Week 1 of 52: French Toast

Let's try this again. One recipe a week for one year. Hopefully finish off a cook book. Hopefully,  my meal planning and diet log will lead to a slimmer waistline, better health stats, and happier taste buds.

Its been more than three years since I started this blog. Its time resurrect this effort. First of the week of the year and I think that this will be higher on my priority list. Avoiding fast food for a few months. No sodas. Vegan for a week. Learn a new recipe each week. Dig into the recipe books I've collected for the last several months. Make Eggs Benedict. Poach an egg. Diet log for an entire month and hopefully 6. Meal plan for a month and hopefully a year. Make stuff from scratch. Ice cream for one. Cheese cake for another. Rainbow trout, too. Clam Chowdah. Carrot cake too. Be a smoothie expert. Oh yeah, cole slaw too. The Cheesecake Factory Chicken Salad sandwich too. Country fried steak.

That's enough for now.

Going back to yesterday. I will write about what I made for late night dinner last night. French Toast.

After a good session at the gym, pre-made salads weren't going to cut it. Refrigerator was bit sparse and going on a grocery in the rain at 9 am wasn't high on my list. Looked around and found ingredients.

French Toast made with French Bread

Time: 10 min (5 min prep, 10 min cooking)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoon of cinnamon
4 tablespoon of sugar
1/4 cup of milk
2 slabs of butter
Syrup

Equipment
Bowl
Spatula
Frying Pan

Directions:
Preheat frying pan. Add butter to pan. Place 2 eggs, cinnamon, sugar in bowl and mix well. Place slices of bread into mixture for a minute or two on each side. Afterwards, place soaked slices in frying pan. For me, 2 eggs made well for 4 slices of French toast. Cook each side for a 2 to 3 minutes on each side. I liked to add more add a teaspoon of sugar (perhaps powdered sugar, if available) and a teaspoon of cinnamon while cooking. I've got a sweet tooth. Plate the French toast and have at it. I like to have the syrup on the side. I prefer to have French Toast crispy wen eating. Some people prefer to add strawberries when available. Enjoy! Pictures to follow.

What Is This?

Thought this was a water spot. Maybe an airplane. Pictures before and afterwards had no other anomaly. Went to Grand Canyon and took a few pictures. Was cleaning them autocorrecting on Microsoft Picture Manager. Notice this white spot in the middle of blue sky

If the Nephew likes it, then all is right

Week 3 of foodie blog. Has not been an auspicious start. Not logging foods in diet log. Not planning my meals as I stated I wanted to do. Haven’t entered the foods in my Calorie King and Exercise program. I haven’t put the will in this skill. No wonder why my eating habits has not been successful. This is the reason my BP, blood glucose and weight have been up. Don’t want to beat myself too much on my performance, but there is also much one can tolerate. From the looks of it, I have been tolerating too much.

Guess, this is troubled waters we all must face. Okay baby steps. Others may try to beat you up, don't help to your personal downfall by tearing yourself down. Remember Nana Korobi Ya Oki. Okay, Positive Mental Attitude. Think I will remember this time as the troubled water phase, the Hump. Skill Needs Will.

Can’t say this is my favorite sandwich, but my nephew liked it. If he likes, then all is right in the world. This is a simple sandwich to make. Took a few minutes and was good as leftovers. 

EASY ALL DAY SANDWICH

Time: 22 minutes (10 prep, 12 cooking)

Ingredients:

• Eggs (3)
• Milk, 3 tablespoon (45 ml)
• Butter, 1 tablespoon (15 ml)
• Mushrooms, white Chopped, I cup (250 ml)
• Bacon, 4 ounces (125 g)
• Whole wheat Bread, 4 slices
• Tomato ketchup
• Salt and black pepper

Recipe:

Beat eggs and milk the evening before. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, ten refrigerate. Next morning, heat skillet and melt tablespoon of butter. Add mushrooms and brown on both sides.  This should take approximately three minutes.  Add bacon to the pan.  Once cooked, spread mushroom and bacon evenly. Add the egg and milk mixture. Stir with spoon. Once cooked set aside and refrigerate. When ready, spread ketchup on slices of wheat bread. Spoon the egg, bacon, and mushroom on bread and serve. 

Skewers A la Teebow

Okay, recipe number two from the Kids cookbook. 

This one was interesting. Not exactly what was pictured in the cookbook, but you might as well get used to it. 

There was a Denver Brconcos football game and my patience for cooking something extravagant has been conditioned in the age of the microwave. Honestly, I would love to cook some of wonderful concoctions on the Food Channel, but my reasoning is this. Go to a restaurant, they are the professionals.

For those, more adventurous, it must be like going to a body shop. With all the cool tools, plus the beys to lift up the cars, the uninitiated is intimated. It is a scary, plus the mechanics and technicians tend to be close hold. However, once you are in, it is not so bad. Spending time in the  body shop one learns, if it can’t be realigned, re-booted, or bondo-ed, the mechanic simply sticks another new or used part on the broken area.

Cooking is similar. Get the right ingredients, find the proper utensils, and mix match until it looks good. In this case, until it tastes yummy. Yes, this is an oversimplification of a complicated process. However, with all the readily available information at one’s fingertips. It is nice to have the first hand knowledge, instead someone's interpretation. This will be our journey.

A line from the movie City of Angels comes to mind.  Seth, the Angel played by Nicholas Cage, asks his love interest Maggie (Meg Ryan), “How does it taste to you?”

I am joining the ranks of DIYers. (Do It Yourself-er) All those cooking shows take us into the kitchen of these famed restaurants. We see what they do. We are amazed and less intimated. It doesn’t look incredibly complicated. This is not true. It takes a fine nose, great taste buds, and years of training, However, if we want to learn how to fix a car, we should hang out at the shop.  The more one learns, the less apprehensive one become. Plus, I get the sense chefs are not like magicians. They don’t mind sharing their secrets. If we give them proper respect, they will be more than gracious to share their love for culinary arts.   

Okay, let’s get cooking the game is coming up. First you should know I modified some of the ingredients from the kids cookbook. Four reason for these alterations. First, I like a kick. Think Matt Prater 59 yarder. (Denver Bronco reference) One Rule to remember Bland Bad. Two, waiting for defrost something, if it can be avoided it, let it be so. Football game coming up, remember? Three, less chopping, the less chance of losing a finger. Lastly, what is in the refrigerator and pantry is what I will use. Don’t feeling like driving to market to get the ingredients.  Remember, Teebow Time!!!

The changes are this.  No zucchini. Instead  used green bell peppers, an onions, and pre-chopped mushrooms. Also, added Jalapeno peppers to marinade. Let’s begin.

Vegetable and Chicken Nugget Skewers (aka Skewers a la Teebow)

Time: 25 minutes (10 minute prep, 15 minute cooking)

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (60 ml) of honey

4 tablespoons (60 ml) of Dijon Mustard

2 carrots, cut into 8 large sections or use pre-cut carrots used in party platters

1green bell peppers, cut into 8 large sections

1 cup of mushrooms

½ onion cut into 8 sections

3 jalapeño peppers, chop finely

16 to 20 chicken nuggets

Directions:

Preheat oven to listed temperature for chicken nuggets.  Typically 350 degrees. Chop all the vegetables accordingly. Place honey, mustard, and chopped Jalapeno peppers in a bowl. Stir mixture until even.  Take 4 skewers and thread the nuggets and vegetables.  Arrange skewers on a baking sheet .  Brush honey, mustard, and pepper mixture liberally onto the skewers. Bake skewers for 15 minutes or until cooked through and lightly golden.  Brush left mixture for added punch. Enjoy!

Previous Recipe. Baby Step 1 Beef and asparagus sandwich blog

Remember, Nana Korobi Ya Oki.

Nana Korobi Ya Oki

It’s been two years.

Two years since I said, "I would start a food blog." Here almost the end of 2011 and I still have not written one post.  Not going to beat myself up about it. Just other stuff were more important at the time and since. Life gets that way.  It’s time for me to make it important. Two years ago, diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. Diet plays a key part in healthy lifestyle. Trouble is I had gone strict, then through time, I fell off. Guess, it happens.  Not what one had wanted or foreseen. Much of life becomes this way. Have plans, good intentions, then we make decisions that finds us where we are.  Some good, some, well, not so much. This is my Nana Korobi Ya Oki.  

The purpose of this blog is to commit to cooking and eating better.  This is a contract, a commitment with me to be better. Got to say stuff out loud to the Big Smile.Be a better eater, a better a cook. Of course, there are other things and it may leak into the posts that I will write. Then let it be. Really, it’s a new start. A new beginning. Its Hope. For me at least. It is my testament. I may fall, but this I say,”Nana Korobi Ya Oki.”

Just don’t want to be afraid to start again. So this is my baby step.

Not a great cook, but I think I would like to be better. So I will start cooking from Cara Hobday, Kids’ Healthy Lunchbox. May graduate to other books, but let’s keep it simple. One of my to-dos on my bucket is to complete every recipe in a cookbook.  Well, I finished three so far. I promise to me and anyone who reads to write at least once a week.

So let’s begin.

ASPARAGUS and BEEF BAGELS

Time: 10 minutes (5 min prep, 5 min cook)

Ingredients:

2 bagels

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 cup of water cress

4 asparagus spears

1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

4 ounces of cooked beef (I liked tri-tip. Roast beef, pastrami  is also fine )

Salt and black pepper

Directions:

Salt water and boil. Boil asparagus spears for half a minute. Drain and set aside. Remove larger stalks from watercress. Chop and place in bowl. Add mayo and mustard, then stir. Ta-Da! You have flavored mayonnaise. Half the bagels and toast. Spread the flavored mayonnaise on toasted bagels. Top with beef and asparagus spears.  Enjoy (Bagels may be refrigerated for up to 2 days)