Food/Drink

Bowls 4 Breakfast

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It’s funny how breakfast can be many different things. In China they love their rice congees, noodles, dumplings and more. I decided to try making a spicy pork bowl with some leftover spinach, red bell pepper, ground pork and homemade Shanghai Red Pepper Sauce from one of my favourite cookbooks… which I topped with some diced cucumber. I had it with some egg flower soup and a tangy cucumber tomato salad on the side. It’ll make a nice work breakfast, and maybe some after work lunch too. I also washed it down with some Oolong tea I recently ordered, in fact I’ve been experimenting with different types of Oolong, though I’ll probably save that for a different post. Tea can be it’s own topic when it comes to my collection. 😛

The Joy Of Brunch

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One of the gifts I received during my birthday was The Bob Ross Cookbook; a book so wholesome I was surprised it didn’t burn my hands while holding it. It features paintings by Bob Ross himself, and is written in such a Bob Ross sort of way. Is it gimmicky? Yes it is, Bob Ross is after all a living meme, and that’s ok because the cookbook actually features a lot of nice recipes. I’m on my weekend now, and wanted to try making the “Brunch Palette Quiche”. It calls for Gruyere Cheese, but I couldn’t find any to buy, so I decided to use smoked Gouda instead. It also calls for spinach, but I used a mix of spinach and kale. This is fine though, even the book talks about cooking as its own art form much like painting or anything else. I mean, look at this:

It tastes really good with slices of french bread. If I had time I would have made some form of pancakes to go with it. I’ve never made quiche before, so this was fun! It’ll also be a nice breakfast lunch to take to work with me. It was so good that I had to have two slices. 😛 I’ll have to check out some of the other recipes when given the chance.

I rate this book 420 out of 10.

Cuppa Crimson

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I’m always on the lookout to try different teas, and last year TeaLyra’s Cherry Goddess became a fave. It’s a pure fruit and herbal tea made of cherries, cranberries, and hibiscus to name a few items. Both sweet and tangy to the palette, and damn good mixed with some sweetened frothed milk and some almond extract to make a maraschino cherry latte. I’m also thinking about trying it with equal parts lemonade to make a cherry lemonade tea during the summer. I already like drinking lemon/limeade with black tea, and lemonade tastes good with almost anything… so why not?

This tea was one of the gifts I gave to my best friend for Christmas last year. She wrote me back recently, and I laughed when she told me her hubby calls it “vampire tea” when brewed for too long. It’s funny because I always kinda had that thought anytime I drank the tea, or anything red going back to red flavoured Kool-Aid… which this tea actually tastes like a healthy version of, oddly enough.

Now I can’t help but wonder what a vampiric tea party would consist of.

Sunday Noodly Appendage

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When I was a kid I loved to have noodles for breakfast, and years later I found that noodles are a staple in Chinese breakfasts. I wanted to do a Chinese brunch this weekend, and it was cool enough that a warm soupy noodle dish would fit the bill. This particular noodle dish uses:

  • Chicken Stock (pretty much any stock will do though)
  • Brown Rice Noodles (any thin noodle will work just as well)
  • Green Onion
  • Bok Choy
  • Shredded Ginger
  • Chopped Garlic
  • Sesame and Chili Oil
  • Pinch of Salt
  • Cilantro and Peanuts (for garnish)
  • Pot Stickers/Chinese Dumplings

I based it on this recipe I found while browsing the interwebz for weekend brunch inspirations, and I’ve always had a soft spot for noodles as they are the ultimate comfort food. I’ve made plenty to easily last me a few days.

To that I say “RAmen”.

Mediterranean Tostadas?

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I’ve been experimenting with Mediterranean breakfasts for a couple of weekends now. Last week I made Mediterranean egg sandwiches, and for this weekend I’ve been enjoying some Mediterranean taste on top of a freshly fried tortilla or two. You can use premade tostadas, but I prefer frying my own in the pan in some olive oil, and some lime & chile seasoning. I also wanted a “dessert” for breakfast and opted to include some strawberry greek yogurt topped with granola and clementines. If you want to make your own you’ll need:

  • Small Corn Tortillas
  • Roasted Bell Pepper Hummus
  • Eggs
  • Deli Meat or Bacon (optional)
  • Halved Cherry/Grape Tomatoes (or Tomato Slices)
  • Diced Cucumber
  • Jarred Roasted Bell Pepper
  • Kalamata Olives
  • Feta Cheese

Take a small pan and pour a thin layer of olive oil and place over medium heat, add tortilla and let fry until it starts to puff up. Flip tortilla over and season the fried side with salt, pepper, and any other seasoning you’d want to add (like cayenne, or lime chile seasoning). Finish frying 2nd side of tortilla and flip over again. Place tortilla on paper towel lined plate and let rest for a minute or two, or until the tortilla is cool enough to handle.

In the same pan, crack an egg open and fry it in the same oil, if you don’t have any oil leftover add a little more in the pan. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Cover pan and cook to desired consistency. I prefer my egg to be runny, but fully cooked works too. You can also make a scramble or mini omelet to fit over the tostada, but runny egg and tortillas just tasted too good together for me to pass up. 😛

Spread Hummus on tostada; Top with deli meat (if using), egg, cherry/grape tomatoes, veggies and feta cheese. I could have easily gotten away with eating one with some yogurt, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I made it. I was full for pretty much 99% of the day though, so there is that. It was delicious as it was colourful, and packed with flavour and protein. This might be one that I’ll have to include in my rotation of weekend breakfasts!

Portable Shamrock Oats!

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Happy St Patrick’s Day! I had to work, and I wanted to have a special breakfast on the go that’s semi-festive. I was toying with the idea of a shamrock shake themed yogurt parfait, and I think I achieved it! The mint extract when used with some honey and vanilla yogurt makes a good match. Of course, there was also some treasure that awaited me inside:

I added a small layer of marshmallow creme and added a cherry on top. It tasted just like a real shamrock shake, but without the third degree burns to my throat! If you want to make your own this is what I did:

Take a yogurt container, or a jar and add the following ingredients:

  • One Scoop of Oatmeal
  • Greek Vanilla Yogurt
  • Milk
  • Mint or Peppermint Extract (only a drop or two)
  • Honey
  • Green Food Colouring (or Japanese Matcha if you want colour and a little added health boost)
  • Chia Seeds (not to be confused with Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia! Seeds)
  • Marshmallow Creme
  • A Cherry
  • Cashew Butter Granola

Add the oatmeal, then mix in the yogurt, milk, mint, honey , food colouring (or matcha) and chia seeds. Stir until well combined and taste until desired sweetness is achieved. Top with a thin layer of marshmallow creme and a cherry, refrigerate overnight and enjoy the next morning. Keep in mind, that if you do add the cherry on and leave in the jar overnight it will eventually sink into the yogurt. I didn’t care, it was like finding buried treasure. 😛 For added crunch and some added sweetness you can use cashew butter granola. It was one of the more decadent ones, but even with all the added sugar from the honey and marshmallow cream this was still healthier than going to McDonalds. :v

It also makes your breath minty fresh! I’m going to remember this one for next year if I’m working through the holiday again.

Sunday Bakes While Getting Baked

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A couple weekends ago I spoiled myself with some homemade Huevos Rancheros, and today I was inspired to make another private Mexi-Brunch! It’s actually based off of this recipe I found. I used black beans instead, and I also topped it with bell peppers. I also fried up some chorizo for some street tacos on the side (or later for lunch). Everything was perfect! I did make some of my own changes though. I used Black Beans instead of Pinto, and I added on a couple different bell peppers. I also made my own ranchero sauce, the one on the website wasn’t smoky enough for my liking. I like a nice smoky tasting Huevos Rancheros. Something about a smoky salsa on a melty egg is sugar tits awesome.

Just looking at the picture is making me want to get a bedtime snack.

Oatmeal Weekend

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A Bowl Of Sunshine

I decided this weekend would be an oatmeal weekend. I haven’t had any in awhile, and had plenty of fruit in the freezer to make a couple good bowls. Yesterday was a blueberry peach dragonfruit bowl; and today was a orange pineapple mango banana bowl. When I used to visit my grandma she always had some orange pineapple banana juice for me to drink. The taste brought back some fond memories.

If you want to make this, all you need is 1 1/2 cups of orange juice, chopped banana, mango and pineapple, small oranges (like mandarins or clementines), honey and pecans. I didn’t have any banana, so I substituted Nesquik Banana. It was all the right bits of sweet and tangy, and most importantly filling. 😛

Tea Talk

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I’ve been experimenting with different chamomile teas recently, and I’ve found that drinking it in the evenings helps me sleep better after a long day. I’m trying to keep caffeinated tea to busy mornings and going for nothing stronger than green tea when the evening hits. I’ve been trying TeaLyra’s stuff for awhile and I’ve yet to be disappointed. Last night I had their Peaches n Cream, while tonight I’m having their Lovely Night blend. It’s a nice palate cleanser after a morning of Earl Gray, and an afternoon of London Fog Lattes to power me through some housework. I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll make some Japanese themed lattes based on the upcoming Sakura Season in Japan. I’ve ordered Sakura Syrup and Powder for further kitchen science shenanigans.

I might snap a pic if I’m proud of the final appearance. :v

Team RED Themed Breakfast

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Today’s science experiment breakfast was a Quinoa Skillet Scramble with some eggs, red quinoa, red bell pepper, grape tomatoes, red onion, red potatoes, red pepper flakes, Parmesan, salt, pepper and Italian Parsley. I also used some chicken broth and balsamic vinegar. I wanted a red themed breakfast, for some reason I pondered the other day what TF2 characters would eat on each team? I collected a bunch of red themed foods for my weekend of decompression.Perhaps one of these weekends I’ll make a BLU team themed breakfast. 😀

I’m thinking RED Scout would eat this dish; it’s just enough gay hipster deliciousness to work.