White Cedar Inn in Freeport is known for its unique breakfast menu, including this bacon, spinach and tomato sandwich with a hard-cooked egg. Courtesy / White Cedar Inn

Monica Kissane and Rock Nadeau have been the owners and innkeepers at the White Cedar Inn, 178 Main St., Freeport, since 2004. They are known for their flavorful and creative breakfast offerings; guests look forward to something innovative every morning. The bacon-spinach-tomato sandwich is a favorite year-round. Kissane characterizes it as “a simple, quick, immensely adaptable breakfast option” and it can be created with items already on hand. Their career story and choice to move to Maine can be found at whitecedarinn.com, along with many other recipes from their blog.

Bacon-Spinach-Tomato Sandwich with Hard-Cooked Egg

Easy to build bacon, spinach, tomato and egg breakfast sandwich. There’s lots of ways to change it up, depending on what’s in the house, such as substituting lettuce for spinach, ham for bacon or hummus for eggs.

1 English muffin
1 hard cooked egg, sliced in half
2 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp
2 slices tomato
2 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or smoky aioli (recipe below)

Toast the English muffin and spread with mayo or aioli. Layer the spinach, tomato and bacon on the muffin and top with egg. Serve with fresh fruit.

Smoky Aioli

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Heat olive oil in a small pan on medium heat. Add garlic, paprika and salt. Heat until fragrant, then stir in tomato paste. Whisk in water and reduce to 1/4 cup (8-10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool completely. Add mayo and spoon onto English muffin.

Culinary cookbook coming

Celebrating Maine’s 200th anniversary as a state, the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook will be released in June. It contains more than 200 recipes exploring our state’s culinary history and traditions. It also includes stories from Mainers – both celebrities and everyday friends and neighbors – and is illustrated with photos, handwritten notes and historic community cookbook covers. Working with food security advocates within the state, $2 from every book sold will support organizations fighting hunger in Maine. Compiled and edited by Margaret Hathaway & Karl Schatz, the cookbook can be preordered at maine200cookbook.com.