Camp Dorothy Off to a Rocky Start

Posted on May 17, 2013 by jphilo

Camp Dorothy is the place to be after a rocky start yesterday. Late Thursday morning, Mom and I thought we had the world by the tail after the doctor’s office completed her appointment and blood draw in record, painless time. We hopped in the car and headed to Ames for lunch.

Mom wanted to go to a restaurant that serves breakfast because a) she hadn’t eaten breakfast because the doc wanted a fasting blood draw, and b) she always wants to eat breakfast when we go out. Mom was practically salivating when we entered the Ames establishment, which shall remain nameless, at noon. We were seated quickly, and things went downhill from there.

When the waitress brought our coffee, she brought only one cup and a pot full of decaf for me. Nothing for Mom because, the waitress explained, they’d just started a new pot of regular. It would be done in a jiffy.
Then she said a different waitress was taking over our table.
Five minutes later, when the new waitress came to take our order, she didn’t bring Mom’s coffee. Mom looked as pathetic as possible while I explained how hungry AND THIRSTY my frail, elderly mother was. Our histronics made little impression on the waitress.
Five minutes later, Mom finally got coffee.
Five minutes after that, our orders came, and we dug in.
One minute later, I realized the cheese hadn’t been left off my salad as requested.
One minute after that, the waitress took my food back to the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, my new salad arrived just as Mom finished her meal.
While Mom watched me eat, she decided the strawberry-rhubarb piekin pictured on the table display looked mighty tasty, so she flagged down the waitress and ordered one for each of us.
Five minutes later, the strawberry-rhubarb piekins made us forget all about the rocky start to Camp Dororthy. While we ate them, we decided to go to breakfast at The Dutch Oven Bakery in Boone on Friday morning.

Because the camp director decided breakfast is the obvious theme for for this session of Camp Dorothy. To paraphrase what my then three-year-old son said to his daddy the first time they walked to the bottom of a roadside ditch to pee, “Camp Dorothy is gonna be fun!”

Sunday Morning Brunch Egg Bake

Posted on June 6, 2012 by jphilo

Hiram’s health issues put the kabosh of our annual trek to Idaho Family Camp in July. I’ve been thinking about the good food we’ll be missing this summer. My favorite meal is Sunday morning brunch, which is an extravaganza of homemade sweet rolls, fresh fruit plates, and egg bakes.

Perhaps it’s just as well we won’t be there this year, as I’m not sure my non-dairy will power is great enough to resist the egg bakes quite yet. Maybe by July 2013, the recently begun desensitizing treatment will have kicked in, and I’ll be able to indulge once again…in moderation. Until then, I hope you and your family enjoy this Sunday Morning Brunch Egg Bake recipe.

Sunday Morning Brunch Egg Bake

The night before brunch, cook:

1 pound chopped bacon, OR
1 pound crumbled sausage, OR
1 pound cubed ham

Grease a 9 X 13 pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Then line pan with:

6 – 8 slices of bread with crusts removed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Sprinkle meat over cheese, then mix together:

1 dozen eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk

Pour eggs and milk over bread, cheese, and meat.

Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until done.

Breakfast Salad? Are You Kidding Me?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by jphilo

When I read the name of recipe in USA Weekend Magazine the weekend before Mother’s Day, my reaction was…breakfast salad? Are you kidding me? But a quick skim of the ingredients showed the recipe met the requirements for our healthy eating checklist:

Non-dairy for me √
No sugar for Hiram √
Lots of veggies for both of us √
High protein for high exercise days √
Easy to make √
Easy to substitute ingredients √

So last night, we tried the recipe – turning it into supper salad by serving it with baguette on the side – and it immediately received the coveted Hiram seal of approval. Not a wow-this-is-good seal of approval. But a wow-how-soon-will-you-serve-this-again seal of approval. Yup, it was that good. Don’t take my word for it, though. Try it and leave a comment about your family’s reaction to breakfast salad…any time of day.

Breakfast Salad

8 slices Canadian bacon (original recipe called for 4, but no way would Hiram go for that)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice (original recipe called for balsamic vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups lightly packed, washed baby spinach leaves (about 8 ounces)
1/2 cup sweet red, orange, or yellow pepper thinly sliced (original recipe calls for 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half)
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

Cook Canadian bacon in lightly oiled skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning once. Remove from skillet and cut into 1/2″ strips. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Place spinach leaves and sweet peppers into a large serving bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat evenly. Spoon spinach/sweet pepper mix evenly onto four dinner plates. Top each serving with 1/4 of egg and Canadian bacon. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Posted on May 2, 2012 by jphilo

My husband quit eating sugary foods a couple months ago for health reasons. His decision meant I needed to come up with a new method of preparing and serving pancakes, another one of our favorite breakfast-for-supper meals. Therefore, I was delighted when a recipe for blueberry buckwheat pancakes was published in the February 3 – 5 edition of USA Weekend Magazine. When I served them, we were both delighted to discover they were delicious and satisfying. You’ll be delighted to know the recipe received the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval. Rock on!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

3/4 cup buckwheat flour (I ground buckwheat groats in my coffee grinder)
3/4 cup whole grain pastry flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup non-fat milk (I left this out as I prefer a thick batter)
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable, corn, or canola oil

3 cups fresh or (thawed) frozen blueberries (I used 1 1/2 cups frozen berries, thawed)

In large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl beat together the buttermilk, milk, honey, eggs, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine into a lumpy batter. Fold in one cup of the blueberries.

Use a 1/4 cup measure to ladle batter onto a hot, non-stick griddle or seasoned electric skillet. Flip the pancakes when the top is riddled with bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Serve with remaining blueberries (our frozen blueberries created a good deal of juice, so we used it too) and maple syrup.

Between the blueberries and their juice, the pancakes were naturally sweet. I used only a tablespoon of maple syrup on my stack and Hiram used none at all. If you give the recipe a try, leave a comment about how it worked for your family.

Skillet Breakfast…Or Supper

Posted on March 28, 2012 by jphilo

skillet breakfast 300x199 Skillet Breakfast...Or Supper

Work schedules and morning routines make hot, hearty breakfasts a rarity at our house. So I satiate the hankering for a good, old-fashioned farm breakfast by serving it for supper. One of our breakfast-for-supper faves is this ~~skillet breakfast~~ supper which I don’t make very often because it’s an artery clogger.

I wouldn’t have thought to post on this blog. Except for Hiram. The last time I put the hot skillet on the table, he said, “Aren’t you going to take a picture of it for your blog?” and refused to dig in until I did. So thanks to Hiram, enjoy the photo and the recipe for our favorite breakfast-for-supper dish.

Quite a guy, don’t you think?

Skillet Breakfast…Or Supper

6 medium potatoes
1/4 – 1/2 pound bacon
1 cup chopped onion
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Peel the potatoes, wash, quarter and boil in water for 15 – 20 minutes until tender. Drain, cool, and slice or grate into hash browns.

While potatoes are cooking, slice bacon into bite-sized pieces. In an iron skillet, fry until crisp over medium-high heat. Put on paper toweling to drain. Pour off bacon grease, leaving 2 tablespoons in the skillet.

Break eggs into bowl. Pour in milk and scramble well.

Saute onion in iron skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and add sliced potatoes or shredded hash browns. Fry for 5 minutes, then flip potatoes with spatula. Pour eggs over all, turn heat down to low, and cover. Fry for 10 – 15 minutes, checking now and then to be sure bottom isn’t burning. If bottom is getting brown, flip the potato/onion/egg mixture with spatula.

When eggs are set, sprinkle top with grated cheese and cover skillet until cheese melts. Remove lid, sprinkle bacon on top, and serve.

Three Thoughts for Thursday

Posted on March 22, 2012 by jphilo

A rocking case of laryngitis provided oodles of hours for quiet contemplation since last weekend. Thanks to all that introspection, you get to ~~suffer through~~ reap the rewards in this week’s three thoughts for Thursday.

Adult children find speaker phone conversations with their parents get a bit draggy when the talkative parent has laryngitis and the quiet parent, whose vocal chords are intact, prefers nodding to speaking whenever possible.
It’s parent-teacher conference week in our town, a stressful time for parents, teachers, and kids. As a parent, you can diffuse the stress by starting the conference with two simple words: thank you.
My friend Clare at NanaClaresKitchen.com has joined my oatmeal-as-its-own-food-group campaign by posting a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal. She calls it a low-cal version of no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. That’s my kind of breakfast. What’s yours?

Old-fashioned Oatmeal…Deserves Its Own Food Group

Posted on March 14, 2012 by jphilo

IMG 0446 300x200 Old fashioned Oatmeal...Deserves Its Own Food Group

A few weeks ago, I claimed to be done sharing new recipes we tried when the kids were all home for Christmas. But I forgot about this simple breakfast recipe – with oatmeal as its main ingredient – that was a big hit.

Again, it’s a recipe from the internet, chosen because:

It made the right amount.
It used evaporated milk, and there was a 1/2 can of the stuff in the fridge waiting to be used.
It looked easy.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe whose main ingredient is oatmeal, the grain that deserves a food group all its own…

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal

2 1/2 cups water
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups dry, old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 5 ounce can evaporated milk ( or slightly more than 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar, to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add salt.

Stir constantly while gradually adding oatmeal. Continue stirring while adding cinnamon and first 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook for one minute, then add evaporated milk. Continue stirring until mixture returns to a boil.

Pour into bowls. Top with butter and brown sugar to taste.

Omelet in a Bag

Posted on August 18, 2010 by jphilo

As the school year starts, one of the best things parents can give their kids is a good breakfast. Of course, that’s easier said than done with crazy schedules. But this recipe is so fun it might capture your kids’ interest and appetites, even on a busy school day. Or use it for a quick supper, breakfast after a sleep over.

I first encountered it at Family Camp this summer. It’s a great camp meal, too, and the cooks have these suggestions:

Use no more than two eggs per bag.
Use new Ziplock bags, not ones stored for a long time.
Squeeze all the air out of the bag while zipping it shut.
Since uncooked egg and melting cheese look similar, add cheese after cooking so it’s easier to know when the eggs are done.
If fixing these on a school morning, chop veggies, cook bacon, and shred cheese the night before.

Omelets in a Bag

Fill a large saucepan with water and heat to boiling. While water is heating, put two eggs in a Ziplock sandwich bag. Seal bag and smush up eggs. Open bag and add desired vegetables (chopped onion, pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms) along with meat (bacon crumbles, cubed ham or cooked, ground sausage). Seal bag shut, being careful to squeeze out as much air as possible. Put bag into boiling water and cook about 5 minutes, until egg is no longer runny. Remove bag with a slotted spoon directly onto plate. Open the bag and dump contents onto plate. Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy.

Biscuits and Gravy, the Recipe

Posted on July 22, 2010 by jphilo

A couple days back, I blogged about eating Harold Walker’s biscuits & gravy at Family Camp…without Harold Walker. After posting it, several readers asked how to make it. With this being my first day home – jet lagged, knee deep in laundry, and too short on sleep to write creatively or be profound – copying out the recipe is a task I can handle. So here it is.

Harold Walker’s Biscuits & Gravy

According to Harold, you must use Jimmy Dean ground sausage.

Brown 1/2 pound of sausage and set it aside.
Whisk together:
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk

Pour the milk mixture into the skillet containing a few tablespoons of the sausage grease. Stir and heat until it thickens. Add the sausage. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over biscuits.

Maybe one of the camp cooks could leave a note about how many times they increased the recipe for 35 people. Also, I believe they used Bisquick for the biscuits. But if you need a biscuit recipe, leave a comment about that also, and I’ll post mine soon.

Oatmeak Breakfast Cake

Posted on April 2, 2010 by jphilo

A few years ago, I found a recipe for breakfast cake in Relish Magazine. It didn’t thrill my family the first time I made it. But the basic recipe used oatmeal, one of my favorite ingredients, I didn’t want to give up on it. So I took some of the sugar intended for the batter and used it to create a buttery, nutty filling. Once that happened, the fam decided it was a keeper. In fact, my daughter recently asked me to include it in the recipe book she wants me to make before her wedding in July.

Served with fruit, the cake makes a tasty and unusual breakfast. See what you think, and if you come up with any variations to make it even better, leave a comment below.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

Batter:                          Filling:
1 cup all-purpose flour              ½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat flour            ¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats           ¼ cup melted butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12 cup bunt pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix filling ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flours, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil buttermilk and eggs. Add to dry mixture and stir until combined.

Spoon half of batter into pan. Spread filling evenly over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and remove from the pan. Makes 16 servings.

Down the Gravel Road www.jolenephilo.com

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