Earthy Crunchy Breakfast

I know I love a good earthy, hippie recipe. I love whole wheat things. My sister makes fun of my preferred whole wheat bread, accusing me of eating bread with wood chunks and tree branches in it. One of the lovely women I work with has a word for this kind of food: Earthy Crunchy. Her husband apparently likes Earthy-Crunchy things like Ezekiel bread. I also love earthy crunchy things and there is no better way to describe the breakfast I made the other day.
See I was in Washington the other week, visiting my dear friend Kate. She and I have known each other going on 15 years (gasp) but sadly have lived tragically, geographically apart for about 9. So our get-togethers are epic. Need a testimonial? Last time we got together I visited her in Philadelphia I arrived by train, she picked me up, we briefly toured the city via tour bus so we I could get a “feel” for the city and decide what areas I wanted to go investigate further. Then we grabbed a bite to eat and hit up a champagne bar called…no joke…tiny bubbles. We eventually stumble home and I get a call from my now ex-boyfriend who comments on my slurring and asked “are you drunk?” …..yeeeeeesss…… “Alexandra it’s 8:00?!?!?!?!?”
Yeah
So this weekend visiting her at her new local in Washington, we decided we wanted to go to a beer tasting- zip-lining adventure. And that morning I slept a little late, so I skipped breakfast. We got to our local and stopped into a café and I caught sight of the most delicious sounding thing: Spelt-Quinoa Scones with ricotta cheese and jam. Well dear readers it was Deeeeee-licious

I was inspired to try this morning hippie fest at home but was majorly thwarted by the new chain- “whole-foods-esqe” store in Avon, which I learned, the hard way, was the worst hippie store ever. They had no spelt. And upon further investigation I found they had no soy yogurt either….how does that even happen?! Well in my haste I purchased scone mix (blueberry) and added a cup of cooked quinoa to it. (more successful recipe to follow) But readers it was heaven on earth. My aunt who doesn’t really care for my more crunchy adventures downed these scones like there were 1 millions dollars at the bottom of the bag. Recipe:
Simply add one cup of cooked and cooled quinoa to any scone muffin recipe. It adds a lovely texture and hearty taste.

A Little Light Reading About Slime

The Beef Industies Pink Slime Problem

Why Brunch Gives Us Hope For a Brighter Tomorrow

Sometimes inspiration comes to you at the most incredible times. As I posted some weeks ago, between my three jobs and 52 Week challenge I have had little to no time to do any food blogging (or cooking for that matter). Well just yesterday I got news that my extended stay as a Saturday employee would soon come to a close. Furthermore, I finally got caught up on my reading. And just in time for these little ducks to get themselves in a row, I was innocently flipping through Curtis Stone’s Relaxed Cooking.and came across an image that made me drool. Now normally, a Curtis Stone book can make me start to drool for a different reason. Don’t judge me….that man is beautiful.
The recipe in question was for Toasted Bagels with Wilted Spinach and Poached Eggs. The picture literally made me drool. I wanted to the bite the paper. Etc etc. Well this immediately led me to ask Marilou if she felt like brunch this week. A call was made to the other respective members of my family and an appointment made for Sunday brunch that very weekend.
I want to take a second to say that whomever invented brunch deserves ot have a monument erected in their honor in every major city in this great nation. This is mainly because brunch is a magical event that combines everything that is great about life. Breakfast. Lazy Sunday mornings. Drinking before noon. So what better way to celebrate my new found weekly freedom then with the ultimate leisure activity?
This exposition also allowed me a good excuse to poach an egg for the first time. My sister has already mastered this delicate art, and was kind enough to walk me through it. Mind you the recipe that I have linked above does not use this strategy, but my sister taught me the “Julia method” as in the method she learned watching Julia Child’s TV show. You boil water, bring it down to a simmer, add ¼ cup of white vinegar and use a spoon to swirl the water in the pot into a whirlpool. (think Odysseus being attacked by the Charybdis) Then you take an egg you’ve cracked into a small down and drop it gently into the center of the “vortex” you’ve created. The swirling movement helps to keep the white attached to the yolk. I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the whole process. But once we did the first one I was quite charmed with the result. A bit like a little kid. A special one.
And on the whole the recipe came out amazing. I was quite pleased. I also went there at Fresh Foods Market and got that expensive fresh squeezed OJ…..worth it! Made the best mimosa I’ve ever had.