Mushroom

Gluten-Free Breakfast – Poached Eggs with Spinach & Home Fries

~ Lynn ~ 19 Comments

Earlier today we celebrated Sasha’s second birthday. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of fun I had at a child’s party. Turns out toys are fun for grown ups too. I have to tell you I am incredibly proud of myself for not breaking my sugar-free/gluten-free fast. Turning down the birthday cake was a lot easier with a gluten-free buddy, and I discovered that another party goer was in the process of eliminating gluten to test for intolerance. We both agreed that snacks and breakfast are the toughest meals of the day. She’s tackling the situation the way I did the first time I eliminated gluten, by replacing her usual foods with gluten-free versions. Although that works it is very expensive; a small loaf of bread is anywhere from 5 to 7 dollars in Montreal.


(I love the spots on organic eggs)

This time I decided to tackle the situation by actually changing the way I eat. Gluten free bread is a poor substitute for the real thing, so I see no point in eating it. The question then becomes, what to eat for breakfast? This meal is one of my solutions. I was inspired by Janice’s Bistro Style Egg Sandwich, but replaced the English muffin with oven baked home fries. This breakfast is great for a Saturday morning. It’s filling and delicious and pretty easy to make if you have a little time. I used a poach pod to poach my egg as none of the traditional methods ever work for me.

Poached Eggs With sautéed Spinach and Mushrooms and Home Fries.

  • Potatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1-2 mushrooms per person
  • A large handful of baby spinach per person
  • Eggs

For the Potatoes:

  1. Slice the potatoes in half and peel them.
  2. Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes. Potatoes should be slightly less than cooked through.
  3. Cube the potatoes and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you are planning ahead (this step is important, it leads to crispy fries)
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
  5. Toss the chilled potatoes with olive oil to coat and salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Bake for 20- 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes at least twice so that the are properly browned.

For the Spinach and Mushrooms

  1. Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Cook the sliced mushrooms until browned.
  2. Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

For the Eggs

  1. Crack an egg into a lightly greased poach pod.
  2. Fill a medium pot with about 2 inches of water. Heat until simmering. Gently place the poach pod in the simmering water. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cover.
  3. Cook the eggs for 4 to 7 minutes, depending on the desired doneness (that might not be a word).

Place the spinach and potatoes on a plate, and top the spinach with the poached egg. Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

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Mmm Mmm Good Mushroom Soup

~ Lynn ~ 14 Comments

My family and I spent the long weekend in Vermont. Every year my aunt and uncle invite us to their cottage for Thanksgiving dinner. They provide us with an incredible meal, and we bring the pie.

For years my parents rented a cottage that was just a few minutes away. The area is surrounded by water and woods. My mom would often come back with chanterelle mushrooms. This year I decided to go with her, and before we new it we had a whole foraging party.

Foraging for mushrooms is sort of like looking at those pictures that look like nothing, but if you cross your eyes a certain way an image pops out at you. (Does anyone remember what those are called?) At first it seems like there is nothing there, but the next thing you know there are mushrooms everywhere.

Unfortunately the chanterelles were not in abundance. We weren’t able to identify any of the mushrooms we did find, so nothing was kept. Mushrooms are not something to take chances with. Despite not finding anything useful, I still had a great time walking in the woods. I haven’t spent that much time in there since I was a kid.

I had hoped to find enough mushrooms to make a soup. Obviously that didn’t happen, so when I got back to Montreal I made my way to Atwater Market and picked up some chanterelles and criminis. It wasn’t quite the same as picking them myself but it was still delicious.

I used a recipe from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything. One of the good things about not having a computer for a couple of days was that it reminded me I actually own cookbooks.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

  • 2 ounces dried chanterelle mushrooms (optional)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 pound fresh mushrooms ( I used crimini and chanterelle), cleaned, trimmed and sliced (reserve a few slices for garnishing)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp minced shallots
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 3 cups stock
  • 1 cup cream (you can use heave cream or half and half)
  • Chives for garnish
  1. If using dried mushrooms, rehydrate them by covering them with hot water and soaking them for 15 minutes.
  2. Place the butter in a large deep saucepan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the mushrooms and increase the heat the medium high. Cook for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown. Drain the now soaked mushrooms (keep the liquid) and add them to the cooked mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for one minute. Add the stock and reserved soaking liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat.
  4. Stir in cream. Garnish with chives and mushroom slices.

Enjoy!