Sweet Potato & Herbed Caramelized Frittata & The Loss of an old friend

I'm such a visual person. Truly, I am.  For example, I had a meltdown today.  I lost an old friend. My camera died.  The new batteries and charger didn't revive it.  My inexpensive Fuji Fine Pix camera gasped it's last breath and I felt very sad.  I had plans to make a spectacular (in my mind) new dish, but I put the ingredients away.  I wanted to photograph how I made it!  I've spent two years building a habit of photographing just about everything I make-- at least, dishes I've made for the first time.  Are you feeling me?  My husband isn't. Especially when he saw me headed off to the mall to buy the camera that has been on my radar for at least a year.  It's a financial splurge, for sure.  I tried to justify the expense by telling him this is my early Christmas present for the next two years.  I  am now the proud (and very happy) owner of a Canon EOS Rebel T1i Camera!!  The timing is perfect (and a total coincidence, I told my husband).  You see, I am headed to San Francisco this Friday for two glorious nights and three wonderful days to attend the Foodbuzz Festival 2010.    So, it's a good thing that I photographed this frittata yesterday morning.  It's the last photo that my old camera took for me.  I was inspired to make this dish, when someone (thanks "Margo") posted this recipe-- which goes back to my being visual.  After reading that particular recipe, I decided to do my own version and change things up quite a bit. Therefore, I will claim this particular dish as my own creation.  The first step was to peel and slice 2 small sweet potatoes.

I added a little bit of water and covered the bowl with plastic wrap. I microwaved these for about 3 minutes.  In the meantime, I sliced on half of a large onion and began to caramelize them with a little bit of olive oil.

I cut some fresh thyme, from my garden and I went to cut some fresh sage.  Only, my beloved sage bush had died. It was shriveled up!  Wailing (well, that's a little melodramatic), I used dried sage, instead.

The onions cooked for about 10 minutes (for a very light caramel color), and then I seasoned them with coarse salt & freshly cracked pepper.

I removed the cooked onion from the skillet, and set them aside.

I added a little more olive oil and a pat of unsalted butter, then layered the sweet potatoes evenly. By the way, I believe these are technically yams. But I'll call them sweet potatoes for familiarity.

I flipped them over after 2 minutes, or so, when they were nice and golden.  While they were cooking, I cracked 8 eggs and added 2% milk and whisked them really well.  

There isn't a picture of this, is there? 

I took a few. So, you see, my camera was beginning to do weird stuff. It never uploaded, I tell you!But y'all know what a bowl of whisked eggs looks like, right?  Season them with salt & pepper.  You can add a handful of grated Parmesan, but I had something else in mind..

I buy this wonderful cheese blend at Trader Joe's.  If you don't have one nearby, use a cheese blend of your choice.  This blend has Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan and Mild Provolone. 

 The onion is layered on top...

...and the egg custard is poured evenly on top.

...and the skillet is placed into a 375F oven for 15 minutes.

...or until set.  The eggs shouldn't be jiggly.
I guess you could call this a "crustless quiche".

You can leave out the cheese.  Otherwise, put a layer of cheese on top and set the rack high and turn on your broiler...

Broil for about one minute, or until nice and bubbly...

...like that!  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, before cutting.

I took some nice shots of the skillet, showing the layers. Only, my camera didn't upload them.

But, take my word for it  This was delicious.

VERDICT:  My son hates sweet potatoes. Seriously, each year he eats one bite of my sweet potato casserole and shakes his head.  He took a bite of this and swallowed it With wonder in his voice, he asked if these were sweet potatoes (well, yams).  When I nodded, he raised his eyebrows. Then, he polished off his piece and went back for seconds.    Me?  I quickly wrote down the recipe so I could share it with you, and make it again

If I don't have time in my busy work week to post another recipe, I'm sure you'll be hearing from me as I meet 350 fellow food bloggers, this weekend. San Francisco has a very special place in my heart. It's where I studied Esthetics and got my cosmetician license. It's also a stone's throw from where my BFF lives.  After two years of emailing and occasionally calling Monica, of Lick the Bowl Good-- we are going to meet face-to-face for the first time. We're also going to be partners-in-crime roommates.

In a way, I thank my old camera for picking this weekend to kick the bucket.  I'll be attending a photography seminar, and I can take my new Canon on it's maiden voyage.  Who knows? Maybe I'll see a Victory Parade in downtown San Francisco if when the Giants win the World Series!

A printable recipes is a the bottom of this post.

California Black Bean Huevos Rancheros with homemade salsa

Saturday was a very special day for me.  My Arabian horse came home, after two years of living on a ranch in Paso Robles.  It was a matter of economics, and an offer I couldn't refuse, to move her 120 miles away.  "Savvy" has been well looked after and she was doing well. The problem was, I wasn't.  I found myself longing to brush her, feed her carrots, nuzzle her mane and to appreciate what only a true horse person can understand-- that "equine smell" of horse sweat, with notes of mustiness and ... well, horse. As luck would have it, someone I have known for decades owns a ranch about 12 miles from my home.  Charlene graciously offered to trailer my mare for the two-hour long haul back to Salinas, California. Excitedly, I called out to my girl, "Savvy!!" and I could hear her whinny as the trailer pulled in to her new home.  She unloaded a bit stiffly, so we took her into the arena.  It took less than a minute for her to sniff, paw and find just the right place to buckle her front knees and plop down for a good roll.

Savannah Sue, has officially checked out her new home and I was grinning from ear to ear. I missed that 27 year old horse more than I imagined!   Her new digs are quite lovely, I must say.  It's also a good 20-30 degrees cooler. I wilt in weather that is higher than my coastal 70-80 degrees. While Savvy got to sniff around, and her new neighbors came to check her out....

...we drove up to the main house. The owners are away at their second home in Hawaii. Nice, huh?

The top right photo is not a small house. It's a "Chicken Condo".  I'd say that there won't be a coyotes, foxes nor or any kind of predator that can get to these chickens!  Next door, is a more typical chicken coop with Mr. Rooster. The caretaker handed me a carton of fresh eggs, freshly laid that day!  Score!!  After brushing my horse, and feeding her carrots, we headed home.  I felt like all is right with my world, just  knowing that my horse was 15 minutes away from home.  

This morning, I pondered how to enjoy these eggs.  If you've never tried farm fresh eggs, I can tell you that the yolks are more yellow. I personally believe that they taste better.  Huevos Rancheros, I decided, would be perfect. I fact, just last week, I had  received a box of California Grown Avocados-- courtesy of the Foodbuzz  Tastemaker Program.  I've been enjoying them a few different ways (which I will blog very soon).  All I needed was salsa, but my homegrown tomatoes aren't ready.  Pioneer Woman to the rescue! Fortunately, I stockpile canned tomatoes in all size, shapes and flavors.  You need a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, a can of Rotel Tomatoes-- which I didn't have. I simply added minced mild green chilis, which are a pantry staple in my home. A food processor makes this a breeze to make:

You also need onion, fresh jalapeno, fresh cilantro and a garlic clove.  If you've never worked with jalapenos, just remember a few things-- the membrane holds all the heat. Remove the seeds, too, and wash your hands! If you accidentally rub your eyes, you will be very sorry! If you hate cilantro (Chinese Parsley), leave it out. Thankfully, we love cilantro and grow it in my own backyard.

Toss all of your ingredients into the food processor. Add 1/4 tsp of cumin (or more, if you wish), a pinch of sugar and salt, and fresh lime juice.  I coarsely cut the canned mild green chilis and then pulsed these ingredients about 3 times-- we don't want puree!

Now add the undrained tomatoes and pulse this a few more times. Taste with a tortilla chip. Mine needed more salt. Yummy!
TASTING NOTES: I see no reason for me to buy salsa in the deli section nor jars at the grocery store.  This is much easier to make, and you can adjust the "heat".  1 whole jalapeno gave this some kick.  1/2 jalapeno would be more my preference, but my boys like it hot. If you want mild,leave out the jalapenos, altogether but don't skip the minced green onion. If you have Rotel tomatoes (which are tomatoes with mild green chili peppers, and some seasonsings) that works, too.  Salsa is ready. Next, you need eggs, a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), corn tortillas and cheese. I used Cotija cheese.

I lightly cooked each tortilla in a little vegetable oil, until soft. Then I drained and patted it with paper towels.
Now for those lovely eggs-- sunny side up.  To the black beans I added a bit of chicken stock to make them a little moist,  and mashed them just a little bit-- or, you could puree them.  Since the salsa has kick to it, I didn't season the beans. Let's build it-- layer 2-3 corn tortillas. Next, some beans and a little bit of Cotija cheese. I decided to broil it for about 30 seconds, to melt the cheese. Next the salsa, then the eggs.  Sprinkle with a little more cheese and slices of avocado.

We were so hungry that I didn't photograph the egg-- which was cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of beautiful yolk.  I've provided printable recipes for the Huevos Rancheros and the Homemade Salsa, at the very bottom of this post. I hope you'll try this. We loved it.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my horse-- and more fresh farm eggs wouldn't be so bad, either!  UPDATE: My beloved mare went to her pasture in the sky, just a month after I posted this.  I have decided to keepher photos on this post, in memory of the joy she brought into my life.

Happy Summer!