Breakfasts

Yes... breakfasts, plural. I am a hobbit. I wake up hungry, with no requirements for my food beyond "won't make me sick" and "really, really easy to make." That usually means toast.

I can start the coffeemaker, toss toast into the toaster oven, wake up my computer, and be making good progress on waking up, all with the fog of sleep still in my eyes. Better food can come later.

Gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, everything-free bread is special. I'm very glad it exists, but... it's not all that much like real bread. It absolutely requires toasting. And toppings. The things that substitute for gluteny flours are often not as nutritious, and in the interest of appealing to the widest variety of freaks, the makers of everything-free bread usually leave it rather low-fat. shudder

So, I slather it with whatever I've got, or else I'm just eating pure carbs, and that's not good for me.

Here we have coffee and toast with blueberry preserves and almond slices.

Why almond slices?

Because I wanted some form of fat/protein and don't have any almond butter at the moment.

So... yeah... that's the early-morning, still-dark version of breakfast. First Breakfast. But a hobbit cannot live on First Breakfast alone, so.. about 2 hours later, it's time to once again ponder, what CAN Bekki eat?

Without eggs, Second Breakfast is a very sad thing.

More toast... this time Raisin-Walnut. Ooooh... flavor! I added some Coconut Cream Concentrate for fat and some sort of creaminess (how I miss butter!) and then more raisins. Oh, and cinnamon-sugar. I make my own. It's easy. I put about equal parts Rapadura (whole sugar) and cinnamon in the blender... whizz up until the Rapadura is ground small enough to get out of a shaker. The kids never seemed to notice the switch from crack-cocaine (white sugar) to Rapadura. I did. Rapadura tastes better.

As for the smoothie... I'm still working on smoothie science. There's a fine balance between liquid and frozen ingredients needed. With no raw yolk to really emulsify it, it kinda sucks. But... I'm gestating here and need calories. So, since I'm out of coconut milk, I used coconut cream, diluted halfsies with water, a handful of sliced almonds, squirt of agave nectar, some frozen blueberries, and half a frozen banana. Somehow I didn't have enough frozen stuff... didn't blend up right. Hopefully it'll hold me over until Elevensies.

Fried Boozey Apples

I didn't get any pictures of dinner... I was too hungry. Scat happens.

But, with dinner being a stir-fry of sorts, and me having mine with rice noodles (the rest of the family had nice fat whole wheat udon), I was hungry again about five minutes later.

The kids decided to have apples. Hmm... I could have an apple. And then I'd be hungry again in five more minutes. That wouldn't solve much.

Or... an idea began to grow... I could fry an apple, sliced up, in some coconut oil (butter would have tasted better, but... ) and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. As I was flipping the little apple slices over I got another idea. I could add booze. Pretty much all recipes go better with booze. But, being pregnant, my stash of flavor-adding boozes is rather low. We also moved recently, and many didn't make the cut for boot-legging. I perused the home bar and decided on the Sailor Jerry's Spiced Navy Rum. It smells divine the moment it hits the hot pan. Truly divine. So... apples, coconut oil, rum... then a nice shaking of cinnamon-sugar (which is ever-so-much-better when made with Rapadura instead of white sugar).


Yeah, I think this is a good snack.

Doesn't that look like it really needs a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream in the middle? Yeah. I thought so, too.

I haven't attempted to use my new/used ice cream machine to make coconut-milk-based ice cream yet. That'll be another post for another day.

To all the food I've loved before

Now that I can't have gluten (or so many other things) I'm not sure when I might once again have my cake and eat it, too. So, here I have a memorial to the delectable goodies of the past.

The Strawberry-Covered Chocolate Cake

This was my inside-out idea for my 29th birthday. It tasted great, but the frosting was so soft it rather oozed off the cake over time. Not that it needed to last all that long. Cakes are not baked to be looked at!

The lovely confection followed a birthday feast:

Crostini with Roasted Artichoke Pesto
Served with Trinity Oaks Johannesburg Riesling

Tomatoes with Fried Goat Cheese & Herb Salad
Grilled Grass-fed Rib Eye
Served with Napa Valley Vineyards Reserve Merlot

It was nummy.

And then there was last Thanksgiving.

My first (and last for a long time, not by my choice) time preparing the feast. We invited some single (or otherwise alone for the holiday) soldiers to join us. I was too busy to get pictures of the spread, but one of the guys did. If he makes it back from Baghdad, I'll get copies from him to post here.

The menu:

Butter-Roasted Turkey with Pan Gravy
Cornbread and Sausage Dressing
Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish
Maple Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Salad
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Southern Collard Greens
Sweet Potato Bacon Biscuits

Pumpkin Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream
Cranberry-Apple Crumb Pie
Chocolate Cake with Apricots and Almonds
Coffee, Tea & Cocktails

The chocolate cake with leaf cut-out apricots and almonds. It was fun to decorate. But not much was eaten that night... everyone was too full.

Afternoon Snack

Welcome to my blog, and let me begin by telling you why you're here.

You want to know what I eat so that you can eat it, too. Good ideas spread faster than the plague, but the plague isn't tasty, so let's move on.

I am currently pregnant, intolerant of several All American staple foods, and thus forced into real creativity when I get smacked by the hungry stick. I get smacked a lot. Like this afternoon, I awoke from a brief power-snooze absolutely famished. (Apparently, I put a little too much effort into the nap.) What to eat? Nuts and fruit... again? No. I couldn't face it. I wanted something that would stick to my ribs for a while.

Thick-cut bacon (from pastured pigs) and potatoes fried in the grease. Yes!


Ain't that just the pertiest thang you ever saw?

Oh, and... in case you were wondering... I don't need professional help. Fat from real food is good for you. So, grab a pan, turn up the heat, and go make your own snack. Recipe not included because it's just too easy.

Ok, I understand that some folks are desperate for guidance... try this recipe. That's sort of how I did it, but I skipped the futzy herbs and added lard instead of butter.