I went walking the other day. It was early in the morning with a bit of rain, just a drizzle.
I came across this group of pigeons eating breakfast.
Then I saw this pipe thing on a tree. What do you think it is for?
Then some flowers.
I enjoy mornings when everything is waking up and coming alive.
Have a great weekend!
Do you eat a lot of oatmeal? This morning, in memory of my ex/father/n/law, I ate oatmeal. He was a retired Doctor from Germany. He LOVED oatmeal! He had his ritual. He would microwave a packet of oatmeal, stir in one packet of sweetener (yellow one) and then add cream on top. FINISHED – nothing else, ie fruit/nuts, etc. Toward the end, at 99, all he would ask for was “oatmeal.”
My Italian mother, on the other hand, preferred cream of rice. Probably because it reminded her of polenta. Although, she never made polenta for us. She would cook cream of rice (for 4 kids) and stir in one raw egg. Since the cream of rice was hot, stirring in the egg cooked it. Voila – breakfast served.
My mother enjoyed something else. She would take a raw egg, some sugar and whip/whip/whip it with a fork until it was creamy like a custard and then she would eat it. Did she cook it? I don’t remember seeing her cook it, I will ask her, but I remember thinking how “odd” that was and worried she’d get SICK!
So, WHAT was IT in your house growing up — OATMEAL or CREAM of RICE?
I decided to surprise my daughters with some blueberry scones. I made them into Angels. They were very good; however, I should have taken them out a little sooner. I haven’t baked in a while, so I was a little rusty on the timing. STILL the Angels were a big hit.
My daughter made protein waffles. Interesting ingredients: vital wheat gluten, oat flour, fat free cottage cheese, egg whites, some water. Before you shake your head, they were good. I would not have known they weren’t made from a waffle mix. They were delicious, very filling.
It’s fun to do some baking, home cooking for the holidays.
Wishing you ALL a very Merry Christmas Eve / Day!
Well, it’s Sunday, I decided to make waffles. I wrote about the Kodiak Cake brand mix the other day. Today I used the buttermilk and chocolate mix. Why not be adventurous. I topped my waffles with blueberries and raspberries that I picked in Michigan this summer and froze for winter. By the way, frozen raspberries are quite the treat. They change color and become darker once frozen, but the flavor is still there. I added some maple syrup. It’s the PERFECT breakfast!
My friend is in France…. she’s probably eating a wonderful croissant right now!
Wondering what YOU are having!
This past weekend, I was in the mood for a “real breakfast.” I mean a little bit of everything. There is something wonderful about going to a diner, they still have that old fashioned feel. Simple and full of choices.
When I got there I knew exactly what I wanted. Although, if I go to The Original Pancake House in California, I like to order the 49er pancakes, they are huge and bit chewy – wonderful! They are probably crepes, just made larger.
Back to my diner experience, I went for the usual… scrambled eggs well done (my mother used to make them so runny, I could not eat them), bacon or sausage, toast and pancakes. I KNOW, this is why they say Americans are fat. So true, this meal is really for two people, I could not eat it all. Mainly, I like the variety. So, too bad they can’t offer one egg, one slice of bacon/sausage, one slice of toast and two small pancakes, right! Anyhow, I wasn’t going to complain, this is what I wanted.
Oh, when I got to the diner, there was a line. So, I put my name on the waiting list. To keep myself busy, I got the menu. Laughing, everyone is line was eyeing each other. I mean, what else do you do, when you are waiting, right.
There was a man next to me, it appeared he was with his wife. He decided to be flirty. I wasn’t too keen on that. His wife looked grumpy. He asked me HOW I got the menu. REALLY – the menus were on the counter in front of us. To try and shooooo him away, I said, “There they are, but here you can have mine, I’m done with it.”
To which he said, “So, what are you going to order?” He leaned into me like an eager puppy to look at menu with me.
WHAT??? Wasn’t that his wife next to him??
This guy was an expert at trying to pick someone up. I didn’t like it!
So, I politely looked at his female companion, smiled, said I had not decided AND moved away.
I HOPE that wasn’t his wife. Awful to have a husband like that.
GOOD NEWS – they did not seat me next to them. Thank goodness or my dining experience would have been ruined.
Instead, I was next to a family with a little girl who was loud and super talkative. She must have been two years old. Then another family across from me. The little boy kept talking about coloring his monsters, looked like he had a coloring book.
So, I had a delightful dining experience!
Have you noticed that going out for a coffee and a danish, which used to be a “treat,” has become so expensive that it is not enjoyable anymore?
When I was young, because we had four children in the family, we rarely went out to eat; it was too expensive. In those days, if we did go out, it was for pizza, once a quarter. When the waitress came to take our order, she would ask what the “children” were drinking. My father in a loud bellowing voice would say, “WATER for them, a beer for me.”
My mother did not believe in soda. Growing up in Italy, they did not drink soft drinks or fruit juices. As a treat, on Sunday, they went to the park and had a gelato she would say.
This will make you smile… when I started dating, and the waitress came to take our order, I was too afraid to order ice tea or a soda, I was conditioned to order water. It wasn’t until one date asked, “WHY are you only having water? You can order a drink. Please, have a soda or ice tea, whatever you’d like.”
FUNNY, I thought to myself, “Yeah, I’m on my own now, why am I still drinking water?!”
This past weekend I was in the mood for scones. A friend of mine sent me a recipe and it was time to try it out. Scones are usually triangular, I made hearts, see photo.
My goal was to entice my daughters, so they would say, “Mama, those are adorable, we want some!”
Good news — my hearts were a BIG HIT. Just need to add tea.
HEART SCONES on Sunday. A new tradition!
Once children grow up, we need to entice the “little birdies” back to the nest.
My daughter came home the other day and said, “Mama, look what I found.” I thought it would be a new pair of shoes or shirt, but it was this tiny waffle maker made by DASH. When we see “things” our mind immediately “thinks.”
My first thought was of Kellogg’s TV commercial for frozen waffles, where two siblings go to grab the round Eggo waffle that pops out of the toaster and they say in unison, “L’Eggo my Eggo.” This tag line for selling Eggo waffles was clever, such a great jingle to it.
My second thought was of Sunday mornings when I was a child. If my mom said, “get out the griddle,” we knew we were having a breakfast feast. I have three siblings, so we would all do something. One would get the griddle, one would start to set the table, one would get the bacon and help make the pancake batter. Team work was key, we worked together as a finely oiled machine. Soon breakfast was ready!
The worst was when we were ready to eat breakfast and we heard my mother say, “ONE OF YOU has to get your father’s newspaper!”
At this moment, it was not team work, it was “it’s your turn, not mine.” My mother would say, “if you keep arguing, the food will get cold.”
Suddenly, silence. One of us would reluctantly say, “Ok, I’ll go.”
Ah… childhood memories!
So, that little waffle machine made me smile. We have gone from a big griddle for six people down to a small waffle machine meant for “one.” However, breakfast would still be honored… just in a small way.
Tradition, it goes from big to small and hopefully, back to a big celebration again!
Brilliant Viewpoint 