Eggs + Spinach + Havarti cheese = pure goodness

In order to make the world's greatest breakfast sandwich, you will need these ingredients...

An egg cooked sunny side up so the yoke isn't all runny (not fun to eat sandwich style, in my opinion), topped with a few leaves of spinach, top the spinach with a slice of havarti cheese (i had to substitute this with cheddar which was all I had on hand). Slap that on a slightly toasted english muffin and you've got yourself a pretty filling breakfast (or lunch or dinner).

Cook the egg fully first, and then add the spinach and cheese until they are warmed to your liking.

going to the market.

Well, I have quite a few recipes waiting to be posted, but just haven't had the motivation to get them on here yet. But I will tell you about my experience at the farmer's market.

Just a few blocks down from my house, there is a summer farmer's market on Thursday afternoon, and I have been meaning to go ALL summer, but always forget. Well I was walking by it on my way home from the bus and thought it was a good a as ever to stop on through. It's pretty small in comparison to some of the other farmer's markets around the city, but was not lacking in produce booths. Over half of the market was produce (which makes sense, i guess) and I had a hard time figuring out where to buy and what to pick out. I went home with a small bag of spinach (with leaves the size of my head...which is also part of a salad recipe), a large zucchini (also a great recipe to come) and a sample size jar of some home-made strawberry rhubarb jam (not part of a recipe, really, but I did have it tonight with some toast and it was pretty scrumptious and low in sugar which is always nice).

The Queen Anne market only lasts until the end of September but I was talking to the produce guy who told me that Ballard and U-District have excellent farmer's markets all year round. Score.

Veggie time

I'm really excited to try this recipe i found on Self.com. It's a Veggie Frittata. Now i don't think i've ever eaten a frittata, but the idea behind this is to have something without meat, but still provides protein and filling enough so I'm not starving an hour after I eat it.

I'll post my response to its potential goodness later.

home-made smoothies

Last I knew, peaches are in season. I bought a bazillion pounds because they were like $1/lb. Score. Unfortunately, or fortunately in this case, I couldn't eat the peaches as fast as they were ripening. So, in order to not just throw away the softies, I decided to blend them up with some frozen blackberries I have. To add a bit of milky-quality I put in some hemp milk (fantastic stuff!) There aren't any specific measurements, since its mainly up to the individual taste. I guess a good starting point would be to add about a cup of hemp milk, a half a peach or so, and maybe a cup or less of blackberries. I added a little ice, but since the blackberries were frozen, I didn't really worry about that. But if you're dealing with fresh berries (which is the preferred of course), add some ice. Start small and add as you see fit.

I like smoothies, but most that you buy at a smoothie place or cafe are FULL of sugar. I try to cut out that kind of excess as much as possible and this is a wonderful way to do so.

Yum.

larry the cucumber

It's been awhile, so I'll start off with an easy one. This is something I lived off while road tripping around and about Northern California a few weeks ago.

Ingredients:

..4-ish hearty slices of cucumber (the varietal of your choice)
..some cheese (again, whatever you prefer, but I suggest either medium cheddar or colby jack)
...ranch dressing
...hearty whole grain bread (a loaf with a bit of hazelnut in it wouldn't be too bad)

Place the slices of cucumber and cheese on the untoasted bread, lightly slathered in ranch dressing. Cut sandwich in half and enjoy.

Alternative: If you like craisins as much as i do, try this. Instead of ranch, use cream cheese (go pretty light on this, otherwise you'll get cheese OVERLOAD), and toss on an abundance of craisins, and you have yourself some yummy goodness.

Coo-coo for cocoa puffs!

Well, I love cereal. Previously, it was just a general like for the idea of cereal but I didn't eat it so much. Lately, this general like has turned into a full-fledged love affair with the beauty of the Cheerio or the wonderful balance of bran flakes and sweetened raisins.

taco soup

this is how it works:

2 cans diced tomatoes (or 1 BIG can)
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1/2 an onion
1 pack of taco seasoning
sour cream

optional: some chicken

in a large pan, mix all the ingredients together (minus the sour cream). Drain all of the corn juice from the can, drain about half the juice from the beans but DON'T drain the diced tomato juice, this serves as the broth. heat until hot.

for some goodness, mix in a spoon full of sour cream per serving bowl. This makes it nice and creamy.

also, this makes enough to last one single person a week. And it's cheap. yay.