Egg-In-A-Hole

This is just eggs and toast kicked up a notch. Good for the day after the toaster breaks,  for special breakfasts or just to mix it up a bit. 

You will need: an egg, a piece of bread, a cup or cookie cutter, soft (or softened) margarine or butter, oil/spray oil for the pan/griddle, salt and pepper.

What I do: Punch a hole in the middle of the bread. I use either a glass/cup that fits nicely within the parameters of the bread's crust OR a cookie cutter: heart shape for Valentine's Day, Tree for Christmas, Shamrock for St. Patrick's Day etc.

Heat your frying pan or griddle as for pancakes. Not too hot.

Butter both sides of the bread and the cut out piece.

For a soft yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Cook the bread with the hole until it's lightly browned- just lightly. Turn the bread over & spray the pan where it shows through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook this second side (with the egg in the middle now) until it's well browned. Flip the bread & egg, and cook the first side for a short time to cook the top of the egg and finish browning the bread. MEANWHILE, keep an eye on the toast/cut out piece. Cook both sides until nicely browned.

For a harder yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Spray the pan through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook the bread and egg until bread is nicely browned. Flip the bread and egg over, and cook the second side until the bread is toasted and the egg is cooked. If the bread is getting brown but the yolk is still too soft, lower the heat and/or cover the bread & egg with a pot lid. Remember to keep an eye on the cut out piece! Just toast it on each side until it's nicely browned.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Pudding

This recipe is from my French magazine, "Madame" (the September issue). I reread it several times, thinking my French must be faulty... but no, it is indeed cooked oatmeal with an egg added. Being quite sceptical, I tried it, and was delightfully surprised. I was expecting scrambled eggs and oatmeal, but what I got was creamy, tasty porridge with a hint of cinnamon. What a great way to start the day. Now you can have your oatmeal, and some protein too! I'd advise assembling all the ingredients before you start, as once the water boils it goes quite quickly.

Per Serving:

1/2 cup/ 125 ml water
pinch of salt (1 ml/ 1/4 teaspoon for 4 servings)
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml (skim) milk
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml vanilla
1/3 cup/ 75 ml quick oatmeal (not instant)

1/3 cup (skim) milk
2 Tablespoons/ 30 ml chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon/ 5 ml sugar or Splenda to taste

Bring the water, salt and raisins (if desired) to a boil over high heat.

Whisk together the egg and milk. Add cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Stir the egg mixture into the water. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the oatmeal. Simmer until the desired consitency is obtained, about 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with 2nd amount of milk, walnuts and sugar/ sweetener as desired.

Tarte aux Epinards, (or Spinach Quiche)

The Guest Chef for today is my daughter Johanna, who writes from Switzerland, "Ok, I have a recipe for you. It's the third or fourth time I've made it, and it's pretty darn good. Even the girls (the two girls she's an Au Pair for) will eat it, green though it is. This'll feed 5 or 6 easily. One time I forgot to buy a pie crust, so I just stuck it together in a pan and made it a gratin, and it was just as good. So yeah....a recipe for you from Switzerland, that I got from a friend who got it from a friend."


1 pie crust (I buy one that's uncooked and rolled up)
600g epinards (spinach*, better to buy it frozen with milk already in it. otherwise you have to add more milk)
200mL milk
2 eggs
50-200g cheese (my friend made it with only sprinkled on top, but I use about 100g...and I use gruyere)
1 onion
salt, pepper, nutmeg to flavour.

1. pie crust in the pan, we use a round flatter thing
2. mix up the spinach, milk and eggs. I use a whisk to make sure it's all even.
3. cut up the onion small and add that, then add the grated cheese
4. season
5. pour spinach filling into pie crust.
6. bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at 200'C

*you probably want frozen, chopped spinach, drained and patted dry. I've never heard of "spinach in milk", so you'll need to add extra. I'd start with 1/4 cup, making the milk 250 ml instead of 200.