Our neighbor Judy has six chickens that provide her with plenty of fresh eggs. Lucky for us, Judy shares with us and dropped off a dozen the other day. Every now and then I visit The Guardian web site which always has an interesting story, or in this case, a really good recipe. Well one thing led to another, and before you know it we had ourselves a wonderful meal.
All you need are a few eggs, an avocado, some feta cheese, and good bread. There’s no way you can mess this up.
Mt. Vikos is my favorite feta. It’s delicious and not at all overly salty as some of the other feta cheeses I’ve tried. It’s made with sheep and goat’s milk which is a plus for anyone who is lactose intolerant.
In a small bowl beat the eggs with a splash of milk or cream and a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
Mash the avocado, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Fold in the feta cheese. Set aside.
Toast and butter the bread, keep warm.
Meanwhile melt a bit of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and cook, stirring constantly until eggs are done to your liking. It's best to remove the eggs from the heat while still a little soft as they will continue to cook in the residual heat.
Divide the avocado and cheese mix between the toast and top with the eggs. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and chili flakes if desired.
It’s true. Every now and then I eat Spam. Phew! Now that I got that out-of-the-way, let’s move on to my latest Spam preparation: The beloved Spam musubi. Found at local convenience stores, airports, and mom and pop stores, Spam musubi is a tasty snack that travels well in your bag, backpack, and even fits snugly in your pocket. It’s an island favorite.
I have a good laugh every time I see the little man on the Spam can announcing “Glorious Spam!”
If you live near a Nijiya Japanese market, I recommend buying this nori. It is not expensive and it’s a good nori for Spam musubi as well as maki sushi rolls.
There’s a large variety of furikake at the markets. Salmon, shiso, wasabi, and more. I favor the simple combination of nori flakes with black and white roasted sesame seeds. It’s perfect for Spam musubi.
Slice the Spam into eight pieces. Fry the Spam for a few minutes on each side until lightly browned.
Add your soy sauce mixture and turn the Spam over and over in the sauce to coat well. This will take just a minute.
Perfectly cooked Spam and seasoned Spam.
Making Spam musubi is quick and easy. Cook the rice, pan fry the Spam, put it all together, press, eat.
I bookmarked this recipe from Serious Eats years ago and finally got around to making it. Not all Spam musubis are alike. This one is a winner.
Recipe updated 7/28/23 to make 8 Spam musubi (originally 6)
Quick and easy snack that packs and travels well. Adapted from Kathy Chan's recipe/Serious Eats blog.
Author: Kiyo Miller
Cuisine: Hawaiian-Style
Ingredients
3 cups short grain or medium grain white rice, cooked according to package directions
1 can original or 25% less sodium Spam
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons less sodium soy sauce (Kikkoman recommended)
4 pieces sushi nori, cut in half lengthwise to make 8 pieces
furikake
Preparation
Slice Spam into 8 equal sized pieces (slice across the longest portion of Spam)
Mix together brown sugar and soy sauce, set aside.
Fry Spam on medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Turn heat down to medium-low, add brown sugar and soy sauce mixture and turn Spam over a few times to coat well. If the pan seems too hot, take it off the burner for a few seconds. You want the soy sauce mixture to caramelize a bit and coat the Spam nicely (watch closely so that it doesn't burn). Remove Spam to a plate to cool.
Lay a piece of nori on a clean work surface. Place musubi shaper on top of the nori (in the center). Scoop enough rice into the musubi shaper to make a thin layer. Press the rice firmly with the musubi compressor. Sprinkle furikake over the rice, add a piece of Spam, more furikake, and lastly, more rice. Press firmly using the musubi compressor. You want the musubi to hold together when you eat it. To remove Spam musubi, hold the shaper and lift it up as you continue to press down on the musubi. Gently remove the compressor (if the rice sticks a bit loosen it with a butter knife). Wrap the nori around the musubi tightly. You may need to trim a bit of the nori if it's too long.
Serve right away or wrap and pack for a mid-morning or afternoon snack.
Cream cheese adds richness to these scrambled eggs without altering the flavor of the eggs. Luckily for us, our neighbors Judy and John who have three chickens, deliver beautiful, fresh, eggs to our front door.
Judy writes the date on each egg so that you use them in the correct order. Brilliant!
These days there are more and more lactose free products available, such as this delicious cream cheese. Green Valley Organics also makes lactose free sour cream and yogurt. All of their products are superb.
Keep the heat low throughout the cooking time of your scrambled eggs. Stir occasionally with a soft spatula.
Once the eggs have set a bit, fold in dollops of cream cheese and most of the chives to the eggs. Keep stirring.
The eggs are almost ready to serve. It’s your decision when to remove the eggs from the pan. Some prefer very soft, runny, eggs, others like me prefer them to be just a bit more firm. By the way, these scrambled eggs are delicious piled on buttered toast.
2 tablespoons Green Valley Organics lactose free cream cheese (or regular cream cheese)
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
¼ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Place a medium-sized skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread (or butter).
Crack eggs into a medium bowl and whisk well. Add salt and a few grinds of pepper to the eggs. Pour eggs into skillet, stirring occasionally. Keep stirring until the eggs have set just a bit. Add dollops of cream cheese and most of the chives and fold into the eggs gently. Continue cooking until the eggs are as soft or firm as you like them. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with reserved chives.
I’ve been searching for a “perfect scone.” After trying numerous recipes, I’ve concluded that there is no single “perfect scone.” There are a number of them! I discovered this delicious recipe on Nicole’s blog, Pinch My Salt. She has come up with a streamlined recipe for these little treats. Freshly baked scones in under 30 minutes? With that thought in mind, I’ll be making them very often.
Dried cranberries, sweet and tart, are perfect in this recipe. Sometimes I swap out the cranberries for dried, tart cherries.
The dough is quite sticky so be sure to flour the countertop and your hands. Handle the dough as little as possible for tender scones.
Cranberry Scones
Adapted from Nicole’s recipe
Makes 10 – 12 medium scones
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
scant 1/2 cup half and half (I used Organic Valley lactose free half and half)
zest of 1 orange, divided
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or unsalted butter (cut into small pieces and well chilled)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
Glaze
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest (reserved from above)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt , and sugar.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together egg, half and half, and most of the orange zest (reserving 1/2 teaspoon for glaze). Set aside.
Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Alternatively, you may use two butter knives or rub cold butter pieces into the flour with your fingertips. Stir in the chopped cranberries.
Add egg mixture to the flour mixture all at once and stir until the mixture clumps together. Dump mixture onto a floured countertop and, with floured hands, gather into a ball and knead once or twice to combine everything. The dough will be quite sticky. Sprinkle a little extra flour on the counter and on top of the dough to keep it from sticking (not too much or the dough will be dry). Pat dough into a circle about 3/4 – 1 inch thick. Cut 10 – 12 circles using a 2 1/2 – 3 inch biscuit cutter. Arrange scones on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12 – 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
While scones are cooling, make the glaze. Combine sifted powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons orange juice and the reserved orange zest. Whisk until smooth, adding more orange juice or powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency. Glaze scones using a small silicone pastry brush or dip scones directly into the glaze.
The scones freeze beautifully so go ahead and make a double batch.
I’m delighted that there are more lactose free products available these days. The markets where I shop now carry lactose free milk, sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese and half & half. All these items are good to have on hand for that day when one feels like baking. This scone recipe from Averie Cooks is one of the best I found. Averie uses sour cream to moisten the dough. It works beautifully. Thanks to Green Valley Organics, I was able to make these treats using their lactose free sour cream.
These frozen berries are perfect for this recipe. Keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to mix them in the dough otherwise they will start to defrost very quickly.
Bursting with lots of juicy berries, these scones are delectable with a little pat of butter on top (Earth Balance Buttery Spread in my case). Sometimes I split and toast them if I’m in the mood for a warm and crispy scone.
Scones are easy and quick to make and they freeze well. Choose your favorite shape. Wedges, squares, rounds. Drizzle the tops with a light lemon glaze or sparkling sugar, or nothing at all. Either way, you will be rewarded. Thanks Averie, for the wonderful recipe.
The Best Glazed Mixed Berry Scones
Adapted from Avery Cooks blog
Makes 8 large or 12 medium scones
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour + more for your work surface
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (Or unsalted butter + pinch of salt. Buttery Sticks or butter should be very cold)
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream (I used Green Valley Organics lactose free sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaping cup frozen mixed berries (keep frozen until the last minute so berries do not get soft)
Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, add 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder. Whisk to combine. Slice butter into small cubes and add to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut butter into flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Some larger pea-sized clumps are OK. Set aside.
In a small bowl, add the egg, sour cream, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
Pour wet mixture over dry, and fold until just combined with a spatula. Don’t over mix or the scones will be tough. The dough will be wet and shaggy. Fold in the berries.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour over a clean work surface and lightly coat hands. Turn dough onto surface and knead into an 8-inch round (approximately). Sprinkle a little more flour over the dough and on your hands if the dough is too wet to come together. Try not to add too much flour or the dough will be dry.
With a large knife, slice round into 8 equal-sized wedges. Using a thin spatula, transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet and space about 2 inches apart. Try not to have too many exposed berries touching the baking pan. They have a tendency to burn. If you prefer square-shaped scones, pat dough into a rectangle and cut into 12 equal-sized pieces. If you are using sparkling sugar, sprinkle it on before baking the scones.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until scones are very lightly golden and cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Allow scones to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to cool completely. If you are using a glaze, make the glaze while the scones cool.
Combine the confectioners sugar and citrus juice. Whisk together until smooth. You may need to adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more sugar or citrus juice. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
I always return to my eternally favorite food: eggs. I rarely make omelets, however I now have a new favorite weekend breakfast. This open-face omelet is so easy to prepare and very delicious. I had never tried escarole before and initially thought I might not be able to find it for this recipe. Mana Foods, my favorite market in Paia, has almost every type of vegetable and fruit you can imagine, but they didn’t have any. I tried Whole Foods as well, but our store on Maui is quite small with a limited selection. I was quite surprised to find it at Safeway. Recently Safeway in Kihei upgraded their produce section and it’s a considerable improvement from what they offered a year ago.
Escarole is a gorgeous green, belonging to the endive family. It’s definitely not as bitter, and is very good tossed with other salad greens. Each head of escarole has a pretty mix of bright and pale colored leaves.
A bit of feta and spicy jalapeños make this dish stand out. The recipe calls for za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend typically consisting of sesame seeds, sumac, thyme, oregano, marjoram and salt. I had purchased a jar in Napa at the Whole Spice shop (they spell it zahtar) and it sat in my refrigerator waiting to be used. If you can’t find za’atar at your local market, the recipe says to combine 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds with 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (I love Mt. Vikos sheep and goat’s milk feta. It’s mild and creamy and not too salty)
1 scallion, white part only, finely chopped
2 jalapeño nacho rings (you may use more if you prefer, or fresh jalapeño to taste)
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups shredded escarole
pepper
Preparation
In a small bowl, mix the za’atar with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
In another bowl, mash the feta, scallion and jalapeño with 2 – 3 teaspoons of water until smooth.
In a small non-stick skillet (9 – 10-inch works well) heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. In a 2-cup measuring cup, beat the eggs with the flour, salt and 1 tablespoon of water (it’s OK if a few lumps remain). Pour half the mixture into the skillet and swirl the pan to form a thin omelet. Sprinkle half the escarole and half the feta mixture evenly over the eggs; cook over moderately low heat until the escarole starts to wilt, the feta melts and the omelet is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Slide onto a plate and season with pepper. Repeat with the remaining oil, eggs, escarole and feta mixture.
Drizzle za’atar oil over the omelet and serve. Side of bacon please!
Our neighbor Judy has six chickens that provide her with plenty of fresh eggs. Lucky for us, Judy shares with us and dropped off a dozen the other day. Every now and then I visit The Guardian web site which always has an interesting story, or in this case, a really good recipe. Well one thing led to another, and before you know it we had ourselves a wonderful meal.
All you need are a few eggs, an avocado, some feta cheese, and good bread. There’s no way you can mess this up.
Mt. Vikos is my favorite feta. It’s delicious and not at all overly salty as some of the other feta cheeses I’ve tried. It’s made with sheep and goat’s milk which is a plus for anyone who is lactose intolerant.
