The O.G.

With the week winding towards the safe haven of it's end, I find myself day dreaming about Weekend Breakfast. A slow and deliberate, leisurely meal.
Unless you're an early bird, you will likely find yourself standing in line at your favorite brunch spot, because like you, the whole of L.A. is ready to fill their bellies with fluffy eggs, even fluffier pancakes, french toast, pan crisped potatoes, fresh squeezed orange juice and maybe even a nice big mimosa.
The perks of risking the line up and a possible pre-caffeinne argument about which Hollywood vein is the path of least resistance to the cup of coffee that awaits you, or, worse still, trying to figure out where to put your car when you get there, is that you don't have to stand over a hot oven or do the dishes. But, if you're in the mood to stay home and have a partner willing to help with the mess, making lazy Sunday breakfast at home is just as satisfying. And you can "camp" at your table as long as you want.

"Simplicity is the hallmark of genius", a friend used to say to me. She was right and the sentiment applies to my first 'break an egg' meal. The O. G..

Sunny Side Up Eggs, Bacon, Toast, and Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice.

There are no fancy components here. The O.G. breakfast is simple in it's preparation, what makes it stand out is using good quality ingredients. For this breakfast I wanted the meat, eggs and oranges to be straight off the farm and the bread still warm from the bakery. For this I went to the grandaddy of farmer's markets in Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Farmer's Market, on Arizona, takes place Wednesday mornings rain or shine.
You can find a farmer's market seven days a week in L.A. but, this market morning is pretty special and should not be missed. It's sprawl takes up blocks and the aisles are wide enough for straw baskets brimming with vegetables, baby strollers and market carts with room to spare. So on this Wednesday, my b and I made the early morning trek from West Hollywood to Santa Monica for the last February installment. Glorious, would be an injustice to this particular Wednesday. It was clear and bright, with a warm sun and a damp ocean breeze. My b and I linked arms and took our time, letting our gaze fall where it may. Mine landed on the Rocky Farms stand and their oversized signs delaring, "PORK", "EGGS"and "BEEF", taped to the neat row of coolers.
I collected eggs and bacon from the  Rocky Farms stand, then, a small loaf of sourdough from Bezian's Bakery, Cara Cara oranges next and a small bunch of mismatched ranunculus, wrapped in brown paper.

We lingered in Santa Monica, reluctant to abandon the the sea air and sun, but the fragile brown eggs needed to make their way to the ice box, lest they spoil in the unseasonably warm temperatures of this February morning, and so we headed back to West Hollywood.

Too impatient to wait for Sunday, I made a pre-weekend Weekend Breakfast this morning.
Friday is close enough right?
I started with the Cara Cara orange juice so that it would have time to chill in the refrigerator while I prepared the eggs and bacon. Cara Cara oranges have a pink flesh and a mild sweet flavor. They are less acidic than the average bear.
I am lucky enough to own a juicer but they can be a pain to clean, so, I quartered the oranges and squeezed them with my hand held press. It takes more elbow grease but the cleanup is almost as easy as a rinse.
Once all the juice had been harvested from my Cara Cara bounty, I transferred it to a pitcher and then to the refrigerator.

I preheated my cast iron pan on a very low heat, swirled and salted bacon grease in the pan and cracked the eggs into it. "Low and slow", is the motto for a sunny side up egg. It takes patience but that's about it. If your heat is too high then the white part bubbles and you lose the creaminess of the yolk.

After my oven reached 350* F, I put an enamel covered cast iron pan full of bacon in. When I could see the fat start to render off the bacon I turned up the oven to 400* to get it crisp. When they were nice and brown, I removed the pan from the oven and laid the bacon slices on a paper grocery bag to drain, then I trapped the still sizzling bacon grease in a tin can that I keep by the stove.
I'm lactose intolerant so, often times in place of butter, I use bacon grease for cooking--especially when I make eggs--because while nothing can truly touch a fried egg in real butter, bacon grease is a worthy substitution. After saving all of the possible grease, I put the bacon back in the enamel pan. Enamel covered cast iron holds even heat well and it keeps the bacon from getting cold. I gave the sourdough slices a quick toast in the toaster oven and made sure that the whites of my sunny side ups are set.

The rest is up to you.

Pile everything on a plate or just grab some forks and eat, that way you have fewer dishes to deal with and more time to relax. After all, you've earned it.
Happy Weekend!