Eating Art, even if it is Simply Silly.

Yesterday morning I made one of my favorite breakfasts.  It's a simple meal of a toasted, buttered Thomas' Bagel Thins (everything flavor) and scrambled eggs; usually the eggs are plain (just added in half n' half, salt and pepper), but I wanted ketchup on them this morning.  I placed the bagel thins and eggs on the plate, went to get my coffee and came back to see...well here it is:

To me, it looked like the funniest face I have ever seen on a breakfast plate; I couldn't help but laugh at it.  I had to grab the camera and take a photo and name it the "Goofy Eyed Breakfast".  It tasted the same as usual, and yet I seemed to enjoy it more because of the fun of it.

Then I remembered a photo I had taken awhile back of a salad I had made. It was my team's turn to make a meal for our monthly meetings and I chose to do the salad. I asked if I should bring things separately, so everyone could make their's own up, but was told no, just mix it all together. I considered what items I knew most of my coworkers enjoyed and what was very disliked. However, as I mulled it over I knew I just couldn't throw it all into a large bowl and produce chaos. What I presented was, as quoted by some of the ladies, "too pretty to eat", but eat they did and it was very much enjoyed.

Basically this was "Salad Art" and consisted of:

2 bags of romaine mix (contained shredded carrot and purple cabbage)
1 bag of spring mix

These were mixed together before I topped it off with colorful rows of:

yellow cherry tomatoes
cucumber slices (peeled the cucumber)
shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
light red kidney beans
wax beans

There was an assortment of salad dressings and once we finally dug into the salad; well it was quite delicious and satisfying to all.

Eating should satisfy the senses, not just the gnawing of the stomach.  So give your eyes a sight and create artwork with your food.

Mary Cokenour

Pillsbury Grands Breakfast Sandwich Doesn't Satisfy.

 

When I saw the television commercial for Pillsbury's new Grands Biscuit microwaveable sandwich, I thought, "great, something I can make quick when I'm in a rush.  Yes, it's quick to make, but disappointing when it comes to taste and texture. 

Inside the box are two packages; within each package is an open biscuit with chopped up pieces of scrambled egg and bacon on top of each.  There's supposed to be cheese, but it is very hard to see.  The instructions on the back of the box state the product should be microwaved while still frozen, and gives heating times dependent on the power of the microwave itself.

Test number one:  as stated on box, took product out of plastic wrapper, set on microwave safe dish, heated at the appropriate temperature and time.  Conclusion: so this is what hockey pucks taste like with eggs, bacon and cheese on them.  The biscuits did not fluff up and become flaky as insinuated on the commercial; the eggs and bacon were hard and tasteless, but a good dose of ketchup gave it flavor.  However, after the second bite, the rest of the sandwich ended up in the trash.

Test number two: let the second package defrost in the refrigerator; followed rest of the instructions but cut the cooking time in half due to its not being frozen any longer.  The biscuit was softer, but wet and mushy; however the eggs, bacon and cheese cooked up better; it still needed a good dose of ketchup though.

Overall opinion: this product is something I would not purchase or try again; I certainly would not recommend it to anyone.

Conclusion: best to give myself extra time in the morning and cook up my own all American breakfast of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and buttermilk biscuits.  For the scrambled eggs, add one tablespoon of half and half for every two eggs, a dash of salt and pepper and some shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Here you go Pillsbury, a breakfast worth all the time and work to prepare it. As to something quick when I'm in a rush, still working on that one.

Mary Cokenour