breakfast

Jan

03

A Riff on Huevos Rancheros

breakfast / Non-Traditional  Posted by / 0 comments

 

They might not be traditional, but they are GOOD!

I woke up this morning and had my usual cup of coffee and got to work.  I didn’t make toast, I didn’t have yogurt because I am all charged up and energized about work.  The morning flew by and before I knew it, it was noon and I was HUNGRY.  Like seriously, stomach growling hungry.  I also had a sudden, undeniable craving for Huevos Rancheros, those wonderful fried eggs on top of a deep fried tortilla smothered in salsa.  Oh yeah!

I went to the kitchen and found I didn’t have quite the right ingredients.  Damn!

So, I re-grouped (I’m never without some crazy resource in the kitchen) and raided the fridge for leftovers.  There was some rice, some salsa, eggs, avocados and tortillas.  Okay, I can do this.  My tummy wasn’t taking no for an answer.  I would have my huevos rancheros, but with a twist.

Here’s what I came up with – a tostada shell topped with rice and fried onions that had been drizzled with fresh lemon juice, the fried egg on top of that, salsa on top and some slices of avocado. Not traditional, but way yummy.

 

Kinda-Sorta Huevos Rancheros (For two people)

Two corn tortillas, fried until crispy

one cup of cooked Spanish rice, heated

1/2 an onion, sliced, fried then drizzled with lemon juice

1/4 cup of salsa

avocado slices

2 eggs, over easy

 

To assemble the tostadas:

Scoop the rice onto the fried tortilla in the center

Top that with the fried onions

Add the over easy egg

Garnish with salsa and avocado or whatever you like

I was thinking sour cream would have been good too.

*tip – fry up an extra tortilla or two to scoop up the yummy fillings that fall off onto the plate.

 

Sep

08

Scrambled Eggs & Nopales

breakfast  Posted by / 2 comments
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I hate plain scrambled eggs.  When I was growing up, we never had plain scrambled eggs.  Well, my mother made them on occasion but to me they were just nasty and had no flavor.  They weren’t like the amazing concoctions my grandmother laid on my plate at her house.  Those eggs were full of color, flavor, and smelled absolutely delicious.  They tasted even better than they smelled and my mouth always watered as my grandma was cooking them.  Plain scrambled eggs = blah to me.

At Grandma Lupe’s scrambled eggs were always mixed with things like freshly made chile salsa, nopales, fresh diced chiles, tomatoes, cheese, all kinds of good stuff and served with freshly made, fluffy tortillas, a side of beans and maybe some fruit.  Every bite bursted with flavor and if that wasn’t enough, there was always a bowl full of salsa to scoop onto my plate.

I rarely eat eggs these days because I am always on the go with little time to do more than grab my toast with Nutella and freshly sliced strawberries, a cup of coffee and head right back to my computer to get to work.

This morning I woke up early for me and went out for a walk before the heat of the day made it impossible.  On the way home, I stopped at a market to pick up some coffee creamer and found myself in the produce section.  I picked up a few zucchini, some fresh Roma tomatoes and a few other things while I was at it.  By the time I made it back, I was hungry and fished around in the fridge for something to eat.  I saw some left over nopales and remembered those wonderful mornings eating them in eggs at my grandparent’s house.  Mind made up, I chopped up my veggies, fried them up with the nopales and added my eggs.  Just like my grandmas’.

Scrambled Eggs with Nopales, Calabacitas y Tomates

1 zucchini, finely diced

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/3 c of cooked, sliced nopales (cactus)

1/4 of an onion, diced

3 eggs

1 serrano chile, diced

Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet.  Chop vegetables, setting the tomatoes aside.

Add nopales, zucchini, chiles and onion to the hot pan and fry on medium heat until the zucchini and onion are cooked.  Add the tomatoes and lower the heat a bit.

Scramble the eggs in a bowl and pour into the vegetable mixture.  Add salt and pepper and mix through.  Cook until the eggs are done.

That’s it.

Serve with tortillas, a fresh jalapeno or salsa on the side and you’ve got a Mexican power breakfast.  I didn’t have beans with mine this morning but I probably should have.  They make the eggs taste even better.

Note to  my family:  Yes, I know I added stuff my Grandma Lupe didn’t to her eggs with nopales recipe.  The addition of zucchini was my contribution.  Her’s were made with nopales, onion, eggs and once in a while tomatoes.  No me regañen por favor, for changing up the receta.

Mar

11

Huevos con Chile

stories  Posted by / 0 comments

It’s morning and I’ve finally woken at a decent time, though I still can’t sleep at night for the silence.  I miss that L.A. lullaby of police sirens, music, traffic, voices, dogs barking and the Santa Anas ratting my window panes on a windy night.  I’m sitting on my bed still a little sleepy, wondering what to wear and thinking of those cold mornings in Atwater Village where the creaking of ancient hardwood floors would wake me and the smells of breakfast drifting from the kitchen would lure me out of my cocoon of blankets.

One of my favorite things my grandmother would cook was huevos con chile, scrambled eggs with salsa.  She’d wake up early, about 5am and throw open all the windows and doors to let the fresh air in.  She’d then go outside and water all her flowers and plants while my grandfather irrigated his garden.  From my bed, I would hear the water, feel the dewy morning chill and snuggle in to sleep a little more.  Safe, comforting sounds.  I’d wake again to the creaking of the floorboards, the rattling of pots and then the smells.

Sometimes I’d jump out of bed and run to help in the kitchen.  I’d see the comal going with tomatoes and chiles on it and know she was making salsa.  My grandfather would be there in the kitchen with his rolling pin dusted in flour, rolling out those massive flour tortillas he loved to make.  He worked powerfully and fast.  A quick three turns of the pin and he would have this huge tortilla that barely fit the comal.  I never failed to be amazed by how giant they were and he never tired of showing off for me.

My grandmother would put the molcajete in front of me and the peeled chiles, tomatoes and a few other things like roasted garlic cloves, translucent quarters of onion.  She’d start grinding the chile mixture while i stripped cilantro stems of their leaves and flowers.  She then would take about half of the freshly made salsa over to the stove where she’d scramble eggs and then pour in the salsa which sent off this luscious, spicy steam that made my mouth water.  Before I knew it, there’d be a plate in front of me with eggs colored red and green from the salsa, a scoop of beans with cheese, maybe fresh slices of avocado,  cantaloupe or papaya with lime and one of my Papa’s mega tortillas.

The first bite always tickled my tongue and put a smile on my face.  The eggs were always perfect, the tortillas fluffy and warm, and the best part was my grandmother finally sat down and I could jabber at her, my Aunt Jessie and my Papa while we ate.  What did we talk about?  Why food of course, recipes we wanted to try, how the chiles were growing in the garden and how many rows of cilantro there were.

What are your favorite memories of breakfasts?