Not your standard breakfast: Lentils, roasted garlic and broiled avocado

I was up before the sun this morning and I had a hankering to do something different in the kitchen. I could hear the rain beating against the window pane and I knew that I had no desire to head outside until it got a little lighter, but would have to get out and get in some exercise. This is something I have to do no matter what. I let my exercise regiment slip in the last three month and it is beginning to show. So I headed of to the kitchen, and by the time I walked down the hall, I knew I wanted something warm with garlic, and not just garlic but it would be roasted. Roasting softens up its flavour, and boy does it ever smell good.

I wanted something a little different than oatmeal but I didn't want it to take a great deal of time. Knowing that I was going to have to roast my garlic in the oven for just over half an hour, put me in a constraint that what ever I was going to make with my roasted garlic had to be ready in at about the the same time as my garlic or maybe a little sooner. I first turned on the oven to preheat it to about 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

I looked at the empty yogurt containers on the counter. Well they may have been empty of what they originally contained now they contained an assortment of different pulses-legumes, nuts, seeds and rice. After shaking a few of the containers around I knew what it would be. Yes it may seem kind of strange that I would have labels on these containers, but just by shaking them I can tell what the contain. Chickpeas and Black turtle beans sound a lot different than Lima beans or Navy beans, and plain green lentils sound different than finer du Puy lentils which also happen to be green. However, each of these does have its own cooking time, so beans were out of the question, so I settled for some green lentils of the Eston variety. There were still a few things that would make up my breakfast, but before telling you about the cooking procedures I'll let you see what it was that I cooked up.

Ingredients -Approximately 698 calories – one serving

Avocado – two small

Basil – five leaves

Garlic – five cloves

Lentils – Green Eston, 1 half a cup dry

Olive oil – Virgin light, 1 tablespoon

Water – cooking medium for lentils

I measured out half a cup and covered them with water and put them on the front burner on the stove and cranked up the heat to high. By the time the water had come to a boil I had cleaned five cloves of garlic, picked about six leaves of fresh basil from my herb pot on the counter, put them together with a bit of olive oil drizzled over them in a little contain I made from a four inch squared piece of aluminium foil, sealing all the spots so that the garlic and basic could roast in their own juices. Once my little packet was all sealed I put it in a three inch cast iron pan, and slipped it into the oven.

I slice two Haas avocados in half, removed the pit, brushed a little bit of olive oil over them and sprinkled each half with a dash of pepper. I placed the four halves of avocado with the fleshy part facing up in a six inch cast iron skillet, and before placing that skillet in the oven I raised the oven rack so that the avocados would be within about six inches of the broiler element in the oven. With about ten minutes left for the garlic to finish roasting I placed my avocado slices under the broiler and then went to tend to my lentils. They were still a little to hard for my liking but I knew that another five to seven minutes they would be just right for plating and to cool off just a bit. To be topped off with my roasted garlic and avocado slices. 

Broiled Avocado, roasted garlic and lentils. Somehow a tomato snuck on to the plate! 

Before enjoying this unusual breakfast I let the avocado cool off just enough so I could scoop the wonderful lightly peppered flesh out with a spoon to top off my lentils. The bright green looked lovely, and had I some red peppers to roast together with my garlic it would have made for a nice contrast of colours.

What's in it for you!

The values below are approximations based on each ingredients included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

 

Calories	698
Carbohydrates	44 g
Fat	58 g
Saturated	8 g
Polyunsaturated	2 g
Monounsaturated	10 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	0 g
Sodium	284 mg
Potassium	60 mg
Dietary Fibre	23 g
Sugar(s)	2 g
Protein	12 g
Vitamin A	8 %
Vitamin C	59 %
Calcium	11 %
Iron	23 %

Most of the times when I whip something together like I did this morning and was able to write it up quickly, was because there was simply some inspiration to try something different. Cooking should never be a task or something that you don't enjoy, you learn to embrace it and to push your comfort zone a little bit. It is only in this way that you will discover new and healthy foods.

Conjuring things up with Google for Halloween

With today being Halloween, the folks at Google got creative with today's doodle. It allows you to join a witch in her cave to brew up some potions that lead to different scenes.

Join her in her lair with her recipe book and see what you can cook up!

Select your ingredients carefully, as they will affect the outcome of your potion. 

 

I conjured up some ghosts dancing around the full moon. 

 

Have fun today, and see what you can conjure up of a more edible variety.

Apple, Potato and Egg Bake

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I realized I wanted to try a different mix of flavours. While I know russet patatoes are better for baking than white patatoes, it was the latter  which I had on hand. I had just seen a recipe for carmalized apples as a filling for crepes and I though to myself, “What would apples together with potato taste like?"

This morning I was up long before sunrise and after checking out a few things on the web, I headed to my kitchen.

I grabbed a baseball size white potato, and a slightly smaller apple, it think the are courtlands, though you could use what ever type of apple you have a fancy for. Availability will vary in different parts of the world so take that into consideration. I rinsed off the potato and cut it into thin slices less than a quarter inch thick. I cleaned the apple of its core and few dinged spots on its skin after washing it and cut it into slices as well. I took my wonderful 6 inch cast iron skillet and put on the stove with a about a table spoon of olive oil in it, and got it warmed up with the heat on medium-low, while at the same time I preheated my oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. 

The first thing to go in were the apples slices wanted them to release some of their sugars, right after that I put the potatoe slices on top and mixed in about a cup of sliced and cleaned leek. I covered it for a wile so that the leeks would get soft. This was for about two minutes and I got out my cummin, turmeric and parsley flakes. Uncovering the pan I sprinked about a third of a teaspoon of turmeric, the same for the cumin, a dash of cayenne pepper. I mixed everything up and cooked it all for another four minutes or so, ensuring that all the ingredients were covered with the mixture of spices. Doing so gave all the ingredients a bit of a start regarding both cooking, and giving a change for their flavours together with those of the spices, a bit of time to interact.

Then I removed about six slices of potato, cracked two eggs over the remainging goods in my skillet, and covered the eggs with the potatos that I had removed just a minute before. Once that was done, it went into the oven and I should be taking it out in about 15-20 mintues after it went in. [This first section was actually written while it was all in the oven!]

Once it came out of the oven and I plated it, it looked like this:

Dish is 8.5 inches across
The potato used was a bit bigger than the one pictured.

 

Half an hour later

After enjoying my breakfast of the above there are some adjustments I would clearly make to make this a bit more of a flavourful dish. The first being would be to add a second small apple for the following reason. When I took a piece of apple, leek and potatoe together on my fork and placed it in my mouth the explosion and combination of tastes was really something different and I really enjoyed it. So in short the ingredients would be as follows and could easily serve two individuals who like a smaller breakfast.

1 potato – about the size of a baseball

2 small – apples

1 cup – clean and sliced leek so you have ringlets

2 medium – eggs

Extra virgin olive oil – 1 tablespoon

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1/3 teaspoon cumin

1/3 teaspoon of turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

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The instructions are the same as outline above while my meal was in the oven cooking. Don't be afraid to try different food combinations. Below is a table of what you get as nutritive value for what I am from now on going to call the APE Bake. The values below are approximations based on each ingredient included in the recipe. The last four values are estimations of my recommended daily allowance based on my own personal dietary needs, and are here only to serve as a guide.

Calories	691
Carbohydrates	94 g
Fat	25 g
Saturated	6 g
Polyunsaturated	3 g
Monounsaturated	13 g
Trans	0 g
Cholesterol	325 mg
Sodium	168 mg
Potassium	1861 mg
Dietary Fibre	11 g
Sugar(s)	4 g
Protein	20 g
Vitamin A	20%
Vitamin C	120%
Calcium	14%
Iron	60%

So if you have an idea of things that might go together, don't be affraid to try it. Now that I think back at my meandering mind of last night, I was going to use some cinnamon as well, as we all know how well cinnamon and apples go together! Oh well, there is always another day! This is not the first time that I have tried different combinations of types of food and have been surprised. Have a great weekend everyone! I know it is miserable outdoors but I have to get out for a walk, I will just have to dress approriately for the the weather!