Breakfast the Easy Way

My girlfriend JennySwirl came to visit last weekend and we were psyched. We had plenty of things scheduled...dinner Friday night with my boyfriend, a trip to the city to see the Biennial at the Whitney, she had some special Egoscue exercises she wanted me to learn. Well...trust me...we were looking forward to all this.

But mostly it was a chance to get together and talk -- uninterrupted -- that made us so happy. Mostly. My next concern was -- "what am I going to serve"??? How can I relax and have fun if I'm fussing in the kitchen and doing dishes?

The answer -- "don't fuss." Things took care of themselves and this is how:

We went to dinner to this place that serves mega-meals. I mean it, the portions are enormous with calorie counts in the thousands and that's per dish! No wonder American's are so overweight. My sweetheart ordered the meatloaf dinner and I ordered a roasted eggplant dish. Both were very tasty but nothing to write home about. The Swirly one ordered a miso-salmon meal that was incredible. And, here's the best thing, there was plenty left over.

So, we wrapped up the extra salmon and the extra bread from the basket (also yummy, brown multi-grain) and the following morning, served it up with cream cheese and a bowl of fresh strawberries, raspberries and bananas. Add a pot of fresh coffee and we were set! Plenty of time for exercises! H'mmm...next time, I'll reconsider this part of the plan. Still, putting the seriously large dinner portion to good use -- for a second meal -- was a time saver and a waist saver. We even made it to the Whitney...but that's another story altogether.

Cheddar Cheese Muffins

Sometimes you just don't feel like cooking...at least, that's the case with me. Whatever the reason -- too tired, cranky, not hungry, forgot to go food shopping...you get the point -- there's still a way to make these meals less hum-drum if you plan ahead or can muster the energy to make this tasty side dish.

I first discovered these while shopping with my mother at Lord & Taylor. They have a little restaurant there and these muffins were excellent with a cup of tea. Now I enjoy them at home with soup, a salad, some turkey or ham or simply with a cup of tea. I guarantee you'll make these over and over again.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Dash fresh ground black pepper
1 cup (4oz) coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese*
1 large egg
3 - 4 tbs spicy prepared mustard**
1 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted


Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or use foil/paper baking cups.

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients -- flour, baking powder, salt & pepper in large bowl.

Add cheese, tossing to distribute evenly (some people use their fingers to toss...I leave this decision up to you)

Whisk egg and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk in milk and butter. Pour over flour/cheese mixture. Fold gently until dry ingredients are just moistened.

Scoop batter into muffing cups & bake 20 to 25 minutes or until springy to the touch in center. Turn out onto rack to cool.

*The beauty of this recipe is that you can alter it depending on what you have at home. Substitute cheddar for Monterey Jack or prepackaged mozzarella & asiago cheese...as long as you can "grate" the cheese, this recipe should work. Avoid cheese like brie or ricotta.
**Also, use any mustard you have on hand -- honey mustard, spicy mustard, etc. Salsa can also be used as long as it's not too runny. The idea is to use what's on hand as long as they're ingredients that you'd enjoy eating anyway.