Baked Eggs

You know what I love? Breakfast. Which is partly why I'm partial to these baked eggs. They have everything you need: perfect for when you feel like eggs, but can't really be bothered dealing with all the dirty dishes and the longer processes (measuring, mixing…) of what might be eggs benedict, or even scrambled eggs; but you want something a little more exciting - and healthy - than runny eggs and soldiers.

 Packed with about one serving of your daily veg, there is no measuring, no stresses about curdling, just chop, layer, done. Out of the oven comes this unassuming little package, it's top gooey from feta, crumbled there less than ten minutes before. The veggies retain some bite after being cooked, but are still hot and soft enough to meddle seamlessly with the burst egg yolk. This breakfast  really is the prefect balance between being seemingly indulgent and perfectly healthy. And who doesn't love that?

Notes: I said above that there is no measuring involved in this recipe, yet below I have included measurements such as "one tablespoon". These are all approximate measures, because this recipe won't end in disaster if you put a little more or less of each ingredient into the mix. Also, feel free to change it up a bit to suit your tastes or what you have in the fridge. I have included some variation suggestions below the recipe.

Baked Eggs

Serves 1

8cm piece (1 Tbsp) spring onion, finely sliced

small handful (¼ cup, firmly packed) baby spinach leaves

4 - 6 (1 Tbsp, firmly packed) basil leaves, roughly chopped

3 - 4 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 egg

1 Tbsp feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease one small ramekin.

Spread the spring onion around the bottom of the ramekin, and place on top the spinach, basil and tomatoes. Keep each ingredient as a separate layer, and do not mix the vegetables together.

Crack the egg on top of the tomatoes, and sprinkle the egg with feta.

Place in oven for 10 minutes or until egg white is cooked and the yolk is just set.

Serve immediately on small plate.

Variations: Replace feta with slices of mozzarella. Add roughly chopped ham or prosciutto, or shredded  cooked chicken on top of the bail before adding the tomatoes.

Pumpkin Cannelloni

Ok, so there aren't many photos for this recipe, frankly because it's hard to make this dish look as good as its flavor and aroma.

But here's the thing: you know when a meal doesn't look that great, and then you taste it and you think "oh my god, this is sooo good, I can't believe I just judged it for its appearance"? Well, this is one of those dishes. An ultimate comfort food.

Lunch for One: Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

Dad insightfully commented the other day that my cooking is either incredibly decadent, or very healthy - switching from one extreme to the next. He was right. Not only do I love rich desserts and adore eating baked goods fresh from the oven; my love affair with food has gone on long enough for me to realize that 'good', healthy food can be just as tasty and satisfying.

So today - spurred partly by guilt for being a little indulgent this past week - I made myself a hearty, filling bowl of slow-roasted veggies tossed together with that so-hot-right-now superfood otherwise known as quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Not only that, I partly invented the recipe. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

… Fall Back

I woke this morning to what felt like a miracle… the sound of heavy, cleansing rain. Due to a drier-than-normal November and a practically rainless December, by February pretty much the whole of New Zealand was covered in dead, brown grass, and by mid-March, everyone, especially farmers,were getting pretty desperate. An official drought was declared in some of the worst-affected parts of the country, and compensation given to the farmers concerned, who needed it most. Even our humble little ten acre block was feeling the strain. We had water issues: a mysterious leak in one of our paddock tanks meant that 20 000 liters was almost gone within a few days. Dad had to buy truck-fulls of water to sustain our livestock over the course of a fortnight before he found a crack in one of the water pipes. Our veggie patch stopped growing. Weeds and low-nutrient grasses were sprouting. We had to feed our animals hard feed, things like silage and barley, because there wasn't any good grass. By the end of March though, we had had a few showers, here and there. They weren't very long, or very heavy - but that was ok. It brought me hope. It allowed the ground to soften a bit, before real, good rain comes.

This morning another of those hopeful showers came. It was quite heavy for about half an hour, giving the earth the drink that it so desperately needs, before it dispersed into that crisp autumn sunshine, when the day takes a little longer to warm up than it did just a month or two ago. Autumn is one of my most favorite times of the year. Kind of the underdog The Seasons, it heralds crisper, alert mornings and beautiful sunrises, warm, rich and comforting food, bed socks, tea and anticipation for the coming ski season.

Cheat's ricotta, spinach and mint gnocchi

Hello, everybody

Happy Thursday! Given that I don't have to go to school because it's Good Friday tomorrow (and my 16th birthday! Yay!), it feels like a Friday, and what better way to celebrate this Friday-feeling than a big bowl of rich, comforting, indulgent pasta - gnocchi, no less?