Breakfast Wrap

My usual fried egg breakfast involves melting cheese on a fried egg and sandwiching it between two slices of whole wheat toast smeared with dijon mustard.  But I didn't feel like toast, and that was when I spied some leftover chapatis in the freezer.  Next thing you know, out came the salsa, sprouts, sauerkraut, cilantro and sprouts.  And it was good, very very good.

EGG WRAP with Tomato Salsa, Cilantro and Homemade Sauerkraut

1 organic whole wheat chapati, tortilla or flatbread

2 Tbsp organic salsa

1 organic egg

1 Tbsp e.v olive oil

1/4 cup organic cheese (I used swiss cuz that's what I had)

1 handful organic cilantro, ripped up

handful organic sprouts

1/4 cup organic cortido (seasoned sauerkraut, recipe follows)

Method:  Heat the chapati in a cast iron skillet, but only enough so that it is still malleable.  Fry the egg in the olive oil by cooking over medium heat in a cast iron skillet.  When you break the egg, be sure to break the yolks too.  Flip over after about 2-3 minutes, top with grated cheese and cook until the yolk is solid.  Spread the now warm chapati with the salsa, followed by the cortido.  Place egg in the centre, top it with the cilantro and sprouts.  Roll the wrap up, being sure to tuck in the sides too.

CORTIDO (from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions)

1 large cabbage, cored and shredded

1 cup carrots, grated

2 medium onions, quartered lengthwise and very finely sliced

1 tablesoon dried oregano

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)

1. In a large bowl mix cabbage with carrots, onions, oregano, red chile flakes, sea salt and whey.
2. Pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer for abou 10 minutes to release juices.
3. Place in 2 quart-sized, wide mouth mason jars and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage mixture should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jars.
4. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage

The lunch I forgot to photograph

Last night I made pot roast with some of the organic beef we have stashed in our freezer.  It was very good except I didn't cook the veggies long enough.  So for lunch today I decided to make an open face sandwich with some of the leftovers.  It is similar to the panini I posted the other day but very different tasting too.  Anyway, I was so into eating it that I forgot to take a picture of it.....

POT ROAST MELT

2 slices organic bread, toasted lightly

a few slice of organic beef pot roast leftovers

1 Tbsp organic dijon mustard

1/2 cup organic homemade (ok or store bought) sauerkraut

some grated organic cheddar (I had some swiss in there too)

Method:  Preheat your toaster oven to broil.  Slather each piece of bread with the mustard, sprinkle a little cheese, then sauerkraut it, beef it, and end with lots of cheese.  Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown a bit.  Yum.

The Best Panini

Okay so here are two pics of our amazing supper tonight.  One picture is of Scott enjoying his awesome panini and his hurly burly carpenter hands.  The other is with me and my oh so delicate yoga teacher/baker hands.  In the summer I made a few jars of homemade sauerkraut and decided to crack one open tonight to add to the paninis...........sooooooooo good.  The pictures do these sandwiches no justice.

ROAST CHICKEN AND SAUREKRAUT PANINIS (makes 4)

8 slices homemade organic spelt or whole wheat bread (I decided to try out making spelt bread this week...check out my bread post and just substitute spelt flours!)

2 Tbsp organic mayonaise

2 Tbsp organic dijon

1 1/2 cups sliced roasted organic chicken

1/2 cup organic sauerkraut ( I used the recipe found in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions cookbook)

e.v olive oil

1 cup organic swiss cheese, grated

Method:  Preheat panini press.  Combine the mayo and dijon in a bowl.  Smother one side of each piece of bread with the dijonaise.  Then top this with some cheese, then some sauerkraut, some chicken and end with more cheese.  Close the sandwich and spray each side with some olive oil.  Grill in your panini press until all the cheese is melted and the sandwhich is warmed through and golden.

Panini

You say Panini, I say Press!

I don't know why I just had to say that, it's repeating over and over in my head.  Anyway so as you can guess I made Panini sandwiches tonight for supper.  They were very yummy, but you don't need a fancy machine to do it, you can just use a heavy weight to press your sandwich while it cooks and then flip and repeat.

BACON PANINI with Caramelized Onions and Dijon Mango Chutney

some fried organic and/or natural pasture raised bacon

organic whole wheat bread slices

1 onion, thinly sliced

1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

mango chutney

dijon mustard

organic cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Saute onion in olive oil for 5 minutes, then lower heat a bit and add the maple syrup and balsamic vinegar.  Cook onions gently for about 15 minutes or until really soft.  Reserve.

     Spread one side of one of the pieces of bread with dijon and the other with mango chutney.  Put some of the shredded cheese on one piece of bread, followed by some of the onions, then bacon and end with more cheese, close er up and spray the outside of the panini with olive oil and cook in a press or in a skillet with a weight.

HEMP SEED MISO PESTO PANINI with Red Peppers and Onion

I make many batches of basil pesto in the summer when the basil is fresh.  It freezes well, and when I need to use some I just cut off a hunk and let it defrost.  

     Ever since I started making pesto with hemp seeds and miso, I've never gone back to the traditional cheese and pine nuts.

HEMP MISO PESTO

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup fresh organic basil leaves

1 cup organic hulled hemp seeds

2 cloves organic garlic

2 Tbsp organic white miso paste

2 tsp umeboshi vinegar

water

Method: Transfer all ingredients but the water to a food processor.  Process until the ingredients start to smooth, adding water as necessary to make desired consistency.  Keep in mind pestos are better when slightly thicker and creamier.

THE PANINI

some organic cheese

1 Tbsp pesto

the caramelized onions from above

some thin sliced organic pepper

Method: Spread each slice of bread with pesto, followed by some cheese, the onions, pepper and some more cheese.  Spray the outside of the bread with olive and oil and Press!

Autumn Sunday Brunch

Most Sundays we tend to eat a hearty brunch.  It is the only morning of the week that Scott is home for breakfast so I like to prepare something special.  Since we live kind of far from the city and the great brunch restaurants like Jane's on the Commons, Saege and Fid, we like to eat food that makes us feel like we've gone out for breakfast.

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST - Two Ways

SAVOURY

2 organic eggs

1/8 cup organic whole milk

4 slices homemade organic whole w

heat bread

salt and pepper

organic salted butter

Optional Fillings- dijon mustard, sliced red onion, olives, chutney, pesto, hot peppers, green or red peppers, capers, smoked salmon, smoked turkey, ham, bacon, tomato, variety of cheeses, salsa, pepperoni, salami

For this brunch I made two kinds of savoury sandwiches:

 1) smoked turkey breast, organic swiss cheese, dijon, thinly sliced red onion

2) dijon, swiss cheese, red onion thinly sliced, cherry tomatoes

Method: Whisk the egg, milk, salt and pepper together in a medium size bowl.  Assemble the sandwiches, making sure that there is dijon on both pieces of bread and that you start and end with cheese when you are layering.  The dijon and melted cheese keep the sandwich from falling apart when you dip and fry.

     Preheat oven to 200*.  Heat a medium sized cast iron skillet over med-low heat.  When hot, melt 1/2 Tbsp of butter in the skillet.  Dip assembled sandwich in the egg mix and place one face down into butter and cook about 5 minutes over a moderate flame until the cheese starts to melt, the toast is nice and golden.  Flip over and cook another 5 minutes until melted thouroghly.  

SWEET

4 slices homemade organic whole wheat bread                      

1 organic pear, cored and thinly sliced

3 Tbsp organic chocolate hazelnut spread

2 organic eggs

1/8 cup organic whole milk

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp organic cinnamon

a few blueberries or other fruit for garnish

Whisk the egg, milk, 1 Tbsp of maple syrup and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.

Coat one side of each slice of bread with the chocolate spread.  Add a layer of the sliced pear. Sandwich the bread together and dip in the egg mix.  Melt the butter in the skillet and fry each side until golden brown and warmed through (about 8 minutes).  Drizzle with maple syrup and fresh blueberries.

The same question every night..."What shall I make for dinner?"

Last night I roasted an organic chicken.  We like to do a whole chicken every now and then so we have left overs for sandwiches or soup.  There is this neat trick when roasting a chicken where you lift up the skin on the breast and even the the legs if you want and stuff it ... in our case I just gathered some fresh herbs from the garden (parsley, marjoram, thyme and basil), chopped them up and stuffed it under the skin.  It is also a good idea to sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper and rub some on the skin with olive oil.  Around here we use my grandfather's spice blend (I will post the recipe tomorrow) which is white pepper, granulated garlic, sea salt, onion powder and mustard powder.  We use it on everything.

     Anyway so we needed to eat tonight and I knew I wanted to cook a spaghetti squash from the garden.  I needed something that would go with that......this is what I came up with.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SORT OF SALAD

1 medium organic spaghetti squash

1 organic green onion, sliced

1 organic red pepper diced

1/2 organic jalapeno pepper, chopped fine

1 cob of organic corn, decobbed

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 Tbsp organic sesame oil (not toasted sesame oil, the raw stuff)

1.5 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

1/2 Tbsp honey

salt and pepper

Method: Preheat oven to 350*.  Split the squash in half, seed it and place in face down in a large cast iron skillet or other pan.  Roast for about 45 mins or until you can easily prick the skin with a fork.  Let cool slightly and then scoop out the filling and let it drain in a colander.  Place in a bowl with all the other ingredients.  Toss and serve.

CHICKEN MELTS

1 cup leftover chicken, in small pieces

5 slices homemade whole wheat bread (or if you must, store bought :S)

3 Tbsp basil pesto

3/4 cup grated organic cheese

10 slices organic tomato (we used a lovely yellow one)

1/2 sliced onion

grandpa's spice blend

Method: Slather the bread with pesto.  Layer with onion first, then chicken, tomato, spices, and finally with cheese.  Melt in 350* oven for 15 mins.