Monday, July 21, 2008

Not your average omelette...

I managed to make quite a mess in the kitchen today... and the food processor certainly got a workout! I needed to get a couple batches of Jeff's favorite Chicken Breakfast Sausage, so I got that out of the way first. These sausages freeze so well and reheat in a flash when he needs to have a quick breakfast.

Then, I had to whiz up some homemade peanut butter (having a second bowl for the food processor comes in quite handy for days like this!) so I could get around to making yet another batch of the Peanut Butter Granola we seem to go through too quickly!

Now after all that, I still had to get dinner goin'! Since I had planned on getting all this done, I already knew this Supper Sesame Rice Omelette I picked out would be a good fit today since a lot of the time required was off-hands, waiting on the brown rice to cook!

You don't have to do this, but I used a mixture of vegetable broth and water to give the grains a little extra boost as they absorbed the cooking liquid - you could use all water though if you wanted too. A few minutes before the rice was done, I started softening a sweet red bell pepper, couple green onions and a shredded zucchini a friend gave us. When the rice was ready and still pipping hot, we tossed in a couple tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds and drizzled it with pungent sesame oil. The sesame flavored rice is then tossed into the skillet of vegetables, quickly followed by a combination of eggs, salty soy sauce and fresh ground black pepper. Stir it to combine for just 30 seconds, then leave it be so the eggs can almost set and form a golden crust on the bottom. The eggs won't be completely set, but they will finishing cooking as you blast the skillet under the broiler long enough to brown the top.

There are just enough eggs added to hold the rice together, yet not so many that it feels like fluffy frittata. Because there was quite a large amount of rice, I thought it might be a touch on the bland side, but the flavor from the sesame seeds and rich oil took very good care of that. The slices were thick, substantial and I loved how the zucchini blended into with the rice... and yes, I even had to play the "do you know what you just ate?" game with Jeff after the pieces vanished from his plate. He was a little grumpy that he ate zucchini as he claims he only likes it in cake or bread form, but I think he has finally come to the conclusion that nothing is safe from vegetables anymore! Hee hee!

6 comments:

  1. Hi, Joe. I have had that Peanut Butter Granola recipe in my "to try" recipe folder since you first posted about it last year. I need to make it soon because it looks so yummy (and I'm pretty sure it would be delicious mixed into a basic cookie dough to make cookies, too). It looks like a great edible Christmas gift to give to friends and neighbors this year, too.

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  2. homemade peanut butter. you are SOOOO cool!

    reminds me of growing up, my mom would go to make us kids a sandwich and she'd find we were out of white bread, and instead of a quick trip to the grocery store, she'd just say "ah well, i'll just bake a fresh loaf of white bread right now." of course, our sandwiches came hours later, but the point is, my mom lovedddd making staple ingredients from scratch. your blog is a lot of fun!!

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  3. I used to make homemade peanut butter when my son was little...nothing but the best - even shelled the peanuts myself!

    That "omelette" looks fantastic. I love the incorporation of whole grains and veggies. A perfect meal!

    Your blog is amazing and I look forward to visiting each day.

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  4. I must have missed the original PB granola post because I'd love to try a version of granola like that. Have you ever made it with any other nut butters, say almond butter?

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  5. I also just got a zucchini as a gift from a friend!! I'm trying to figure out the different things I can make with it and this omelette looks like a good one!
    I love spending the day in the kitchen whipping out dishes... the only bad part is the cleanup at the end :(

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  6. Mindy - Oh! Mixed into cookies... I will have to try that out sometime!

    Marni - Cool story! Thanks!

    Gigi - Thanks for checkin' the blog out!

    Nerissa - I've made it with Cashew butter, but haven't tried almond yet. Next time I make a batch of almond butter I'll remember to save it and try it here.

    Antonio - Yeah, the mess is certainly not the fun part. However, I don't mind doing the dishes at all... it is weirdly relaxing for me.

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