vege fry-up, breakfast salad, cowboy chilli beans. Yvonne Lorkin’s drinks matches

This morning I was sitting up in bed, looking forward to my Saturday morning ritual of coffee with Kim Hill (will Saturday mornings ever be the same without her?), when Ted yelled up thestairs to me that the coffee machine needed descaling. Before I could yell back “No!″ it was too late.

If you have never descaled a coffee machine before, it’s a process not unlike switching a self-cleaning oven on to clean, in that once you have pushed the button that says DESCALE, there is no going back. Making the mistake of activating the pyrolytic oven cleaning process locks the oven until it has gone through the process of heating to some incendiary temperature (cleaning is achieved by burning off baked-on grease and food residue) and means that you will watch through the oven window the lasagne you have just spent hours lovingly creating, incinerate literally to ash. Putting the coffee machine on to descale mode just means you won’t be having any coffee for a while – in our case a very long while, as the process necessitated a special descaling liquid and a special descaling spout, both of which were not obviously locatable. The step ladder was required from the outside shed and then everything had to come off the three high shelves in the pantry while Ted hunted for the necessary bits. He started muttering and hiffing perfectly good things into the bin, declaring that we had way too much stuff. They weren’t there, he announced, and harrumphed out of the kitchen. Neither of us had had our morning coffee fix and we were like a couple of hungry caged lions. I located both items right on the shelf right next to the coffee beans.

And then finally with everything set up for the descaling process, Ted popped out to get some important thing from the hardware store (and no doubt a coffee from the coffee shop), and I sat distracted myself with the New Yorker and had a cup of tea.

When I returned to the coffee machine, it was obvious that the container Ted had chosen to put under the machine as per the detailed descaling instructions was smaller than the two-litre capacity specified. The bench was flooded, the drawer under the bench was flooded and there was water all over the floor. I don’t think I have ever wanted a cup of coffee so badly. But it would be another little while. When it did finally come, it tasted so good. Thank heavens it wasn’t yesterday when we had some people over for brunch. While you can leave out lots of things at breakfast or brunch, coffee is not one of them.

The Rugby World Cup schedule means that brunch is on the agenda right now, and it’s such an easy way to entertain. I’ll wager that there’s a lot of bacon, eggs and baked beans being consumed right now, as the pizza and beer that usually goes with a rugby game doesn’t quite cut it in the mornings.

Here then, are some easy make-ahead ideas to make your next brunch stress-free and delicious.

Everything can be cooked ahead of time and reheated for serving - the tomatoes, and halloumi in a hot oven or the microwave, the spinach in a pot or microwave. Even the eggs can be poached ahead of time, transfer them with a slotted spoon into a shallow oven dish, ready to reheat in a bath of just boiled water from the jug. Drain them on to paper towels before slipping on serving plates.

Ready in 15 minutes

Serves 4

2-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp curry powder

Salt and ground black pepper

200g halloumi, cut into 1cm-thick slices

4 handfuls spinach

4-8 eggs

TO SERVE (optional)

Toasted bread

4 Tbsp tomato relish

Mix sugar, curry powder, salt and ground black pepper on a saucer and dip cut side of tomatoes into the mixture. Pan-fry in a little olive oil until softened (about 2 minutes each side).

Pan-fry halloumi in a little olive oil until golden (1-2 minutes each side). Drain on a paper towel ( this also reheats). Place spinach in a pot with a little water, cook until just wilted then drain well and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a gentle simmer, break in eggs and cook until just set (about 3-4 minutes). Serve on warmed plates with tomatoes, halloumi and spinach. Delicious with toasted bread and tomato relish on the side.

I like to serve this with flour tortillas and eggs but it also makes a great topping for nachos - sprinkle cheese over the corn chips and melt before topping with the hot beans. For a meaty version mix 300g beef mince with the canned tomatoes to break up before adding to the sauce with the beans, and stir well as the mixture heats to prevent the mince from clumping.

Ready in 30 minutes

Serves 6

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, halved and finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped or pureed, or 1 tsp chipotle chilli powder (or more to taste)

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

2 x 400g cans kidney beans, drained

1 Tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tsp salt

Ground black pepper

6 eggs (optional)

2 roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped (optional)

Flesh of 1-2 just-ripe avocados, finely chopped

2 Tbsp chopped coriander or Italian parsley

In a large, deep frying pan, heat oil and gently fry onion until softened without browning (5 minutes).

Add garlic and cumin and cook for another minute. Stir in chipotle peppers or powder, tomatoes, beans and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and loosen with a little water if mixture is too thick - it wants to be quite sloppy if using eggs.

To cook eggs, make 4 deep indents in the sauce with the back of a big spoon and crack an egg into each. Cover and cook until egg white is set (4-5 minutes). You can also poach eggs separately as for the vegetarian fry-up.

Scatter with red peppers and avocado and sprinkle with coriander or parsley to serve.

Fresh salad leaves, tomatoes, avocado, crispy bacon and poached eggs with a creamy dressing: one of my favourite combinations for a weekend brunch. This is also delicious with smoked salmon in place of the bacon. Cook the eggs ahead of time if desired, using the method in the vegetarian fry-up.

Ready in 20 minutes

Serves 4

4 handfuls salad leaves, such as baby cos, iceberg or baby spinach

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 just-ripe avocados, cut into chunks

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley leaves

8 rashers streaky bacon

4-8 eggs

2 Tbsp good quality mayonnaise or aioli, thinned with 1 tsp water

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Toss together the salad leaves, tomatoes, avocado and parsley with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then divide between 4 serving plates.

Grill or fry bacon until crispy, then drain on paper towels.

Soft-poach eggs in lightly salted water for 3-4 minutes, then drain briefly on paper towels.

Divide bacon and eggs between salad plates, drizzle with thinned mayonnaise or aioli and season to taste. Serve immediately.

by Yvonne Lorkin

(Cowboy chilli beans)

Campo Viejo Cava Brut Catalunya NV ($24.99)

I can’t imagine enjoying my chilli beans either solo or sharing with another gringo without being able to sip this sophisticated cowboy from Catalunya in Spain. The Campo Viejo is an excellent apple blossom-stacked sparkler heaving with summer florals, savoury herbs and nougat notes. Made from xarel-lo, macabeo and parellada, this nectarine, apple and guava-gilded wine boasts dried herb complexity and has a rich, generously proportioned, incredibly textural mouthfeel and is the perfect partner for the chilli heat and creamy beans of this brunchy treat. vineonline.co.nz

(Vegetarian fry-up)

Grande Cuvee 1531 de Aimery Brut Rosé NV ($29.99)

Elevate this stir-fy to stratospheric heights with a stylish, sophisticated fluteful of this fantastic fizz. Made from a blend of chardonnay, chenin blanc and pinot noir grown in the Limoux (lee-moo) region in Southern France, this magically mouthfilling charmer shows soft pear and red apple complexity, pillowy mousse, clean cashew and soft berry notes, suede-like textures and excellent length. All class. thegoodwine.co.nz

(Breakfast salad)

Casa Boher Extra Brut Metodo Tradicional NV ($36)

Pair the creamy aioli and avocado, salty bacon and oozy eggs in this crunchy-fresh brekkie with a glass of this absolutely stunning sparkler comprised of 70 per cent pinot noir and 30 per cent chardonnay. Grown in the Uco Valley region of Mendoza in Argentina, it’s gorgeously golden in the glass, rich, creamy and bursting with cashew characters, frangipane florals, impressive fullness and superb length of flavour. It’s an absolute new favourite imported by a local family who used to own the vineyard from where it’s made. Nice. Spencerblockwines.co.nz