Saturday, July 01, 2006

What's for breakfast?

Scrambled farmhouse eggs with fresh spinach, sweet corn, cilantro, and jack cheese, topped with homemade salsa. And in keeping with the Mexican theme, chips instead of toast!

The picture is a little blurry, sorry. It looked clear on the camera viewfinder, and I was too hungry to check closely or take 12753 pictures like I usually do.

For the eggs:
- 6 eggs from your grandma's hens, whisked with a few tablespoons water
- 2 big handfuls of baby spinach, chopped
- 1 regular sized handful of cilantro, chopped
- half a can of vacuum packed corn kernels
- 1.5-2 ounces grated monterrey jack cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat. Not too hot--the secret to good scrambled eggs is not to cook them too fast. I cook scrambled eggs at about 3 on my burner dial, which is low simmering level. Add oil, and then eggs. Scramble the eggs for a minute or two until they start to thicken, then add the spinach and corn. Continue to scramble until the eggs are nearly done, but still slightly moist, then add the cheese, cilantro salt and pepper, cover and remove from heat. Removing the eggs from the heat while they're still slightly underdone will allow the heat of the pan to finish cooking them and ensure that you won't have overcooked eggs. Serves 1 lumberjack and 1 regular appetite, or 3 regular people.

For the salsa:
- half a red onion, roughly chopped
- big handful of cilantro, large stems removed
- 1 regular sized can of diced tomatoes
- juice of 1 lime or lemon
- 1 fresh jalapeno or serrano pepper, roughly chopped
- salt to taste, and maybe a tiny pinch of sugar if your jalapeno is exceptionally hot
- 1 stick blender (makes this a very quick task)

Drain all the tomato juice and half of the tomatoes into the bottom of a tall, narrow container. Add cilantro, lime juice, onions, and jalapeno. Blend until no large chunks of jalapeno are left and the onion is pretty well chopped. This usually takes 15-30 seconds. The mixture will be rough, not like a smooth puree. Don't overprocess it or it will be runny. Add the remaining tomatoes and blend for 10 seconds or so. Allow salsa to stand about 10 minutes, then taste. Add salt and sugar (if necessary). Makes about 16 ounces.

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