Thoughts During Breakfast After Morning Yoga

Photo from http://earthyogi.blogspot.com/

Early morning is the most sacred time to me. The house is sleepy and dark, and all is quiet--a perfect time to begin the day on my yoga mat.

My favorite part of my routine is the one that remains unseen by all except me and FD. Almost every morning during my warm-up twists, my big black Labrador, Bleu, yawns and stretches his way out of bed to do yoga with me. He's quite the fan of downward and upward dogs, so he does a little routine of bows and planks as I begin my sun salutation. Then he lies down next to my mat and takes a little nap. But the moment I sit down for seated twists or hero's pose, he finds his way into my lap with a big hug and will lay there like a little puppy. A 92 pound puppy. He's so sweet and snuggly that I can slide him around so I can continue my practice. It's a private moment that I cherish. Seriously, if you know Bleu, it's hard to imagine him calm and snuggly. But ever since he was an 8-week old puppy, we've done yoga together; it's our morning bonding time.

Each morning I change up my routine depending on what I need for the day. Sometimes it's rigorous standing and balancing poses like Warrior series or Side Angle twists. Sometimes I spend an hour on inversions or backbends. Other days I choose more restorative poses like legs up the wall or forward folds. No matter what routine I do, the one pose that is always most difficult for me is Savasana, or Corpse pose. My impulse is to skip it but I realize it is the most important pose to hold in order to remind myself throughout the day to "slow down and take a moment." This morning I acknowledged the resistance and used it to help me relax. In a sense, the resistance became a reminder for why I need Corpse pose so much. Yoga has a strange way of teaching us things about life.

Over my standard breakfast of plain yogurt and tea (I save the calories for later in the day and snacks), only minutes after my yoga routine, I had to remind myself to hold onto the quiet of morning yoga as I whizzed through the countless emails, student essays, the menu for the day, and the events in my planner--all before spin class at 9. So quickly the day hits me, and so quickly I hit the ground sprinting from thing to thing.

As I chow down breakfast and open up my laptop, sometimes I forget I only awoke from corpse pose an hour or two ago. The house brightens as the sun stretches through the windows and my to-do list gets longer and longer. Recording these special kernels of time, like my morning yoga with Bleu or my sacred dinner with FD, helps me remember and keeps me focused on what's really important in life.

For the Love of Kale

The Kale Fairy (Homestead Gardens) has blessed me with the beginnings of a very tasty growing season.

And though I'm drowning in a sea of student essays, rubrics, and portfolio comments, I always find time to cook up some divine greens.

Enjoy my tribute to kale and the other spring greens. It's celebration of local produce! Yay!

A British Kind of Day

Today began with Jamie Oliver's crumpets for breakfast.

For lunch JB's Sarnies Shoppe. (Thanks, Jen!)

And dinner: Jamie Oliver's Wild Mushroom & Venison Stroganoff for Two Lucky People.

And we were lucky. Totally.

Even though I used lime peel instead of lemon, whiskey instead of brandy, and dried parsley instead of fresh.

Our recipe doesn't look as good as Jamie's but it sure tasted stupid good.

Another keeper recipe in terms of game. Another notch for Jamie.

I sooooo can't wait for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC.

wild mushroom and venison stroganoff for two lucky people

main courses | serves 2
This venison stroganoff is absolutely fantastic – of course, you can use more traditional beef fillet instead of venison, and any mushrooms you like, but there’s something about venison and wild mushrooms that works so well together. Have a go at this and you’ll know what I mean!

The whole point of this dish is that by the time you start cooking the meat, it will all come together quickly. The meat will be quite pink – cook it for longer if you want but it will go slightly tougher.

Cook the rice according to the packet instructions until it’s just undercooked and drain in a colander. Put the rice back in the pan, cover with tinfoil and leave to steam – this will give you incredibly light and fluffy rice.

Heat a large frying pan on a medium heat and pour in a glug of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes until softened and golden. Remove from the heat and spoon the onions and garlic out of the pan on to a plate. Keep to one side.

Season the meat well with salt, pepper and paprika. Rub and massage these flavourings into the meat. Place the frying pan back on a high heat and pour in some more olive oil. Add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until they start to brown. Then add the meat and fry for a minute or two before adding the parsley stalks (you can do this in two pans or in batches if your pan is not big enough) and the cooked onion and garlic. Toss and add the butter and brandy.

You don’t have to set light to the hot brandy, but flaming does give an interesting flavour so I always like to do this. Once the flames die down, or after a couple of minutes of simmering, stir in the lemon zest and all but 1 tablespoon of the crème fraîche and season to taste. Continue simmering for a few minutes. Any longer than this and the meat will toughen up – it doesn’t need long as it’s been cut up so small.

Serve your fluffy rice on one big plate and your stroganoff on another. Simply spoon the remaining crème fraîche over the stroganoff, then sprinkle over the sliced gherkins and parsley leaves. Eat at once!

Gifts

This weekend I was blessed with many wonderful gifts.


~


Thursday evening my dear friend Babs brought over two samples of carrot cake: Betty Crocker and Holden Village.

She said that many testers preferred the Betty Crocker recipe, but I enjoyed the carroty flavor and density of the Holden Village recipe.

Babs is probably the best baker I know, and I'm always grateful to her for all the treats she brings us. Thanks, Babs!


~

Friday evening my good friend Sarah L. brought over a loaf of her bread.

The recipe seems even easier than Rulhman's and the taste of it rivaled Zingerman's.

It was so warm and fresh and crusty when she brought it over in its little bundle that looked like a happily wrapped baby. This is definitely a bread I'm going to try to make and I think I'll succeed at.

What I love about Sarah is "DAMN, that girl can cook!" And I adore how she so thoughtful about and in her food writing.


~


On Saturday, at my parish retreat, I received a box full of letters of support and love from my family and loved ones. I was overjoyed by all the expressions of love I received. FD, my parents and siblings, my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, my close friend DH and AL, and fellow parishioners helped me recognize the good in me that I sometimes forget, and it made me feel better about the world, my life, and myself. My words here are not doing justice to how I feel, but know that I appreciate and cherish all of your kind words with all my heart.

I have to give a shout out to the cooks of the retreat, too. The food was AWESOME! It fed the tummy and the spirit!


So now I'm thinking, How can I give something back? I have ideas. I always have ideas...

The Perfect Sunday Morning Breakfast on a Rainy Day

When people tell me they don't eat breakfast, I feel sad for them.

Breakfast is wonderful. Granted most mornings I eat 1/4 cup of plain fat yogurt with a teaspoon of Ohio maple syrup and berries (when in season), but on the weekends, I enjoy a good hearty b-fast that involves more dirty dishes than a bowl and spoon.

My favorite lately is Jamie Oliver's (no surprise, is it really?) Eggy Breakfast Crumpets. I've been dying to make this dish, but I haven't been able to find crumpets. And now it's my fav dish because finally--FI-NAL-LYYYY--I found crumpets at the Anderson's in Maumee.

Perfectly sweet, salty, chewy, luscious, and crisp, this totally easy first meal of the day is fabulous when you want something to hold you over and give you a reason to eat a light lunch and perhaps even a light dinner. I just love it, and it's definitely a recipe worth sharing...

Makes 2 servings

2 large eggs
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 chile, deseeded, chopped finely
4 slices of bacon
2 crumpets
maple syrup

Whisk eggs, salt, pepper, and chili. Push crumpets into eggs. Make sure to coat both sides of the crumpets several times, then let them soak in eggs.

Meanwhile fry bacon on medium heat. When done, drain on paper towel.

Drain most of bacon fat from pan. Leave 1T. Add crumpets to pan. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden.

Drizzle crumpets and bacon with maple syrup. Serve.

Holiday Cooking: Day 2, Part 1

Today's cooking is much better. Probably because I'm actually cooking and not attempting any desserts.

For Christmas morning, I made a breakfast casserole from the Cook's Country Oct/Nov 2009 issue.

I made it once before and felt it needed some revision. But I really liked it. And it's super easy to make. Even better, it's easy to transport if you travel to several houses over the holidays.

Ingredients:
1 loaf Italian bread, cubed
1 lb pork sausage
1 med onion, diced
3 c shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
12 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 c 2% milk
salt
pepper
sage
1 T hot sauce

Directions:

You can choose to bake the bread or not. If you do, toast in a 400 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. I've found my baking the bread it stands out more in the casserole.

Brown the sausage over medium heat with sage, salt, and pepper. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes.

Grease 9X13 baking dish. Coat bottom of dish with 1/2 of the bread cubes. Top with 1/2 the sausage mixture and 1 cup of cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, sausage, and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in a large bowl. Pour evenly over casserole. Wrap with plastic and weigh down with boxes of broth or 4 large tomato cans. Refrigerate 1-48 hours.

To bake, heat oven to 350. Remove weights, unwrap casserole, and bake until edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve.

Ben's Table, Bowling Green, Ohio: Restaurant Review

Thankfully, it's the end of fall semester. Time to catch up with all my loved ones while there are NO essays to grade.

This past Saturday morning Bowling Green was graced by a blanket of snow. (I'm a snow person, so "graced" is the right word choice for me.) My friend Sarah and I were going to go to the Toledo's Farmers Market, but the roads weren't quite clean enough yet. So I suggested breakfast, and she suggested Ben's Table.

I'm happy to report it was the best breakfast I've had in BG--sans hangover.

Ben's Table is located on South Main and seats about 50 guests. Their menu is breakfast and lunch ONLY. A godsend for a place like BG where it seems lunch out never really is worth it.

As I said, though, I started with breakfast at Ben's Table. I ordered the spinach, bacon, and Monterey Jack cheese omelet with a side of Ben's potatoes. This 3-egg omelet was delicious without being greasy and filling without being overwhelming. And being that I am a sucker for potatoes, Ben's potatoes did not disappoint. I finished every last one.

What's really refreshing about Ben's Table is their interest in serving quality food. I found the eggs to be really tasty and fresh. The bacon was crunchy, flavorful, and not fatty. The spinach was perfectly wilted, and the red potatoes were absolutely delightful. It's reassuring to eat at a local joint whose motto is "Eat Local. Eat Healthy. Be Happy."

And I was so happy I bragged to FD about my breakfast, and we had to go there for lunch today--"to keep things fair."

Their homemade soups are just what I expected--delectable. I had the black bean and ham; it was wonderful. But I had horrible food envy for FD's turkey, bacon, tomato melt and french fries. Ahhhh, more potatoes. We both played it a little safe on our orders. I didn't want a big lunch, and FD didn't want to have beef twice in one day. (We're having burgers tonight.) If we had been more adventurous, FD would have ordered Grandma's Recipe, a meatloaf sandwich, and I would have ordered the Salmon burger.

No fear: we're back Tuesday for lunch. We can try different menu items then.

The service was friendly and the atmosphere is comfortable with live plants and warm colors.

Ben's Table is open Tuesday-Saturday 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m., and closed Mondays. They offer carryout.
Ben's Table
1021 South Main Street
Bowling Green, OH 43402-4720
(419) 352-1060