Posts Tagged ‘Breakfast’
Good afternoon, Dear Readers:
Are you warm? If you’re snowed in, I envy you. But that’s just me, OK?
Neighbor K knocked on my door Sunday and handed me a little plastic container and said, “you have got to try this!” She found a breakfast, um, casserole (I hate that word) that had all kinds of things in it, and the crust is chopped up cauliflower. She put some mushrooms and chopped bell pepper in it, and it was pretty darn good.
K and I have been going walking very early for the better part of 2 months now. I say better part because we’ve missed a few days–me a week when I was ill, and later, she was hurt and didn’t walk for about ten days. I myself missed two days this week, but I’ll tell you why in a minute.
I still have my habit of cooking for a week, and K got the idea to do the same, since after we walk, she takes out Daft Pug for a walk, gets cleaned up and goes to work. So, this weekend she hit on a really tasty breakfast. Of course it’s good! From the page Low Carbing With Friends on Facebook, the Cauli-Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole is full of good things, low carb, gluten free, and just delish.
You make a crust of the chopped cauliflower and butter, bake that for 30 minutes, and while that bakes, prep the other stuff. It does call for coconut milk, although I’m not sure why. It takes a while to make, but on a Sunday, bake one of these up and you’ll have it all week and not have to fuss. (As long as you’re single, that is.) If you’re part of a family. . .make two.
The deep freeze that gripped Houston last week has eased, and I once again have the patio doors open and the doorstops in place and a nice breeze blowing through the HeatCageKitchen headquarters. I burned fire logs for three days and nights last week, and set up my computer in front of it. Actually, it was just me and the Jezebel the Step Kitty, parked on the futon with my feet up and my little laptop running. I made cappuccino, then made regular decaf and put it in that tall black pipe of a travel mug and camped out there for three days.
I asked the GER recently about when he was planning to take Jezebel home, but he felt like she was bonded with me and maybe taking her home might not be a good idea. I enjoyed having her, even if she did get on my nerves once in a while, and always figured she would go back to live with the GER. (I’ve jokingly told people that we were “cat co-parents.”)
Not everything I have is hot wings, but she didn’t care, she wanted some.
I didn’t close the fireplace damper a couple of times, because the embers were still bright red, and I was afraid of not having any oxygen in the middle of the night.
Now, Sunday morning, the weather eased a bit, and I hadn’t lit the fireplace in a couple of days. What I didn’t know is during that cold snap, we got a visitor. He apparently arrived during the night when I left the damper open, and he found his way down the chimney. But he didn’t get far.
Jezebel the Step-Kitty was on the prowl. I was watching TV and doing something else when I looked over and saw she was hanging onto something small and grey that looked like a piece of fabric that I tossed aside. (I do that and throw them all away at once.) Irony: I actually WAS cutting grey fabric, no kidding, so I didn’t realize that it wasn’t fabric. She was acting a bit funny, so I got a little closer and realized. . .fabric scraps don’t have tails. This did.
EEEEEEEEEK!! A MOUSE!!!!!
Yes, Jezebel earned her keep that day, and became my little mouser. I don’t know how Neighbor K didn’t hear me scream and kvetch at the top of my lungs.
I had to chase Jezebel away from the mouse, because she looked like she was going to take it and head under the bed. She gave me a look that said, “Hey–this is mine, go get your own!” When I finally caught my breath (read: quit yelling), I got a small whisk broom and dustpan and put the thing in a bag and set it outside. I did apologize to the mouse for the way his visit went, but I don’t want any mouse visitors, either. K took it out to the dumpster when she walked the Daft Pug.
I was so proud of that cat! The GER said she chased a dog out of his house once, too. Good kitty!
Our good news didn’t last for long. Jezebel also had problems keeping food down. She was eating, but it wasn’t sticking with her, and in addition to cleaning up the carpet, I noticed she was getting bony besides the big belly on her. I knew she was fixed, so pregnancy wasn’t an option, so off to the vet we went. It was a beautiful day, we hopped in my ride and drove to a great vet clinic in Pearland. I told her that they were going to take care of that super-duper hairball she had, and it was all going to be OK.
Well. . .she was carrying something–a “huge mass” on her left side that was pushing her organs over to the right. The vet mentioned “lymphoma,” and it took up her entire left side. The vet showed me the X-rays, and could not believe what I was seeing. That’s why she couldn’t hold food down, and she was actually starving. Frantic calls to the GER voice mail went unanswered, until finally, he called back, and drove to Pearland to meet me at the clinic.
The prognosis was not good, and on that day, (11/17/2014) our little mouser went to the Rainbow Bridge. The GER and I said goodbye to a fussy, independent little tabby cat that suddenly was the only cat in the world. And for the first time in 21 years, I am living alone, without a cat.
She was gone, just like that.
And that’s why I didn’t sleep for two nights and skipped walking for two days. (K understood.)
We will have cats again one day, but both me and the GER are heartbroken right now and are grieving. No more cats for a while (and please don’t bring us any.) He took her home, and she’s buried in his backyard with three other beloved felines that already went to the Rainbow Bridge, along with Catmandu and Kismet (who are cremated and in little boxes in my living room.)
I feel bad that I didn’t give her more roast chicken, turkey and little bowls of milk. She got to be a little bit pushy after the hot wings, and I figured she was just being a chow hound. No. . .she wasn’t well. I thought she was just pudgy with a big hairball.
Goodbye, Jezebel. See you again at the Rainbow Bridge. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of delicious food there for you, too. Your Cat Daddy and I miss you very, very much. We know you are out of pain, and happy with new friends there.
Jezebel the Step Kitty. Independent, but wanted attention on her own terms. And, whatever you’re having, please.
I’ve washed up her food dishes and put them away, but I just don’t have the heart to get rid of her litterbox or kitty bed, nor that little scratch pad on the floor on the left of that picture. I took down the little tin sign outside that says “Mind the Cat.” I’ve also gathered up as many pictures as I could find of her and put them in a DropBox file to share with the GER. I’ll go look for more this weekend, but I fear I’ve lost more because I didn’t realize my photos weren’t being backed up to my iCloud. I’m hoping GER has some at home that I sent him previously. We’ll get some prints made soon, too.
Please remember to be nice to your pets, and always, always bring them in when it’s cold. They’re our pets, they love us and trust us, and they can’t help themselves.
Thank you.
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Sorry it’s been so long since I wrote. My other website is up and running, and I’m overdue to write another blog post for that one. The focus is technology, not cooking, so it’s a little more work, ’cause I gotta READ, not write off-the-cuff like I do here. I do research for this blog too, but I know more about cooking and baking than I do about Big Data and Cloud Computing. But hey–cooking and technology are important, and frequently they overlap.
Especially when I get a new catalog from Sur la Table. If you don’t want to see really expensive and complicated coffee machines, don’t click on that link.
I have some updates on the garden to share soon, but I definitely need to get out there and weed some more before I show you any pictures. The second Anaheim chile pepper was used Sunday for this delicious dish, and the Meyer lemons are starting to turn yellow. JUST starting, like limes, but it might be a month before harvest time.
The other day I put one of my cookbooks back and I saw a book given to me by a guy I used to date. He lived on a boat, and he had to say goodbye one day, but I did find out that boat sank during Hurricane Ike in 2008 and he’s a land-lubber now. No, I don’t want to see him again, but he did give me a copy of The Yachting Cookbook. No kidding. It’s out of print, but Amazon still has copies from individuals for sale. All 14 reviews are 5-star, and everyone raves about how great the recipes are–both in simplicity and taste.
I’ve never used it. I’ve thought about it, though.
After flipping through it again this weekend, I found one recipe I’m going to try soon–Eggs in Hell on page 141. Supposed to be good for folks after a night of overindulging. Also included are tips, like the one on the same page:
“While cruising, the traditional way to thank your host is by picking up the tab for dinner ashore one night.”
Helpful stuff like that. I’ll let you know if I try it.
And for those of you who want the latest and greatest healthy cookbooks, here you go:
Let’s get excited about. . .kale. . . .
Kale’s OK, but no, I can’t get excited about it. But if you are just wild about kale, go get the book and get cooking. I have been trolling through Barnes & Noble occasionally, and just found it recently. Maybe I need a life.
These days I wonder what my late Grandmother O’Donnell would think about all the stuff available in American grocery stores. She passed away in February 2005, six months before Hurricane Katrina wiped out her house (it was long ago sold.) My grandmother took me to the grocery when I was little, like 4-5-6, and that’s how I learned to grocery shop (because Moms know grocery stores are the worst place to take kids.)Â Yes, these were the halcyon days of Suzy Homemaker and the Easy-Bake Oven.
Like quinoa, chia seeds are one of those things we didn’t have at Schweggmann’s or Winn-Dixie, and I’m not sure anyone would have known what to do with them anyway. But I, like many of my contemporaries, remember when they introduced Chia Pets. I’ve never had one, but maybe one day I’ll get one and try it out. (No, you don’t need to send me one!)
A couple of years ago, I ordered something online that came with a sample of chia seeds, exactly one quarter cup. Did not know what to do with it, but a little clicking around found this recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding Loved it, never made it again, but I’ll make it again one day. Later, on a trip through Trader Joe’s one day I found a bag for about $4 or $5, so I got some, even though I didn’t know what I was going to do with them.
I’ve since found them in Kroger for a better price.
Kroger’s brand of chia seeds. Bigger bag for less money.
And then Giada de Laurentiis’ new book came out, and I found another use for chia seeds. I made some of the Chia Seed Pudding on page 29, and happened to have most of the ingredients handy and gave it a try.
Giada’s Chia Seed Pudding
Because I had such long days, I took this to work and had half of it about 10:00 am, and the rest about 4:30 pm. It was pretty good, too. However, keep reading. . . .
Chia seeds are kinda funny–they’re little bitty, but leave them in liquid for a while and they plump up and make a pudding-like texture. (If you put them in a smoothie and don’t consume the smoothie right away, I think you can guess what will happen to the texture your smoothie.) However, chia seeds are very nutritious, and can also do a stand-in for other thickeners in some things. They’re also filling with lots of fiber–but no phytoestrogen like the celebrated flax seeds, which are touted as helpful to menopausal women, but can actually mess with or mess up your hormones.
Lucky me, I had all the ingredients on hand, but used agave syrup with a little maple extract in it instead of the maple syrup. And so I made it regularly. Delicious!
Now, because I was working in an office with people who loved cupcakes, cakes, sandwiches and pizza, I had a tough time leaving it alone and eating clean, and I fell off the wagon a couple of times. But this was a healthy new treat, and I so enjoyed it daily.
I bought my usual frozen fruit that I was buying for smoothies and added that on top. Looks good, doesn’t it?
Amy’s version of Giada’s Chia Pudding, with a cherry on top.
It didn’t look this good when I took it to work, but it sure was tasty.
And then one day I thought my appendix had ruptured. My gut was killing me, and I was a couple of days away from going to the emergency room for an X-ray and possibly surgery. Just what I needed. I backed off eating the pudding, and go back to smoothies. . .and the pain went away.
Remember that chia seeds swell up, and have LOTS of fiber in them. And I guess after a few days, they swell more and more. Smoothies don’t do that.
You can find a different recipe for Vanilla Chia Pudding at Martha Stewart’s website, but here’s the recipe from Giada’s book. You make stir it up the night before (no cooking!) and it’s ready in the morning–just top with fruit and slivered almonds and you’re ready to eat.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Chia Seed Pudding
Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla-flavored unsweetened almond milk
1 cup low-fat (2%) Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (preferably grade B, plus 4 teaspoons for serving (Amy’s substitution: 2 Tbsp agave syrup and 1/4 tsp maple extract, mixed)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 pint strawberries, hulled and diced
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (NOTE: in a single layer on a baking sheet, bake in a preheated 350F oven until lightly toasted, 6 to 8 minutes,and let cool completely before using)
In a medium bowl, gently whisk the almond milk, yogurt, the 2 tablespoons maple syrup, vanilla and salt until just blended. Whisk in the chia seeds. Let stand for 30 minutes. Stir to distribute the seeds if they’ve settled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, in a medium bowl, toss the berries with the remaining 4 teaspoons maple syrup. Mix in the almonds.
Spoon the pudding into 4 bowls or stemmed pudding glasses, mound the berry mixture on top, and serve.
________________________________________________________________________________
Enjoy!
.
Good morning, Dear Readers:
I know it’s been a couple of weeks, but I have to step away from blogging for a little longer while I job hunt. I have a few topics in mind, but right now, I don’t feel like writing. The words escape me.
I haven’t yet written about the grocery chain Aldi, which is growing by leaps and bounds. We have several new stores in the Houston area, including two close to me. Their new flyer indicates that they now have their own gluten free line of products. More on that later.
Also haven’t mentioned Fresh Market, another grocery chain moving into Houston. I keep forgetting to go into the one in town, but we have one opening up this week in my little neighborhood. Report when I get over there.
My garden is also doing pretty well; I’ll be getting some Meyer lemons soon, and if all goes well, limes. I buy and use them all the time–and now they cost a fortune! You’d think that a country would protect one of their cash cows, but I guess limes aren’t Mexico’s most profitable export.
So I’ll give you this picture of Jezebel the step-kitty in the garden, where I found her hanging out in the nice weather this weekend.
The new lime tree is on the left, and the Meyer lemon tree is on the right. The little green orbs will become a crop for me to pick and enjoy. Won’t be a bumper crop, but it’s a start from a paint bucket, right?
Yesterday I made Nigella Lawson’s Corsican Omelette for breakfast, and look what I got!
That rarely happens to me, but it’s nice when it does. Also used up some of the productive mint from the garden.
That’s Texas style–because I can’t fold it into thirds and end up with anything other than scrambled eggs. Then again. I didn’t learn to cook in Europe. I learned in New Orleans.
Well, anyway, I hope to be back blogging a little more soon. Cross your fingers.
Happy Dining!
Hello, Dear Readers:
I’m sorry–I’m stuck in a rut and I can’t stop PUNNING. Please forgive me. I’ll try to do better in the next post.
Well, as promised, I’m here to report on my first recipe from the Wheat Belly Cookbook by Dr. William Davis. No, I haven’t finished reading either one, but since this is primarily a FOOD blog, I thought y’all might be interested to know about this tasty morsel.
Get it? Tasty Morsel!
I did a pun. Or is that a groaner? Well, anyway. . . .
The reason I really wanted that cookbook was simple: while sitting at the conference a couple of weeks ago, I asked one of my table mates if I could look at it. Nice people being what they are, she obliged. Everything looked really good (even the ones without pictures) and I just , um, ate it up. (Punned again!)Â Having done the low-carb thing for many years, I get the idea of living without wheat; but this book offers new recipes that are interesting and give more options than the meat-and-veg variety.
The Basic Biscuit (Wheat Belly Cookbook, page 245) recipe is what made me buy it. Seriously. Biscuits, wheat free, and you can make breakfast biscuits with them just like, well, McDonald’s! (There is also a sweet variation.) I was intrigued, and this morning, I had one. Sorta. I actually MADE the biscuits this morning, finally, and when they came out of the oven, I had three, one by one, hot, with butter and salt. They are SO good.
I have to point out that they do not taste like wheat (or canned) biscuits, nor are they “light and fluffy,” since there’s no wheat or gluten in them. They are delicious, chewy and substantial without being too heavy. Remember, it’s turning one type of ingredients into something completely different (or as a lawyer would say, into something for which it was not originally intended.)
So what’s the story? OK, the ingredients are:
1 cup fine-ground almond flour/meal
1 cup ground golden flax seeds
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small squares (diced)
4 egg whites
OPTION: 1/4 cup grated Swiss Cheese (book suggestion, I just had some grated Swiss in the freezer at the time)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and heat the oven to 350F.
Mix the almond flour, ground flax seeds and baking powder. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter until combined.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites on high until soft peaks from. Gently fold the egg whites into the flour/butter mixture until well combined.
Spoon the dough int 8 rounds onto the baking sheet. Flatten to approximately 3/4″ thickness. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Yeah, baby. Take a look:
Looks pretty much like any other biscuit, doesn’t it? (Plain looking sitting on my handmade potholder.)Â I put them in a fridge storage container while they were still a bit warm. Know what? They didn’t get soft and mushy. I’ve had that happen with other wheat-free recipes, and I guess it’s the golden flaxseed that did it. No complaints.
I split up the mixture into 8 parts by pushing the mixture gently into the bottom of the bowl, dividing it four ways (much like Rachael Ray does with ground meat) scooping out a quarter, then dividing that in half. This “dough” works easy; just don’t manhandle it too much. I bought a round cookie cutter today to try making them rounded easier, as well as cooking my eggs in a circle to fit onto the biscuit. Neat, huh?
I promise, I was GONNA make an egg/sausage sandwich out of it. I really was. I tasted one, and it was all over at that point. I ate a second, and a third. Then I finally quit. They are that good.
However. . .
I use unsalted butter all the time (as one should when baking) but I found that the finished biscuit needed a bit of salt. So after the butter melted, I sprinkled a bit of kosher salt on it. Because EVERYTHING I eat now needs some salt on it, darnit.
WAY. TOO. GOOD.
Next for breakfast will be on page 164, the Good Morning Souffle that I can make and eat all week long. I definitely want to try the Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake on page 256 one day. Trust me when I tell you I will not be sharing any of that one, either. Now look–I told you about this. I will knock over Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal AND Magic Johnson–at the same time–for anything combining chocolate and raspberries in one place. So make your own if you wanna try it.
Now the back story: ground almond meal/flour is more expensive. Since wheat and wheat products have become relatively cheap because of modern agribusiness, healthier, non-GMO non-standard ingredients tend to be pricier. That’s the price you pay for trying to be healthy, or if it’s a child, keeping that child healthy and well, and not on drugs that can make them sick with something else. We don’t want that. Generally, diet is cheaper to change than drug therapy, anyway.
My dad used to field comments from his spinster aunts when they would tut-tut about how much his kids ate by replying, “It’s cheaper than doctor bills.” That was a long time ago, but it’s still very true. Healthy food is cheaper in the long run by the absence of illness produced by the unhealthy foods, as well as the subsequent treatments. If you don’t believe me, walk around your local Wal-Mart and observe. Healthy food is not always the most expensive; it takes learning more about what you’re buying before you shop.
I keep almond flour around for another favorite recipe that only uses a tablespoon of it. Recently I found it on sale at my local Target, and I bought extra. Over the holidays, my health food store was out of almond flour, so I got hazelnut, which was sitting right next to it. It was more, but it worked, and while I like both nuts, I can’t say one affects the taste all that much when used in the same manner.
Now, I’m by myself, so I don’t have to worry about other people complaining about the food (which is reason #9,753 of why I’m not married/attached anymore.) If I make something that’s not suitable for a royal luncheon, well, it’s my fault, I gotta eat it (unless it’s inedible.)Â But if you have someone in your household who is allergic, this is important to know about, and how to work with. You need to know what they are allergic to so you don’t sicken them with something they shouldn’t have, and be able to feed them so that they don’t feel left out. Like the Babycakes books series, these recipes were designed for people who are either allergic to wheat or, like me, want to avoid it anyway without missing out on anything.
And in many cases, when entire families change their diet because of one member, the entire family benefits. Just an FYI.
And, BTW, wheat/gluten sensitivities, like its evil cousin, yeast overgrowth (Candida albicans) in the gut, can also cause behavioral issues and mood swings in both adults and kids. Not a joke. In the extremely sensitive, elimination of wheat can bring drastic results–but you don’t know that until you try it, particularly on children.
Remember, too, as I reported to you earlier–today’s wheat strains are NOT what they had in Biblical times, nor is it what your grandmothers and maiden aunts used to bake with. Today’s available “wheat” is the accumulated result of continual genetic modification for a) increased production, b) disease resistance, and c) saleability. Nobody bothered to check to see if consumption was harmful, and now, nobody will admit to it.
Anyway. . . .
You gotta admit, these people have worked hard on wheat-free, and have done a stellar job in their own way–Dr. Davis being the medical side, and Erin McKinney on the “end user” side. That’s what America is all about, believe it or not. Some people still like to do something new, something different, something great for their fellow man.
And as a grateful, hungry nation, we eat it up.
I did it again! Get it? We eat it up!! I’m on a roll today.
Oh NO! On a roll! But I haven’t baked any yet. . . .
Enough with the puns! This is good food for you and yours, and nobody has to miss out on much just because they’re allergic to wheat/gluten. You can, literally, have your cake and eat it too.
Help! I can’t stop the puns!!
I’ve got work to do folks, so off I go. Try something new this week, whether it’s a locally-made wine, or new fruit at your local Farmer’s Market, something wheat-free, something more natural, or just something you’ve seen but never considered trying before (like my favorite treat, Larabars.) You might find a new favorite you’ve been missing out on.
Happy Dining!
