Scrambled Eggs with Arugula, Green Garlic, Herbs and Chevre

made with beautiful eggs from my fried piper's chickens!

Coconut-Cashew-Banana Smoothie

My friend Erik came up with this one (he adds cacao nibs and cocoa powder to his too!), and man is it decadent- almost like a milkshake! After my cleanse I was so excited to make this. I made some fresh coconut milk in my juicer (but you could also just put young coconut meat and its water in a blender for a similar effect), mixed that with one banana and a big tablespoon of raw cashew butter, and added a little vanilla bean, some freshly grated ginger, and a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom. YUM!

Yogurt with Persimmons and Honey

Scrambled Eggs with Purple Kale, Creme Fraiche, and the Last of the Cherry Tomatoes from my Garden

Eggs with Arugula, Yogurt, Fried Sage, and Chillies

Guess where this came from? Yep, Plenty. What can I say? Every recipe looks better than the last, and I don't think there's a single one I'm not dying to make.

Roasted Autumn Fruit with Custard

Our friends from Seattle were in town so Erik and I made this to take to a lovely dinner in their honor. We used two kinds of figs and two kinds of pluots, cooked with a little lemon juice, orange zest, sugar, and vanilla bean.

Braised Short Ribs and Rapini over Fresh Corn Polenta

I have been eyeing this recipe for fresh corn "polenta" in Plenty for a while now. The corn was so sweet, I would happily eat it for breakfast any day of the week. Last night I served it with braised short ribs and some sauteed rapini to cut the richness of the beef. I cooked the ribs for about four hours with beef stock, red wine, and lots of aromatics. Yum!

Charentais Melon, Buffala Mozzarella, Basil, Sea Salt, Olive Oil

I guess this is just a fancier version of cantaloupe and cottage cheese, but boy is it good...

Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a North African dish. I followed Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe in Plenty, which includes a bit of sugar, and I think next time I'd probably just wing it instead. Either way, it was a delicious breakfast!

Strawberries with Creme Fraiche and Sugar

Roasted Plums with Baked Ricotta

My dad has an abundance of Satsuma plums and has been offloading them onto me regularly. I baked these with some honey and spices (vanilla bean, cloves, cardamom), and had them for breakfast. They were a bit tart (the skin can be very sour on this variety of plum and that comes out when they are cooked) so next time I would add a good handful of brown sugar as well.

Zucchini Flower Frittata with Sweet Corn, Basil, and Homemade Ricotta

Peaches with Greek Yogurt

Zucchini and Arugula Frittata with Goat's Milk Feta

Frittatas really are the best way to get lots of veggies into a meal. I had some zucchini that was starting to wrinkle, and a big bag of arugula in my fridge, and half an hour later: lunch! I don't use a recipe for frittata- in this case I just sauteed the onions with some herbs and garlic, added in the zucchini and arugula and let them wilt, and then poured in beaten eggs. I scrambled them around a little and then let them set around the edges before crumbling some feta on top and sticking the pan in the oven for a few minuts, until the center was set. Finally, I put the frittata under the broiler for about 2 minutes, just to brown the cheese a bit and puff the eggs up.

Ricotta with Peaches and Acacia Honey

Strawberries and Cream

One of the best things about living in the UK (in my opinion) is the amazing variety of dairy products; your average grocery store has at least four kinds of cream to choose from, and when I lived in London I loved to buy double cream to pour over the incredible strawberries that were available in the summer. The heavy cream one can buy here in the States is much thinner but makes a decent substitute when I have freshly picked berries in my kitchen.

Roasted Rhubarb over Yogurt

I roasted the rhubarb with lemon zest and juice, finely minced ginger, and brown sugar. Best breakfast ever!

Blueberries and Granola

This blog has really evolved into less of a recipe collection and more of a documentation of the simple foods I like to prepare for myself at home, rarely requiring any instructions at all. I am contemplating changing the header to reflect this- the fact that these are things that are relatively quick and easy to make for just one person (but also adaptable for more diners)- but I'm not quite sure what I should say. Any thoughts from the readers?

Chickpeas and Asparagus with an Egg

Egg in the Middle

I know most people call this Toad in the Hole, but my mom always called it Egg in the Middle. Instead of making soldiers out of the cut out bread, I tore it into breadcrumbs that I toasted with a little garlic and lemon zest. Yum!