Hungry Husband Posts: Big Breakfasts.

Surely, food must be the 6th love language. 

 

Studies consistently show that children who eat together with their families most of the time perform better at school, feel more supported and stay out of drugs and alcohol. While growing up, meal times with my family were an intrinsic part of life. Over warm meals, whether at home or through weekend date nights with dad, they were times of deep sharing about how I was doing in school, what my next steps were and times where my father would impart deep values of life to me.

 

So when Cliff and I got married and moved out, and I no longer had the luxury of meals prepared by a domestic helper, I knew that somehow, I had to learn to transform our home into a place my husband, friends and our future children could call Home. Whenever I asked Cliff what it was he missed about Canada, food would inadvertently come up- his mother’s fresh and tender roasted lamb racks, silky smooth caramel egg custard, hearty beef and spinach lasagna… The list goes on. I knew I wanted to recreate that haven of space and usher in those feelings of love, familiarity and warmth in our home, too. With the side effects of Cliff’s long-term liver transplant medications being high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease, and my background in medicine, I knew I had to make hearty, wholesome and delicious meals part of our lives.

 

Busy or not, culinarily-inclined or not, I knew I had to find a way. Since the early days of flat-tasting gooey brown rice pulp and over-cooked vermicelli soup (to which Cliff has always enthusiastically slurped up in long-suffering love and appreciation for my effort), I, or should I say, we have come a long way. 

 

When we had to trim our budget a little more in light of upcoming mission trips and expenditures and frequent our favorite cafes less often, I decided to bring the cafe home instead. Since then, friends have asked me for the recipes to the photos of Cliff’s new home-made meals and I’ve decided to create a series of posts to share them. I’ve decided to entitle them “ The Hungry Husband Posts”. 

 

My cooking philosophy?

Food must be cooked with love, with beauty and… heh, within thirty minutes. 

 

So here’s the start of sharing some asked-for recipes with you. I’m no cordon bleu chef, some of these steps are “cheat sheets” in consideration of time, and they’re written for the unacquainted, peppered with my own culinary comic blunders. This is cooking at home for the busy wife or woman, as real as it gets. I hope you’ll enjoy it! 

 

Here goes the first: Quick and Easy Café Breakfasts for the Hungry Husband. (Believe it or not, these meals were whipped right after our long morning runs or bike rides, so they had to be served within 20-30 minutes to feed a hungry man.) With a set of staple ingredients that your fridge should contain, these are really quick and wholesome breakfasts! 

 

Ingredients For Love:

 

1. Bread:

Plain, multigrain, focaccia, Panini bread or whatever you have at home sitting in the fridge waiting to be finished will work!

 

Love Tip: Whenever possible, choose wholegrain options. (On weekdays I make sure Cliff brings a multi-grain breakfast pack to work.) Not only do they keep you fuller for a longer time and keep your blood sugar levels stable through the day, they contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that cut down the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancers. (Ha, so the doctor in me does exist!)

 

2. Eggs & Cheese:

Eggs are one of the most versatile, nutritious and beautiful foods in the world, no doubt. A great source of protein, vitamins and minerals, they make a great post workout meal. 

 

Love Tip: If any of your loved ones has a history of high cholesterol, limit their egg intake to 4 a week. For optimum health benefits, choose a low cholesterol, omega-3 option- they’re everywhere now, at comparable prices. Many studies suggest the benefits of having protein for breakfast- they keep you full for the rest of the day, causing you to snack less. Cheese, while being a good source of calcium and protein, is typically high in saturated fat and calories, so consider using it sparingly!

 

Now that you’ve the main ingredients, why not raid your fridge for leftovers to decorate the fringe of your plate! Here’re some colorful additions that bring a splash of life and dose of visual deliciousness to any meal: 

 

Ingredients For Beauty:

 

1. Fresh Salad: We have been blessed by generous parents who love to drop veggies off at our place ever so often. These can be gotten at wet markets (cheapest!) or at supermarkets which may cost a little more. 

 

2. Cherry tomatoes: These are a staple in our home. Fuss-free and very affordable, these gorgeous crimson beauties burst with minerals and tasty goodness. The best part is, with just a quick rinse, they make tasty fibre-rich snacks or sides at any time of the day. Cucumbers add beautiful color and extra fibre to any meal too.

 

3. Mushrooms: Have some fungi sitting around in the fridge? These are another low-calorie staple that add flavour to any meal. Button, shitake, grass, or Portobello- just about any kind will add a unique style and taste to your meal.

 

Breakfast made with leftover mushrooms and focaccia

(nobody needs to know you served your bread in creative bread-stick shapes because they were leftovers!)

 

Yes, all these meals in this post take under 30 minutes, but cut yourself some slack if it’s your first time. Most importantly, never get discouraged. For food to be beautiful, it must be cooked with a generous dollop of love. Here goes!

 

 

Assembling the Act:

Timing and planning are key. What you want is for every part of your meal to appear fresh and hot, with the illusion that you prepared everything all at once with octopus-like agility, heh. 

 

1. Bring all your ingredients to the table. With everything out of the fridge and shelf and laid before you, this gets you off to a good start, giving you a better chance at a fuss-free experience. This also probably means you’ve visualized your cooking and preparation beforehand, which really will go a long way.

 

2. Rinse the salad, tomatoes and mushrooms. Using a brush or your fingers, butter the mushrooms lightly and put them into the toaster at low heat. Set the timer to about 15 minutes. 

 

3. In the meantime, you can start decorating your plate with greens and play around with the decorations! Think about how you’d like your food to be served to you in an outdoor café overlooking a garden on a lazy Sunday morning.

 

4. Once the mushrooms are done, they can join the host of greens and reds on the plate. (To me, it’s okay to have cold mushrooms, but not okay to have cooled soggy toast or cool coagulated eggs on one’s plate!) Warm your bread at this time, and leave it there in the warmth of the toaster until you’re ready to serve . You can add some cheese on it depending on what you fancy. 

 

5.  Want that ooey-gooey scrambled texture that clings to your fork and melts in your mouth? Eggs should therefore be the last item to prepare! Always cook at least 2 to 3 eggs at once, whipping them in a bowl first. Pour a third to half of the eggs in a non-stick buttered pan at low heat (this is the key!) Once it starts to curdle into that beautiful sunshine yellow, sprinkle some mozarella cheese on top and pour the rest of the eggs in, folding it gently. Keep the heat low and simmery under a watchful eye, and you should have gorgeous scrambled eggs. Forget the salt, keep it simple.

 

The best part of making these Hungry-husband breakfasts?

You can add fun and variety to them, depending on what you have in your fridge- different kinds of breads cut into different shapes (they could even be leftovers!), ham (though they’re not a common ingredient in our home because they contain lots of saturated fat, nitrites and sodium), or if you’re trying to expand your menu at home, whip in a little green pesto into your eggs when you beat them to make cafe-worthy Green Eggs (think Cat-in-the-hat Dr. Seuss). It really is that simple! 

 

Green Eggs for breakfast.

 Pesto adds a flavorful Italian- sorta kick into your breakfast. Only for the curious!

At the end of the meal, I love to sprinkle some dill or basil over the eggs, and serve it with some orange juice or coffee to a hungry husband who will be happy very soon. 

 

Less than thirty minutes- try it yourself! 

 

Watch out for the easier-than-it-looks Maple syrup egg custard and

Eggs florentine with smoked salmon recipes coming your way!