Pan Fried Tamari Beets with an Egg | Simple Meals

The blueberry bushes in my yard have put on some heft. Small pinkish green fruits dangle heavily, weighing down the flexible branches. The bushes are planted in a semi circle about 12 feet long. About a month ago my father-in-law built and installed a 6' x 8’ wooden platform amongst the bushes. We nicknamed it the "yoga deck." I bet you can guess why.

I practiced some yoga on the deck earlier today, about half of an ashtanga flow but in a super low-key, low-impact kind of way. Now I lay, looking up at the sky, massaging my neck and jaw and temples. Squinting against the sunlight that winks through the leaves of tall trees.

I have been craving simple pleasures like this. Eating berries on the stoop in the sunshine. Stealing pink peonies from abandoned parking lots. Going for a walk along the river. Yoga in the yard on a sunny day. These moments seem infused with a reverent stillness. A pure aliveness shaking me back into happiness.

I’ve had a lot going on in the past two weeks (Logan launched Frolic locally! My band launched a Kickstarter!). I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been incredibly stressed out. Doing the blog, taking on more yoga classes, helping Logan with chocolate & coffee stuff, editing that Kickstarter video and doing loads of outreach for the campaign.… Stressed out is an understatement. The important thing is that even though I’m spread thin I’m so incredibly grateful that it is all purposeful and creative work.

I was surprised to find that I ended up having some really bad headaches and neck/jaw/shoulder pain after the major stressors subsided. And eye strain, that too. I’ve been doing everything I can to combat it (loads of supplements, exercise, stretching). But I recently learned about myofascial trigger point therapy and it’s made an enormous difference. If you suffer from chronic headaches, TMJ symptoms or muscle pain I highly suggest it.

So, I lay here, pressing on painful spots in my clavicle. Listening to birds chittering and tweeting. The scent of my blooming bramble rose filling the air.

Simple pleasures are how I slowly get myself back to normal. I breath in. I breathe out. Everything is going to be okay.

This tamari beet skillet is one of the simple pleasure I’ve been indulging in. It’s savory, earthy-sweet, salty and oh so easy. Crack an egg in there and you’ve got a fabulous meal for one! Oh I just I love it when healthy can also be sexy.

Pan fried tamari beets with an egg is one of my all-time favorite on-the-fly foods. It's the kind of thing I make when there's nothing left in the fridge. Ideal for that one day a week I'm too busy to hit up the grocery and I'm desperate for something wonderful.

What I love about this dish: the beets get tender and intensely flavored in the hot skillet. The saltiness of the tamari plays perfectly against the sweetness of the beets. The butteriness of a farm-fresh yolk mellows out the savoriness. A squeeze of lemon juice brightens up the beets. A garnish of slivered almonds adds a nutty crunch. Fresh chives (or garlic chives if you can get them) offers a pungent greenness that rounds it all out. And it takes all of 20 minutes (most of which is hands-off).

In the pan pictured, I also threw in a super fresh asparagus stalk from my garden and a sprinkling of rose petals. I highly suggest both, if you have them around.

Cheers to a new week, hopefully full of easy, sensual meals and as much sunshine as possible. xoxo -- Renee

Simple Pan Fried Tamari Beets with an Egg

Created by Renee on May 15, 2017

Note: If you don’t like spicy, omit the cayenne.

• Cook Time: 20m
•  
• Total Time: 20m

• Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 3 small-medium beets
• 1/8 cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tamari or coconut aminos
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 farm fresh egg
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon blanched slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives (I used garlic chives from my garden), chopped roughly
• optional: rose petals OR edible flower petals of your choosing

Instructions

1. Peel and slice beets into 1/2 inch thick rounds.
2. Set a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the beets and 1/8 cup water and cover. Cook until tender when pricked with a fork, adding more water as necessary to steam until done.
3. Once the water has cooked off, add the olive oil, tamari / coconut aminos and cayenne and give the beets a stir to get everything evenly coated. Continue to cook for 10 minutes more, until the beets just start to caramelize and brown.
4. Use a spoon to create some space in the center of the pan and crack an egg into that space. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the beets, and cover the pan with a lid for two minutes or so (until the egg yolk is warm to the touch but still soft). Remove the cover and let the egg continue to cook until the whites are set.
5. To serve, remove the pan from heat. Garnish with slivered almonds, fresh chives and (optional) edible flower petals. Add salt / pepper to your liking. Enjoy!