the title of a k d lang album, or
a swell breakfast

We’re getting near the end of peach season in Northern California, a good time to eat a peach, and to celebrate a peach.

This is an O’Henry, a yellow freestone peach. I’m eating it on Tuesday morning, having bought three at the Market on Saturday morning. The other two hit my tummy on Monday. Peaches at the Market are picked pretty ripe, so even though I pick out the firmest, they don’t last long at home, a bad thing if you want space between your peaches.

In any case, this one was ready to go around the bend, so after my morning walk, I got out my vegetable peeler, paring knife, little skillet and sausage and went to work.

First, I peeled the peach. Love peaches, yellow peaches — I’m not partial to white, they have kind of an empty sweetness — hate peach skin. This is a freestone peach, so I can cut it into wedges.

I took my sausage — a hot Italian from Golden Gate Meats — slipped it out of the casing and fried it up. I’ll use about half and put the other half aside for whatever later.

I scoop the sausage meat out of the skillet, but not the good sausage juices — these sausages aren’t overly fat. Add about half a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and swirl it around to coat the whole bottom. Add the peach wedges and cook. Juices will flow.

I turn the wedges and sprinkle the cooked sausage over and between. In a minute or so, that’s all hot and done. Slide it onto a plate and eat.

Oh my.

Why Do I Make Breakfast Difficult?

My Saturday mornings have a routine… Go to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at eight o’clock, come home and prep the vegetables for storage – top and wash the carrots and radishes, trim the leeks, whatever else depending on the season and bounty – put everything away and make notes of what we have to eat for the week. Then, it’s time for breakfast – by that time one might call it brunch although I cook and eat alone and brunch implies a sharing, less informal thing – Carol has long since had her breakfast.

Since childhood, I’ve never been a cereal or oatmeal – or even a smoked salmon and cream cheese – kind of guy. I need to invent something. “Why do I have to make it difficult?” I say to myself… and then I go ahead with a preparation of more than a few steps. This morning, I had leftover corned beef, I fried that, just enough to get it warm – that’s a good start – but I had no other leftovers. So I sliced and fried a potato, broke two eggs and beat them up with a bit of crème fraiche (tip: zap your crème fraiche in the microwave for seven seconds before adding eggs), topped that with some fresh cheese curd from the market and made a two-egg frittata. Oh, I threw in some celery, for crunch.

slice and fry a potato

slice the corned beef and warm

start the frittata with a layer of corned beef and potato

add celery, eggs, more potatoes and cheese curd… cook at very low heat until it sets…

pop under broiler for three or so minutes, slide onto plate

I had the time and took the time to do it. That’s what I call a good breakfast.

You want a quik-n-EZ breakfast?

Warm up last night’s pizza in the toaster-oven. Yum.

On Saturday I had brunch with a friend at Namu on Balboa at 6th Avenue — fine place that — and broke into a rant about Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food. I really believe in his way of eating and can’t help going on about it.

On the subject of breakfast, Lisa said she would like to eat fresh food but she has two pre-teen daughters and teaches. Mornings are hectic, to say the least. Her first class is at 7:30, so she eats a Trader Joe’s power bar in the car during her commute. “I have to be able to eat with one hand,” she said, “something not messy. I don’t like what I eat for breakfast, but that’s the way it is.”

I don’t have that problem, but was thinking about her plight the next morning. I put together a breakfast that was not messy, and while I ate at the table, what I had could have been eaten in a car with one hand, from a container rather than a dish.

• Piccoline olives
• Anchovy stuffed olives
• Hard boiled egg, quartered
• “Mikes” cheese curd (with peppers) from Spring Hill Farm, available at a Farmers Market near you. Continue reading →

We were at a friend’s house for lunch on Sunday. Panini was served. Ummm Good. Our hosts raved about their Cuisinart Panini Press and another guest said she had bought one just like it at Crate and Barrel.

When I was standing in line for the Get Green event at Macy’s, an All Clad Panini Set was on display, right beside me, a simple non-stick, 10×12 inch grill pan and a heavy metal weight with a handle, slightly smaller than the pan. I checked the price, $130!!

Lordy! I can do that with my cast iron grill pan using the lid from my cast iron skillet for the weight. Continue reading →

a one-liver pate;

When you poach a chicken, there are these giblets in the cavity of the beast. What does one do with those? And why am I ”Eats – for – One – guy” poaching a whole chicken?

Second question first:
In this case, I’m using the chicken meat and the broth that the poaching creates in Brunswick Stew. If I weren’t doing that, poached chicken meat can be used in chicken noodle soup, for chicken salad, for chicken hash, for chicken sandwiches, to fill tacos or quesadillas, to throw into canned soups or to add to leftover, already-made soups to make them more interesting and hearty. And you’ve got the chicken broth, for free, as a bonus. I freeze mine in stackable quart containers. Continue reading →