Breakfast! The most important meal of the day (2004-2011)

[emmalish]

Is there anything that doesn't work with eggs? I had leftover curry with scrambled eggs last night. Looked disgusting (hence no pic), but it tasted fantastic.

[Prawncrackers]

Not posted breakfast for ages as it's never anything too exciting. But this morning I finally dusted down the Takoyaki pan we bought in Dogayasuji last year and made Takoyaki. We were snapped back to Osaka in the instant the molten batter scolded the roofs of our mouths, fantastic:

[AndreaReina]

Wakey wakey, eggs 'n bakey.

I wanted to make the omelet of my childhood: tomatoes, mozzarella, black olives. Alas, I was out of both the mozza and the olives... And then I remembered the bacon I bought a little bit ago. Broil the bacon in a cast iron skillet, scramble eggs in skillet afterward, using the bacon grease and residual heat. Pop some bread in the toaster at the same time, and my eggs and toast finished simultaneously. Assemble, and eat!

Simple yes, but oh so good. In my haste to devour it I didn't think to take pictures.

Bruce: those eggs look and sound absolutely divine. I'll have to try it sometime.

[percyn]

Bruce, hope you feel better soon.

Where did you learn about Parsi style eggs? BTW, there are quite a few egg recipes in a Parsi's repertoire, as we love eggs.

[C. sapidus]

Bruce: those eggs look and sound absolutely divine. I'll have to try it sometime.

Andrea, thank you! (and we would love to see pictures next time).

Bruce, hope you feel better soon.

Percy, thanks, I’m back to normal(ish).

Where did you learn about Parsi style eggs? BTW, there are quite a few egg recipes in a Parsi's repertoire, as we love eggs.

I learned a good bit about Parsi-style eggs from you, of course, right here on this thread! Gautam and a few others were also kind enough to lend insights. The eggs upthread were loosely based on the akuri recipe in Niloufer Ichaporia King’s My Bombay Kitchen, adapted to the ingredients at hand.

[melonpan]

percyn, how do you make your soft scrambled eggs? they look oherworldly

[melonpan]

percyn: "mmille24, there are a few different techniques I use for the scrambled eggs. Usually it simply involves heating a splash of half and half or light cream in a non-stick frying pan on low heat and cracking a fresh egg in. Add a pinch of salt and stir occasionally while on low until desired consistency (as egg starts to come together, turn heat down and keep stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan so that the egg does not stick or get lumpy). Remember, the egg will cook and firm up a bit even once the heat is turned off. Serve hot and it is even better with some truffle butter on toast."

just found this. thanks!

[Blether]

Saturday. They only had them in pairs yesterday, which is one more than I need for the purpose I was shopping for, so I grilled 'em both this morning and had one for breakfast: lightly-salted (bought that way, as opposed to salted at home) aji, or horse mackerel. The label also notes 'defrosted', and from the fatty lusciousness of them, it's clear they were put down in high season in the autumn.

They'd never have been caught if they hadn't just swum across 3 time zones...

See the brown bits ? That's the bacon of the sea (non tuna-head variety)

Served with almost-overbrowned chips cut from fresh potato and fried in chicken fat. Not as successful as the frozen chips (per the Dinner! thread) as I couldn't keep the heat down for long enough, but very tasty none the less.

Followed by some more of the natsumikan marmalade stirred into some ordinary yoghurt:

Beside the strong, fresh citrus flavour, the yoghurt takes on a carameliness from the brown sugar in the marmalade. A perennial favourite.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Blether (log)

[heidih]

See the brown bits ? That's the bacon of the sea (non tuna-head variety)

The fish looks like a treat. Are you cooking them in a toaster oven? I am trying to eat more fatty and delicious fish and trying to find an outdoor simple cooking method which is also easy clean up in order to avoid lingering fish odors in the cottage and also not to tempt the labrador too much. Plugging in the toaster oven outside would work. I appreciate any input.

[Blether]

Hi, Heidi. In my top two pictures you can see the foil-lined grill pan of the grill (broiler) in my very standard two-burner-plus-grill Japanese kitchen stove. I have an extractor fan beside the stove, but honestly for the three or so minutes a side, I don't find it makes much smell.

I remembered a related discussion from the Japan forum, and I was able to find it again (link). Smallworld had some good advice, a citrus-peel method that's quite commonly suggested here. There are good posts above and below in the same discussion. As you can see, Hiroyuki is a fan of the toaster oven, and he also mentions covered-pan-frying as an alternative. For myself, I live in the city and counter space is at a premium. I spent a good chunk of cash on a big-internal-volume, small-external-volume combined oven / microwave (I need an oven), and completed my batterie with a toaster rather than a toaster oven.

Not much about fish cooking directly from me. Sorry

Do you have a covered verandah or deck for that toaster oven ?

Edit to add: Cottage ? Hmm. of course one of the nicest things you can do with these fatty blue fish is to smoke 'em. Hot smoking's easy enough anywhere you have the opportunity to keep a smoker. Brine 'em & smoke 'em in a batch, and keep 'em in the freezer up to 3 or 4 months (well, 6, but 3 or 4's best). Then you're never more than a microwaving or a defrost-and-jugging from smoky, savoury deliciousness.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Blether (log)

[emmalish]

During the work week, my breakfast is usually just a muffin and a smoothie, so I try to actually cook things on the weekend. These smoothies, however, are SO good that sometimes I don't want anything else. This one is made from banana, strawberries, coconut milk, soy milk, pineapple juice and nutmeg... thick as a milkshake and just as tasty...

[Pam Brunning]

Those fish look good and so does that smoothie but unfortunately if I had one of those I would be acid all day!

Waiting for bacon to come out of cure so, as I had some crumpets, I made this today. I fried the crumpets until nice and crisp (I always fry in sunflower oil) then topped it with well caramelised sliced tomato then mushrooms and finished with an egg, yum yum!

[robirdstx]

I bought these tapas pans a while back and finally put them to use this morning for a Mushroom & Spinach Omelette,

accompanied by Pan Fried Potatoes

[Darienne]

The omelet looks wonderful and the pan also.

[robirdstx]

The omelet looks wonderful and the pan also.

Thanks, I found these pans when I was shopping for something else. They were just too cute to pass up! And I really liked the way they performed. I'm thinking a crustless quiche lorraine might be in store for breakfast later this week.

[kayb]

Smoked salmon hash with scallions, topped with a misshapen pair of over-easy eggs, but hey, I'm flipping eggs lefthanded because I'm still in a cast (until a week from Wednesday!), so I deem them acceptable.

I have to say,this was not as good as I had hoped, having eyed the recipe for a few weeks before I got around to it. Something about the way the smoked salmon, the potatos and the eggs play with each other, or fail to....

So I recouped this morning with Cheddar Bacon Muffins (recipehere)

and fresh strawberries with creme fraiche and brown sugar. Florida berries, but good.

[Blether]

A visit to Misaki - a port at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, famous for its tuna boats and for a retail market where you can get the tuna, as well as other seafood, direct and cheap - produced a pound of lightly-salted cod's roe for 1,000yen / 10 bucks or so.

I made half of it into cod-roe taramasalata , a generous application of which to toasted mutant experimetal breadmaker bread made breakfast

[Pam Brunning]

That taramasalata looks good Blether - havn't made it for ages - you have inspired me, must get some cod's roe next time out. I bet it costs more over here. Isn't it smoked as well as salted?

[Blether]

Smoked, no, unfortunately. Made up like this, it's garlicky, savoury sea-born goodness, of course, but even as supplied, it was hard to resist just spreading some on toast.

Smoking food isn't something that's popular here, somehow. I really should take a leaf out of your book and do some pan smoking, particularly for seafood. In fact I have a pretty big box smoker on the balcony. Having produced some successful stuff - like sides of hot-smoked salmon - I decided in the end that it wasn't considerate enough of the neighbours, what with long smoking times and people hanging out washing.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Blether (log)

[Jmahl]

Breakfast on the patio in South Texas - Oeufs en Cocotte (Baked Eggs in Cream) toast, coffee, fruit and beautiful weather.

[Blether]

Breakfast on the patio in South Texas...

Mmm, sunshine.

Opened and toasted-face morning rolls (per The Bread Topic) with more ersatzamalata, and the other half of the avocado serving as its own balsamic-and-EVOO bowl. The fruit's too proud to hide its bruises, and the black specs are pepper:

[Prawncrackers]

Blether, your mackerel earlier gave me hankering for something fishy. So I had a nice juicy salty smokey tarry Craster kipper with toast and egg. This is one of my favourite breakfasts but the wife can't stand the smell of them!

[Blether]

... a nice juicy salty smokey tarry Craster kipper...

Gorgeous ! Grilled ?

[Prawncrackers]

Baked in foil in a very hot oven foil for 12mins or so. No never grilled, the smell would drive my missus nuts. I did use to do the cover with boiling water thing but it does dilute the intense smokey flavour too much for me.

[Pierogi]

.....with more ersatzamalata, and the other half of the avocado serving as its own balsamic-and-EVOO bowl. The fruit's too proud to hide its bruises, and the black specs are pepper:

Ersatzamalata....

I LOVE IT !!!!