A Bowl Of Gooey Love

Breakfast, Friday October 19: breakfast bowl (refried roasted yukons and sweet potatoes, onion, cheddar, egg).

Potatoes are one of the few foods that can easily be repurposed (and actually taste good or even improve). Mashed potatoes find new life in potato pancakes. Roasted potatoes turn into home fries. Leftover bakers can become mashed and 'tater skins.

After he left the service my father managed a corporate restaurant for a few years before he became ill and subsequently disabled. The store had bakers on the menu as a side. Of course you can't just whip up a baked potato. (Yes I know about microwaves and yes they do a decent job but there is a noticeable difference in moisture, evenness, and texture, especially in the skin.) So at the end of the night there were at least a few 'taters left over. Since home fries weren't on the menu they went in the trash. My father intercepted some every couple of nights and brought them home. We ate a lot of potatoes.

Anyhoo, here I retasked some roasted yukons and sweet potatoes in a skillet with a little onion, salt, and pepper. Some of the sweets got really brown. they look burnt in the photo. They aren't. Top with cheese and a couple of runny eggs that you can break to let the yolk coat that browned starchy yumness. Super combo. A dollop of sour cream might improve it, but I didn't have any. We had to rough it.

'Dem Bones, 'Dem Bones. . .

Thursday October 17, 2018 St Louis cut ribs; roasted new potatoes; sauted eggplant 

with tomatoes.

Growing up, ribs were not a thing in our house. Most certainly not pork ribs. Mostly this was because they were not a part of either of my parents culture. Another factor might have been my mother's general aversion to animal protein that was too reminiscent of the source. (Anyone notice that protein should be spelled protien? Think about it, "Einstein," the "i" sound has the spelling "ei" the "i" is after the "e." "Relief," the "e" follows the "i." So "proteeen" should be "protien" right?) 

Come to think of it I don't think I ever saw my mother pick up a piece of chicken and eat it off the bone. We ate plenty of chicken. She ate steak well done. Fish was filets. Head on? Not in a million years. 

So I developed my love of ribs as an adult. Better late than never. 

(Protein is from the Greek proteios, first or primary. It is a reflection of the desire by nineteenth century chemists to find the "life force," that which is primary for life. The enzymatic properties inherent in many proteins appear directed. English is a mess.)