Getting Breakfasted

Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Studded Gravy

I love breakfast foods. From moist, soft scrambled eggs served with slightly crisped bacon and hash browns to flaky buttermilk biscuits coated with rich, creamy, sausage studded gravy, breakfast, for me, is an extra special meal. I generally save eating breakfast for days when I can Slow Food my way through the meal, and it’s become very apparent to me that I’ve convinced myself I don’t have time to prepare breakfast during the week.

Considering I am nocturnal and a freelance writer, it’s easy for me to stay awake until 2:00am any given night of the week but I have a weekday job that I need to physically be at bright and early. Needless to say, my morning routine has become less than accommodating for being able to enjoy the most important meal of the day. Typically—even during times when I get to bed at a decent hour—my REM sleep does not hit until around 4:00am. Just when I fall into deep sleep my alarm goes off. I hit the snooze button anywhere from five to 15 times before jumping out of bed, brushing my teeth, getting dressed and out the door and in my car and on the freeway; then driving like a bat out of Hell to get to work on time. How limited is my time in the morning? I rarely brush my hair. Thankfully bed head suits me and I don’t give a hoot about what anyone thinks I look like in the morning, especially after just four hours of sleep.

What I am about to type is nothing new. After all, how many times can one hear or read about how important it is to eat breakfast and maintain balanced meals? Obviously I need to hear and read it a lot. This post, for me, is the equivalent of writing down a goal, because I generally follow through with personal goals when I get them on paper—even if it’s virtual paper. Also, I may have some readers who are having similar breakfast issues so this post may come in handy for them.

Back to Breakfast Goals

While I know it will be impossible to prepare weekday breakfasts that require lackadaisical reading—like my Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Studded Gravy recipe—I certainly know, with a little planning, working simple breakfast foods back into my life is doable.

I know me so well, so there are a few strategies I need to put in place in order to up my odds of making breakfast a part of my life. Some strategies that immediately come to mind include:

• Before going to bed, put all non-refrigerated foods for the next day’s breakfast on the kitchen counter, e.g., peanut butter, English muffins, etc. (for me, out of sight is definitely out of mind at 6am).
• Before going to bed, chop any fruit needed for the next day’s breakfast.
• Before going to bed, put necessary non-food items on the counter, e.g., parchment paper for wrapping breakfast sandwiches, baggies for fruit, etc.
• Mark foods that—if I have to—I can eat in my car while driving to work. I’ll mark these foods on my menus as ‘Moveable Feast (MF),’ because I definitely need to jazz up this goal to keep the momentum going.

Here’s this week’s breakfast menu:

Monday – Toasted Multi-Grain English Muffin with Peanut Butter and Honey (MF)

Tuesday – Breakfast Smoothie: 1 chopped, frozen banana; ½ c yogurt; ¼ c skim milk; ¼ t vanilla extract (MF)

Wednesday – For now, I do not work on Wednesdays, so I’ll fix something that takes longer to prepare: Steel Cut Oatmeal with Blueberries

Thursday – Breakfast Sandwich: Toasted Multi-Grain English Muffin with Sunny Side Up Egg and Slice of Ham Steak (MF)

Friday – Breakfast Burrito: Scrambled Egg, Frozen Hash Browns or Pre-Blanched Cubed Potatoes, Cilantro, Avocado, Prepared Salsa (MF)

While re-reading my breakfast goals, strategies, and menu items I’m chuckling, because it all seems so simple but, indubitably, feeling like I do not have time to eat breakfast is no laughing matter. If this week’s breakfast plan works out for me, I may need to implement a weekly breakfast menu until I get into a groove. I also know I need to work on my sleep schedule but that’s a completely different goal and blog post. One baby step at a time.

I’m off to the grocery store. Wish me luck!

Multi-Grain McMuffin, Cantaloupe, Grapes, Coffee

MIM: A Magical Experience

The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) has created a truly magical setting, where the amazing influence, charm, and gifts of music can be experienced through state-of-the-art sight and sound.

Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that I am a music enthusiast, and I wholeheartedly agree with the Miles Davis quote, “Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is.” So when I learned that the MIM had opened its doors in Phoenix, Arizona I knew I had to plan a trip, alone.

While reading this post, click open the photos for a better look.

After experiencing the MIM, one thing—out of many—that stands out in my mind is its enormous size. At 190,000 square feet, this gorgeous museum is not one that you can quickly get through. I was at the MIM for 4 ½ hours, and by the time I was nearing the end of the galleries I found myself rushing through them from sheer exhaustion. I was so tired that I decided to skip the Experience Gallery, where guests can play many of the instruments that are showcased throughout the museum.

With that said, if you visit the MIM, I recommend that you wear very comfortable shoes and plan on taking a break between the upper and lower levels. I arrived at the museum after lunchtime so I did not have time to take a break. The MIM Coffee Shop and Café is the perfect place to sit down and relax for a few minutes, and you can even enjoy a glass of wine. If you’re taking children and not sure you’ll be able to get through the museum in its entirety, you may want to view the museum layout and decide which galleries you think you-all may enjoy the most and start with those.

In addition to the galleries and café, there is also the MIM Museum Store and MIM Music Theatre—an intimate 299-seat performance venue, where concerts, educational activities, family programs, films, and lectures take place throughout the year. Here is a listing of MIM Concerts through 04.30.11. The lineup is so impressive it’s dizzying.

When you purchase your ticket into the museum you’ll be  provided with a state-of-the-art wireless headset that automatically engages at each display throughout the museum. In addition to being able to hear the instruments that are on display, you’ll also be treated to videos of the instruments being played in their cultural context. From a Burkina Faso xylophone, amplified by gourds and equipped with buzzing devices made of spider egg casings, to an Algerian frame daf drum, similar to a tambourine in construction, MIM’s 10,000+ collection of instruments from around the globe is truly a treat for a musician’s or music lover’s eyes and ears.

I started on the upper level, where the Geo-Galleries and Special Displays are located. The Geo-Galleries showcase instruments from around the world, and the Special Displays showcase iconic American manufacturers, such as Fender Musical Instruments and Steinway & Sons.

I’d be lying if I said I did not dance while exploring the MIM, especially while I was in the Africa section of the Geo-Galleries. As soon as the music started playing I was immediately transported back in time. For five years I danced with a Phoenix-based dance and music performing group called Adzido, under the teaching of Cornelius Kweku Ganyo, a Ghanaian master drummer and dancer. While I was listening to the music and watching the videos showcasing the instruments from Benin, Ghana, and Togo, I could hear Uncle C. K., as he was affectionately known, sharing stories about the traditional dances, instruments, and songs from West Africa. Although Uncle C.K. is no longer living he was definitely with me at the MIM that day.

After talking to several friendly and helpful MIM employees, I learned that guests do indeed engage in dancing and singing, and I was told that some guests are not shy at all with getting their ‘groove on.’ The way I see it, if you’re a fan of music, how can you not dance?

The lower level MIM galleries include The Artist Gallery, The Experience Gallery, The Mechanical Music Gallery (instruments designed to play on their own), The Target Gallery (temporary and touring exhibitions), and The Conservation Lab (a conservation laboratory for musical instruments).

While I was exploring the Geo-Galleries and listening to incredibly beautiful music from around the world, the Olympic Games kept popping into my mind, especially the opening ceremonies when all the athletes from around the world walk into the Olympic Stadium. The MIM is like the Olympics of music, where every country is represented with unique instruments and music deeply rooted in culture and tradition.

Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)

4725 E. Mayo Boulevard

Phoenix, AZ 85050

Main: 480.478.6000

Tickets: 480.478.6001

www.themim.org

Museum Admission:

Adults (18-64) $15

Seniors (65+) $13

Youths (ages 6-17) $10

Children (under age 6) Free

Museum admission and concert tickets sold separately.

Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday 9am-5pm

Thursday and Friday 9am-9pm

Sunday 10am-5pm

Last admittance: One hour before closing time.

Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Hours are subject to change.

Pushover Pizza

12:21pm

I’m starving. I just left my Aunt Patty’s house after a quick visit, and instead of heading to a drive-thru I decided to come home and make a pizza using a tortilla. I found a recipe yesterday that reads incredibly simple. I just turned on my oven to preheat it and I am going to see how long it takes to prepare the pizza from start to finish. Here is my ingredient list: olive oil, red onion, sugar, balsamic vinegar, tortilla, Asiago cheese, ricotta cheese, mushrooms, salt, and black pepper. I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.

Red Onion

12:34pm

Onions are sautéing in the skillet. I could have shaved off a minute or two here but I was distracted by my parchment paper, for lining the baking sheet. I’ve always been amazed that you can put paper in a hot oven.

Assembled Pizza

12:47pm

I just put the assembled pizza in the oven. I wish I had some Italian sausage or pepperoni. I love meat. By the way, the recipe I am following is from Simply Recipes: Ultra-Thin-Crust Pizza with Onions, Mushrooms, and Ricotta. I can always count on Simply Recipes (Elise Bauer) whenever I need to cook a dish that I cannot afford to screw up, based on hunger, funds, time, etc. I’ve screwed up dishes a time or two and I am not a fun person to be around when I have to throw a dish away that I’ve attempted with concerted effort and passion. I once made three lemon meringue pies in a row; I could not get them right. I called my grandmother for advice at least 20 times during the process, and I was crying. I can be dramatic at times but I always have a valid reason when I have a fit. I take cooking seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever prepared a Simply Recipes recipe that I did not ponder in wonderment, ranging from the flavors to the ingredients to the texture. As far as this recipe goes, the only thing I switched out from the ingredient list is the tortilla. Instead of using a flour tortilla I am using a sun-dried tomato basil tortilla. I figured since there is no sauce on the pizza why not?

Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Tortilla

12:57pm

My pizza is out of the oven, just in time: any longer and the edges of the tortilla would have become too baked/burnt for my liking. Click open the photos, for a better look!

Tortilla Pizza

12:59pm

Oh. My. Gawd. Just took my first bite.

1:01pm

I just ate one piece. This pizza is too simple and scrumptious to not make again. If I had had pepperoni or sausage I would have definitely been moaning out loud; next time. I also need to reduce the temperature and time to suit my oven.

That’s it! I’m happy. I avoided the drive-thru and found a new dish to make for a quick weeknight meal. This pizza can be made in less than 30 minutes, and you can use fresh ingredients to suit your taste buds. I know that you can make a frozen pizza within this time frame but I like the idea of using a tortilla: it truly does provide an ultra-thin-crust eating experience. I am a thin crust pizza lover, through and through.

If you try this pizza you’ll understand why I’m calling it ‘pushover pizza.’ It’s an easily accomplished meal that can be assembled and cooked in mere minutes. If you make one let me know what you think.

Sweetness Defined: Schnepf Farms

Organic Peaches from Schnepf Farms

While driving to Schnepf Farms last weekend I wondered how long it had been since I’d gone peach picking. More than 30 years. I was just a girl, but I remember long drives to rural Kansas farms with my grandparents. I also remember the excitement I would experience from being able to help my grandmother pick peaches that I knew would be going into delectable desserts, and mostly I remember the incredible taste and texture of a perfectly ripe peach picked from the tree.

If you’re not in tune with and in control of yourself, the perfectly ripe peach eating experience can turn into an almost animalistic event, triggered by the intoxicating aroma and intensely sweet first bite—juices running down both sides of your mouth, your taste buds chomping at the bit, and your inner carnal hunger driving you finish off the peach as if it’s both your first and last meal. You may make a spectacle of yourself but when it comes to eating a perfect peach no apologies are necessary.

As I pulled into Schnepf Farms’ parking lot I assumed that I would just find my way to the organic orchards and start picking but there was so much more to experience and explore. I met Carrie Schnepf, co-owner of the farm, and she was gracious enough to give me a quick tour of the Country Store & Bakery, where everything from peach pies to peach preserves and pickled garlic to salad dressings can be purchased. Carrie also offered up one of Schnepf Farms’ peach cinnamon rolls. Chunks of soft, succulent peaches were hidden in the bun, taking my cinnamon roll love to a new level of taste and texture appreciation.

Spicy Pickled Garlic from Schnepf Farms

By the time I made it to the orchards, after picking flowers from the U-Pick Garden, I had already decided that I will be going back to Schnepf Farms. The orchards are easily marked, and Schnepf Farms provides you with a small produce box to take with you when picking your organic peaches. You can even pay for your peaches right at the orchard you pick from.

Flowers from Schnepf Farms' U-Pick Garden

I gave some of my peaches to family members, ate several peaches myself then made peach cobbler with what was left. It was my second time making peach cobbler. It will not be my last. Here’s the incredibly easy recipe from Epicurious.

Homemade Peach Cobbler

If you are a peach lover and have never been to Schnepf Farms now’s the time to go because the Arizona peach season is almost complete. Their perfectly ripe peaches are a great way to celebrate the arrival of summer, and they’re great for inspiring creativity in the kitchen. From cereals to salsas to smoothies, peaches sweetly enhance a variety of dishes and drinks. Schnepf Farms’ Country Store & Bakery is open through June 27, and right now, you can pick organic peaches seven days a week, from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Peaches are $1.75 per pound. It’s a great deal for these juicy gems and the Schnepf Farms experience is well worth the drive.

Craving a Classic: The Sloppy Joe

Sloppy Joe

It’s interesting what triggers our food cravings. Sometimes it’s something subtle like flipping through the pages of a magazine and seeing a photo of a grilled steak; noticing someone eating a peach, juices dripping down their chin; smelling the aroma of BBQ in the air; or hearing a voice over the PA system in a grocery store announcing, “Stop by our bakery department for a hot loaf of French bread, fresh out of the oven.” The other day I came across ‘Sloppy Joe’ in my Food Lover’s Companion cooking guide, and I immediately had an intense desire for one.

Sloppy Joes, to me, are not that great but they are quick and easy to prepare, and there is something about the flavor of a Sloppy Joe that reminds me of how much I enjoyed eating them as a child. An American classic, the Sloppy Joe is a kid-friendly sandwich.

Having made my decision to make Sloppy Joes I thought about my options: packaged Sloppy Joe seasoning or canned—Manwich—which I’ve never tasted. But then, I recalled a very short Sloppy Joe article and recipe that I stumbled across in a SAVEUR magazine last year. I googled the keywords and quickly found the article, titled “Sloppy Joes.” Talk about simplicity. The recipe is a version of a 1945 old-timey one titled “Barbecued Ground Beef,” from the vintage cookbook My Best Meat Recipes, from the National Live Stock and Meat Board.

After printing out the recipe and looking at the ingredient list I thought, ‘Really!? This is it? Butter, onion, bell pepper, ground beef, ketchup, mustard, white vinegar, sugar, ground cloves, salt, black pepper, and buns?’ I tried to imagine the flavor of these components combined and cooked but my mind could not register these simple ingredients as the Sloppy Joe I loved so much as a kid, but I’ll be damned, I was wrong. I’ll never buy packaged Sloppy Joe seasoning again, ever.

The vinegar and cloves are the magical ingredients in this Sloppy Joe recipe, and I increased the measurements for both. I did not have ground cloves, only whole, so I smashed a few in my mortal and pestle. One thing I’ve discovered from making this recipe is that I really, really like vinegar. My Sloppy Joe craving was satisfied beyond expectation.

The next time you’re craving a Sloppy Joe, try SAVEUR’s “Sloppy Joes” recipe. You will not be disappointed, and it’s a keeper.

Onions and Peppers

Ground Hamburger

Additional Ingredients

Sloppy Joe

09.12.11 Update: Since I came back to this recipe tonight, I decided to pop in a song so this post will now match my food + music blog theme.

Many times, when I am preparing a dish, I will try and find an association between the dish and my possible choice of music. Whenever I prepare Sloppy Joes I always think about the song “Hey Joe.” Not the popular Jimi Hendrix version, but Buckwheat Zydeco’s version. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and meeting Stanley Dural, Jr. (Buckwheat) a couple of times, and the first time I heard him perform “Hey Joe” I was convinced that he can play any genre of music on his magical accordion.

Sometimes You Gotta Do It …

Cook.

In my book cooking takes effort, and there are definitely nights after working 10+ hour days that I don’t want to plan, prep, cook, and clean. I want to let my hunger lead me to the first fast food sign that I see, and in those instances where I do just that—consume a fast food hamburger or taco—I immediately spew, “Expletive gripe gripe groan expletive groan grumble EXPLETIVE.” You get what you pay for, right?

There are two reasons why I kick myself in the ass to cook: my grandmother and taste buds.

Throughout my childhood my grandmother always prepared home cooked meals, mostly because she and my grandfather had little money and had to feed four hungry mouths. But granny loved to cook, and that woman’s cooking could make your taste buds dance like a happy muppet. So, for her, it was not in vain. I cannot count the number of days when I would walk into the house after school, immediately stop and inhale deeply, trying to guess what was baking, simmering or sautéing in the kitchen. The food was not always healthy but it was immensely flavorful. Great-tasting food pampered my 10,000 taste buds, and today, if it comes down to it, I would rather spend money on a great meal than buy myself a new outfit.

I’m thankful for and inspired by the devotion my grandmother had to preparing and cooking homemade meals. Even before going to work every day (M-F, for 10+ hours), as a dishwasher and pastry maker at a small truck stop cafe, my grandmother would have already prepared numerous pie crusts (for pies which she would finish making at the cafe) and a meal that my grandfather could re-heat or finish preparing for me and my siblings. Sunday was my favorite day as a child because my grandmother did not work on Sundays, which usually meant a big down-home meal like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, buttermilk biscuits, chocolate pie … you get the idea. Love was abundant in our small kitchen. My grandmother LOVED to cook, and we LOVED to eat her food.

Between the memories of my grandmother’s meals and my job—I write about food for an advertising agency—there is always a dish floating around in my mind that I want to prepare.

Tonight’s meal starred the Vidalia onion. I love the Vidalia onion, and even more than loving the actual Vidalia onion, I love the fact that they are only produced in 20 counties in southeast Georgia. Vidalia onions are truly special and I daydream about going to the Vidalia Onion Festival. Some kids want to go to Disneyland to meet Mickey Mouse; I want to go to the Vidalia Onion Festival to meet Yumion, the official mascot.

Here is a photo of my meal tonight, with the recipe for Buttermilk Shoestring Onion Rings following. My hamburger wasn’t anything out of the ordinary; I seasoned it with salt and pepper then pan-fried. Even a simple, homemade hamburger tastes more flavorful than a fast food one. I toasted a Kaiser roll, slapped on a piece of leaf lettuce, added the burger, then topped the burger with Stubb’s Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce before placing the onion rings on top. Right now I am typing this blog post and looking into my kitchen. I’m not looking forward to doing the dishes and cleaning the flour off of the counter but my taste buds are happy, and that makes the clean up worth the work.

Hamburger with Buttermilk Shoestring Onion Rings

Buttermilk Shoestring Onion Rings

Ingredients

• 1 quart peanut oil
• 2 cups buttermilk
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1-2 Vidalia onions, trimmed, peeled then sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices, rings separated

Preparation

Place peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed, large stockpot; heat over medium heat. Line a large plate with paper towels; set aside. While peanut oil heats, pour buttermilk into a large bowl; season with salt and pepper then set aside. Place flour in a large bowl, season with salt, pepper and cayenne then divide flour between 2 large plates. Working in batches, dredge some of the onion rings in the flour of one of the plates; tap excess flour off. Dip dredged onions rings in buttermilk, allow excess buttermilk to drip off then dredge the onion rings in the second plate of flour, evenly coating the rings. Tap off excess flour then carefully place dredged onion rings in the hot oil. Fry rings, turning every now and then, until tender and golden, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer cooked onion rings to paper towel-lined plate; season immediately with salt. Repeat process until all of the onion rings are cooked.

Onion Rings in Buttermilk

Flour Dredged Onion Rings

Buttermilk Shoestring Onion Rings

For the Love of Music

I need to preface this post by saying that my grandparents raised me from the time I was 6 months old.

My grandparents did not look like the musical types at all. My grandmother, a short, stocky Mexican woman, looked like she could punch out your lights. My grandfather, a broad-shouldered Mexican man, was very quiet and spoke in broken English. Without knowing them, I’m sure they looked like your typical elderly Mexican couple but they were enormous country music lovers.

The radio in our small kitchen was set to KFDI for as many years as I can remember and played throughout the day, every day. At night my grandmother would turn on her bedside transistor radio and fall asleep to country music. Hearing music, day in and day out, definitely planted a musical seed inside of me. But that was just the seed.

My grandparents also took me and my siblings to music festivals every year. From the age of, say, 6 until I was 15 I had already experienced the live shows of George Jones, Mel Tillis, Charlie Pride, Charlie Rich, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, The Oak Ridge Boys, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t standing in front of the stage listening to and watching these artists like a typical music fan would normally be doing at a concert. I was more than likely off in the grass kicking a ball or sitting far away from the stage with my grandparents, eating fresh slices of juicy watermelon—we always packed a cooler loaded with the best drinks and foods any kid could ever want.

I’m not sure if my grandparents took me and my siblings to the music festivals because they wanted to see the artists or they thought it was a good family activity to take a group of wild kids to, for wearing them out. I ponder this at times because I certainly never begged to go see Johnny Cash as a child. Today, looking back on those experiences … they’re priceless.

So from hearing music piped through the radio to experiencing music live the seed inside of me grew, and I’m certain that that is why music is such an important element in my life today. I was exposed to live music on a continuous basis, and it seeped into my soul. Today I do not limit my music listening experiences to just country but it will always have a special place in my heart. I weave back and forth from country to every other genre of music that I love.

One band that I recently discovered that always stirs those precious childhood memories inside of me is The Avett Brothers. I’m not 100% sure why The Avett Brothers take me back to my childhood, considering their first full album Country Was was released in 2002, but I think it’s their song lyrics combined with the sounds of bluegrass, country, folk, honky tonk, rock and roll, and punk. They’re a mish mosh of some of my favorite genres, and if you ever get the chance to see them live I recommend that you buy your ticket and go! You will not be disappointed. Some of their songs—sincere and story-like—touch on faith, family and goodness. Some of their songs remind me how thankful I am that I was raised by two selfless, adoring people. Two people who were able to pass on their love of music to me, in innocent, non intrusive ways.

This Avett Brothers song, Tear Down the House, definitely takes me back home.

The Avett Brothers, The Rialto Theatre, Tucson, AZ, 04.23.10