots. Bake for about 30 min or until toothpick comes out of cake clean.

Espresso Frosting

16 oz crème cheese
2 cup powdered sugar
2 stick butter
4 tbsp Nespresso espresso
2 tsp ground cardamom
½ cup candied walnuts crushed, for garnish

Method: Make frosting by beating the cream cheese and sugar. When combined, add the butter, Nespresso espresso and cardamom.

To assemble: Remove the cake from pan and let cool. Cut into squares and then divide squares in half. Spread some icing between two layers, then generously spread icing over the top and garnish with candied walnuts.   

Healthy Rice Congee

Josh and I found our hearts in the bottom bowl of rice congee in the middle of Chinatown. It tasted so good we had to make it our selves, thinking we could do this better. Our first stab at rice congee was fun and beautiful. I believe we made something delicious, unique, and warming. The rice is your canvas, add whatever you would like. 

Ingredients

Rice of any kind - 1 cup
Chicken Stock - 5 cups
Cabbage - 2 cups shredded

Garnishes
Red cabbage sliced thin
Crispy shallot from supermarket
Fried garlic
Wilted greens
Egg yolks raw
Hard boiled eggs
Pepitas
Scallion - sliced thin on an angle
Soy sauce
Chili oil

Method

Rinse rice 3 times until water runs clear. Add water and salt to taste and simmer stirring occasionally until tender and rice begins to break down about 1 hour. Fold in the cabbage and continuing cooking for another 10 min. 

Top your congee with your choice of ingredients. 

Beet and Kefir Pancakes

Pink Pancakes? Yup, these fruity, beet pancakes are spiked with kefir, which makes for a remarkably full bodied, fluffy and fruity cake. It's not a bad way to start your Valentine's Day morning. Detox + probiotics + deliciousness. I recommend topping them with some fruit and dark maple syrup. 

Ingredients

AP Flour - 1 cup
Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Egg - 1 egg
Raspberry Kefir - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Raw Red Beet - 1/2 each
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp + Some for cooking
 

Method

Blend all ingredients until silky smooth! Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add coconut oil and pour batter into the pan, making pancakes as big as you want! 

Hearty Scramble + Turmeric Roasted Potatoes

Everyone loves a good breakfast, and let me tell you, this is a great breakfast. I threw this together with some ingredients that were laying around my house. Simple. Easy. Delicious. Give it a try for a satisfying, and super flavorful meal that will leave you ready to conquer the day. 

Note: you can use any cheese, any green, any potato (sweet potato included). Include or exclude the meat. Make it your own. 

Hearty Scramble + Turmeric Roasted Potato 
Serves 4

Scramble

Eggs - 9 each
Bacon - 6 pieces cut into thin lardons
Onion - 1/2 each minced
Garlic - 1 clove
Spinach - 2 handfuls 
Parmesan - 1/4 cup grated
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

(cook the potatoes first) 

Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk till mixed. Then cut the bacon into lardons buy cutting the short way to make thing pieces. Place bacon in a non-stick over medium heat. Continue to cook until crispy. Continue to stir as it cooks. Mince onion.
When it is crispy, drain out fat and add in minced onion and cook till transparent. 
Next add the spinach and crush garlic through a press. 
Cook till spinach wilts... Add the eggs and stir until eggs reach your desired consistency. If you continually stir then the curds will be small and tender. I like small curds that are soft and a bit runny. It usually takes me about 5 min to cook the eggs.  
Season with salt and pepper. TASTE!

Crispy Turmeric Potato

Fingerling Potato - 3/4 lb cut into 1'' slices
Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
Turmeric - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper - to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Wash the potatoes and cut them into bite sized pieces. Heat a pan over medium high heat, add oil and then potatoes to the hot pan. Let sit and become golden brown about 4 min. Shake and stir then sprinkle them with turmeric, garam masala. Place in the oven for 10 min. Stir every once in a while to prevent burning. Roast for another five min, until the potatoes are super crispy.
Season them with salt and pepper. 

Winter Brain Breakfast Bowl - Persimmon, Hazelnut, Pumpkin, Maca and Coconut

The time has come! Finally a breakfast bowl that IS NOT a smoothie bowl! 

This delicious breakfast bowl consists of hearty grains of quinoa and farro, seasonal persimmon and apple, healing warm spices, crunchy toasted hazelnuts and a smooth puree of creamy coconut, pumpkin and maca! It is a perfect way to start your day. This hearty bowl will stick to your ribs and give you the fuel that you need to conquer the world! 

Why is this bowl good for you? Well just check out the benefits of: 

• Maca - Great for sexual function (who doesn't love that), rich in vitamins B,C,E as well as calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and amino acids. All this goodness makes maca great for you energy, health and skin! 

• Persimmon - are one of the few foods associated with killing breast cancer cells without harming normal breast cells. This is due to the flavonoid fisetin. Fisetin aslo has been named as a significant contributor in the programmed eradication of colon and prostate cancer cells. 

• Quinoa - one of the most protein rich foods we can eat! It is high in fiber, magnesium, lysine, B2 and other health promoting vitamins and minerals. 

I suggest you make a batch of the grains and store them in an air tight container in the fridge. They will last a long time and provide a great base for not only breakfast bowls, but lunch and dinner bowls and soups as well! 

Serves 8 

Ingredients

GRAINS

Quinoa - 1 cups
Water - 4 cups
Ginger - 1 inch knob sliced
Star Annise - 1 each
Cinnamon - 1 stick 

Farro - 2 cups
Water - 6 cups
Ginger - 1 inch knob
Star Anise - 1 each
Cinnaomon - 1 stick

PUREE

Coconut milk - 1 can
Pumpkin - 1 can 
Maca - 1 tbsp
Coconut Sugar - 1 tbsp

GARNISH

Apple - 2 cups diced
Persimmon - 2 cups diced
Hazelnut - 1 cup toasted

Method

Cook the Quinoa: Rinse the quinoa until the water runs clear. This will remove any bitter traces. Next dry the quinoa. In a large pan, heat the quinoa stirring occasionally so that the grain is nearly dry. Now add the water, anise, cinnamon and ginger and let cook.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let simmer for 15 min. Remove from heat and let it sit for another 10 min. Then fluff! 

Cook the Farro: Rinse and drain the farro. Place in a pot with anise, ginger and cinnamon. Add water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-35 min. Drain off excess water. 

Cook the Puree: In a pan, heat the coconut milk and pumpkin over medium heat. Whisk in maca and season with salt and coconut sugar. It will thicken as it cools.

Prepare the Garnish: For the persimmon remove the skin and then cut into small dice about 1/4 inch pieces. Do the same for apple. Toss the apple in some lemon juice to keep from browning. 

For the hazelnuts, place them in a pan and toast over medium heat, or even better, toast in a 350 degree F oven for about 6 min or lightly colored. Remove from pan and rough chop.

To Finish: Toss some grains with apple, persimmon, hazelnut and coconut sugar. Place in a bowl, and put a scoop of puree and top with more fruit and hazelnuts as a garnish! Enjoy! 

My Favorite Parfait

I love to start the day with a nice bowl of yogurt, fruit and granola. In the morning, I like to keep it simple. For me, this is the perfect few bites before I head out the door to conquer the day. 

Because it is so simple there are a few rules that you must follow: 

1. ORGANIC - always. Especially with soft berries and yogurt it is very important to buy and eat organic. No one wants to start their day with pesticides. 
2. Local High Quality - Look for yogurt that gets you excited and is made locally. It will taste better and help out the local farms. 
3. Don't Eat Too Much - Yogurt is rich. Don't eat too much otherwise you won't feel so great. I like to minimize my dairy intake. 
4. INTENTION - when you make your breakfast, put intention and positive thought into it. Trust me it makes it taste better. 

Serves 2

Ingredients 

Greek Yogurt - 1 cup (I love NOOSA yogurt) 
Walnuts - 10 each 
Blueberries - Small handful
Raspberries - Small  handful
Pomegranate Seeds - 2 tbsp
Almond Butter - 2 tbsp each
Honey - 1 tbsp

Method

Put a layer of walnut and fruit on the bottom. Cover with yogurt, drizzle with honey and then cover with fruit! 

The Best Eggs On Earth - LEO. Lox, Eggs and Onions

the Best Breakfast Ever...

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately for me, I was never a fan of the classic morning meal... Until one day my uncle Leo made me L.E.O. Coincidence? I think not. The moment I tasted the magical combination of salty lox, soft eggs and sweet onions I became a believer in breakfast. Quickly I made L.E.O. a weekend habit, perfecting the ratios of ingredients and cooking techniques. After years I ended up with this recipe and technique. The result is a beautiful balance of soft, fluffy and creamy eggs, with salty fish,  sweet tender onions and the brightness of chive and lemon.

If you didn't like breakfast, or eggs, or lox,  perhaps this will change your mind. 

Serves 8

Ingredients

Eggs - 6 each
Onion - 1/2 each sliced
Smoked Salmon or Nova Lox - 1/2 cup chopped
Olive Oil - 1 Tbsp
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Chives - 1/8 cup minced
Salt and Pepper - to taste

The Method

Making a frittata is simple. But the key is to cook the large quantity of eggs through without burning the bottom. To do this we must be delicate and patient. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. 

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly. Now slice your onion and chop the smoked salmon. In a nonstick pan over medium heat add oil and onions. Season with a little bit of salt, to help draw the moisture out of the onion. We want the to cook slowly and sweat, turning them into tender sweet goodness.

Next turn up the heat a little bit and add the butter, when it melts, add the eggs and stir with rubber spatula for about 1 min. You want to create small curds that are interspersed with uncooked. This allows it to cook more evenly without the bottom burning. 

Now put the pan into the oven. Cook for about 5 min. You want to take the eggs out when they are not all the way cooked. Remember, they will keep cooking. 

Now remove and let sit for a few min to solidify. Slide the eggs out of the pan and serve! This will turn anyone into a breakfast lover. 

Dreaming Of Bondi Beach And Avocado Toast

There is nothing more Aussie than avocado toast...when I went to Australia a few months back the avocado toast craze was in full swing. Lucky for me, two of my favorite things in this world are a perfect avocado...and a crispy piece of gluten free toast. If I want to make anyone smile - this is what I make for them.

When I stopped eating gluten, the thought of never eating grilled bread again made me quite sad. Until I found some amazing GF breads. My favorite? 'Udi's' - a good old Colorado based company with awesome 'millet, chia - gluten free bread'. 

I tend to make this when I am craving a satisfying, healthy and light midmorning, afternoon, night or late night snack... really whenever. Get creative with it, I happened to pick up some beautiful watercress at the Union Square Green Market - so I decided to make a nice salad this time.  

The Ingredients

Gluten Free - Bread (Udi's Chia Millett) - 1 slice
Organic Avocado - 1 each
Cherry Tomato - 3 each 
Lemon - 1/2 each
Watercress - small handful 
Local Honey - 2 tsp
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes - 1 tsp
Chili Honey (take 1/4 tsp of honey and pinch of red pepper and mix)
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
Apple Cider Vinegar - 1/2 tsp 
Salt and Pepper - to taste
 

Method

Avocado - First take your avocado, scoop it into a mixing bowl and mash it up a bit with the back of your fork. Next, season it with 2 tsp of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. Avocados can take a lot of salt so don't be too shy. Slice the cherry tomato in half length ways and gently fold it into the avocados. 

Toast - simply take the toast and grill it or toast it... which every you desire...

Watercress - drizzle a teaspoon of oil, honey, apple cider vinegar and some salt and pepper over the watercress. Gently coat the leaves, using only your hands to mix. 

The Finish - Take your perfectly grilled piece of bread, and scoop a nice hunk of avocado on to it. . . top it with the watercress salad and drizzle with chili honey.

Serve to your self of your favorite crush. It will make them smile - guaranteed.