When I order breakfast I always get eggs, but not normal eggs.  Eggs that have been taken over by greasy sausage, drowned in cheese, and cracked out with the hottest peppers possible.  Not once in a restaurant have I ordered pancakes or a sophisticated egg dish.  Everything with this breakfast plan was going just fine until Paleo came along.

For those of you who don’t know what the Paleo diet is, I’ll quickly explain.  First off, I’m not sure you should refer to it as a diet.  Rather, it is a lifestyle.  A lifestyle that tries to mimic what our ancestors ate in the wild: animal meat, fish, vegetables, minimal fruit, nuts, and seeds.  This means no gluten, rice, sweets, and (gulp) dairy.

We’ve done this diet before and honestly I can say that it works well for my body, but is difficult on the brain.  First off, I’m highly addicted to sugar (for those of you who don’t think it’s a drug – think again).  Those first few days are torturous and filled with mood swings, short snappy remarks, and a severe lack of energy.  But within a week, like all things, your body adjusts.

Breakfast is the most critical part of the day.  If we don’t get enough quality calories within the first few hours of the morning all hell breaks loose.  It is like being an alcoholic and going to a bar.  You are immediately turned into a bottomless pit devouring everything insight.  To help combat this detrimental state, we eat a lot of eggs.

Eggs are a great way to start off the morning.  They are full of protein, which helps keep you full longer, but eggs sometimes activate my gage reflex.  To help trick my brain, I’ve traditionally used cheese and toast to mask the egg flavor.  Since cheese is out now, we’ve resorted to all different types of egg dishes including sautéed vegetables, truffle salt, and sizzling bacon.

But we keep returning to one, poached eggs.

I’d never had a poached egg until a few years ago.  It’s different.  Almost un-egg like.   On top of a hash brown cake and mixed greens, this breakfast tastes refined yet delicious.   The green onions and fresh cracked pepper offer an additional bite.  This is a breakfast that has us coming back for more.

Poached Egg with Scallion Hash Brown Cake Adapted from Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller
Serves 2

You will need:
~ 4 eggs, at room temperature
~ white vinegar
~ 2 medium sized russet potatoes (makes 2 cakes)
~ ¼ cup cornstarch
~ 1 bunch green onions
~ canola oil
~ mixed greens
~salt and pepper

First, let eggs warm up to room temperature.

Peel potatoes.  Using your food processor’s coarse shredding blade, shred potatoes.  Rinse potatoes and spin dry in a salad spinner.  Mix in cornstarch to evenly coat potatoes.  When “on Paleo” we omit the cornstarch.  While it does help the hash browns stick better into a cake, it all tastes the same.

Divide the green onion into two parts: green and white.  Dice the white part and reserve.  Cut the green part into narrow 3 to 4 inch slices.

Heat canola oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.  When oil is simmering, add ¼ potatoes and top with half of the 3-4 inch green onion slices.  Season with salt and pepper and top with another ¼ potato mixture.  Do not push down on the cake.  Let cook for about 7 minutes per side (or until golden brown) and flip.  Season again with salt and pepper and cook for another 7 minutes.  If needed add more oil after flipping and after 1^st cake is done.

Repeat until all hash brown cakes are made.  To keep each cake warm, place in an oven heated to 200°F.

To poach the eggs, heat about 2 inches of water and a splash of white vinegar in a saucepan over medium-high heat.   Temperature is key to poached eggs.  We have an instant read temperature thermometer that makes this part VERY easy.  Once the temperature of the water is around 175°F (no greater than 185°F and almost simmering), swirl the water in the center and gently crack in the egg.  You can do two eggs at once, but make sure your pan is big enough.  After a minute, I usually scrap the egg gently around to break it off the bottom of the pan (otherwise the pan is difficult to clean later).

After egg white has set (about 3 minutes) remove with a slotted spoon.

Serve two poached eggs on top of mixed greens and hash brown cake.  Top with reserved green onion white part and generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In an attempt to stay cool, I’ve been whipping up sorbets and sherbets almost nightly.  Each bite is refreshing.  Not only is it fiercely cold on your tongue, but fresh fruit is revitalizing!  While our farmer’s market has been pumping out fresh fruit weekly, last night was scorching and I was craving mangos.

Mangos hold a sweet spot in my heart.  First off, they are just plain delicious.  Second, we stumbled upon a mango tree in Kauai when hiking last October.  We were nearly out of water, hot as hell, and starving.   It took us a while to figure out what that sweet smell was, but once we did, we dove in.

With that said, I think I’ll go turn on the air conditioner. 

Mango Sorbet adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop

You will need:
~ 2 large ripe mangoes (about 2 lbs)
~ 2/3 cup sugar
~ 2/3 cup water
~ 4 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
~ 1 tbsp rum
~ sea salt

First, peel and cut mangos in ½ inch pieces.   Cutting a mango is simple once you know how.  If you don’t know how click here.  Make sure to save as much of the mango as possible.  Put mango pieces in a blender or food processor and squeeze pit to release as much of the juices/pulp as possible into the blender.

Add water, sugar, lime juice, rum, and a few turns of salt.  Puree until smooth (a few minutes).  Taste and add more lime or rum if needed.

Chill mango sorbet and then follow the instructions on your ice cream maker.

This year, we were <gasp> accepted into a CSA.   I say accepted, because in Boulder (and Brooklyn) we aren’t the only ones interested in signing up.  Getting into a CSA in Boulder (especially an orgainic one) is like getting your child into the elementary school of your choice in Park Slope.  The night before, parents literally camp out at the prized school of their choice for open enrollment.  It’s absolutely nuts!

Some of you (um Dad…) might not understand what a CSA is, so I’ll give a brief explanation.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Just like it sounds, by participating you are supporting your community farm.  A CSA runs from the beginning of the growing season (spring) to the end (fall).

Traditionally, you pay a set amount supporting that farm regardless of drought, pest, or plant disease and in exchange you get a weekly basket of their freshest produce.   The farm also might ask you to volunteer which is a great way to get to know your farmers and how to garden.

The best part of a CSA by far is the variety.  My weekly basket contains vegetables that I normally wouldn’t give a second look to in the grocery store or would never see on the shelves.  I have to identify what these strange veggies are and, even more importantly, how to turn them into a tasty meal.

Our CSA started last week, and in our basket came a whole lot of unknowns!  The one that stuck out the most was a squiggly green fragrant pungent vegetables called a garlic scape.

Being a garlic and onion lover, I was stoked to find another form to cook with and as it turns out a new favorite.  I looked up a few ways to use garlic scapes in the kitchen and this recipe stuck out.

Garlic Scape Pesto Adapted from Umami Girl
Serves 6

You will need:
~ ¾ cup chopped garlic scapes
~ ¼ cup walnuts (or pine nuts)
~ 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
~ salt and pepper to taste
~ ¼ cup EVOO
~ ¼ cup grated (high quality) Parmesan Reggiano

First, toast the walnuts for a few minutes over medium low heat.  Nuts burn easily so make sure to watch closely.  When done set aside to let cool.

While nuts are cooling, coarsely chop garlic scapes and grate cheese.  Add garlic scapes, walnuts, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to a food processor.  Pulse about 30 seconds.  Then stream oil in (through the top of your food processor) while the food processor is running.  Once all the oil has been combined thoroughly, stir in cheese.  Taste for salt and pepper and add any if needed.

I find it better if you let it gel for a few hours before serving.  We found two tasty uses for it: Salmon and pizza!  Enjoy!

Visiting our local farmer’s market is a small obsession of mine. Chris and I were first in line for Spring’s arrival of asparagus and are counting down the hours until the first cherry is picked.  Oh and don’t get me started on radishes.  Did you know they come in different shapes and colors?!?!

My reasons for shopping at the farmer’s market started as purely selfish– the food simply tastes better.  And not just kind of better, but enough that I now only eat asparagus during when it’s in season for us: Spring.  I suppose you can get some flown in from Peru during the winter, but your taste buds will know better.

Over the years, I’ve learned that there are many reasons to shop at your communities farmer’s market other than to appease your taste buds and they all stem from one word: LOCAL.

Economic Benefits:  Locally grown food does more than benefit your taste buds; it benefits your community.  First off, it provides people with jobs.  It connects communities through CSA’s and volunteer work.  But most importantly, it pumps money into your town’s economy.  When buying a tomato from a big chain grocery store only a fraction of your dollar stays in your community.  The rest goes to the growers (usually in Florida or Mexico) and the big chain grocery store.   Buying a locally grown tomato means that almost all of your money goes to a local producer.

I’m reading a book right now called Fair Food by Oran Hesterman that best sums up the economic impact.  In 2006, the Fair Found Foundation commissioned a study to look at what would happen in Detroit, MI if people started spending just 20% of their current food spending on local food.  The impact on the city of Detroit was amazing:

• 4,700 jobs would be created
• Nearly $20 million additional business taxes would be generated

Now, I’m not an economist, but last I checked we need local job creation and money to help out our financially strapped communities.

Environmental Benefits: Not only are you boosting your local community, but you are also helping the environment.  The fruits and veggies you buy locally don’t need a plane ticket to your dinner table.   Local food’s carbon footprint is substantially smaller than that of its well-traveled counter part.

In addition, most farmer’s market vendors use organic and traditional farming methods.  These methods promote not only the use of fewer chemicals, which frequently end up in our streams and lakes, but also require crop rotation, which naturally nourishes the soil.  Nourished soil requires less fertilizer (specifically nitrates and phosphates), a direct environmental benefit.

Nutritional Benefits:  Last but not least, the produce from a local farmer’s market actually is better for you.  Rather than picking a plum early so it can arrive ripe in Minnesota from Mexico, local farmers pick their produce when it’s at its prime.   Produced picked at its prime has more nutrients from the get-go, and by shortening the time between picking and eating less nutrients are lost between time of picking and your plate.

Whether your primary reason be like mine (taste) or you’re seeking to give back to the community, create a smaller carbon footprint, or enjoy better health, shopping at your farmer’s market is a great choice.  Who knows, you might even learn you like a vegetable that last week you didn’t know existed!

Not sure what to do with your newly purchased nutrient packed produce?  I either toss them in to a salad or mix in with quinoa.  Below is one of my favorite ways to use up vegetables!

Farmer’s Market Quinoa Salad
Serves 4

You will need:
~ 4 to 5 fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market
~ 1 cup uncooked quinoa
~ ½ cup walnuts (or almonds)
~ ¼ cup olive oil, plus some for sautéing vegetables
~ ¼ cup white wine vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice
~ salt and pepper

First, cook the quinoa according to the manufacturer’s instructions.   When done cooking, set aside and let cool to room temperature.

The vegetables I picked up from the farmer’s market were radishes, spring onions, and bok choy.  I had left over beets and brussel sprouts to toss in as well.  To cook the radishes, bok choy and brussel sprouts first cut into bite sized pieces and then sauté with oil over medium/high heat for about 10 minutes.  I usually do the brussel sprouts separately in order to make sure each gets that yummy caramelized taste.

Here are instructions on how to cook the beets.

In a large bowl, mix sautéed vegetables, quinoa, walnuts oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.  I then slice the spring onions and add raw.  Serve immediately!

This Spring seems to be a completely different story. Our grass is already dying, Ollie’s already had two haircuts, and we’ve already busted out the Arnold Palmers.  Summer is here.

Since its going to be 80°F today, I thought I’d try to get ahead of the heat and make a sherbet.  It’s been years since I’ve had one, but the taste is still the same: sweet refreshing. It’s also about 10x easier (and faster) than ice cream!

Cherry-Vanilla Sherbet
Makes about 1 quart

You will need:
~ 4 cups sweet dark cherries (I used frozen)
~ 2 cups whole milk
~ 1 cup sugar
~ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
~ 3 tsp fresh lemon juice

First, combine cherries, milk, and sugar in a food processor.  Process for about 5 minutes until smooth (some cherry bits will remain, but that’s okay).  If you want a perfectly smooth sherbet, then strain mixture.  I liked the texture and left the bits.

Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix for another minute.

Following your ice cream maker’s instructions, churn and freeze the sherbet.  It is best served right away.