Hitting Our Stride

Ahh, yesterday we finally all were functioning a bit better. The kids and grown-ups seemed less cranky. We felt like we got stuff done. The husband was able to work for the first time here. Was the sixth day in the summer rental a magical turning point? Was it the two nights of going to bed at 7:00 PM (for the kids - the grown ups have been staying up too late)? Was it the second round of rearranging the toys and main living area? Or, was it the delicious mushroom bacon scramble that got us all of to a great start? I'm going with all of the above.

The baby even had scrambled eggs for the second day in a row without reaction. This is a very exciting development because she had two instances of throwing up after egg yolk when she was younger, and I was very concerned that she was going to be allergic to eggs. Victories all around!

This simple, flavorful dish is company worthy. We usually have it for breakfast, but add a side of vegetables or a salad and it's a great meal anytime of day. I even like to have some leftover vegetables with breakfast - it makes me feel like I'm getting a head start on my veggie intake for the day.

Mushroom Bacon Scramble with a side of broccoli.

Mushroom Bacon Scramble (serves 2)
2 strips of bacon
4-6 mushrooms, sliced
4 eggs, beaten

Cook the strips of bacon over medium heat until just crispy. Remove to a cutting board. Add the sliced mushroom into the bacon grease and cook until tender and brown. Chop bacon. Pour off any excess remaining bacon fat. Add the eggs and cooked bacon into the pan and stir. Continue to stir and cook until no longer runny, but still moist. Serve right away.

Smoked Trout

Two years ago we were in Arizona to visit my family, and we spent several days on an AZ sightseeing trip. We went to Jerome, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon, Williams, Grand Canyon and Flagstaff. My husband hadn't seen most of it before, and I was excited to show him the rest of the state where I grew up. In Flagstaff, we ate breakfast at a small diner downtown. It was great! We love the type of places where the waitstaff knows how the regulars like their coffee and their eggs. My husband ordered scrambled eggs and smoked trout, and the combination was amazing. We wanted to buy some, and we tracked the trout to Oak Creek Canyon, but they only smoke it for restaurants. We hadn't tried it again... until, yesterday! We were walking through our Whole Foods, and spotted some local smoked trout. We were so excited!

We had smoked trout and poached eggs for breakfast, and it was delicious. I hadn't tried poaching eggs in a while, so I looked up some tips. People recommended cracking the egg into a ramekin, and then gently submerging the ramekin into the boiling water and transferring the egg into the pan. We don't have any ramekins, so I used a small shallow bowl. They don't look perfect, but they were delicious. My husband came up with the idea of using a ladle tomorrow. We sprinkled a little chopped sage over the top. The creaminess of the egg yolk with the smoky, salty taste of the trout and the herby, fresh taste of the sage created the perfect flavor combination.





We also picked up our farm share yesterday. It was another roof top week, and we had to climb the 7 flights of stairs to pick-up our veggies. I just tried googling Anthill Farm the other day (the farm that provides our veggies) and they now have a website!


This week we will be enjoying garlic, onions, leeks, beets, carrots, kale, yellow beans, and corn. My goal is to eat them all from root to tip (if possible).