Super Egg White French Toast

♬ 'Under Construction' Missy Elliot

 

To start off this magical week I treated myself to a simple yet protein packed breakfast. French toast isn't the most technical recipe on earth but when made well it's pretty addictive.

 

Try my healthy version fried in coconut oil.

 

3 eggs (I've only used one small yolk in this recipe)

100ml almond milk

2 thick slices of gluten free seeded bread

Coconut oil

 

Whisk

Non stick large frying pan

 

Method:

 

Whisk 2 egg whites and one egg with milk, soak bread in mixture for one minute.

Meanwhile melt one tablespoon of coconut oil, then gently place each slice in the frying pan on a medium heat and cook for three minutes on each side.

 

Serve with something sweet or a dollop of organic ketchup.

 

Have a lovely week and remember to dream big, if you don't then your blocking magic that's trying to get in!

 

xxxx

 

 

Baked Egg with Kale, Mushroom & Nettle.

Remember Egg Cupcake?

Time to re visit a classic and refresh the blog with flavours I'm loving at the moment. Kale and nettle rock! These greens are super foods and incredibly versatile.

 

This is really simple and takes no more than twenty minutes. You will need silicon cupcake cases or generously grease a muffin tin.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 Eggs

8 Kale leaves

8 Stinging nettles leaves

3 medium mushrooms

1 tbsp Olive oil

 

Method:

 

Preheat oven to 180° c.

Chop mushrooms and fry in olive oil, add kale and nettles and cook for 5 minutes, keep to one side.

Meanwhile line cases in a cupcake tray or on a flat baking tray.

Put kale mixture in each cases, leaving space in the middle for the egg.

Crack 1 egg in each case, ensuring nothing spills out.

Bake for 8 minutes until white and serve with salad or dippy soldiers.

 

Nettles are the new spinach.
I'm going to be blogging loads about these powerful leaves over the next week. Meanwhile next time you see a bunch, pick them (wearing gloves) and wash ready for some extra special recipes on MixitCookit.

 

XX

 

 

Avocado and Spinach Spread

♬ 'Devotion' by Jessie Ware

A month of recuperating is over and I'm back into the mix. Most importantly I got my mojo back, which means I'm ready to blog and vlog more crazy food ideas. Hope each one of you in England have managed to escape this dreary monstrosity we call spring. I was even contemplating a sun bed last week, then opted for Ibiza and Italy this summer. There has been a total lack of inspiration on my part hence no blogging, someone please bring the sun to London, otherwise I might contemplate emigrating to Rio de Janeiro. 

 If there's no sunshine coming this way, then I will simply create my own magical light. Starting off with today's breakfast on a pretty plate with a flower. I love avocado and spinach, both are brilliant for giving back vital vitamins, minerals and protein after a hard core Bikram yoga, running and boxing session. Serving this for breakfast might turn a few noses due to the colour, but lets face a few home truths - healthy food is a mixture of vibrant colours. Basically get the rainbow on your plate.

Avocado and spinach spread - not dip. 

The consistency and texture of these ingredients make it suitable for spreading and would be quite runny to qualify as a dip. I mean this is my opinion, maybe give it a go and see what you think.

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado

150g fresh spinach leaves

1 teaspoon mascarpone

Method:

Basically wilt spinach and put in blender with scooped avocado and mascarpone. 

Leave in fridge until cool and spread on toast. Keep in a cute container and use on jacket potatoes, in wraps on pancakes, basically whatever your heart desires.

Boil an egg for 5 minutes and get dipping these green soldiers.

Sorted.

This weeks repetitive song:

▶ 'Running'

Wholemeal Banana Pancakes

♬ 'Speakerboxx/The Love Below' by Outkast

A great soundtrack for getting in the mood for pancakes. I made so many today, I think my tendonitis might have started up again from the flipping wrist action! The basic lemon and sugar pancakes went very quickly at the table, to be honest I find them too flimsy and weak, you know - like a crêpe.

For dessert I prepared American style pancakes. To be honest I'm a fluffy pancake girl at heart, they are bulky and always rising to occasion. 

Here's the recipe for the best banana pancakes, I used wholemeal self raising flour instead of plain, semi skimmed milk and also I found 400ml of milk was beneficial not 300ml. 

I was going to list the recipe etc, but the fact is, its not mine to reiterate! So a link will take you to the Hairy Bikers recipe. Instead I will fill this space with other ideas for sweet and savoury pancakes. The sweet suggestions will work well with fluffy banana flavoured pancakes, maybe switch to basic or plain fluffy for savoury. 

Sweet layer ideas:

Nutella and berries (shown above)

Strawberries and cream 

Lemon juice and poppy seeds mixed in vanilla yoghurt.

Greek yoghurt with honey and figs.

Satsuma and melted organic milk chocolate.

Lemon drizzle sauce (lemon mixed with granulated sugar)

Baileys cream

Banoffee style - whipped cream, melted chocolate and toffee sauce.

Apples covered in cinnamon with toffee sauce.

Marshmallows and chocolate sauce.

Honeycomb crunch (bits of honeycomb with double cream)

Fruit conserve, natural yoghurt, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Blueberry and maple syrup (New Yorker classic)

Savoury layer ideas:

Bacon and syrup

Brie and cranberry

Sliced sausages and fried mushrooms with ketchup.

Fromage frais, dill, smoked salmon and spinach.

Chorizo and rocket

Ricotta and spinach

I think that's about it for now, enjoy whatever idea you go for. Any of these ideas are perfect for a decadent treat and great for brunch.

ê Favorite songs

'GhettoMusick'

'Hey Ya!'

'So Fresh, So Clean'

'B.O.B'

Italiano Egg

                                     

♬ 'Black Light' by Diagrams

How embarrassing, there I was tweeting away about Jamie Oliver carrying the torch and it wasn't him after all, he was further up the road! It was still an inspirational David Pickup who ran well considering the downpour. I started to feel like I got stood up, similar to a feeling many years ago at the cinema, yes that's right he who must not be named left me standing like a hard rocky candy in Cineworld. Gutted. To top that I messed up four poached eggs- FOUR! Not sure what was going on, now if in doubt with poaching I'm totally baking instead.

Moving onwards and upwards to yet another baked egg phenomenon, yes I basically cracked an egg in a mushroom with two of my favourite Italian herbs, basil and oregano. Totally worth blogging and ranting about, because it tastes so damn good. Please watch, listen, laugh a bit and give this a go. Obviously mushrooms don't float everyone's boat so try a red pepper or another vegetable that will maintain its shape once baked.

The earliest memory I have of eggs was after school when I would watch my grandma put them in meat curry, she would keep the shell ON, let them boil and when it came to eating we had to peel them. A messy business but there was something quite special about peeling the egg amongst the meaty soup. These days I find the cracking of eggs occur on a Thursday when I'm near the end of my tether and itching for the weekend to kick in. A cheap, healthy and wholesome ingredient which blesses most of my breakfasts.

Get baking for breakfast!

Have a great weekend.

xxx

Next week, I'm hitting the sweet spot and getting a tad scientific by attempting to make SWEETS.

Egg Cupcake

♬ 'It's About Time' by SWV

I couldn't agree more with this album title at this very minute, the sisters with voices start their tour in the U.S end of May. This and other news is making me ready to pack my bags and jet off for a while. London is home for now, but soon I have a tingling feeling that could all change. 

Enough travel chat and check out these extraordinary eggs.

What a genius idea! Cracking eggs in a silicone cupcake case and letting them bake for  20 minutes, or until they are done to your liking. Inspiration for this cute idea came from my cupcake tin. The 12 hole beauty was just sitting on my dining table and this morning I fancied a poached egg on toast but decided to put the oven on instead and try something different. Obviously using two holes out of a 12 hole tin could be seen as uneconomical, but if you have a group of guests staying round this is perfect for breakfast, and while they are baking it leaves you with other things to do, like frying sausages, getting beans heated or grilling mushrooms.

I wish I could publish a book just about eggs and all the fun things you can do to manipulate these balls of protein. I cannot and will not not brag about how good they are for you, then this post will read like a 100 page book! But all you need to know for now is: think of an egg as the easiest and cheapest form of brain food out there.

Give these a go over the weekend and let me know how they went. Silicone cupcake cases were perfect for baking these eggs, I tried one egg in a paper case but that didn't produce an egg like the one in the photo.

Not much of a recipe here because you just need fresh eggs! So let me go straight into the method:

: Preheat oven to 200°c

: Just like if I was going to fry an egg, I dipped my finger in a bit of olive oil and spread it in the case. Use a brush if you prefer, you don't need a lot, just enough to make the case have a shine.

: Using fresh medium eggs, crack each one in a case.

: Place tray in the oven for 15-20 minutes. If you like them slightly soft at the top, bake for 15 minutes.

DONE!

Serve with toast, cracked black pepper on the egg. No need for salt as the olive oil is the substitute here.

AMAZING!

 ê Favourite Song:

  'Right Here (human nature radio mix)' by SWV

Almond and Hazelnut Brownies

Food and music have kept me comfortable, giddy and out of the rain this weekend. I sang so badly at a party last night, and then found myself munching on chicken nuggets. Not sure what possessed me to even grab one, I was looking for pitta and houmous but instead there was garlic bread and wrinkly sausages! Seriously a tip: garlic bread is a big no no at a house party.

Now I'm back in my union jack crazy bedroom, staring at the gooey brownie next to my mug of chai. There wasn't a specific album I listened to when making these tempting gorgeous brown bricks. I was switching between songs and then decided to put together a wee play list, so I could avoid getting the keyboard dirty. Something I haven't done for a very long time.

♬

'The Sign' by Ace of Base

'The Rain' by Calvin Harris

'Best Of You' by The Foo Fighters

'We Found Love' by Rihanna and Calvin Harris

'Mercy' by Duffy

'Sound Of The Underground' by Girls Aloud

'Dirt Off Your Shoulder' by Jay Z

'American Boy' by Estelle Featuring Kanye West

 I'm sure you are itching to know how to make these succulent brownies. Here is the what,when and how.

▶ Recipe for a 25cm square tin, makes 15 squares.

Ingredients:

300g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)

250g unsalted butter
70g plain sifted flour
300g brown sugar
1 tsp almond essence
50g chopped hazelnuts
4 medium eggs, beaten.

Method:

: Preheat oven to 180°c.
: Melt the chocolate and butter in a large bowl over boiling water, be sure the water does not touch the bowl.
: Mix flour, baking powder, and sugar in a separate bowl.
: Once the chocolate and butter have melted, and is smooth, tip into the dry ingredients.
: Stir in the beaten eggs, and mix well.
: Slowly pour this mixture into the tin, making sure it's level.
: Set a timer for 23 minutes.

Serve with cream, ice cream or on their own when they are hot.
Can be stored in a tight tin for up to 3 days.

DONE!

Favourite Song:

ê 'Best Of You' by The Foo Fighters

Eggy Brioche with Beans

♬ 'At Last' By Etta James

You know what?

I'm glad January is nearly over, bring on February when questions about life, and standing on the bathroom scales have been cut down to a minimum. Seriously some of last years actions have been slapping me in the face this month! No more dwelling just have to get on with 2012, boxercise more and eat less chocolate. I suppose what doesn't help was drinking gin for a stupid amount of time and eating lamb yesterday, and yes I'm paying for it today - head is sore and brain feels slower than usual. Never again.

Try dipping a brioche slice into an egg mixture for an indulgent start to the weekend, I know, I know as if a brioche doesn't have enough butter and eggs! This will cure the sore head: that's if a gin and tonic was your best mate last night.

▶ Recipe

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Butter

4 slices of brioche

Dash of milk

Method:

: Beat the eggs, pour in a splash of milk.

: In a small frying pan, add a tiny bit of butter.

: Once butter has melted, dip one piece of brioche into the egg mixture and place slowly in the frying pan.

: After 30 seconds flip over, and fry the other side for the same amount of time.

DONE!

Serve with beans, or with a sweet partner - berries.

Favourite Song:

ê'At Last' and ' I Just Want To Make Love To You' By Etta James

Thai Pancakes

Yes after last night's mussels I still felt like some Thai flavour this morning.

2 eggs
100ml milk
handful of wholemeal plain flour
crushed kaffir lime leaves

whisk

fry, flip, eat.

Breakfast is getting loads better.

x

Wholemeal Pancakes

I've probably mentioned this before BUT

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so sit down and make it an amazing one.

American style pancakes with fruit

Use whatever fruits you like, this is really nice for kids too.

150g plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp caster sugar

half teaspoon of mixed spice

1 large egg

130ml milk

2 tbsp soft butter

Whisk egg, butter and milk until foamy.

Add flour, baking powder,spice and sugar.

Whisk until a thick batter

Heat small frying pan with butter and use a ladle to spoon on batter.

Once bubbles start to appear flip over.

This mixture should make 4 medium pancakes.

Serve with strawberries and grapes in lemon juice.

drizzle honey.

Del-ish.

x