Day 6, and I don’t think I’ll make it out of here, alive....oh wait, I’m not on some deserted island, or locked in a terrible French jail w/ Hugh Jackman?
No. It is just the annual, 8 days of repeat meals, constipation, and, “oh you don’t have potato vodka? I’ll just have a soda water, thanks.” Yep, still Passover, and if I eat one more bite of tuna or Manichewitz macaroon, I’m gonna punch Baby Moses in the face. Take that Uncle Moshe!
It is about this time every year when my supplies start to run low, and the matzo starts to interfere with my brain functions. From my apartment in Adams Morgan, my mind begins to wander back home. To the South. Where our K4P foods used to come shipped CSA style (Jews are always so ahead of their time) from the big cities of Atlanta and New Orleans, where there were Kosher butchers. Could the place of my birth inspire me to get through these final days? Well, for one day, at least, the answer is a resounding HELL YEAH!
A few weeks ago I took off for the Republic of Texas for a twofer trip. I started my journey in Austin to see my bestie, Rachel, who I’ve known since I was 2 yo. and who had moved there a little over a year ago.
The second half of my trip was spent, mainly in the Westin Galleria in Dallas for the Jewish Federation of North America’s National Young Leadership Conference.But it was those first days in Austin that inspired my Passover Sunday Brunch.
I’m a planner. I’m not going to hide it. I get it from my mother, who would schedule every minute of our vacations, and be on a first name basis with both hotel and restaurant staff wherever she goes. That trait ensures that wherever I travel in life, I will have an itinerary prepared, and it is dictated by where and when I am eating. Since this was my first time to Austin, I was sure to consult anyone and everyone I know who lives or lived there. That led me to reaching out to my friend Becca; an Austin-native, and like me, loves nothing more than giving visitors to our hometown’s a detailed list of things to eat, see and do. I’ve heard of this mysterious breakfast dish called migas, for a while. Some tex-mex thing everyone in Austin eats, but I wasn’t sure, 1. what it was? and 2. where do you go to get it? Becca sent me and Rachel to Juan in a Million; a local jewel and the kind of place that started as a tiny establishment, and then awkwardly built onto the original building every few successful years.
Migas ordered, and a few minutes, and crap ton of chips and salsa later, a plate of fluffy eggs with bits of red and green peppers arrives at our table. Rachel and I go silent as we dive into our first plate of migas. Simple Googling post-meal gives me Migas 101. Eggs, peppers, onions, jalapeño, tomatoes, cheese, tortillas. So simple, so delicious.
Fast forward two weeks, and my mind is on Pesach-mode. Passover breakfast is almost always eggs in some form or fashion. One particular favorite dish, is our wannabe-French toast dish called, Matzo brie. Basically you coat matzo in egg and fry it up and top with honey, cinnamon and sugar, jelly, or go the savory route with onion, or ketchup, maybe salmon. Got me thinking...how would it turn out if I tossed out the not-Kosher-but-oh-so-delicious-corn-tortilla and threw in some matzo? Welp, y’all. The answer is, DELICIOUS!!!
Ben's Matzo Migas!
(serves 6-8)
*Adapted from the Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
4 whole matzo
1 whole Jalapeno, Seeds And Membranes Removed, Finely Diced
4 whole Plum Tomatoes, Roughly Chopped
1 whole Green Pepper, Roughly Chopped
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Roughly Chopped
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
12 whole Large Eggs
1 cup of cheese. (I found colby jack at Brookville market that was K4P)
1/3 cup Cilantro, Chopped
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup milk or half and half
In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Salt and pepper eggs, then set aside.
Soak matzo with enough water to make it maliable (like you would for a matzo lasagna) and cut into small pieces, and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the olive oil with the butter. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until starting to turn brown/black, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in diced jalapenos and stir to combine. Add tomatoes to the skillet and stir around, then add matzo pieces, stirring gently to combine.
Reduce heat to low.
When the heat has decreased, pour egg mixture into skillet. Stir gently to cook with the peppers, folding mixture very gently as it cooks. Add in grated cheese and chopped cilantro, and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Give a few shakes of your favorite Kosher hot sauce to a little added kick.
Ok, so breakfast is covered, but I still am not satisfied. And why? Because I'm Southern, and the fact that I haven’t had fried food in a week is really starting to mess with my stomach. Oh, another Mandarin orange?!? Where am I from??? California???
1lb of boneless skinless chicken breast 2 and 1/2 matzo ground up (or about a cup and a half of matzo meal) salt pepper additional seasonings olive oil
Put a piece of heavy duty foil lightly greased with olive oil on a cookie sheet or baking dish
Take your chicken breasts, pull off the tender and set aside. Wrap your chicken in plastic wrap and use a kitchen hammer or can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup and beat it up till you’ve got a cutlet about 1/4 inch thick.
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and get your stations ready.
Station 1 (wet): Olive oil (enough to coat desired amount of chicken)
Station 2 (dry): Matzo meal, salt, pepper and seasonings mixed
As far as what seasonings to use, you can’t go wrong with just salt in pepper, but maybe shake a bit of garlic powder, some dry parsley, paprika, lemon zest, zaatar, Let you freak flag fly. Dredge your chicken in the oil till lightly coated and press into the dry ingredients, flip and repeat till the chicken is coated and loose breading falls off, and place on the greased baking sheet. Give each piece a little shot of salt and pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil and place in the middle rack for about 15 minutes. Turn the baking sheet around to help ensure the heat gets distributed evenly, and switch to broil for 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on the chicken. If it starts to burn, switch back to 400.
I'll just start by admitting what you all probably already know, I loved Hebrew School.
My brother liked Hebrew School too...for the most part...I think. We each had our separate reasons for adoration though. While my brother's fondness was couched in a combination of the spoils of the bribery my mother washed over us every Sunday morning to lure us out of bed and out the door (RIP Marvelous Market french toast, because I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore), and the actual learning about our religion part, mine was based primarily on the social scene (I know, SHOCKING).
I was smitten with the Temple Sinai social scene. In addition to being surrounded by friends I'd known for-eva, there were BOYS, occasionally the opportunity to drink wine, and what seemed like a constant parade of festivals and parties.
But I too, occasionally, listened and absorbed a lesson or two. Like the one about inviting strangers to your Passover table. Over the years I've only gotten better at that one and it's spread to just about every holiday, Jewish or not. Thanksgiving? Awesome, count me in mom, I'll need a plus 5. Christmas Eve Chinese? I met a few people volunteering at the J today... I can't help it, I just love bringing new people into every celebration. So to atone (wrong holiday) for my over-extension of invites to my mother's table this year I plan to whip up some extra goodies (plus-ones?) in addition to the haroset I was tasked with this year (oh did I mention I bought myself a 14-cup Cusinart food processor?!).
In addition to my parent's seder, I'm heading to a friends on Tuesday so I'll have plenty of opportunities to try out a few of the Passover recipes I've been eyeing.
A round up of some gems from my Pinterest Board(who am I kidding, this will mostly just be a paean to Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen)...
A best friend will be there for you no matter what.
No, this is not the start to a Judy Blume novel (side-note, if this was it would be called "Are You There Bartender? I'm the Girl Who Left Behind My Cellphone, Clutch and Dignity Last Night"—and yes Nini, it would be historical fiction because I would never do something that irresponsible). Additional aside. If you're pining for a Judy Blume fix and share my adoration for her, go read this now, think good thoughts for her swift recovery and come back to my post later (I'll understand).
But in all sincerity, in a crazy world, it's good to know there's someone a phone call away to talk some sense into you (or in Lisa's case, to bake you brownies).
When you're a few drinks in and lose your footing on U street (I swear that girl pushed me), she's the one who comes to your rescue with a helping hand (and a fresh beverage). She talks you out of calling that boy that broke your heart and talks you into going out with her on a Tuesday when you are on cold meds. She'll bring her mother by your apartment at 10am on a Sunday morning for a tour, and you will return the favor by promptly alerting the mommy-alert system that there is a boy in the picture that someone hasn't heard about...
She remembers when you learned how to swim, because she was on the kick-board next to you (and probably kicked you in the head), and she forgives you for cutting her bangs (at a rather heinous diagonal) on the day before picture day—no doubt inspired by Iman's sultry sweep on the cover of L.A. Style in April of 1987.
Cover of L.A. Style, April 1987
And best of all she will be there for you at a moment's notice (okay maybe it's just because she lives around the corner).
So when my bff (the one who upon entering my apartment never fails to make a beeline to my freezer for "chocolate morsels") called to say she was standing at a bus-stop in the pouring rain during a tornado warning after a crappy day, you better believe I dropped everything I was doing (reading a Judy Blume book while waiting for the season premiere of The Mindy Project to be uploaded to Hulu), whipped her up a pan of brownies and met her at the bar down the street.
With no chocolate "morsels" on-hand to make my go-to recipe and a tornado warning still in effect I took to my cupboard and the interwebs for some inspiration. The forks at Epicurious assured me I could in fact undertake brownies with the ingredients I had, but Smitten Kitchen's enthusiasm for this recipe sealed the deal (she had me when she confessed to not knowing if the recipe would work in the microwave because she doesn't have a microwave *swoon*).
While I may have been swept up in my desire to get to the bar to meet my friends, I followed the directions to a tee. Minus the part where in my haste I forgot to line the pan (whoops). But the brownies accepted my injury with grace and aplomb (I did generously grease the pan with unsalted butter). They may have even better than my go-to recipe which I just realized, I may never have shared with you and lives in a Betty Crocker chocolate cookbook at my parent's house. Blind taste test anyone?
Best Cocoa Brownies Adapted from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet
Makes 16 larger or 25 smaller brownies
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks, 5 ounces or 141 grams) unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups (9 7/8 ounces, 280 grams) sugar 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 7/8 ounces, 82 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-process) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (mailed from Texas by way of Mexico if you're lucky enough to have an aunt as awesome as my Aunt Sally) 2 large eggs, cold 1/2 cup (66 grams, 2 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat) 2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional, I did not use this time around)
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Here comes the part I forgot: "Line the bottom and sides of an 8×8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides." If you are in the mood to forget this step, feel free spray pan with non-stick butter spray or grease with 1/2 tablespoon butter using a clean paper towel.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a saucepan or small pot small enough that the bowl does not touch the bottom of the water, with about 2-3 inches of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pot and set aside until the mixture has cooled slightly. Mine looked perfect even in the absence of a double boiler but Smitten Kitchen cautioned that if "it looks fairly gritty at this point, don’t fret —it smooths out once the eggs and flour are added."
Double boiler free since 2003!
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until thoroughly incorporated, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan (or in the case of yours truly, pour into a well greased pan if you're not paying attention to directions).
Unlined but just fine!
Bake until a toothpick poked into the center emerges slightly moist with batter. It took my brownies 25 minutes to set. Let cool completely on a rack.
If you actually lined the pan (overachiever), at this point you'd lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.
Finally cut up the brownies (16 or 25 squares or whatever your heart desires), dust them with powdered sugar and deliver to Stoney's before closing time. Take an adorable picture of said bff opening up the tin of brownies capturing the sheer joy and surprise on her face in real-time. Then somehow erase picture between bar and your apartment and frantically call her boyfriend to take another picture so that you can post something first thing in the morning.
According to the regular updates I've been getting from my Aunt's iPad, my grandmother's iPhone and my cousin's iTouch (okay she also has an iPhone but I wanted to go for the hat trick) my precious cousin Leo went from his first steps to sprinting in a matter of days. While my precious cousin Leo was a scooter, I think we can all agree you have to master crawling before he got to his new breakneck pace (which I cannot wait to see when I make it back to Austin next - an aside, visiting someone in the middle of a Texas summer is a mark of true devotion)..
Baking too needs a crawling period. You need to master the art of something you have a lot of confidence in putting together on a whim before you graduate to the harder stuff. like, oh say this beautiful cupcake house my friend Elana and I constructed at her fabulous confection-filled bridal shower last week.
My dream house made of cupcake (look inside there is an industrial sized standing mixer).
Banana bread was that step between crawling and walking for me. You know that saying, "first comes pancakes, then comes banana bread then comes a challah loaf as big as your head?" Oh then I guess you were not "raised" in my house (if you're my real friend you will never forgive that pun).
The best part about this recipe is its ability to forgive. Maybe I'm just blinded by my love for this recipe, but I honestly think I could swap out any of these ingredients and end up with something edible and delicious. I have done this bread many an injustice. I have made it with two bananas plus whatever fruit I have on hand (as I did today), I have thrown in dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, carob chips (which I still contend are gross) and more chocolate chips, swapped in fruit flavored yogurts for buttermilk/sour cream/yogurt, whole wheat flour and the occasional handful of pecans.
This past Saturday morning I attempted several rounds of injustices on this recipe. There were the aforementioned two bananas vs. three minimum, but then there was the matter of what to do once my batter once ready. I've been in my apartment for almost a year and I only just (as in once I was ready to put this puppy in the oven) discovered that the whole time I have been sans loaf pan. Cue 8x8 glass Pyrex to the rescue, with nary a complaint from my taste testers. With old college friends on their way over for brunch, friends who've seen me through many incarnations of myself, I could think of no better recipe to make.
Thanks to my beautiful mother for giving me this recipe (my grandmother even gives her credit in her excellent collection of spiral bound family recipes), but most of all for showing me how to make a recipe that can change with me (and the ingredients in my fridge). And thank you all for forgiving me my Instagram transgressions. Banana bread was never meant to be sepia coated.
Susan's Banana Bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup sugar (white or brown or mixed)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1
teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour (I use unbleached white whole wheat this time around but you can swap in your preference)
4 tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk)
3-4 ripe bananas (tip, if a banana's too brown for you to eat, throw it in the freezer and take out at least10 minutes before you're ready to make this recipe)
Optional
1 cup "other stuff" which can be a combination of nuts, raisins, blueberries or other kinds of berries (better if they're on the riper side as well). This time around I used a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of blackberries and strawberries (this was in lieu of said third banana).
Using a hand mixer (or a standing mixer if you've got one) cream together the sugar and the butter. One light and fluffy add eggs and vanilla and combine thoroughly. Add salt, baking soda and flour and combine thoroughly.
In a separate bowl mash up the bananas using a fork until they look like something you think your mom would let a baby eat, then add to the batter and combine once more. If you're putting in the "other stuff" that will be your final addition, make sure to combine in using a spatula or a wooden spoon however to protect the integrity of the ingredients.
Pour batter into a well greased large loaf pan (or two medium ones, or one 8x8 pan) and bake at 325 degrees Farenheit for an hour or more. You'll know your bread is ready if it's firm to the touch and it passes the toothpick test.
Lesson learned, if throwing random blueberries into banana bread, DO NOT take the picture on Instagram because the whole world will think you're baking purple Gak.
Not Gak.
Definitely Gak.
The final round of injustices to this recipe I refuse to take responsibility for. My friends dove in before I had a chance to take a picture of the final product.
This past weekend, we celebrated of one of my favorite people in the entire world, my friend Ben who had a birthday earlier this month. Like much earlier this month. As in April 5th earlier. Why the delay in celebrating? Life. A wedding, a bachelorette party (not in that order), a few DC2NY round-trips, Passover, DVR fueled marathons of Happy Endings etc.
But seriously, Ben is incredible. So just here at Braided and Egged we're going all out. As you might remember last year's Ben Birthday creation was an orange and blue cookie creation I dubbed Gator Bait in honor of Ben's alma mater (go gators!). They were amazing. I might not be able to top it, but I sure as heck am going to try.
Ben and I have been friends for years, but it never fails to surprise us both when we realize funny parallels in our upbringings. We both have fabulous moms (hi Sharon and Susan!), great style, a love of DC, a family history in the scrap business (junk not DVF swatches), and a passion for banana pudding. Now it's pretty incredible that given my personal affinity for banana pudding I have heretofore never made it on my own. Sure I've helped my grandmother layer the bananas and Nilla Wafers a time or two, but make it on my own? Chalk it up to fear of consuming the entire batch by myself or perhaps a distrust of insant pudding packages not purchased at an HEB. But if you know how awesome Ben, you're acutely aware that I would be willing to take such risks. Without further ado, I present to you the Banana Pudding Cupcake.
I started with the classic 1-2-3-4 cake I learned at the lap of the best. My timeworn copy of Fanny at Chez Panisse (truth it is in fact possible to give a kid a present they will use forever).
Banana Pudding Modified 1-2-3-4 Cake
"This cake is called 1-2-3-4 because it is a very old recipe and people could remember the ingredients by the numbers without having to write it down." - Fanny at Chez Panisse
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature 2 cups sugar 3 cups cake flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup milk
2 not yet entirely rotten bananas, smashed with a fork
1 package instant vanilla pudding prepared according to directions on box 2 "just right" bananas 1 container Cool Whip
Heat oven to 350° F.
Sift the cake flour, scoop into a measuring cup, scrape a knife across the top of the cup to level it, and measure 3 cups. Put the flour in a separate bowl. Add baking powder and salt to the flour and combine.
Separate the eggs. Put the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.
Beat the butter using a hand-mixer until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, and smashed bananas and beat again until very fluffy and light yellow. Add the egg yolks and beat them in briefly. Add vanilla and mix well.
Next add the flour and milk in parts. Sift about half of the flour over the butter mixture and lightly stir it in. Exchange the spoon for a large rubber spatula, and pour in about half the milk. Use the spatula to gently mix the milk into the batter. Sift over the rest of the flour and stir it in. Pour in the rest of the milk and gently mix it in.
Using a very clean metal bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand-mixer. When the whites are very fluffy and will hold a soft peak shape when you lift up the whisk, they're ready. I always have to remind myself to be patient at this point. They'll get there.
Scoop up some of the whites with the spatula, add to the batter, and very gently stir them in. This will lighten the batter and make it easier to fold in the rest of the whites. Then pour the rest of the whites onto the batter and begin to fold them in. Use the spatula to lift up some of the batter from the bottom of the bowl and fold it over the whites. Turn the bowl a little and fold again. Do that just until the egg whites are mixed in. Try not to crush the air bubbles in the whites, this is what gives the cupcakes a light and delicate texture.
Add the batter to your lined cupcake tins, they should be about half-full, and put in the center of the oven to bake for about 25 minutes. When the cakes are lightly browned, and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, they're done. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.
make 32 cupcakes.
While the cupcakes are baking prepare your instant pudding according to directions on the box. Mine required 3 cups of milk and approximately 5 minutes to chill. Not made from scratch but I'll take it.
Once the cupcakes cooled I cut a little circle in each that was about an inch deep. I took the cupcake scraps and threw them into the pudding (no reason to waste good cake) and mixed in two cups of Nilla Wafers broken up into pieces. I then poured the pudding into a sandwich bag to pipe into the cupcakes (my friend Liz thought up this genius move) and cut a one inch hole in the corner of the bag.
Liz handled the piping so if you have any questions about that part you'll have to consult her. I was busy straightening my hair in preparation for the torrential downpour awaiting us once we stepped out my apartment door. Time well spent. Anyway after that we packed up the cupcakes and brought them over to Ben's in the fabulous cake carrier he got me for Hannukah.
When you're ready to serve the cupcakes, simply take our your container of Cool Whip and using a spatula spread about two tablespoons onto the top of the cupcake. Garnish with a Nilla Wafer or two and a slice of banana and you've got a party (especially if you have Ben with you). Happy birthday Ben!
There is nothing more fraught than the relationship between a baker and their oven. An oven that's too hot, not hot enough, one that shuts of on a whim or worse, one that doesn't cook evenly. Like any new relationship, it takes a while to figure out how you'll communicate and learn to manage temper tantrums (mine, not the oven's). But new apartment oven, I haven't even had a chance to get to know ya. I've yet to test even a pan of brownies, nary a cookie in your gas powered caverns. Sure you're not a looker, nor are you even full-sized (I know, how could I have chosen an apartment without a full-size oven) and yes, our first encounter coincided with my first call to maintenance (pilot light out). But even still I have high hopes for us. I've picked out our song, and our china patterns, I have recipes at the ready for us to bake together.
For now though, we have to keep our distance. Even I won't go near an oven when the thermometer creeps over 100. So if you need me I'll be by the pool and in the event of rain, making pickles (I was inspired by the pickle backs at American Ice Company last weekend).
To my oven and my dear readers, I have not forgotten you. I'm not even cheating on you (the freezer doesn't count right?). I'm bound to get sick of sitting on my couch eating frozen grapes eventually.
I'm so optimistic in fact that I bought two pounds of unsalted butter (our poison of choice) at my new Whole Foods just yesterday.
Stay cool folks. Oh and let me know if you swing by Whole Foods, I need more grapes.
I love the Fourth of July. Everything about the holiday is seeped in awesomeness for me. Hot dogs? Bring on the Hebrew Nationals and cover them with literally every topping available. Watermelon? I'll even eat them with seeds. Parades? I would go to a parade everyday if that was an option. Fireworks? Bring it. If I could find anyone left in the city who would go to the Mall with me on the Fourth I would be there right now, camping out amid the tourists who are looking for the Cherry Blossoms (sorry, you're a little late) and fighting for a spot with a vendor who specializes in FBI t-shirts and stunna shades.
As a kid the Fourth meant the Palisades Parade in the quaint DC hamlet that tricked me into thinking I was raised in a sleepy small southern town. As an adult things haven't changed much. If I find myself in DC, I'm usually back at the Palisades Parade giving out candy and stickers (now I know why Santa is always so jolly) while shilling for a local candidate. But afterwards I usually retreat to a more "adult" activity like sneaking out onto illicit rooftops and drinking wine out of a Nalgene with 100 of my closest friends.
This year won't be too much different except that instead of the parade I'll be mattress shopping (girl's gotta sleep), packing for my impending move and spending time with my grandmother who is in from Texas (hi Nini!) before sneaking out onto a rooftop with my girls. Because baby, I can't miss the fireworks.
What to make for a pre-Fourth celebration? Apple pie you say? I hope you give me a little more credit than that. For one, I'm not the biggest fan of pie crust. I don't mind making it and I certainly won't mind eating it, but to me, there really is nothing better in the summer than fresh local fruit topped with butter and sugar with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But since I have trouble picking favorites from the bevy of beautiful fruit laid before me at the market, I threw them all in. You of course can just pick one or two and go with it.
Like the United States of America, this recipe is both an original and a fruit salad (tell me I'm not the only one who went to liberal schools and learned we're more like a fruit salad than a melting pot). Come on fruit, let your colors burst. But please, whatever fruit you choose, serve this crisp with vanilla (or ginger) ice cream, it's the American way.
Red, White and Fruit Crisp
Filling Ingredients:
2 peaches, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 apples, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 cups blueberries, washed and devoid of stems
1 lemon juiced and zested
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons uncooked tapioca pearls
Topping Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon crystalized ginger (optional)
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds (or your choice of nuts)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl throughly combine prepared fruit with lemon juice and zest, sugar and tapioca. Pour contents into deep pie pan. Put aside until topping is ready.
Slice butter into 1/2 inch cubes and pulse with flour, cinnamon, ginger, sugar and salt in Cuisinart until combined. Remove contents to large bowl and using your finger tips (or if that grosses you out a wooden spoon) combine oatmeal and almonds with mixture until nice and crumbly. Distribute topping evenly on top of fruit.
Bake for 45-50 minutes watching carefully to make sure it doesn't burn (after 35 minutes I put foil on top to ward off any chance of burning).
I’m a planner. I’m not going to hide it. I get it from my mother, who would schedule every minute of our vacations, and be on a first name basis with both hotel and restaurant staff wherever she goes. That trait ensures that wherever I travel in life, I will have an itinerary prepared, and it is dictated by where and when I am eating. Since this was my first time to Austin, I was sure to consult anyone and everyone I know who lives or lived there. That led me to reaching out to my friend Becca; an Austin-native, and like me, loves nothing more than giving visitors to our hometown’s a detailed list of things to eat, see and do. I’ve heard of this mysterious breakfast dish called migas, for a while. Some tex-mex thing everyone in Austin eats, but I wasn’t sure, 1. what it was? and 2. where do you go to get it? Becca sent me and Rachel to Juan in a Million; a local jewel and the kind of place that started as a tiny establishment, and then awkwardly built onto the original building every few successful years. 
Migas ordered, and a few minutes, and crap ton of chips and salsa later, a plate of fluffy eggs with bits of red and green peppers arrives at our table. Rachel and I go silent as we dive into our first plate of migas. Simple Googling post-meal gives me Migas 101. Eggs, peppers, onions, jalapeño, tomatoes, cheese, tortillas. So simple, so delicious. 
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