Over the past month or two, I’ve started my day with some variation on this sweet potato breakfast bowl on more days than not. This might not seem like such an odd statement, but I usually change things up a lot more than that as I’m testing out ideas or eating leftovers from the recipe development process. All of which is to say there’s a pretty good reason why I’ve been on such a kick. This breakfast bowl ticks all the boxes: it’s tasty, something I feel great about eating, and it’s easily adapted to be be a make-ahead — even grab-and-go — option.
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Breakfast
Chocolate-Tahini-Ginger Bliss Balls
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had digestive issues. As a kid, I’d complain so frequently of stomach aches that my mom thought that I might have an ulcer. Throughout my teens, my digestive tract operated on a hair trigger. And for the last decade or so, I’ve struggled with the opposite problem — motility issues, if you will — and, as often goes hand in hand, intense, near-constant bloating. Though it’s long been top of mind, and has been something I’ve intensely, perhaps even obsessively, researched, it’s not something I’ve ever really talked about here or elsewhere in my writing. In part, I suppose, out of embarrassment, and also because I didn’t have a good answer, or even really an inkling as to what my problem was.
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Breakfast Fried Quinoa With Sriracha and Greens
Greens, grains, eggs, bacon, and sriracha, these are the building blocks of a breakfast that perfectly straddles the line between healthy and indulgent. It’s the sort of thing that I crave after a night out that maybe, just maybe, involved a bit more wine than what is probably wise. Don’t get me wrong, some hangovers call for a diner-style grilled cheese with bacon or something similarly carby, cheesy, and decadent, but on days where I wake up feeling just a bit off, a breakfast like this feels like smarter move.
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Turkish Eggs With Garlic Yogurt and Tomatoes
Smokiness tends to take over, dominating everything it touches, and so it is a flavor I tend to avoid. But every once in a while, I taste something that helps me understand why people swoon for that licked-by-fire quality. This recipe is a prime example; here, smoked paprika and aleppo pepper flakes infuse melted butter with warmth, depth, and a brilliant sunset color. Drizzled on top of poached eggs, slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, and a swoosh of lemon-garlic yogurt, the softly-smoky butter ties everything together, rather than clobbering your tastebuds.
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Banana-Walnut Bruléed Oatmeal
Last October, Andrew and I embarked on a semi-spontaneous roadtrip from San Francisco to Brooklyn. With little planned besides deciding on a timeframe (a little less than two weeks), and a couple spots we wanted to see (namely Monument Valley and Sedona), we set off in a southerly direction. Our first stop was an overnight in Palm Springs at the kooky-chic Parker Palm Springs, where we wandered the lushly-green grounds, played a game of tennis, and ate a lovely breakfast.
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Brie, Mushroom, and Caramelized Onion Egg Muffins
Here’s an earth-shattering statement for you (not): weekday breakfasts are hard to get right. Finding something that is at once convenient, satiating, reasonably healthy, and tasty is no short order, especially when it comes to savory starts. One winner I keep coming back to is the frittata, and its diminutive, Pinterest-friendly iteration, the egg muffin.
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Pear-Ginger Oatmeal With Chia Seeds
I’ve written about oatmeal many times, and this likely won’t be the last. Satisfying, and fiber-rich, oats are what I reach for first when seeking a sweet-leaning healthy breakfast. This pear-ginger iteration is my latest fixation. A variation on April Bloomfield’s genius porridge, which mimics the creamy, chewy texture of long-simmered steel-cut oats by splitting the difference between steel-cut and rolled oats as well as milk and water, this bowl also adds some chia seeds to the mix for an extra-rich texture. Seasoned with a pretty mix of ginger and cardamom, it’s then topped with pear matchsticks and some sesame seeds for an almost-floral-leaning combination of flavors. All in all it’s a simple upgrade to the humble bowl of porridge. And, importantly (at least to me) it makes use of one of fall’s oft-overlooked fruits (pears).
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Perfect Poached Eggs, Two Ways
My first attempt at poaching eggs didn’t go very well: The whites were ragged (feathery, if we’re being kind) and only partially-attached to the yolks; worse yet, since the yolks were barely insulated by the whites, they cooked up patchily, nearly-hard-boiled in spots. A decade or so later, I’ve tested out pretty much every method out there, and discovered some indispensable tricks along the way. Here I’m breaking down two separate techniques, how to poach eggs in a saucepan and via sous vide cookery, both of which have their merits.
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Spicy Breakfast Tacos
Breakfast tacos aren’t anything new, but they’re new to me, and a supremely-comforting breakfast to boot (two solid reasons to celebrate them here, I’d say).
This is a case of inspiration coming from an unexpected place; my first taste of this Tex-Mex staple was at an airport. If you’re scratching your head, let me rewind a bit. This past August I was in Austin for my dear friend Maggie’s bachelorette party. Because I booked my ticket late in the game, I ended up on the early flight back home Sunday AM. Combine an early wake-up with a night of drinking, and it’s hardly a shocker that I needed some solid sustenance before boarding the plane. Thankfully, I was on the same flight as Maggie’s lovely friend Kayla, who steered us to Maudie’s, where we sunk our teeth into some A-plus, hangover-killing breakfast tacos.
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Pumpkin Chai Baked Oatmeal
Pumpkin spice — typically a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg — might get the lion’s share of attention, but it’s not the only way to add a little something-something to pumpkin-based sweets. Here, I spiced up pumpkin-pecan baked oatmeal with powdered chai (unsweetened — not a ready-made chai concentrate with sweetener and milk), which adds a similarly-warm-and-cozy feeling, plus a subtle bitter edge from the tea itself. Rounded out with a bit of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and maple syrup for sweetness, it makes for a super-cozy breakfast, ideal for the season.
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