Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs

I first had tossed salad and scrambled eggs at an Israeli restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts. The restaurant and the strikingly beautiful waitress are gone, but I still have a taste for this delicious, lite combination of protein and greens first thing in the morning.

The recipe and directions are below...

Scrambled Eggs: I use a dairy-free approach with a dash of soymilk, plenty of air and a sprinkle of kosher salt, but honestly, if you can eat dairy, use light cream to thicken your eggs (cage-free, of course,) and cook them in butter. It tastes great. The air and salt remains the same.

I usually have this breakfast without meat to maintain that fresh, light feeling. "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs" is also the refrain of the theme song from my favorite TV show, "Frasier."

"Baby, I hear those blues a-callin', tossed salad and scrambled eggs...mercy!"

My new jazzy music album, "KiTCHEN MuSIC," is now available on iTunes, Amazon.com and CD Baby! KiTCHEN MuSIC takes ten familiar songs from the 40's and 50's -- the kinds of songs my Mom used to sing while cooking for my Dad, my brothers and me -- and updates them with funky arrangements and sensuous grooves. Perfect music to dance and cook to with a glass of wine in your hand...

I'm pairing this recipe with a beautifully heartbreaking song from the "KiTCHEN MuSIC" album, "Here's That Rainy Day." It's one of those classic songs that you've heard but don't quite remember the title of. I first became aware of it as a jazz standard in recordngs by Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson and many others.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I focused in on the lyrics. One of my favorite lyrics of all time is: "Maybe I should have saved those leftover dreams/funny, but here's that rainy day." If you've ever had your heart torn out, that line just about sums it up, doesn't it?

Besides the ironic lyrics, "Here's That Rainy Day" starts with a low, mournful melody that appeals to the lovelorn, tempest-tossed romantics in us all.

On the KiTCHEN MuSIC album, I created a sultry, slow, Brazilian style bossa nova arrangement of Here's That Rainy Day with vocal, spanish guitar, bass and drums. Hope you like it - Roberto

RECIPE: Tossed Salad & Scrambled Eggs with 5 Sweet and Bitter Lettuces

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 minutes for scrambled eggs. If you like your eggs wet 'n' nasty like me, a few seconds will do...

TOOLS

Never chop lettuce with a knife. Use your hands to shred the lettuces. Use a Chef's knife for slicing tomatoes, onion and apple; a paring knife for coring and de-seeding the apple; a wisk for the eggs, a spatula; a bowl for scrambling the eggs; and a sauté or omelette pan for scrambling the eggs.

INGREDIENTS

• Canola oil, butter, light olive oil or healthy margarine for cooking eggs, about 1-2 tablespoons

• 3 large or extra-large eggs (I prefer cage-free eggs)

• Milk, light cream, half-'n'-half or soymilk to thicken the eggs, about 1 or 2 tablespoons

• Salad of whichever lettuces look best on the day you go to the grocer, farmstand, farmer's market or supermarket: butter lettuce & romaine for sweetness; plus bitter greens like frisee, radicchio and arugula (in honor of Barack Obama;) plus really ripe tomato (don't let me catch you serving unripe, refrigerated tomatoes to your guests) for acid; crunchy walnuts for an extra shot of omega-3 oil; dried cranberries or raisins for sweet highlights; diced apple for zest; chopped Italian-style flat leaf parsely to add freshness; sliced mild red onions for color; and finally, dress this boffo concoction with a light balsamic or ginger-tofu salad dressing. WOW.

• Fruit: I try to have fruit at every meal, which means three to six times a day. Plain old fresh strawberries; blueberries for brain health; kiwi for vitamin C; or something else colorful will set off the bright yellow of the eggs and make you feel nutritionally virtuous.

Servings: 3 eggs serves 1. Make enough salad to share with a friend or have leftovers for lunch and dinner.

DIRECTIONS

Have all ingredients prepared and ready to go before turning on the stove.

• Make the salad FIRST, and toss it onto your plate. The eggs will cook in minutes, and there are few things worse than cold scrambled eggs.

• Heat your saute or omelette pan over medium heat

• Crack the eggs into a bowl, adding a pinch or two or three of kosher salt

• Add the milk, light cream, half 'n' half or soymilk to thicken the eggs, if you wish

• In the bowl, Wisk the eggs and thickener to within an inch of their life, wisking high to introduce air into the mixture.

• When the pan is hot, add the butter or margarine or canola oil, tilting to cover the bottom of the pan

• When the oil/butter/margarine is hot (look for it to become more liquid, less viscous, and just about to smoke,) turn the heat down to medium

• Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Scramble with a fork.

• Scramble while humming, singing or whistling "Here's That Rainy Day," and think about when your heart was broken.

• Using the spatula, place the eggs on the plate with the salad

• Eat it all up, getting revenge on the person who broke your heart by enjoying the living daylights out of your breakfast. :-)

ENJOY! - Roberto

©2009 Celestial Media, Inc.

From Wikipedia : "Here's That Rainy Day has been recorded by many jazz and pop singers, including Tony Bennett, Dee Dee Bridgewater, June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald, Astrud Gilberto (with Stan Getz), Lena Horne, Jack Jones, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Kenny Rankin, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan and Andy Williams. It is also a favorite of jazz instrumentalists, with versions by Gene Ammons, Chet Baker, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, Wes Montgomery, Art Pepper, Oscar Peterson, and McCoy Tyner, among many others."

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