how to eat like a bird

a soft-boiled egg with pine nut sauce

For a long time, my breakfast of choice was a nice, cold can of very crisp Coke. I've altered that a bit with choices ranging from fizzy Kombucha to eight cups of mellow green tea to iced coffee spiked with sugar and milk. But the methodology has remained the same, in that I stick to beverages that can double as a drug. I am not interested in solids before noon and it's hard to fit in breakfast when I wake up 20 minutes before needing to be somewhere. Like, say, it is the weekend and I am to meet a friend at 4pm, I will wake up at 3:40.

But I am trying to change that as apparently, eating breakfast is the most important thing you can do, next to exercising, to maintain a healthy weight. And apparently all the CEOs in New York are up and about early--by 6am, having already done with their run around the reservoir. I think I read this in 1999, so you see how I am on top of things.

I tried to make this dish for two weeks. I was attracted to its simplicity in terms of both time and ingredients list, and while something with anchovy paste might be a turn-off for breakfast, I think a bit of fish paste, nuts and eggs are a fine way to begin the day--all that protein! And many Asian cultures have a savory breakfast with a bit of fish and rice to start the day, or even just some miso soup.

But this recipe, even with just five ingredients, takes a little bit of planning, as you have to soak the pine nuts the night before, and then you have to pull out your spice grinder (or mini-food processor or mortar and pestle or bag and hammer) to grind the nuts. A soft-boiled egg only takes three to four minutes, but the water has to come to a boil--it was all too much for me to take in the morning. After two weeks and half a cup of wasted pine nuts, I gave up on this for breakfast and made it for the simplest of suppers.

You shouldn't make this if you detest anchovies or never use pine nuts (not worth the cost for a simple dish meant to be made impromptu with staple items). Do make it if you love salty-pungent dishes like a good bagna cauda or a midnight repast of eggs. Over asparagus or with a side of toast, this would be a complete meal. The pine nut sauce (or paste, as it turned out) lasts all week and I had plenty leftover, so afterwards a quick breakfast is actually possible.

I think the recipe as posted here on the Splendid Table web site is off. I cut it in half, but even 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste seem way too much, as that would be seemingly half a tube. And the amount of honey seems miniscule. So I just adapted it to taste, and you should, too. This wimpy base should be a safe starting point. 

Adapted from Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome by Patrick Faas

Soft-boiled eggs with pine nut sauce

• up to 4 eggs
• half a cup of pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste or garum
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• black pepper to taste

Soak the pine nuts in water overnight or for a few hours. Grind them and mix with the honey, anchovy paste or garum, and black pepper. Heat in a double-boiler (or bowl over pot of boiling water). Meanwhile, soft boil the eggs. (Place eggs in a pot of cold water and cook for 4 minutes after the water has come to a boil.) Immerse eggs in cold water before peeling them. Serve with the sauce.   

a breakfast taco with tomatillo salsa

I rarely get excited over breakfast, but eggs are something I can eat any time of the day. This is my take on the breakfast burritos my sister procures for us whenever I visit her in Orange County. I don't know where she goes to get them (because I like to sleep in), but my first image upon awakening in California is one of her entering through the front door in pastel leisure-sweats with her jumble of keys, oversized handbag, and a sack containing two warm, foil-wrapped cylinders of soft, scrambled egg with extra sides of guacamole and salsa verde. It's how I know she's glad to see me. (That would be Day 1.) 

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

This is a quick, tangy salsa that doesn't require roasting. Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. Makes about 1 cup.

• 4 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and quartered
• 1 large garlic clove
• 2 serrano chilies or 1 jalapeño, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender with 1/4 cup of water.

Breakfast Taco

Heat the fresh tomatillo salsa in a small pan for a minute or two until color deepens. Heat a corn tortilla in a toaster oven or in the same pan you're using to scramble the eggs. (I used to use flour, as pictured, but corn is a healthier choice and now I like the taste and texture better than that of a flour tortilla.)

Scramble 2 eggs in a nonstick pan with some oil. For moist, tender curds, cook eggs slowly over low heat. Throw in a couple tablespoons of the tomatillo salsa and mix into eggs. Salt to taste. Place eggs on tortilla and garnish with more salsa, red onion, and cilantro.