Winter Doldrums

Kentucky is getting a lot more wintry weather than usual this year! It seems like every time it finally starts to melt, another icy, slushy mess falls from the sky. I've been feeling a little cooped up because my bike is really not made for winter riding - I spin on slim, currently very low tread tires. That means less activity day to day overall :( Today I made french toast to try and cheer up the grey morning - ricotta stuffed! Super good, maybe I should do another breakfast week :)

Breakfast of the Week

Have you ever made one of these??  It's a German Pancake, or I guess it's also called a Dutch Baby.  This is the recipe I used, and it was delicious.  Actually it was a lot bigger and puffier when I took it out of the oven, but then it proceeded to slowly deflate a bit upon its arrival on the table (Now I know what it must feel like to make a souffle.  Also, how do you type accents?) Maybe it realized it was going to be eaten right as its life began.  I filled it with apples that I sauteed with butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a bit of lemon juice and brown sugar.

I would like to assure you that I do more in life than make breakfast.  For instance, this weekend has been really busy with opera performances, and my mom and sister are in town, which is awesome.  I've seen some great movies recently, including all the Godfathers, Argo, Munich, and Chinatown (all really good).  There have been some cool home improvement projects that I want to post about.  I also got a new job!  I'm a personal assistant for a doctor, which basically means that I do errands and pick up groceries for him.  I'm not really going to talk about him or the job much because I want to keep it.  But I will say that today I was thinking about how it's a little bizarre to become familiar with the way a person smells without knowing them very well.   You know what I mean?  Usually you have to know someone pretty intimately to recognize their smell.  I don't really know my new boss, but I do smell him a decent amount because I hang out with his clothes.  I know he must be pretty cool because the laundry woman spoke very highly of him when I picked up a load.  She walked with me carrying a small, superfluous bag of clothes, and said "I enjoy him, he's very calming and kind of mellow."  I started panting a bit beside her trying to walk down the aisle carrying the first, 50 lb bag of laundry, and kind of grunted, "Yea, calm," while almost spilling all of its contents.  I will also say he has a pretty cool apartment.  My favorite part of it so far is the vacuum, which is the nicest vacuum I've ever come across in my entire life; I get to use it once a week.  Anyway, it's a good job so far.  

So, life is moving, breakfasts are being eaten.  Have a good day everyone!
xomo

T.W.O.R.G.B. - Birthday Breakfast

 Hm, this is a little delayed, but The Week of Really Good Breakfasts came to a close last Sunday on my birthday!  It was a toast buffet (I love toast), and featured avocado with poached eggs, and ricotta and jam. Pretty simple because I had to come up with a dinner that would feed about 20 people later that night, but simple things are often the best.  If you have trouble poaching eggs, what I always do is bring the water to a boil, crack an egg into a bowl, and then hold the bowl very close to the surface of the water and let the egg slip in.  I let them cook a little longer than I would expect every time, until they start to take a definite shape and the yoke section is maleable to the touch, but not completely relaxed, and then take them out with a slotted spoon and pat off the extra water.  The whites are firm and the yolk is still runny, but not undercooked.  That's the way I like 'em, anyway.  I've decided to continue with T.W.O.R.G.B. because it's so delicious, but it has to be a little less intense, so I will just do a weekly breakfast post.  There are lots more recipes to try :)

T.W.O.R.G.B. - Day 4

The Week of Really Good Breakfasts - Day 4:  Latte and Grape-nuts

Wow, it's actually a little hard keeping up with these posts.  Here is yesterday's breakfast, which had to be quick due to a combination of waking up late and early-ish class.  Have you ever had cooked Grape-nuts?  They're really good!  You just put them in a pan on the stove with some milk (I like using whole or almond) on low heat, and let them slowly absorb the liquid.  Pour honey on, generously.  Super easy and satisfying.  Coffee took center stage yesterday, and you're seeing the result of two really great Christmas presents:  a stovetop espresso maker and milk frother.  Definitely a worthwhile investment if you're an avid latte/capp drinker; they work really well.  Unfortunately it had to be gulped down and I made it to class fashionably five minutes late.  Which also unfortunately just means that I was late.  Whoops :)

Happy Eating!

xomo

T.W.O.R.G.B. - Day 3

The Week of Really Good Breakfasts - Day 3:  Tomato, Sausage, Onion, and Mozzarella Omelette

Friends, not all breakfasts are created equally - some live to serve a certain purpose.  They may not be classy, but they are damn well satisfying.  Today's breakfast was like that.  It was a brunch, actually.  A very late brunch, for two people, which is why it's okay that you're seeing a massive six egg omelette with the filling bursting out, and two half glasses of beer.  I can even try to disguise the omelette by listing all its ingredients in the title, but let's face it, it's a pizza omelette.  And it is so good.  Eggs and tomato sauce are an awesome combination, and mushrooms, sausage, and fresh mozzarella are nothing to complain about.  I cooked the sausage first and then fried the mushrooms in their grease.  Resist the urge to turn the mushrooms while they're cooking, because if you let them sit for awhile, they get crispier on one side and add nice texture.  Add the tomato sauce and let it bubble for a bit, and throw in some balsamic vinegar if you're into that (I am, and I did.).   If you're making a really large omelette like this one, don't skimp on the butter.  In a clean pan, throw a tablespoon down to melt on low heat, and when it starts to form bubbles, add your whisked eggs.  As the the bottom starts to set and only the top is runny, lay the cheese down to melt.  Wait a couple minutes, add your toppings, and then fold one side over.  You can run a spatula around the sides of the pan periodically while the eggs are cooking to make it easier for the finished product to arrive cleanly on the plate.  We finished off with a massive bowl of oranges and pineapple :)

T.W.O.R.G.B. - Day 2

The Week of Really Good Breakfasts - Day Two:  Potato and Onion Frittata

Thinly slice the onions and cook them in olive oil with with dill, basil, and parsley.  Slice the potato and cook in butter until golden brown.  Whisk the eggs with some milk and add 1/4 cup grated parmesan while stirring.  Spread the potatoes and onion out in the same pan and pour the eggs over them.  Cook on the stovetop until the bottom sets, then move it to the oven preheated at 350 degrees and let the top set.  (Don't cook frittatas too long, or they will dry out!)  Loosen the edges with a spatula and invert it on to a plate.  

Day two was very successful.  Yum :)

ps:  I also ate a grapefruit.

The Week of Really Good Breakfasts

Ho hum, where has all the time gone?  It's already February!  I've been keeping busy:  A month of classes has gone by, and rehearsals are starting to pile up with orchestra, opera pit, and quartet.  I signed up for a month of meditation classes that are culminating on Saturday.  One recent weekend was devoted to a project of thorough insulation installation around the apartment.  Then the apartment gained a new tenant - a mouse that lived a decadent lifestyle chewing up vast quantities of bread and butter and leaving remnants in shoes around the house.  (The new tenant's formal application was not accepted; he was caught and released back to his former home in the nearby meadow.)

And, a lot of good food is coming out the kitchen!  I've decided this week will have a theme to glorify the morning - The Week of Really Good Breakfasts - and I started with steel cut oats (which I've always wanted to buy, but never have because they're about 10x more expensive than rolled oats, until I discovered that a certain grocery store in Lexington sells them for an incredibly cheap price) with pears, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and topped with yogurt, grape nuts, and honey.  I cooked them in whole milk to make them creamier, and added the pear slices in with the milk right away while it heated to a boil so they cooked through.  Steel cut oats are so good - great texture and flavor - and are definitely worth the extra stovetop cooking time.  I'm brainstorming for the rest of the week; suggestions are welcome :)

"Crepes"

I'm discovering a couple things that help me feel good while living on a tight budget.  There's not a lot of money for extra activities or purchases, but I have to eat no matter what...so I've turned to the ritual of the meal as my main source of pleasure throughout the week.  Cooking and eating are extremely comforting, satisfying, and made to be shared with friends.  An automatic social activity :)  I eat a lot of beans and rice and regularly make a big pot of curry out of one vegetable, but every once in awhile it's nice to have a meal that's a little out of the ordinary.

A little while ago some friends and I watched To Catch a Thief; have you seen it?  It's an Alfred Hitchcock film set in the French Riviera starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, so every scene is shot amidst stunning landscapes.  I was thinking about it this morning, and it put me in a very French mood, so I donned some stripes and a necktie a la Grant, threw on a bit of french music, and decided I wanted crepes for breakfast.  Alas, the budget demands that eggs are saved for main dishes and butter is rationed.  Also, I don't currently own a blender, which is the best way to mix up crepe batter (Julia Child's recommendation).  So, I turned to corn tortillas as a crepe substitute.  Obviously not the same thing, but they were still delicious.  Actually corn tortillas have become a staple in my diet this month.  A big pack goes for about a $1.50, so they're a great substitute for bread, which is more expensive and doesn't last as long, and they're super versatile.  I topped them with ricotta (the one grocery trip splurge), peaches - which are way cheaper in Kentucky than they were in Wisconsin (awesome) - sauteed with water and honey so they got all thick and syrupy, and sprinkled on lemon zest and rosemary.  So good.

A "Hooray!" Day

There are a couple things that call for an extra-satisfying, celebratory breakfast today (Mom's homemade quiche and toast with goat cheese and jam, yum).  The first is that this beautiful woman had her birthday yesterday!  We did the best we could with texts, phone calls, and online chats, and we will celebrate together in person next week when I go out to Massachusetts for a few days during my vacation, which includes her wedding shower, because yes!  there is a wedding happening in September!  So, another birthday wish and xoxo to Trish this morning, and sips from the twin mug made in her honor :) The other thing is that I finally found a place to live in Lexington, where I'm starting grad school in just a few weeks, and I think I'm going to love it.  It's a garage converted into an apartment, encompasses two floors, and was built by a Swedish psychology professor.  It's all wood paneling, and as far as I can tell, will feel like living in a log cabin.  There is also a little pool in the backyard.  Woohoo!  Looking for an apartment is always stressful, and it's such a relief when something is settled.  I move and start and school in 3 weeks, eek.  Feeling nervous and excited.


ps:  By the way, do you ever get tired of looking at tiny apartments when you're trying to find a new place?  I scrolled through a million crappy craigslist ads and almost didn't even respond to the one I ended up taking because it didn't give much information.  The whole process made me keep thinking of this Tom Robbins quote:  "Priscilla lived in a studio apartment.  It was called a 'studio' apartment because art is supposed to be glamorous and landlords have a vested interest in making us believe that artists prefer to sleep in their workrooms.  Real artists almost never live in studio apartments.  There isn't enough space, and the light is all wrong.  Clerks live in studio apartments.  File clerks, shop clerks, law clerks, community college students, elderly widows, and unmarried waitresses."  Ha!  And graduate students.  

Birthday Breakfast

Happy Happy Birthday to my best friend in the world!  Carolyn turned 24 today, and we celebrated with a great brunch on the porch, cocktails in the very late afternoon, and a festive dinner with lots of laughter and stories at night.  Food, family, and friends; what more could you need?  Well, we all gave her presents too, I guess :)

Vegan: Day 10

The world of breakfast has seemed limited since abolishing the wonderful variety of the egg and eliminating yogurt.  I was looking into options for vegan baked goods to make the morning exciting and came across a recipe for coconut-carrot muffins.  Yum.  These were very hearty and filling, and not super sweet, which I liked.  It's interesting trying to bake without eggs...after perusing recipes it seems like it's common to use what's called a "flax egg", which is just flax meal mixed with water.  It gets thick and helps hold the batter together, but I think it also makes it more dense.  I generally followed this recipe, but ended up adding a lot of water to the batter to lighten it up, and also a more generous amount of spices, fruit, and nuts.

2 Delicious Breakfasts

Breakfast is possibly my favorite meal of the day, and some pretty great ones have come out of our kitchen recently.  At the top, a sweet german apple pancake - very easy and sooo good.  I found the recipe here, but substituted coconut milk for cream, took out the white sugar, and cut down on the butter and brown sugar because I prefer things to be not too sweet.  Second, savory sauteed vegetables topped with a poached egg, parmesan, and basil.  Yuummm.

Eating Alone

 

 

  

 

The other day I walked down the road into town and went to a little restaurant where I sat and ate breakfast by myself.  I sipped coffee and read my book, and then relished a monstrous breakfast with some people-watching on the side.  I've never actually gone to eat a complete meal alone...it was awesome - just me and the food totally focused on each other.  Next experiment:  solitary trip to the movie theater!