Monday, June 8, 2009

Vegetables for breakfast



I'm trying to incorporate more vegetables into my life. One strategy I hit upon was to try to eat a vegetable with *every* meal -- even breakfast, even lunch -- even if it just means a few lettuce leaves, or a raw carrot. I don't claim that I am managing this all the time, but it's a goal to strive for. One strategy, of course, involves using leftovers.

I like a shot of protein in the morning, so I often eat an egg. I'm a big fan of the improvised fritatta -- with leftover greens, or pasta, or even quinoa. (One of these days I'll blog my quick quinoa dish -- fast fast and very versatile, and the leftovers make a great fritatta.)

Today I didn't have an egg, though: I had the classic radish sandwich, the makings of which are pictured above. (I made the bread yesterday.) A slice of pain de campaigne, lightly buttered and covered with thinly-sliced radish, topped with a sprinkle of kosher salt. Heavenly.

I also ate the other night's turnips and greens, also pictured above, reheated and spooned over another slice of bread, lightly toasted. (Side note: I generally prefer baby turnips raw, sliced thinly or julienned and dressed with my variation on Deborah Madison's mustard vinaigrette, but this time I sliced them, sauteed in olive oil with some garlic and their chopped greens. A delicious preparation, but I do think I prefer them raw. They're sharper raw, whereas cooked they're SO sweet and melting. They provide a nice foil for their greens, though, which retain their sharpness even when they're cooked.)

Finally (don't be grossed out), I ate leftover baked beans on toast. Didn't I say I need protein in the morning? I usually go for an egg, but beans can serve me well, too!

(A final note: I apologize for the lousy quality of the pictures. My camera is not doing that well. Maybe one of these days, I'll upgrade.)

3 comments:

Janice said...

yay...camera upgrade :-) i think a DSLR is a must have these days...no shutter lag. great food pics and kid pics. we can talk more about that if i've lost you!

oh...i would eat baked beans on or with anything. on toast is actually a good idea!

Unknown said...

Hey Kate, I eat veggies for breakfast too. I eat a lot of leftovers for breakfast. And I make sure to feed my kids veggies for breakfast too. I should try to dig up a photo or something - in Japan a "western" breakfast definitely includes salad! A Japanese breakfast includes vegetables as all, but usually braised or pickled.

Tall Kate said...

Janice, I still may pester you about cameras! The shutter lag drives me crazy when taking kid pictures, and the blurriness with close-ups on the food pictures don't improve the blog, that's for sure.

Christine, that's really interesting, particularly how a western breakfast includes salad! I definitely need to explore more pickled vegetables -- I love the ones I've tried making.