Roasted Asparagus with Scrambled Eggs

This past father's day, baby Charlotte and I made Justin a yummy breakfast complete with fresh baked croissants, crispy bacon and grilled asparagus with scrambled eggs. The asparagus and eggs were an Ina Garten recipe - simple and delicious. It's a perfect dish for a small intimate breakfast or brunch.

Roasted Asparagus with Scrambled Eggs



3/4 pound fresh asparagus
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/8 cup freshly grated Parmesan
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

3. While the asparagus is roasting, whisk the eggs in a bowl with the half-and-half, and salt and pepper, to taste. Melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Cook the eggs on the lowest heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, to the desired doneness. Remove from the heat, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter, and stir until it melts. Check for seasoning, salt and pepper, if needed.

Breakfast Parfait

I've noticed that losing this "baby weight" (even though I was only 7.5 months pregnant when Charlotte was born) is proving more difficult than expected. So I downloaded a new app on my iPhone called Foodpics Log. Instead of writing down what I eat and trying to log the calories, I just take photos of everything I eat. I need to be accountable somehow. We'll see if it helps. But what it did make me realize is that so long as I take care in what I eat, making it pretty and delicious, my portion control is a bit better. (A basic rule in "Why French Women Don't Get Fat.") So, here is the first installment for today. My breakfast - a breakfast parfait made with fresh berries, honey vanilla yogurt and almond granola. Yum!


BREAKFAST PARFAIT

1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 pints fresh strawberries, cut in half
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
Honey Vanilla Yogurt (recipe follows)
Almond Vanilla Granola (I purchase mine from the bulk bins at Henry's Market in San Diego)

1. Gently mix the berries, sugar and salt together.
2. Layer a footed glass with the fresh fruit. Then sprinkle a layer of granola. Then pour in some honey vanilla yogurt. Alternate layers until your fill the glass, ending with a yogurt layer.
3. Garnish with some fruit and a sprinkling of granola.

Honey Vanilla Yogurt
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

2 cups plain yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
seeds scraped from a vanilla bean

Combine the yogurt, honey, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day....

I am the first to admit I have a strange life. My work and social hours are unpredictable to say the least. I leave for work as late as 10 or as early as 6; stumbling home at any hour. My doormen already recognize the weary look I have when a black car drops me off in the middle of the night. They also recognize when I leave at 11 pm on Saturday and know I won't return until close to (and in rare cases now) after dawn. Like I said, strange.

And I can go weeks where the only "meal" I have at home is a snack at 2 am as I catch up on tv before I crash. I take on the herculean task of grocery shopping once, maybe twice a month.

This week has lived up to the peculiarities of my life, busy on a bond offering that has taken over my life. I left my apartment at 8 am on Wednesday for the printers -think hotel conference room where you put together and edit a document for large scale securities printing; a place where all your needs are catered to by the printer's employees. Need an espresso, someone will get it for you. Want some vitamin water, just hit up the fridge. Late night pizza run, sure! Need to brush your teeth, there's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. Decide that as you have to be there at 6:30 am for a conference call, there is no point in leaving at 5 am to go home and shower, you might as well have a beer from the fridge, why not! Ah breakfast of champions!


By the time I returned home I was well fed, full and tired Did I mention it was 11 am Thursday. When I emerged from my comatose sleep at 3, and worked a few more hours in my pj's, I was hungry again, and not for take out, rather something that I had produced. But in no way was I going to emerge from my apartment. So I scrounged in my cabinets, the depths of my freezer and the remnants of my fridge. The result? A risotto made from the frozen pumpkin that I had chopped up and bagged in individual portions in the fall, the last of my turkey bacon, frozen sage, dried mushrooms, chicken broth, a splash of wine, garlic, onion and the last of my fresh spinach. Even I was impressed with my results. Lesson learned? The freezer and non-perishables are a lawyer's friend.