Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings are one of my favorite times of the week, I get to make breakfast, and not just a quick we're in a hurry breakfast either, the kind that might take some time, and might not be eaten till nearly lunch time.  We used to be huge scrambled eggs fans, almost every Saturday and sometimes on Sundays after church we would whip up a batch of scrambled eggs.  It all started because I failed at making omelets, I just can't seem to get the hang of it very well, and either the egg is a bit too runny, overcooked, or ripped in many places.  So, I started making scrambled eggs, with everything in them, and by everything I mean sausage, potatoes, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and bacon.  We ate this for years, and still do occasionally, but now we have a different love on Saturday mornings.

bacon (or sausage)

cheese

and egg

sandwiches

With a glass of orange juice it's a wonderful way to start off the weekend.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwiches
Ingredients:

• 2 bagels or english muffins
• 4 strips bacon
• 2 eggs
• thinly sliced cheese

Procedure:

1. Preheat the broiler to Hi.
2. Cut the english muffins or bagels in half and place on a cookie sheet, inside facing up.  Place in the broiler for about 5 minutes to toast the bread.
3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon until crispy
4. Drain off most of the grease from the bacon and fry the eggs, I usually whisk the eggs first and use egg fry rings as they fit on the sandwich better.  When the eggs are almost done cooking add a small amount of cheese to the top of each egg and allow to melt slightly.
5. Assemble the sandwich: Place 1/2 of a bagel or english muffin on a plate, top with bacon, a slice of cheese, and the egg.  Top with the other 1/2 of the bagel.

It's collard greens

Ah, collard greens.  I haven't made any in a while and it's time to remedy that.  Well, truth be told, I've been asked to make them.  It's not that I don't like them, it's more that it's ridiculously hot, and collards fixed this way feel more like a cool weather, need to warm up dish to me.  I love my leafy green vegetables, and now that I've learned how to cook collards I like them too.  I can't say it was love at first taste, I had to eat them when I was a child, and being the stubborn person I am this made me look for something I didn't like about them.  I've gotten a bit wiser now and learned that sometimes when I don't like a new food, or for that matter an old food, I probably need to try it prepared a different way.  Now if I could just learn to lose the stubbornness...I think it is better, but it still has a long way to go.

My husband, Rob,  loves his collards, and so I try very hard to make them perfect for him.  The only problem is I'm a bit terrible at recipes and I tend to go with the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants method when cooking, so what I do one time I may or may not be able to recreate at a later date.  That was part of the reason for starting this cooking blog, so I would be forced to document what I do.  I suppose it's semi-working.  I currently have about 6 recipes I'm trying to hold on to in my head so I can blog about them.  I keep meaning to write them down, but I think I'm going to have to invest in a kitchen notebook, so I can take notes while I cook.  Its just not working to run into the computer and type it up while I'm cooking, or even immediately after, and after a good nights sleep I start forgetting details.

I've cooked collards this way quite a few times now, and have a basic idea in my head of what goes into them.  There's the salt pork and/or ham hocks, salt, and pepper of course, but when I walked over to the spice rack I suddenly got very unsure of myself.  I grabbed the garlic powder, onion powder, and crushed red pepper, but was I missing something, I really didn't want to mess these up, I haven't made collards for Rob in quite some time, and I want him to love them as much as he always does, I don't want to offer a taste test and get an unsatisfactory result.  I stared at the spice rack for several minutes before I was certain that nothing else there was typical for the collards.  As I seasoned the greens it occurred to me what was missing - sugar!  Now don't laugh, I don't make sweet collards, that would just be odd.  

Collards have a tendency to be bitter, even after hours of cooking, which is more than a little disappointing.  I remember one year I was making the collards for a family Christmas dinner and after letting the collards slow cook in a crock pot all night I woke up to awful, bitter greens.  I was horrified, what was I going to do, it was 10am on Christmas morning, and the family would be gathering for Christmas dinner at 2pm.  There were no stores open and I had less than 4 hours to have the greens ready.  I ran to the computer and started frantically googling bitter collard greens.  Sugar was the recommendation I kept getting.  I figured the greens couldn't get much worse, and there was no way I was taking them like they were so I dumped in a bit of sugar, and left the greens to cook for another 15 - 20 min.  When I tasted them again nearly all the bitterness was gone.  Christmas was saved!  OK, that could be a bit of an exaggeration, I don't think anyones Christmas would have been ruined, but I'm certain there would have been at least one disappointed family member.  Since then, I always add a small amount of sugar at the beginning so I don't have to worry about bitterness.

I realize the cook time is going to seem excessively long, and I've successfully cooked the collards for less time, but the batches that were the best always cooked for longer.  It's difficult to overcook the greens in the slow cooker, but I still taste test frequently in the last couple hours to make sure.

From The Office:
Michael: That would have really really showed him up, wouldn't it, if I brought in some burritos, or colored greens, or some pad thai, love pad thai...
Stanley: It's collard greens.
Michael: What?
Stanley: It's collard greens.
Michael: Uh, that doesn't really make sense, you don't call them 'collard people.'  That's offensive.

Oh Michael, what will we do without you.

Slow Cooker Collard Greens

Ingredients:

• 1 salt pork and or 1 lb ham hocks
• 2 bunches collard greens
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt
• pepper
• 2 qt. water

Procedure:

1. Rinse the collards thoroughly to remove any dirt or sand caught in the leaves.
2. Layer 6 - 7 leaves at a time and remove the stem.  Roll the leaves into a tube and slice at 1 inch intervals. Repeat until all the leaves have been sliced.
3. Place the salt pork and/or ham hocks in the bottom of a slow cooker and put the sliced collards on top.
4. Add all the spices and season with salt and pepper.  Pour the water over the top and cover with the lid.
5. Cook on low for 12 - 16 hours.

Simplicity

This week I've rediscovered peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It would have never occurred to me to make one for lunch, except for our neighbors.  Sadly, they moved away this week, and in cleaning out the fridge ended up giving us some food, including 2 jars of preserves.  I'm not a huge fan of grape jelly anymore, I find it overly sweet, and struggle to eat more than a bite or 2 of it.  If I buy jelly at the store I buy strawberry jelly, and usually the cheap stuff.  Our neighbor has learned better though, and I ended up with a jar of red raspberry preserves.  It may still be store brand, but it is delicious.

I was eager to try it, so I bought some sandwich bread, and decided to have a PBJ for lunch.  Except I suppose I can't really call it a PBJ.  I didn't use peanut butter.  I think I may have become a bit uppity in the nut butter arena, and now prefer almond butter, and not just any almond butter, but freshly ground almond butter.  I don't have any freshly ground almond butter in the house right now, I've been trying to be good and spend less at the grocery store, so I haven't bought any in months.  I do however have some Trader Joe's almond butter.  It's almost as good as the freshly ground kind.

I snagged a fresh peach from the fruit bowl to go with my sandwich and enjoyed a simple lunch that I haven't had in ages.

I enjoyed it so much in fact that I've made it 2 days in a row, and plan to eat it again tomorrow.

Now all I need is a swing set to run to when I finish eating.

New and Improved

I was walking through the produce section of the grocery store the other day when I happened across angelcots.  Angelcots?  I had never heard of this fruit before, and at first thought perhaps it was something foreign that had found it's way to my small town.  I snatched up a 1 lb package and headed off to finish my shopping.  Once I got home I got in touch with my good friend, Google, and learned that an angelcot is actually a hybridized Iranian and Moroccan apricot.  I was a bit disappointed, but I do enjoy a good apricot, so it can't be to bad.

Side note: Whenever I think of hybridizing fruit, I picture a sterile science lab with weird chemicals and people dressed in white lab coats, possibly with protective gear on.  I have no idea where this image came from, but it always pops into my head, and causes me to look at the fruit a little weird.  I'm all for science and technology just not so much when my food is the subject.

I love to be lazy on Sundays, so I wasn't really planning to cook today, there are leftovers in the fridge for dinner, and some whole grain pancakes that I planned to reheat for lunch.  When I walked into the kitchen the package of angelcots was sitting on the counter looking lonely, and I needed to hurry up and eat them or I would be throwing them away in the next day or 2.  I thought about just slicing them and serving them with the pancakes, but there were a few to many for just the 2 of us.  Then it hit me, we're having pancakes why not make some fresh fruit syrup to serve with them.

It didn't take much time or effort and the syrup was ready in the time it took to reheat the pancakes in the oven.  I simply sliced the angelcots, and added them to a saucepan with some water, chopped pecans and brown sugar, and simmered it until the juices had thickened a bit.  Why I haven't made my own syrups in the past I don't know, it was so simple and tasted so good, that I think I will have to turn this into a habit.

Warm Apricot and Pecan Syrup

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh apricots, thickly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 - 4 tbsp brown sugar

Procedure
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and gently simmer uncovered until the mixture is thickened some.  Adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.  I prefer a more subtle sweetness but just add more if you like.  The apricots will break down a fair amount, and the syrup will be the consistency of real maple syrup.

Serve over your favorite pancake, waffle, or french toast.