The cashier at the market usually has to think for a minute to remember the code for celery root (or celeriac), or she has to look it up. The bagger will frequently look puzzled, and ask me, "What do you DO with that?"
I always say the same thing, "Oh you just peel it, and substitute it in recipes for potatoes."
I like celery root, it has that nice herb-y sweet celery taste, but with starchier texture. True to my word to curious bag-boys at the grocery store, I suggest
using it here as a potato replacement for a fried breakfast side dish.
But first, we begin with the eggs, because they will go in the oven while you make the root vegetables.
Ingredients for Two People:
4 eggs
4 slices of your favorite soft sliced bread (if you're doing Paleo, use "cloud bread")
2 teaspoons of soft butter
4 tablespoons heavy organic cream
salt and pepper
4 ramekins, or just use a muffin pan
Preheat the oven to 350, or 325 convection.
I have the standard little ramekins from Cost Plus World Market, they are fairly inexpensive, and when you're not using them for stuff like this, they are good for serving dipping sauces and condiments.
Start by rubbing the inside of each ramekin with a half teaspoon of soft butter. Then, cut circles out of the center of each bread slice. You can either use a biscuit cutter that's about the same size, or a little bigger than, the diameter of the ramekin. I actually just used the ramekin itself to cut the circles (they weren't perfect, but who cares?) Stuff each circle into the bottom of a ramekin.
Carefully crack a large egg on top of each bread slice, and sprinkle very well with salt and pepper. Top with a tablespoon of cream, then put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. They are soooo gooooood.
You can go ahead and serve them in the ramekins, they will stay warm longer, but if you're worried about someone accidentally burning their fingers on the burning hot ceramic (that would be me), you can just run a thin knife around the edge and use a large spoon to gently half-scoop half-slide them out onto the plate.
While your eggs are in the oven, you can make the side dish.
Ingredients for the Side Dish:
1 celery root
4 skinny young carrots (small sweet ones)
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
fresh chives
Pour a generous amount of oil for frying in a cast iron (or regular) skillet and turn heat up to high. Don't worry about fat, these veggies don't soak it up like potatoes do.
Start by peeling your celery root. Use a chef's knife and think of it like a pineapple. Cut the bottom off and then use the knife to carve off the outside from the top down, then cut the top off last, it's better to err on the side of wasting than be left with ugly brown outer fuzz.
Slice the celery root into discs, then chop into little cubes. Chop the carrots as well (don't bother peeling them) and put them in the frying pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and ground allspice and cook on high 10-15 minutes stirring frequently.
After ten minutes, just give one of your celery root cubes a taste, to see if it's cooked to your liking, you may like it a little on the firmer side than I do (also check for salt). Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove from the pan and serve with fresh green chives on top, along with your buttery-creamy baked eggs.
(I had them on the side in the picture, but you should chop the chives on top of the vegetables.)
You might be thinking to yourself, "The only people who eat salad for breakfast are crazy hyper-dieting bodybuilders."
Not true, Sir or Madam, not true. I am a normal human who likes normal food, and I say salad for breakfast is de-li-cious.
It's so simple, I'm kind of embarrassed to even call it a recipe.
Ingredients for one:
2 eggs
olive oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste for eggs
A plateful of arugula leaves
1 tomato, sliced up any which way
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (my mint is taking over the herb garden, I could send you some if you don't have any)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon thick sweet Balsamic vinegar
a good pinch of salt
a few garlicky croutons, homemade or store bought
It's a good idea to leave the arugula and tomato out of the fridge the night before, you don't really want ice cold lettuce with your hot eggs, I mean it's not bad, but it cools your eggs down quite a bit.
Mix your tomato, mint and arugula with the pinch of salt, two teaspoons of olive oil and teaspoon of vinegar (I just kind of toss with my hand right on the plate.) Balsamic vinegar (white or red) is important, because regular would be too acidic for a nice breakfast. You don't want to knock your socks off with this, save that for the Huevos Rancheros.
By the way, yes, avocado would be great in this, I just didn't have any ripe ones.
You can fry your eggs any way you like of course. I heat a lot of olive oil in the frying pan on medium low and I cook mine for one minute each side for over-medium. I also salt and pepper them to death. (I really think both eggs and tomatoes can handle a little extra salt.)
Place your eggs on top of the salad and sprinkle with a few croutons. I drink hot black coffee with everything so I can't imagine what else you would have. Maybe Earl Grey tea would be nice?
I've been eating toast and cheese, or cereal, for breakfast during my illness, and to be honest it probably made me worse. Today I finally had a good breakfast that left me feeling light and energetic, but had lots of fresh flavor.
If you don't like eggs, just make the same thing and add more zucchini or some mushrooms- and just know that I think you're a little weird.
Ingredients:
2 green zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then sliced
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 teaspoon savory
1/2 teaspoon (or more) garlic salt
several dashes of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ounce of crumbled feta, or whatever sharp cheese you have
2 good quality organic eggs
salt
In a non-stick skillet heat your olive oil on high and add the zucchini and garlic salt. Cook for about 2 minutes then add the savory, a bit of pepper and the tomatoes. Continue to cook on high for another 3-5 minutes, depending on how much you like your veggies cooked, making sure you stir them around once in a while.
After the veggies are cooked, add the feta cheese evenly over the top, then crack your eggs over the top as well. Now COVER the pan with a lid or foil, and turn the heat down to low/med-low. On my stove the eggs were done to over medium-ish in four minutes, but you can lift your lid after 3 minutes and poke your yolks gently to see if they are the way you like them. This method is kind of nice because your eggs are basically steaming, so you don't have to flip them.
Salt and pepper the eggs and serve yourself right away, with good hot coffee of course, and if you're a bread person I would go with toasted sourdough.
Cereal, toast, pancakes...all delicious. The problem is, when I eat these carb-a-riffic breakfast foods I feel weak and hungry an hour or two after. So most of the time for breakfast I eat either Greek yogurt with honey, cinnamon and almonds, or eggs cooked in some way with vegetables or herbs. Today's omelette came out extra tasty, so here we go:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons of water or milk
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 chopped green onion
1 big handful of baby kale (I got a bag of organic at Costco for next to nothing)
salt
black pepper
nutmeg (don't skip this, it's the best part)
1 slice sharp sharp Tillamook cheddar (or other sharp cheese)
(grape tomatoes on the side for acidity and color)
Easy peasy, start with a teaspoon of the olive oil in a small non-stick pan over medium heat. Toss in the green onion and kale, salt them ever so slightly, and cook just until the kale wilts down. Remove the kale and onion from the pan and put the other teaspoon of olive oil in. While this is heating, in a bowl whip the heck out of your eggs and water (or milk) and add a good pinch of salt and pepper and a WHISPER (a half-dash?) of nutmeg.
Pour into the pan and cook. I like to gently push the eggs toward the middle of the pan with my spatula and then tilt the pan around in a circular motion, letting the uncooked egg from the top layer of the omelette run to the sides of the pan and cook there. Once you have just a very thin sheen of uncooked egg on that top layer, place your kale, onion, and your slice of cheese on one half, then use your spatula to flip the other half of the circle to cover everything.
Turn the heat off and let it sit in the pan for a minute until the cheese melts inside, then serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of good black pepper over the top and some tomatoes on the side.
This actually kept me going until lunch, so it's eggs for the win.
