A HEALTHY PITA PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST

Looks good, doesn't it?  Covered with fresh vegetables, low-fat feta cheese, low-fat turkey sausage, a low-calorie thin crust in the form of pita bread, all topped with a luscious egg to give us that extra supply of protein.  Some freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and a few shakes of freshly ground black pepper, and there it is:  A crunchy, irresistible and quick treat for breakfast.  This will make a wonderful breakfast, but I've had it twice now for dinner.  So it's my version of breakfast for dinner, and I love it!  Easy to prepare. Here is how:

Ingredients:

pita bread
low-fat breakfast sausage, casing removed
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 mushroom sliced
a handful of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
a few fresh sage leaves, chopped
some freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg, taken out of the shell and left whole

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the sausage. As it cooks, break it up in small pieces. Take it off the heat when it's no longer pink.  
• To the skillet add the tomatoes, sage, spinach and mushrooms. Mix and sauté for a minute.
• Place the pita bread on a baking pan and sprinkle the feta cheese over it.
• Layer the sausage mixture and vegetable mixture on top of the feta cheese.
• Place the egg in the middle of the pita pizza.
• Place the baking pan in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the egg white is set but the yolk is still runny.
• Take out of the oven, season with the black pepper and sprinkle the Pecorino cheese over the whole pita.
• Eat hot and enjoy! 

Variation: Cook the pizza for about 10 minutes without the egg, take it out of the oven, add the egg and then finish cooking it. This method will yield a very crispy crust. 

  

PORRIDGE or OATMEAL with RAISINS and FRUIT

PORRIDGE!!!  A dish made by cooking oats in boiling water and milk. 

Add some type of sweetener, maybe a little fruit as well, and you're in business.  You have a super breakfast.  In England this is porridge. In the US, it's oatmeal.  

Here are some quick facts about porridge or oatmeal: eating a bowl of oatmeal every day can lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. That's because oats are high in complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fibre. They also contain more protein than any other cereal.  

Oats ready for harvesting

Oats are processed by de-husking oat grains to get to the oat groats, the seed inside the husk. The groats are then milled to produce oatmeal. 

To make rolled oats (also called old-fashioned oats), whole oat groats are steamed and flattened.  

Quick oats are rolled oats that have been cut into small pieces. 

Instant oatmeal is oatmeal that is pre-cooked and dried. 

Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats that have been cut into pieces or have been broken during the de-husking process. They are chewier and have a nuttier flavour.  

Gruel is a thinned-out porridge made by mixing oatmeal (or other cereals) with cold water. The oatmeal is then strained out and the water is heated and sipped. Once upon a time gruel was used for medicinal purposes and was also a staple food during hard times.    

 

Here, Charles Dicken's character, the orphan Oliver Twist, who is starving, dares to ask for some more watery gruel. A famous scene from the movie "Oliver!" 1968, Columbia Pictures. 

I have oatmeal for breakfast several times a week.  I prepare it much the same way as in the recipe below. The difference is that time doesn't permit me to add the apple topping every day. Instead, I mash a banana and mix it into the oatmeal to make a perfect, warm, and delicious weekday breakfast. 

 
Recently, I read a study that convinced me of the importance of breakfast. Research presented at a scientific session of the American Diabetes Association showed that there is a relationship between morning eating habits and the development of type II diabetes. The research revealed that people who ate breakfast 5 times or more per week had a 31% reduction in type II diabetes risk. They also gained less weight. So make sure you eat breakfast and choose oatmeal often. Breakfast, and oatmeal for breakfast, have too many health benefits to pass up. 

 
Here's my recipe for PORRIDGE or OATMEAL with RAISINS and FRUIT:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup milk of your choice

2 cups water

a little salt to taste

1/2 cup steel-cut oats

3/4 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats)

1 tablespoon honey (or how about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup? That would also be perfect) 

1 banana, chopped into small pieces

If it's the weekend, make stewed apples!

Directions:

Make the stewed apples:

1 or 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup water
a pinch of cinnamon
a few raisins 

a few blueberries (they will give a pink colour to the apples)

the juice of half a lemon

The apples get a lovely pink hue that's imparted from the blueberries as they cook.

Mix all the ingredients except the blueberries into a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat stirring frequently. In about 20 to 30 minutes the liquid should be absorbed, the raisins will be plump, and the apples will be soft. Your oatmeal topping will be ready. No sweeteners are needed here because the fruits themselves are plenty sweet. How about the blueberries? Add those at the last minute, otherwise, they will dissolve as they cook. 

Cooking the oats:

Into a medium saucepan, add the water, milk, and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer. 

Add all the oats and lower the heat. Cook the oatmeal for 20 minutes, maintaining a slow simmer and stirring frequently. Near the end of cooking the oatmeal will start to thicken and bubble. That's the time to add the banana. Throw it in there and mash it up. Stir until the oatmeal is cooked, and turn off the heat. 

Add the honey and mix again. Spoon the porridge into bowls and let it sit for about a minute. 

Rolled oats, steel-cut oats, and a mashed banana. This is oatmeal perfection!!!

If it's one of those days when the stewed apples have been made, use them as a topping.

Drizzle with a little more milk.  Ready to eat! 

ZUCCHINI HASH with POTATOES AND SUNNY SIDE UP EGGS

The combination of zucchini and potatoes tastes like summer plus comfort. 

The trick to this recipe is to have the potatoes and zucchini finish cooking at the same time so as to prevent the zucchini from overcooking. I solve this little problem by precooking the potatoes and combining them with the zucchini at the last minute. 

This recipe will be an excellent addition to a leisurely summer weekend breakfast. It serves four but the ingredients can be adjusted to serve any number of people coming to the table. 

And ... I love the way the egg looks as I cut into it and its yolk runs over the potatoes and zucchini. It tastes darn good too! 

Ingredients:


2 medium Yukon gold potatoes

2 small or one medium zucchini

4 eggs
extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons butter
one small onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 or 2 scallions, sliced thinly, use only the white and light green parts  

a sprinkling of grated Pecorino Romano cheese (for garnish).

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into half-inch dice. Cook them in salted hot water until they get soft, then drain well and set aside to dry.
2. Chop the zucchini into half-inch dice. 
3. Heat some oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and onion. Saute for a minute or two, then add the parsley and dill. Cook, stirring frequently until the zucchini is tender. Remove from the skillet and reserve. 
4. Over medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Wait until the butter has melted and then add the potatoes and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the potatoes begin to turn a golden colour. 
5. Add the scallions and return the zucchini to the skillet. Combine well and cook no more than a minute just until the ingredients are incorporated. 
6. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. At this point, you may want to transfer the ingredients to a platter if you'll serve them that way. Keep warm.    
7. Melt the rest of the butter in a non-stick skillet and cook the four eggs sunny side up. Season them with salt and pepper. Top the zucchini and potatoes with the eggs. 
8. At the table, divide the potatoes and zucchini among four plates. Each serving should be topped with an egg.
9. Garnish with the grated Pecorino Romano cheese right before passing the plates around.