Green Eggs and Ham

The name comes from the classic Dr. Seuss children's book, the green comes from the Salsa Verde sauce I used in my breakfast hash. Lots of sauteed vegetables with bacon becomes a good bed for the soft poached egg, a spoonful of green sauce and it's ready to go with my coffee.

The Hash with Celery, Garlic, Bacon, Potatoes and Asparagus

Breakfast Hash with Poached Egg and Parsley Salsa Verde

More Stove Top Grilling

Another day. another meal and today it's grilled beef flank steak and potatoes. I served the steak with with one of my favorite sauces, Salsa Verde. It's a blended sauce of Italian parsley, garlic, capers, lemon juice and plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Tangy and flavorful, and great with meats or fish.

Grilled and ready to Slice

Pan Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

Steak and Potatoes with Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde
Ingredients:
1 bunch Fresh Italian parsley
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup capers, drained
Juice from 1 lemon
Fresh Cracked Pepper
1 cup extra vireo olive oil

Method:
1. Blend all ingredients till smooth.

Note: Salt is not necessary because of the salty brined capers.

Stove Top Grilling

Nothing compares to cooking over a open fire, the intense heat and smoke that imparts flavor while giving food beautiful color. Sometimes its just not going to happen so a good alternative is using a cast iron grill pan on top of the stove. Tonight I cooked big meaty pork chops in my grill pan and they turned out really nice for indoor grilling. The secret is to preheat the pan till its almost smoking then cook the meat with a good exhaust fan on. The thick iron pan does a good job of holding the heat and giving a good sear. I can't wait to cook more.

First of Spring Asparagus

Nothing says Spring like the first arrival of asparagus in markets and in your garden if you are lucky to grow them. My small crop was planted a few years ago and now produce enough nice large stalks to eat every few days. My idea for todays harvest is a very simple omelet using some local rainbow eggs given to me. The asparagus were cleaned and sliced then lightly sautéed in a dash of good butter, the eggs were beaten and cooked in a non stick sauté pan to which the asparagus were added, folded over and its done. Perfect and next time maybe a slice of cheese but today its just fine.

Two days out of the Ground

Fresh Harvested Stalks

Sautéed
 in Butter and Herbs

Simple and Perfect

Braised Pork Tamales

With the weather getting warmer I am spending more and more time on my boat. Today I decided on Mexican pork Tamales served with a cold beer, a perfect plan. The Tamales are Made by slow braising pork butt and dried chili peppers till it is fall apart tender, the cooked and shredded pork is added to a spoonful of corn masa dough which are then enclosed in fresh banana leafs. The little bundles are then steamed for about an hour and then they ready to eat. I served them with a tomatillo-green chili salsa and avocado. They were perfect eaten on the boat while watching the warm sun set. Note: tamales are a perfect food that can be made far in advance and reheated when ready to eat and available now in well stocked markets.

Tamales Steaming

Banana Leaf Wrapped Pork Tamales

Sailing back to Port while the Tamales Steam

Latin Inspired Weekend Breakfast

My standard go-to breakfast on weekends is a pan of assorted meats and vegetables cooked and topped with a perfectly poached egg. Today I used some Latin ingredients in my breakfast hash, roasted Pasilla Peppers, Cojita Cheese, red beans, cilantro and avocado along with Fingerling Potatoes and Niman Ranch bacon. A good breakfast finished with a splash of my homemade Habanero Hot Sauce and I am ready to start the day.

Ingredients Cooking in the Pan

Latin "Hash" Waiting for the Hot Sauce