Birthday Food

Last year I took pictures of what I ate on my birthday and posted them on Facebook. It was fun. I mean I am plenty critical of Facebook but my birthday was an example of a good thing. All day long I got messages from friends. Friends from every phase of my life. And then I'd post a picture of a meal and get likes and it was just fun. I did it again today.

I always want eggs for breakfast. Always. Sometimes I eat yogurt in the summer and oatmeal in the winter but I mostly eat eggs. I also always want triple cream and I only eat it on special days.  It's asking a lot of my ageing digestive system to eat eggs and toast and then triple cream and toast so I had the latter for breakfast last year and it worked out very well. This year I had it again. I like St Andre but I've been getting Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam. It's so good. Crunchy  Acme bread, peaches, strawberries and coffee. Great start to the day.

I had to wash an inch of dust of off my martini glass. I think the last time I used it was on my birthday last year. I really like the taste of alcohol. Always have. And I drink top shelf. Bombay Sapphire when it comes to gin. But today I added the smallest amount of pomegranate juice in the gin. I always get a twist in my martinis but I do like olives on the side. Creminelli Barolo. Lovely snack. 

This picture kind of cracks me up. It does reflect the blur in my vision after the snack. I used to always want lobster on my birthday. In fact I didn't really eat red meat until I was in my forties. I'm not sure if it was a hormone shift but I became meat obsessed in my forties. I still eat it as a special thing. Watercress is my green of choice and I've developed a taste for breakfast radishes recently. A glass of Pinot. Funny. There was a time when it would have been a bottle. 

And. Of course. Cake and ice cream. Chocolate cake. Vanilla ice cream. Still in the plastic clam shell. Happy birthday to me. 

  

Just Another Bowl

Dinner. Starts with a spring onion and pork loin in olive oil in a pan. Then the kale. After a minute I put in some chicken stock (water if I don't have stock around ) and a hand full of peas. I added a slab-o-feta tonight for creaminess. I've been eating a version of this two or three times a week for a month or so. The protein changes. I use Bruce's stuff a lot. Sometimes Grana. Sometimes chard instead of kale. Peas are a recent addition since the season has just arrived.

Still thinking about food in Gabrielle terms although I will probably never eat the way she does. She says she eats when she's hungry, is never ashamed of anything she eats and doesn't understand things ideas like comfort food. However she clearly understands how comforting food can be. 

The last section is about her trips to Italy to visit her in-laws. She mentions parmesan omelets several times. I'd never thought about parm for an omelet. I don't really eat that many omelets. I tried it and it was good. She also used mayo instead of butter to make a grilled cheese sandwich. I am very curious about that.

She doesn't like food blogs because she's always seeing bad grammar, syntax and spelling. 

Yes. 

Well.

I don't like that many food blogs myself but mostly because they're boring. 

And this one is  no doubt boring. 

Heh.      

Gabrielle

I do not want to finish this book. I'm enjoying it too much. I think it's a good enough read for anyone but if you've worked in a restaurant it's like meeting your new best friend. I was trying to finish it today but after reading for awhile I Googled her and watched videos of her in her kitchen. I recommend it.
Eventually I got hungry. I chopped a Spring onion in a bowl. Dumped in a can of tuna. Swack of mayo. Squirt of mustard. I was sad because I had no celery. Happy because I had lemon. Tossed in a large handful of watercress and chopped in some breakfast radishes, which added the missing celery crunch. I've been experimenting with not eating carbs in the evening in deference to my cranky digestion and it does seem to help.  But I was really hungry so I made a piece of toast. Grabbed a handful of cherries and went back for more Gabrielle.
On Saturdays Debbie takes me to shop. Every week I buy what Acme ciabatta so I can make French toast on Sundays. I like it because of the crust to bread ration. I slice off a chuck and slice that the way you would if you were making a sandwich. So there's a lot of chewiness. But before that, on Saturday night I slice off a small piece of the end and eat it with butter. It's a risk because it's carbs and fats in the evening and sometimes my digestion gives me trouble but I can't resist when the bread is fresh. I was thinking about it when I ate my toast. I was thinking about the difference between cold butter and fresh bread and butter melted on warm toast. Both good. I'm thinking about these things because of how she writes.
Gabrielle writes a lot about eggs. People making eggs. Eating eggs. Cooking eggs. I love her desire to feed people with good solid well made food. The food you remember. Food that comes from your life and experience.
I just do not want to finish the book.