Ever “Baked” Bacon & Eggs??

Baked Eggs and Bacon
Baked Eggs and Bacon

This weekend try something new for breakfast. Instead of frying up a few eggs in an ordinary, pan get adventurous. I’ll tell you how to make this scrumptious treat below. And I’ll add the disclaimer – it’s SUPER EASY. Here what you need. Use as much of the following as you’d like:

  • Uncooked bacon
  • Eggs
  • Asparagus
  • Mushrooms
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cut jalapenos with the seeds removed
  • Olive oil
  • Coarse salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Non-stick foil for easy clean up

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place the strips of bacon on a foil lined sheet pan and place in oven. Mine were thick, large pieces so they took a little longer to cook, about 12 minutes. But keep a real close eye those strips. They go from uncooked to cooked pretty fast. Once the bacon is the way you like it, remove it from the oven. Drain the grease from the pan (leave a coating for flavor). Add the veggies onto the same pan and toss them around to coat them with the oil. If you removed most of the oil you’ll need to add a little olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper and put the veggies in the oven. Keep a close eye on them. I cooked mine for about 5 minutes but essentially you want them not quite cooked.  When they are still a bit crispy remove the pan and crack the eggs over the vegetables and then they go back in the oven.

Here are the eggs about 2 minutes in
Here are the eggs about 3 minutes in

I cooked the eggs for about 4-5 minutes. It depends how you like them.  I like the whites cooked and the yolks runny.  When the eggs are done remove the pan from the oven and add the bacon to the whole lot of it. Plate and serve!

Plated pre my first bite
Plated pre my first bite
Yum!!!
Yum!!!

I have to say, baked eggs have a very different, luscious texture vs when you cook them in an “ordinary” pan.  And the bacon for some odd reason is not greasy. I hope you’ll try it and if you do let me know what you think!

San Diego Road Trip: Manhattan Beach Homes & The Beach House Hotel

Manhattan Beach Home along The Strand
Manhattan Beach Home along The Strand

The Strand, which runs between Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach California, has some beautiful homes. (It’s actually longer but on this trip we’re just walking between those two towns)  The house which is in the photo above and below, are two of my favorite, although there are some beautiful smaller ones too. I wanted to show them to you along with some additional photos of The Strand and the beach:

Manhattan Beach Homes
Manhattan Beach Homes

You can see the contrast!

The Strand at Manhattan Beach California
The Strand at Manhattan Beach California
The pier at Manhattan Beach California
The pier at Manhattan Beach California
Surf ini Manhattan Beach California
Surf ini Manhattan Beach California

In addition, there is a beautiful hotel in Hermosa Beach called The Beach House Hotel. It is the only hotel in the area that actually sits right next to the beach.  If you stay there you can watch the volley ball players, joggers, skaters and it’s really quite beautiful. www.beach-house.com

The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California - Lobby with gas fireplace
The Beach House Hotel in Hermosa Beach, California – Lobby with gas fireplace

I’m just about packed and then we’re off to San Diego!

San Diego Road Trip: Sunrise Walk in Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach Pier at Sunrise
Manhattan Beach Pier at Sunrise

The early morning sun offers amazing light if you’re shooting photography. If you’re following along, yesterday we drove from Los Gatos to Hermosa Beach California via highway 101 and some backroads.  This morning I got up at around 6am and headed off to Starbucks which is located in downtown Manhattan Beach.  That involves walking along The Strand for about 2.5 miles. I stayed on The Strand for awhile and then walked over the sand to the ocean’s edge.  The morning light was enchanting!  Here are some of the pics I shot on my walk including breakfast:

Manhattan Beach Pier at Sunrise
Manhattan Beach Pier at Sunrise
Surfer entering the water by teh Manhattan Beach Pier
Surfer entering the water by the Manhattan Beach Pier
Breakfast in Hermosa Beach
Breakfast in Hermosa Beach

Saratoga Farmers Market

Saratoga Farmers' MarketEvery Saturday from 9am to 1pm.
Saratoga Farmers’ Market
Every Saturday from 9am to 1pm.

First, I didn’t even know that you could eat a purple carrot. Or a white beet. I may have seen them in the past but I felt like a kid when I saw them again. There are many Farmers’ Markets but one of my favorite is the Saratoga Farmers’ Market which is held in the West Valley College parking lot every Saturday from 9am – 1pm. As you can see above, I went a bit crazy a few weeks ago. (Also note my kitchen spring garden!) I have a Nutribullet so generally try to schedule my Saturday mornings, purchasing organic vegetables to make my special V9 drink (I’ll give you the recipe in an upcoming blog, the +1=9 is a secret ingredient which I’ll share).

Seasonal fruits and vegetables for Saratoga and Santa Clara County
I’m amazed at the huge assortment of seasonal fruits and vegetables!

What I really like about this Farmers’ Market are the reasonable prices. But even more important, you’re helping the local farmers. I stroll around the entire market once before I hand over the “dough”. See what I like, and then start bagging my goods. Some of the other items you’ll find include roasted chicken (which you’ll smell from the parking lot), fresh fish, eggs, flowers, and some of the best tamales you’ll ever eat. (Being that I’m from New Mexico I feel that I speak with some level of authority) 😉 I wanted to post this on Friday so you can hopefully have a chance to check it out. I’m heading there tomorrow so I’ll post more photos in the hopes to tempt you for a visit. Happy Friday!