Asparagus, celery, and citrus green juice with sprouts and bee pollen 蘆筍芹菜綠色果菜汁與蜂花粉顆粒

Do you normally throw away the woody ends of the asparagus? Here's how you can save them and make use of them. Asparagus is very low in calories, and is a great source of folates, vitamin B-complex, minerals, and anti-oxidants! So I thought I'd try to use as much of it as possible. After tasting this delicious juice, you may think twice before throwing away those tough end parts!

Caesar Grilled Asparagus 凱薩風燒烤蘆筍

I don't know about you, but for me, the best part of Caesar salad is the anchovy flavour! Since I just got a huge bag of beautiful, local, organic asparagus, I thought I'd grill them and top them off with the Caesar sauce from my Caesar Asparagus Ribbon Salad recipe from Foodie In Quebec City last year. I basically recreated the recipe by grilling the asparagus instead of leaving them raw and shaved, topped with chopped soft boiled eggs instead of poached, and finally finished with the Caesar sauce without using the thyme and parmesan cheese.

Soft-Boiled Eggs (法式水煮蛋)

*This was a post that first appeared in my prior blog, 2 Sisters et 1 Cat

I'm an eggy person, you might call me an egg freak. Therefore, I'm very particular about my eggs! If you've ever had a brunch at a French restaurant, you probably have had some soft-boiled eggs before. I don't know about you, but I love having my eggs underdone most of the time. It is fairly easy to prepare; the trick is just the timing. The creamy runny yolk makes it a perfect accompaniment for salads, vegetables, on toasted English muffins, or any breakfast dish.

Asparagus & Zucchini Tartine with Poached Egg, Cheese, and Basil 法式蘿勒櫛瓜蘆筍烤麵包(tartine)與水波蛋

Have you ever tried the combination of asparagus and zucchini together? I was so delighted to see a lovely image on Karolane Rondeau's Instagram feed - "Œuf poché avec des asperges et zucchinis hachés sur un croûton. (Check out her beautiful feed on Instagram that has lots of wonderful breakfast/brunch ideas!) I would never have thought of enjoying them together chopped on a piece of bread, until I saw her photo, which looked really delectable and inspired me to make this recipe! It's sweet, mild, and you can easily pair it with just about anything - if not an egg, perhaps with your favourite cheese, or with a piece of prosciutto or smoked salmon. It'll all work, and would make a perfect Sunday brunch!

Avocado Toast with Red cabbage, Microgreens, and Hazelnut Oil 紫色高麗菜與野菜苗酪梨醬土司

I started out making this avocado toast more than a month ago. It was just a quick thing to make and I happened to have the ingredients on hand. But then it became one of my favourite avocado toasts! With three super food ingredients: avocado, red cabbage, and microgreens, you'll be getting plenty of vitamin A, C, K, E, fibre, minerals, and antioxidants! As simple as it is, it has all the textures that you'd want - the delicateness of the microgreens, the crunchiness of the red cabbage, and the smooth texture of mashed ripe avocado. What makes it really special are the subtle flavours from the red chilli peppers and the hazelnut oil! It makes a perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch, or snack, and I know it'll become one of your favourite avocado toasts as well!

Coconut-Banana Chia Pudding with Lime 香蕉椰奶奇亞籽布丁

For a while, I've been waiting to make this delicious-looking super creamy coconut banana chia pudding from Fedelicioso, and I finally have some ripened bananas on hand! I love anything with banana or coconut, and when I saw her recipe on Instagram, I just knew that I'd have to try it. The end result was indeed very creamy as she described! 

Cherry Tomatoes, Alfalfa Sprouts, and Avocado Greek Yogurt on Matzo 苜蓿芽小蕃茄酪梨希臘優格與蘇打餅

It was a very busy day, and I wanted to use up some leftover ingredients, so I whipped up this yummy "quickie" yesterday morning. The combination of the sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes, the sprouts, the creamy avocado Greek yogurt, and the light, crunchy matzo were soooo good that we ended up having it for both breakfast and lunch!（≧▼≦；) Avocados are rich in vitamin A, C, E, B6, folic acid, and minerals, and contain high-density lipoproteins (a cholesterol that can protect the body against heart disease). It's a great recipe for you when you have very ripe avocado on hand. The topping goes perfectly well with any type of bread or crackers, but if you can get some matzo, you've gotta try it!! It's light, easy and delicious, and is perfect for either breakfast, lunch or snack. I can promise you that you won't have to feel guilty for having a lot of it!!

Matzo Brei Scallion Pancakes with Sriracha Sour Cream 猶太馬佐蔥油煎餅與拉差酸奶油

Having married a Jewish man, I had to learn a thing or two about Jewish cooking. It was all very new to me, from the meaning of kosher, the religious rules, the big Jewish holidays, the challah bread, the blintzes, to the non-rising bread, matzo, etc. The funny thing is my hubby isn't actually kosher, and he isn't the biggest fan of traditional Jewish cooking either. It was I, on the other hand, who took a liking to a lot of the traditional Jewish food, including gefilte fish - which my hubby referred to as one of the most disgusting Jewish foods (>_<), and that was what got me into learning about Jewish cooking in the first place!

Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Oeufs en Cocottes (Eggs inPots) 法式燻鮭魚蘆筍烤蛋杯

 

When I first saw the name, œufs en cocotte (Eggs in Pots), I was thinking, is this some kind of fancy French classic egg dish? Only after I looked it up did I realize that it's actually quite simple, yet also a very elegant dish that is perfect for either your weekly or holiday brunch. You basically crack the egg in a ramekin, then bake it with your favourite vegetables or cheese. Not so difficult, right? Since it's (finally) the beginning of spring, I thought I'd use some asparagus here, as it goes so well with the smoked salmon and goat cheese. It'll be perfect for your spring Sunday brunch!

Crispy Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Thyme 脆皮檸檬蝴蝶烤雞

I love roast chicken and I spent a lot of time searching and trying different ways of roasting them. Many years ago, I was watching the Martha Stewart Show, and she happened to butterfly a chicken by browning it in a pan, then finishing it with some lemon juice and garlic. After that, it became one of my favourite ways to prepare it. Over the years, I lost the recipe and added my own little tweaks and changes to what I had remembered, but I've always kept the idea of lemon and garlic in there. Normally, I use regular lemons for this recipe, but since I bought a lot of Meyer lemons lately, I thought I'd use them for this recipe and share it with you. The chicken is butterflied and browned in a cast iron pan first, then goes into the oven to continue cooking. The result is a nice crispy skin with very juicy and tender flesh. Butterflying the chicken easily shortens the roasting time, so your hungry belly doesn't have to wait too long.(￣▽￣) The juice of the chicken, the garlic, the thyme and the lemon all blended together make for a really yummy gravy. It's truly a simple and delicious way of enjoying chicken! Bon appétit!

Black Sesame-Oat Porridge 燕麥芝麻糊

This porridge is actually based on a traditional Chinese sweet dessert porridge that is normally a mixture of blended black sesame seeds and rice. Here, I'm using oats instead of rice, and I make it less sweet than the traditional one. Black sesame seeds are extremely nourishing, and contain a great amount of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, and more. By blending the two together with a little bit of soy milk, you get this really creamy and thick texture with a rich sesame flavour, just like the traditional one, plus more health benefits from the oats, walnuts, and goji berries!

 

Two Eggs Two Ways 雞蛋兩吃

Inspired by the halfnhalf eggs (fried egg whites + scrambled eggs) from Weekendbreakfast on Instagram, I made a fried egg and topped it with scrambled eggs (made from a leftover baking mixture of egg whites, some egg yolks, and a little bit of cheddar cheese). It was so yummy with the combination of crispy fried egg, the creamy runny yolk, and the soft curd of the scrambled eggs! If you're a true egg lover like me, you must make this, and also check out Weekendbreakfast for more breakfast inspiration!