Breakfasts on the Fly

A blog post by Massel chef Elizabeth Schuler

I got an early morning call from an old friend saying that she and some of our mutual friends were in town for a conference and wondered if we could get together that day before they had to leave town. I was swamped with work and immediately thought I would be too rushed to enjoy time with them, but it had been so long since I had seen my friends.

“Oh, to hell with it,” I thought to myself. “Why can’t I be more spur of the moment? Let’s just make this happen. Carpe Diem.”

“Of course, please come to my house. I will make breakfast for you all,” I replied.

As she accepted my offer, I wondered what I had in the house that I could prepare. In my efforts to ‘seize the day,’ it had completely slipped my mind that my friend was a vegetarian.

“OK, let’s cover the basics,” I pondered. I knew that I had Massel, some vegetables and a carton of eggs. “This is a good start.” I chopped up peppers and threw them in a pan with olive oil.

“What’s next?” I threw in some cherry tomatoes with 2 teaspoons of Massel Vegetable Concentrated Liquid Stock and a couple tablespoons of water and covered the dish. Not long after, I remembered that my friend likes her food spicy, so I also diced up a half of a jalapeño and stirred that in, returning the lid. I put the oven on low and stuck in a loaf of French bread to warm. Soon after, I heard the doorbell ring.

“Perfect, they’re here!” The vegetables needed just a few more minutes to get tender, which gave me time to pour some coffee and juice. I pulled the top off the sauté pan, broke eggs over the peppers and tomatoes, and returned the cover.

I pulled the warm loaf of bread out the oven and put it in a basket so everyone could tear off his or her own piece. I grabbed the entire pan with the eggs and placed it right in the middle of the kitchen table with a spoon. Everyone helped themselves scooping out veggies and eggs, dipping the crusty bread in delicious yolk, and guzzling down their drinks. We shared all the latest happenings in our lives and told old stories and inside jokes that only this breakfast group could understand.

I was astonished at the tasty, quick and healthy breakfast I was able to share communally with my friends. Carpe diem, people. Carpe diem.