Poached Eggs with Wild Salmon and Spinach

2 servings

When sailing out of Woods Hole, if we are heading home in the morning, we often stop at the Fishmonger Cafe for breakfast . I got the idea for this from a breakfast I had there a few years ago. While they serve this topped with a Hollandaise sauce* (as in Eggs Benedict), I prefer the lighter mustard option.

Fishmonger uses  2 eggs per serving. For a lower cholesterol version, use 1 egg per person and put all of the spinach and salmon plus one egg on one muffin and serve the other muffin plain.

We are fortunate to have a neighbor who sells eggs; I picked up a box yesterday and made this (and took the photos) this morning.  Use the freshest eggs you can find for poaching;  the eggs will hold together so much better.

Heat water** (about 1/2 inch deep) in medium skillet until almost boiling then add:

2 eggs (break egg into ramekin then gently place in water)

While eggs are cooking, toast:

2 English muffins, split with fork

Poach eggs until done, 5-6 minutes until white is set and yolk has filmed over; keep water at a simmer, not a hard boil  using a spoon to push the whites toward the yolk. (Alternatively poach eggs for 4 minutes then let sit in hot water for 4 more minutes)

Remove from pan, draining all excess water and place on warm plate.

Wipe out pan and add:

1 t butter or olive oil

2 c (4 oz) fresh baby spinach leaves

Stir and cook until spinach just begins to wilt. Divide

2 oz wild smoked salmon

then the spinach between the two muffin halves. Top with the eggs then

2 t Duck Trap Mustard Dill Sauce (available at Whole Foods) or a mix of Dijon mustard (such as Grey Poupon) and  chopped fresh dill.

* Recipe for Hollandaise Sauce

Combine in a blender:

3 egg yolks
1/2 t salt
1/8 t dry mustard
Sprinkle of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 T lemon juice

Blend, adding gradually:

8 T (hot) melted butter

Serve immediately or keep warm temporarily in top of a double boiler or in a bowl nested in a bowl of hot water.

** While I used to add 1 t vinegar to the poaching water, reading Harold McGee has convinced me not to. In Keys to Good Cooking (page 219) he writes, "Don't add vinegar to poaching water. It's ineffective at controlling the shape, and flavors the egg." In On Food and Cooking (page 90)he explains, "Adding salt and vinegar to the cooking water, for example, does speed coagulation, but also produces shreds and an irregular film over the egg surface. An unconventional but effective wat to improve the appearance of poached eggs is simply to remove the runny white from the egg before poaching. Crack the egg into a dish, then slide it into a large perforated spoon and let the thn white drain away for a few seconds before sliding the egg in the pan."  I have not tried this technique.

Revised 1/7/2025 deletion of vinegar to poaching water explained

Baked Eggs

Per person

This recipe comes from Moogie. It works well made and served with muffins.

Preheat oven to 350 – 375 degrees F (coordinate with temperature required for muffins, if making simultaneously).

Lightly grease a small ramekin or muffin cup with:

Butter or olive oil

Line ramekin/muffin cup with:

1-2 slices ham; 2 if very thinly sliced, 1 if thicker

Into cup formed by ham, break:

1 egg

Sprinkle with:

Freshly ground pepper

Bake for 14-18 minutes, covering with aluminum foil after ~7 minutes to keep edges of ham from burning, until the eggs are set and the whites solidified. Remove from oven. If baked in muffin tin, remove ham and egg from muffin tin and place on a warm plate. If cooked in ramekin, remove or serve directly from ramekin.

Reviewed 5/12/17

Jason's/Pris's Granola

This is a recipe from Jason’s vegetarian days in Alaska (early 1970s). Although the recipe does not specify stirring, I stir the mixture several time while baking.

July 2014 --- My usual "home breakfast" is a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter or a meatless breakfast sandwich (egg and cheese on a whole wheat english muffin).  But we're heading to Maine soon and English muffins don't toast well on Condor.  I usually buy some granola for the early morning starts, and I'm usually disappointed. Too sweet for my taste. 

Then I remembered this recipe, a forgotten boat staple. In this revival, I skipped the sunflower seeds, remembering how much I liked the Pear Crisp topping, used half brown sugar and half maple syrup and finished with Maple Walnuts and dried cranberries.   As previously stated stirring is important, as well as watching to see mixture does not overbrown.  I cooked at 325 degrees for 30 minutes,  then for 10 minutes at 300 degrees F..  Since the mix looked pretty browned by then, I added the nuts and fruit, stirred well and cooked a final 10 minutes at 250 degrees F.   I made only 2/3 of the recipe which filled a large cookie sheet.

Mix together:

1 c brown sugar [I use half brown sugar, half maple syrup - 

NOTE: have reduced to 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c maple syrup > Perfect sweetness!]

1 t salt [I omit]
½ c canola oil [I use olive oil]
½ c water
1 t vanilla
1 c sunflower seeds [I omit]



Then add:

18 oz oatmeal, not the quick cook kind [I use 21 oz]
7 oz shredded coconut [~2 2/3 c - think this was based on the size of the bag, I use 4 oz] 

1 c wheat germ [I usually omit]

Mix well. Bake at 300-325 degrees F for 45 minutes [My recipe takes two cookie sheets - I actually use a 17" x 12" cookie sheet and a 13" x 9" deeper baking pan - the latter works better for stirring, would use two of those if availabe. I find 30 - 40 minutes total in a 300 degree F convection oven is usually plenty - the cookie sheet contents browns the fastest.} 

1 c chopped nuts [my favorite is to add 1 c  Maple Walnuts  after baking - but omit for "plain granola"]
1 c raisins or currants [I usually use dried cranberries - but omit for "plain granola"]

Bake additional 15 minutes [I don't bake after adding nuts/dried craanberries, just 30 - 40 minutes total before additions.] Cool completely in pan before storing in closed container.

August 2014: Big mistake! Instead of halving the recipe, I should have doubled it.  We are on our way to Maine and this is my breakfast. So much better than the store bought granolas of previous years. Ed likes it too. It is going to disappear very fast.

June 2015:VARIATION  Strawberries are in season and I was looking for a cereal to complement the berries.  Often I've chosen a cornflake variant, but this year I used a variation of this recipe. By reduced the sweetness (1/3 c maple syrup and 1/3 c brown sugar) and omitting the nuts and currants, I made a not-so-sweet "plain granola" that went really well with the berries. 

November 2024: Note recipe above: maple syrup and sugar is further reduced to 1/4 c each and oats increased to 21 oz. My go to breakfast now is plain non fat yogurt topped with 1/2 cup of "plain granola", a small handfull of chopped walnuts and some pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries.

Reviewed 5/12/17

Revised 12/21/23

Revised  11/21/2024: brown sugar, maple syrup and oat quantities changed

Carrot Cashew Pate

I bought some of this at our local "Touch of Christmas" many years ago, and later Helen who had made the pate gave me this recipe. This is one of the yummy recipes I had almost forgotten about until I searched my notebooks for this blog, I shall make this again very soon.

In a skillet over medium heat melt:

2 T butter [I use olive oil]

Add:

1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft. Add:

2 c carrots, thinly sliced
3/4 t salt [I omit]
1/2 t curry powder [plus 1 t grated fresh ginger, 1 T lemon juice]*
2/3 c water

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender, 6-8 minutes. Set aside.

In a blender/food processor fitted with a steel blade finely grind*

3/4 c salted [I use unsalted] roasted cashews

Continue blending, adding:

1½ T olive oil

Add carrot mixture and blend until smooth. Stir in:

1/2 c chopped salted [unsalted] roasted cashews

Serve at room temperature with crackers, pita chips, or raw veggies.

*OCT 2012: Finally made this again.  See photo second from top. Though I usually prefer dips on the chunky side, I should have followed the instructions to finely grind. Also found the original recipe a bit bland.  Tried again, ground much finer and added: 

2 t finely grated fresh ginger
2 T lemon juice

Served on endive leaves topped with crushed cashews and also with crackers.  The consistency of the finer ground dip makes spreading on crackers much easier. NOTE: Full recipe makes ~ 3 1/2 cups. Quantity shown in photos is half the recipe.

CARROT CASHEW SALAD

Ed did not like the rather bland original recipe, liked the dip with added ginger and lemon juice, especially on endive (also got rave reviews from recent guests) and really liked this pate in a salad.

Press pate into a small (3" diameter) ramekin until ramekin is 1/2 to 2/3 full.  Run sharp knife around inside edge of ramekin.  Turn ramekin upside down on a bed of small lettuces and tap to release pate.  Garnish pate with crushed cashews and thinly sliced chives or scallion greens.  

Lightly dress lettuce with balsamic reduction or balsamic vinaigrette.

CASHEW (CARROT) DIP

June 2017:  I was meeting a friend for a picnic and would not have an opportunity to purchase fresh bread and was wondering what to make when I opened the Spring 2017 issue of edibleBoston and found "Welcome Spring with a Picnic". It suggested several locations in the Boston area that would be ideal for a picnic and the following recipes:Cashew Dip, Barley and Herb Salad, Noodle Frittata with Greens and Gruyere and Rhubarb Almond Cake. Okay, this was going to be a simple picnic.  I opted for the Cashew Dip paired with some Trader Joe's Seeded Mango & Ginger Crisps and Persian (small) cucunber strips, some herbed goat cheese paired with Trader Joe's Fig & Olive Crisps, a jar of Dilly Beans and some good dark chocolate.  The other recipes looked good and I may try later but so far have made the Cashew Dip several times:

The edibleBoston recipe calls for cooking carrots over medium high heat for 15 minutes; I used raw carrots. I also used curry instead of tumeric. The author suggests serving with snap peas and rice crackers, a good option for spring when peas are in season.

Place the following in a food processor bowl:

1/2 pound carrots, peeled, if necessary, and cut into 1!' chunks
1 (1") piece of ginger, peeded and roughly chopped
1/2 c roasted unsalted cashews
3 T coconut milk, more if needed
1 t curry (edibleBoston uses 1 t tumeric)
Sea salt to taste
Juice of i lime  (1 - 2 T)

Puree, scraping sides of bowl until all ingredients form a smooth puree.  Add additional coconut milk if smoother consistency is desired.

Reviewed 7/8/2017

Sautéed Chanterelles

This recipe is adapted from the Wildwood Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest cookbook by Cory Schreiber that Alex gave me for Christmas in 2005. I make this in the fall when I can find an abundance of these yummy mushrooms at a reasonable price. This is particularly good as an accompaniment to roast beef.

In a 12-inch skillet, heat over medium high heat:

1 T olive oil

Add:

1 pound chanterelle mushrooms, wiped clean and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 t salt (to dry out the moisture)

Cook and stir for 2 –3 minutes. Add:

2 shallots, minced
2 t unsalted butter
½ c minced mixed fresh tarragon, chives, chervil and flat-leaf parsley
½ t freshly ground black pepper

Cook 1 additional minute and serve.

Reviewed 6/20/2017

Tortillas and Ice Cream

This is Alexandra’s favorite ending for a Mexican dinner. To make it correctly  requires a fairly large amount of clean oil for frying. (No, you can’t just strain and re-use the canola oil you just used for fried zucchini. However, once you have used the oil to fry the tortillas it will still be “clean” enough to use for other frying purposes). IF you can keep them from getting crushed, the cooked shells freeze well for future use.





Using a “taco basket tortilla fryer” fry

Flour tortilla

In enough

Canola [I would now use peanut] oil

To cover (OK to turn basket a little if all parts are not covered at once) tortilla.

When golden, remove from oil and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. Continue this process until you have made the number of tortilla baskets you require.

If not serving immediately, before serving, warm tortillas in a 200 degree F oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Remove tortilla basket from the oven and place in the center of the basket

Scoop of ginger (vanilla works too) frozen yogurt/ice cream

Top with

1 T honey, heated in the microwave

and sprinkle with

Cinnamon.

Serve immediately.

VARIATION:

If you do not want to go the deep-fryer route, this can be made by cutting a tortilla into 6 wedges and frying the pieces in a frying pan containing 2 T canola [peanut] oil. When the wedges are golden, remove from the pan and drain excess oil on paper towel(s). Place scoop of frozen yogurt in a dish, stick points of several tortilla wedges into the sides of frozen yogurt and top with hot honey and cinnamon.

Reviewed 5/17/17

Spicy Szechwan Peanut Sauce

This recipe is adapted from a recipe of the same name in Barbara Tropp’s The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, a wonderful cookbook that Christopher gave me many Christmases ago.

*Assemble Ingredients (6 June 2023)

This is a great cookbook except directions like "about 10 large cloves garlic" and "about 2/3 bunch fresh coriander leaves and upper stems" are not helpful. Sure, this kind of cooking, unlike baking, is "to taste" but....   A visual at left (1 tightly packed cup corriander) of what I use.

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, mince (pulse so as not to pulverize):

10 large cloves garlic *see above 

Approximately 2/3 bunch coriander leaves and upper stems *see above

Add:

½ c peanut butter
½ c + 1 T thin soy sauce
5 T sugar [I use 1 T]
½ t rice wine or sherry [I omit]
1 –2 T hot chili oil [to taste]**

Process about one minute, until homogenized. Given the approximateness of the ingredients, if the sauce is more liquid than I like, I add a bit more peanur butter. Store at least 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Note this sauce will keep several days when refrigerated in a covered container. It also freezes well.


CHICKEN WITH SPICY SZECHWAN PEANUT SAUCE

Per Serving

1/2 - 1 cooked chicken breast

Place on top of bed of:

1 baby bok choy, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 c bean sprouts
1/3 c cucumber, coarsely chopped

Top with Szechwan Peanut Sauce

PASTA WITH SPICY SZECHWAN PEANUT SAUCE
(For my favorite see JUNE 2013 VARIATIONS below)

Serves 4 - 6

Cook according to package instructions:

16 ounces  fusilli, thin spaghetti, linguine or other pasta [I use Rao's fusilli]

Meanwhile sauté for 3-4 minutes or until scallions are tender:

1 ½ t olive oil
1-2 bunches of scallions, cut diagonally in 1-inch lengths

NOTE: When cooking scallions I often separate the white ends from the green and cook the white part longer (full 3-4 minutes) and the green less (1-2 minutes)

Drain the pasta, add scallions and:

1 large waxless cucumber, coarsely chopped

Toss with enough sauce to thoroughly coat the pasta, about ½ cup.

June 2013 VARIATIONS: I've started adding the scallions uncooked and sliced in 1/4"-inch lengths or less, also fresh shelled peas or snap peas cut on the diagonal and/or red,orange and yellow peppers cut in bite size pieces (photo left) Also occasionally poached chicken breast cut in small chunks (third photo left) NOTE: For the boat, I often cook the fusilli a day or two ahead, toss with sauce to coat, cool and store in refrigerator/ice box. Right before serving I prepare and add the veggies.

 April 2014 VARIATION:  Saute ~ 4-6 ounces thinly sliced chicken and white ends of ~4 scallions in 1 t  chili oil and 1 t sesame seed oil (adjust ratio according to desired hotness).  Note:  to minimize chicken sticking to the wok, heat wok first, then add oil and heat, then add chicken.  When chicken is cooked through, add two small, thinly sliced heads of bok choy and green ends of scallions, cut diagonally into 3/4 inch pieces.  Cook, stirring constantly until bok choy is just barely wilted.

Meanwhile, cook 6 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti until barely done.  Drain, toss with veggies in wok and add peanut sauce to taste.   (Serves 2-3)

January 2014 VARIATION: Sautee ~6 medium shrimp per person in a mixture of olive and sesame chili oil (choose your hotness!).  Add cooked shrimp to pasta that has been tossed with scallions and peanut sauce per instructions above.  Top (optional) with chopped hot and/or sweet peppers and cliantro.

August 2026 VARIATION: Add frozen cooked shrimp that have been thawed in the refrigerator overnight, carefully dried and tossed with a bit of the sauce to the JUNE 2013 VARIATION pasta.

** June 2017: All chili oil is not equal.  Some brands are much hotter than others; be sure if you change brands (or even open a new bottle) to go by taste not previously used measurements!

Reviewed 6/20/2017

Revised 6/9/2023 see *

Revised 8/30/26 quantities clarified, variations revised