breakfast BLT plate.

mmmmm. breakfast.

this was totally a clean-out-the-fridge style brekky that we made one weekend, but it was so scrumptious and satisfying that i made it again.

and it’s really just a BLT on a plate!

or a BLAT, but i don’t like saying that.

also, health, because sautéing like 4 giant leaves of kale in a pan quickly becomes a tiny pile of kale. but all that green superfood goodness is all still present!

if you’re a sunny side up hater, then leave more room between the kale and center of pan to flip the eggs over, or just scramble them.

you have to be sure to get a piece of each component into each bite! all the savory flavors really jive.

whomever first placed a slice of bacon next to a slice of tomato and a piece of lettuce was a got dang genius. amiriiiiite?

BLT. meant 2 be.

Breakfast BLT Plate

Time: 20 minutes

Serves 1, easily multiplied

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large purple kale leaves, washed, dried and removed from stems

• 2 large eggs

• 2-4 slices of bacon (save a little bacon grease in pan to sauté the kale in)

• 1/2 a large avocado, sliced

• handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

• goat cheese

• salt, pepper, red chili flakes

• bread or toast, optional

Instructions:

In a large pan or skillet, cook the bacon as desired. Save just a bit of the bacon grease in the pan, discard the remainder in an old can or jar to harden. Place the bacon on a paper towel to remove excess grease.

Heat the pan with the bacon grease to medium, tear the kale and toss it into the pan and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Toss with a spatula to tenderize, about 2 minutes.

Once the kale is tender, scoot it out to the edges of the pan, leaving a hole in the center to crack the eggs in. Crack 2 eggs into the center and sprinkle with black pepper if desired. Cover the pan and allow the eggs to cook about 2-3 minutes, or just until you see a film starting to form on the yolks. Remove from heat immediately. If you don’t like runny yolks, cook until the yolks are hardened, about 2 more minutes.

Carefully transfer the kale and eggs to a large plate. Add the bacon, sliced avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, and goat cheese crumbles. Add an extra sprinkle of red chili flakes if desired.

Serve with bread or toast if you like!

qp

backpacking the enchantments.

heyyyyyyyy.

this trip happened back in june when summer was just upon us!

i had several perdy photos from my phone so i still wanted to share them here :)

pete won the enchantments lottery for this particular area - eightmile lake and lake caroline (if you’re not from washington, the enchantments are a big region of mountains and the most gorgeous alpine lakes that are only accessible via a lottery system that people enter in every year to be able to go hiking & camping there). we brought tom dad with us for the four-day journey. he did so great (better than me, lol). 65 and strong as an ox.

we weren’t placed in the “core enchantments” that are the most primo spot to win, but an area just outside of the core that was still beautiful as ever.

once we got up here, we totally understood the need for the lottery system. if these areas were just regular ol’ hikes accessible to all the humans at all times, they would not be nearly as pristine and amazing as they are!

we hiked in to eightmile lake for the first night of camping. it rained just a little bit, but it was fine. the next morning when we woke up we saw the lake in all it’s daytime glory. sooo pretty.

we hung here for a bit, enjoyed the sunshine, made brekky, & the boys tried to catch some fish.

then we packed everything back into our backpacks and carried on to lake caroline. this was a challenging, long hike, but totally doable if you’re a regular hiker. i’m just a weenie when there’s lots of hot sun - i get hot & bothered pretty quickly. the cooler weather is just much easier for me to hike in.

this reminded me of the italian alps or something! i’d wished we’d come upon a cozy mountain shack with cheese and salami to munch on, haha. so gorgeous here!

the wildfires that happen in eastern washington are no joke. you can see all the fire damage here from the previous years’ fires.

pano by peter.

pano by peter!

almost there almost there almost there.

just give me sleeping bag, get me horizontal, some astronaut food in my bellay, that tiny box of wine i carted up this mountain, please!

my friend billy!!!!! he was cool. i was not skerred of him at all. he was a big ass mountain goat, though.

we camped at lake caroline for two nights and had a great time doing shorter hikes during the day, attempting to catch fish, reading, and chillin. pete and tom hiked way way way up one day and got some incredible photos. i opted to snooze in the tent in the sunshine and read and hang out with my bff billy.

where pete & tom went!!!

pete’s photo of a big fat marmot!

wilderness people.

another pete pano!

^ check out the wildlife. all the snow white vibes.

big goat, two deer, marmots and chipmunks abound.

as with every hike down, we talked about cheeseburgers and beer the entire way after 4 days of astronaut food and trail mix. we left the wilderness just as a torrential downpour hit the trailhead and an army of mosquitos appeared out of nowhere. perfect timing, i say.

simply stunning up here!!! if you get the opportunity to explore the enchantments, do it!

qp