WIAW: The Best Of Edition

Hey, hey, hey. You’re back for another round of What I Ate Wednesday. Aren’t I a lucky girl; I sure do appreciate all the love. To thank you, I’m going to pass along my favorite eats from the past few days. A breakfast here, a lunch there, you get the idea. Sadly, not every meal of every day is a complete breakout star, so I’m kind of cheating here (at least I’m honest about it) and sharing just my favorites. I’ll skip back into mediocrity next week, and if I’m moving, I’m gonna be skipping or bee-boppin’ my way there.

Before we get started, I have to recognize Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for hosting our wild Wednesday fun. Her sense of humor is right up my alley and maybe more raunchy than my own, and her food, my god her food, is sinfully delicious and pretty much picture perfect. So raise your glass to the hostess with the most-est, Ms. Jenn…and the crowd goes wild.

Let’s the festivities begin.

My Sunday breakfast was, bar none, the best I’ve had in a while. With my lovely new olive oil and fancy pants garlic (does this phrase automatically make you not fancy), I whipped up a batch of Pesto using a recipe provided by my momma. She borrowed it from a guy named Mr. James Beard, so yeah, it’s good (and spelled out at the end of this post). I think he might even have something named after him. I’m pretty sure I saw it on Top Chef, or maybe this James Beard is the guy who lives four acres over and whittles walking sticks out of trees. In either case, Mr. Beard’s pesto is crack-a-licous (my new word which loosely translates to super delicious and as addicting as crack; run with it). With fresh pesto in hand, I warmed up an Asiago baguette from the Breadsmith. I can’t rave enough about this place; I heart them. I also busted out a four egg omelette (yolks and all) with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and a touch of pesto. I washed the whole thing down with a mimosa (Mmmm, mimosa). I wish every day started like this, except I would never leave the house and probably turn into a lush, so yeah, every once in a while is probably best.

On Saturday, I wanted to try something different for lunch. I was feeling pizza, but I also wanted to put a dent in my CSA produce. We had gotten Bok Choy, which I have never cooked with before and approximately a zillion green beans. This is a rough estimate, but I’m pretty sure this number is in the ballpark.

I was torn (not literally because that would be painful) between pizza and my CSA bounty when I decided, “Why can’t I have it all.” To hell with the norm. So I made pizza with bok choy, carrots, garlic, green beans, and a hungarian hot pepper (Hooray for alphabetical order). To borrow a line from Laura (who is going to rock her new shoes), sounds strange, tastes good. Damn good.

Let me break it down: I sautéed all my ingredients with some olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. This lovely concoction became my “sauce,” which I added to a whole wheat roasted garlic crust and topped with freshly shredded mozzarella, a touch of parmesan, a smidge of Asiago and a splash of red pepper flakes. Holy hell Batman; it was good. Like really, really good. And the Hubby, who said he would “just eat a sandwich” when I mentioned what I was cooking, loved it too. So much so, there was a scuffle over the leftovers the next day. I won, of course, but we’re both slightly damaged (wink, wink). Check out this pie (ignoring its awkward shape since I can’t roll out a circle); it was phe-nom-e-nal.

And just when I thought life couldn’t get any better, I went ahead and scarfed some Coconut Crusted French Toast for dinner last night. “Oui, oui,” she says with a fag in one hand and a croissant in the other. Cinnamon french toast is a classic from my childhood because it was one of the few things I could cook, so I added a coconut twist because the Hubby likes the stuff, and me, I like to mix things up. A dance party ensued and then we sat down to breakfast for dinner; a favorite of mine.

Pesto for breakfast, coconut french toast for dinner; I know how to rage.

Last, but most certainly not least, I’ve been snacking on these mini-morsels which couple two of my favorite flavors: peanut butter and chocolate. More on these delightful little delicacies later.

What are some of your favorite foods from childhood ? Do you want to join my food revolution where we eat breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast (Fight the power. Down with the man)?

Pesto from James Beard

Ingredients

• 4 cups basil, packed
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3 large garlic cloves, preferably of the fancy pants variety
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Mix everything, but the parmesan cheese, in a food processor until thoroughly pureed.
2. Add cheese to mix and pulse some more.
3. Enjoy with fresh bread, crackers, eggs or whatever you want to smother in a green cheesy garlic sauce.