Breakfast Egg Skillet and Bloody Mary

Some days just call for a spicy, ice cold Bloody Mary and a big hearty breakfast.

Today was that day.

The shining ingredient? Celery salt. Boy, do I love celery salt. I put it in both the skillet and the drink because I love it so much.

The egg skillet works perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The eggs keep me full and the vegetables burst with flavor. The entire dish takes about 10 minutes to make and requires little fuss.

The Bloody Mary, on the other hand, requires a bit more effort than the skillet, but is more than worth the time. The spices blend together perfectly, creating a salty drink that is almost a meal in itself.


Egg Skillet (serves 1-2)

-2 eggs
-5 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
-14 grape tomatoes, halved
-4 green onions, chopped
-2 cups fresh spinach
-1/2 avocado, cubed
-1 tsp celery salt
-red pepper flakes
-cracked pepper
-fresh fruit

Warm a large skillet pan on medium heat. Spray with a non-stick spray and add the sliced mushrooms. When the mushrooms have cooked for about 1 minute, crack the eggs into the skillet. Then add the tomatoes, green onions, and spinach. Sprinkle everything with celery salt, red pepper flakes, and fresh cracked pepper. Place a lid on the skillet to allow the tops of the eggs to cook. When the eggs are slightly white on top, take the pan off the heat and add the cubed avocado. Serve hot and enjoy with your favorite fresh fruit.


Bloody Mary (2 servings)

-2 cups cold tomato juice
-juice from 1/2 lemon
-1/2 Tablespoon horseradish
-1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
-1 teaspoon curry powder
-1 teaspoon sweet paprika
-1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1/8 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon celery salt, plus more for the rim of the glass
-1/4 to 1/2 cup cold vodka (depending on your own preference)
-dill pickle spears for garnish
-olives for garnish
-lemon slices for garnish
-celery stalks for garnish
-ice cubes, if desired

In a pitcher, combine all of the ingredients, minus the vodka. Place the mixture in the fridge for at least 25 minutes. When mixture is chilled, mix the vodka into the pitcher. Run a slice of lemon around the rim of your serving glass and dip the glass into a dish of celery salt. Fill glass with ice, if desired, and pour the mixture into the glass. Garnish with pickle, celery, lemon, and olives.

I love when restaurants get super creative with their Bloody Mary garnishes, so get creative with yours!

Sunshine and Bakes

St. Lucia has taken my heart.

It's true.

Each morning the island greeted me with roosters calling back and forth across the hills. As the early sunbeams dried the dew from the grass, I would roll myself out of bed, splash some water on my face, and walk up the path to the main building to take in the overwhelming beauty of this gorgeous little island.

My precious days in St. Lucia were mainly spent building houses, visiting nursing homes for the poor, and working at elementary schools, among other activities. While the working days were tough at times, seeing the joy on the faces of the people there made every moment meaningful for me. 

 

One of the perks of visiting an island in the Caribbean is all the delicious fruit available. We often had fresh guava, starfruit, grapefruit, mangoes, and bananas lying around for us to eat. For breakfast I would usually eat oatmeal, fruit, cereal, toast, or eggs. 

Besides all of the fresh fruit, some of my favorite treats in St. Lucia are called bakes. Bakes are essentially a type of fried bread and can be paired with sweet or savory items. Some people ate them with cheese and summer sausage, while others ate theirs with cinnamon and sugar. This year, I took a little cooking lesson from my friend Noella, who took the time to make bakes for our entire group. After the dough was made, we broke pieces off, rolled them into balls, flattened them into circles slightly larger than the size of our palms, and fried them for a few minutes on each side--until golden brown.

When I got home from St. Lucia, I was determined to replicate Noella's bakes because they are just SO delicious! ***Warning: bakes are addictive and not at all good for you, but you must try them. :) 

Make sure you use canola or vegetable oil...olive oil is too heavy for frying foods. Also, make sure the oil is nice and hot. I let mine warm up on medium-high before placing the dough rounds in the oil. 

When they are finished, they should be puffy in the middle and golden brown. Let the bakes cool on some paper towels before enjoying. Oh, and here's a small hint: bakes + nutella = heaven.

Waffles with Fruit

      

Every once in a while my stomach craves a hearty, delicious waffle. Unfortunately, I have high standards for waffles...standards that my cooking skills cannot meet. You see, once upon a time I traveled to Brussels, Belgium with a friend of mine. Without knowing much about the city, we traveled to the city center (like every good tourist in Europe does) and decided to pop into a cozy little restaurant for a waffle. I know, I know, it sounds cliché--a Belgian waffle in Belgium. I'm okay with being cliché though because it was the *BEST* waffle I have ever had. Every waffle I will ever eat will be compared to this waffle. Luckily, I was able to dig up a photo to share. I also found another picture that I think you might all like, but I've placed it at a more discreet location at the bottom of this post.