Happy Independence Day, y’all! If you’re planning on firing up the BBQ, you must try these grilling spice pastes from ‘Planet Barbecue’ by Steven Raichlen. They come directly from the gods above, I swear…
I bought them whilst browsing my local ‘Sur La Table’ store, and have been stocking up ever since!
If you are an egg aficionado like yours truly, you’ll love a nice frittata. Frittatas are super easy to make and so satisfying for a hearty breakfast or brunch. But what truly makes them a winner in my book, is that they’re the perfect vehicle to use just about anything you want to get rid of in your fridge. And they’re cheap!
In an average week, I trot to the farmers’ market and/or grocery store on Saturday mornings, armed with a gaggle of reusable bags and my token over-the-shoulder straw tote for good measure and proper farmers market fashion. Don’t hate me, but I love how sassy a bunch of carrot greens look sticking out from underneath my armpit. It makes me feel like I need therapy a farmers’ market siren. When my carload is finally lugged upstairs to our 2nd floor apartment and all that fresh deliciousness is crammed into our fridge like a Chinese puzzle, I’m always anticipating a ribbon from the Pope and/or an honorable mentioning in our local paper for excellence in purveyance.
With Saturdays traditionally being ‘feast’ in refrigerator-land, it often means that come Fridays – when famine sets in – I inevitably end up with a sad stalk of leeks that never did make it into the potato-soup I planned, or a handful of fresh herbs that look like they came from the nether worlds.
Frittatas are perfect for using up errant produce. You can use whatever vegetables and/or meats you like, but the basics are always more or less the same.
CHEESY BROCCOLI-KALE FRITTATA (Adapted from various recipes on ye olde Internet)
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to broil setting. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, Fontina cheese, salt, pepper & nutmeg, and set aside. Over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil and cook the garlic & broccoli florets until broccoli is ‘al dente’ and just about to fall apart. Turn heat to low and add kale. Continue to cook until slightly wilted but still somewhat ‘crunchy’. Add finely chopped green onions, pour egg mixture over vegetables, and gently fold to combine. Cook eggs for 4-5 min until beginning to set on the bottom. Sprinkle Pecorino-Romano cheese over the top and transfer to hot oven until the top sets and cheese is slightly browned, approx. 3-4 min.
I went with a meat-free option, but when you add the egg mixture, you could completely fold in some cooked bacon or pancetta pieces, or cooked crumbled sausage too.
A while ago, I got sucked into the blogging vortex. I’ve always enjoyed writing & doodling, though I don’t proclaim to be particularly good at either. Writing warms my soul. It makes me happy, like that first whiff of freshly brewed coffee in the morning or gooey honey on warm crusty French bread.
The minute I hit the ‘create my blog’ button, I became a bona fide blogger in my mind. I was all gung-ho about it, and felt that blogging stardom was nigh. Alas, I quickly lost footing in the blogging frenzy that ensued. I jumped off the deep end feet first, and forgot my blogging floaties. See, my blog didn’t really have any clear direction or focus. It was admittedly a royal chaos of nonsensical garble that was destined to be ignored, because – let’s face it – my Belgae-Germanic roots prevent me from loving ‘chaos’. It totally zapped my blogging mojo.
It baffles me why I never thought of writing about food before. Food is what I should be writing about, really. I get so excited about all things ‘food’, that the mere sight of juicy black figs launch me into a 15-min eulogy as to why we need to try them with the lemon-lavender goat cheese from that charming old bitty at the farmer’s market and – oh man – certainly not forget about the organically harvested orange-blossom honey from my friend Betty’s cousin Harry’s hive… Poor Scott. He puts up with a lot of my culinary madness. Like for instance the other day, when I interrupted his laptop work and giddily shoved a pair of raw tuna steaks underneath his nose, excitedly praising them for their pink gorgeousness. “LOOOOOK AT THESE, baby!!!! Aren’t these gorgeous?!”. He often humors me with reciprocated admiration. I think he’s secretly charmed by my food craziness.
Now that my blogging chakras are properly aligned, I wanted to start fresh. A crisp new blog, centered around all things FOOD. A place where I can share my excitement about random food findings with like-minded souls, and a place to *finally* find that recipe I promised you back in 1997.
Welcome to my ‘new’ blog!
The Hungry Belgian 