Thursday 23 December 2010

Breakfast - Part II: Lazy weekend mornings

You will likely crave something new after five days of yogurt, cereal and porridge for breakfast. With extra time on your hands for breakfast preparation, the weekend options are plenty and delicious. Most of my weekend breakfast options has eggs as an important component.  It is recommended that you only have three eggs per week. I never strictly followed this rule but generally found that over the course of the three weeks I didn't have more than three eggs per week. However, if you do have more, I wouldn't stress about it (unless you have a big cholesterol problem)!

Remember though: like on weekdays, you need to start your day with a hot water with lemon or green tea.

Smoked salmon with wilted spinach and poached eggs

'The detox eggs benedict' - who am I kidding :-) I shouldn't create false expectations.... But it is still delicious!

Start by bringing a large pot of water to the boil - you will need this for poaching the eggs. Also make a small bowl of cold saltwater to be ready for when the eggs have been poached.
While waiting, wilt the spinach in a pot with a bit of water. If you are not a big fan of spinach you can substitute it with steamed asparagus.
Poaching eggs: When the water is boiling add a bit of lemon juice and salt to the water. To poach the egg, you can either use a 'poaching gadget' or stir the water so that it spins around the center into which you pour the egg. Put the lid on the pot and boil for 3 minutes. When you take the egg out put it into cold saltwater for 20 seconds and then drain it on a piece of paper towel. 

Arrange the wilted spinach on a plate with 2 pieces of smoked salmon on top. Place the poached eggs on top and season with salt and pepper. The runny egg-yolk will provide the 'sauce' for the dish (instead of the classic hollandaise sauce).
If you would like to add a carbohydrate to this dish I recommend either a few spoonfuls of boiled quinoa or buckwheat blinis (I will provide a recipe for those at a later time)


Eggs any style with quinoa, mushrooms and avocado
(with optional soft goats cheese or buffalo mozzarella)

Boil the quinoa (1 part quinoa to 2 parts water and add 1/2-1 teaspoon of vegetable bouillon granulate) for 15 minutes or until cooked. You end up using quinoa a lot when you are doing the detox (breakfast, salads, dinner) so I usually cook 1-1.5 cups at a time and then keep it in the refrigerator for when I need it next.

Mushrooms:
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tblsp olive oil
150-200 grams mushrooms - I like to use a mix of mushrooms (typically chestnut and oyster) but any of them will do.
Small handful flatleafed parsley finely chopped (you can use other herbs if you prefer - I find that thyme and lemonthyme both go well)
Herbamare or salt and pepper for seasoning

Heat up the olive oil and add the garlic. Let it cook for a bit before you add the mushroom. When the mushroom are well cooked add the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Eggs: Scrambled, fried or poached as per your choice. Remember not to add any milk (other than soy milk) if you scramble them and use olive oil for the pan.

To serve, arrange the mushroom on top of the quinoa and serve with slices of avocado and the egg. I sometimes season the whole plate with a drizzle of really good olive oil and a bit of Herbamare. You can also add a soft goats cheese or buffalo mozzarella if you so desire.

Naturally, for those unfortunate people who do not like eggs (yup, they exist! I live with one), the rest of the elements of this dish also make a very suitable breakfast.


Detox Omelette

Any detox friendly ingredient can go in... I have found that a choice of some of the following work well:

Smoked salmon
Soft goats cheese
Mushrooms
Fresh herbs
Spring onion
Asparagus
Spinach
Tofu

And remember, no normal milk in the egg mixture. If you desire something creamier use soy cream instead of normal cream - but soy milk usually covers it.



Breakfast for the sweet toothed

This will be your alternative to the 'American pancake stack'. Baking powder, which is in the blinis, is strictly not allowed, but I take the attitude that if 99.9% of the food I have is following the rules then that last 0.1% will not make a big difference. I also make this dish as a pudding (when I have guests during my detox period) by making the almonds a little more 'fancy' roasting them on the pan with honey and cinnamon so they become more like a normal brittle.

Toppings:
Greek yogurt
Banana
Almonds
Honey

The 'Pancakes' - sweet blinis:
2 eggs
175 g buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda or baking powder
300 ml soy milk (you can substitute this with rice or almond milk if you prefer)
1 tblsp vegetable oil
2 tblsp honey

Whisk the eggs until frothy. Beat in flour and baking powder. Add the soy milk, beating well to keep a smooth batter. Finally add in the honey and oil.

Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan and pour on the batter (I make them so they are roughly 12cm in diameter - they end up 3-4mm thick - I use a large enough pan so I can fit 3 per round). Cook until the underside is golden; flip and cook on the other side.

Serve the hot blinis with Greek yogurt, sliced banana, almonds and a drizzle of honey.

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