I Don't Know Why It's Green

Breakfast, Friday March 24: veggie and cheese scramble; english muffin bread, sausage. 

The white balance must have been off. I swear the sausage really did not have a green pall. I made the sausage from scraps off of a couple of boston butts I got on sale. The majority of the meat went into jars and is now in the basement. It's great for adding to gumbos, or just heating up with a little sauce and a couple of drops of liquid smoke for a quick kitchen "barbeque." Don't judge until you've tried it.

The bread is another one of those local flavor finds. It is called English Muffin Toasting Loaf. It tastes like an english muffin. It is great with a little butter and it make an awesome grilled cheese.

It's What I Had On Hand

Supper, Wednesday March 22: roasted corn polenta; fajita kinda thing (thinly sliced beef, onion, kohlrabi, turnip, red pepper, chili spice, garlic, salsa); chard and aged gouda.

Ready or not it s time to get the winter brassicas out of the way. The garden needs to be tilled. We are eating a lot of turnip and kohlrabi. The broccoli is done. I only planted a couple of collard plants this year. We have a lot of canned greens. The fresh ones were very tasty. Winter collards are the best, sweeter, more tender.

I recently saw some roasted corn meal in a specialty shop. My immediate thought was "ooooh, roasted polenta, that would be kinda southwesty." I cooked it in the traditional way, simmered for about 20 minutes. I added a little vegetable bullion. It was tasty with a little garlic and olive oil.

My Bologna Has A First Name. . .

Breakfast, Tuesday March 21: PigCowChicken (english muffin bread, egg, trail bologna, swiss cheese).

So there is this bologna that is a staple in north central Ohio where Alexis is from. She calls it trail bologna (pronounced baloney, of course). Growing up in the south I had never seen the like. It looks like a very long polish sausage bent in on itself to form a ring (more on that in a minute). The texture on the other hand is definitely not that of the typical smoked sausage. It is fine textured like the large diameter bologna I grew up on. It has a different spice palette, but it is bolgna just the same. It is great with cheese and crackers or as a breakfast meat like in the photo above.

I made alexis a sammich with the above ingredients and some ohio swiss. I also made one to share with a co-worker. It is a small thing. It costs almost nothing and the time spent to make two is not much more than the time spent to make one. There will always be someone who skipped breakfast, and will be very appreciative.

Now for the amusing part. Alexis and her family and as far as I can tell everyone she knows have always called it trail bologna. When I inquired I was told that's just what it is called. So for years I assumed that it was the meat equivalent of trail mix. (It very well could be but that is not germaine to my story.) I've been calling it trail bologna for quite some time. On a recent trip to the region, we procured some of the product. This time i did something I had never before. I read the label. Turns out that the style of this smoked meat is "ring bologna" and, wait for it, the stuff is made in Trail OH. Since I have been inculcated I will probably continue to call it trail bologna. Whatever you call it, it's tasty.

Arrrrrg, There Be Sliders There

Supper, Monday March 13: pig sliders (sausage patty, pumpkin whole wheat biscuit, cheddar, onion, lettuce, mustard); fried squash; sauteed collards.

There is nothing particularly piratical about this plate except that I needed to use a pick on the sandwiches so. . .

Greens And Feta Are A Great Pair

lunch, Friday March 10:  bean and barley soup; sauteed collards with feta, zuchini muffin

That Doesn't Go There

Supper, Monday March 6: pork fajita (pork sliced thin, carrot, onion, bell pepper, chili spices, bamboo shoots, tomatillo sauce); refritos; chips-n-cheese; sour cream, whole wheat tortillas. 

Hey, the bamboo shoots were going to go to waste. 

Eggs Again?

Breakfast, Sunday March 5: eggs reddnekt lite, garlic and parm polenta, fruit.

So I bought These Funky Noodles. . .

Supper, Friday March 3: seaweed salad (dried kelp, sesame oil, sesame seed, pickled ginger, red onion, scorpion pepper sauce); noodle thing (Korean starch noodle, black fungus, bamboo shoots, kelp, sesame seed, sesame oil, carrot, scallion, pork, soy sauce, ginger, mirin).

Clearly I like to try new things so when I saw these noodles at the asian store I bought a bag to experiment with. They are different. Not bad, just different. They are grey when dry, and glassy when cooked. The texture is rubbery-chewy (chubbery?). I like chewy so I'm OK with it. I'll use them again. 

Leftovers Can Be Fun

Breakfast, Friday March 3: homemade sausage; sweet potato home fries; pumpkin bread; 9-grain bread; avocado.

Most of this is cobbled together from stuff for other meals. Even the sausage is a leftover of sorts. I bought two boston butts on sale. I trimmed out the meat from the bones and much of the fat. Most of the meat went to pint jars. I canned 8 pints. The rest went to some pork fried rice. The fatty meat and meaty fat went to the grinder and became sausage. The toast is from a couple of days ago, a 9--grain baguette. The sweet potato is re-tasked roasted sweet potato. The avocado is the other half of yesterday's and the pumpkin bread has been around a bit. 

Sometimes Weird is good

Breakfast, Thursday March 2: sausage gravy; 9-grain bread; dippy egg, avocado and peaches. 

Yeah the peach and avocado thing sounds weird, but consider chutneys. The sweet-savory fad of late is not a new thing. Here I did not make a chutney but I just mixed a little sweet fruit with another fruit that is more traditionally used in savory dishes. (I might have put in a few drops of hot sauce?) Take this a little further, add some scallions, cilantro, and lime juice, then you have peach salsa. 

But It's The Middle Of Winter

Went out to the garden. Picked a few things. It never ceases to amaze me what will grow even when temps are regularly below freezing.

In The South, If you Fry It, They Will Eat

Lunch, Wednesday March 1: cheese sammich ( asiago bagel, brie, zen greens, crunchy sprouts, artisan mustard); curly fries, fried squash. 

Not exactly the healthiest lunch, but I did sneak some veggies in there. We are not adverse to cold cuts, it's just that if you have to reduce salt somethin's gotta give. I would rather have the cheese. 

Haven't Had Lamb In A While

Breakfast, Wednesday March 1: blackened lamb chop; vegetable fritata (scallion, mushroom, olive, artichoke heart, dried tomato); polenta (instant polenta, feta, pepper, roasted garlic powder).

I was rummaging in the freezer the night before and happened upon the chops. Needless to say I was inspired. 

It's Not Just For Friday

Supper, Monday February 27: fried catfish; roasted sweet potato; kohlrabi greens and feta. 

When I bread for frying I start with a coating of flour. Then comes a dip in a 1:1 mix of eggs and buttermilk. Finish in a blend of 1:2 flour:breadcrumbs. I usually dredge all the food in the flour first then use the flour in the final step. 

Feta is great with sauteed greens. finish with a little lemon juice. 

I don't buy breadcrumbs. Buy reduced/day old french or other simple white bread. Slice and dry, then crumb it in a food processor. Keep in freezer.

Love These Little Bentoish Containers

Breakfast and Lunch, Sunday February 26: breakfast same as yesterday. lunch: veggie vindaloo; toasted tortilla; yogurt; olive; strawberries.

I love Vindaloo. Hot, aromatic, sharp, good with just about anything, lamb, chicken, veggies. I wouldn't use it with anything that has more subtle flavors, like say, scallops. you likely wouldn't taste them at all. The yogurt here is multi-purpose. It is there as a fire extinguisher with the tortilla that is standing in for some naan and as a desert with the strawberries mixed in. 

Kinda Like Veggie Sausage

Breakfast, Saturday February 25: blackeyed pea falafel; french toast with strawberries; yogurt wasabi sauce.

I think falafel makes a great substitute for an animal protein at breakfast. Then there is the joy you can share with your friends later!

Everything's Betta With Feta

Supper, Friday February 24: tortellini (spinach and feta tortellini, home canned marinara, broccoli, dried tomatoes, parm); toast

I didn't make the tortellini. I might try my hand at it but for now the available grocery store pasta will work perfectly fine. On another note the broccoli I used here was from the garden. I have harvested from the same plants five times. That is my best production ever.

Its Funny How Tastes Can Change Over The Years

Supper, Monday February 20: blackeye pea falafel (blackeye peas, egg, crackers, cumin, pepper, sesame seed); toast; pickled beets; squash, onion, and tomatoes.

I had never even heard of falafel until my twenties. Now falafel on a pita is one of my favorite sandwiches. In this case its just falafel and yogurt to dip in. The variation of using blackeye peas gives a smoother texture. I like the earthiness of these beans. It goes well with the bright spices and the nutty seeds.

Arrrrg! 'Nuf Said

Breakfast, Monday February 20: pirate eggs; seaweed salad (kelp, sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce); sardines, toast.

When we go to our favorite sushi spot we almost always get some edamame or a seaweed salad. I've never made the salad at home because I don't have the right seaweed. 

We Got That Sweet Savory Thing

Breakfast, Sunday February 19: fruit and cheese plate with popovers. 

Popovers have fallen out of vogue. Undoubtedly it is the amount of egg in the recipe that has turned the public against them, but this view is misplaced. Let's do the math. The recipe that I use calls for 4 eggs and makes a dozen popovers. So that is 4 eggs divided between 12 pastries or 4 / 12 = 1/3. Two popovers have the equivalent of two-thirds of an egg. Oh, wow, that's so unhealthy. In addition, I only use 2 eggs and an equivalent amount of egg substitute, so this recipe is just 1/3 egg in each. 

Is It Always Better As A Taco

Brunch, Friday February 17: breakfast tacos (scallion, crunchy sprouts, chilis, chili powder, cheddar, habanero co-jack, cilantro); mixed fruit; avocado and other accompaniments.

I don't know if everything is better as a taco but I will say this: Breakfast scramble in a tortilla is pretty damned good. This is particularly true if the tortillas are prepared well. 

Apparently At Our House Bluberry Pancakes Are A Food Group

Breakfast, Thursday February 16: whole wheat blueberry pancakes; veggie scramble; fruit.

Alexis likes blueberries a lot. I suppose they are also a healthy choice in food. What-Evar. They are yummy. Enuf. I make a lot of "scrambles." It accomplishes a couple of goals. It introduces more vegetables into the meal, something that the "traditional breakfast" is in desperate need of. They are also an excellent protein. "But what about the cholesterol?" you might ask. Well, in the first place, we eat a lot of fiber and a lot of olive oil. Secondly, it's half egg substitute. Oh, and those days I don't post? They days we have oatmeal, cold cereal, or a smoothie.

Is It Friday Yet

Supper, Sunday February 12: fish and chips and okra.

We don't have any religious affiliation, but we joke about fish Friday. We often have fish on Friday, but mostly because it's yummy. I also believe that a person can be physically addicted to fried okra. I am. This is some of the okra from the garden. In the summer when there was surplus we breaded and froze it. It's not the same as fresh but it's still pretty good.

Cilantro Is Fra-Gee-Lay, Must Be Italian

Breakfast, Sunday February 12: veggie scramble; sausage; 9-grain bread; apple.

I once put cilantro in the eggs or the veggies, but eventually I found out that the aromatic components of this herb are quite fragile. Heating cilantro destroys the aromatics. So if you want that bright, fresh cilantro nose, then sprinkle it on top. Don't cook it in.