Time to walk the plank…

In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and chains. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale. ~Stephen Phillips

So it is weigh in day *gulp*…

I went a little crazy this weekend. Not off plan (there was no croissant face stuffing) but I tried some new food and ate really well so I was a bit worried about the scale. I know it is not all about the numbers but let’s face it – it is all about the numbers!! I am trying to focus on how I am feeling rather than the pounds. I know it is a matter of time before I slow down or reach a dreaded but inevitable plateau. For now I am still a slave to the scale; put it in the “work in progress” pile.

We were dog sitting this weekend so we stuck pretty close to home. I thought it was a good time to try out a few of my new low carb ingredients. I wing it a lot in the kitchen so my recipes are barely recipes. I am a feeler and a taster. I will try to measure more and suppress my “what the hell” attitude in an effort to actually get some good recipes I can share and recreate.

My kitchen adventures this past weekend:

Breakfast
I made bacon cups (put bacon over the back of a muffin tin cup and bake on a larger cookie sheet, at 350 until your ideal level of bacon-y crispness is achieved. I just scrambled an egg, sprinkled with Cajun spice and plopped it inside the bacon cup. You could put the bacon inside the muffin tin cup, bake it, add your egg. put the whole thing back in the oven & bake until the egg is done. Add cheese, onion, mushrooms or whatever you want and do any style eggs. I think it would be delish with an over easy egg – nice yolk covered bacon *drool*. I will try it in the tin next time but it was pre-coffee so I did the lazy version.
Just as a side note, I always bake my bacon. Put the strips on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for approx 10-20 minutes (depending on how crispy you like it) It stays all pretty and straight, like magazine bacon. I undercook it a little then store it in the fridge or freezer, that way when I reheat it the bacon isn’t overdone. If you freeze the strips on the tray (remove grease) then put them in baggies they will stay separated & you can easily grab the number of slices you want out of the freezer instead of a whole bag. You could freeze bacon cups the same way. You gotta love bacon on demand!

Dinner
I marinated a steak in some olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, S&P and we fired up the BBQ. I decided to make a finishing butter for the steak; a mix of approx 3:1 butter to goat cheese with horseradish (prepared) and whole seed mustard to taste. It was so good I am saving the leftovers for chicken later in the week. I am full of side notes today; so as a side note, I love Triple Crunch mustard made by KozIiks. It has a nice bite with a good crunch and a touch of sweetness. I first had it at Porchetta & Co on a sandwich and fell in love with it. I actually tracked it down later that day and bought my own jar. I used it in my steak topper and it gave a nice pop to the otherwise creamy concoction.

Dessert

I made some wretched cookies from a mix – I will spare you the details because they were truly awful. So dry and dense that they could have been used as weapons. Fed those to the composter.

I made a loaf that became breakfast so I am not sure where to categorize this one. I got the recipe from the net in a quest to use my flax meal (I will include the link). They are supposed to be “doughnut” muffins but the creator has either never had a doughnut or is a liar. My muffin tins were full of bacon so I whipped out the trusty loaf pan. To make it more loaf-a-licious, I tweaked the recipe a bit and added:
The juice of half a lemon and zest (in place of some of the water)
Approx ½ C blueberries
I baked it for 40 minutes at 350; until a knife came out clean and the top was golden. I did butter my pan but it stuck so be forewarned and take appropriate action. The bottom came off when I took it out of the pan, so instead of having a slice I scraped the bits that were left behind into a bowl to taste it. It was good and very moist but it seemed cereal like to me. A lot like muesli. So I went with it and added a splash of coconut milk. I loved it. I have been having it every morning for breakfast and would definitely make it again. Sorry composter – this one is a keeper.

All that good food and the weigh in still went well. I am down 4lbs this week for a total of 11 lbs since Aug 13th.

Porchetta & Co. Toronto, ON. Great food!
http://www.porchettaco.com/menu.html

Their triple crunch is my favourite mustard – ever.
http://www.mustardmaker.com/

The dessert turns breakfast muffin recipe – the original version (I did not make the topping; I topped mine with coconut milk):
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/breads/r/doughnutmuffins.htm

Until Next time,
Allana

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