Gluten Free Vegetable Tart

Crust:

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon sea salt

8 tablespoons chopped cold grass fed salted butter

1 large egg, room temperature

5 tablespoons ice cold water, more as needed

Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. 

Add butter and mix on medium speed until crumbles form. Add the egg to combine. Add water gradually and continue mixing until the dough detaches from the bowl and forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer into a 9" greased tart pan. Press dough up the sides and trim off excess. Line dough with parchment paper and add pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove pie weights and bake a further 15 or until the crust is crispy and lightly browned. Let the crust cool completely.

Filling:

1 small purple eggplant

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 cup crispy onion bits

3 large eggs

1 cup cream

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Handful freshly chopped parsley

Sea salt and black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F

Slice eggplant into very thin slices. Whisk eggs and cream. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Scatter eggplant over the bottom of the crust, followed by tomatoes and crispy onion bits. Sprinkle parsley and parmesan cheese over the top followed by the egg mixture.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the custard is set and vegetables are cooked. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese to serve.

Open-Faced Ham, Egg, and Avocado Sandwich

Yields: 4

4 thick slices of your favorite artisan bread, toasted

4 poached eggs

4 thick slices ham or Canadian bacon

2 large ripened avocados

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Toast bread and assemble your open faced sandwich while the bread is still warm. Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the top and garnish with your favorite fresh herbs. Serve immediately.

Perfect Poached Eggs:

4 large very fresh eggs

Break eggs into a bowl. Heat about 2" of water in a deep sided skillet on medium heat. When bubbles cover the bottom of the pan and sides, gently pour eggs into the water. Lower the heat to the lowest setting so the water does not boil. Leave the eggs to cook uninterrupted for 4 to 5 minutes. You will know that the egg is cooked when the whites are set and the yolks begin to thicken. Remove from the water, set on a paper towel, and gently dry. Place atop other sandwich ingredients as seen in the picture and garnish however you see fit.

"Story Of An Egg": Difference Between 'Cage-Free', 'Free-Range', and 'Pastured' Eggs

www.huffingtonpost.com - March 22nd, 2013

Cage-free eggs are pretty commonplace on supermarket shelves. But if you imagine they must come from a bunch of chickens roaming around the farmyard politely clucking, you're sadly mistaken.

The definition for "cage-free" is quite literal: All it means is that the hens aren't kept in cages. It doesn't mean they're treated well. They can still be cooped up in large industrial chicken houses with no room to walk around.

Think "free-range" is any better? In order for chicken to be labeled as "free-range," they must have access to the outdoors. But that outside space doesn't need to be very big.

Not all cage-free eggs come from hens confined to small quarters, however, nor are all free-range chickens cooped up. 

"The Story of an Egg," one of 25 short films nominated in the PBS Online Film Festival, speaks to several farmers who raise chickens with plenty of space to roam free. And they don't have particularly kind things to say about farmers who do otherwise.

Which isn't surprising given the conditions caged chickens can suffer: Some are even debeaked so they don't peck each other.

Take a look at "The Story of an Egg" :

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Grass Fed Kerrygold Cheese and Chicken Frittata

6 large room temperature eggs, beaten

6 slices grass fed Kerrygold cheese (white aged cheddar)

1/4 cup fresh cream
1 cup chopped Cremini mushrooms
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
Handful chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped white onions

Sea salt and black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salted butter

Preheat oven to broil setting.

Blend eggs and cream. Season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a 12" non-stick, oven safe saute pan over medium high heat. Add butter and melt. Add onions, mushrooms, and chicken and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour egg mixture into pan and stir with rubber spatula. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until the egg mixture has set on the bottom and begins to set up on top. Arrange cheese according to picture. Sprinkle with parsley.

Place pan into oven and broil for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned and fluffy. Remove from pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil over the top. Cut into 6 servings. Serve immediately with crusty bread.