ALL ABOUT EGGS

September Whole 30 has begun, guys. And I can tell you: there are lots and lots and lots of eggs in my future. Eggs are an essential part of Whole 30 eating-since doing my first one I have eaten eggs almost every single day for breakfast. And I LOVE IT. Breakfast is the biggest take away I have gained from Whole 30 eating. I used to eat toast or a yogurt every morning-eggs and potatoes and meat were a special occasion breakfast; a luxury. And every day, without fail, I was starving by 10 am, or feeling slightly sick to my stomach. Realizing that limiting both diary and gluten were the best for my body was a light-bulb moment. Eating an egg keeps me full and never makes me feel ill. It's a great start to a morning and it literally only takes about 4 minutes to fry an egg. That's only about 2 minutes longer than getting cereal ready. But there are so many delicious ways to eat eggs. Let explore this, shall we?



Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Whisk two eggs with salt and pepper, set aside. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a tablespoon or two of ghee or butter to the pan. Once melted, lower the heat to medium low. Add the whisked eggs. Let the eggs sit for about 30 seconds. Then, with a spatula or wooden spoon, gently scramble the eggs in a zigzag motion across the pan. Let sit for another 30 seconds, and repeat, until eggs are fully cooked and in small crud like pieces. Serve immediately. 

Try this:
Iri Iri Pan Pan


A Simple Poached Egg

Fill a small frying pan with 2 cups of water. Add 1 tsp of white distilled vinegar. Bring to a rolling boil. Crack an egg into a teacup and pour into the boiling water. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, gently shaking off excess water.

Try This:
Poached Eggs with Spinach and Prosciutto 

Egg Fritatta 

Whisk together 6 eggs, set aside. Chose one meat (ground beef or turkey, sausage, bacon, proscuitto, left overs from dinner) and 1-2 vegetables (or don't use meat if that's not your thing). Chop up your veggies, set aside. In an oven proof pan (such as cast iron), cook your meat until no longer pink (or if your reheating, until warm). Drain any excess grease. Add the vegetables and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking fat-olive oil, ghee, butter, your choice. Pour the whisked eggs over the meat and vegetables and using a spatula fold the eggs into your meat and veggies. Let the eggs sit, without any stirring, until they are set but still wet looking about 10 minutes. Place the pan under the broiler in your oven for 3-5 minutes, until top is cooked and golden brown.

Try This:
Rustic Beef and Zucchini Fritatta 

Enjoy all those eggs, guys! If you're doing a #SeptemberWhole30 or jsut want to see tones of photos of things I'm eating, make sure to follow me on Instagram. @junenovember 

RUSTIC BEEF & ZUCCHINI FRITTATA

Frittatas are both an easy and delicious food. This egg dish tastes equally good warm or cold, and can be a perfect meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, as long as you have eggs, you can put pretty much anything in a frittata and have it taste good.

This beef and zucchini frittata is Whole 30 (so that means gluten, sugar, and dairy free!) and super easy to whip up during food prep. You can make it on Sunday and have it in your fridge for breakfasts and lunches all week or you can serve it for brunch on Sunday. I'm, using ground beef in this one, but it would be equally delicious with ground turkey if you don't eat beef, or with potatoes and bell peppers if you don't eat meat. That's the genius of frittatas: you can make it totally to your taste AND clean our your fridge at the same time. It's a winner.

(Also, I called it rustic because I like the top of my frittatas to be browned and also I don't have to worry about it looking perfect. Fun fact: "rustic" makes it sound like your not perfect things are that way on PURPOSE so you never have to feel like you've failed. Try it out:

"I made a rustic birthday cake!" instead of "I totally ran out of frosting."

See?? Totally changes the perspective. You're welcome.)

Rustic Beef & Zucchini Frittata

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 white onion, chopped

8 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp. cooking fat, such as olive oil or ghee (or butter if you aren't trying for whole 30/no dairy)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the ground beef in a heavy bottom pan over medium high heat, until no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Remove meat to a plate and drain the pan, retaining one tablespoon of grease. Add zucchini and onion to pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Return beef to pan and combine. Add cooking fat. Pour in beaten eggs and gently fold into meat and veg mix. Allow to sit, without stirring 3-5 minutes, until eggs are set on the side and bottom of pan, but still wet looking. *Carefully transfer to a pie dish  Cook under the broiler (or at 500 degrees) for 5 minutes until the top is browned and eggs are cooked. Serve warm or refrigerate. Can be reheated of served cold.

Enjoy!

*If you're cooking the frittata in a cast iron pan or other oven safe pan, you do not need to transfer it to a pie dish; you can simply stick that pan in the oven. I use the pie pan because it's easier to store in the fridge and I need my cast iron throughout the week. 

POACHED EGGS WITH GREENS & PROSCIUTTO

 

 Poached eggs have a reputation. They're delicious yet seem to remain elusive to the home cook. I mean, boiling a cracked egg is weird, am I right? The secret is a threefold: small pan + vinegar + a teacup = perfect poached eggs. I promise, it's not as weird as it sounds. Add some greens, prosciutto, and some trusty salt and pepper and you have one happy wake up.

 

Poached Eggs with Greens and Prosciutto

 

2 eggs

1 tsp. white vinegar

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 pieces of prosciutto ( I like Trader Joe's brand best)

2 cups of greens such as spinach, kale, or chard

Salt and pepper to taste

 

For the poached eggs:Bring a small pan of water to boil. Add the vinegar. Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a teacup. Gently pour the egg into the boiling water, repeat with the second egg. Turn off heat, cover the pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Slice prosciutto into small pieces. Add to pan and cook until crispy, about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the olive oil and greens, season with salt and pepper. Cook until greens are wilted, 3-5 minutes (spinach goes quickly, kale and chard take a little longer). Plate the greens and prosciutto. With a slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the pan, gently shake off any excess water, and place on top of the greens. Add salt and pepper to the tops of the eggs.

 

Enjoy!

EGG SALAD AND BACON SANDWICHES

I have not always been a fan of egg salad. At one point in my life, not so very long ago, I was a solid egg salad hater. This probably has something to do with growing up in a  house where hard boiled eggs were boiled until the yolks were a grayish color. It might also have something to do with a trip to Las Vegas and watching friends order egg salad at the "New York Deli" to have delivered to our table a dozen eggs trapped in a mountain of mayonnaise and served on soggy white bread. Shudder. Plus, I loath peeling hard boiled eggs. It is my least favorite of all kitchen chores.*

But egg salad has slowly creep up on me. If started with a recipe on Smitten Kitchen where egg salad spread on a piece of crusty bread looked very intriguing. And then I had a deviled egg smashed on toast after Easter. So I thought about it, got myself into the kitchen and started trying different things out. And at home, turns out that egg salad can be rather delicious. I keep my actual salad very simple, but then add a kicker to my sandwich - bacon. Because there is little on this fine earth better than bacon and eggs and a nice piece of toast.

This is a great meal for summer because it requires no oven. You can boil your eggs in the morning, make up your salad, fry up some bacon and toast some bread. Add a green salad and dinner is done.

*I have found a way to make peeling hard boiled eggs less awful. See below.

Egg Salad and Bacon Sandwiches

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. herbs de provence (this is available in the spice aisle in grocery stores; you can also use any combination of rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, savory, and marjoram.)

8 slices of bacon

8 slices good wheat bread

Bring eggs to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and immediate emerge in an ice bath (a bowl filled with water and ice). Let sit for 5-10 minutes, drain the water, and peel. Roughly chop eggs. Mix mayonnaise and mustard in to the chopped eggs. Add the salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, and herbs de provence. Mix well, smashing with a fork, and refrigerate until ready to use. Fry the bacon until crispy and drain on paper towel. Toast the bread, assemble sandwiches. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Enjoy!