It's Sunday In My Heart and In My Stomach

Happy Monday, LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

I swear weekends go by in the blink of an eye.  One second it is Friday afternoon and next second it is Monday morning.  Although I had a very fun weekend, I would have liked it to last LONGER!

I have a giant file of recipes I have seen online that I would like to try one day.  The file is so big I could probably make a new recipe every day for several years.  My cooking intentions are always broader than my cooking reality.  

However today, a recipe that I had printed out months ago popped up on a Facebook feed.  A breakfast tart with baked eggs, bacon and cheese on a grain-free almond crust from Danielle Walker's Against All Grain website.  (The website calls it "Breakfast Pizza with Gruyere, Baked Eggs and Bacon" but I figure anything where I use my tart pan is a tart not a pizza.  LOL!)  

I looked at the ingredient list and I was surprised that I had almost everything on the list.  This NEVER happens.  A typical day in my life is "Ooooh I could make a BLT sandwich - except I don't have bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise or bread."  

But today was not a typical day - I even had FRESH CHIVES in my refrigerator.  It is rare I have fresh anything in my fridge as I eat out a ridiculous amount.  I decided this was the universe's way of saying that even though it was Monday, I should brunch like it's still Sunday.

The recipe for the breakfast tart (a.k.a. Pizza) is here, but I wanted to discuss some modifications that I made.  The grain free crust uses blanched almond flour, salt, egg, melted butter, cold water and chopped chives.  I had almond flour but it was not blanched - so my crust was more mottled in color.  It tastes great to me either way.  I also used smoked salt, but less than the recipe called for.  Instead of melted regular butter, I used melted grass-fed garlic and herb Kerrygold butter to add additional flavor.  I also tripled the chopped chives.  I find almond flour crusts to be a little bland so adding extra herbs really brought a lot of great flavor to the crust.

The almond crust before baking 

For the tart filling, it called for 1/4 c. creme fraiche or Greek yogurt.  I used 1/3 cup - 1/2 sour cream and 1/2 Greek yogurt to add a more savory tang.  If I were living in France, I might have creme fraiche in my fridge on a regular basis.  However here in Tampa, most of my local stores do not carry it.  

I also did not have 1/4 c. shredded Gruyere cheese.  Had I had Gruyere cheese, I would have also added some nutmeg to the filling as I find that is a great Swiss flavor combination.  However, I didn't have any Gruyere cheese (did you really think I would?)  

Instead I used 1/3 c. rough chopped Kerrygold Dubliner Cheddar cheese and added both cracked black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 garlic cloves minced and 1/4 of a small red onion, diced.  I loved the crunch of the red onion in this breakfast tart.  I like really savory flavor profiles.

The cheese filling before baking

The recipe called for 7 strips of cooked bacon to be put on top of the cheese layer.  However my tart pan could only handle 6 slices.  What a crime!

And the result?  A fabulous breakfast tart that looks impressive.  It was incredibly easy to make but looks like it was difficult.  I love recipes like that!  I will definitely make this recipe again, but next time I will rough chop the bacon instead of just laying the strips on the tart.  It was harder to cut into wedges because of it.  Also the tart is supposed to serve 6 but only 4 eggs are used.  If I was making this for a brunch, I'd crack in 2 more eggs so every serving would have a full egg on it.

I made sure to cook the tart for a few extra minutes because while I love a runny yolk, I don't like a runny egg white.  But otherwise this was SO DELICIOUS!  And grain free!  I definitely recommend checking out this recipe from Danielle Walker.  Any day can be like a Sunday brunch with this delightful dish!

Five Hundred Thank Yous and a Raspberry Beret

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

It seems like a million lifetimes since I have last written.  There are two reasons for my lack of blogging - 1) I have been living life robustly with great vigor and enjoying every moment of it.  Instead of writing, I have been using Instagram (@LilyOnTheLam).  Picture is worth a thousand words, perhaps?  Lazy, I know! 

And 2) the second reason it has been MONTHS since I have written is because I had finished 499 blog posts and felt like the 500th blog post should be something "super colossal."  Like Elaine on "Seinfeld" determining if a prospective suitor was "sponge-worthy," I held up all my adventures under the magnifying glass of "Is this 500th blog post worthy?"  And it always seemed to be lacking ... but mostly that was probably procrastination and laziness talking.

But this afternoon, I was taking a break from work and I saw an article on PageSix.com speculating that the musician, actor, producer, artist Prince had died.  Growing up in Minnesota during Prince's rise to fame, meant that I hold a very special place in my heart for the talented musician.

The day before New Year's Eve 2015, I checked in to a Miami hotel.  I was on my way to ring in the New Year in Key West, Florida but I was exhausted from my drive and decided to spend New Year's Eve's Eve in Miami and make the rest of the drive down to the Keys in the morning.  I turned on the TV and "Purple Rain" was playing.  I texted a friend who is an ardent Prince fan and said "I can't think of a better way to close out 2015 than watching `Purple Rain.'"  And I meant it.  

My sister sent me a video of the crowd in front of First Avenue in Minneapolis this evening.  People mourning, slightly swaying as "Raspberry Beret" plays on speakers.  The song is bubbly and effervescent but the hearts of the people standing on the sidewalk seem to feel hollow and empty.  Hearing the song on the video reminded me of a long ago memory.  When my sister was seven years old, I took her to Sea World in San Diego, CA (no haters, please - this was a long time ago.  Yes, everyone should see "Blackfish.")  

Now if you know me well, you know that I love a good gift shop.  Sea World did not disappoint.  They had a literal wall of stuffed animals.  My sister went running toward a wall of stuffed seals.  I shouted "Just one!  You can only get one!"  My sister happily selected one seal from what seemed like hundreds.  In the car on the drive back to Los Angeles, we were listening to Prince's song "Raspberry Beret" and my 7 year old sister decided to name her new stuffed seal "Mary Beret" in tribute.  I can still picture her sitting in the back seat of a rental car making the stuffed seal dance to Prince's light-hearted song.

Thinking about this moment reminded me of another memory with a Prince soundtrack.  I was visiting a friend at Hamline University.  He was a major Prince fan, so of course Prince was playing non-stop in the background.  I was in college - although I don't remember what year.  I was very scared for my future.  I think I might not have picked my major yet.  I just remember thinking that life was this giant avalanche sweeping me along into a black abyss and I was helpless to stop it.  

Instead of being hopeful for all the potential opportunities that my future might bring me, I was absolutely scared.  My friend and I listened to so many Prince songs that day as we talked about our hopes for the future.  I remember when Prince first became mainstream famous, I was so proud.  Somebody from Minnesota was internationally famous!  If Prince could rise up from nothing, surely there was hope for the rest of young Minnesotans too.  

But on this particular day, with Prince songs hypnotically streaming; I was feeling more scared than hopeful.  I wish I could go back to that younger me and say "Don't worry so much!  Everything is going to be just fine.  Sit back and enjoy the journey - don't get so caught up about the destination."

I have so many memories that revolve around Prince songs.  Quentin Tarantino once opined that in your heart you are either a Beatles fan or an Elvis fan - you can appreciate both but one speaks to you more than the other.  I think the same can be said for Michael Jackson and Prince.  You may appreciate both, but in your heart you know which one you hold more dear.  When Michael Jackson died, I was sad for many reasons.  But when I learned Prince died, I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart.

Prince accomplished so much in 57 years, but I am greedy.  I want more years.  I want to wake up tomorrow and hear that this has been some elaborate hoax.  Denial is real.  However as Prince said: "Life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last."

So for this my 500th blog post, I wanted to give 500 thank you's to Prince - for being an inspiration on so many levels.  Growing up in Minnesota, Prince was like pure energy and pure magic to me.  Even in death, he has inspired me that I should be strong, enjoy the moment and not give in to fear.

I end with another Prince quote:

"There are no accidents. And if there are, it's up to us to look at them as something else. And that bravery is what creates new flowers."

Be brave.  Thank you, Prince Rogers Nelson ... for everything.