Breakfast tacos!

This morning, I glanced out my living room window to see a squirrel there. I wondered how the squirrel got there, since I live in a large apartment complex with just a few trees, right next to a major freeway. Does it frequent all the trees in my complex? What does it eat? It seems to be in a squirrel unfriendly habitat, given there are no forests nearby, and the closest park is across the freeway and down a block.

All these thoughts occurred while I was eating homemade breakfast tacos. Although I like the breakfast tacos at Ocean Park Cafe and Literati Cafe (establishments previously mentioned on this blog), those tacos contain whole eggs, bacon, cheese, and crema--not everyday breakfast fare.

I gathered the following ingredients: 2 corn tortillas, 1 tomato, 8 egg whites, 2 tbsp nonfat Greek yogurt, salt, and hot sauce. I toasted two corn tortillas on the gas range, divided 8 scrambled egg whites between the two tortillas, placed half a chopped tomato in each taco, smeared 1 tablespoon nonfat Greek yogurt on each tortilla, then sprinked salt on top along with squirting some hot sauce. These tacos took five minutes to make and made for a satisfying breakfast.

Ratatouille

Although I haven't seen the movie, I have been craving ratatouille. I made some last night and it was delicious with pesto penne. The leftovers will be toasted on flatbread, with some cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Christine's Ratatouille

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion-diced

6 cloves of garlic-minced

1 eggplant-cubed

1 zuchinni-cubed

1 red bell pepper-diced

1 yellow bell pepper-diced

2 juicy red tomatoes-chopped

2 handfuls fresh basil, stems removed, leaves torn

1 teasp. Sriracha red pepper sauce

~1/4-1/2 cup water

Dash red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over a medium flame in a non-stick frying pan. Add onions and saute until golden. Add garlic and cook for about one minute.

Throw in zuchinni and eggplant and saute, stirring every couple of minutes, until they are just beginning to soften. If needed, add water to help with the softening. Taste and season with salt.

Add bell peppers and cook until they start to soften, then add tomatoes and Sriracha. Continue to keep stirring every 2-3 minutes. The dish is cooked when the tomatoes have completely disintegrated, when the eggplant has shrunken to half its original size, and when a taste yields a soft texture and a strong, concentrated flavor of summer vegetables. Add more salt to taste, a shake of pepper and red pepper flakes, and the basil. Serve as a side dish or as a main course with grated parmesan or goat cheese sprinked on top and french bread or grilled polenta. This recipe makes 2-3 servings as a main course and 3-4 as a side dish. Leftovers taste great in a sandwich or an egg-white omelet.