Weekend Breakfast

Breakfast is more of a weekend thing for me since I have to be at work relatively early during the week and do not usually eat a proper meal before lunch. The espresso maker at the office is a dangerous thing and two or three freshly brewed coffees usually serves as my first meal of the day. I relish the times where I get to make and eat breakfast in the late morning either solo or with company. This past weekend was one of those times and I made a delicious meal for Valerie, Mike, and myself. The combo was a classic with the usual suspects present though I did jazz up the eggs and hash browns. The applewood-smoked bacon speaks for itself, as bacon is inclined to do.

I love scrambled eggs and I never run out of crazy ideas to throw at them. Eggs are such a versatile protein and there are hundreds of ways to cook them, one just has to be inventive. For this particular occasion I sautéed the white part of scallions in a little butter before adding six of my mother’s eggs raised on her farm upstate. These eggs have an amazing dark orange color largely due to their free range grazing habits and wealth of beta-carotene. Their flavor simply does not compare to any commercial egg whether organic, free range, cage free, what have you. I added about a half a cup or grated cheddar cheese and a handful of the green part of the scallions before serving alongside the crisp bacon. The third element making up the breakfast was a potato and carrot hash. I cheated a bit by using a Cuisinart to shred the potato and carrots but it can be done on a cheese grater or mandolin with relative ease, just watch your fingers. Drain and dry the vegetables well and then crisp them in a hot nonstick pan with a little olive oil. Try to flip it in one piece and make sure that you really get a nice brown crust on it. Breakfast is truly a glorious meal and I hope next weekend bodes well for a repeat. As always, I encourage you to enjoy and share delicious food and home cooked meals with yourself and others!