Salmon Hash

The refrigerator was packed full of raw ingredients that remained from recently prepared meals. But what looked good for breakfast? Red potatoes, bell peppers and salmon - this sounded like a great opportunity to make some down-home style hash.

Ingredients (per serving)

3-4 oz. fresh salmon, diced

1 medium red potato, diced

1/4 c. bell peppers, diced

salt

black pepper

extra-virgin olive oil

seasoning (optional)

Method

Boil diced potatoes 10-12 minutes, until almost tender, then drain. In a skillet, add a bit of oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, cook for 2-3 minute, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced salmon, and season with salt, black pepper, and other optional seasoning - cook until salmon is fully done and potatoes begin to brown. Serve with an egg prepared any style.

A bit of extra seasoning of your choice can any hash more unique - this batch included a dash of spicy cumin-based seasoning.

S.O.S.

Some call it S.O.S. (sh*t on shingles), and to others it is creamed beef on toast. This dish is completely inspired from the old Navy cook at a small local diner in Bucksport, Maine.

Lately I've been creating breakfast dishes that I grew up with in Maine. This is just one installment in the Maine Breakfast series. This plate represents the goodness from a savory, warm, hearty homestyle meal.

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tbsp. wondra (or flour)
2 slices toast - "well done"
salt - to taste - quite a bit
pepper - to taste - quite a bit
2 pinches thyme

dash nutmeg

dash ginger

1/4 C. frozen Quorn grounds (meatless grounds)

(Optional)

1 super egg (1 egg + 1 egg white)

Method

If you opt in for the super egg, crack one whole egg (omega-3 if you got 'em) and one egg white into a dish. Prepare it fried-style as you prepare the gravy.

Slice prepared toast diagonally and tile the slices on your plate. A crunchy, light wheat toast is perfect for this meal. Prepare the gravy by mixing the milk, Wondra, salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg, and ginger in a sauce pan, continuously stirring over medium heat until it just starts to thicken then boil. Lower the heat and add the grounds, stir until heated and to desired consistency.

Pour immediately over toast and serve hot (*never wait, the toast will absorb the moisture and cool down quickly). Serve with a glass of water and hot cup of coffee.

Notes

This might be the first recipe I've mentioned Quorn grounds - they are unbeatable. I use them exclusively in any recipe that benefits from ground meat (taco salads, burritos, SOS, spaghetti, nachos, etc.). This is one item that if my local grocer did not carry them, I would probably request that they do.

Enjoy,

Craig Dugas

Hard-Boiled Egg

It seems like everywhere you look on the Web, people make hard-boiled eggs out to be an amazingly difficult food to prepare. What's up with that? I even read a method that suggests sacrificing one of the eggs to test for done-ness. Here's the method I use that's both quick and efficient.



Pick 3-12 eggs to fit in the bottom of your saucepan. Pour cold water over the eggs, covering by 1/2" to 1". Bring the water to a rolling boil and immediately remove the pan from heat. Set a timer for 13 minutes (large eggs). At 13 minutes, pour out the hot water while running the coldest water from the faucet into the pan to replace the hot water.



If your faucet does not provide cold (cold!) water, you might need to prepare a large bowl with water and ice, to cool the eggs rapidly. This helps to avoid any greening of the yolks.



This should provide many, many tasty hard-boiled eggs for your enjoyment.