03/18/2019 / By Mike Adams
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Spanish Omelette
Spanish Tortilla with Roasted Grape Tomatoes
Photo: A basic Spanish tortilla is usually made with eggs, potato and onion. Here is a version of that traditional dish that I made yesterday for my husband’s main meal. Four eggs; one pan-fried, diced potato; shredded Parmesan cheese; bits of brie and small, whole tomatoes were used to make this individual serving.
Beaten eggs are added to a diced, sautéed potato in a cast-iron pan; cheese and roasted small tomatoes are added, then after cooking for one or two minutes to firm-up the bottom, the whole pan goes under a broiler until the eggs are puffed and lightly browned on top.
Below: Grape-sized tomatoes are roasted in an oiled cast-iron pan, first on the stove and then for a few minutes in the oven under a broiling-flame. This process allows tomatoes to become concentrated in flavour, while making them easier to eat when incorporated into an egg dish. ~ Copyright 2018 ©M-J de Mesterton
Spanish Baked Omelette with Potatoes and Cheese
Elegant Basket of Tea Towels
Elegant, Re-Purposed Olive Oil Bottles
Large address labels and felt pens were used by M-J to make the contents of these elegant olive oil bottles easily identifiable. The original labels (as on the new bottle at left) of two empty containers were soaked-off in a sink half-full of very hot water. This trio of full bottles sits on the counter, ready for use on salads, cooking (a few drops of olive oil may be all you need to fry an egg) , drinking (add a teaspoon of cider vinegar to your water-glass in the morning and/or evening for enhanced health) and spot-cleaning (wipe-down windows, appliances and counters with a few drops of white vinegar). These particular vessels came with optional spouts, which make dispensing small amounts of liquid quick and easy. ©M-J de Mesterton 2018
Re-Using Commercial Bottles Elegantly
A red pepper bottle from which the label has easily been soaked-off is pretty enough to leave on the table with your favourite salt-shaker. To me, the ubiquitous bar-code on labels is an awful thing to see, therefore, in spite of this particular spice bottle label being tasteful and attractive, the entire thing had to go.
A large, beautiful green glass olive oil bottle is now living a new life as a cider vinegar dispenser, for which I made a label with white paper tape, coloured art-pens, and clear packaging tape (these high-quality olive oil bottles come with stoppers strapped to their necks that one can install for ease-of-use, instead of the original bottle-caps). This is a great way to have your “oil & vinegar” at hand.
©M-J de Mesterton, November 2018
As Mrs Bucket would say: “It’s Bouquet!” HAPPY HALLOWE’EN, or ALL SAINTS’ DAY
Make a Miniature Salt Shaker
Freestyle Eggs with Purple Onion and Serrano Peppers
I’m calling these two eggs “freestyle” because they were lightly fried to so-called “over-easy” level, but very uncooperative when I attempted to flip them with my spatula. The eggs are accompanied on this plate by purple (“red”) onions sautéed in butter with serrano chile peppers, and a bit of labneh (strained yoghurt) which is sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Adding a freestyle shake of Himalayan salt, I consider it a low-carb, highly-nutritious breakfast. ©M-J de Mesterton
SERRANO PEPPERS
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Vitamins: Serrano peppers are a good source of vitamin A. You can get almost 20 percent of your daily recommended vitamin A intake from a 100 g serving. The vitamin A that you get from serrano peppers helps with the synthesis of red blood cells along with helping to support your immune system. Vitamin C is also important for the function of your immune system and 100 g of serranos provides about 74 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement. Vitamin B6 is another important vitamin that helps your body to produce neurotransmitters as well as to ensure that it metabolizes fat and protein properly.
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Minerals: A 100 g serving of serrano peppers provides 4 percent of your daily iron and 5 percent of your daily magnesium. Iron is important for making the red blood cells in your body that transport oxygen. Magnesium is important for neural function, muscle contraction and for the coagulation of blood among many other processes.
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Dietary fiber: Serrano peppers contain 3.7 g of dietary fiber per 100 g serving. Dietary fiber has health benefits that include controlling both blood sugar and cholesterol. Fiber binds with low-density lipoprotein thus preventing its absorption by your body; similarly, it slows your body’s absorption of sugar and this helps with the control of blood sugar levels.
Capsaicin
Capsaicin is the compound responsible for the heat in hot peppers. It has numerous health benefits despite having no nutrients. While serranos are far from being the hottest peppers, they still offer an abundance of heat. The Scoville rating for these peppers is in the range between 10,000 and 23,000, which makes them up to 10 times hotter than a jalapeño (comparing the mildest jalapeño to the hottest serrano). The higher the Scoville rating, the hotter the pepper and the greater the concentration of capsaicin.
You can use serrano peppers to treat and prevent health conditions like:
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Heart disease: Capsaicin’s cholesterol-lowering benefits allow serrano peppers to be beneficial for heart health. Chile peppers also prevent the contraction of arteries, which restricts the flow of blood to the heart.
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Intestinal issues: Research has shown that capsaicin can help with the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. There is also evidence that it can help to kill the H. pylori bacteria that is a factor in stomach ulcers.
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Cancer: It’s believed capsaicin has the ability to treat cancer. Studies have shown that it is effective for fighting prostate and breast cancers in that it stops the spread of cancer and induces apoptosis in cancer cells, which means that it causes them to self-destruct.
- CAYENNE PEPPER IS HIGH IN CAPSAICIN
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Cayenne and other Dried Chile Peppers Help Prevent Colds and Flu, Build Tissue, and Prevent Heart Attacks 
Capsaicin-Rich Cayenne Peppers are a Heart-Tonic and Anti-Inflammatory Fruit 
M-J’s Cayenne Pepper Plant with Red, Ripe Fruit
