Saturday, July 9, 2011

Superhero Egg Salad

Got your shopping done? Great! Then it is time to start cooking! As I mentioned before, it's all in the preparation. Most of us live busy lives and don't have time on weekday mornings to be preparing sumptuous breakfasts. The way I make it work is by not cooking every day. What?! Yes, you got that right, Sassy only cooks a few days per week. 


I personally prefer to prepare several dishes at once which can be kept for a few days in the fridge (or even several weeks in the freezer). It takes marginally more time to chop an extra onion, have two or three pots on the stove and you only have to do a big clean up once. When it's time to eat the following day(s), all that's required is a reheat or a simple assembly of the delicious dish you prepared beforehand. 


Flavours also tend to be more intense once you allow a dish to cool down and then reheat it. Preparation also eliminates the painstaking "what shall we eat" question when you have more pressing issues on your mind. This method works for all meals, but let's get started with breakfast because that is our mission right now!


Sassy's Superhero Egg Salad is easy to make and will last you up to four days if you keep it in a tightly closed container in the fridge. It's also great for lunch on a bun or baguette with lettuce and cucumber.


INGREDIENTS:
  • 6 (organic) eggs, as fresh as possible (look at the production/use by date on the packaging)
  • 1 whole crusty "rustic" bread (dense texture, preferably sour dough)
  • 1 small bunch of parsley, chives, dill (if you can't find it fresh, get the dried version)
  • sea salt and coarsely ground pepper
  • 3 table spoons of (organic) mayonnaise
  • 1 table spoon of French fine mustard


METHOD:
  • Boil the eggs: put all the eggs in a cooking pot, cover them with cold water and gently bring it to a boil. Once they are boiling, turn the heat right down and turn on your timer for 3 minutes. If your eggs are XL size, simply add one minute. If you are located on high altitude (> 1500 m. above sea level), just double the cooking time. After the required cooking time, take the eggs off the heat, and let them rest for one minute. Then drain the water and add cold tap water so the eggs cool down rapidly. We want the eggs to be softly boiled, where the egg white has set but the egg yolk is still creamy.
  • Peel the eggs and chop them in smallish cubes, it doesn't have to be superfine. 
  • Add three table spoons of mayonnaise and one table spoon of French fine mustard.
  • Chop the herbs finely and add them to the mixture.
  • Mix everything by gently 'folding' the ingredients (rigorous stirring would make it mushy).
  • Add pepper and salt to taste.
  • Take a slice of bread and put some egg salad on top. Sit down and close your eyes. Before you take a bite, have a look at your own creation and smell those delicious aromas! Have a bite and enjoy the fruits of your labour! Well done!
  • Even if you are severely affected by Murphy's Law this week, you have one thing you can count on... Homemade egg salad waiting in your fridge to help you start your day!

* You can vary this recipe in several ways, for instance by omitting the herbs and the mustard and adding half a table spoon of yellow curry powder. For a fancy version you can add bacon bits or smoked salmon. I'm sure you will come up with lots more interesting versions so I would love to hear from you!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Hungry for breakfast? Let's go shopping!

Awww, you missed me? Well, I missed you too! Besides preparing and eating sumptuous breakfasts, I was busy setting up Sassy's B&B, studying for exams, writing uni papers and going on an amazing field trip to Trentino


Staying in a hotel for a week and being unable to prepare my own meals made it even more apparent how important it is to have a decent breakfast. The first morning I got seriously excited when I noticed the breakfast buffet offered  German style "grey bread", a heavy, dense, sour dough variety which goes very well with the lovely cold cuts and cheeses which are usually served with it. How I got it all wrong... The bread turned out to be about as tough as cardboard and the cheese and sausage resembled plastic both in taste and texture. For the first time in my life I ate hardly anything for breakfast and my stomach and head protested for the rest of the day... Clearly, this is NOT the way to seduce people into having breakfast. 


Luckily, if you still remember my last blog post, we are about to change this! Breakfast is not just the first meal of the day. It's the kickstart to our metabolism, the foundation to build our day on, the fuel for our brain! Ok, so maybe you really don't feel like eating in the morning, maybe you feel sick at the thought of it. How about trying just a little something, anything you like, while you read this blog and get inspired about having a real breakfast? There are only three prerequisites for a Sassy Breakfast: it has to be delicious, quick AND healthy. We will be preparing Superhero Egg Salad, Mediterranean Morning Toast, BananaChoc! smoothies and Move Me Muesli (breakfast on the go).


So now we've decided to get serious about breakfast, let's go shopping! It's all about the preparation you see... All we need to do is invest a little bit of our time and add an ample dosis of love! Since most of us do our weekly shopping at a supermarket or buy our daily groceries at a city corner store, it's just as easy to get your breakfast ingredients there. No idea what to buy? Perhaps my shopping list can help out; it's for one person but can easily be multiplied to cater for more people. Don't worry about buying jars of foods you may not be accustomed to, you will be able to use them for months to come, not only for breakfast.


BREAKFAST SHOPPING LIST FOR 1 PERSON 

  • fair trade (organic) quality coffee or herbal tea
  • 1 liter of (organic) milk or soy drink
  • 6 (organic) eggs
  • 1 whole crusty "rustic" bread (dense texture, preferably sour dough)
  • 1 bag or box of muesli (a mixed grains and dried fruits variety, NOT baked!)
  • 4 (organic / fair trade) bananas
  • 3 lemons
  • 2 ripe, aromatic tomatoes
  • fresh basil
  • 1 small bunch of parsley, chives, dill (if you can't find it fresh, get the dried version)
  • 1 box of fair trade, organic cocoa
  • 1 bottle of extra virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and coarsely ground pepper
  • 1 jar of (organic) mayonnaise, please do not buy low fat mayo, I will explain why later
  • 1 jar of French fine mustard


We also need a blender or juicer and a portable mug (like you would use for coffee). If you don't have these, maybe you can borrow one for a week and see if you like it. You can always buy one later.



Now we got the shopping done, we can get busy in the kitchen! Remember, none of the recipes which we will prepare will take a lot of time or amazing cooking skills. All it takes is a little bit of preparation and foresight and you will be having breakfast like a king or queen! The best bit? You will feel more energetic and focused, less hungry later in the morning and save money!