breakfast sandwich

i've noted my general dislike for breakfast foods here before, but never mentioned what i consider to be the breakfast gold standard: bacon, eggs and toast. growing up, this was my father's sole contribution to our family's mealtimes, but he made up for lack of quantity in exactitude. the eggs were sunny side up, with yolks runny but whites set and almost browned. bacon was nothing less than crispy, but never so much that it was burnt, and the toast was warm, but never crunchy. even eating it followed a prescribed ritual -all parts had to be equally rationed so that the last bite would be warm toast sopping up the dregs of your spilled yolk, followed by the last 1/4 of a slice of bacon.

as an adult, i've found it extremely difficult to get the timing right on this meal, not to mention the stress involved in the rationing of the parts. so, when grace offered to make me a breakfast sandwich and this beauty turned up on my plate, i knew the gold standard had been replaced. putting all the parts together in sandwich form served the dual purposes of eliminating the timing issue and the rationing issue in one fell swoop. and grace did my dad one better by adding cheese, which i think was particularly inspired. while this is no daily breakfast (i don't think our hearts could take it), it is certainly my favorite way to start the day.

bacon, egg + cheese breakfast sandwich

in a large, cold pan, place strips of bacon so that they don't touch. cook over medium low heat for 10-12 mins, turning frequently. remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

drain pan of 1/2 of bacon fat. fry eggs in bacon fat, until whites bubble and brown at edges. add salt and pepper to yolks immediately before removing from pan. while heaing bread to just warmed in toaster, cut thin slices of cheddar cheese and melt on warm egg. assemble sandwiches, adding a dollop of mayo if you're grace and don't mind dying a little early.

in full swing

summer's upon us now and while this weather would be much more becoming in, say, bermuda, i'm enjoying taking advantage of all the perks of hot, sticky days- like ice cream. if you're in brooklyn, you should check out a new place in prospect heights called blue marble. the sweet-tart strawberry flavor deserves its endearing name.


in the past month, i've discovered my love of flowers, re-painted a room, learned how to sew, and planted what probably amounts to a jungle of tomatoes on my fire escape. a productive month, i suppose, but it somehow it still feels on the precipice of something. there are only a few more days to go, so we'll see what they bring.


in the meantime, in addition to these lovely flowers, i wanted to share with you one of my newest little secrets. i've made mention of my dislike of breakfast before, but this spring it was getting dire. often, i would not eat anything until lunchtime, which obv. didn't bode well for my poor co-workers who asked me anything before noon. in search of a palatable breakfast that involved minimal work and was marginally healthy, i stumbled upon this NPR article with nigella lawson. in addition to the avocado bruschetta, she describes the most ingenious breakfast idea-homemade granola bars. since, grace and i have made these practically every week- each time a little bit differently. in addition, poor planning on my part led to an accidental wonderful discovery- the original recipe is much improved if you use granola instead of oats.


if you, like i, need a little help getting into the full swing of your day, having a homemade breakfast bar studded with dried fruit jewels will most definitely give you a hearty push.

breakfast bars, adapted from nigella lawson

1 can condensed milk
2 1/2 cups granola
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried fruit (i usually use cranberries or cherries, but what about pineapple?!)
1 cup mixed seeds (i usually use flax seeds, pumpkin and sunflower)
1 cup nuts (slivered almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts are all good)


preheat the oven to 250 degrees and spray oil a 9- x 13-inch baking pan. warm the condensed milk in a pan. meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute. spread the mixture into the oiled pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands (they will get really, really sticky!) to make the surface even. bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down, to make 16 bars. when cool, these keep for a week and a half and are amazing.

cost
condensed milk: $2.50
granola: $3.50
coconut: $1.50
dried fruit: $3.50
nuts: $3.00
seeds: $3.00

total: $17.00
okay, so it is a little expensive, but when you consider you get 16 bars out of this, it amounts to a little over a dollar a bar. this is about 40 cents more than what you'd pay at the grocery for a bar that's probably 2/3's bigger and much, much tastier. i'd say it's worth it.

cranberry cream scones

breakfast is a tricky meal for me for me to love. by constitution, i'm not a fan of sweet breakfast foods, probably a result of growing up with filipino parents for whom the ideal breakfast consisted of rice, salted duck egg, tomato and a marinated meat called tapa. for most of my life i've oscillated between not eating breakfast at all and eating something i'm barely tolerating, like cereal or yogurt. scones, however, are the except to that rule. i've always enjoyed their mild sweetness and the fact that you are allowed, even encouraged!, to heap them with butter and jam and my most beloved clotted cream. since learning how to make them, i've brought them to countless brunches and served them to quite a few guests. i was recently thinking about this recipe and realized you could probably cut the dough and freeze it, making it easier to bake them off one at a time. that is, if you are unlike me and can't inhale 2 or 3 in a day.

cream scones with dried cranberries adapted from america's test kitchen

makes 8 scones

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes and chilled
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

place oven rack in middle position and heat to 450F. pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a food processor to combine, about 6 pulses.
scatter cold butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few slightly larger lumps, about 12 pulses.

add the cranberries and pulse 2-3 times to combine. transfer dough to a large bowl and stir in cream with a spatula until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. don't overmix!

turn dough and any floury bits onto a floured counter and knead until it forms a rough, slightly sticky ball, about 5 to 10 seconds. turn dough into a 9 inch round cake pan and press down to fill pan. unmold dough (it should now be a flatish 9 inch round) and cut into 8 wedges. sprinkle with turbinado sugar and place onto an ungreased baking sheet (i just lined mine with parchment paper).

bake until tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 mins. Cool on wire rack for a least 10 mins. before serving.