"Poached" Egg in Tomato Sauce

This one is more of a method than a recipe. Last night I made sauce with the last of the season's tomatoes. I know I need to save most of the leftover for my sweetie to enjoy with mozzarella sticks this weekend, but I have been wanting to try baking eggs in tomato sauce for a long time. However, our oven takes a really long time to heat up, and as I just wanted to cook one egg, that seemed excessive. In browsing recipes online I found this one, and decided to give this method a go.

It was a bit tricky since I was only cooking one egg, and therefore had hardly any sauce in the pot, maybe 1/2 a cup? Next time I will use a shallower pan rather than a pot. I also cooked my egg just a tad too long, but it was still very tasty. I will be trying this again.

"Poached Egg in Tomato Sauce"

Tomato or Marinara Sauce, about 1/2 cup per egg
Egg(s)

Heat up the sauce in a pan or pot over medium-low heat. Once the sauce is simmering, crack in the egg(s). Continue cooking until the egg whites are set, but the yolk is still somewhat runny, or to your tastes, 5 minutes or so for 'medium'-ish eggs.

Serve with (or over) toasted bread.

Strawberry Puff Pastry Galette

Here is another quick and easy one. I received 2 baskets of strawberries from the CSA last week, and while we usually just eat them for breakfast until they are gone, for some reason we haven't been recently, so I had strawberries that needed to be used up ASAP. Luckily, there was also a lonely sheet of puff pastry in the freezer, and here you go!

1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry
1 Pint Strawberries
1 tsp - 1 Tbsp Sugar
One Egg
3 Tbsp Strawberry Preserves, Jam or Jelly
1 Tbsp Cointreau, Rum or Water

Remove Puff Pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw on the counter for 40 minutes

Preheat Oven to 400

Wash and slice strawberries into about 1/4 inch slices. Stir in sugar. If your berries are very ripe and sweet, 1 tsp should be enough. Use more sugar for tart berries. Allow to macerate while the oven comes up to temperature.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Once the pastry is thawed, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Fold in about 1 inch all the way around to allow the pastry to puff up around the strawberries. Brush the border with your egg wash.

Pile the strawberries into the center of the pastry, reaching all the way to the folded over border. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the preserves, jam, or jelly with the liquid of choice. As soon as the galette comes out of the oven, brush the berries with the jam mixture. Remove to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before slicing.


For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Chard Tart

There is a bit of a funny story regarding this recipe. I found it in the Joy of Cooking several years back, but was convinced my husband wouldn't like it. Rather than serve it to him , I made it for one of my girlfriends for brunch one morning. We both really liked it, but she agreed with me that he likely would not. So I left it at that. Lo and behold, he tried a piece, and really, really liked it. Goes to show what I know about his tastes...Anyway, I am glad he likes it so much, because I make it often. Sometimes on the weekend for breakfast, sometimes for a light dinner. Either way, it is a big hit every time. This would also make a lovely appetizer course for a small dinner party.

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

For the crust:

preheat oven to 425

One 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, lined with parchment paper

1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Cold Milk

Whisk together the flour and salt. Stir the in the olive oil and milk using a fork. Press the dough into the pan, pushing up the sides. Prick with a fork a few times to prevent bubbling up in the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned.


Lower the oven to 375

For the filling:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Finely Diced Onion, Red Onion, or Shallot
1 Pound Chard, Thick Stems Removed and Coarsely Chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced or Pressed
2 Tbsp Fresh Basil, Chopped OR 1 1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Salt, or to Taste
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, or to Taste
3 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Milk
1 Cup Grated Cheese of you choice (Cheddar, Jack, Parmesan, Mozzarella, Fontina, or any Combination)

Saute the onion or shallot in the olive oil over medium-low heat until very soft, about 10 minutes, add the garlic and cook for another one or two minutes. Add the chard, in batches if necessary, and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes more. Season with the basil and salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium bowl, slightly whisk the eggs. Stir in the milk and cheese. Add the chard mixture, then scrape the lot into the tart shell, and spread evenly.

Bake at 375 until the filling is lightly browned and firm, 25-35 minutes. Cool to room temperature and enjoy!

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Birchemuesli

Here is a simple, yummy, quick and healthy breakfast idea for you. This is a basic recipe, but you can use any flavor of yogurt and whatever fruit you have on hand to change this up in many ways. And don't limit yourself just to breakfast, this dish has made an appearance or two on our dinner table on a busy night....

1 Medium Apple
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Yogurt

Optional Ingredients:

Sliced, Diced or Chopped Fresh Fruit
Raisins or Other Dried Fruit
Walnuts or Other Nuts

Grate the apple over a bowl on the big holes of a box or cheese grater. Stir in the oats and yogurt. You can eat it just like this, or refrigerate until the oats get a bit soft. Stir in additional ingredients as desired. I really like bananas, strawberries, and walnuts, but any fruit or nuts that you like would make great additions.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Apple Muffins

For the weekend, a quick but oh-so-tasty muffin recipe. Make these for breakfast this weekend, or freeze a batch for quick breakfasts or snacks during the week.

Apple Muffins

1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
Dash Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Large Apple, Seeded and Finely Chopped (1 Cup)
1 Egg
6 Oz Vanilla Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Applesauce
6 Tbsp Melted Butter

Preheat Oven to 350

Grease a muffin pan, or line with paper liners.

Combine the dry ingredients (Flour through Salt) in a large bowl. Stir in the chopped apple. Whisk the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan filling cups about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake in the 350 oven until lightly browned and a wooden pick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack for further cooling, or enjoy now!

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Fresh Apple Bread Recipe

I know, apples apples apples. I think this will be the last apple post, at least for this week! This apple bread is very very tasty, but I cannot claim it is health food by any stretch of the imagination.

Fresh Apple Bread

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnomon
1/4 Cup Shortening
1/4 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Finely Chopped Apple
1 1/2 Tbsp Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

topping
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnomon


Preheat oven to 350

Cream shortening, butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in apples, milk and vanilla extract. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, then add stir into the apple mixture. Pour into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle the topping over the batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes. This bread gets very dark in the oven, but boy is it good.