Breakfast Love: Hash

I'm not a huge breakfast kind of gal, but I do love a leisurely Sunday brunch, and our Sundays almost always have some sort of cooked breakfast with bacon.

This is the first of a "breakfast series" ... where I do a simple picture dump and I include the recipe, or the process of how I make it.  I am big into improvisational cooking, so my "recipes" are less about quantities and more about playing with whatever is on hand.

The breakfast plate pictured above was from yesterday.  It was so good, I can still taste it in my mind.  What was it?  A breakfast hash.  In other words, it was a frying pan full of lovely things I found in the fridge.

I started with some bacon pieces (I like to cut them with the kitchen shears), and half of a leftover onion (chopped).  I then added two potatoes that I had quickly precooked in the microwave.  But there were only 5 chopped slices of bacon in the pan, since our nephew Matthew was here all week and he loves his bacon as much as we do!

So... I added 2 leftover baked potatoes (chopped), and a red pepper that was starting to wrinkle.  It still didn't seem like very much food, so I looked in the fridge... and found some uneaten french fries and a big chunk of chicken breast.  I chopped them roughly and threw them in.  I then added some garlic powder, a bit more salt and freshly cracked black pepper (I season as I go), and a few bits of tomato... and then snipped and added in some freshly chopped basil from the glass in our kitchen window.

Suddenly this pan of leftovers was overflowing with crispy goodness.  It was smelling amazing and I realized I didn't even need to make any eggs to go with it, because it tasted delicious!

What do you like to eat on a Sunday morning?

More Rhubarb Love

Doesn't this pie look goooood? 

Our love of all things rhubarb continues.  This is a rhubarb pie I made that spontaneously became a hybrid of pie and rhubarb crisp, simply because I didn't have enough rhubarb to mound it all up as I usually do.  Hubby wanted pie, so this is what happened. It was.... AH-MAZING!!!!!!

This was my sad attempt at making a lattice pie with a frozen "cheater crust" from the grocery store, lol.  Above it (on the right) was the gluten free version I made at the same time with our niece, Rachel.  Her crust was a simple gluten free shortbread cookie crust pressed together with butter, the filling was just the fruit with some sugar / cinnamon / cornstarch, and the topped was more cookie crumbles.  Obviously, my focus was on getting hers right.  Both tasted delicious!!

Speaking of "cheater crusts" ... I bake a mean butter tart using a similar type of (grocery story frozen) shells above, as I simply don't have the patience most days to make mini pastry shells from scratch.  This time, I baked some tarts filled with rhubarb (from our own garden!) and strawberries / blueberries... boy, they were yummy!

Finally, this is the strawberry rhubarb pie I made with our nephew Matthew last night.  Ummmm, oh man, strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven.  Have I mentioned how happy we are that the rhubarb season has lasted so long this year?  

I'm going to have to freeze some, for when we need a lift from the wintertime blahs.

Aha.  You are seeing this picture correctly.  These two adorable kitties are ours.  We got them on June 4th and they have totally taken over our lives... in the very bestest and cuddliest and craziest of ways.  They deserve a post of their very own... it will be coming soon... they are very funny and photogenic at the same time.  Yup.  They bring such joy.

In the meantime, I will leave you with one more picture of our last rhubarb dessert.  Doesn't it look great on top of my Oma's crocheted table runner?  Love.  Love.  Love.

As always, I am happy to share recipes, just ask how I make 'em.

Rhubarb Love

This blogpost was originally published in 2016...

I tweaked and updated it with more recent pictures (June 23, 2020)

It's rhubarb season again.  Rhubarb is my husband's favourite fruit.  He likes it stewed, in cakes, in pies, in squares... you name it, he likes it.

Fortunately, my mom has a really terrific recipe for the simplest, stir it into one bowl recipe.  It's called "Rhubarb Stir Cake" ... I think we originally got it from my sister's MIL Judy, but I have been making it for G for YEARS.  Suffice it to say, this is the most easy, delicious recipe... below is how I have tweaked it to my taste over the years.  

It is THAT GOOD, let me tell you.

In a bowl, cream (that means just stir) 1/4 cup very soft butter and 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until combined.  I add 1/4 cup of water to this mixture, because I usually find the dough a bit dry, and it's easier to incorporate into the batter at this point.  Add in a single egg, a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, and a generous Tbsp of vanilla and glotsch it around.

On top of the wet ingredients, measure and roughly mix in 2 1/3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. It will be very dry at this point.

Add 1 cup of sour cream and 4 generous cups of chopped fresh (or even frozen) rhubarb.  Again, stir it up with a spatula to combine it.

See how the dough comes together after awhile?

Press it into a 9x13" pan.  No grease necessary.

Now comes the topping... I usually add more rhubarb and another kind of fruit, like strawberries or raspberries to the top of the cake, whatever is seasonal or in the freezer.  

Today, I loaded it up with a generous number of frozen blueberries, because I forgot to reserve some of the rhubarb for it.  Presto change-o... that’s the beauty of this recipe.  

In fact, after having made this over and over again, I have found I can get REALLY lazy, not mix the rhubarb in, and press the thick batter into the pan and THEN top it with the rhubarb (or any mixture of fresh or frozen fruit) and then finish it with the simple topping, like this:

 

The original recipe also calls for a certain (1/3 cup?!) amount of white sugar and (measly teaspoon) cinnamon to be sprinkled on top of the cake, but I never measure it.  I just sprinkle away generously until it looks good.  I told you this is an easy peasy recipe... almost anything goes!  Ain't it purdy?

 

Or this:

The takeaway message:  this recipe is very forgiving and you can definitely play around with it.  Once I didn't have any sour cream AT ALL... so I used a combination of vanilla yogurt and (I'm not kidding!) some mayonaise and a little water to get the "one cup of sour cream" and, aha... I really did.  

And it turned out perfectly.

There's no picture of this cake fresh from the oven, no... the hubs got into it before I was able to snap a proper photo of it... ha!

This perfect little slice goes so well with a cup of coffee or tea... for breakfast, for a snack, for a church potluck, or for a surprise little treat for my dad and mom.  

Yes, this rhubarb cake is quintessentially perfect.

I suspect I'll be making more rhubarb recipes in the next few weeks, before the season is over for another year.  How do you like your rhubarb?  

Let me know!

More Whole 30 meals

This is a yummy bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, just ready for slicing.  It's a winner!

See it sliced and served with new potatoes and a lovely green salad?

This is our Sunday steak dinner, served with more of those tender new potatoes, baby spinach, and both raw beets and carrot salads.

Friday's cast iron pan fried salmon with lemony asparagus.  Soo delicious!

Saturday night Burger Master at work!

It isn't pretty, but it sure was good!  (Ketchup was not W30 compliant... oopsie!)

Finally, a weeknight meal of garlicky ground beef and sausage, G's favourite broccoli salad, and some leftover raw beet salad and carrot slaw.

We're done with this round of the Whole 30, and our reintroductions have been uneventful, since I no longer cook with soybean oils / condiments and corn isn't in our diet any more - because of what we learned in last June's Whole 30.  Interestingly, our meals are still very much true to the plan.  I have enjoyed greater energy, better sleep, and continued weight loss beyond my expectations... which are all totally awesome benefits to forever eating this way!

Let me know in the comments if you want the recipes to any of the above foods!

Whole 30 - my current meal obsession

Shepherd's Pie - who doesn't just love it?  It's comfort food at its best... it's also economical, and if made ahead, it's super convenient, as it makes a huge amount and you can just dig into it anytime.

I have recently revamped my traditional shepherd's pie because I'm on the whole 30.  We've been eating a ton of roasted / baked / boiled potatoes with lemon, and I didn't want to make the "essential" top layer of mashed potatoes because I couldn't fill it with whatever milk / cream / butter / sour cream / cream cheese or any of that usual deliciousness.

Instead, I popped a whole acorn squash into the microwave... scooped it out, and now we have our topping on the side of our shepherd's pie.  And is it ever good!!!

I say that I am obsessed because I've been ever so sick with the flu and laryngitis this week.  I figured that the W30 would be taking a back seat to comfort foods like toast and tea with honey... but somehow I have managed to stay on track, since I had most of my meats prepped on Sunday.  I just stayed the course, and surprisingly, it worked!  This dish helped me through several small suppers this week with a minimum of fuss.

My appetite was definitely affected, so I ate much less, but I stuck to my three meals... they were just a little simpler and smaller than usual.  And who knew that raw, sliced garlic could be a condiment on the side of a plate of plain chicken or an egg or sausage with a few strawberries or a banana?

Try making shepherd's pie your usual way (leave out the dusting of flour to thicken your gravy) and cook an acorn squash (or other veg you like) with a little clarified butter and s+p on the side.  It's a twist that will surprise you in the most pleasant of ways.

Whole 30 Inspiration (an evolving post)

Ahhh... lovely fresh asparagus... soooooo delicious!!!

OK... so I am constantly taking pictures of my food.  This is a funny little thing I really started when I was visiting my sister in Germany... and then when I was traveling with my dad in Russia on a choir trip.  Oh, the adventures in food I had!

Anyway, the idea I had for this post is this.  I am constantly taking pics of my food, and since I am on the Whole 30 right now, and people I know keep asking me questions like, "what do you eat?" I thought I would simply document my meals and post them here as I go along.  If you think you could never make all this amazing food, you are wrong.  It's all about food prep and thinking ahead, having things cooked or cleaned and chopped, and then composing plates that are true to the W30 plan.

I am still finding my way around the kitchen, after all these years.  I like to do a big prep on Sunday mornings, as I am making our Sunday brunch and Sunday dinner.  Weekday lunches and dinners are that much easier to prepare and assemble because of this prep time.

So come back and visit, as there will be more pics on here as I make more Whole 30 meals... and as I figure out how to get the pics from my iPhone onto my Acer Chromebook.  It isn't the smoothest of processes, but I am figuring out how to do with the limitations of my equipment.  

I plan to bump down the older pics as I add new meal pics, so it will be easy for you to see my latest meals and then scroll down for older inspiration pics, as time goes by.

For now, here are my Whole 30 meal and preparation pictures.  I may have to separate them into prep and meals sometime, but for now, enjoy and be inspired!

Do you have a favourite W30 meal you turn to time and again?  Would you like me to share my recipes?  Please comment below!

Our Sunday night dinner:  BBQd steaks, baked potatoes, sauteed asparagus and garlic, and a green salad of romaine, orange peppers, zucchini with a ginger / garlic dressing

A simple weekend breakfast of a fried egg in clarified butter, and a little fruit (orange and banana)

Sunday night steak, roasted sweet potato, simple spinach salad

Breakfast bowl of leftover roasted chicken breast and sweet potato, and seasoned tomato chunks and spinach dressed with oil + white wine vinegar... and some super awesome strawberries.  A strange mix, but soo good!

Delectable Greek plate of chicken with oregano, garlic lemon potatoes, and a crunchy spinach salad with chopped peppers, zucchini, tomato, and green onion

Baked salmon with ginger, roasted potato wedges, homemade W30 mayo, sauteed mushrooms, and a lovely green broccoli salad

Simple green salad with romaine, zucchini, cucumber, and a garlic and fresh parsley dressing

Onion dyed Easter eggs... hard boiled, and perfect for on the go breakfasts and adding to salads

Making clarified butter, essential for sauteed veggies or adding to baked or grilled meats 

Another simple green salad, makes an excellent palate cleanser or part of an appetizing lunch

Cooking up some fresh W30 approved sausage.  DO check to make sure they are sugar free, and sodium citrite free.  I get mine at the St Jacob's Market from Finest Meats

 A delicious steak dinner with garlic mushrooms, a big green salad and some lightly sauteed green beans (which ARE allowed on the W30), fyi

It's not all pretty, but it's pretty good.  I snapped this casual pic at work... after eating one of two hard boiled eggs and a good chunk of zucchini... with some peppermint tea and coconut oil

This was a practice meal we had the weekend before our start date...it included some chicken breast, italian sausage, and a huge mixed salad of broccoli, red cabbage, zuchini and romaine

Chicken soup with plenty of green veggies

Parsley Garnish for soups, salads, grilled meats, etc