Since we're on a roll with reusing leftovers, here's another way. If you don't like fried rice, then you can always re-hash your leftovers in eggs.

That's what we did with this fritata/omelet, whatever you want to call it. Just take whatever leftover you have in the refrigerator and cook it in egg and you'll have something delicious to call brunch!

What we had here was some leftover lumpia filling consisting of ground beef, carrots, greenbeans, and celery. I simply cooked them in a couple of scrambled eggs and you'd think I actually went through the trouble of chopping all these vegetables for breakfast!





Visit our other blogs:
Amoores.com
Cooked from the Heart - our new food blog
Our New Backyard - garden & photo blog
Found Not Lost - about all the things we 'find' worth talking about

The girls are off to summer at grandma's house so it is just me and hubby at home again. Sometimes when we are feeling particularly lazy we cook an egg dish for a quick supper and since I am still trying to clean out the fridge of odds and ends, we decided to have this for a light supper. I only had one Japanese eggplant left in the crisper, and not much other vegetables to pair it up with so eggplant fritata it is.


Since Japanese eggplants are relatively mild and thin skinned, I simply sliced them and quickly pan fried the slices in a bit of olive oil. Set them aside and scramble about 4 eggs and season with salt and pepper. Heat a couple more tablespoons of oil in the skillet and pour the egg mixture in. Let the eggs set about halfway, then place the eggplance pieces on top of the egg. I also had some left over chopped tomatoes so I just threw those in too. Carefully turn the omelet over and cook on the other side. Serve.

Tip on turning a whole omelet over: After the egg has set half way, meaning the bottom is fairly cooked but the top is still runny, slide the omelet onto a plate. Holding the plate in one hand, carefully cover it with the skillet facing down, quickly flip it over, remove the plate and return the skillet to the stove.

How many ways can you do egg? Probably too many to count. The egg is probably the most versatile food product there is. It can go from delicate to hardy, from simple to sublime as easily as water pours from plastic to crystal and vice versa. Eggs can be served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, even dessert! Not many food items can claim that. So is it any wonder that my photobucket, upon review is peppered with diffent versions of egg dishes?

Here are a few of my favorite ways with eggs:

This is what I had for brunch today. I would like to introduce, to Weekend Herb Blogging this week, Ampalaya (momordica charantia) or bitter melon. Like it's name says, it is bitter. Bitterness is a taste that is often underappreciated in most cuisines but as my grandmother used to say, with your palate as in life, you can't appreciate the sweetness until you've had a taste of bitterness. It is certainly an acquired taste. It is learned. I used to spit this stuff out as soon as I tasted it. She taught me to learn to like it by first giving a bit of the bitter stuff then telling me to chase it down with some water. Then she would say, "did you notice how the water tastes sweeter?" It did! Pretty soon I learned to like bitter melon and appreciate it's flavor. Now that I'm older, I also appreciate it's nutritional value and medicinal advantages. See the links at the end of this post for more information.

I found a pack of Ampalaya seed early in the spring and I immediately grabbed a pack. I followed the instruction on pre-soaking the seeds before planting them after all danger of frost had passed. I figured it would fare well in our growing region since we do have some hot summers which it supposedly prefers to grow in. I was a bit disappointed when only one plant came up; but I have become delighted with this one plant as it proved itself to be quite prolific. Have a look in our backyard for photos of it's first baby fruit. It's had many more since.


This is how it looked while it was sauteeing, before the eggs were added. Don't you love the colors?

INGREDIENTS:
1 med/lg bitter melon, sliced thin
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 eggs, scrambled
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Oil

Heat about two tablespoons of oil and saute' the garlic and onions until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and bittermelon and continue to cook while constantly stirring until almost dry and the bitter melon is cooked. Season with salt and pepper and add the scrambled egg. Slowly stir until the egg is cooked through. Remove from heat and serve.



Still need convincing of the benefits of Ampalaya? Visit these links for additional information:
What is Ampalaya?
Links to more information on Ampalaya.com

Thanks to Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen for conceptualizing this event and also hosts it this week. Visit her site for the roundup of all participants this week.



Filipino Cookbooks