A Beautfiul Breakfast is a Healthy Breakfast

Start your breakfast with a beautiful plate of healthy goodies.

As you may know, I'm a big fan of the morning masterpiece. Waking up and making something extra-special to get your day started. I love to take this opportunity to wake up my senses in the morning in every way. If you're looking for healthy breakfast ideas, this is a great start.

All it takes is a mix of textures, colors, flavors and a little bit of imagination. I like to start with a white plate. It's like a blank canvas for me. I then make some healthy breakfast choices. Raw food makes gorgeous ingredients for your artistic palette as well as your taste palette. I usually like to start with yogurt as a foundation to build upon. Jams, jellies and squirts of juice add great bursts of texture to the plate. Large pieces of fruit make a great anchor visually and I often I like to stud it with honey comb. Honey makes a great drizzle texture. Granola and nuts add crunch and variety to the plate. I like to choose from colorful and exotic fruits and often edible flowers from my garden to complete my composition. Consider adding cheeses, meats, dried fruit or anything you desire.

Breakfast in my courtyard

Don't be afraid to play with your food! Have a great time. It's also a wonderful activity to do together with your kids. You can make a healthy breakfast for kids, they will think they are making art and the will love eating their magnificent morning creations. Provecho!

Fruit Freak: Meyer Lemon

Citrus is among my favorite fruits. Well, I am a fruit freak, so I love all fruits near equally. However in the lemon universe there is one lemon that is galaxies beyond the others, the Meyer Lemon. It's sweetness overcomes the acidity of other varieties of lemons. It's soft skin is an intense hue of yellow and very fragrant. The Meyer Lemon is a cross between a regular lemon and an orange (possibly a mandarin variety).

It's delicious over chicken or fish. I also use it often with my vegetables.

Meyer Lemons, California

Fruit Freak: Longan

Longan Fruit

While at the Farmers' Market this week, I stumbled across this fruit I was unfamiliar with. It's the longan. It's a relative of the lychee but listed as "near threatened". I decided I'm going to save the seeds and try to grow a tree, though they will not likely be true to seed. This means, I won't necessarily get the same tree exactly that these came from. This is why fruit trees are usually grafted.

Once peeled, you can see why they call it "Dragon's Eye"

Like it's relative the lychee, they are both in the soapberry family. The shell of this fruit is soft and leathery. The flesh is translucent white and slightly gelatinous in texture. You can see the black pit at the center through the translucent flesh. This is why the Chinese often referred to this fruit as the "Dragon Eye". The longan has a dry sweetness and a very subtle taste like a bland, white grape. It's not as sour or juicy as the lychee, but just as refreshing on a hot day.

Recipe: White Sapote Oat Porridge

I've always loved oats. But growing up, I only ate them one of two ways - cooked up hot with butter, brown sugar or whatever I was desiring that day - and the other way was in an oatmeal cookie. I never thought of eating oats cold until I tried soaked oats by Zen Monkey. It's a blend of yogurt, soaked oats and fruit available in the yogurt section of Whole Foods. The apple flavor was delicious. So I did some research and recreated the recipe at home in a mason jar. This cold oat porridge has become one of my favorite go-to breakfast recipes. You can make it quickly at night before you go to bed and in the morning you have a delicious and healthy breakfast to get you going.

I will be posting a more traditional Apple Oat Porridge recipe soon, but for now here's one made with an exotic fruit. Learn more about White Sapote.


WHITE SAPOTE OAT PORRIDGE RECIPE

Ingredients for White Sapote Oat Porridge

Ingredients:
2 Small White Sapote Fruits (diced small)
1 Cup Instant Oats (I recommend Quaker Oats)
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
1/2 Cup Apple Juice (you may need to add more depending on the consistency of yogurt and the consistency you prefer for your porridge)
1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Squeeze of Lemon

Combine ingredients in mason jar.

Method:
Combine Yogurt, Apple Juice, Vanilla Extract in Mason Jar. Stir until smooth. Stir in Oats then stir in White Sapote Fruit. Add a pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon to taste. If you feel it's too thick add a little more juice or water. Put the lid on the jar and give it a shake. Let sit overnight in refrigerator. Oats will swell up up with flavor. The mason jar makes it convenient to take out a serving or take it on the go. Keeps up to 5 days in refrigerator.

You can always substitute Apples for the White Sapote. You can omit the coconut and vanilla and add cinnamon or nutmeg instead. I like to try other little additives too. You can add things like raisins, dried cranberries, other dried fruits, slice almonds, chopped walnuts or chia seeds.

Refrigerate oat porridge overnight in mason jar.

Fruit: White Sapote

White Sapote Fruit, California

I picked up a variety of fruits this afternoon at the Silver Lake Farmers' Market. One interesting fruit was the white sapote. White sapote is a drupe fruit with a very thin, delicate skin that can be scratched off with your finger. Inside the fruit is a soft creamy flesh with a taste that is slightly like a pear and pineapple. The flesh usually contains four pits (seeds) that easily separate from the flesh. When ripe the fruit is soft like an avocado when ripe. These fruit are relatively small - about 2inches in diameter. Wikipedia claims the skin is inedible, but I eat it. It's slightly more tart and tangy than the flesh. Eating much of this fruit can make you feel drowsy. The aztec word for the white sapote was "cochitzapotl" - meaning "sleep sapote".

Watermelon Kicks

Watermelon Shoes for Kids by Vans

If I had a little kid, I would so let them rock these watermelon shoes. These awesome shoes for kids are made by Vans and available at Undefeated shoe store in Silver Lake (Los Angeles).

Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. Thankfully in most parts of California, we can enjoy locally grown strawberries year round. Here are some berries from the Silver Lake Farmers' Market today... Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries.

Fruit in Colombia: Granadilla, "How do I eat this?"

Granadilla for Breakfast

"How do I eat this?" was the first thing I said when I was served Granadilla for breakfast at Hacienda Guayabal outside Chinchina, Colombia. There it was sitting among a plate of sliced up papaya, cracked open and filled with black seeds and what appeared to be snot. It was similar looking to passion fruit, but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. My friend told me to just eat everything inside the shell. I picked up the light weight shell which was shiny and smooth. It was orange in color with speckles. The inside was filled with crunchy seed that looked like black sunflower seeds individually wrapped in tiny semi-translucent gelatinous packets.

Granadilla for sale at the market

The hard orange speckled shell of the granadilla

Inside the granadilla you'll find seeds in individual packets of jelly like fruit

The seeds of the granadilla provide a crunchy complimentary texture

 I held the shell like a little cup and used a spoon to scoop out spoonfuls of seeds into my mouth. First you get the sweet, slightly tart and floral flavor of the fruit from the flesh around the seed. Then as you bite, you get this amazing crunch which is the ultimate counter texture. After hollowing out the shell, there was this strangely beautiful skeleton left inside the shell that almost resemble coral formations. I tried granadilla as whole fruit and it also made wonderfully delicious juice.

The coral-like empty shell of the granadilla

Fruit in Colombia: Plantains & Bananas

Bananas for sale at local market in Colombia

Plantains and bananas play an important role as fruit in Colombia. Yes, they are different. Plantains or Platanos as they call them in Colombia are much bigger than bananas. Bananas are smaller and sweeter. Plantains are bigger and are used both green (unripened) and yellow. When they are used green in their unripe state, they are firmer and have a more bitter taste. If they are yellow to brown, they are ripe and have a much sweeter flavor.

Bananas growing at Hacienda Guayabal outside of Chinchina, Colombia

Green plantains for sale

When I was in Armenia, Colombia, we were walking to the park one morning and came across this guy selling grilled plantains. As I walked by I could smell the sweet roasted smell and had to turn around to get one. I was so glad I did. They guy cut the the warm plantain down the middle and smothered it in butter. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten. The sweet taste of plantain in melted butter was like a dessert party in my mouth.  Definitely one of my favorite street foods in Colombia.

Preparing my Platano on streets of Armenia, Colombia

Grilled plantain, best ever.

Charred and sweetened to perfection

Grilled sweet plantain smothered in butter. Delicious!

When I was in Barranquilla, I was first introduced to Plantain chips on the streets. They are thinly sliced plantains fried to a crisp chip. They are slightly sweet and totally delicious and addicting. They were a frequent snack on the streets of Colombia.

Plantain chips on sale at the Barranquilla Carnaval Parade

Plantain chips at the Carnaval Parade... just waiting to be eaten.

Yum! Plantain chips, a delicious snack in Colombia

Green plantains are a staple of the Colombian diet, especially along the Caribbean coast where they are used to make Patacones. I even had one stuffed with chicken. The green plantains are less sweet and very firm. So firm that they used a double cooking technique to make them easier to eat. 

One day on the Island of Barú on Playa Blanca off the shore of Cartagena, we met a woman named Maria. This is your introduction to her, as I will be blogging about her more soon. Maria made us an amazing feast on the beach. She made us some fresh fish and fresh homemade patacones on the the beach. We enjoyed her delicious meal on the white sands looking out at the turquoise waters.

Green plantains, whole in the peel

Sliced green plantains ready to be cooked

First, slices of green plantains are fried in oil

Then the cooked slices are pressed flat in a hand press to form a patty

Maria fries the green plantains a second time

Maria prepares the fried fish and patacones for us to eat on the beach

Patacones (fried green plantains) served with fish

Fruit Loop - Crazy fruits of Colombia

Fruit in Colombia: Tomate de Arbol, Pitahaya, Lulo, Granadilla, Maracuya, Curuba, Feijoa

One of my favorite things to eats is fruit. Since I was a kid, I've loved fruit. Strawberry, watermelon, nectarines and citrus being among some of my favorites. Occasionally in California we get to see some tropical fruits like dragon fruit or plantains. But on my recent trip to Colombia, I was thrown for a loop. I encountered fruits I've never seen or imagined. At one breakfast, I found myself asking, "How do I eat this?".

Buying fresh fruit at the market in the plaza

Most of all thought the strange textures, bright flavors and exotic looks of the fruits of Colombia inspired me. Fruit is widely available on street corners at small stands throughout Colombia in cities and small villages. It's common to buy fruit on the streets from a cart or a freshly squeezed orange juice. Better yet, a freshly made juice from Lulo or Zapote will really make your mouth happy. Fresh fruit juice on the streets of Colombia became one of my favorite indulgences. Though everyone says to avoid fruit and juice on the streets, I ingested both daily without any problems. Just be wise and trusting of the person you buy from. If you're buying juice make sure it is made with bottled water or milk. Bagged water or milk is okay too... It sounds strange to us, but the often use bagged water. It helps cut down on cost and waste.

Fruit sold on the streets of Barranquilla

PLANTAINS & BANANAS

GRANADILLA

I'm back!

It's been nearly a month since I've shared anything with you. That's because I've had a month long journey through Colombia and now I have alot to share with you. I'll be posting all the delicious meals I've experienced in South America. Some of the best street food I've ever had - fried to perfection; Refreshing fruits along the Caribbean Coast and strange fruits made into wonderful natural juices; Amazing restaurants with dirt floors on the beach, culinary delights recommended by Anthony Bourdain, and home cooked meals at my friend's mom's restaurant in Bogotá.

Man selling fruit on village street in Colombia

I'll be posting all week, so check back everyday for new discoveries from Colombia. Also follow me on Facebook for more details and photos.

Recipe: Poached Pear

Pears are one of my favorite fruits. I tend to overbuy at the farmer's market. So I like to switch it up - it's especially good to use these before they start to get too soft, but might be firm any more.

Poached Pear

I don't have a recipe, just a method.

1. LIQUID
You need some liquid to simmer the pear in. I fill a small sauce pan with water a juice of a lemon or lime. You can also use, white wine, cranberry juice, apple juice or orange juice.

2. SPICES
Add some spice. You can use a combination of anything aromatic and makes you think of the holidays. I like to use vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. I add just a pinch of salt too.

3. SIMMER
Peel your pear with a peeler. Keep stem intact. Simmer pear for 15-20 minutes until tender. Remove and let cool for several minutes.

4. SYRUP
Meanwhile make a syrup to top it. You can use any kind of juice. I like to do 1 part juice,  1 part sugar  - maybe a splash of gran marnier, whisky, scotch or rum. Simmer and reduce to half amount.

5. SERVE IT UP
Once the pear is cool, cut it in half. Cut into slices about 1/4" thick. Place in shallow dish. Pour syrup over top. Add a crunchy topping. I used coconut cookies in this case. Things like chopped nuts and cereal would work just as well.

Enjoy!

Color: Pink

Dragon Fruit, Silvelake Farmers' Market

The color of the Dragonfruit is rich and vivid. The flesh inside is a blend of bright pink, fuchsia and megenta peppered with black speckles. The skin has a pink tone that turns a yellow-green at the edge of it's scales. This Dragonfruit is from the Farmers' Market in Silverlake, Los Angeles, California.

Holding Buddha's Hand

I was at Jimi's last night. He reached below the counter to grab something and said "Check this out this lemon". He tossed on the counter what appeared to be a mutated lemon. It was yellow like a lemon, a the top wear the stem was looked like a lemon, but the other tip of the fruit was bizzare. It had many small fingers that grew concentric and appeared to be a cross between a flower and a squid. I imagined it coming to life and the fingers moving like tentacles and the center closing like the mouth of a sea anemone. Then I quickly remembered reading about it and blurted out, "I think it's a Buddha's Hand". He had no idea what I was talking about and I wasn't sure I did either, so I googled it on my iPhone. Sure enough Wikipedia confirmed my information.

Indeed this fruit was known as a Buddha's Hand. It is also known as the Fingered Citron and in Japan, bushukan. Supposedly it has very little flesh inside. It is very fragrant and the peel can be used for citrus zest.

Baby Asian Pear

Baby Asian Pear

I ate ate a baby Asian Pear my friend Kimmy gave me grown from a friend's tree. It was so small, but so tasty. Sweet. Crunchy. Refreshing.