Hello, lover
It has been a bit of a Frittata Frenzy around my house lately, and frankly I am wondering why I didn’t discover these easy and delicious little breakfast delicacies sooner. Well, that isn’t entirely accurate, I knew about Frittatas but they just seemed a little too chi chi for my tastes. Also I have an irrational fear of brown eggs. I don’t know where that comes from, but there you are. I wish someone would have tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out that IT’S JUST A CRUSTLESS EGG CASSEROLE, DUMMY! Because then I would have known, you know? So here, let me do that favor for you.
*tap tap*
Frittatas have all the protein/vegetable goodness that I am always aiming to get at breakfast, but in a portable and gourmet seeming kind of way. And let me tell you, I generally need a little gourmet to spice up my Monday mornings. But also (and here is why they are great!) Frittatas are easy. I’m not going to say effortless, but pretty damn close when it comes to a fancy hot breakfast. One pan + Delicious Ingredients = A Happy Tummy. It’s math, my friends. And rarely can you argue with math, right?
So, shall we talk about steps?
Step One: Cook up meat of your choice in a 12 inch oven safe skillet. (Most generic non stick pans are oven safe up to at least 350 degrees, that’s why I cook this at 325 degrees — BOOYAH! No fancy cookware needed.)
Meat Ideas: Bacon goes without saying. Sausage is always good. Ground beef works well depending on the vegetables you add. Frittatas even help me enjoy ham (pictured above), which I otherwise detest. They make miracles happen, clearly!
Step Two: Saute onions with your choice of base vegetables in the meat renderings (Bacon, obvs is a favorite!)
Combos I particularly enjoy: Onions and Peppers, Onions and Broccoli Slaw (Tell me you enjoy pre-packaged broccoli slaw in your kitchen? It is awesome for quick easy cooking), Onions and Zucchini — The combos are ENDLESS. It’s like pizza for breakfast, only healthy!
Step Three: Add Salt, Pepper + Seasoning to compliment your vegetable choice. This is what gives your Frittata its depth of flavor. Get experimental here, it’s pretty fun!
Combos I particularly enjoy: Onions and Peppers with Taco Seasoning, Onions and Broccoli Slaw with Herbs de Provence. Onions and Zucchini with Italian Seasoning. Easy Peasy!
Step Four: Pour 8-10 whisked eggs (depending on size — I usually use 8 Extra Large Eggs) over your magnificent mixture and move it all around so it allows the egg to penetrate to the bottom of the pan, and let it set for a minute or two. (This makes the bottom of your frittata more stable so it comes out all in one piece when you slice it.)
Step Five: Add any additional Mix Ins. What do I mean by mix ins? Anything you want in the Frittata that doesn’t need to be sauteed.
Good Mix Ins: Diced Tomatoes, Cheese, Vegetables you want crunchy, fresh herbs
Step Six: Bake in a 325 degree oven (remember this from Step One) for 25 minutes.
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Obviously the step where I tell you to “Enjoy!” is implied, ok? I don’t want anyone to get overwhelmed and 7 Steps was my personal tipping point.
Here are some Frittata Combos I have thoroughly enjoyed:
*Ground Beef, Onions, Green Chilis from a can (classy!), Taco Seasoning, Cheddar, Tomatoes
*Ham, Onions, Red Bell Peppers, Broccoli Slaw, Herbs de Provence, Cheddar (Pictured Above – and also the one I’m currently OBSESSED with)
*Bacon, Onions, Tomatoes, Cheddar (served with shredded Romaine in Italian Dressing on top)
*Bacon, Onions, Zuchini, Italian Seasoning, Parmesan
Are you a Frittata Fan? What combos have you invented?
By Holly on June 6, 2011
So yes, May was indeed a craptactular month, but at least I read some good books! 7 to be exact. I am pretty much kicking ass on my Read 50 Books goal so I may even try to read 100, just to be obnoxious. I make this goal to read 50 books every year and I never actually achieved it. Why it has been so easy this year is still a mystery to me, but when I figure it out the secret you will be the first to know.
My book choices were all over the place this month as you will see, but I promise if you make it all the way to the end of my ramblings, you will be rewarded. Here is what I read:
Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob I bought this on a whim because Garrett was making a purchase on Amazon and he wanted to get free shipping. I make a lot of purchases this way, actually. It makes sense at the time, you know! (And I wonder why I fail to save money.) Surprisingly though, this book was an inspiring read. I enjoyed that along with recipe writing and food critiquing there was a large focus on food blogging. I’m always happy when blogging as a subject matter is treated as “Real Writing.” There were interviews with some of my favorite food bloggers and a lot of behind the scenes scoop about charting a career in food writing. Though I’m not sure I will go that route in the future, it did get my creative juices flowing. Also I finally admitted to myself the I have a fantasy about writing a food memoir. That may have been worth the $10 alone. It was a bargain for all the info inside, and such a quick and easy read. If you are interested in food writing in the slightest, definitely pick this up. 
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion I was gifted this book on two separate occasions and though I had started it many times, I had never been able to finish it. Even as someone who loves a heart-wrenching story of loss, in the past it had been a little bit intense for me and I would read a few pages and then put it down. I finally finished it and the truth is, there is nothing even slightly uplifting about the story of Didion’s sudden loss of her husband while her daughter is fighting for her life in the hospital. I can’t think of a more tragic tale, frankly, but what lifts this book are the poignant observations of moments of grief. In the past that is actually what made me need to put the book down — her clarity is painfully accurate. This time I let myself read and absorb and admire her ability to articulate these things so close to the events. It was painful. I can’t say that made me enjoy the book, but it did give me a great appreciation for Didion’s experiences and her courage to harness her voice in such a dark time. 
In a complete departure from Joan Didion, Tori Spelling’s memoir about her crazy Hollywood life sort of left me at a crossroads. I have a guilty pleasure love for Tori Spelling but these last two books have been trite and a little bit derivative. And really? ENOUGH with the “Tori” puns. I am objecting to her new show sToribook Weddings on this principle alone. My god, it was funny the first time! I was actually going to do an I Read Celebrity Memoirs So You Don’t Have To post on this book, but it was just too blah to even put in that much effort. I think it is time I put down the Tori Spelling books. Guess you will just have to wait for the Jesse James American Outlaw post for that. Yes, I totally DID check that out from the library. Let the douchery begin!
Longing for a little depth after the Tori Spelling fiasco, I picked up another grief memoir. God it is just feast or famine around here with the book choices this month, apparently. So many parts resonated strongly with me:
And as I was walking I thought: I will carry this wound forever. It’s not a question of getting over it or healing. No; it’s a question of learning to live with this transformation. For the loss is transformative, in good ways and bad, a tangle of change that cannot be threaded into the usual narrative spools. It is too central for that. It’s not an emergence from the cocoon, but a tree growing around an obstruction.
If you could read the words on my heart surrounding the death of my father, it would be those. Reading that caused some serious waterworks. Along with this:
One of the ugly truths about a loss is that you don’t just mourn the dead person, you mourn the person you got to be when the lost one was alive. This loss might even be what affects you most. Because many had not gone through a terrible loss or a major illness, they were still operating as planners, coordinators, under the star of entitlement, from which I had been abruptly banished. I had felt that, however benignly or unconsciously, the world around me wanted my grief stifled and silenced; it threatened a particular lie of the moment and class I lived in, the myth of self-improvement and control, the myth of meritocratic accomplishment leading to happiness and security. I drew close to those who’d gone through an experience that ruptured this way of seeing the world because those who hadn’t often left me feeling keenly alone.
“…the myth of meritocratic accomplishment leading to happiness and security.” This is EXACTLY what gets shattered when someone close to you dies. For me, realizing that it was a myth at the age of 19 was honestly the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. When I read that, I wept. Loss is so complex.
After two remarkably raw books about loss, I needed to read something that I KNEW would make me laugh. I hope you don’t have any doubt that this book totally delivered. I mean honest to god Tina Fey is funny. This entire book I just kept thinking: Why are you not my BFF? There were a few things I didn’t love though. She manages to write an entire book about herself without really revealing much, and she does it by constantly using self deprecating humor…which, I mean, fine — it was a hoot. But I also think she is a super interesting and successful person so I would have loved it if she owned that a bit more and gave some insight instead of talking about all of her flaws. Overall though: HYSTERICAL. Just an absolute 10 on the funny scale. I especially enjoyed the parts on nail salons in New York. Ohmygod, I was rolling!
A novella followed by a collection of short stories, I found this book to only be ok. I enjoyed her book The Dive From Clausen’s Pier, so when I read about this new collection of stories while flipping through O Magazine, I instantly reserved a copy at the library. I definitely didn’t hate it, her prose is very nuanced and it is the kind of stuff that you read and think “Damn! She knows how to write!” But the stories also weren’t the kind of stories that really called to me. There was one story that was a complete page turner but the end was so disappointing that I actually shouted — REALLY? THAT’S IT? And then Garrett checked me into a mental hospital. Seriously though, I find I feel that way with a lot with short stories and I’ve acknowledged before that maybe it is just not my preferred genre — but I just want to like it so badly! Besides every once in a while I come across a life changing set of short stories and that keeps the hope alive that maybe, just maybe, I will find another collection that I will love as thoroughly. This, however, was not that collection.
I almost feel bad that I am writing about this book last because it was by far the best book I read all month. I just love Susan Casey, but you already knew that. Really though, I kind of want to be her when I grow up. This book tells the story of Laird Hamilton and his posse of wave-chasing extreme surfers and juxtaposes it with scientific information about rogue waves, tsunamis, climate change — heck there was even an entire chapter about insurance company Lloyd’s of London and how they deal with shipwreck losses, which was right up my alley as an insurance geek. I just found this book totally engrossing. A worthwhile read if you have any curiosity about or fear of the ocean or have any desire to understand what makes Big Wave Surfers tick. Mother Nature is one fascinating protagonist.
So tell me: What did you read this month that rocked your world? My library queue is dying to know!
By Holly on June 5, 2011
Well I couldn’t very well tell you last week that I want to be more accountable at meal planning and then not actually make a meal plan. So here’s what we are eating next week. What recipes around the internet are you excited about? Leave me some links in the comments. I need some new recipe inspiration. Don’t worry if they aren’t Paleo, I’m a very good recipe adapter.
Monday
Lunch: My Favorite Chili leftovers
Dinner: Green Chili Turkey Burgers over spinach + Green Salad + Sweet Potato Fries
Tuesday
Lunch: Chicken Rogan Josh with Broccoli Slaw
Dinner: Taco Salads
*I make my own taco seasoning, add it to ground beef, and throw in a mess of vegetables
Wednesday
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Thighs + Sauteed Squash with Onions
Dinner: Dad’s Pork Chops + Roasted Onions and Broccoli
Thursday
Lunch: My Favorite Chili leftovers
Dinner: Green Curry Pot Roast + Garlic Cauliflower Mash + Roasted Parsnips
*This pot roast is to die for. I mean, dead. So good. So easy.
Friday
Lunch: Sausage + Peppers
Dinner: Skillet Herbed Chicken Tenderloins + Sauteed Garlicky Zucchini
Saturday
Lunch: Out
Dinner: Stovetop Pork Carnitas + Salad + Clean out the crisper drawer veggies
*This is the best make at home carnitas recipe I’ve ever made
Sunday
Grocery Shop
*Breakfast this week includes Green Smoothies, Mini Frittatas, or scrambled eggs + sausage.
What’s on your menu?
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By Holly on June 2, 2011
H: Babe! Come look at this guy I had a huge crush on in High School. He looks so old now! We don’t look that old, right?***
G: Of course not. Maybe he’s a big boozer now or something. Be nice. Was he a boozer in high school?
H: Well, yeah, but who wasn’t?
G: You weren’t.
H: Oh, right.
I’d probably forget my own name if he wasn’t around.
(***Don’t judge me. You know you do this too.)
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