It’s no secret- lazy weekend mornings refresh my soul and I LOVE BRUNCH. I wake up, put on some coffee, walk and feed the dog, and then walk through the apartment tying open all the curtains letting the sun shine in. And if it’s gloomy out, I do the same nonetheless.  Even though I find it difficult to sleep in, I try not to make plans with friends too early on the weekends so that I have time to bum around the house, catch up on some projects, or just flip through a magazine at the kitchen table… unless they’re coming over for brunch (then I probably wake up and start cleaning)!!

Brunch is by far my favorite meal to cook: it’s a little breakfast, a little lunch, can incorporate aspects of dinner, but mostly I love brunch because anything goes. There’s infinite variety. And it’s a good time to gather up all those little bits of this and little bits of that, hanging about the refrigerator at the end of the week and whip them up into something fantastic. And that’s exactly what I did here!

Eggs blindfold with smoked Gouda, spinach and polenta pile-up served with vine ripened tomatoes, baby bella mushrooms and zucchini.

The other night I had a polenta perfect dinner with a side of spinach, so in an effort to use up the rest of my refrigerator stash before it went bad, brunch incorporated the unused remainder of my ingredients.

• The ingredients:
  -egg
  -zucchini
  –polenta
  -baby portabella mushrooms
  -spinach
  -vine ripened tomato
  -smoked Gouda

Time to whip up the meal.

Thinly slice the zucchini and fry it with a little olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Flip after about 2 minutes, when they get brown. Toss in some thinly sliced mushrooms and sauté.  Slice the polenta, you will need 2 thin slices per person, and cook as shown with a bit of olive oil, or drizzle with oil and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350. When nearing completion, top with some smoked Gouda and toss in some spinach to wilt.

Now for the eggs. You can use the same pan that you used for the veggies if you wish, no need to wipe it out or anything, the remaining oil will be sufficient to cook the eggs, so long as it is a non-stick pan. Yes, and for this you will need a pan with a lid. (of course you can make the eggs any way you wish…) Eggs blindfold is a favorite of mine because it’s almost like a hybrid between a fry and a poach. Crack the eggs in the pan and cook over medium heat until the whites begin to set around the edges. Toss in about 3 ice cubes, cover, and cook for about 2 minutes. Eggs are done when they white over the yolks as seen in the picture below.

Assemble your brunch as pictured. Sprinkle the egg with a little pepper (or ground cumin) and mangia.