Honey in a comb

I have had this locally made honey sitting in the cupboard for a while. 

It is still in the wax honeycomb. I love eating honey that is still in the wax. You get all the great sweetness of the honey along with the chewy wax. The wax ends up being like a piece of honey flavored gum that you chew until you squeeze every drop of flavor out of it.

My favorite way to eat it is smeared across a lightly buttered piece of toast.

Toast with honey, chopped apple and pineapple.

This apple was so pretty - It was a shame to cut it up((

But it also looked really delicious so I only hesitated for a moment.

I also had a big mug of tea.

This is the last day I have to clean before the workmen arrive at my door tomorrow morning - Yikes((

I was stuck staying off my feet because all the walking on graduation day aggravated my bum foot (( But it was well worth it :-)

Happy Memorial Day!

My go-to breakfast

On mornings when I want something quick and easy (or it is a Monday, like today) I always tend to go with this breakfast:

Toast with peanut butter and honey, orange juice and coffee.

This breakfast is filling and I love the combination of the savory peanut butter along with the flowery sweetness of the honey.

And the blast of Vit. C from the orange juice and, of course, the kick-start I get from the caffeine in the coffee? A perfect combo.

The dogs will be getting a treat at lunch and dinner today. They have been lacking in the treats department.

What is your go to breakfast?

Now, I must head back into the fray.

Happy Monday everyone!

Strawberries and mochas

Ugh, it is Monday. I am sure it is all in my head - but Monday mornings are tough ones. I feel like the effects of gravity are tripled and centered around my bed. It is very difficult getting vertical on a Monday morning.

Cue the mocha:

If I am going to have chocolate - I go for the good stuff. This E. Guittard drinking chocolate is dark and more bitter than sweet - a flavor profile that is right up my alley.

I put together 2 tsp. of instant coffee + 2 tsp. of the drinking chocolate + hot water and milk to taste.

And I picked up some gorgeous, plump strawberries at the market yesterday so I paired that with some doctored-up toast.

Toast with peanut butter and honey.

A very bright, cheerful breakfast with a triple shot of caffeine on the side. It was just what I needed to start off my Monday just right!

Cravings and surprises

I was craving oatmeal this morning. For me, the only proper oatmeal is McCann's Irish Oatmeal - but I am probably biased :-)

Oatmeal with a dollop of peanut butter, banana and drizzled with honey.

People tend to shy away from their cravings. But I am of the firm belief that a craving is your bodies way trying to get you to take in the nutrients it needs. Now, I am not speaking about emotional eating - that's a different kettle of fish.

For example, if I suddenly have a craving for potato chips - I don't run out and eat a whole bag of Lays. I stop, think about it, and usually decide I am low on healthy fats or trace minerals (which for me usually results in a craving for salt).

And speaking of cravings, the dogs were a surprise this morning. You'll notice that I have peanut butter on my oatmeal. This usually results in Connor having apoplectic fits of anticipation. 

But not today. He didn't even notice when I made that dish. 

To my shock, BOTH dogs started getting really excited when I started making this:

I used a seasoned strip of nori - wet one edge with water and sealed in into a tube. I carefully removed any chestnut nuggets from some of the leftover chestnut and mushroom quinoa from last night (I know I am a good doggie mom :-)).

I filled the nori tube to the top with quinoa and topped with a tiny dollop of yogurt. 

At this point the dogs were following me around like sou chefs. Little hairy sou chefs that don't help with anything and only want to eat...

I am still trying to figure out what part of this concoction they were craving??

Maybe some caffeine will help get the brain cells working.

Greens for all

I decided to make asian style collard greens for myself and fish flavored collards for the beasties. 

It all started with the greens - 

Freshly washed greens

I

Remove the tough stem

Leftover sweet potato chopped

I put together the makings for an asian style sauce that included the local honey I picked up at the farm stand, garlic, green onion, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil (not in picture)

Next, I blanched the greens in boiling water for about 1 minute. The greens got fished out and the sweet potatoes went in for a 10 minute boiling bath.

This morning I realized that the container of kibble had dwindled down to mere crumbs - so since the pet store was not open at 7am - The dogs had a breakfast of brown rice, sauteed halibut and nori. I left the residual fish bits in the pan (nope, that had nothing to do with being completely lazy - really:-) so after the greens were blanched I added a bit of olive oil to the said dirty pan and gave 1/3 of the collards a quick toss and added in some of the cooked sweet potatoes.  

You can see bits of crispy fish on the sweet potato in the background - mmm doggie heaven!

Connor was very excited to get to eating!

After finishing her own bowl - Abby had to come over to make sure Connor had not left any tasty bits behind.

Sorry, Abby, there was not a bit left.

After cleaning out the saute pan, I added a small amount of olive oil and sauteed the rest of the collard greens for about 7 minutes. Then I turned off the heat and added in the sauce mixture. I let this cook till heated through and added in the sweet potatoes.

An extra sprinkle of green onions for good measure. 

I was expecting the collards to be slightly bitter but the honey in the sauce really balanced out any lingering sharpness. The collards turned out almost creamy and with the meaty texture of the sweet potatoes and the occasional bright burst from the ginger - it really turned out to be a wonderful dish.