put an egg on it.

We have recently joined together with some friends to create an egg collective. "What is an egg collective?" you may be asking yourself. Or you may be asking, "how did I end up on this hippie-dippie, new age, tree-hugging blog, anyway?"

Well, if you're still here, I'm telling you: an egg collective is a great idea, that's what it is. Basically, about 20 of us pay for a months-worth of eggs up front at the beginning of the month, then we pick up our fresh, local, organic and lovely eggs weekly from this little urban farm run by my good friends Shannon, Amy and Andy. They don't supply the eggs, but they organize the whole thing, provide a spot for them to live while they await pick up and are usually getting up to some hi-jinks when you come around for your weekly carton.

So anyway, since joining in with this collective, we occasionally find ourselves overly rich in ova. When this happens, my mantra has become: put an egg on it. Eggs can add a punch of protein to veggie-heavy meal. They can make a snack into something much more satisfying. Breakfast lunch or dinner...just put an egg on it.

 

Polenta with black bean stew and avocado? put an egg on it.

Olive-oil crostini with feta, spinach and bacon? put an egg on it.

Red-leaf lettuce and red peppers? put egg salad (and sunflower seeds) on it.

Green salad with roasted corn, potatoes and feta? put a (hardboiled) egg on it.

Spicy sesame stir-fry noodle bowl?  put an egg on it.

Chickpea and chicken sausage stew with avocado and crispy tortilla? put a (hot-sauced) egg on it.

Cinnamon Swirl Fruit and Nut Bread

Yup, it's bread. It's swirled with cinnamon sugar. It has all manner of nuts, dried fruit and grains. It is delicious and not even that hard to make (I swear).

I used to have a bit of a fear of bread-making, which I am led to understand is quite common. I think it's that whole (it's alive!) yeast thing and the whole (must have hulk arms) kneading thing. But, then I got a stand mixer and it was like the doors to bread heaven opened to the song of celestial beings.

You don't need a stand mixer to make bread and you certainly don't need a bread-maker. Don't you  just hate it when you find a recipe that looks good until you get to the part where you need a bread/ice cream/doeverythingforyou maker. I am a bread-maker..that is why I need recipe. c'mon.

This is essentially a nice simple bread recipe with a little pizzazz. I encourage you to throw in whatever you think would be tasty when paired with cinnamon and slathered with butter or cream cheese in the morning. So...pretty much anything.

Recipe adapted from this one at 101 cookbooks

Ingredients:

Bread
1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

1/2 cp dried apricots (chopped)

1/2 cp raisins

1/2 cp walnuts

1 tbsp sunflower seeds and 1 tbsp milk (for topping)

Cinnamon Swirl

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Method:

Whisk warm water and honey together. Sprinkle yeast on surface of water and allow to stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. 

Slowly add yeast mixture to flour mixture, combining with a wooden spoon or the bread paddle on your stand mixer.

Knead on low for 6-10 minutes (less if using the mixer, more if using your hands)

After kneading bread should be a smooth and slightly firm ball.

Drizzle some oil in the bottom of a bowl, add your dough ball, turn to coat, cover and set in a warm place to rise. (Inside the oven works well...make sure it is off though!)

While the dough is rising, melt butter in a saucepan on low.

Add brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Cook on low until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and set aside.

After about an hour your dough baby should be about double in size. 

Take it out and gently flatten the dough onto a floured cookie sheet. It should be about an inch thick.

Spread your cinnamon sugar mix evenly over the dough. 

Starting at one end, carefully roll the dough up like yule log or cinnamon bun.

Once rolled, tuck each end under the loaf and set in the center of the pan.

Brush with milk (I used almond) and sprinkle with seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaf for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Saturday Breakfast: Rosemary Sage Biscuits with Easy "Baked" Eggs

Despite the countless number of breakfast restaurants in Victoria, it often seems to silly to pay for one of the simplest meals of the day. I've been making practically the same Saturday breakfast for months now - poached eggs, pan-fried hashbrowns, store-bought toast and bacon - so last weekend I was ready to mix it up a bit.


This time, I tried my hand at zucchini-potato pancakes, rosemary-sage biscuits and a new twist on the sunny-side up egg. I did stick with the bacon because, um...it's bacon. I have to say that it was 80% successful, which isn't too bad for the weekend, am I right?


Right off I'll admit the pancakes were a fail. I have a serious lack of skill when it comes to making things crispy in a frying pan. Combined with my lack of time spent squeezing the cheesecloth and my laissez-faire attitude about using the right potatoes, that recipe was doomed from the start.


But, I like to think the eggs and biscuits more than made up for my less than perfect pancakes. Oh, the biscuits! Crispy all over with slightly flaky and flavourful insides. I could have just eaten three of these for breakfast, but that wouldn't make a very balanced meal now would it?


The eggs I came up with on a whim as a way to incorporate some veggies into the meal without going the old omelette route. I found out later that Smitten Kitchen had the same idea some time ago. And here I thought I was being so creative! At any rate, they were an easy and delicious success.


So without further ado, here are two players in a beautiful weekend breakfast:

Rosemary, Sage Biscuits
(adapted from this Smitten Kitchen recipe)

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1tsp baking soda

3/4 cup cold butter cut into cubes.

2-3 stems fresh rosemary (or 2 tbsp dried)
2-3 stems fresh sage (or 1 tbsp dry)

1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
2 tbsp vinegar.


Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Remove rosemary and sage leaves from the stems and chop finely. If you want to get fancy you could add in some feta cheese, chopped fresh spinach, cheddar, olives...anything really! 


Combine dry ingredients and herbs in a large bowl. Add in cubed butter and combine with a pastry mixer, two forks or your hands. Mixture should be coarse and crumbly. Mix in milk and vinegar until just combined to get a sticky dough.

Drop spoonfuls of your preferred biscuits size onto an oiled or buttered cookie sheet.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until your biscuits are golden brown.


Easy "Baked" Eggs - Mediterranean Style

4 large eggs 
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
3-4 white button mushrooms, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp dry oregano
Salt and pepper to taste


Saute onions on medium heat in a pan big enough to hold 4 eggs. When onions become soft and translucent, add spinach, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, herbs and spices (everything but the eggs). Saute until spinach is just becoming limp (about 1 minute), then make little wells in the mixture where the eggs will go. 


Crack eggs into the 4 wells you've made, being careful not to break the yolks. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and let sit 2-3 minutes for soft yolks, 4-5 for harder yolks. Then, voila! You're ready for breakfast. So much easier than baking them in the oven, eh?