EGGS: 5 days of breakfast

Eggs are a most versatile fruit. We love them here in the storms jungle and eat them at least five days a week. Breakfast is pretty much the only meal the mister and I consistently get to eat together, so I try to make it a nice big hot one, then we eat light the rest of the day.

Besides! Duke Ellington says breakfast is your "foundation meal" and do you know what he has every morning? Steak, baked potato, and a steaming mug of hot water. He's the DUKE. We should heed him.

I decided to do a post on five egg variations I've done in the last week or so, because they look pretty, are surprisingly easy to prepare and may inspire you to stop buying tacos at the gas station. Stop it.

Plate 1: This is just a giant omelette cut in twain. Filling is sauteed beef bacon, mushrooms, fresh garlic, and spinach. Use a giant non-stick skillet and fold carefully, top with sliced avocado, salvadorian crema (fancy sour cream from the ethnic market), chili-salt and love. Red pears on the side.

Plate 2: French toast sandwich! Dip fresh bread in egg and milk mixture (I like to get uncut loaves so I can make 'em thick) and pan fry with a bit of coconut oil. Spread with mascarpone (italian sweet cream cheese) and honey, then top with turkey bacon, over easy eggs and pepper. Eat with a fork, blueberries on the side.

Plate 3: Bison scramble. The end cuts of deli meats are super cheap and have tons of spices. I like to chop them up and use them as ingredients, rather than in a dumb sandwich. Saute bison bits in olive oil with fresh garlic and a couple shakes of habanero sauce, then pour an egg and milk mixture on top and cook (don't stir) until firm, flipping once. Top with mozzarella slices while still in the pan and serve with green grapes.

Plate 4: Chorizo taco hash! I buy hash brown patties in bulk and just use a couple at a time. Cook half a tube of turkey chorizo over low heat with about three potato patties and half an onion until well browned. Set aside while warming a can of pinto beans and steaming a few corn tortillas (tortilla warmers found cheap at FiestaMart, great in the microwave with a damp towel). Top the hash with cilantro, a few drops of habanero sauce and a couple of sunny side up eggs with the beans on the side and a drizzle of crema. Sliced bananas break up the saltiness well and give a cuban flair to your tacos.

Plate 5: Shayla's mexican pile. This one is my specialty. I make a super quick sauce using my immersion blender. One fresh jalapeno, a clove of garlic, salt, can of tomatillos (green tomatoes for my midwestern readers), and a handful of fresh cilantro. Green delicious. Serve a couple of over easy eggs on top of black beans and top with liberal amounts of green sauce. Wrap it up in warm corn tortillas with grapefruit on the side. Very fresh and almost healthy if you don't mind a bit of cholesterol.

That's my egg sermon for you. Always serve with coffee and loved ones. And remember kids, everything is better with butter. Happy breakfasting!