simple breakfast of eggs florentine spinach toast...

Everyone's favorite breakfast blog has to be Simply Breakfast by Jennifer Causey. If it isn't, we need to talk. Rather, don't talk to me, but talk to a therapist. Because I challenge you to find a morning food blog more inspiring, more captivating, and more drool-enticing than Jen's gorgeous rustic photographs. One of these days I will sit down and chat with her if she'll have me (she's right in Brooklyn!) but in the meantime, thought I would share some of her lovely work. Please get a tissue handy, and maybe even some glass cleaner. This will be a drool fest.

The funniest part is that Jen and I actually have similar tastes. The girl likes her greens and eggs. I find the hardest part of wanting to go from my future vegetarian self to politically corret veganism is the hold eggs have over me. Especially this whole runny yolk phenomenon I've discovered thanks to my better half. He lovessss overeasy eggs. I on the other hand never heard of overeasy eggs before 2011, but now that's all I eat. But low and behold, I was an eggs florentine virgin as well. Until Martha came along and swept me off my feet by pairing runny eggs with spinach and goat cheese. Are you drooling yet veggies? Oh my, it is soo good that we had it three days in a row now. Try it with various types of bread. Toasting in the broiler is new to me, but I find that the broiler likes all my bread choices, so its a relationship I plan on keeping!

Eggs Florentine with Baby Spinach Goat Cheese Toast

via Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

4 slices (1" thick) sourdough bread (I used 100% WW)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lb. baby spinach
1/3 c. crumbled goat cheese
4 large eggs

Method:

Heat broiler with rack set 4" away from heat. Place bread on a baking sheet, and brush both sides with 2 Tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil until golden, one to three minutes per side; set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp. oil on medium heat. Add scallions and as much spinach as will fit; season with salt and pepper. Cook until wilted, tossing and adding more spinach as room becomes available, two to three minutes. Drain excess liquid; mix in goat cheese. Transfer to a bowl; cover to keep warm. Set aside.

Wipe off skillet; heat remaining 2 tsp. oil over medium heat. Gently crack eggs into skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook until whites are almost set, about one minute. Cover and remove from heat; let stand until whites are set but yolks are still soft, about three minutes.

Top each piece of toast with spinach mixture and one egg; serve immediately.

chunky monkey business smoothie...

Most of my mornings start off with fruit these days. Give a girl a new house and boyfriend, and all of a sudden you have a health nut mama bear on your hands. I mean really, I still owe you all tons of updates (did you know I'm a redhead now? just kidding!) and the most important update is that I'm a wannabe nutritionist in training. Maybe its my biological clock. Maybe its the power to afford Whole Foods. Market groceries Maybe its that red meat is starting to me make me sick and Burger King commercials make me puke. No really. I always sneered at Burger King because I knew at least there was Wendy's, but now have you seen their new commercial? Natural cut fries! What the hell does that mean! So before, Wendy's was using something other than potatoes for our fries? Geesh. So yes, I am becoming a pompous health nut, semi-vegetarian, big-mouthed opinionated foodie. Anyone want to join me?

But I digress. I now wake up to the sound of birds chirping, make my bed, skedaddle to the kitchen, and see what I can do with the array of fruits stocked to the brim in my kitchen. You see I am fond of berries now. But bananas are on the receiving end of my favoritism. And now that I have a new blender, it was only a matter of time before the bananas met their fate with one my favorite creamy delights. Peanut butter of course! Come on people, this is nothing new. Stop gasping. Bananas and peanut butter go together like sugar and butter. Its just that, well, chocolate makes the world go round, makes babies smile, ends war and brings on world peace. So, hell, I chucked some chocolate in that blender too. Now you can gasp.

But get this. I now plan on sharing all my annoyingly tedious research. I mean you can't assume recipes are healthy. A few minutes of looking ingredients up is all it takes. Turns out, a two tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains 7 grams of protein. Your body uses the amino acids found in protein to build and repair muscle tissue. In addition to building metabolism-boosting muscles, protein-rich foods like peanut butter keep you feeling fuller for longer (woo hoo! portion control!). The protein in peanuts, like other plant proteins, contains an incomplete set of amino acids, so you should have a glass of milk with your peanut butter dishes. Lucky for you, this smoothie calls for milk. And lest not forget, those infamous monounsaturated fats in peanut butter lower your risk of developing heart disease, the number one killer of women these days. Yuck.

Get it? Got it! This is the perfect sweet treat. No one can say no to sweet and sassy bananas, peanut butter will keep your tush in tip top shape, and chocolate is the perfect indulgence. I use cocoa powder now, because store bought syrups contain that substance we dare not speak of (high fructose corn syrup! double yucky) and of course finding fresh organic milk and yogurt is just what the doctor ordered. Hmmm, although I have much research to do on milk!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
a.k.a. Chunky Monkey Business

Ingredients
2 large bananas (frozen)
6 ounces plain Greek yogurt
1 cup milk (soy, whole, or skim...your preference)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (I now use cocoa powder instead/2 teaspoons)

Method:

1. Slice the bananas, and save four slices (to be used as garnish).
2. Place the bananas, yogurt, chocolate, milk, and peanut butter in a blender or food processor.
   
3. Blend until smooth and creamy. Garnish and serve!
   

pandora's box spicy chocolate frosting...

Sometimes you have recipes tucked and stored away in your perfectly organized pink and Tiffany blue bins with labels and categories and a colored tab system. Well, that ain't me dolls. I have recipes hanging from my fridge. Hiding in my vacuum. Degrading underneath the toilet. Scraps of paper in my home office with recipes I don't even know the names to. So it should come as no surprise that I found this intriguing little buttercream recipe stored away on my computer. Name unknown. Flavor...beats me! So here is a little something from my Pandora's box. Anyone brave enough to try it? I'm sure there's a cupcake out there that needs frosting!

xoxo

Surprise Spicy Chocolate Frosting

5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
5 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled

Method:
In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter until creamy. At low speed, beat in the confectioners' sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowl, about 2 minutes longer. At low speed, beat in the cream, vanilla, cinnamon, ancho chile powder and cayenne, then gradually beat in the bittersweet and white chocolate. Scrape down the side of the bowl and the paddle, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light, 3 minutes longer. Using a wooden spoon, vigorously beat the buttercream for 30 seconds to deflate any air bubbles

*UPDATE!* In order to help answer my dear commenter about the ridiculous call for 5 sticks of butter, a little searching, and I turned up the original recipe! Its from Food & Wine Magazine. Find the whole shebang here.

she called me sweetiepie...

Oh sweetie pie, how I love you so. No not you. Well yes you, but not you for now. Sweetiepie is my dream restaurant. Its yet another hidden gem I came across since deciding to launch my culinary dream into the world, but just like Heaven on Main, it sadly closed down for now. The reasons remain a mystery really. There was something about a renovation and then they just never opened up the doors again. Well, I'm not complaining! There are definitely a few ideas I would yank right from their repertoire. The NY Times gave them an utterly harsh review (in that discreetly indirect manner they are famous for of course), citing neighborhood snobs who turned their nose at the eccentric decor and overly lavish atmosphere. Geez louise, you would think in NYC of all places, a first-time restaurateur (in this case, socialite owner Julie Daniels Janklow) could get away with being a little over the top, non? I personally have my dream journal decked out with doodles and mini illustrations featuring floor plans for my dream location, and a life size bird cage was definitely included. So Julie and I have that in common, and I am sure neither of us are the first or last to enjoy life size decor. Alice in Wonderland anyone? What's more...is the menu! For $75 you could have snagged yourself the Sweetiepig, an icebox orgy of sponge cake, mixed berries, bananas, whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and five ice cream flavors that comes served in a three foot tall sundae glass, enough for a whole Sex and the City movie after party for your girlfriends. Don't even get me started on the the entire back room being hand-painted on canvas, the cars, merry-go-rounds, Star Wars characters, the fuchsia-leather banquette, or the pink-marble floor. It’s all very surreal.And, well, I might not be the niece-in-law of an uber famous NYC socially ranked wealthy family, and may lack the funds to open a rarity like this...say...tomorrow, but I'm thinking I might just find a loft or event space I can partner up with and change the decor from time to time while I host and cater fabulous tea parties. In a non elitist fashion of course. If Sarah Jessica Parker and her son don't show up, I won't take it personally (she was a regular patron at Sweetiepie being that she lived next door). So what do you think? Bake sale meets Marie Antoinette is rather cheeky eh? Tell me you wouldn't die to attend a little soiree in a secret location (rabbit hole) where vintage sliver dining pieces perch quietly next to gold rimmed floral china, where over sized lollipops are both décor and dessert, and where an antique tea cart circles around you carrying an array of peppermint meringues, cakes, cupcakes and sundaes. Do you want an invite?

xoxo

cupcake a day...

Today I plan on making some Martha Stewart recipe chocolate cupcakes. Half the batch with cream cheese frosting and the other half with a recipe for peanut butter frosting that sounds delicious, courtesy of Joy the Baker. And you know she does no wrong. Funny enough, I was suppose to make these bad boys yesterday...but how do you say, hmmm, laziness got in the way. So instead, after a dinner of chicken Parmesan ravioli, baby spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette and a french loaf dipped in olive oil, I popped in a chocolate loaf cake by Nigella Lawson (the Queen) into the oven, drizzled it with caramel and topped it with raspberries and a modest dose of sugar. With cold milk, it was bliss. Anyone interested in the recipe? Of course you are! Post to follow. But enough about my eating habits last night...

I need to know if you spies have a good cupcake recipe I should try. Martha is great and all, but I'm feeling like a drone. Martha, Martha, Martha. Time to mix it up a bit. Anyone have a stellar chocolate cupcake recipe? Or maybe a eccentric flavor, something new and different but refreshing...and well, male approved?

xoxo