*breakfast*

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Whilst discussing breakfast habits from all over the known world with my students, I started to consider my own, so unlike those of my country. It must have something to do withhow I grew up, or maybe my past history of dieting. Either way, THIS is how I love to jump start my mornings:

Papaya, banana, figs (and/or whatever other ripe fruit I have at hand), a spoonful of raisins, a couple spoons of müsli or oats and a small skimmed flavored yogurt. Honey is my favorite.
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Who wants a bowl of energy to start off their day?
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*Sweet tooth cravings and a hell lot of heat*

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First things first... I am a person who has cravings. And when a craving hits me, its usually like a ton of bricks. It won't get weaker, and it won't go away until I have indulged to whatever.
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...
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In this case, Mexican food.
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To make matters worse, on Friday, while having lunch with my colleagues, I probably ate the blandest, most boring burrito. Ever. And the only way to take away a bad impression is doing things right.
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So this was Saturday's lunch:


Chile con Carne. - 2 large servings

200 grs chopped/ground beef - I used sirloin
Jalapeno and other peppers to taste - I used 1 chili plus a dash of red pepper flakes and some paprika
4 cloves garlic - minced
salt and sugar to taste
1 small onion
Oregano
1 small can tomato extract
2 large ripe tomatoes
2 cups water
Cheese to taste
Beans - optional. I didn't have any at hand, so I skipped.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in pan. Brown garlic and onions. Add meat and spices.
When the meat has a nice color, add the tomatoes, tomato extract and the water.
Let simmer until the sauce has thickened. Its supposed to be creamy.
Taste and adjust spices. Add cheese.
Pico de Gallo Salsa. Simple recipe, but with lots of heat.

In the background, my substitute for Sour Cream (which is hard to get by in Brazil and my Guacamole).

Guacamole

1 ripe avocado
1 small ripe tomato
1/2 small onion
fresh cilantro or parsley
Fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic
salt to taste

Spoon out the avocado into a bowl. Add the diced tomato, onion and garlic and mix well. Add the salt and lime (I enjoy a little olive oil as well) and the fresh spices.

Sour Cream Substitute

4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk cream
1 teaspoon mayo
2 teaspoons white vinegar
salt to taste

Mix well. Refrigerate so that the cream acquires the right consistency.

Spoon things as desired on tortillas. Store bought are practical (I'm a disaster at making tortillas). It was a simple and hearty lunch. Did I mention the heat?
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Pancakes. I can't remember wanting pancakes as badly as I did this last time. Days and nights of taunting images and memories of my fathers pancakes on Sunday morning.
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Monday night I made some. Brown sugar beauties with super sweet and ripe pineapple and melted milk chocolate. And strawberry jam. Few things are more comforting than breakfast for dinner after a busy day.

This is an adaptation of my dad's recipe.

American Style Pancakes - makes 8 small

1 cup flour - I used half a cup regular flour and half a cup oats
1/4 cup sugar - I used brown
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil

Beat all ingredients together and scoop over a hot greased skillet. When it starts to bubble, gently flip and wait till both sides are evenly browned.


I still like my Dad's better.
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Then there is the backlog of recipes I simply must try. That recipe that catches your attention, is saved into your recipes folder and whose ingredients are bought with great expectation. Then something happens and the recipe starts getting pushed back into oblivion in face of either more urgent things or sheer laziness.
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Or maybe the time was just right. The perfect moment for sweetness. For candy. For a candy cupcake, actually.
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The original recipe is for a loaf cake, which probably explains why my cupcakes were so... cakey. I had expected them to be a little moister in the middle, but they are just fine. Maybe next time I'll try them with my muffin base recipe, but this one works great too.

Gum drop Cupcakes - makes 6 servings

1/4 cup butter - softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg - beaten
1 1/8 cups flour
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
200 gr gumdrops, finely chopped

Chop up the gumdrops. Reserve 12 for decorating.
Cream butter, while adding sugar and the beaten egg.
Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.
Add vanilla to milk.
Mix everything together, adding gumdrops.
Scoop into muffin tins.

Bake on Medium Low heat for 25 minutes or until done.

White chocolate topping

1 bar white chocolate
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk cream

Melt the chocolate. Mix in the other ingredients till smooth. Top cupcakes with mixture, garnishing with gum drops.


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I guess no candy craving can resist one of these. Now excuse me... I have a fantasy world to return to.
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*Homemade Stock. And a vamped up chop suey*

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Tuesday was my first appointment with the Acupuncturist. She told me to shy away from milk and its byproducts. (le sigh). I truly have a love of cheese, but I guess it will have to be a weekend affair from now on.
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Another thing the Doctor told me was to make sure I get my protein. The real deal, such as liver and stock. Ok. On my way home from the Doc's I picked up a couple turkey legs at the butchers (I was gonna buy some chicken but turkey looked a lot richer, so I just had to get it).
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The first thing I did at my arrival was to turn on the oven. While the legs roasted along with some garlic, baby potatoes and an onion, I prepared a side salad and chopped up more garlic and onions.
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Yum! That was good. And it was actually something I had been craving for a couple days.
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The other leg was chopped up and went straight into a pot with a couple liters of water, enough garlic and onions. A tad of salt and I let it simmer away for a few hours.
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After cooling, I removed the fat from the top and separated some for freezing. The rest of the stock, along with some of the turkey meat, went into a hearty vegetable soup, with plenty of potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots and thyme, and obviously, some alphabet pasta and pepper. It was quite providential, as my organism thought it would be fun to come down with the flu on the very same night.
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Thanks to that soup, I'm much better already. Not to mention that it was one of the best damn soup I have ever had (sorry Mom, but it's true). I have converted to homemade stock, for good.
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Returning from the dentist this morning (it's been a busy week), and mourning the tragus piercing I had had to remove, I was telling myself how I needed to keep on with the healthy eating. Vitamins and proteins and all that. And I still have a bit of that flu, so my resistance is definitely low.
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I'm working on that. One cup of ginger and lime tea at a time, I swear I'm working on improving my health. Ever added pineapple peel to your boiling water? Try it, it makes for an incredible tea.
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Now, back to lunch. Spinach! I bought a huge bunch of spinach at the farmers market yesterday, and for good measure, how about an egg?! Today a simple spinach omelet was not doing it for me (as much as I like omelets).
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I could make "chop suey" rice, which would be nice and easy, but plain white rice sounded boring. I wanted brown rice... but I was hungry, and it takes ages to cook.
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Recently I have rediscovered the pressure cooker. Mainly because it's the biggest and thickest pot in the house, I've been using it for boiling, frying and such... Yeah, I made the stock in it, lid open. It holds the heat beautifully.
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It also cooked the brown rice perfectly in only 15 minutes. The rice was not a bit dry, and was chewy but not overdone. Perfect! So I separated some for freezing (quite my thing these days) and kept a cup for the Chop Suey.
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Vamped Up Brown Rice Chop Suey

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/2 purple onion diced
1/2 large carrot diced
3 tablespoons Chinese pickled turnip
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups washed shredded spinach
a dash of sesame seeds

In a heated pan sprinkle the sesame oil. Stir-fry the egg and add the onions and the carrot. Let brown, and add the turnips.
Throw in the soy sauce and cover for a few moments. Add the rice and stir, and finally the spinach.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

I had it with a side of Watercress and Horseradish in Soy Sauce. It was spicy and comforting, and very satisfying.
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In other words, just what the Doctor ordered.
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*quite a large sandwich, but i finish it off every time*

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Proceed into foolish mode. Enjoy.

(Vegan Advisory Notice: Do not watch following video if you are offended in any way by meat eating. Extreme carnivore gore scenes included!)


One of my favorite sandwiches in the world:

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*eating healthy take two*

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So I fell off the wagon. Real bad. And seems that if I don't get back on quickly, the consequences will be less than pleasant.
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?!!!
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Fact is that my muscles are totally screwed from not eating enough healthy foods and not getting enough rest. And life is a severe parent. So I'm missing out on my second favorite thing in the world for a week: dancing class.
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Point. And now to get enough amino acids, vitamins and minerals.

Whole wheat pasta salad. (prep time: 12 min)



Boil water.
Add a couple handfuls of whole wheat pasta.
Meanwhile, chop up two Roma tomatoes, three big garlic cloves and open a can of sardines or tuna in water.
When pasta is cooked, drain and reserve.
In a non-stick pan drizzle a little oil. Brown garlic.
Add tomatoes and Pasta.
Add fish. Continue to stir.
Add a couple tablespoons light cream, some lime zest and the juice of half a lemon.
Sprinkle with fresh thyme.
Serve with salad and grated Parmesan cheese to taste (or other).
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Eating healthy is definitely yummy.
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