Fall Fest 2010: Spinach Egg Breakfast Cups

And just like that, in the mere blink of an eye, we are done with Summer.  It seems only fitting that our weekly Summerfest extravaganza ends today, the last official day of summer.  When I saw this week’s special ingredient was spinach, I was psyched.  Spinach and I are likethis.  Very unlike my fickle affair with stone fruit, spinach and I get together on a regular basis.

How about a nutritious breakfast that you can make in about two minutes?  That is another thing that is totally up my alley, because with getting all three of us ready and out the door every morning, my breakfast is usually something that takes low priority.  Don’t get me wrong, I have breakfast every day, but it’s usually super simple, low fuss type stuff (oatmeal, fresh fruit, yogurt, egg white omelet).  Then the idea for these breakfast cups came along.  A perfect little cup of goodness to break up the monotony of my usual breakfast suspects.

As for the recipe?  It’s barely a recipe at all.  Assemble two ingredients, layer it and microwave.  Top with cheese and salsa.  Eat. Details below, but it really is that simple, and that’s just the way my day needs to start.  As uncomplicated as possible.

Now to see what the rest of my Fellow Fall Festers are doing with my favorite green leafy vegetable… (a few of the links will go live tomorrow, so don’t despair if they appear dead at first click)

Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Mixed Mushroom Ragout with Herb-Polenta Cake
Gilded Fork: Spicy Artichoke Spinach Dip, and a Dossier on Spinach
Nicole at Pinch My Salt: Spinach and Sausage Soup
Caroline at the Wright Recipes: Spinach Rotolo, a rolled ricotta and pasta extravaganza
Alison at Food2: Spinach Artichoke Dip
Michelle at Cooking Channel: Paneer With Spinach
Kirsten at FN Dish: Everyday Spinach Dishes with Giada
Liz at Healthy Eats: Mini Spinach-Mushroom Quiche
Food Network UK: Eggs florentine, brunch of champions
Simmer ‘Till Done: Spanakopita Scones
Margaret at A Way to Garden: Why I plant spinach late, and other tasty tidbits
Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Tuna and Spinach Bruschetta

Project 365
September 21, 2010, Photo #167

Growing up, we spent many family summers in Cape May and it (and the whole rest of the Jersey Shore) is still one of my favorite get-away spots.  During our vacations, my sister and I would make a daily sojourn to the arcade, armed with quarters and our eyes firmly fixed on Skee Ball and other arcade treasures.

At the end of our vacation, we would pool our prize tickets together and trade them in for a less than memorable toy or two that we couldn’t live without.  A visit to the arcade was never complete without a stop in the photo booth.  I loved those, and still do.  Years later, on many a bar crawl in Hoboken, my friends and I continued the tradition by squeezing into the photo booths after a night of drinking.  All those photo strips continue to be some of my favorite pictures to this day, although I won’t embarrass anyone by showing them here.

As you can see, it’s a tradition I’m continuing with my kids.  Of course, getting us all looking at the camera at the same time, and in the same frame, remains a challenge, but that’s where half the fun lies, isn’t it?

Spinach Egg Breakfast Cups
Recipe courtesy of Cate O’Malley

Fresh spinach leaves
Egg
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Salsa

In an individual ramekin, layer a few spinach leaves (depending on the size of the leaves, I usually use 6-8).  Crack egg and slide it on top of spinach leaves.  Add a few drops of water on top of egg.  Microwave until egg is cooked.  It takes about a minute, but I break it up into 12-15 second increments, because in my experience, if you do the full minute in one fell swoop, you’ll be cleaning off exploding egg from the inside of your microwave.  Once it’s done, top with shredded cheese and salsa.

Serves 1.

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