Eggs in a Kale nest

I'll admit - this recipe was pretty much stolen from my Martha Stewart magazine, but I did make some changes so I don't feel too guilty posting this - and you certainly won't have to feel guilty eating it, because it is some of the most delicious health food you'll ever have! I may be exaggerating, depending how you feel about soft-boiled eggs. I hear not everyone is a fan... hmm... ANYWAY, so the story goes:

4 soft-boiled eggs (how to)
1 large bunch of Kale
1/2 onion (shallot, red, white, yellow, blue... blue???), chopped
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 lemon, zested
olive oil
s+p

1) If you're thinking far enough in advance, cook the eggs about 30 minutes ahead. They will be MUCH easier to peel.
Preheat oven to 400

2) Cook the brown rice - 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice (this is almost ALWAYS the ratio, also with white rice - memorize it!). Bring to a boil, then simmer and cover until all the water is absorbed.

3) Remove the large ribs from each Kale stem, and chop VERY roughly. Kale shrinks almost as much as spinach so keep the leaves fairly large. Toss with the onion, a healthy drizzle of olive oil, lemon zest, and the salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and slide into the top third of the oven.

4) I'm rarely precise when I cook, so I don't know how long it took - set your timer at 3 minutes intervals - when the kale is crispy and a little brown, it's done. Stop when you smell burning!!

5) Serve the kale on the rice and the eggs on the kale!

*tip: if you're peeling your eggs and they seem too soft for your liking (like as if not all of the white is cooked) it won't hurt them to lower them back into simmering water for another 5 minutes or so. I can't STAND uncooked egg white... ick!*

Summer Omelette

This is a delicious omelette recipe I came up with in the middle of summer, on a lazy Saturday morning. I thought I didn’t have anything in the fridge to make a good breakfast with, but when I combined what I DID have with what was in the garden… I stumbled upon genius in the form of a surprising ingredient that perks any omelette right up!

(For an omelet I recommend about 2 eggs per person)

Serves 2

Butter

5 eggs

1 large kale leaf - stems removed and roughly chopped in small pieces

½ green or red tomato

¼ chopped onion (red, white, or green is fine!)

Splash of cream or milk

S+ P (I like coarse salt)

Lemon zest – just a few strokes on the grater.

Parmesan cheese

1. Combine eggs, salt and pepper, lemon zest, and cream. Whisk gently with a fork or whisk to break yokes + whites. No need to beat the living daylights out of it.

2. In a frying pan, melt a few tablespoons of butter, and add the onion and tomato. Cook until they are as firm or soft as you like them, then add the kale leaves. (Because of their moisture, they may pop and splatter a little when they come in contact with the butter – watch out!). Cook and stir until kale leaves start to wilt. They can be a little tough to chew otherwise.

3. From here, you have a few ways you can proceed.

For a traditional omelet:

Put the filling in a bowl, and pour the eggs into the pan (make sure heat is no higher than Medium!). Let sit for a few seconds, so the bottom cooks well. With a spatula gently lift one side up and tilt pan so the uncooked top runs underneath. Do this a couple of times until it is almost fully cooked. Pour the filling on one side, and add as much cheese as you want. Flip the omelet in half and let cook ½ a minute longer, until the middle is well set. Turn out onto a plate, and dot with a little more butter

The way I like:

I pour the eggs right on top of the filling and let it set for a few seconds, then I push it around just a few times with my spatula so that it still relatively holds an omelet style shape, but there is no fussy flipping involved. I divide and turn out onto plates, and garnish with the parm.

Messy Omelet:

Pour the eggs right over the filling and start stirring as you would scrambled eggs. My dad always called this a messy omelet, but my husband insists it’s just scrambled eggs with veggies added. Whatever you call it, it’s easy and still totally delicious.

I suppose you've already guessed that the secret ingredient is the lemon zest. Not a big surprise there, but it makes the eggs taste as bright and sunny as they look!
It’s recipes like this that make me long for summer again! Thankfully kale grows in the winter, and I have plenty of tomatoes stored in my pantry that refuse to ripen. 

But still… something feels out of place when the sun isn’t streaming in the kitchen window.