Simple is good

Sometimes the simplest things really are the best.

It’s been raining all day and at 1:30 the bowl of cereal I had for breakfast just wasn’t cutting it anymore. With no ramen or canned soup in sight, I started poking around in the fridge and found some leftover brown rice, a couple dozen eggs and some tomatoes that needed to be eaten soon. A block of cheddar cheese sealed the deal.

I warmed the rice by sautéing it in a bit of butter and some garlic powder. When it was hot enough and just beginning to brown, it went into the bottom of my bowl with a few slices of cheese on top to melt. I cooked a couple eggs over-medium (beautiful runny yolks, but no weird jiggly whites) and diced a small tomato. Despite a few brown spots, this tomato was perfectly ripe – it smelled like summer and all the complex flavors of freshly-picked produce. As everything was ready each item got layered in: brown rice, cheddar, two eggs and my fresh “salsa” on top.

A dash of cumin at the table really brought out the sweetness of the tomato and complemented the buttery richness of the eggs (they must have been local!). The rice was warm, the eggs hot and the tomato refreshingly cool, with the occasional bite of gooey cheddar an added bonus! The brown rice brought a nice chewiness and heartiness to the otherwise silky texture of the eggs, filling out the meal more than a piece of toast could have done. I could eat this every day (and maybe I will!).

So that’s four ingredients, two spices, ten minutes to cook and about half as long to scarf down. (And some hot peppermint tea to stave off the chilly rain outside my window!)