The Breakfast Element

Lindit - yes, Lindit

2011-05-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

Lindit, as my 8 year old daughter calls them. I ate a whole 150 g bag of Lindt Hazelnut chocolate truffle balls just now. And three chocolate chunk cookies. It's about ten minutes to 7:00 am and I've been up since at least 5:30 am.

Babies. She just cut her first tooth yesterday or so and I guess that means sleep's a bit disturbed with this new developmental development. She's back in bed, but I'm going off in search of coffee and an early start to the day may perhaps lead to a long ferocious blog post. Maybe getting a few things off my chest may free me up to do a bit of work on the ol' feminist project I keep avoiding. The wife and I are presenting Obstetrics and Feminism: How we've become incubators for the patriarchy in a week and a half and we're not prepared whatsoever.

iron and vitamin C

2011-02-13T08:41:00.001-08:00

I woke today knowing I have to reform!! I've been on-again off-again with the breaking of the fast this past year, mostly because I've been watching my food choices slowly fall away from me. I'm back on restrictions and historically, when my choices are restricted, I just simply choose nothing. Food fucks me. So. Fuck food.

Breakfasts fall by the wayside first. And so it is.

I had a baby in November and accordingly started breastfeeding around that time. For the past almost three months I've been thinking, "Man, I bet my supply would improve if I ate more..." Alas, I have probably eaten six or seven breakfasts as a result of that thought. No follow-through, I'm telling you!!

Today I ate a breakfast of grapefruit wedges and two slices that soft, moist, tiny, wheat-free, rye bread. You know the shit I'm talking about. The stuff you can't make a sandwich out of, because it's so tiny? It think it might be partially sprouted, too. Most folks turn their nose up at it; it's not real bread. Well, after a week or two of craving wheat anything, you'll eat that shit up like creamed corn.

The reason this was such a good breakfast choice is because I'm apparently low in ferritin (surely a result of my recent pregnancy). Ferritin is the protein that stores and transports iron in the bloodstream. If there is no ferritin, toxic iron has no buffer between it and our tender cells.

The presence of iron apparently triggers the production of ferritin. Thus, I am eating a high-iron diet. These freaky non-bread things are high in iron. The uptake of iron, however, cannot readily take place without the presence of Vitamin C. Hence the grapefruit.

I have to commit more, to breakfast, iron and Vitamin C.

mmmmm

2009-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

A traditional West Indies breakfast I'd like to modify for myself:

"fried plantain, cornbeef, eggplant, fried dumplings and saltfish"

Maybe instead of cornbeef, I could do some sort of tasty tempeh or marinated tofu thing.

miso soup

2009-09-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to mention that my breakfast of a week ago Monday was pretty effin' delightful.

Giant downpour out the windows at 8:00 am, sipping homemade miso soup out of black bowls with my sweetheart and a young boy reading an X-Men comic book to me.

ugh I've just become redundant!

2009-09-02T14:08:00.001-07:00

http://www.mrbreakfast.com/index.asp

GMO - or, you really shouldn't fuck with food

2009-08-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

For almost a month I've been having to sneak-eat food since my lawyer-boss cracked down on my precious in-office snacks (a la "Please eat food in the kitchen from now on, I do not like it when you eat at your desk. You eat a lot of junk food. For someone who used to be so health-conscious you're really hitting the tortilla hard these days...and what's up with all the burritos?" with an obvious subtext of "you're getting fat and I think restricting the places you're allowed to eat will curb your appetite. Plus Mexican food disgusts me and that's all you seem to eat.")

Getting breakfast is a definite problem with this new policy, as I am often strapped for time and always give up breakfast in favour of sleep, in favour of showers and all that.

I do take my breakfast commitment seriously, though, so it's been difficult in the mornings, as it's become a commitment to sneak. Sneakily eat.

Yesterday morning I forgot I was sneakily eating an apple I'd snatched from home. I'd forgotten I had a good stock of organic galas already in my produce bin in the office fridge. The snatched apple was a jonagold purchased from FoodFag on Maryland.

I was very busy yesterday and so it took about three hours to get through about 3/4 of my jonagold. Every half hour or so I'd remember to open my desk drawer and take a giant bite. After the fourth bite, I noticed there was absolutely no browning occurring, but thought little of it at the time.

This morning, I got into the office and selected a nice organic gala, prance/skulked up to my office to stash it, and lo and behold, my 3/4-eaten jonagold, still shining brightly, just showing a hint of black mold around the edges of the bites.

Fucking genetically-modified brilliance, I tell you. I feel like sticking my hand down my throat in a desperate attempt to purge the black mold I can't help but envision developing in my guts. Fuck me!!

weekend breakfast

2009-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a truly spectacular nosh just after noon. We were at my parents' house and after a truly challenging night of sleep deprivation followed by serious snuggly snooze, I was wakened so sweetly by a certain someone from my single-bed slumber.

Upon arising, I was struck with a familiar urge to get crazy. I cooked myself two basted eggs, pan-fried yam discs, chopped green onion and buttered swiss chard, slathered a chunk of bannock with my home-made cilantro hummus and got down on that morning meal in the early afternoon. Deeeelicious!!

chickpeas, cilantro, lettuce and chili powder

2009-07-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

A bowl full of chickpeas, cilantro, lettuce and chili powder was my breakfast this morning. A whole lotta roughage assembled by my sweet lover...tasty as fuck, but I could have choked it down a whole lot faster and with slightly more enjoyment had I any lemon juice and flax or olive oil to drizzle. The chickpeas were frickin' delicious, soaked for a day and a night and then cooked to tenderness while I was making supper yesterday evening. Plain as fuck and they're holy hella good. Good for you too. And of course the organic cilantro and head lettuce obtained from the crop share. Lovin' the food sharing orgy...

red river

2009-07-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

I am so...blessed to be with the person I find myself loving right now. I don't know any other way to describe it but "blessed", which is not a word I use often.

Let's linger over the breakfast I had this morning, since I wasn't able to linger over it in real time. Such a beautiful person across from me as I snarfed re-heated red river cereal sprinkled with brown sugar, just a little more gussied up with stale raisins...

How fucking cool is it that someone listens to me when I speak, thinks about the things I have to say and then helps me come up with a plan? I don't think I've ever been so well-supported...my mother definitely comes to mind when I say that, but her form of support has always been more in the way of getting me do it by myself...nothing like running to mummy when I have troubles eating breakfast in the morning...she raised me to be super-independent and for that I'm grateful, but I have the shortfalls as do we all...she was actually the person who did not force me into the morning meal, believing (correctly) that I could make my own choices about food.

Unfortunately, my decision-making in the breakfast regard has not evolved much since I was nine years old and I find myself often loath to wake up at a reasonable time to get the early sustenance.

Yes, life is good when there's a partner available to help with the responsible decision-making shenanigans...

ghetto picnic breakfast

2009-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

I had severe fear this morning and so stayed in bed with my lover until about 11:30am when I realized I had lunch plans with my dj friend. !!! I phoned her with toothbrush in my mouth and re-directed her to Corydon Village where she picked me up within 15 minutes of my call.

I wore my favourite long-sleeve blue shirt with the only pair of black slacks that fit me properly. (Though they're still fastened with the safety pin - first time I wore them in June of 2008 the clasp broke and I've never bothered with needle and thread. Do you see why I get the fear?) Of course, this outfit is incomplete without my pinwheel silk neckerchief which I wore closely tied to my throat to hopefully help me with bravery...

It turned out that instead of the chips and pop promised yesterday by my lunch companion, she brought leftovers from her bf's untimely excursion to Affinity of the night before...so we munched cold chili soya strips, kung pao gluten and tofu chow mein still in their takeout containers.

om nom nom breakfast at drizzly Bruce Park in Winnipeg. I love grey weather on green foliage.

back at the old job

2009-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

I've been back at the old job for probably exactly two months now - couldn't hack the shit at MB so I ditched and came back to good ol' CGK. Nothing much has changed here - still shitty at showing up every day and/or on time, still shaking with rage when the crap typewriter will only return with my impatient assistance, still bristling with outrage when one of the pigs I work with pees on the toilet seat.

The breakfast thing ain't happening, either; I sort of shacked up temporarily with the new gf, so breakfasts are usually pathetically haphazard and/or just don't happen. I'm moving on Wednesday and have resolved to get back into the baked beans and bannock habit, as well as miso soup breakfasts, once I've started sleeping at the new homestead... Wish me luck.

new job - not good for breakfasts

2009-04-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Strange, but starting a new job is not conducive to maintaining old, second-nature routines, let alone barely-established routines like my breakfast-eating regime.

I've managed to eat something each day for breakfast these past two months, but I'm not finding any of it satisfying at all, not the way I used to enjoy these morning meals. Maybe the novelty's worn off, but somehow I doubt it. It's just not the same here at the stupidest workplace ever, in any respect and especially respecting breakfast.

I am exaggerating here, but fuck, this place really sucks. I've become accustomed to a whole other world, a non-unionized world, in which breakfast on the job was a sneaky luxury and an unexpected privilege afforded to me only because I was a barracuda working for a barracuda. Here, breakfast is an empty coping mechanism. I can either eat breakfast while working on the two things I have to do all day and then have NOTHING to do all day after breakfast, or eat breakfast and do nothing but eat breakfast, then do the two things I need to do and then have nothing to do. Not much of a difference there, is there? No stolen bites in between urgent phone calls. No sly nibbles during dictation. No mouth stuffed full during filing duties. I miss my old life at the law firm, I have to say. This is a sorry excuse for a career.

In an attempt to rekindle my interest in the novelty that is breakfast-dining, I've tried a new recipe for baked beans. Post Punk Kitchen directed me to it. The recipe calls for nutritional yeast and liquid smoke. I was quite excited about it, but having made it and allowed half a pot to mold in the fridge this past week, it's not what I'd call earth-shatteringly delicious, not irresistible the way my other beans are. There's all sorts of exciting ingredients in these "punk beans", totally going beyond my usual simple but thrilling trinity of caramelized onions, green pepper and tomatoes posed against the beans bathed molasses, vinegar and chili powder. I have to say, simplicity kicks nooch, smoke and dry mustard's asses when it comes to baked beans.

Although, at about the same time as the punk beans disappointment, I allowed a gorgeous pumpkin scone to go stale on the kitchen table, not because it wasn't delicious, simply because I've lost my breakfast mojo. This is how disinterested in breakfast I've become. I've found that any kind of dough can usually serve as a sure attractant for the morning meal; I can't generally resist toast of any kind, bannock is a serious temptation, and since I first made it I thought this pumpkin scone could become a new problem for me, a real vice. Not so. The stale evidence is languishing in the freezer. I didn't have the heart to throw it away just yet.

I've been subsisting on an admittedly delicious morning diet of fruits: bananas, grapefruits and Ateulf mangoes. While I find it tedious to chop and peel and chew these fibre-rich, vitamin-laden natural "fast foods", I have to say they've saved my ass and my blood sugar for the past week or two.

To end this more positively, one thing I do love about the morning now is the barley coffee I've discovered. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I've pretty much dropped the caffeine habit. I'm no longer dependent on a daily cup of coffee. Now I drink a roasted grains beverage with Silk creamer, the taste of which is not unlike instant coffee, though it's caffeine-free and not riddled with obscure chemicals. I first discovered barley coffee in the form of an expired jar of the Oskri brand, lurking behind some more popular products at Organic Planet. I bought it in curiosity and did not experiment with it until very recently, when I realized I was almost desperate enough with this new employment to fall into the old familiar pits of manageable addiction: coffee, weed and cigarettes. I knew morning coffee would be my gateway to post-work hoots and all-day cigarettes and so I dug my fingernails in, recommitted to my new clean and clear lifestyle and mixed myself a cup of Caf-Lib and Silk. Lo!! I've gone through three jars in two months and I'm eagerly gulping my way through a fourth jar, no stopping me now! There is a definite psychological need in me, a very real craving for the comfort that comes with the clutching of a beaker of hot, dark, creamy beverage. While often fooling me chemically, mateine-containing Yerba Mate does not meet the requirements of my morning psyche. Barley Coffee, all the way.

I have a new batch of beans soaking and waiting for preparation tonight. I'm going to try to make these motherfuckers so good my toes will curl when I eat them. I'm also going to have to look into diversifying: I've got a lot of breakfast food recipes I've never tried. I suppose this is the time to do some experimenting. Also need to just wake up earlier and enjoy breakfast at home. As painful as it will probably turn out to be to be: sit down and relax into the meal in my beautiful kitchen, the radio tuned to my satisfaction, the spring light sinking into me as I dine, only to have to tear myself away from such perfection in order to attend at this shithole version of a job. Hopefully by the time I've started enjoying breakfast again, I'll be starting a better job at a fantastic location.

Yoga Journal - Yoga - Rethinking Breakfast

2009-02-16T19:59:00.001-08:00

Yoga Journal - Yoga - Rethinking Breakfast

Posted using ShareThis

good start

2009-02-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

I had a good start to the day, albeit a late one. Made my usual baked beans last night and awoke at 7:15 am today to turn off the oven then went back to bed until 12:15 pm. Fuck it, it's Louis Riel Day and I have only afternoon plans.

So I got up, had a long cold glass of water, put some favourite clothes on and had e-mail for pre-breakfast. It's satisfying whenever I go to bed at something like 2:00 am and not even 11 hours later there are 11 messages in my inbox, all of which have worthy content. Very satisfying pre-breakfast. Amazing how this internet thing has become such integral part of my life, and yet, take it away and I hardly notice.

On to food. I had a bowl of the just-cooled beans and a piece of my pumpkin scone, which is actually more like a fucking fancy bannock this time around. The pumpkin scone kind of evolved into bannock as I realized just a second too late, that the pumpkin puree must be COOL in order to work with the vegan margerine I'd cut into the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and dried ginger. Whoops. So I ended up having to add a ton more flour and the result was a very bannock-like thing, tasty indeed.

My recent resolution has been to eat three grapefruits per week as they're an amazing citrus fruit, very low in sugar, very high in fibre. I don't eat oranges as I'm allergic and well, lemons and limes are great in the cocktails and food and shit, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna eat a lemon for breakfast unless it's in the form of sugar-coated wedges with a chaser of vodka.

I've bought about ten grapefruits this winter and have eaten probably only one. I've just watched these grapefruits shrink and harden and wither and dry the fuck out over and over. Today, I ate a grapefruit and fuck was it ever good. I hate peeling citrus fruits, that's the major thing with me. That shit that gets under the fingernails is so sickening. Totally revolting. So from now on, the rule is that I cut the fruit into wedges and rip the fruit and pulp from the peel with my teeth. These are minor details that I MUST concern myself with, otherwise I won't be eating the grapefruits apparently.

I also drank a cup of hot water infused with fresh ginger and a wedge of lemon and a teaspoon of honey. Hardly vegan this drink, but so delicious and yes,good for you.

I haven't had very consistent breakfasts in the past week; I had a few cups of coffee at the start of the work week that I suspect really screwed with me; sleeping pattern was infuriating around Wednesday, my appetite's been wonky and I've had terrible issues with pain management. These are things I blame caffeine for. I switched back to yerba mate on Thursday morning and well, all my patterns just shifted from self-abuse to self-care. Got a massage on Thursday night, had a treatment involving Reiki and other types of spooky shit on Friday night and then went for acupuncture on Saturday morning. Now I feel like the leg I've injured is actually on the road to recovery. I've had issues with headaches but I feel like I'm turning a corner in that regard too, as long as I stay away from the caffeine and get proper rest and hydration.

I'm also happy to report that I can add berries to my repertoire of breakfasts. My latest acupuncture also involved a treatment for my berry allergy. Yesterday I drank a totally delicious cup of the "Nourishment Tea" that wreaked such terrible havoc on me only a month and a half ago on my birthday (the raspberry leaves caused my eczema to completely go insane, I haven't been the same since). Today, no eczema. My berry allergy has been eliminated!!! This means I can have raspberries in my oatmeal, strawberries in my Red River Cereal, blueberries in my pancakes!! It's a revolution. My room mate is so pleased, as she's a berry fiend and of course wants to share the joy.

I notice I'm fairly conservative about eating foods to which I've been prohibited for a long time, at least at the beginning of our reconciliation. I'll report more when I've become more bold about it.

in pain

2009-02-10T21:43:00.001-08:00

I need to start eating dedicated breakfasts again. I've sort of had very little will to take care of myself, mostly because my right leg fucking hurts. It's so hard to take care of oneself when there is pain to deal with. When it hurts to take care of oneself.

I need to start eating dedicated breakfasts again, not only because it's "good for me", but because I've been overeating in a very self-punishing way and of course, when I was eating regular breakfasts, I didn't seem to do that kind of self-abuse. Overeating was just overeating, not some fucked-up morbid ritual of autobrutality.

I am stressed/anxious/etc., I do have to admit. New job, a deadline to meet, having a disability for the time being, things happening around me that definitely allow for paranoia. Not getting enough sleep. Being injured prevents me from working out in my usual manner, which is also a problem.

One thing I can do is eat breakfast, concentrate on controlling my diet and appetite. A relatively easy thing to do, and doesn't require an enormous amount of time in the sense that my breakfasts can be prepared ahead of time and "whipped up" within 15 minutes or less, normally. Grocery-shopping is an issue, but for the most part simply requires that I ask one of my more car-endowed chums for a favour in a time of real need.

Life is good; I'm just really overwhelmed by change at the moment. I'm also painfully reminded that sleep and nutrition are extremely necessary during such times of serious adjustment. I'm so tired that I couldn't care less what happens right now, so full of food that I can't sleep. ugh. Every time I stuff myself like this there's an extreme urge to fast the next day which leads me right into an extreme urge to stuff again. ugh. Must get a grip.

been a long time

2009-01-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have a hard time blogging/writing when my life is improving. It's interesting - a lot of folks notice their creativity levels depend on their emotional state of being. Take now, for instance, I'm not at my full happiness potential right now and here I am, coming back to this blog. It's a shame I approach writing as a therapeutic process rather than a creative process. I'm thinking of going to talk therapy to turn this issue around hehehehe.

On that note, my life's been improving. I feel as if I have finally regained control overy my appetite: I'm overeating very rarely and when I do find that I've overeaten it is not at all to the degree I was overeating and all my food choices are healthier. I think the breakfasts have really helped me with the balance; I'm not encountering cravings the way I was and I'm able to "go without" more often.

This morning I was late getting out of the house so I ate a carrot covered in hummus for breakfast and then later on had a small bowl of homemade granola and water.

Yesterday I had leftover chili from a party I'd been to on Saturday night along with two pieces of spelt bread and some sour cream.

On Saturday morning I ate a bowl of cold baked beans. I really hit on the beans recipe this past week; the trick is browning the onions. Good ol' browning. the pinto beans I buy from Organic Planet are extremely good; they are firm, tasty and a great colour.

A breakfast I really enjoyed last week was leftover Three Sisters Casserole; beans corn and squash baked in a creamy polenta. They're like squares of mexican breakfast. Not too greasy at all, very tasty and a nice mix of proteins and carbs.

oversoaking

2008-12-15T08:14:00.001-08:00

I've oversoaked the beans. I put them in water on Wednesday evening and was only able to get to them last night. That's a whole lot of soaking. They came out of the oven this morning very runny and somewhat unpalatable. The seasoning is there and it's great, the aroma's right, it's just I think the taste of the beans themselves has been lost through four days and nights of soaking and occasional rinsing thanks to my gracious room mate.

I still ate the beans and also had a banana and I'm glad I did. I needed the fuel in a bad way. I had a hellish bike to work this morning. Very cold. Too cold. There were moments where I could have laid down and died because of the difficulty of pedalling. That said, it is good to do such hard work. I am still unsure if I will attempt the ride home. Upon arrival at work, I was deadset against the concept of a round trip today, but now I'm not so sure. I do need wheels of some sort tonight.

I am thinking I will have to thicken the liquid for the beans somehow. Possibly add some barley or millet, maybe oat bran.

on track

2008-12-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

I'm back on track with breakfasting. I attempted to make another batch of baked beans over the weekend and mistakenly used dry soybeans rather than what I thought were small white beans. My room mate pointed my error out rather too late, just as I had added the molasses and vinegar. So, committed to my recipe, I baked the soybeans overnight. They came out just like you'd imagine soybeans baked in the style of Boston: slimy, greasy, shiney. Yuck. I ended up donating the whole lot to a drop-in centre for the homeless.

I visited my Chinese doctor on Tuesday afternoon and rather than treat me she persuaded me to buy some diet pills. Not the usual diet pills but some herbal magic that:

"-Dramatically increases the metabolic rate, suppresses the appetite, scorches hundreds of fat cells and turn them into energy.
-Burning away years of stubborn stored fat on belly, thighs, buttocks and arms while not sacrificing foods."

and so forth.

The doctor got very upset with me. I have gained a total of fifty pounds since the summer of 2006. That's an average of 2-3 pounds per month. If I keep this up, my middle age spread will be seriously gargantuan. I've been trying halfheartedly but with good intention to halt the weight gain and even lose pounds. I started running in September and consistently continue to increase my distance, time and am also trying to have intense workouts whenever possible. I began to eat breakfast in an attempt to control my appetite. I am taking measures, but they have not been drastic enough even to put a stop to my incredible rate of expansion.

So it's go-time. Dr. Shi made me commit to the pills at a cost of $80.00 and one hour of strenuous activity a day for the next thirty days, as well as a very rigourously sensible protein-rich, low-carb diet.

I had lamb korma for breakfast yesterday. The day before, I had deer chili. This morning I ate a tofurkey sausage and a pile of lettuce and cucumber. The exercise has been surprisingly easy to do because of the energy these pills are making out of the scorching of hundreds of fat cells.

wayside

2008-11-26T12:18:00.000-08:00

I fear my breakfasts are in bad decline. I'm not paying enough attention to my bed time lately and therefore am not able to drag myself out of bed on time to prepare a healthy meal in the morning. I'm trying very hard and for the most part have actually HAD breakfasts; they've just been somewhat unhealthy and/or fly-by-night. I am endeavouring to make a breakfast casserole tonight and also put beans in to soak.

passion flakie

2008-11-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

It's been a rough ride lately with the breakfasts. I want to keep things together but this past week has been a challenge especially and not strictly in respect of breakfasts.

This morning I packed a bag for my upcoming weekend retreat and chose to shower instead of breakfast. I was still late for the 21. Jumped up and down on the median waving at it like a lunatic as it drove away. I decided I had to have consolation coffee and so weighed the consequences of using a disposable cup for a hot beverage from Shell. As I approached the gas station, an acquaintance of mine cheerfully crossed my path. She was also late and she was also going in for a consolation coffee. We contemplated the chemical pastries together. She decided on a Strawberry Nutri-bar. I selected a Passion Flakie. One of my favourite things to hurt myself with.

It actually turned out to be an extremely pleasant outdoor breakfast with sweet-faced company, showing our breaths to each other in the frigid temperature, stamping our feet together at the bus stop.

She did not hold back her admiration of my Flakie.

smoke

2008-11-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

I awoke without any time for breakfast so came into the office and threw a hemp seed nut bagel in the toaster oven and forgot about it. Went downstairs and smelled the smoke. No one else in the office appeared to notice.

I scurried into the kitchen area and the room was hazed right the fuck out. Hopped onto a chair and madly unscrewed the grill to the ceiling fan. Got it plugged in and roaring and closed the door behind me as I departed. An hour later, you can see the kitchen table and chairs and whatnot but man what a reek.

I ate the unburnt half with stolen butter. Drank bad office coffee cut with stolen milk.

It is Pay Day today. I won't have time to make these purchases until probably Sunday or Monday but here we go:

Breakfast Food Grocery List

buckwheat flour
spelt flour
whole wheat baker's flour
cornmeal
english muffins (eggless benedict!!!)
bell peppers
white onions
green onions
tomatoes
corn
beans
soymilk
maple syrup (bāc-un!!!!)
cumin
tarragon
bananas
apples
grapefruits (fucking citrus peels)
yerba mate
coffee

late

2008-11-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

I was late in getting up today. Arrived at work 2.5 hours late but full of beans and mini-garlic toasts. I wanted to eat a grapefruit for breakfast too, but I've found I totally loathe peeling citrus fruits and couldn't face the zest and pulp this morning.

Massaged myself to sleep last night with about an ounce of Tiger Balm. I'm dealing lately with shoulder and neck stiffness, muscle pain, congestion in my head, sore throat, tight jaws and swollen eye-sockets, heachaches.

Ever notice how many words the English language has for various pain? Sheesh.

Freezing feet, every night. I think I need someone in bed with me lately to press my cold toes against their calves. Charming thought, isn't it?

I absolutely HAD to bathe myself this morning, not because I was in dire need, simply because I needed hot water on my skin and to wash away a bit of the hurt feelings in my head.

I definitely need to jazz up breakfast.

Breakfast Casserole Serves 4
"Make this luscious dish the night before you plan to serve it."

ingredient list

3 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 cup diced onions
1 to 2 large russet potatoes, cleaned and cubed
1 tsp. dried parsley
3/4 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup diced zucchini
1/3 cup diced summer squash
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
1 lb. extra-firm tofu
1/2 cup soymilk
2 Tbs. egg replacer
1 1/2 tsp. agar flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
2 slices vegan cheddar cheese
1 Tbs. mellow miso

directions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Lightly oil 4 16-ounce ovenproof casseroles or baking dishes, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions for about 2 minutes, or until softened.
Add the potatoes and parsley, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes more.
Add the green pepper, zucchini and summer squash, and sauté until just wilted.
Add the tomatoes, and cook until warmed through. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
Put the remaining ingredients into a food processor, and purée until smooth.
Fold together the vegetables and the tofu mixture.
Spoon into the casseroles.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and cool.
Cover, and refrigerate overnight to allow agar to set properly.
Reheat the oven to 375F in the morning, and bake, covered, for 45 minutes.
Serve hot.

The White Pig
Bed and Breakfast
At Briar Creek Road
5120 Irish Road
Schuyler, VA 22969
Phone: 434-831-1416
www.thewhitepig.com

Hmm. "Luscious dish".

Chickpea Scramble Serves 2-3
"My family tries not to O.D. on soy, so I've been trying to come up with hearty, high protein breakfast recipes that don't require tofu. I made this Chickpea Scramble this morning, and it was awesome."

ingredients

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped white mushrooms
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tamari (I use low sodium)
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
2 teaspoons Tofutti non-hydrogenated sour cream
1 clove garlic, diced (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

directions

Drain chickpeas and mash in a bowl with the tamari, Tabasco, and nutritional yeast. Set aside.
Saute onion and mushroom (and garlic if using) in margarine for 3-5 minutes on medium heat, covered.
Add bell peppers, chickpea mash, and corn. Cover and cook about 3 minutes.
Add rice, tomatoes, and Tofutti sour cream and stir everything together.
Cover and cook until everything is piping hot.

I'll let you know how it all works out.

moving day

2008-11-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

Today I awoke with no breakfast plans. I'm feeling a little bit low. Walked around an art gallery last night with tears on my face, no particular reason. Just feeling blue. Today it is exactly four years since I began my current employment. Time to leave.

Anyway, my friend awoke me by telephone call to ask if I wanted Tim Horton's and a ride. I realized my plans for the day were to help her move to her new apartment. I accepted both.

We drove through the Tim Horton's and placed a $22.00 order. I abhor the drive-through. I think of it as a perfect manifestation of the terrible attitude our culture holds towards good food.

I had an extra large coffee with two cream. I did not have my travel mug with me. Drinking out of paper cups is also something I abhor as I think of it as a perfect demonstration of the terrible disregard our culture has towards our natural resources and our lack of concern about the devastation of our land by way of garbage.

There is an instant caffeine aftertaste to Tim Horton's coffee. Industrial-strength chemical flavour.

When we got to the house, I selected a "bran muffin". As I chewed, I envisioned water being added to powder. Scientists and wageslaves made that muffin.

Terrible breakfast, but the price was right. The cost was astronomical.

yerba mate

2008-11-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

I awoke and did a small amount of gussying, bare minimum really. I'm a feeling a little low these days. Ate the beans and bannock. Almost didn't bother to heat the beans up, but was glad to have a piping-hot spoonful when I sat down at the kitchen table for it.

Steeped up some yerba mate. I drink this often. Apparently it's one of the most nutritive plants on the planet. A drink ancient peoples used for gatherings and entertaining. Gives you the same chemical effect as caffeine ie. energy boost, increased concentration, high mental alertness, but is non-addictive and actually improves your sleeping patterns. Also has a "slippery" effect on your guts, so you "go" more, or better. I'll vouch for all of these things except for the ancient peoples stuff. That's just rumours to me.

The taste of a non-sugared/non-flavoured yerba is somewhat disconcerting if you're not into healthy shit and are more used to the over-sweetened crap the western world has brainwashed you into thinking is "normal" or "real" food. I suggest throwing in some raw sugar or honey or maple syrup and a healthy splash of soymilk if you want to make your yerba what I consider "fancy".

One way of making yerba mate delicious and special is preparing Mate Factor's "dark roast" either hot or cold (you don't even have to bring it down from boiled to iced, you can simply steep it in cold water), then blending it with honey and heavy cream. It's a tasty treat and doesn't give you that fur mouth you get from other coffee-creamy beverages.

This morning, like many mornings, I ended up filling up my mug/drinking bowl up 3/4 of the way and steeping my yerba and then at the very last moment before having to leave for work, topping up the last 1/4 with my drinking water to cool it. Then I chug the yerba while putting on my coat and shoes.

baked beans

2008-11-13T11:35:00.001-08:00

A fairly luxurious morning. I woke early to the smell of baked beans but stayed in bed and had good stretching and smelling. This is my second batch of beans and I have to say they make a tremendously good breakfast dish. While the preparation is somewhat rigourous and spans up to 36 hours, the results are instant breakfast for the rest of the week and a guaranteed friend-winner.

The first batch drove me insane at 3:00 am as it was baking last week. I'd never experienced such a rich and complex cooking smell and it affected my sleep in delicious, unexpected ways.

Last night the aroma was a little more comforting than alarming and I didn't feel I had to get up in the middle of the night to check on them as they were cooking since I knew the oven was slow and was confident the beans wouldn't burn.

I use two cups of dry pinto beans and I soak them overnight in water. My room mate suggests the soaking water be changed a few times during the process to reduce gaseous output, but that does involve a bit more vigilance on Day 1 and if they're soaking overnight and during the workday, it's hardly possible and I view it as optional.

Day 2 is the fun part. I give the soaked beans a good couple of rinses and put them on the stovetop to cook in my special cast iron pot adding water as it steams off. I always keep the beans covered with water and cook them at the simmering point for at least a few hours, until the skin is coming off just a tiny bit. Once the beans are at this point, I rinse them a few times and set them aside in the cast iron pot (incidentally, this pot has a sturdy wooden handle and a cast iron top - perfect for the baking stage).

Meanwhile, actually during the last hour of stovetop cooking, I prep by finely chopping a large white onion, a large green bell pepper, a few tomatoes and whatever other vegetable I think would be tasty. (Last night I used zucchini and summer squash instead of green bell pepper and tomato paste instead of fresh tomato). I saute this chopped veg in some grapeseed oil until there's a browning effect. Add this concoction to the set aside beans.

I also set a kettle of water to boil during this time in order to pour a cup of it into a bowl containing 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup vinegar (red wine, apple cider, malt, white, whatever you want it to be), a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of chili powder. Mixing well so the molasses is dissolved, I pour it over the beans and give the works a good stir. Then I pop the lid on and throw the pot in the oven at 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit for 6 to 8 hours. Good with bannock and butter.

Red River Cereal - on the run

2008-11-12T10:39:00.000-08:00

Today I hit snooze more than ten times. I'd planned to wake up BEFORE 6:00 am (well at 5:55 am) in order to go into work an hour early. All I did on Monday at work was answer the fucking phone and deal with moron-clients so I was sure my boss would come in this morning and say "What did you do on Monday?" and I'd have to say, "meh meh meh, moron-clients..." and she'd half-believe me but totally hate me because there would be no product waiting for her. At 5:55 am I said about this plan, "Well, fuck that" and actually slept a half-hour past my usual wake-up time. Hitting snooze every ten to twenty-five minutes the entire time. Obtuse is what you might call it.

I got up and managed to get the shower thing happening, the gymbag packed, cooked my Red River Cereal, heavily laced it with cinnamon and pecans, ate an apple and my herbs and hit the road. Breakfast accomplished after arrival at work. Pretty gritty.

My boss didn't yell but I did find myself saying "meh meh meh".