serves 4 -6

crust:

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 T commercial pesto ( i didn’t have any, so chopped up 2 T of basil, added 2 T olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 T grated pecorino romano cheese*) ( you could use parmesan if you like)

* I am lactose intolerant and seem to be able to tolerate goat’s milk cheeses

1 T grated pecorino romano cheese

1 large egg

cooking spray

3 large eggs

*if you can tolerate dairy, add 1/2 cup milk ( low fat or cream, up to you!)

salt and pepper to taste ( pecorino is VERY salty so I didn’t use any salt)

2 cups of cooked seasonal vegetables ( i used 1/2 onion and swiss chard sauteed in 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil)

3 small plum tomatoes ( or one larger beefsteak variety)

1 T. chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 350º. (* I am so excited! I just learned how to make that degree symbol! simultaneously press the option key and the number zero, cool eh?)

2. To prepare crust, combine rice, pesto, cheese and 1 egg. Firmly press mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9 in. pie plate, coated with cooking spray. Wet your hands and this will be easier. Bake at 350º for 15 mins and remove from oven.

3. Increase oven temp. to 400º

4. To prepare filling, whisk eggs. Add seasonings and milk if using.

5. Spoon cooked vegetable mixture evenly on bottom of prepared crust. Top with egg mixture, then tomato slices. ( here is where you could get really creative. The original recipe called for grated cheese and prosciutto. Go ahead! or olives or ??? I added a bit more cheese underneath the tomatoes)

6. Bake at 400º for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 325º and bake an additional 35 minutes until set. ( Because I didn’t use milk, mine was only in for an additional 15 minutes, so check!) Cool 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with the chopped basil. ( I forgot!)

I realized as I was taking pictures that my vegetables match my placemats today. My friends will tell you that I am all about matching, but this truly was unintended. Funny!
This would be great for any meal of the day, or an afterschool snack. I have been (more or less) gluten free for about 15 years. I do not have Celiac’s disease but do have hypothyroid and arthritis issues and find that I feel much better when I do not eat wheat or other gluten containing grains. One of my fellow personal chefs ( thanks, Laura!) mentioned The Gluten Free Registry yesterday. I have listed For Life! Personal Chef Service there and definitely plan to use this information when I make a trip to New England this fall. It is getting easier and easier to follow a gluten free diet. 15 years ago, it was all about lack, NOT being able to eat interesting food out and about. This is not so true anymore. More about gluten intolerance coming up in other posts.

We are in the height of tomato season here in Central Coastal California. Enjoy them while they are here.

This weekend , the market had so much to offer! I usually have to restrain myself. I want it all. So, what did I end up with ?? Everywhere was the wonderful aroma of basil, so I bought a beautiful bunch of that, with some parsley and rosemary. This went into Saturday night’s dinner, shared with friends, of a brown rice/ Caprese inspired salad, along with several heirloom tomatoes. I found some rainbow carrots ( red and yellow besides the usual orange) which will be roasted with a new spice, Za’atar, introduced to me by some of my personal chef colleagues. I bought some peaches, pluots, and grapes which have been made into a fruit salad. I also scored some figs which went into amazing fig gelato, beautifully blogged here by my personal chef friend, Tami. I also got some eggs to be eaten for breakfasts and perhaps a vegetable tart or quiche this week.
I usually buy myself a bunch of flowers but there were so many and so many different kinds, I was overwhelmed and unable to choose. Perhaps next week. And perhaps next week, there will be corn! That was the one purchase I was hoping for.

I am blessed to live where so much organic and local food is available year round. I am so used to eating this way that I forget there are still many people who don’t. My carrots were picked on Friday, I bought them on Saturday, and actually talked to the people who picked them, and will cook and eat them on Sunday! This is freshness at its best. Those carrots were at the peak of their ripeness, they were at the peak of their nutrition, and full of the love that the farmer had for them  and his farm. And now all that goodness, health, and joy is part of me.

I see my job as a personal chef primarily to provide the nourishment for the body, yet it is impossible to ignore the other. For me, providing a busy family or an ill person with nutrition is an act of nourishing MY soul. When I feed you, it feeds me in a beautiful way. When I cook for you, alchemy happens. When I cook with love and happiness, that energy finds its way into the food and when you eat it, into you. Food cooked with love tastes better. Food cooked in a clean, beautiful kitchen tastes better. Food raised with love tastes better. Food cooked in chaos creates chaos in your body.  I always try to cook with consciousness, as a prayer as it were.

Some books that I love that address these issues are If the Buddha Came to Dinner by Hale Sophia Schatz    and Fit Soul, Fit Body by Brant Secunda and Mark Allen.