Open Faced Egg and Spinach Sandwich

Saturday mornings are probably one of my favorite parts of the week. When I was a little kid, I’d wake up at 6 or 7 in the morning to catch the latest cartoons and my sister would join me around 9. Now that I’m an adult, I don’t really have the attention span to watch much TV nor do I want to waste my mornings doing so. Saturday mornings are reserved for outdoors activities, reading, playing music, or in this case, spending time in concocting a hearty and healthy breakfast and then writing about it. It’s pouring over here, and since I’m currently not training for any upcoming races, I’ve decided to not go jogging in the rain as fun as it can be. Rather, I’m sitting at my kitchen table writing away with the sliding glass door wide open so that I can hear the rain pattering and birds chirping with more clarity.

Last night I went rock climbing with a friend (finally unfroze my account) and she suggested making a breakfast sandwich for the blog. Usually I don’t have bread at my house, but my friends had brought a loaf of sourdough over last week and it was still sitting in my fridge. Couldn’t let it go to waste! So I quickly sliced it up, brushed one side with olive oil, placed it on a baking tray, and tossed it in the oven. While it baked, I sautéed some spinach with garlic and olive oil on low heat.

Five minutes later, voila! Spinach on top of the bread. I sprinkled a teensy tiny bit of salt on top and drizzled a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over it. Then came the egg! Cooked on low and sunny side up.

I added some freshly ground pepper over the top and a tiny bit more salt for the egg. Then plated it with a few sliced up strawberries.

Look at that yolky goodness! It oozes onto the bread and spinach, adding more flavor to each bite.

It’s a very simple breakfast and takes about 10 or 15 minutes to make. The ingredients are generally sold very cheaply in grocery stores, so if you’re on a budget, you can still eat healthy. It contains most of the important food groups, and served with a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and aloe vera chunks from the garden definitely makes it even healthier.

Eggs are a complete protein, and I think with the 5 strawberries and orange juice, you’ve got your vitamin C covered for the day.

Ingredients:

• A slice of sourdough bread
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups spinach
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 organic large brown egg (or any egg will do)
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and but about a 1 1/2 inch slice of bread (don’t want it too thin because it may get soggy later)
2. Brush one side of the bread with olive oil, place on a baking tray with the olive oil side facing up, bake for about 5 minutes (until the bread is warm and slightly crispy)
3. Add olive oil into a pan, sauté the garlic until it’s brown, add the spinach and sauté until it is wilted, and then place it on the slice of bread. Sprinkle some salt over the spinach and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over it as well. Set aside.
4. Crack the egg onto the pan that you were cooking the spinach in (oil should be enough to cook the egg on). Cook the egg on low heat so that it cooks the entire egg white all the way through, but doesn’t burn it.
5. Remove the egg when it is cooked and then place it on top of the bed of spinach. Grind some pepper over it, add a little bit of salt, and then eat right away!

Note: Good sourdough bread makes a phenomenal difference in this breakfast. Try to get one where the inside is fluffy and soft. I imagine that it’d be like what eating clouds would feel like.

I’m a bit in love with the simplicity yet tastiness of it all. Open faced sandwiches are definitely something I’m going to continue to experiment with for breakfast, especially since I already love bruschetta and that’s basically an open faced sandwich. It totally beat the Black Bean Cookies I was going to have for breakfast instead. Speaking of which, I’ve updated the cookies recipe which means that they sure are healthy enough to eat for breakfast. They have no refined sugar and are completely plant based (black beans, dates, cacao powder, almond milk, peanut butter, etc.).

Have a great Saturday everyone! I’m going to clean the house and then go grocery shopping…productivity at its finest I suppose. I’m just ‘adulting’, what can I say?