Pancetta Egg Sandwich

I'm out of bacon, so this morning I opened up the pancetta and made a pancetta egg sandwich on French bread. It's lightly grilled with a slice of melty provolone inside.
I started by frying two slices of pancetta in a fairly large iron skillet. When it shrank enough for me to scoot it to the side, I put a slice of French bread in the pan to toast lightly. I traded it out with the other slice of bread after a few minutes. The cheese went on the bread while it was in the pan.
The pancetta came out when it was brown and crispy on both sides. It went immediately on top of the melty cheese.
A dab of fresh olive oil went into the skillet and I cracked the egg into the puddle of cool oil. It bubbled and popped while the bread kept warm on the other side of the skillet. I like my egg sunny-side up, but for egg sandwiches I usually go over easy so the yolks aren't so fragile. When the egg was nearly done, I gently broke the yolk so some of it could ooze out and cook. I made sure the center was still jiggly with a runny center when I piled the egg on top of the pancetta.
Larrapin!
It's not on a heart healthy or low-salt diet, but every once in a while it sure is tasty!
Some options that would have been good include a thin spread of mayo; avocado slices; maybe some thinly sliced sauteed mushrooms... A thin slice of a tomato fresh from the garden sprinkled with fresh graded parmesan and a splash of balsamic vinegar would also hit the spot.
You could also make this with bacon, and switch out the cheese to what sounds good to you.
Mmmmm. What sounds good to you?

A Brown Bag Salad

One Brown Bag Salad

When I want something healthy for lunch and end up grabbing a salad from a fast food place I'm always disappointed. The lettuce is mostly spine and rusty on the edges, carrots are pale and dried, and there are usually only 4-5 ingredients.  The tiny cubed croutons are prepackaged and practically melt in my mouth. The dressing is also prepackaged and no matter what flavor I get, too middle-of-the-road for my taste.  And after all that it's also way more expensive than I could have made at home.

I'm sure everyone would agree a salad is best when made with bright fresh crunchy vegetables with a variety of colors, flavors and textures. Here's the version I had for lunch today.

 3 leaves of romaine lettuce

8-10 large leaves of spinach

1 inch of zucchini

1 carrot

3-4 red radishes

3-4 button mushrooms

3-4 green onions

1-2 T Craisins

1 T slivered almonds

3/8" slice feta cheese

6-8 large crunchy homemade croutons

Janz Cranberry Honey Mustard Dressing*

I assembled this last night in a to-go salad bowl I saved from a store-bought salad. 

First a pile of torn romaine and spinach. I used a potato peeler to make paper-thin slices of zucchini, carrot and radishes. I sliced the mushrooms almost as thin. Next came green onions and almonds. Then I put the lid on it and put it in the fridge. 

This morning I added a thick slice of feta cheese and the craisins. I packed it with a separate bag of croutons and my own salad dressing. When I was ready to eat, I crumbled the feta, added croutons and poured on the dressing. 

I tossed it with the fork as I ate. The paper-thin slices of veggies are great for stabbing a and getting lots of variety in every bite. The craisins can soak up moisture and turn back into cranberries if I add them too soon which I why I add them at the last minute. 

*The dressing was made in an almost empty bottle of Cranberry Honey Mustard. I added some red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, a little garlic, and voila!

Larrupin!

Janz Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Mushroom soup is one of my favorites, especially since it's so easy to make from scratch.

Saute a few mushrooms in butter or olive oil and add a splash of white wine or a squeeze of lemon juice for a little tartness. Add chicken broth, or water and chicken bouillon and let it simmer. Thicken with cornstarch if you want, add milk, cream, sour cream or even cream cheese to make it more creamy than brothy if that's what you like. 

Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan or a slice of provolone, maybe some avocado slices, a dollop of sour cream and a generous sprinkling of fresh ground pepper blend... mmmm. A splatter of sliced almonds would add a tasty crunch. 

A few days ago I had some mushrooms I wanted to use, but I wanted something different. So I did some searching and came across a Hungarian take on mushroom soup which of course I had to tweak.

Janz Hungarian Mushroom Soup

1 T olive oil
1/2 C thinly sliced yellow onion
1T butter
 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C white wine
1/2 T dried dill weed
1/2 T paprika
1/2 T soy sauce
1 C chicken broth
1 C milk
1 T cornstarch
1 t salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 C chopped Italian parsley
1/4 C sour cream
Seasoned croutons
3-4 slices of crisp bacon
Feta, crumbled
Green onions, thinly sliced

Saute onions in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes
Add sliced mushroom, butter, and wine. Saute 5 more minutes
Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce and broth. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes.
Combine milk and cornstarch in a pint jar with a tight lid and shake well to mix. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Simmer 15 more minutes stirring occasionally.
Finally, stir in the salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley and sour cream. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3-5 minutes. Do not boil.
To serve, place several large seasoned croutons in the bottom of a shallow soup bowl. Ladle a serving of soup over the croutons. Garnish with crumbled feta, crispy bacon and green onions.

Larrupin!

PS: This is a larrupin good brown bag lunch.

Put a meal size portion in a plastic container, the croutons and bacon go in another container and use another small container for the feta and green onions. At lunchtime put the croutons and soup in a microwave-proof bowl (one that won't get hot when you take it out), and when it's hot, garnish with the bacon, feta and green onions.