By Mom started a sourdough starter this week, which I understand is happening in kitchens everywhere based on the flour shortage I've been reading about. She wanted her own, separate from mine, which she named Harold without asking my opinion. Harold is doing well — she feeds him twice a day with a seriousness of purpose that I find genuinely touching. This is the first time in her adult life she's had the patience for something that requires this kind of ongoing maintenance, which she attributes to the slowing-down of COVID time.
There's something to that — the slowing of time. I've been on the ranch my whole life and I've never experienced the world beyond it shrinking quite the way it has this spring. Livingston is quiet. The hardware store is open. The grocery store operates on reduced hours. The coffee shop is takeout only, which means I drink bad truck coffee more than I'd like. But the effect on the ranch itself is negligible. We were already living at this pace.
Dad's medication routine has become unremarkable, which is the goal — it's just part of morning. He had a good week by his own standards: fixed the section of fence he'd been intending to fix since November, spent an afternoon organizing the tack room, complained about the weather exactly as often as he always has. The disease is early. He is still himself. I hold onto that without squeezing it too hard.
Made a simple frittata with whatever was in the refrigerator — a few eggs, leftover roasted potatoes, some wilted spinach, a little cheese. Frittata is the correct answer to the end of a week when you haven't been to the store and the refrigerator has the honest look of the bottom of things. It takes twenty minutes and makes you feel like you planned it. I appreciate a recipe that makes you look better than you are.
The frittata I made that Friday reminded me why egg bakes are the most forgiving category in cooking—they accept what you give them without complaint, which is a quality I’ve come to appreciate in most things. This Easy Breakfast Strata captures the same spirit: a little bread, some eggs, whatever cheese made it to the end of the week, and the patience to let it set. It’s the kind of recipe that makes a quiet, slowed-down morning feel like enough.
Easy Breakfast Strata
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 4 cups cubed day-old bread (about 4–5 slices)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced bell pepper
- 1/2 cup cooked crumbled sausage or diced ham (optional)
- 1 tablespoon butter, for greasing
Instructions
- Prep the baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread the cubed bread evenly across the bottom.
- Layer the fillings. Scatter the onion, bell pepper, and meat (if using) over the bread. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the shredded cheddar.
- Make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and dry mustard until fully combined.
- Combine and rest. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread and filling. Press the bread gently to help it absorb. Let stand 10 minutes (or refrigerate overnight and bake in the morning).
- Top and bake. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top. Bake uncovered for 40–45 minutes, until the center is set and the top is lightly golden.
- Rest before serving. Let the strata sit 5 minutes before cutting. Serve warm directly from the dish.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 21g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 480mg