Scattered Thoughts . . .

I made a single fairly large pancake for breakfast this morning.  I actually wanted one of these pancakes last night around dinnertime after our afternoon out in Montpelier but I didn't have the energy to make anything.  After thinking about one of these pancakes all night long, I knew I'd be making one of these this morning though... I came up with this recipe a year or two ago and refined it to today's recipe by the time I made it  the third time.  Since then, I've come up with a recipe to make blueberry compote to go along with it which I make if we have decent fresh blueberries on hand but that is rare.  Today was not one of those elusive days. Unfortunately,  "decent" and "fresh" are two things we don't really get here in our neck of the woods when it comes to fruit and vegetables so I rarely make this compote.  Today, we just had some butter and maple syrup as toppings. While I was refining this recipe the first few times I made them, I kne...

W henever Sheila and I are in Manhattan and are looking for a place to eat breakfast, we always head to Pershing Square.  The breakfast here is consistently delicious.  Even Lukey and Kenzie love it!  This was their second visit to this restaurant. I had a perfectly prepared omelette (and I'm pretty picky about my eggs).  I also had a glass of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.  Lukey and Kenzie had freshly squeezed orange juice with their breakfast.  The freshly squeezed juices are incredible! Lukey and Sheila had the French Toast on Challah bread which is delicious.  If I remember correctly, Kenzie had a fresh fruit bowl for breakfast... The main purpose of our visit to Manhattan was to visit FAO Schwarz.  Lukey and Kenzie had never been there.  Actually, we found out that they didn't even know this toy store existed because they had never seen the movie "Big".  Anyway, we still had a little time to kill before FAO Schwarz opened so we...

W e had planned to go to a rather unique diner after skating at Bryant Park during our trip to Manhattan at Christmastime.  Actually, we had each of our meals planned for our entire trip, even our breakfasts.  After skating at Bryant park, we walked the few blocks to this diner on Broadway only to find that the line to get into the diner was wrapped around the building and then, as we peered around the corner, we noticed the line was more than a block long!  Instead of waiting on that very long line in the brutal wind and frigid temperatures, we headed to Junior's diner one or two blocks closer to Times Square.  We had only a 10 minute wait there so we had breakfast there.   Skating at Bryant Park was later than our skating reservation at Rockefeller Center so, by the time we left Bryant Park, we were well into the busy time for breakfast.  I was hoping we would still be early enough to avoid the big crowds but we were not!  Fortunately, I had a f...

I 've been waking up pretty hungry lately.  I'm not sure why but it may have to do with taking so many extra H1 blockers.  Those class of medications tend to make people very hungry.  Whatever the reason, I've been hungry in the morning so I have been making larger breakfasts for myself. This morning, I made some French Toast with fresh raspberries and some bacon on the side... Breakfast was delicious but this wears me out.  I slept for two hours or more after cleaning up all the dishes from breakfast.  This caused me to miss lunch. The other problem with these big breakfasts is they won't be helping my cholesterol levels at all!  It hit the spot this morning though.

N either Sheila nor I were eating much over the past week while dealing with funeral arrangements, the funeral home and the funeral.  Now that all of that is behind us, I just can't seem to eat enough to make up for the past week! Last night I made a big dinner...  grilled ribeye steaks for each of us, fried onion rings and broccoli with fresh garlic, olive oil and lemon.  That hit the spot but I was still famished when I awoke this morning.  We both slept about 11 hours last night too trying to make up for a few months of very little sleep particularly the past week or two. This morning, I decided to make home fries, bacon, and eggs Benedict.  Oh...  and I made some coffee for the first time since my hospital visit in January.  This breakfast was delicious and hit the spot!

I was intending to make some homemade home fries, bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast followed by some fried apples but I was too hungry to make such a large meal.  I needed to eat as soon as possible so I changed my breakfast plan to having French toast, berries, and bacon.  It was easier to make, would require less energy, require less energy, and it turned out to be delicious! This breakfast really has nothing to do with Ireland but it was a good breakfast that was easy to make.  The food of Ireland will come later today. After lunch, I'll be baking some homemade Irish Soda Bread.  That is something both Sheila and I really like.  My Irish Soda Bread is softer than most and definitely more moist that typical store-bought Irish Soda Bread.  I also make some sweet butter to go with it.  It is really like a dessert dish.  I sort of has a cake-like texture to it but it is crusty like a bread.   After the bread goes in the oven, I'll clea...

I made something a little different for breakfast this morning.  We had the usual things like coffee, toast, bacon and home fries but I also made Eggs Poblano.  I have to say that it was pretty good and, even though it is a dish that is moderately spicy, Sheila liked it too.   Eggs Poblano is a poblano pepper cut in half with an egg nestled inside it.  It is then topped with diced ham, some chopped poblano pepper, and shredded cheese and fried, covered, in a pan.   Anyway, it turned out to be a nice change for breakfast!

The kids and Nan and Pop decided to stop by Sunday morning to bring us some cider donuts for breakfast.  I warmed up the grill while Sheila pulled out the cinnamon sugar so we'd be ready when they arrived.   We warmed up the donuts on the grill and they were delicious!  We had some apple cider as well.   Since the skies were clear in the morning, I set up one of my solar telescopes so we could view the sun.  There were no sunspots so the sun was a featureless disk but it was nice to peer through the scope anyway... As always, Lukey and Kenzie took turns shooting with two of my cameras and they did a pretty good job.  This particular day was a bit more difficult for them though since the sun was high and bright.  They managed to get a few keepers though... I'm not sure when this was but, apparently, mommy took a short nap... Donuts for breakfast led to some hot dogs on the grill for lunch.  Sometime ...

While in Springfield every year for the train show, until recently, we always attempted to find edible food at the hotel each morning. This proved to be a very bad idea every year!  Even putting aside my health issues when eating anything less than fresh food, it was always difficult finding anything satisfying to eat at this free breakfast buffet (a 'buffet' is enough to turn me off... food sitting out where every stranger in the hotel can touch it as it gets cold = very bad idea) so Sheila and I decided to start a new tradition... breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. We started going to The Cracker Barrel last year because I simply could not stomach another bite of the garbage they call breakfast at the hotel. Once I brought Sheila to The Cracker Barrel, there was no turning back! This year, two other couples joined us for breakfast. Everything... and I mean everything... was delicious! The biscuits were warm, soft and buttery... the bacon was smoked, thick and crisp.....

Dark Chocolate Bark... not quite done yet... it needs another layer of dark chocolate... We've begun our food prep for Christmas Day...  Sheila started with making some candy... a Dark Chocolate Bark with Candied Orange Peel, Pistachios and Dried Cranberries.  This is the first time Sheila has made this but I'm sure it will be good. That being said, we did encounter some minor issues so we'll make a few minor changes the next time we make it.   I par-boiled a bunch of potatoes for a big pan of Home Fries for tomorrow morning's breakfast... it will have the usual mix of green peppers, onion, bacon and some spices. This evening, I'll be preparing a Breakfast Egg Casserole. I've made this casserole the past few Christmases and I adapt it each year. This year, the bottom crust will be flavored French Toast bread... and the casserole will contain chunks of sausage, ham, green peppers, and cheese... an egg mixture poured over it... refrigerated overnight......

After my usual morning physical therapy and exercise session this morning, I was ready for lunch... well... I was in the mood for brunch today rather than my usual dinner-like lunch.  For those who don't know, lunch is typically my big meal of the day. Since I wasn't in the mood for my usual heavy dinner-like lunch, I looked for something else to make today... So, I chose to make some hash browns, hickory smoked bacon, french toast and coffee. That really hit the spot! Now, let me get back to my coffee...