Chocolate & Blood Orange Donuts for Valentines Day

I don't know how, but somehow I avoided all the Valentine's Day complainers this year. I saw a lot of people being happy and sharing their love, whether for their dogs, moms, or significant others, and that made me feel great. I also saw a little of the "we don't celebrate Valentines Day because we appreciate each other every day of the year" stuff too. I almost just called it bullshit, but stopped myself. It's not that I am not all about showing your love 365 days a year. But, why not take any excuse to really delve into it and have it be completely acceptable? 

I have always loved Valentines Day. I loved it when I was a kid and got to make a box and bring it to school and collect the cards on my desk at the afternoon party. I loved it when I was in college and spent the day in organic chemistry lab, wearing all red and pink. I loved it when I was single and spent the night drinking margaritas and going to the movies with my mom. Always. Part of that is probably my upbringing because my mom always did things for my and my sister on Valentines Day that made it seem special, normally buying us underwear or our favorite candy (ahem, Reese's are great in any shape, but hearts are one of them). Sometimes I think she even made my dad buy us flowers. 

I think one of the reasons that I love it is that I am a total sap at heart. I try to keep my emotions at bay sometimes, and I am okay with the stereotypically unromantic relationship that I current lead. But sometimes, I just have so much love that I feel like I could burst. And then, on Valentines Day, I let it all out. I send valentines to my friends (the first photo here), I write sappy cards to my partner with drawings of puns that I saw on the internet, and I go all out with the valentines nail art. 

I commissions artists I find online to do things like make custom embroidery pieces of me, Jack, and Gustav (look at how cute we are in stitches!)

I buy my dog a red bandana and take him on a long walk around the neighborhood to spread the love, and look at the cute v-day decorations that people have put up. 

This year, Jack and I also had a somewhat stereotypical celebration, but it was very ideal. He had his mom ship some beer from our favorite brewery in our college town (New Belgium- its impossible to find out here and they came out with a new wheat beer!)so we could go to a BYOB for dinner and bring that to drink. Except that the snowpocalypse prevented that from happening, and the package is likely floating around somewhere with all my belated valentines that were sent on time! We went out to dinner at a small Spanish place, not too fancy, and serving tacos (obviously the most superior food). It was trying to be nice and romantic, and the service was great. Jack hit the nail on the head when he said that it was just like us: perfect, and a little bit trashy :) After that, we stopped by a heART show and got buy-one-get-one ice cream cones at one of the best ice cream places on the planet. I got a flavor called "box of chocolates"... swoon. Then we ended up at a house party with some friends. Everything was just. so. great. This morning, we went out to our favorite coffee shop for brunch too. Despite this shitty weather, this weekend has ruled. I long for the days of holding hands that aren't in mittens and gloves... too much sap? Sorry. 

Oh yeah, how could I forget the point of this post?!? Valentines morning, I made Jack and Matt donuts. This is a first for me, and yes, they're technically not donuts because they're baked... but it's as close as I'm going to make at home. I have heard other bloggers call them "muffnuts" because they're more muffins than donuts really, but I don't like that either. I don't like the word and it also isn't an accurate description of what these are, which I guess you can decide for yourself. The part that sucks is that you have to buy a donut pan (or borrow one from a fellow baker). Otherwise, these won't be shaped like donuts... and that's the point, right? Anyways, they were delicious and adorable and put everyone in the house in the mood for a love-ly day <3 

Chocolate Donuts with Blood Orange Glaze

makes 12 donuts 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
dash of cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 Tbs butter, melted, divided
2 Tbs light corn syrup
3 cups powdered sugar
the juice from one blood orange
2 Tbs heavy cream 
Sprinkles for topping

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously spray your donut pan (I used coconut oil, which is my fave). 
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
3. In a second bowl, beat together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. 
4. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Add 3 tablespoons of melted butter to the mixture. 
5. Spoon the mixture into the donut pan. If you have a pastry bag, I would suggest using it. If not, just make sure that the "hole" part is not covered in dough so that they come out the right shape.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes.
7. Turn out the donuts to rest on a cooling rack while you bake the second batch (normally the pan only has room for six at once - or at least that's my experience). 
8. Whisk 2 Tbs melted butter with the corn syrup, blood orange juice, and heavy cream. Then whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
9. Use a spatula to drizzle the graze over the donuts. I did this over the glaze bowl, since it can make a bit of a mess! If you do this when they are too warm, it doesn't work as well.
10. Sprinkle some adorable sprinkles on top and share them with people you love! 

recipe adapted from Heather Cristo 

Giant Cast Iron Cookie

First off, I apologize for the lapse in posts while I was traveling on a business trip to San Francisco for a few days. Though it rained every second of every day that I was there, it was still SO much better than this polar vortex shit. It was weird being back there because I have such fond memories of visiting my sister when she lived there, which was only a couple years ago. This time, I was adventuring all alone. Well, not the whole time - I managed to grab dinner with a girl I have known for twenty years (crazy, right?!) and that was lovely. I also managed to go look at the Golden Gate, drink coffee in the mission, and score a badass thrifted denim jacket. So, even after waking up at 5am for 4 days in a row, I have no complaints. However, it was good to be home again, planning meals and buying groceries and hanging out with my favorite boys. 

Speaking of the polar vortex, we are snowed in. Again. I normally volunteer at a horse stable on Thursday mornings and it's the best part of my week, but nope. My favorite barre class, cardio barre, is also on Thursdays. Nope. This weather makes me really wish I was still in grad school - the automatic text messages telling me that school is cancelled mean nothing anymore :( Sigh. 

My roommates and I don't normally go that wild. They study A LOT and I busy myself with lots of other things. But, despite the "snowpacalypse", we decided to go to a dance party at a bar last night. It was a great idea. That led to sleeping in, bundling up to walk through feet of snow to buy bars of chocolate this morning, and then eating this giant skillet cookie for breakfast. We are so sassy. (Speaking of sassy, Mishka the kitten decided that her furry little foot should also be part of this photo).

Salted Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie 

makes 1 big cookie

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan 
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 egg
3 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt, plus more for sprinkling
~1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks (I broke up two chocolate bars- one was a milk chocolate with almonds and the other was a bittersweet dark chocolate and mixed them! You can get creative here, or just buy chocolate chips too) 

Directions 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your cast iron skillet with butter, generously (I used about 1 1/2 Tbs of butter for this)
2. Beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy (I used my upright Kitchen Aid for this, but a regular hand-held would work just as well). 
3. Add the egg and vanilla to the wet mixture and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt. 
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, combining until uniform. 
6. Stir in the chocolate.
7. Press your dough into the prepared cast iron pan, using a flat spatula to ensure it is even.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, turning once about half way through. 

Recipe Adapted from Gimme Some Oven 

Spicy Broccolini with Wild Rice

I have totally become a spicy food person since meeting my boyfriend. Mind you, I'm not someone who puts hot sauce on absolutely everything (he is!) and I still choose mild or medium spiciness when given an option. But, compared to how bland my tastebuds used to like things, that's an improvement! I can handle much more Mexican spice than I can Indian spice though - I'm still working on that one. Anyways, I tend to find ways to add more spice and more heat to most of my recipes. If you don't enjoy these sorts of flavors, definitely tone it done - especially on this one. Also, don't make this if you dislike broccoli, because it's chock full of it! 

Side story: we have these family friends that are really cool. The mom is in oil and gas (like my mom), but their dad is an artist. So, their house is full of cool stuff. I remember the first time I went over there, probably 15 years ago, and I was amazed. I didn't know anyone who had a purple and yellow kitchen floor, a neon sign with their last name in the hallway, bathroom cabinets made of chrome, or one of those paintings hanging where the guy is holding a gun and it looks like its pointed at your wherever you go... anyways, their house rules. I also don't know if any of them read this blog, and I have never told them how much I love their house in person. But, oh well. The point of the story is that their weird artist dad just used to do weird artist dad stuff all the time, and I remember one time when the mom and girls were out of town and he carved "I Hate Broccoli!" into the wood above their kitchen sink. I thought that was so cool. Wouldn't it be fun to live with such a quirky person? I think so. Maybe some day, I'll tell you about the "creative kitchen" I had with my roommate in college, but that's a story for later. On to the recipe! 

Spicy Broccolini with Wild Rice

serves four 

Ingredients:  

2 cups Wild Rice

24 ounces broccolini, chopped into small florets 

2 medium yellow onions, diced

4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

6 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

8 cloves crushed garlic

6 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Ume plum vinegar 

2 limes

salt and pepper, to taste

red pepper flakes, for topping 

Directions:

1. Get the rice cooking! I threw it in my trusty rice cooker, which takes almost an hour to cook. This is the longest step of the recipe and can totally be done ahead of time - FYI. If you cook it in the rice cooker, you need 2 cups of water for every one cup of rice (same as if you are doing brown rice). But, if you are doing it on the stovetop, you'll need to follow the package directions. Either way, it's going to take a while, so get it going!  

2. Using a large wok, heat 3 Tb of the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and sauté, stirring occasionally so they don't burn. Let them cook until almost translucent, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the rice, smashed garlic cloves, minced ginger (I used my Ninja for this and it was awesome), broccolini, soy sauce, plum vinegar, and last tablespoon of sesame oil. Combine and let cook for a few minutes, until the broccoli is tender and bright green, but not overcooked.

4. Squeeze the lime juice over the top and stir to combine. Portion into bowls and top with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. 

5. Eat while watching the latest episode of Adventure Time. It will make everything taste even better. 

Recipe Adapted from A House in the Hills 

Double Decker Breakfast Tostadas

So today is an extra-special Sunday for lots of people, I guess. First, it's Groundhog Day (surprise- more winter!) but mainly, it's the Super Bowl. Honestly, I don't care about football... at all. Watching sports or keeping up with any of them really isn't my thing - it's a hobby that I feel like I have neither the time nor the interest for. I love playing sports and being physically active, but I'm not all that good at sitting still enough to watch anything, a game included. In my whole life, I have never watched an entire game of anything on TV from start to finish. I will go to any sort of game, but that's a different story. That involves drinking overpriced beer, eating trashy food like hot dogs, and people watching galore. I'll do those things any day! 

The only reason that I care about today in the smallest way is that the Broncos are in the Super Bowl. If I had friends that cared about sports, I would probably join them in the celebration, yelling at the TV and eating tons of wings (that's what you're supposed to do during the Super Bowl, right??). But, I have done a good job of gathering a group of like-minded friends, none of whom care about today. So, even though "my team" is playing, I am not really doing anything special. I already tell everyone constantly how great Colorado is, so the Broncos winning (I've already decided they will) will just add fuel to my argument about how it's probably the best place ever. I even dug out my 1987 AFC champs Broncos t-shirt (thrifted from Goodwill about 10 years ago) and wore it to barre class this afternoon in hopes that someone would say something and I could wax about how heavenly my homeland is. But, they didn't. So today was the same as any other Sunday: filled with brunch and (at least one) workout. Today I ran 4 miles and then went to barre class just because it was nice out and I was feeling inspired. Sometimes I have too much energy for my own good. 

Brunch didn't happen exactly as I was hoping today, but it all worked out. This has been one of those weekends where nothing seems to be going my way. This morning, I had the beans on the stove, some greens on the cutting board, and realized I had no corn tortillas. I would swear on my life that I picked up a package at Trader Joe's yesterday and put them in my cart. But, grocery shopping yesterday was a zoo. (It's the Super Bowl today, remember?) So, maybe they slipped out of my cart. Or maybe the clerk forgot to scan them. Who knows. All I know is that the star of my brunch wasn't present when I needed it. After huffing and puffing, putting "real clothes" on  (I tend to lounge around the house in men's boxer briefs), and complaining more than necessary about having to drive to Whole Foods, my boyfriend reminded me that our neighborhood is full of Puerto Rican bodegas and I could probably find tortillas without getting in the car and losing my parking spot. I walked to the closest one (3 blocks) and they had some. So, I was forced to take some deep breaths and calm down. I'm still getting used to this east coast bodega thing... 

Anyways, these guys have been on my brunch list for quite a while, and I'm so glad I made them this morning. I'll take any excuse I can to eat more Mexican food (and add green chiles to anything and everything)!!

Double Decker Breakfast Tostadas

ingredients listed made brunch for 3, but everything can be altered to make more!

Ingredients

2 cups black beans (almost two 15oz cans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup sour cream, plus more for topping

2 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 ounces chopped green chiles 

12 small corn tortillas

olive oil

6 eggs

1 cup shredded Pepperjack cheese

1 avocado, sliced

chopped cilantro for topping

1 lime

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the beans on the stovetop over low heat. When they are steaming, add 1/4 cup water and the sour cream, green onions, cumin, chile powder, salt, and pepper.

2. Stir the mixture until combined and then use a potato masher to coarsely mash the bean mixture. Cover and keep on low heat.

3. Lay the tortillas out on two baking sheets and brush them with olive oil. Bake until lightly browned and crispy at the edges, about 5 minutes.

4. While the tortillas are baking, cook the fried eggs. Using a cast iron pan over medium-high heat, crack 4 eggs at a time and let them cook until the white part is opaque and solid, but the yellow is still liquid. When they are getting close to being done, I like to turn off the heat and let them cook for a couple minutes more, which seems to work nicely.

5. Assemble the tostadas! I used a large spoonful of bean mixture on each tortilla and then stacked them one on top of another. (You could probably do an extra layer of cheese in the middle too!) Sprinkle some cheese on the top, add a fried egg, and top with avocado, cilantro, and a bit of pepper. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Ole! 

Recipe Adapted from the Sprouted Kitchen cookbook 

Pear & Chocolate Scones

Have you ever had pears from Harry & David? When I was growing up, my aunt used to send our family boxes of fruit from Harry & David for Christmas, and I always looked forward to the pears. They're divine. You haven't had a pear until you have had a Harry & David pear. (Side note: No one is bribing me to write this about these heavenly pieces of fruit. But if anyone wants to give me free pears to bake with, please do!). They also come in these perfect boxes with one of the pears wrapped in gold foil. Swoon. Last year, a friend of mine sent me a box for my birthday and that is the moment I knew our friendship was something special (thanks Kristen!). 

Anyways, those fancy pears started my love affair with this fruit. Yeah, you have to let them ripen, and yeah they have a certain window of deliciousness before they get too mushy. But that just makes them more special, right? Pears are a winter fruit, and I tried hard to pick three perfect ones for this recipe, which resulted in getting different kinds: one Bartlett and two Bosc pears. I also let them ripen in my fruit bowl for an entire week. Labors of love, I tell you. 

I also have a thing for scones. My partner and I like to think we're "scone people". Is that even a real thing? Anyways, since we have been together, we have been splitting scones. Every time we get coffee, or go to brunch, we like to split a scone. They seem to be readily available and delicious at home in Denver. However, Philadelphia is lacking in the scone department. This was a big gripe of ours when we first moved - we went to SO many coffee shops and breakfast places with high hopes for scones, only to have them not be there. There are muffins, coffee cakes, donuts, you name it -- but there aren't scones. After careful coffee-drinking our way through the city, we have found them at a couple places, but they're rare and elusive. So, I started baking them kind of a lot. I just love a good scone. So, my love of pears + leftover chocolate chunks (from the banana muffins last week) + extreme scone lust = this morning's breakfast (made at noon, in my bathrobe, after sleeping in for the first time in weeks -- it felt amazing). 

Pear & Chocolate Scones 

makes 8 

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour 

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

6 tablespoons butter, finely cubed 

3 ripe pears, diced 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks 

1 egg

2/3 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Add the small butter cubes to the dry mixture and use both hands to incorporate. Continue mixing until the consistency is that of coarse sand.

4. Gently fold in the diced pear and chocolate chunks. 

5. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry bowl and stir gently until combined. 

6. Lightly flour a clean surface and then dump the ball of dough out. With lightly floured hands, form a uniform round, about an inch thick. Using a floured knife, cut the circle into 8 equal pieces (like a pizza). 

7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Turn the sheet once during cooking to insure uniform baking. Let cool before devouring. 

recipe adapted from Pastry Affair 

Banana Breakfast Muffins... with Chocolate

I ended up originally making this recipe because I was itching to make something with bananas. I toss leftover bananas in the freezer when they are about a week old and are turning brown. This doesn't happen too often in my house, but often enough that I had about eight in the freezer and wanted to do something to use at least some of them up. I also knew that this week was going to be really busy around here. The boys do most of their studying from home and listen to their lectures online (isn't that crazy?!) so they are home a lot  95% of the time. However, they have to be at school every morning this week. Since we share a car, I also have to get up and chauffeur them around so that I can drive to all my other activities I want to do that day (mainly going to barre fitness classes and the dog park... I realize how stay-at-home-mom-esque my life is right now, so you don't have to mention it). 

Anyways, I thought these muffins would be perfect for busy mornings on the go. They are chalk full of bananas and also have a little secret ingredient: coffee! That is why I called them "breakfast muffins" :) I look for any excuse to put more coffee in my day, which is probably not the best thing in the world for me, but it's my biggest vice. They also have not one, but two kinds of chocolate. Because why not? 

Banana Breakfast Muffins... with Chocolate

makes 18 muffins 

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (to cancel out the chocolate... ha!)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

3/4 cup buttermilk 

3/4 cup canola oil

2 mashed bananas

2 diced bananas

1/4 cup black coffee 

1 egg

3 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3.5oz bar of bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces

1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chunks 

turbinado sugar for dusting 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one entire and half of a second muffin tin with liners.

2. Combine the first four dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt). Whisk and set aside.

3. In a second, medium sized bowl, mix together the oil, buttermilk, mashed bananas, coffee, vanilla, maple syrup, sugar, and egg until fully combined. 

4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until almost mixed (leave some dry streaks). 

5. Add the diced banana and all the chocolate. Stir until uniform, but not over mixed. Lumps are a good thing! 

6. Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar. 

7. Bake until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean: about 18 minutes. 

Portugese Baked Eggs with No-Knead Rustic Bread

Happy Sunday! To me, Sunday is synonymous with brunch. I have been eating brunch almost every Sunday for my whole life. It seems to be more of a thing in some cities than others, but it's definitely a thing where I grew up in Colorado. Even when I was out of college, my partner and I met his family every single Sunday for brunch. When we moved from the west coast to the east, I was so happy to be in another place full of people who love brunch. It's fun to go out for brunch, but I also really love to make it at home. The boys are in full swing of studying for their medical boards coming up this summer, so they don't have much free time for eating out lately. So this weekend, we stayed in and I made brunch on Saturday and Sunday. They're so lucky to have me around ;)

Jack got me this really cool magazine/cookbook for Christmas called Gather (pictured below), and this bread is my first recipe I have followed from it. The pictures are beautiful and most of the recipes are slightly involved, but I can't wait to make more! (It also comes twice a year, so I have another one to look forward to in a few months!) This is my second loaf of bread I have ever made, and it's sort of weird only because of the slow rise. However, even though using roughly 20 hours total sounds like a really long time to spend on one loaf of bread, the hands-on time is literally like 10 minutes. Plus, I was sleeping for about half of it. 

I have also had Portuguese Baked Eggs on my list of brunch things to make for a long time. My main problem was that a lot of the recipes are basically just eggs swimming in marinara sauce. While I am sure that's not bad, I try not to make things where the main ingredient involves just opening a jar. I try to make as many things as possible from scratch, which is normally just as easy said as it is done. (I have learned in the last year how easy it is to make homemade tortillas too, and that has basically changed my life). Then I stumbled upon this recipe: same flavors, but all fresh vegetables. Perfect! It's not the easiest recipe to make just because it takes some time: chopping, stirring etc. But, it's definitely worth the time for a hearty delicious brunch. What are some of your favorite brunch recipes? I am always looking to mix it up! 

No Knead Rustic Bread 

makes 1 small-medium sized loaf 

Ingredients

3 cups flour (bread flour if you have it), plus extra for dusting

1 & 1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp active dry yeast 

1 1/2 cups cool water 

Directions

1. Stir together flour, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. Then, mix in the water using a wooden spoon until you have a wet, sticky dough (it's okay to use your hands to mix if you have to, but the dough needs to be very sticky to the touch). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight (12-18 hours). This slow rise - the fermentation - is the key to this bread's flavor. 

2. Dust your clean work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out from the bowl in one ball. Lightly flour your hands and lift the edges of the dough in towards the center, tucking them in to make a nice round shape. Do not add additional flour to the bread. 

3. Place a well-floured tea or dish towel on the work surface and gently transfer the dough round to the towel, seam side down. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Fold the edges of the tea towel over the top and let the dough rise in a warm area until almost doubled, 1-2 hours.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees. Place an oven-safe pot with lid in the oven on a rack in the lower third portion. 

5. When the dough has risen, unfold the towel and lightly dust again if necessary. Quickly and gently invest the dough into the pot, this time with the seam up. Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and rotate the pot within the oven. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the bread is a deep chestnut color, but not burnt. Very carefully lift the bread of the pot and let it cool on a rack for up to 60 minutes before eating. 

Recipe from Gather Cookbook - Jim Lahey's New York Sullivan Street Bakery bread 

Portuguese Baked Eggs 

serves 3-4 

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

3 bell peppers (I used two red and one yellow), thinly sliced

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

2 beefsteak tomatis, cut into wedges

8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño, seeds intact, sliced lengthwise

20-ish fresh basil leaves

2 Tbs fresh oregano leaves 

1 Tbs chili powder

2 tsp paprika 

Salt & pepper, to taste

1 cup ricotta cheese

6 large eggs

1 cup grated white cheddar cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan 

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño, basil, oregano, chili powder, and paprika. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to cook, stirring on occasion, until the vegetables are very soft and there is a thick liquid present, 25-30 minutes. 

3. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Discard the jalapeño.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Transfer the pepper mixture to an oven-safe dish- I used cast iron, but a baking dish will also suffice. Using a spoon, make 3 evenly-spaced wells in the veggie mixture. Drop a dollop of ricotta into each divot (it's okay if you don't use the whole cup) and then crack and egg on top of that. 

5. Top the dish with both cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the Parmesan is melted and the egg whites are set.

6. Serve immediately on slices of toast! 

Recipe adapted from bon appetit magazine 

Optional: share your last bite with an adorable dog face, like Gustav here. He stared at me the entire time I was eating, so I finally gave in. It's hard not to!