Breakfast Chronicles – Week 6-10

Well… I’ve been MIA for a while! I’m happy to say, though, that I have only skipped breakfast once. 🙂 I was out of the country on vacation for a couple of weeks, and had some very tasty breakfasts. I was in London, so I had a few traditional Full English breakfasts… Sausage, Bacon, Tomatoes, Baked Beans, Eggs.. Nom nom.

Now that I’m back at home and back to work, I’m staying on track and going with healthier options!

Below, my breakfasts this past week (Week 10):

Monday – Wholewheat waffle with peanut butter and strawberries

Tuesday – Wholewheat waffle with peanut butter and strawberry jam

Wednesday – All Bran cereal with whole milk and strawberries

Thursday – Special K “Chocolatey Strawberry” cereal with whole milk

Friday – Wholewheat waffle with peanut butter, sliced banana, and honey

Breakfast Chronicles – Week 5

Well, I didn’t forget to eat breakfast last week, but I forgot to post! Here is what I ate for breakfast last week, including, rather naughtily, a pastry! My excuse is that I bought it the day before to meet the minimum credit card purchase amount at the cafe where I ate lunch. So I had to buy it! And it was just sitting there, begging me to eat it for breakfast! Hmm. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 😉

Monday – Chocolate Fiber One cereal with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and blueberries (like eating dessert for breakfast, but under 200 calories, and full of fiber!)

Tuesday – Oatmeal made with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, topped with slivered almonds, cinnamon, and strawberries

Wednesday – Chocolate Fiber One cereal with whole milk and strawberries

Thursday – Special K “Chocolatey Strawberry” cereal with whole milk

Friday – Apple turnover!

Breakfast Chronicles – Week 4

Whew, another week gone by! I’ve been doing this series for 4 weeks now – lets see if I can pull it off for another month and beyond! I’ve been trying to incorporate healthy, filling foods into my breakfast, as well as making sure I eat it every day, so that I don’t binge on junk the rest of the afternoon. I’ve failed a few times – today I grabbed a Clif bar at 11:30am – but for the most part I’ve been doing well.

What do you like to eat for breakfast? Do you have a hard time remembering to eat breakfast during the week?

Monday – Special K “Chocolatey Strawberry” cereal with whole milk and blueberries

Tuesday – All Bran cereal with whole milk and blueberries

Wednesday – Oatmeal with cinnamon, cardamom and sliced 1/2 banana

Thursday – All Bran cereal with whole milk and sliced 1/2 banana

Friday – Blueberry Crisp Clif Bar

Breakfast Chronicles – Week 3

Better late than never, here is Week 3 in my Breakfast Chronicles series! I had oat bran (as a hot cereal) for the first time last week, and it was really tasty. It has a nice nutty flavor and is very filling. Have you tried oat bran? Do you like it?

Monday – Special K “Chocolatey Strawberry” cereal with whole milk and sliced 1/2 banana

Tuesday – Hot oat bran with blueberries

Wednesday – Oat bran with cinnamon and a sprinkle of brown sugar

Thursday – Whole wheat toast with cream cheese and smoked salmon; “Green Goodness” fruit and vegetable juice (went for something savory today!)

Friday – Clif “Mojo” Sweet & Salty Trail Mix Bar (Confession: this was grabbed in a hurry around 11am when I realized I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet!)

Venison and Red Cabbage Stew with Gin and Juniper Berries

I love a good, hearty stew, and I love the rich, meaty taste of venison, but I had never put the two together until last night. This weekend, I got some delicious venison stew meat from a local deer farm, Redmond’s Red Deer Farm. Because it’s farm raised, their venison has a milder taste than wild venison, but still uniquely flavorful.

Venison plays well with gin and juniper berries, and so does red cabbage – voila! I knew what I would do.

The stew was hearty and satisfying – comforting, but also intriguing with the notes of gin and juniper. Served atop a tangle of buttered whole wheat egg noodles, it was a perfect winter meal.

I was so busy eating it that I didn’t get a picture of the finished dish, so you’ll have to make it yourself to see. 😉

Try it – you’ll like it!

The meat and veggies before adding the broth

Venison & Red Cabbage Stew with Gin and Juniper Berries

Ingredients
1 lb venison stew meat (smallish pieces)
2-3 Tbsp flour
Salt & freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp Canola or Vegetable Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
1 Smallish head Red Cabbage, roughly chopped (largeish pieces)
4-6 Mushrooms, quartered
Generous pinch or two of Dried Rosemary
Pinch of Dried Thyme
~10 Dried Juniper berries (more or less depending how strong your berries are)
~ 1/4 Cup Gin (a good, flavorful one that you would enjoy in a Gin & Tonic or a Martini)
A few good glugs of Worcestershire Sauce (~2-3 Tbsp)
1 Bay Leaf
32 oz Beef or Chicken Broth (I used Chicken Broth, because that’s what I had on hand, and it worked well)

Method
1. Toss the meat with the flour, and generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides
2. Remove the meat and set aside. Add the onions and carrots and cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add the cabbage and cook the vegetables for about 5 more minutes, until the cabbage starts to wilt, stirring occasionally
4. Add the mushrooms, dried rosemary, and thyme; season with salt & pepper, and cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Add the meat back into the pot, then add the juniper berries and the gin. Stir until combined, and cook a few minutes until the gin has mostly cooked off
6. Add the Worcestershire Sauce – just glug it into the pot. Yum! Stir. Add the bay leaf
7. Add the broth. It should come up to the top of the veggies and meat; don’t worry if it does not completely cover them. The cabbage will cook down and release its own liquid as the stew cooks. Stir.
8. Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
9. Cook for at least 2 hours. The flavors will meld together and the meat will become nice and tender. If you have time to cook it longer than two hours, do. The more time, the better when you’re making stew!

Enjoy. If you make this for guests, I’m sure they’ll be impressed.

Breakfast Chronicles: Week 2

Second week of my Breakfast Chronicles, keeping myself accountable for eating a healthy breakfast every day during the week! See my original post here.

Monday: Oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries

Tuesday: Yogurt with Kashi “Heart to Heart” cereal & strawberries

Wednesday: Special K “Chocolatey Strawberry” cereal with whole milk

Thursday: Oatmeal with peanut butter and sliced 1/2 banana

Friday: Whole wheat toast with peanut butter; 1/2 banana

What did you have for breakfast this week?

 

Arugula Pesto

I love making pesto with things other than basil and/or pine nuts. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I made a “traditional” pesto! This arugula pesto is bright and zesty from the spiciness of the arugula and the fresh lemon juice. The bright green color is fabulous.

I served this tossed with whole wheat spaghetti, anchovies, and peas, topped with a soft boiled egg. Delicious!

All measurements below are approximate – I eyeballed it! Feel free to adjust quantities to suit your taste.

Ingredients
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Scant 1/4 cup slivered almonds
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-3 cloves garlic (depending how garlicky you want it!)
2 cups arugula
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; more or less as needed for the thickness you want
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method
1. Combine all of the ingredients except the oil in a food processor. If you have a small one, like mine, you can add the arugula in stages. Blitz until combined and smooth, pouring in the oil in a thin steady stream while the food processor is running
2. Taste and adjust quantities and seasoning if necessary

That’s it! You can make this in advance of whatever recipe you want to use it in, and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Breakfast Chronicles – Week 1

I love breakfast foods, but I sometimes have trouble remembering to eat breakfast (or convincing myself to) during the week. I don’t like to eat right after I wake up, and once I start work, a couple of hours usually pass before I realize, “hey, I should eat something.” By that time, I don’t really feel hungry. But if I don’t eat breakfast, I can’t focus as well, and I tend to eat more than I should at lunch and dinner.

To keep myself accountable and make sure I eat breakfast (almost) every day, I decided to chronicle my weekday breakfasts here on this blog. Here’s week 1!

How about you? Do you have trouble remembering to eat breakfast? What are your favorite weekday breakfast foods?

Monday -Nothing (not a great start – but I was sick with a stomach bug)

Tuesday – A couple of handfuls of dry Kashi cereal (still recovering from stomach bug)

Wednesday – Oatmeal with Peanut Butter & Strawberries

Thursday – Oatmeal Raisin Clif Bar

Friday – Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Slivered Almonds, and Blueberries

Golden Cauliflower Puree

This is a delicious accompaniment to chicken, steak, pork, fish… anything really! So far I have served it with venison liver & onions, and buffalo meatloaf. I added a couple of potatoes to the puree for smoothness and body. Not only does it taste great, it looks amazing! You can certainly use a regular white cauliflower if you can’t find a yellow one. Or, if you can find them, try this with a purple or green cauliflower too!

Golden Cauliflower Puree

Ingredients
1 Head Yellow Cauliflower, roughly chopped into ~1″ pieces
1 small yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped into ~1″ pieces
1/4-1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp butter
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Method

1. Place the cauliflower and potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, covered, then turn heat down to medium-high and boil for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender (but not falling apart). Drain.
2. Add 1/4 cup milk, butter, salt & pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg
3. Mash with a potato masher until the pieces of cauliflower and potato are broken up, but it doesn’t need to be smooth
4. Transfer to a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender, and puree until smooth. If you want a thinner texture, add additional milk
5. Taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary

Add some yummy color to your dinner plate!

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey-Chorizo Meatloaf with Chipotle Pumpkin Puree

Long title, simple recipe! This was very easy to make. The idea came from trying to use up a number of things I had in the fridge – some pumpkin puree from making pumpkin cupcakes, one link of chorizo from some burritos I had made, some bacon…

The chorizo added a bit of an extra kick, and the pumpkin puree was a nice alternative to gravy. Give this a try for a different twist on the classic meatloaf!

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey-Chorizo Meatloaf with Chipotle Pumpkin Puree

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small to medium onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
Salt & Pepper to taste
~1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb ground turkey
1 oz fresh pork chorizo (the crumbly Mexican kind, not the cured Spanish chorizo)
2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
~1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
6 strips bacon
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp barbecue sauce
1/2  15-oz can pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling!)
Pinch chipotle chili powder
1/4 cup chicken broth + more if necessary
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350F.
1. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper. Season with salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Cook until the onions are translucent and the veggies are softened, then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. While the veggies are cooling, in a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, chorizo, bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and salt & pepper so that they are fully combined. You can mix them with a wooden spoon but I find it easier – and more fun – to mix with my hands!
3. Mix about 2/3 of the veggies into the meat mixture until fully combined. (Leave the rest of the veggies in the pan.) Shape the mixture into a loaf shape.
4. Wrap the meatloaf with the strips of bacon. I find it easiest to leave the meatloaf in the mixing bowl, drape the bacon slices over it so that they overlap slightly, and then tuck the bacon ends under the meatloaf.
5. Transfer the meatloaf to a loaf pan. Mix the ketchup and barbecue sauce in a small bowl. Glaze the meatloaf with the sauce mixture; I did this using a silicone brush. Bake the meatloaf in the preheated oven for 1 hour.
6. While the meatloaf is baking, make the chipotle pumpkin puree. Add the canned pumpkin to the remaining vegetables in the pan. Stir to combine, and season with the pinch of chipotle chili powder. Cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Transfer the pumpkin & vegetable mixture to a high-walled measuring cup or similar vessel (or a blender if you have one). Add the chicken broth and cream. Puree using an immersion blender (or blender) until smooth. Add more chicken broth if you want a thinner sauce.
8. Transfer the puree back to the pan and warm over medium-low heat. Taste to check the seasoning and add salt & pepper if needed. Keep warm, stirring occasionally, until the meatloaf is ready.

9. Once the meatloaf is ready, remove it from the oven and slice it. Ladle a good amount of pumpkin puree onto each person’s plate, and top it with the sliced meatloaf (1-2 slices per person, depending how thickly you sliced it). Get ready to lick the plate!