Foodles McDoodles

Right now the husband's out buying himself a new pair of work shoes and getting a haircut. Piggy is enjoying a late nap, also. Since I have some unexpected time on my hands, I thought I'd take this chance to blog about one of my favorite things... FOOD!


This is my very first actual bento box that I prepared for my husband's lunch the other day. Starting at the top left there's: a wonderful peanut butter cup cookie-thingy that a friend made, a double-compartmented container filled with ketchup and sweet and sour sauce, some cute little cut-out carrot slices, some vegetarian "chicken" nuggets, cheesy scalloped potatoes, and buttery baby lima beans. It was so much fun putting everything together! I love the little metal cutter set that I got for cutting out flower shapes from vegetable slices. I also got some awesome rice and hard-boiled egg molds too, which I'll post pictures of later as I get into using them.

Here's a shot of the bento box itself, complete with a small set of chopsticks set into the inside of the top lid and a kinchaku, or cloth carrying pouch.










It's so cute! I love the cute little "Engrish" message written on it: You can enjoy a happy and merry time. Adorable.

I bought bento boxes for my son and I too. I'll show you pictures of them later when they're filled with foody goodness.

This morning I made one of my favorite things for breakfast: cornmeal mush. I was excited to finally use the glass double-boiler that my mother-in-law gave me on my birthday. If you've never had it, cornmeal mush is a lot like polenta. It's made using regular cornmeal instead of the coarse stuff so it has a more silken texture, rather like cream of wheat. When it's done cooking, you can either eat it in a bowl topped with a pat of butter and drizzled in honey, molasses, or maple syrup, or you can place it in a loaf pan to chill until firm then slice it up and fry it in butter before drizzling it in one of the above. My favorite is to just eat it soft with both honey for sweetness and molasses for richness. It's wonderful and I highly recommend it. I use the recipe from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, the Joy of Cooking's "All About Breakfast." Just take a cup of cornmeal, a cup of cold water, and a teaspoon of salt and whisk them together in a double boiler. It will be wet and grainy-looking. Then whisk in (a cup at a time) two cups of boiling water and two cups of boiling milk. Turn the stove on medium heat and let the mixture cook for about fifteen to twenty minutes, or until thick. Whisk it every couple of minutes so that it cooks evenly and doesn't stick to the bottom. Then spoon into bowls and serve however you like it while it's piping hot and delicious. You'll be amazed how much mush you get out of just one cup of cornmeal... enough to make four bowls! I always do a half recipe to feed our little family. It's quite filling. It can also be made vegan if you substitute the butter and milk for soy margarine and soy milk. ;)

Here's what it looks like as it thickens and cooks.



















Please don't be put off by the twenty-minute cooking time. It really is simple and idiot-proof... just don't crank up the heat or forget to stir it every couple of minutes and you'll be fine. Plus, since it pretty much takes care of itself during that time, it gives you plenty of time to work on other breakfast-y treats while you wait.










This is my all-time favorite way to eat scrambled eggs: stuffed with browned russet potato cubes and fresh, diced jalapenos. These days, I remove the seeds and inner membrane of the jalapeno to keep the dish mild for my son. He loves it.

Add a few slices of Bartlett pear and a couple of unseasonably tasty strawberries, and Happy Breakfast to Me!

Well, that's it for now. See you later, everyone! Happy Breakfasts!