[1] A new approach to breakfast: egg with grain and veggie (photo and recipe © Good Eggs | San Francisco).

[2] Quinoa fried rice topped with an egg (photo © P.F. Chang’s).

The quinoa bowl recipe is below, but first:
 
 
A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON BREAKFAST TRADITIONS

There’s a yummy recipe for a quinoa breakfast bowl below. But first, a word about breakfast.

Traditional American breakfasts are echoes of the elaborate breakfasts of the English gentry, which fortified them for a day of sport. They’re much less elaborate today, but regular Brits can still enjoy a heaping plate of eggs, bacon, black and white sausage, beans, kidneys, kippers, mushrooms, potatoes, and tomatoes, with a side of fried bread.

In the late 19th century, the morning fare for wealthy Americans was similar: eggs with cutlets, ham, fried fish, deviled kidneys, black pudding (sausage), cold grouse or pheasant, fruit, and pie. The less affluent made do with eggs or porridge.

No wonder thousands of the well-to-do headed to spa-like sanitariums for rejuvenation. At one sanitarium, a physician named Caleb Jackson changed the way his clients breakfasted.

In 1863, he developed a healthful, spartan, fiber-filled breakfast—the first cold breakfast cereal. Granula, as he called it, was an early version of Grape-Nuts, whose inventor, C.W. Post, first had it when a patient at another sanitarium.

To make granula, baked sheets of graham flour dough were dried, broken into nuggets, baked again, and broken into smaller pieces. The resulting dense, chewy grain clusters had to be soaked overnight in milk before serving.

Other spas followed suit; and as prepared, packaged foods became more common, granula paved the way for Bran Flakes (1915), All Bran (1916), Rice Krispies (1927) and Raisin Bran* (1942), eaten with milk and sugar. In 1951 the onslaught of heavily sugared cereals targeted to kids began, producing Corn Pops, Frosted Flakes, Honey Smacks and Cocoa Krispies. Here’s a detailed history of breakfast cereal.

Around the world, there’s less of a distinction in foods served for breakfast versus other meals.

Today’s tip is for a hybrid breakfast, combining breakfast eggs with dinner items: cooked grains and vegetables.

The recipe below was devised by Good Eggs in San Franciso, as a light dinner entrée: a poached egg with quinoa and broccoli rabe. They call it a grain bowl.

But we make it for breakfast, to replace butter-fried or -scrambled eggs and hash browns (or bagels and cream cheese) with better-for-you chow. You can also serve it for brunch or lunch,

You can replace the poached egg with another style, the quinoa with other grains or legumes, and the broccoli rabe with your vegetable of choice.

Prep time is 15 minutes, total time is 20 minutes.

> Check out the difference between broccoli, broccoli rabe and broccolini, below.
 
 
RECIPE: POACHED EGG WITH QUINOA AND BROCCOLI RABE

Ingredients For 2 Servings

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*We substituted chopped pistachio nuts, untoasted. You can substitute other nuts or seeds.

†If you plan to garnish with flake salt, under-salt the rabe and quinoa.

‡We didn’t have time to clarify, so used melted butter.
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Preparation

1. TOAST the pine nuts: Heat a pan over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Toast for 3-5 minutes, tossing them in the pan occasionally to ensure an even color. Remove when they’re golden brown and transfer to a bowl.

2. RETURN the pan to the stove, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and turn the heat to high. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes. As soon as the garlic starts to turn golden brown, turn the heat down to medium and add the broccoli rabe and a pinch or two of chile flakes.

3. TOSS the rabe in the oil and garlic using tongs, and sauté together for 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch or two of salt and taste. You want the leaves to be tender and the flavor to be a bit bitter, but delicious. If the rabe still has too much kick for your taste, cook for a few minutes longer. When the rabe is done, remove from heat and set aside. While the broccoli cooks…

4. SEASON the quinoa. Add the ghee and herbs to the quinoa and stir thoroughly. Finish with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper to taste.

5. COOK the eggs. You may have your own way of poaching eggs (we use an egg poacher; the result is less pretty but it’s a lot easier). Otherwise, here’s a technique from Good Eggs.

 
6. ASSEMBLE: Spoon the quinoa into the bottom of a bowl, then the broccoli rabe, then the egg. Finish with some flake salt, a pinch of chile, fresh herbs, and nuts.
 
 
BROCCOLI, BROCCOLINI & BROCCOLI RABE:
THE DIFFERENCE

[3] Broccoli, with thick, shorter stalks and large florets (photo © Burpee).

[4] Broccoli rabe, which has long stems, small florets and elegant leaves, can look like a bouquet (photo © Conscious Life Force).

[5] Broccolini has long stems but no leaves (photo © Bodecology).

 
We saw the photo and recipe on Evolution Fresh’s Pinterest page, where it was featured as a summer recipe. But all of the ingredients are just as available in the winter.

Because there are no leafy greens to wilt, you can make a large batch and eat it over several days. You can vary it with olives, crumbled cheese, crunchy seeds or other favorite salad additions.

RECIPE: BURST OF SUNSHINE SALAD

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients, toss toss to coat with dressing, and serve.

 
THE HISTORY OF SALAD

Man and his ancestors have been eating salad greens since they crossed from homonids (great apes) to hunter-gatherers.

More recently in our history, ancient Romans and ancient Greeks ate mixed greens with dressing. They brought the custom with them in their imperial expansions, and green salads became a European convention/ [Source]
 
IS IT SALAD IF THERE’S NO LETTUCE?

Yes, indeed. A salad is a dish consisting of small pieces of food, typically served cold and usually mixed with a sauce (called salad dressing).

Beyond vegetable salads of all types, raw or cooked, there are bean salads, grain salads, pasta and noodle salads and meat/poultry/protein salads such as chicken, egg, tuna and seafood.

The leafy green salads most of us think of as “salad” is technically “garden salad” or “green salad.”

The word “salad” comes from the Latin salata, salty. During Roman times, the vegetables were seasoned with brine or salty oil-and-vinegar dressings. In English, the word first appears as “salad” or “sallet” in the 14th century.
 
  

Grapefruit is a winter fruit, and we’re glad to have it.

America is the world’s largest consumer of grapefruit, with large commercial groves in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. But the grapefruit’s ancestor, the pummelo (also pomelo, pomello and other spellings), comes from far away. It’s native to Malaysia and Indonesia.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF GRAPEFRUIT

In 1693, pummelo seeds were brought from the East Indies to the West Indies—Barbados—by an English ship commander, one Captain Shaddock. The grapefruit may have been a horticultural accident or a deliberate hybridization between the larger pummelo and the smaller sweet orange. The original grapefruit was about the size of the orange.

Its name evolved in English to a descriptive one: The fruit grows on trees in grape-like clusters. The fruit was pretty but very sour and the thick took time to peel. For a long time, it was grown only as an ornamental tree.

The grapefruit arrived in the U.S. in 1823, but it was not immediately popular for eating. The tart fruits had numerous tiny seeds and required a generous sprinkling of sugar.

Growers learned how to breed selective fruits that were sweeter, and in 1870, the first grapefruit nursery was established in Florida.

In 1885, the first shipment of grapefruits arrived in New York and Philadelphia, generated interest and helped to create the commercial grapefruit industry.

Here’s a longer history of grapefruit.

Most grapefruit grown is white grapefruit. But hopefully that will change: Red grapefruit (not pink) is where it’s at.
 
 
HOW RED GRAPEFRUIT DEVELOPED

The first grapefruits were white. Pink grapefruit, a mutation, was first discovered in 1906 in the groves of the Atwood Grapefruit Company in Manatee County, Florida.

[2] The yellow rinds often have a pink blush (photo of Star Ruby grapefruits Sweet Scarlett red grapefruits. Photo courtesy Wonderful Fruit © Specialty Produce).

Another mutation gave us red grapefruit, which was originally discovered growing on a pink grapefruit tree in Texas. It was patented as Ruby Red grapefruit in 1929. Red grapefruit is known in agriculture as a “limb sport,” a mutation of one limb (branch) that has different fruit characteristics than the rest of the tree.

A hit from the start, sweeter with alluring rosy red flesh, Ruby Reds are marketed under different names: Flame, Rio Red, Rio Star, Ruby-Sweet, Star Ruby, Sweet Scarletts, TexaSweet and others.

While consumers call these different red grapefruits “varieties,” botanically it’s more accurate to call them different “selections” because they are all derived from one another as descendants of the original Ruby Reds. Each has different small attributes, tailored to succeed in different climates and soils.

Otherwise stated, all of the different deep red grapefruits grown around the world—Rio Red in Texas, Star Ruby in South Africa, Flame in Florida, etc.—are not botanically different, but have been adapted to the the climate and soil in each region.

Different selections also have different shades of flesh. For example, Florida’s Ruby Reds are deep pink, while Flame grapefruits have deep red flesh.

WHAT MAKES THE FLESH RED?

Red and pink grapefruits contain lycopene, a phytochemical (antioxidant) found in tomatoes and some other red fruits and vegetables such as papaya, red carrots and watermelon. Red grapefruits have a greater concentration than pink grapefruits.

Why are red grapefruits sweeter?

It’s all in the weather. Sweet Scarletts, for example, are grown in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where hot days, cool nights and the unique terroir† merge to create the ideal grapefruit.

Most red grapefruits are grown in Texas, since the The Texas climate produces the sweetest red grapefruits.
 
 
DON’T LET THE SEASON PASS YOU BY

Different regions are ready to harvest at different times; but in general, red grapefruit is available from October through March.

We have been enjoying a box of Sweet Scarletts, and couldn’t be happier. They’re so sweet and lush, who needs ice cream?

Here are nine pages of red grapefruit recipes, from cocktails and appetizers through main courses, sides and desserts.

 
Many thanks to to Etienne Rabe, Vice President, Agronomy at Wonderful Citrus in California, for explaining the fine points of this “wonderful” fruit.
 
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*For those who closely monitor their nutrition, they’re high in the cancer-fighting antioxidant vitamin A; the free-radical-fighting antioxidant vitamin C; the vision-friendly flavonoid antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein, naringenin and xanthin; the dietary fiber pectin (which also lowers cholesterol); and potassium, which counters the negative effects of sodium; among other nutrients such as B vitamins. Red grapefruit also contains the powerful flavonoid antioxidant, lycopene, which protects skin from damage from UV rays and fights macular degeneration and several types of cancer.

†Terroir, a French word pronounced tur-WAH, refers to the unique combination of geographic location, climate and microclimate, soil and temperature that creates the individual personality of an agricultural product. As in the growing of grapes for wine or beans for coffee, terroir dramatically affects the flavor profiles of the product.

What oils are in your pantry? Are they the best cooking oils to use? Here’s what you should know from Chef Gerard Viverito, a culinary instructor and Director of Culinary Education for Passionfish, an NGO non-profit organization dedicated to educating people around the globe on issues of sustainability in the seas.

National Healthy Fats Day is March 21st.
 
 
THE 12 COOKING OILS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

In your mother’s kitchen, the only cooking oil may have been all-purpose vegetable oil, a blend of inexpensive oils. Then came the Mediterranean Diet and the attention paid to its heart-healthy olive oil.

Today, there are more than a dozen options for cooking oil. Don’t be stuck with mom’s ingredients. Use Chef Gerard’s handy guide to determine which cooking oils you need to add to your collection.
 
 
EVERYDAY HEALTHY COOKING FATS

Each of these healthy fats deserves a place in your pantry, says Chef Gerard. (Editor’s note: For higher-flame stovetop cooking, you should also check the smoke point of the oil).

 
SPECIAL OCCASION COOKING OILS

These oils have more limited uses, and often come with a higher price.

 
If you currently use sunflower oil, consider this:

 
 
GENETICALLY MODIFIED OILS

If you’re trying to avoid genetically modified foods (GMOs), put these oils on your “do not buy” list. More than 90% of these crops are grown using genetically modified seeds.

 
Give all of your current oils the “sniff test.” If they smell musty, they’re ready the recycling bin.

Replace them with “good oils.”
 
 
ALL OF THE COOKING OILS

There are more cooking oils, including the pricey-but-delicious hazelnut, pistachio, and walnut oils; and powerful dark sesame oil, which is delicious when used in moderation. Take a look at the different cooking oils in our Culinary Oils Glossary.

And check to see if your oil should be kept in the fridge. Some are very hardy and stay well on the shelf for two years; others, less so.
 
 
 
 
 
CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.
 
 

[2] Coconut oil. The liquid form is called fractionated coconut oil. They are equally good for cooking, but differ in their fatty acid composition. Here’s the scoop (photo © Dr. Bronner).

[3] Avocado is a very healthy oil, and also has a high smoke point (photo © Olivado.

[4] Flaxseed oil is extremely high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (photo © La Tourangelle).

[5] Macadamia and avocado oils are both made in Australia. For the best flavor, look for first cold pressed oils (photo © Brookfarm).

If you’re looking for a great gluten-free cookie, look no further than Soulfully Sweet.

You can tell that many, many test batches were baked to find the magic mixture that makes these cookies taste so good.

With the right mix of ingredients and technique, you can’t tell that baked goods are gluten free. Soulfully Sweet has pulled this off, creating crunchy, very flavorful cookies that easily pass for conventional gourmet cookies.

The best ingredients are not inexpensive, so don’t be dismayed that a box of eight cookies (2-1/2 inches in diameter) is $10.99, and you’ll want all eight flavors. They are a find for the cookie-lover on a gluten-free diet. Once you taste them, you’ll be happy to give up something else to fit them into your budget.

We loved every one of the eight flavors:

 
In addition to gluten-free, the ingredients are non-GMO, mostly organic* and “virtually” soy-free. The cookies are preservative free and all natural.
 
A taste is worth a thousand words, so head to SoulfullySweet.com and indulge your cookie passion.
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*The combination of gluten-free and organic ingredients is often hard to find and very pricey when you do find it. The cookies range from 84% to 90% organic ingredients. This brand doesn’t cut back on the absolute best-tasting gluten-free ingredients, and that, plus the small batch artisanal production, is why the cookies are so expensive.

Soulfully Sweet cookies in three of the eight flavors: Molasses Ginger, Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip. Photos courtesy Soulfully Sweet.