Being an islander from Jamaica, breakfast was never a toss the eggs and scramble them, fry the bacon and sausage and butter the toasts as I find it here in America.  No breakfast in Jamaica is usually a cooked meal consisting mainly of our national dish, ackee and salt- fish,  or cooked callaloo anyway you like, mackerel rundown, all these are usually served with one or more of these sides, boiled green bananas, fried or boiled dumplings, ripe plantains, yams, breadfruit or festival, and most times with warm buttered hard dough bread and avocado and everything is spicy included in the recipe or a scotch bonnet on the side… yummy… I am so hungry now, feel like making one of those breakfast…but living with ulcerative colitis I have to make breakfasts that I can eat without hurting myself and at the same time tasty.

Mackerel Rundown – Callaloo Boiled Green Bananas and Avocado – Ackee & Salt-fish, fried  plantains and hot peppers

Today I had the appetite for a traditional Jamaican breakfast, I guess that is why I was inspired to write this article because Ulcerative Colitis does not allow me to have the spicy, the greasy, the fried foods, the yams, and so I had to do breakfast the way I can eat it.

So I made a poached egg white with spinach, tomato and feta cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

2 egg whites

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 cups uncooked baby spinach

2 tbsp. grape seed oil

1 tbsp. diced onion

1 tbsp. diced sweet pepper

1 tbsp. diced tomatoes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt to taste – a pinch

1 tsp fresh or dried parsley

Directions:

Poaching Eggs:  Using fresh eggs serves for less feathering of the egg whites in the water.

Using Fresh Egg Whites make less feathering when added to hot water

Egg Whites tend to spred out when hit hot water

Use Spatula to shape and control egg white

For a rounded shape

Bring water and vinegar to a slow boil slide eggs from bowl to water, after adding eggs swirl water to prevent sticking to the bottom and use a spatula to form shape (egg whites tend to spread out) cook 4 minutes, remove eggs with a slotted spoon to preserve the shape.

Heat grape seed oil in cast iron pot then add diced onion, diced sweet pepper, tomatoes, minced garlic, salt to taste – a pinch, fresh or dried parsley soften for at least 5 minutes then add spinach and cook until

Layer Spinach with tomatoes

Eggs and Feta Cheeese

wilted about 5 minutes add lemon juice and cook for another 2 minutes. Spread a bed of spinach on serving plate top with tomatoes and poached eggs and crumbled feta cheese.

Bon appetite