I had my heart set on starting this new school semester with a fabulous new recipe, but I’ll have to settle for slightly less-than-fab tonight. The original vision was a vegetarian eggs benedict with asparagus and tomato on a quinoa patty. Today’s recipe fell short only in the fact that the store was out of asparagus and my boyfriend arrived with the lemon for the hollandaise sauce about 25 minutes too late. The good news is I eventually forgave him. That bad news was that we ate a hollandaise-less benedict. 

Still edible? Absolutely. Can I technically still call it a “benedict”? I’m not sure…

Ingredients: 

makes 3

1/2 cup dry quinoa

4 eggs (1 for quinoa patty, 3 to top benedicts)

1/3 cup grated parmesan, divided

1 tbsp chopped garlic, divided

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup (or less) red onion, finely chopped 

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tomato, sliced

3 large handfuls spinach

3 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

To make the quinoa patty, cook quinoa according to instructions on packaging. Let cool, then mix into medium bowl along with 1 egg, red onion, half of the parmesan, half of the garlic, salt, and breadcrumbs. Heat a medium skillet with 1 tbsp (or less) of olive oil. Form patty from 1/3 of mixture, and cook on medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

While patties cook, cook down spinach leaves in a large sautee pan, along with half the tablespoon of garlic. Cook until wilted.

Prepare 3 poached eggs. For tips on poaching the perfect egg, click here.

Prepare the benedict-style breakfast by topping a quinoa patty with grated parmesan, then spinach, then a slice of tomato, and finally a poached egg.

Read More

my morning staple: coffee & poached egg on toast

it sounds boring, and, admittedly, is boring. this morning I added sliced avocado and parmesan shavings to shake things up. a poached egg on toast — or any egg & toast breakfast is a great base for adding cheese and vegetables of any kind to work in some added nutrition to your morning 

the avocado had the smallest little pit i’ve ever seen

and the saltiness of the cheese brings out the flavor of the egg and avocado

this morning i was stuck between inspiration and my mother me telling me to just cook something simple “like a poached egg”

the brilliant outcome [thanks to the internet]: these quinoa cakes topped with a simple poached egg

i halved this recipe to make two slightly larger patties for my mother and i

Quinoa Patties with Poached Eggs

Servings: 6 patties

Ingredients

2 cups cooked quinoa. at room temperature

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped finely, plus more for garnish

2 large shallots, finely chopped (didn’t have ‘em, didn’t use ‘em)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup whole wheat or whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed

Olive oil, for frying the patties (I used about 1-2 tablespoons total)

6 eggs, poached (one for each patty)

Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced, if desired

Instructions

1.  In a medium bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, beaten eggs, salt, chives, shallot, Parmesan, and garlic, mixing well with a spatula.

2. Add the bread crumbs to the mixture and stir to mix completely.

3.  Gently form six individual patties with the quinoa mixture, adding more bread crumbs if necessary.  I made mine about 3-inches in diameter-feel free to make yours any size you want.

4. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat until shimmering.

5.  Add the patties (I cooked them 3 at a time due to the size of my pan), cover, and cook, about 5 minutes or so, until lightly browned on one side.

6. Uncover the patties, and flip (VERY gently) with a spatula, cooking uncovered on the opposite side for another 5 minutes or so, or until each side is browned.

7.  Top each patty with some sliced Parmesan cheese and a poached egg.  Garnish with sea salt, pepper, and chives.  Serve immediately.