Category Archives: General
Breakfast of Champions
For many, breakfast is a meal that is either skipped entirely or eaten on the run. For me, it is a meal I always sit down to eat before I start my day. This doesn’t mean I have a hot breakfast of bacon and eggs every morning, though eggs are featured at weekend breakfasts. Until recently, when our morning schedules just can’t accommodate it, both Howard and I sat together and ate our breakfasts every morning.
On weekdays, breakfast is simple. The menu varies by mood, but is usually the same for weeks or months at a time. Then, feeling a rut coming on, I change it. I always have fresh fruit: half a grapefruit this time of year, switching to berries or melon in season. I also have a small bowl of plain yogurt with some homemade fruit jam stirred in. For substance, I have toast with cheese (rye bread is my favorite) or a bowl of cereal. Last week, I felt a granola phase coming on.
This was partially inspired by one of the new books on my bedside table: Melissa Clark’s In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite. I’m not a regular New York Times reader, so I hadn’t followed her column in the Dining section, but this compilation of writing with recipes is delightful. I suppose one could call it a cookbook because of the recipes, but, for me, it’s more a book filled with food writing. I’m rationing out reading each story because I don’t want to finish the book.
Melissa Clark’s voice reminds me of one of my all-time favorite food writers, Laurie Colwin. And, if you’re not familiar with Laurie Colwin, go look her up. Her food writing is compiled into two books Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. She also wrote several novels. Unfortunately, she passed away in 1992 (she was only 48) but her writing can still inspire.
Melissa Clark writes about an Olive Oil Granola that I couldn’t get out of my mind. This weekend, I made a batch for this week’s breakfasts. This granola has uses more oil and sweetener (maple syrup AND brown sugar) than what I usually make, but the result was outstanding. Her version called for pumpkin seeds and pistachios. I used the nuts I had on hand, mimicking the granola from Big Sky Bakery with pumpkin seeds, whole almonds, sunflower seeds, and some sesame seeds. I don’t like coconut, so I left that out. I also omitted the apricots, which I would have liked, but Howard doesn’t do dried fruit and I thought I should share.
Wow! This has to be the best granola I’ve made. It’s sweet and crunchy. It has been delicious all week stirred into plain yogurt with a little bit of homemade jam. I’ll be skipping the toast at least until this batch is finished off, or maybe I’ll make another batch and keep granola on my breakfast menu until I feel another rut coming on.
Olive Oil Granola
Adapted from Melissa Clark’s In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1½ cups whole almonds
1 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
½ cup sunflower seeds (unsalted)
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
¾ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom
Preheat the oven to 300F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Spread the mixture into a large rimmed baking sheet (mine was 13×18 inches) in an even layer. Bake for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the granola is golden brown and well toasted.
Enjoy for breakfast or a snack.
Purple and Green
My favorite colors are purple and green, especially together. I really like the combination. I’m not really sure whether they go together, but they do to me.
The doors of my house are painted purple. The room I use at home for an office/project room is painted Corsage Orchid. My dining room is painted Queen Anne Lilac. I like to wear purple and green too.
My niece Rachel asked me to knit her a hat. She’s a girl after my own heart. She requested a hat that was lime green and light purple, a perfect color combination in my opinion. I’ve made Rachel several hats since she was born (she’s 8). It was years before her mother, my sister Jennifer, told me that all the hats I had made for her were too big. The two I made when she was an infant didn’t fit her until she was 5. My biggest worry was that I wouldn’t get the circumference right (yes, my sister did send the measurement of her head).
Rachel's Hat
The hat was so cute that, as soon as I mailed the hat off to Rachel, I made one for myself from some avocado green and a dark purple yarn leftover from a felted tote bag I made. Even though I tried it on as I went, I was disappointed that the finished product was too short. It didn’t cover my ears. It was more of a beanie than a hat, cute, but not so practical. No worries, I’ll just make me another.
Betsy's Hat
On Valentine’s Day, I got an email from Jennifer to say that Rachel loved the hat, but… it didn’t cover her ears. So, now I’m making Rachel another one too.
If you’ve follow my blog, you know that I like to make soup. I had some ham in the freezer, so I tried out a new split pea soup recipe, with ham, obviously. It was different from the usual split pea soup I make, not quite as thick, with some diced potatoes. It hit the spot for a Sunday lunch, plus we’ll enjoy it for lunch at work for a few days. When I snapped the picture, I noticed that my green soup was in a purple bowl. There’s that color combination again, totally unexpected. It follows me everywhere.
Split Pea Soup with Ham and Potatoes
Serves 6
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound dried split peas (I prefer a mix of green and yellow)
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1½ tsp herbes de Provence
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 cups diced ham from a ham steak (about 8 oz)
Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for 1 minute to soften slightly. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more water if it gets too thick (I didn’t have to). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Eat it while it’s hot!
A Plateful of Happiness 