(re-post)
A fruit salad is not unusual to find at breakfast but I got to thinking there is untapped potential for other salads for our first meal of the day.
This idea actually occurred at Ogden Point Cafe awhile ago when I wanted eggs and bacon for breakfast but this is not a menu offering, per se. I happened to glance at the spinach salad and the hard boiled egg chunks and bacon pieces (they use real bacon), did a bit of an eyebrow-raise, thought "well, it is bacon and eggs" and then "why not?"
It was a worthwhile experiment; the presence of the spinach was delightful and I chose my favourite blue cheese dressing which gave a nice tang to the refreshing taste of the leafy green.
When I decided to make this at home a few days later I wanted it more – well, breakfast bacon and eggy – which meant warm. I remembered something the family had enjoyed many years ago – taking hard boiled eggs and cutting them in half lengthwise, scooping out the egg, mixing it with a bit of salt and pepper, putting it back into the shells, and then frying these, eggy side down, in a bit of butter until the egg was a bit crispy and brown. Mmmmm.
For the salad I hard boiled an egg, scooped egg out, mashed it a bit, heated some butter in a skillet, added bacon bits (soya; real bacon would have been nicer but I didn't have any), added the crumbled egg, fried them together until they were quite chummy. The greens are a mixture of baby spinach, arugula and something that starts with rad…. and sounds Italian – the package is likely still in the recycling bucket but I'm too lazy to go check – it's red and white and is poking out from under some spinach. What I love about the mixture is that it is organic and prewashed so I can just use it. I hate having to wash salad greens – they never seem to get quite dry no matter how much they are whirled around in a salad spinner and even a bit of water on the greens interferes with the honesty of oil and vinegar. Greens from my own garden never get washed and I do think about what might have trotted (or worse!) through the greens when I wasn't looking – like raccoons and cats and squirrels – but not much.
Anyway, where was I. Oh yes – I heaped the greens on a plate and poured a simple olive oil/white vinegar/dash of sugar/dash of Bragg dressing over them. Forgot to toss this about before I added the wonderfully warm egg/bacon on top: I was hungry and wanted to get the photo taken so I could eat; tossed it to coat as I was eating.
The toast is a slice of sourdough made by middle son from starter to finish – great! He has taken bread making to a high level and I get to sample the results.
I am pleased and want to explore other breakfast salads. Would sliced strawberries (the tiny flavourful ones) have enhanced this salad I wonder.
Oh, another thing. Chilled greens are awful. It only takes a bit to let them come to room temperature so try to remember to allow time to take them from refrigerator and spread on counter before putting the salad together. I also like to let them warm up in the sun if this is possible. It's not the same as picking from garden and making a salad (the sixteen step eating plan) but next to.
Another thought – I tend to eat the garnish that comes with breakfast in a restaurant – the tomato, chard, endive (?), so I guess this has been another inspiration toward breakfast salads. Not parsley, for some reason – I like the flavour but the texture hides out in my mouth and is annoying.