Sunday morning huevos rancheros

ggs, glorious eggs! Eggs are one of my favorite options for breakfast. And every once in awhile, I like to have them a bit differently prepared than my usual soft poached... so on those rare mornings (I'm still addicted to the breakfast shake we have most mornings), I look for something a bit more inspired. I happened to be browsing tastespotting last night and saw a huevos rancheros recipe and must have dreamed of it all night, because I woke up this morning bent on having my eggs thusly prepared.

Huevos rancheros
Makes 2 servings

Cooking spray or olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, some juice drained off
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to tasteTortillas, shredded cheddar cheese, salsa and sliced avocado for serving

Preheat a large fry pan over medium heat, spray with cooking spray or add olive oil, whatever your preference. Add the onions and peppers and sauté until tender, about 5-8 minutes.

Add the beans and tomatoes to the peppers and onions. Stir well and continue to sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in ¼ of the cilantro, as well as the cumin.

Turn the heat down to low. Make 4 wells in the bean/tomato mixture. Spray a little bit of olive oil into each well. Crack an egg into each of the wells. Season each egg with salt and pepper and cover the skillet. Allow the eggs to cook until they reach your desired doneness.

Spoon the eggs out onto two plates, with extra tomato/bean mixture as well. Serve with warmed tortillas, salsa, extra cilantro, diced avocado and sour cream. Enjoy!

On a foggy morning, this breakfast provides just the bit of sunshine needed to think about all that's on the to-do list! Now, off to clean and tidy up around the house, usual Sunday stuff.

Summer photo shoot delights

Summer is the best time to take food photos. The ingredients... the ingredients... the ingredients! Produce abounds and it's so fresh from the farm!

I recently made four dishes that we shot for our editorial team at work to choose from. Since I can't really show you the pretty pictures... they belong to "work," and since I forgot (as ALWAYS) to take my camera with me to the shoot, my pictures are from home, and of only two of the recipes. But they are all worthy of a try. Check out the American Institute for Cancer Research and the Centers for Disease Control, where I found the recipes as well; both have many healthy options that are easy and delicious.

Other than the two recipes posted here, I made Savory Fresh Apricot Bites and Bruschetta with Plums and Fresh Basil--both lovely and summer-fresh beautiful.

Santa Fe Chilled Nectarine Soup
2 lbs (8 small) nectarines, sliced
1 cup apple juice
1 cup cranberry cocktail juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Combine nectarines with juices, salt, pepper flakes and vinegar in electric blender. Whirl until smooth and blended. Add cilantro leaves and whirl in a stop-and-go fashion a few seconds, just to chop. Serve chilled.

This soup was just a lovely and refreshing surprise. The fruit flavor came through loud and clear, with a bit of zip from the red pepper flakes, and a bit of zing from the balsamic. Definitely a make-again!


South of the Border Watermelon and Sweet Onion Salsa
2 cups chopped seedless watermelon
3/4 cup Walla Walla sweet onion
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped and seeded jalapeno chilies
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt

Stir together all ingredients in bowl. Refrigerate, covered at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Stir before serving.

A nice blend of flavors and textures. I would not normally think of putting black beans and watermelon together, and this was a bit of a "sell" for the husband, but it was good. If I were to make it again, I would absolutely add some lime juice to the mixture, for the zing.

Rationalizing the cheese crave

Some nights it's all about figuring out what the cheese vehicle will be. Is it a grilled cheese panini? Cheesey pasta? Cheese with a few salad greens holding it up off the plate? You think I'm joking, but it's true. Maybe it's a fall thing. But I've had soup the past few nights and I needed a break. A cheesey break.

I had some leftover ingredients to fiddle around with too... some grapefruit and pomegranates from the salad on Sunday night. What to do?

Ten minutes later I was all settled in with my improvised grapefruit-pomegranate-avocado salsa and quesadilla, catching up on Entourage. (There are very few characters I enjoy as much as Ari Gold, the amazingly crass agent on that show. He is so endearing in his absolute laserlike focus on whatever goal he's currently fixated on. Just brutal.) It was my last solo supper for awhile, and I savored it!

The relish/salsa (I haven't quite figured out what exactly it was) had great flavor. Again with the salty-sweet combo, oh yeah. It would also have been lovely with greens and some chevre crumbled over it too... It was essentially equal parts avocado, pomegranate seeds and chopped grapefruit segments, with a little lime juice and salt.