Recipes Cooking

A splendid and hearty morning sandwich to take with you on those busy mornings working, fishing, hunting, or just any time when you and  your children are on-the-run - Its great warm, although wonderful at room temperature too...

Serving: (1)
Prep: 5 Mins. |
Cook: 5 to 7 Mins.

Posted by Sandra

INGREDIENTS

2 strips of quality bacon, cut in half crosswise, and browned
1 organic whole egg, fried (with yolk broken)
2 lettuce leaves
2 slices of tomato
1 slice of cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise, for spreading on toast
2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted
Fine-grained Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

METHOD

In a small non-stick skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon, and drain on a paper towel lined plate, reserving a bit of drippings. Reduce the heat to low, and gently fry the egg with the broken yolk.

Meanwhile, place the bread in the toaster. When toast is done, spread one side of each with mayonnaise, and layer the bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and egg on top of one slice of toast. Sprinkle fried egg with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste. Add the other slice of toast. – Enjoy!

When I was a child there were mornings when I woke up and just wanted to be in Nannys company. Even before I was old enough to understand why, I knew that Nanny was special. There were days that Id pretend to be sick so I could stay home from school and hang out with Nanny. That meant special food all day long. One of the special things Nanny made for breakfast was french toast. I bet youre thinking that french toast is not that special. Well, hers was different and thats what made it special to me, my brother and my sister. The main difference in Nannys French Toast was that you didnt put syrup on it. Nanny never had syrup in the house. There were many "American" things that we liked but Nanny would never touch. Syrup was one of them. Her topping for french toast was the same as her topping on her zucchini flowers. Granulated Sugar. These days since we are always watching our fat intake, a sugar topping just isnt practical. Today though, we are honoring Nanny so this is what she did and this is what I did.

Nanny usually used some white italian bread (loaf style sliced bread with some seeds...never wonder bread) but if she had some leftover bread like I did today, she would use that too. Mix in an egg with some milk, cinnamon, a little sugar and vanilla. I had a leftover round Italian bread from Whole foods and I cut two thick slices. I used two eggs since the bread was thicker. When the bread absorbed most of the egg mixture I fried it in a nonstick pan. Normally, Id use Pam nonstick cooking spray or if Im feeling like being indulgent Id use a little butter. But Nanny never touched either of these things. Butter was a forbidden ingredient in her kitchen. It was very rare that she would use it. She claimed she was allergic but we all know she wasnt. She just didnt like it. Nanny used oil a lot. For most dishes she used Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I guess this is why her skin was always so soft. She never worried about her weight...she used a ton of oil but never had any issues with clogged arteries or high cholesterol. I guess this what they call the Mediterranean diet. So back to the french toast. I fried the french toast in a little bit of canola oil until it was a nice golden color. Sprinkle that with some granulated sugar and youre all set! I figured with all that thick bread I should balance it off with a sunny side up egg. Afterall, Nanny did like the combination of sweet and savory!

When Madhuli asked me how I felt about Oats as a theme for Weekend Breakfast Blogging, I thought, wow, shes a girl after my own heart. According to me, the simpler and blander an ingredient, the more you can dress it up, the more creative you can get. Its like working on a blank canvas. Oats for me is one such blank canvas, it is just there to absorb any flavours you might care too add. This Oats and Mango- Breakfast in a glass is a two minute breakfast. With something as fast and healthy as this one on hand, you have no excuses for skipping the most important meal of the day.





Oats and Mango - Breakfast in a glass
Category: Breakfast drink
Time taken: Under 10 minutes
Makes 2 glasses

Ingredients:
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups water
1 ripe mango, peeled and cubed
1 cup skimmed milk
2 tbsp powdered jaggery (or brown sugar)
1 large pinch cardamom powder
3-4 ice cubes

Directions:
Soak the oats in 1 1/2 cups water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 - 2 minutes till soft. If you have more time on hand, you could simply soak the oats in warm water for 10-15 minutes.

Blend all the ingredients together along with the softened oats to make a thick smoothie and serve immediately.

Note: You could substitute the mango with papaya and use a spice of choice instead of cardamom, such as cinnamon or all spice powder. The oats supplies the fibre, mango is rich in beta carotene and fibre. Skimmed milk is rich in calcium without any additional calories from fat, jaggery is a natural, healthier sugar alternative - all of which make this a super-healthy breakfast option. Even if you are not an oats lover, the other flavours will more than compensate for it. This is a perfect option for those who have very hurried mornings.
Also check out Oats for Dinner from an earlier post.

This is my entry for WBB # 13 starring Oats at Madhulis Foodcourt. If you are an oats believer too, go ahead, make something, post it and rush your entries to her before the 25th July. I shall be back from my holiday to check out the round of all healthy breakfasts.