Mushroom, Pepper and Cheese Omelette on English Muffin

English Muffin Breakfasts, Again!  Yes!

This time, it's a thick single-egg omelette with a lot of mix-ins - a large pinch each of thyme and salt, 3 tablespoons cream cheese, 1 red chili pepper (sliced) and a handful of sliced mushrooms.

I like using a very small non-stick pan.  The pan is really an egg pan, it even came with a spatula in the form of a fried egg! The diameter of the pan is about 4.5 inches!

screenshot from Google images

And it is the perfect size for a dish to put on top of an English muffin.

Oatmeal-Yogurt-Berries Breakfast Parfait

Summer is in full swing and it is hot, hot, hot!  In fact, the weather bureau has announced a weak El Niño that is likely to exist until June or July!  The heat index is nearing 41 and several areas have been declared as drought areas, with farmers suffering as their crops and fields are damaged by the extreme heat and lack of water.

I have not used the oven in a month!  It really is too hot to bake!  The last time I baked, the kitchen felt like a sauna.  We don't even cook long, because even with an exhaust system, it is JUST TOO HOT.

So, how to cool off?  Well, I have been making tons of ice cream... so far, at least once a week!  And I'm learning to appreciate the so-called ice-box cakes (like this tiramisu), with my next project being a mango refirgerator cake (if I can find sweet mangoes, that is).

Anyway, because of the heat, I served hubby a cool breakfast...

Of course I made it with my homemade Greek-style yogurt... (I discovered another use for my coffee filter/maker!  Definitely takes up less space in the fridge.)

And the wonderful thing about this parfait?  No cooking at all!  And it's super chilled!

1/2 cup instant whole oats, raw
1/3 cup milk
1/2 to 1 tablespoon chia seeds

3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt

150 to 200 grams frozen berries (or any combination fruit as preferred)

mascarpone cheese, optional

Mix together the oats, milk and chia seeds.  Let stand in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and goopy.

Using a parfait glass, or in my case, a short and wide-mouthed tumbler/drinking glass, spoon a layer of oatmeal at the bottom, top with yogurt then frozen or fresh berries.  Repeat the layering.  Chill overnight, or do as I did (because I made it early in the morning, about an hour before hubby returned from the gym), stick it in the freezer!  Just before serving, dollop a tablespoon of mascarpone on top.  (Hubby opted out of this.)

Enjoy!!!!

(If you notice there is no sweetener added to this recipe.  Hubby prefers it that way; he says that he likes his breakfast parfait on the tangy side.  Sweeten according to your preference.)

Homemade Granola, No Sugar Added and No Nuts!

These days, hubby likes granola for breakfast.  But he's specific - he likes my homemade version because I skip the nuts and sugar, and I add loads of dried fruit!

I loosely based my recipe for granola on these.  As usual I made a number of changes, mainly that I (1) doubled the recipe, (2) used a mix of seeds, no nuts of any kind (3) used olive oil instead of coconut oil, (4) used organic agave instead of honey or maple syrup,  (4) skipped the extracts and salt, and finally (5) added the dried fruit after the granola baked and cooled.

Next time, I'm thinking of adding dried tropical fruits like papaya, mango, pineapple... then add fresh sliced bananas before serving!!!  Mmmmm...