From the category archives:

Breakfast

Fiesta Fried Eggs

by Emma on June 19, 2012

I am a fried egg fanatic. I eat a fried egg probably 4 or 5 days out of the week. I used to absolutely hate runny eggs, so for years and years I was a scrambled-eggs-only kind of girl. But then one day, everything changed. A switch got flipped. Same thing happened with raw tomatoes. And I’m hoping one day this same thing happens to my dislike of seared tuna. Dream big.

Anyway, here’s a few things I firmly believe about fried eggs:

-fried is way better than scrambled.

-the yolk must be runny but not broken until you’re ready to eat. embrace the ooze.

-the white part can’t be runny at all. gross.

-fried is way better than poached.

-i don’t know how to poach an egg. must put that on a to-do list sometime.

-fried eggs go well with savory things, like toast or black beans or rice

-fried eggs are still pretty good with sweet things like french toast (double egg!)

-fried eggs get really weird if you microwave them. don’t do this. just make a new one.

-why have i never put a fried egg on a biscuit. my life is incomplete and I’m just now realizing it.

-fried egg is only one “n” away from being friend egg. cute.

-fried egg would be a really cute dog name (“who’s my little fried egg.”)

-this list got way longer and more ridiculous than necessary.

Fiesta Fried Eggs, makes 2-3 servings

Needed: 1/3 red onion, 3-5 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 1 can black beans, 2 tablespoon hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, salt and pepper, 2-3 corn tortillas, 1/2 cup cheese, a handful of cilantro and 2-3 eggs.

Chop up your onion, mince the garlic, rinse and drain the beans. In a pan heat 2-3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until the onion just begins to soften. Stir in the hot sauce (I used Sriracha), cumin, cayenne and a little salt and pepper. Now stir in the black beans and let this mingle and heat up as you prepare the tortillas and eggs.

In another pan heat 1-2 tablespoons oil over high heat. Lightly fry the tortillas on both sides, dry on a paper towel. Turn the heat down fry an egg. While it fries top one of the tortillas with the bean/onion mix and 1/4 cup or so shredded cheese (I used mozzarella). Lay the fried egg on top and sprinkle on a little cilantro. Repeat for each serving. xo. Emma

31 comments

Peach Cobbler Muffins

by Emma on May 3, 2012

in Breakfast,Dessert

Warning: the following story is about crumb topping. And it goes no where. Read at your own risk.

When I was in high school we had this group called DECA; I wasn’t a member and to be honest I can’t remember what that stands for. But they had something to do with business… and they sold Otis Spunkmeyer products. Mostly cookies, but a lot of crumb topping muffins too. My friend Kyle got the blueberry muffins all the time. And I learned two things from Kyle while we were in high school together: 1. If the muffin doesn’t have crumb topping don’t even bother eating it, it’s not worth it. 2. When you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich you have to put peanut butter on both slices and then jelly in the middle. Otherwise by lunch time you will have that weird side were the jelly has seeped in to the bread; in a bad way.

For the most part, I think Kyle was right about both of these observations. Now, I’m not saying I would turn down a muffin just because it doesn’t have a crumb topping… but I am saying that if it does have a crumb topping then I am exponentially more like to eat it. If then. It’s a logic horse shoe thing (if you get that then you may have wasted as much time in college as me).

In high school I had no idea what crumb topping was, or how to make it for that matter. I was baking challenged. Way too busy wearing Air Walks and participating in student government (yeah, I’ve been cool for a long time). But now I totally get it: crumb topping is another way to add more butter and sugar to any muffin recipe. Genius!

Peach Cobbler Muffins, makes 12, adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook (if you haven’t checked out Joy’s cookbook yet you totally should)

For the muffins: 1 1/2 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 1/3 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 1/2 cup diced peach slices (I used frozen, then thawed ).

In a bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl cream together the softened butter, egg, yolk, milk and extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then stir in the peach slices. Spoon batter into a prepared baking pan.

For the crumb topping: 4 tablespoons cold butter, 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, a pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mash together using your clean hands until its… crumbly. Sprinkle over the muffin batter before baking. Bake at 350 F for 16-18 minutes.

24 comments

Ice Ice Baby

by Emma on April 27, 2012

in Breakfast

It’s ice coffee season—finally! I am a coffee person. All the way. Love coffee. Probably drink it too much. If you like tea we can still be friends. Coffee is awesome.

I love to get coffee out but I try to brew my own at home most of the time. It just seems more economical. So while I spring for a latte here and there I am always trying to perfect my own at-home coffee favorites. A current favorite of mine is salted caramel ice coffee!

The only real trick to making iced coffee at home is that it involves a little more planning, because cold brewing coffee takes time. I use a french press to make coffee at home; to cold brew I simply coarsely grind my coffee beans (I use about a tablespoon or two more than when I am hot brewing, because ice coffee needs to be a bit stronger because it gets watered down with ice) add them to my press, fill with filtered (cold) water and let that set overnight. In the morning I’m ready to press and go! I love adding a spoonful of caramel with a little sprinkle of sea salt. And I love me some cream in my coffee.

Have fun making your own ice coffee this season! xo. Emma

36 comments

Mini Green Smoothie Challenge

by Emma on April 9, 2012

in Breakfast,Drinks,Snacks

If you follow me on instagram you probably already saw that last week I took on a mini green smoothie challenge. Up until a week ago today I had never tried a smoothie made with greens so it was a lot of fun to try something new. Above was one of my favorite smoothies from the week-it involves pineapple and spinach. You can see all my smoothie creations along with recipes over at A Beautiful Mess today.

If you decide to join in with us and take the Green Smoothie Challenge please let me know about your favorite smoothie creations-as I really enjoyed the week and will probably keep making green smoothies from time to time. Or if you already have a favorite recipe let me know-I’d love to try it out.

xo. Emma

24 comments

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