Spanish Tortilla with Red Potatoes

Extended Shelf Life for: Potatoes and Onions

One of the greatest aspects of world travel (or even traveling domestically/regionally/locally) is the discovery of new foods. Even better is choosing to prepare these dishes, enjoy them post-travels and allow your taste-buds to trigger memories of those adventures you just recently enjoyed.

For me, Spain was the first time I left the comfort of the mother land, the first time I found myself surrounded by the unknown. And subsequently, the first time I had a Spanish style tortilla.

Considering the ridiculous amount of potatoes and onions we've had in our pantry, I figured a quick and easy meal that would also take me on a trip to one of my first country-lovers, would be a Spanish Tortilla.

I did some research and checked out the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and the Grumpiest Hippie, used what I had and came up with something along these lines ;)

Ingredients/Directions:

Peel and thinly slice 5-6 medium Red Potatoes, throw in a bowl of water with a dash of lemon juice to prevent browning.  Peel and thinly slice 1 Onion. In a large bowl, whisk together 6 Eggs, season with salt and pepper. Stir the potatoes and onions into the eggs, let set for 25-20 minutes. Heat 1/4-1/2 cup of Olive Oil in a cast iron (or specialized tortilla pan) and pour in the egg mixture...and now things get tricky and I am no expert (may you want to refer to the two referenced recipes at this time). Anyway, let it cook long enough to set throughout the bottom half but not so long as to burn it...I burned mine a little bit... Flip and cook the other side. Serve warm or at room temperature. May serve with hot sauce, chopped tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil or sea salt (or any combination thereof). Enjoy!

From the Archives:

January 10th, 2012: No Bake Cookies
January 10th, 2012: Ddeok-guk

German Mish-mash Breakfast

Extended Shelf Life for: Bread Heels, Onions

I think bread heels are slightly obnoxious...until you learn to use them in delicious ways that is.

Since I purchased the Juicer that Can do Everything, I have made my own bread crumbs simply by saving the heels in the freezer until I have enough to fill up a cookie sheet to dry out, on low heat in the oven before running them through the juicer (mincing nozzle of course, not the juicing nozzle).

However, the other day, I had a few bread heels leftover and happened to read this page on Squidoo, which has a handful of great, frugal, use-up-things-in-the-kitchen-recipes, the first of which was this German Mish-mash which was incredibly easy and so, stinkin' delicious!

Ingredients/Directions:

In a heavy skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. Butter, when it's melted, add half of a sliced onion and stir for a couple of minutes until onions are tender and little brown. Add two slices of bread that have been cubed and stir until they absorb all the butter and become little bite sized toasts. Pour in two beaten eggs, coat bread and onions, cook until eggs are no longer runny. Season with salt and pepper, enjoy!

Pork Cutlets and Braised Purple Cabbage

Extended Shelf Life for: Red Cabbage, Onion, Bread

If you know the man at all, you are well aware that he is a good eater, bless his soul, because if he wasn't, I don't know what I would do. He eats a wide variety of vegetables and although he claims that the "Only thing better than meat and potatoes is meat and meat," the truth is, we eat a lot of veggie-heavy meals and even a lot of vegetarian meals, so really, his life doesn't center around meat.

This meal is not vegetarian, and it's actually kind of close to a meat and potatoes meal, but my man was so extremely satisfied by this meal that I am extremely confident that it would go over well in many homes...I think...it is still cabbage...which can be unappetizing to some.

Braised Purple Cabbage ~ Ingredients/Directions:

Quarter, core and thinly shred 1 head of Purple Cabbage. Soak in a large bowl of water.

Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp. Butter in a heavy skillet or cast iron kettle (my personal choice). Once melted and fragrant, add and saute until golden 1/4 cup finely chopped Onion.

Remove cabbage from water and add to pan along with 1 thinly sliced Apple, 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 2 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar, and a shake of Salt.

Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 1 - 1 1/2 hours adding hot water as needed - at the end you want moist, but not soaked cabbage. It will be sweet and tangy and perfectly accompanied by a drizzle of yogurt and topped with pork cutlets as described below!

Pork Cutlets ~ Ingredients/Directions:

Thinly slice as many pork chops as you need to satisfy whoever will be at your table.

Heat 2-3 Tbsp. of Vegetable oil in a heavy skillet or cast iron skillet (again, my choice).

Dip each pork cutlet into a shallow bowl of flour, followed by a bowl of 2 beaten eggs and finally a bowl of bread crumbs (I made my own by saving the heels of bread, drying them in the oven and running them through our juicer on the mincing nozzle, a food processor would work as well).

Fry in the skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side, drain on a layer or two of paper towels, enjoy on a bed of braised cabbage!

Chinese Tomato and Egg with Fried Kohlrabi

Extended Shelf Life for: Tomatoes and Kholrabi

Chinese Style Tomato and Egg dish, much like the Eggplant and Potato Dish, this dish was inspired by our experience at a delicious Proper Chinese Restaurant in South Korea. Unfortunately, the main idea of the night was to have something to eat and I didn't do much research on how to season these eggs and the tomatoes - so mine, in ultimate simplicity, were sauteed onion and garlic followed by tomatoes and finally scrambled eggs, served on top of rice and alongside the upcoming kohlrabi home-fries. But, if you're looking for a more inspiring and flavorful Egg and Tomato dish, this recipe has all the makings of exactly what I was craving and what I so happily discovered in Daejeon, South Korea.

To accompany the eggs and to use up a large kohlrabi that had been gifted to me via my neighbor, I did a little Google exploration and opted for another NYT recipe, this time, rather than preserved red onions, I went for Kohlrabi Home-fries. 

Ingredients/Directions:

Peel and cut 1 1/2 - 2 pounds of Kohlrabi into thick sticks. Heat 2-4 Tbsp. of Oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet or cast iron pan. Meanwhile, combine 1 Tbsp. of Flour with Salt to taste and toss the Kohlrabi sticks in the mixture. Add kohlrabi to the skillet of rippling oil and cook on both sides for a few minutes until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and serve plain or with your favorite yogurt dipping sauce (if you're in need of a good yogurt sauce, check out this recipe!)

Turkish Breakfast

A while back we hosted a couple of CouchSurfer's from Turkey, although they are currently living in Northern Ireland. As always, we learned a lot and enjoyed their company immensely - and, they made a delicious breakfast which in turn inspired some re-creation efforts.

 I haven't been totally confident that my dish is anywhere near the delciousness of theirs, but I'm relatively satisfied and will continue to work out the kinks. For now, here's a general idea of this Turkish Breakfast we learned from a couple of CouchSurfers!

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large skillet heat a couple Tbsp. Olive Oil, saute 1 chopped Onion, 1-3 diced Green Chiles and 3-4 minced cloves of Garlic. Meanwhile, seed and chop 4-6 Tomatoes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the onion and pepper mixture as well as a dash of Cumin, Salt and Pepper. Leave this mix alone until your ready to serve up the breakfast. Before serving, re-heat the tomato mixture and whisk 3-4 eggs which you will then add to the heated tomato mixture. Let eggs set for a couple of minutes before breaking a part and continuing to cook the eggs through. Serve this mixture with crusty bread and fine cheese (Feta would be ideal but we use anything we have on hand here in the land of Kimchi). Scoop some of the egg and tomato mixture onto a slice of bread, top with a bit of cheese and place into your mouth - let out a sigh of satisfaction and repeat until the pan is clear.

Tomato and Basil Quinoa Salad

I had a bit of prepared quinoa left over after this recent casserole and spent some time considering what exciting things I could throw together. I had initially pictured a simple breakfast of a fried egg and fresh torn basil atop a pile of quinoa but soon had some tomatoes on hand.

So, I threw together a quick tomato, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar 'salad', let it set over night and threw it on top of this chilled quinoa grains - mixed it up and what do you know, threw an egg on top for a delicious, light and perfect dinner for a warm, Korean summer evening!

Wonton Mini-Quiche

It seems certain things get pretty trendy on Pinterest...in the blogosphere.

S'more anything.

Cake batter anything.

Salted caramel anything.

Quinoa anything.

Avocado anything.

You know the drill.

A little less trendy, but always present nonetheless is the mini-bite-size-taco/lasagna/spinach-dip-cup/thing-you-wish-you-thought-of-dish.

Well, this was an inspiration based on those trendy little, single-serving dishes.

Served 'em up at a going-away brunch and enjoyed some for a few days after for our morning breakfast.

Ingredients/Directions:

Prepare a muffin/cupcake tin with oil and/or flour. Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).  Place a wonton or dumpling skin into each cup and gently press down. I found 3 whisked eggs was the perfect amount for 6 regular sized cups. Add a splash of milk and your choice of quiche fillings to the egg mix before splitting the mix between the wonton cups. I filled half of mine with steamed broccoli and cheddar and the rest with chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until  egg is no longer runny. Remove from pan and toast on the oven rack a couple more minutes if you desire a more crisp and golden 'crust'. Super quick and super easy!

Samgyupsal Breakfast Burritos

Samgyupsal is Korean three-layered pork which resembles bacon but doesn't have that cured and salty factor the American bacon possesses. Regardless of your opinion on how bacon/pork should taste, Samgyupsal is delicious as a grilled/BBQ'd meat which is the typical serving style here in South Korea - but it also makes for a nice addition to various dishes including good ole Saturday Morning Breakfast Burritos.

Also, i did these burritos up with some additional flare because it just so happened to be a day when I need to clear a few things out of the refridgerator - so while I add a common Korean meat dipping paste and a few tablespoons of ranch to my eggs, it's not really necessary, but helpful if you find yourself in need of clearing out some room in the fridge.

Ingredients/Directions:

In a large skillet, fry up some thinly sliced samgyusal until cooked through, use scissors to cut the pork into bite size pieces. If loads of fat have been rendered, drain some off, however about a Tbsp. or so will be a nice way to add flavor and non-sticking power to 1 chopped Green Pepper a handful of diced Cherry Tomatoes and 2 cloves of minced Garlic. While sauteing the pork and the veggies, beat in a seperate bowl 6-8 eggs with no more than a 1/4 cup of ranch and a Tbsp. or 2 of Korean bean paste for dipping meat. Make sure sufficient oil/fat remains in the skillet to keep the eggs from sticking before pouring it over the meat and veggies. Let egg set slightly before using a spatula to break up the egg and continue cooking. Throw the mix in a flour tortilla, top with cheese, fold it up and throw on to a hot, dry skillet to  melt the cheese and make the outside crispy. Enjoy!

Corn Tortilla Omelet

Sometimes, I want to post a recipe or a recipe idea just because it worked surprisingly well and I want to remember it for future reference not because it's something extraordinary or necessarily special. This is one such 'recipe'. 

Because it's really just an omelet.

Surrounding a corn tortilla and stuffed with cheese.

I whisked my eggs as per usual, poured into a  hot skillet, let it set for a minute or so before setting a corn tortilla on top and working the uncooked egg over the top of the tortilla. Let it set a bit longer, flipped the whole thing over, sprinkled on some cheese, folded it over and let it finish doing it's business.

An incredibly quick and easy weekend brunch for one.

Tomato Basil Crust-less Quiche

We eat a lot of eggs. My recent Spinach and Tomato Crustless Quiche was impressively easy so I decided with a recent gift of fresh basil from a friend whose basil is still in production, I'd be quite happy to make the same dish substituting basil for the spinach. Easy, delicious and easy to re-heat in the morning for a satisfying breakfast!

Ingredients/Direactions

In a large skillet, saute half an Onion and a couple cloves of minced Garlic, add a couple of handfuls or roughly 1 cup of fresh, chopped Basil. Once Spinach is wilted, throw into the bottom of a well greased round cake pan. Top with slices of tomato and a sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together 6 eggs with 1/4 cup milk or yogurt, season with salt and pepper, pour over Spinach. Top with grated Parmesan and bake at 350F (177C) for 20-30 minutes or until egg mixture is set and top is beginning to brown.

Sweet Pork Fried Rice

Fried rice is an easy go-to dish, especially with some pulled pork, rice pilaf and rosted veggies waiting patiently in the freezer to be used. My day of cooking back in September is still serving us in May - I could be embarassed by this, but I will choose to be proud that food stays in our freezer for ridiculous amounts of time ^^

In the Korean grocery store it is a simple task to find 'bulgogi marinade' a kind of sweet sauce for one of my personal favorite Korean meats. Therefore, with marinade in hand and a thawed baggie of pork, rice (plus an additional cup left over from a previous meal) and roasted peppers and onions, I went to work re-heating and preparing, topping the whole thing off with some monteray jack cheese and a fried egg!

Tomato Basil Noodle Bowl

We've had the great pleasure of being invited to various meals at the homes of our Korean friends lately and I'm continually finding myself being inspired to try out ingredients that are common in Korea and food preperation methods that also seem relatively specific to Korea.

The other night, my friend served us a bowl of cold noodle soup with water kimchi. She explained it's kind of a common and quick dish in many Korean homes - simply boil noodles (I'm not sure about this specific kind of noodle...it's a common noodle in Korea, a little like spaghetti meets ramen). Anyway, once the noodles are drained, you place them in a bowl and then spoon over the top some broth or in the case of water kimchi, you spoon in some kimchi and the liquid portion of the kimchi.

I like noodle bowls. Spooning a broth of already prepared noodles, it's just nice.

Ingredients/Directions:

Prepare adequate amount of Korean noodles or ramen per individual being served. In seperate sauce pan, heat up chicken broth with any desired spices (salt, pepper, garlic, onion, etc.) Drain noodles and divide amongst the bowls. Tear a few fresh leaves of basil into each bowl, slice of chop tomatos and add to bowls, spoon broth into bowl, top with fried egg and grated parmesan if desired.

Kitchen Tip: Hard Boiled Eggs with Electric Kettle

I've always been a bit embarrassed by my inability to produce perfectly hard-boiled eggs. I think it generally has to do with time. Regardless, I wanted a new way to prepare hard-boiled eggs and recalled a conversation I had with my husband when he came home after a day of working at his Korean Middle School. He said to me, "Did you know you can make hard-boiled eggs in an electric kettle?" I gave him the I-think-your-crazy-look and asked "How?" He couldn't give me a complete answer and just referred to one of his co-workers arriving at work that day, plopping some eggs in a kettle and shortly thereafter eating a hard-boiled egg.

Fast-forward a few months when I'm doing my best to eat breakfast regularly and need a few new treats to prepare quickly either the night before or in the morning.

I decided to give it a shot and it works! Amazingly well in fact!

Here's what needs to happen:

Layer a few - 4-5 eggs in the bottom of your electric kettle. I've discovered that if I stack them, they bang against each other and crack, making a mess of cooked egg whites in your kettle, so just fill the bottom with eggs, no more than that.

Next, fill the kettle with water, make sure each egg is completely submerged.

Flip the switch and bring the water to a boil.

Once the water has boiled and the kettle turns off, set a timer or watch a clock, for 15 minutes.

Carefully pour out the hot water, remove eggs from the kettle (I use tongs) and run under cold water until the eggs are cool.

Peel when ready to eat or prepare egg salad or deviled eggs or what have you.

Easy as flipping a switch.

Puppy Rice Bowls

For awhile now, I've been wanting to feed our sweet pup nutritious, real food. She's never been that pumped about her kibble and I can't say I blame her. I'm quite confident one can feed their animals with relative ease and great affordability while all the while making for a much happier and grateful pet-friend.

 You'll find the internet littered with various recipes and ideas, advice for and against feeding your pets 'real' food. As well, everyone suggests that you chat with your veterinarian to make sure your planned feeding schedule meets your pets individual needs.

I started with a number of dog-friendly recipes and ideas and continue to post them on my Pinterest Pinboard For the Lady (because our pup's name is Lady Annyeong). I also made sure to search foods that are safe for dogs and unsafe for dogs before starting on this feeding adventure.

For the past couple of weeks then, I have been serving Lady up a morning and evening bowl of brown rice mixed with boiled carrots, squash and/or pumpkin. I pre-cook these ingredients to last one-to-two weeks. Then, I've been adding a few slices of hard-boiled eggs in the morning, banana on occasion, a bit of yogurt, fresh parsley, flax seed and even blueberries and strawberries on occasion. She's much more eager to eat these days, although she's getting a bit picky about carrots...

Crustless Spinach Tomato Quiche

 

I have currently set a goal to master pastry crusts, however, I had not set that goal, nor did I have sufficient time the night I opted to throw together this crust-less quiche. 

Served to new friends before splitting off into our respective genders for basketball and cafe chatting, this was a delightful light dinner on a school night.

Ingredients/Directions:

Adapted from The Everything Healthy Cooking for Parties: Delicious guilt free foods all your guests will love by Linda Larsen

In a large skillet, saute half an Onion and a couple cloves of minced Garlic, add a couple of handfuls or roughly 2 cups of fresh, chopped Spinach. Once Spinach is wilted, throw into the bottom of a well greased round cake pan. Top with slices of tomato and a sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together 6 eggs with 1/4 cup milk or yogurt, season with salt and pepper, pour over Spinach. Top with grated Parmesan and bake at 350F (177C) for 20-30 minutes or until egg mixture is set and top is beginning to brown.

Menu: Living Room Picnic Egg Salad Sandwich

We had big plans for a nice evening picnic underneath South Korea's cherry blossoms.

But the weather was uncooperative.

So we picnicked on the living room floor with home-made pickles and egg salad sandwiches (dressed up a bit with parsley and home-made yogurt).

It'll have to do for now.

SpinachSalad and Home-made Dressing

To accompany the deliciousness that was Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin and fresh bread with home-made Orange Curd, I decided a nice Spinach Salad would suit our Easter dinner just right.

Ingredients/Directions:

From the Cookbook - Love of Cooking: Salads

Toss together washed and relatively dry Spinach with 1 cup of chopped Mushrooms, 8 sliced Green Onions, 8 slices of cooked and crumbled Bacon and 4 chopped hard-boiled Eggs. For dressing, mix together 1/3 cup of Sugar, 1/2 tsp. Dry Mustars, 1/2 tsp. Salt and 1/3 cup Cider Vinegar in a food processor or blender. Slowly add 1 cup of Vegetable Oil, mixing in between additions. Top salad with dressing before serving and enjoy as a light lunch or dinner or side dish!

Egg Topped Purple Pesto Pasta

Looking for something quick and easy? Why not boil up some pasta (don't forget this trick to prevent spillage), toss in some home-made pesto, sprinkle with cheese and top with one or two fried eggs? Quick, easy, light and delicious.

Potato and Egg Breakfast Quesadilla

Continuing forward with the newly discovered and loved breakfast trend of 519 Galma, we recently enjoyed half a week of starting the day off with a Quesadilla, how can you go wrong with a Quesadilla beginning? You can't, that's how.

This was quite simple and I'll therefore skip offering exact amounts and such, I'll simply tell you that in my kitchen, the way these panned out was by washing and chopping enough potatoes to fill a pan. Before filling the pan however, I heated up some oil, then threw in the potatoes and covered with a lid, frying them up and softening their insides simultaneously. When they started to brown and were fully cooked through I added a splash more of oil, one chopped onion and some green chilies. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Once this was cooked satisfactorily, I  removed it from the pan and split evenly amongst my tortillas (some had gotten a bit moldy, so I had only 5 tortillas to fill). Next, I whisked together about 8 eggs, a bit of milk, salt and pepper and some fresh parsley, scrambled it up and distributed evenly amongst the tortillas. Sprinkle on some cheese and fold them over, cover them up and place them in the fridge until the following mornings when I would heat up the skillet, throw a couple cold quesadillas on cook for about 5 minutes on each side, flip and repeat and finally enjoy for breakfast - super simple. You probably had it figured out just from reading the title of the post ^^

Savory Pesto Rice Bowls

Earlier this month, I made a sweet little Breakfast Rice Bowl that was a perfect start to the morning.

Then I saw this post on Pinterest. Savory Oats. Hmmm.

Then, I had a batch of Walnut Basil Pesto in the fridge.

That's all it took.

At night, I'd wash my rice. In the morning, I threw it into the rice cooker with water, started it to go, took a shower. Stretched and did my hair.

Then fried an egg. Threw some rice in a bowl, topped it with Pesto, Mozzarella Cheese, a few Cherry Tomatoes and my fried egg - hearty, delicious and savory breakfast - no complaints!