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A productive morning and a frittata night.

07/03/18 | Basil, Food

Last week Friday I skipped the gym and headed out early to get some work done at a coffee shop. While I normally object to going to huge chains when there are so many great independent spots available in a place like NYC, I had a free reward expiring soon (in two days!) at Starbucks, so I ended up there. After all, NY is expensive, so getting to enjoy a drink for free was an especially nice luxury.

My veggies to be sautéed.

I love mornings, and without a doubt consider them the most productive (or potentially productive) part of my day. You can work out, read, do work, do school stuff, prep meals, or do just about anything – but then you feel really great, because by ten or eleven a.m. you already feel like you’ve accomplished something! Anyways, I had a lot of random stuff I wanted to work on – an intriguing book I’ve been reading (The New Jim Crow – I’m not done yet, but look out for a blog post about it coming up sometime soon) I wanted to journal about, some studying, some work stuff, some application stuff, and some reading for fun. And while I find mornings my most productive time, I find mornings especially productive and especially enjoyable when they are spent at a coffee shop – whether cute and independent, or big-chain Starbucks.

After ordering a triple mocha frappe with half a banana and a scoop of matcha blended in (you have to take advantage of the free reward for all its worth!), I sat down to work. I decided the first Starbucks was too noisy, so I ended up heading to a different one after about an hour, where I continued working for another hour or so. Then I headed off to my actual job/internship, feeling pretty decent about what I’d accomplished in my day so far.

After a rather long day at work and my sugary start to the morning, I was ready for a good dinner. Working from my farmer’s market picks of kale and tomatoes, as well as my supermarket supplementary selections of eggs, a pepper and some mushrooms, I decided to make a frittata! I hadn’t ever made one before, so I was a tad nervous, and quite excited.

See recipe below for details. Basically, I chopped up a bunch of vegetable – kale, peppers, and mushrooms – sautéed those with garlic and basil, add that to a mixture of beaten eggs, and cooked it up into a frittata! Not too challenging, and delicious – both warm and fresh that evening, and cold for lunch the next day. And so pretty and colorful!

Kale and Orange Pepper Frittata
Author: Marta Williams
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 Orange Pepper (other colors are also acceptable)
  • 1 Bunch (about 6 oz) of Kale
  • 2 Mushrooms
  • 4-6 Basil Leaves
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic
  • Olive Oil
  • 6 Eggs (Or 8 if you like a larger preponderance of egg)
  • 1 Tomato
  • Milk (optional)
  • Garlic Salt
Instructions
  1. Chop Pepper and Kale (or tear kale with your fingers)
  2. Slice mushrooms and shred basil leaves
  3. Mince garlic
  4. Put all in a pan, drizzle with olive oil, and saute for several minutes (about 5). Set aside.
  5. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Add milk if desired. Chop and add tomato. Then add vegetable mixture you just sautéed. Sprinkle with garlic salt as desired.
  6. Get a new pan or clean and dry the one you just used.
  7. Put a TB or two of olive oil in pan, and heat on the stove. Drop a little egg in the pan as a test – if it sizzles and cooks right away, pour the rest in (if not wait a minute). Distribute egg mixture evenly by tilting/shaking the pan; lift edges of mixture with a spatula. Turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, and loosening/checking the bottom of the frittata periodically (don’t let it get too brown).
  8. Heat the broiler.
  9. Uncover the pan and place under the broiler for 1-3 minutes. Watch carefully so the top doesn’t burn!
  10. Remove. If the top still doesn’t look done, you can also flip the frittata and cook on the stove for a little bit longer.
  11. Loosen the edges and slide or flip into a platter.
  12. Cut into wedges and enjoy – hot or cold!
3.5.3251

Adapted from Spinach and Red Pepper Frittata Recipe from cooking.nytimes.com.

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Hi there!

Looking for me? I am most likely to be found curled up with a good book, working on a puzzle, out on the trails for a run, in a practice room working on scales, in the lab working on my latest research project, in the kitchen concocting some new creation, or any place where there is food with lavender or basil.

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