By Elizabeth Whalley, RHN

This is a great recipe for the end of the week when your vegetable drawer is full of those last few veggies that are past their prime. In my frittatta, I used lots of winter market staples like potatoes and carrots, however this recipe is so versatile that almost any veggie combo could work. This recipe’s flexibility goes beyond its ingredients; transform those veggies headed for the bin into a quick weeknight dinner, weekend breakfast or even serve it cold for lunch. Fritattas work well served with a salad or even on toast.

My heart breaks every time I see an egg white omelette on a brunch menu, somehow egg yolks have gotten a bad rap! Perhaps in the wake of the low fat diet craze or in an effort to avoid high cholesterol foods. I want to shed some light on these misconceptions. The simple facts are that our bodies needs some good quality fat, like that which is found in egg yolks, to function properly and eating high cholesterol foods do not increase our bodies’ cholesterol. Egg yolks are a great source of vitamins A, E and K as well as omega-3 fats and a whole host of other nutritious minerals. Most of the an eggs selenium, a powerful antioxidant hard to find in today’s food supply, is found in the yolk.  The better part of the nutrition in a egg is in fact packed inside the yolk. So make whole eggs part of your regular routine and reap all the benefits!

Forget-Me-Not Frittata

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs
• 1 small potato
• 1 small onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 small bunch greens*
• 2 Tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

*I used Swiss chard in my frittata but any green would work depending on what you can find at the market or at the back of your fridge. Kale, collard greens, spinach, beet greens, ect.

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mandoline your potato into thin slices. Grease the bottom of a pie dish with 1 Tbsp butter and layer the potatoes along the bottom and sides of the dish. Pop the pie dish lined with potato into the oven while you prepare the vegetables.

Heat a pan over medium heat with the remaining butter. Dice the onion and carrot and sweat in the preheated pan. While your onion and carrot are sauteing chop your greens and beat your eggs in a small bowl. Add the greens in with the onions and carrots once they have become translucent and saute for a few minutes more. Season as desired.

Remove the pie dish from the oven and spread the cooked  vegetables evenly over the potatoes. Pour the beaten eggs over the top and spread them evenly with a rubber spatula if needed. Reduce of the oven to 325 degrees and bake the frittata for 25 minutes or until the egg is the centre has hardened.

Once baked flip over onto a cutting board and serve.

Serves 4-6

By Elizabeth Whalley, RHN

My favourite breakfast classic gets a market makeover in this recipe. Centered around A Bread Affair’s Love at First Bite; a delicious loaf of bread that incorporates the flavours and ingredients of the Lower Mainland. Best of all the rest ingredients can be found at the market year round.

Hazelnut Crusted French Toast with Blueberry Compote

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf Love at First Bite from A Bread Affair
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 2 cups blueberries (vendors often sell them frozen at the winter market)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Butter or coconut oil

Method:

Place the blueberries in a small sauce pan and simmer over a medium heat for about 20 minutes.

While the blueberries simmer, slice the bread into 1 inch thick slices.

Chop the hazelnuts into a small pieces, place on a plate and set aside.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Whisk until light and frothy.

Melt 1 tsp butter(or coconut oil) in a frying pan over medium high heat. Dip once slice at a time into the egg mixture, once on each side. Press one side into the chopped hazelnut and transfer to the hot frying pan. Continue until all of the bread slices have been coated and cooked. Add more butter between slices if necessary.

Turn the heat on the simmering blueberries down to low and add the maple syrup.

Serve the French Toast with the blueberry compote and dollop of strained yogurt, plus maple syrup if needed

Serves 6-8.

By Dan McCash

Arugula Pesto

You don’t often need to read a recipe’s specific ingredient amounts like you’re translating Morse Code ( “2 Tbsps with 1 cup and ½ quart” does not equal “S.O.S.”)

Pesto is an exceptional recipe to flex your own personal taste buds by “approximating” the amount of each ingredient that’s combined and today we’re making it with arugula!

Ingredients

• 2 or more big bunches of fresh Arugula, stem to leaf
  1 or two Tbsp of citrus juice
• as MUCH raw garlic as you please (proportionally, probably about ¾ cup)
• A cup of any nuts, toasted (toasted almonds are dynamite, giving this pungent sauce a very nutty undertone)
• 1/3 cup of grated or powdered parmesan cheese (NO mac & cheese powder, yech!)
• Dash of salt
  Olive oil – however much you can work with adding but appox. 1 cup

Directions

Pack arugula into your food processor (or a friend’s processor if you haven’t got one)

-blitz at the leaves to give an initial chop

-drizzle some olive oil into chopping leaves to help speed it up

Add all your garlic, nuts, and keep pouring in some oil as you go. Drop in some citrus juice and taste. Season to your liking. Keep blending and pour in parmesan cheese.

Once the recipe’s saucy and to your taste, pour in a jar, drizzle a thin layer of oil, seal and refrigerate

Crostinis

Cheese, jam, olives, tapenade, sauces: including basil & tomatoes, there’s a myriad of pantry items that will sit atop crostini crackers to make your dinner party into a tapas lounge for the night!

Ingredients

• 1 bagette
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• some good ol’ S&P

Directions

With the baguette, cut 1/2 cm slices until you can cut no more. Lay slices on parchment-covered cookie sheet. Lightly brush them with olive oil and sprinkle your salt, pepper, and maybe there’s some herbs that you may fancy (ie- a pinch of rosemary is always a hit)

Lay another parchment over baguette tray and seal with a 2nd cookie sheet. Toast in the oven, preheated for 400 F for approx. 7 – 10 minutes.  Be sure to poke in to see how things are toasting–it’s a very short amount of time in the oven before Golden Brown skips to “Burnt Toast”

HINT: if your bread knife is dull, baguettes are much easier to slice when they’ve been in the freezer for an hour.