Cooking for carnivores

Day before yesterday, I had no appointments, no errands to run, no family obligations. Just one load of laundry to do and lots of recipes to try out. Loved it!



POUND OF BACON

First thing in the morning, while doing my strengthening exercises, I cooked bacon. Yes, there’s only me, but I cooked the entire package.

The cooled grease went into a jar I’m keeping in the frig for the day I make another batch of dog biscuits. That’s my grandson testing the product the first time we made it!

I ate two slices of well-done, crispy bacon with my breakfast, and the rest I bunched in twos (as in 2 slices) and wrapped in wax paper; then placed in a freezer bag. Whenever I want bacon, out come two slices from the freezer. They thaw quickly and since I’m most likely to have them with eggs, I give them a quick warming in the pan before (or while) cooking the eggs.

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Are you using Pinterest yet?
I am and have so-o many recipes pinned. They’re just begging for me to test them. That’s what I've been doing... make the food, photograph it, taste it, decide if I like it.

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CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE ENLARGED VERSIONS.

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CHICKEN KIEV

I made Chicken Kiev for supper that evening and I’m so glad I did. It was amazingly delicious rolled-up-, stuffed (with cheese)- and breaded- chicken breasts and is guaranteed a permanent place in my favorite recipes. I’m not including the recipe here (you can click on the link to find it, with a few possible variations), but will tell you about my experience.

*Because I had cheddar in the frig, I substituted it for the butter. That meant I was supposed to substitute thyme for the parsley. I forgot and ended up using both parsley and thyme.

*My kitchen counter is small, so I prepped all the ingredients then moved to a table to assemble these chicken roll-ups.

*At first, the recipe seemed long and complicated, but turned out it’s just a matter of creating an assembly line.

Not only did I get yummy results, but also I was pleased at how well written out this Chicken Kiev recipe is.


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GREENS


Lest you think I only crave meat, here’s a glance at my field greens (aka mesclun, aka baby greens). I grow them every year. Last week I planted some directly in the ground.

With the exceptionally warm weather in late March, early April, I decided to drop some seeds in a planter box back then. Greens love cooler weather, but in case it got really cold, I wanted to be able to pick up the planter and move them into a more sheltered location.

I plant thickly and use the thinned out plants for salads. When the rows are thinned enough, I only take a leaf here and there instead of whole plants.

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I’ll be trying out more of my Pinterest pins in the coming days. Stay tuned.

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LAZY PELMENYS

After posting my directions on making Veggie Cheese Roll-ups on April 2, I had a comment from Selena at the Food Carving Studio who said it reminded her of a similar recipe with minced (ground) meat that they make in Russia.

Selena promised to make the Lazy Pelmenys and include the recipe on her blog, which she did on May 1. You can see photos and find her recipe here.

While you’re there, check out her entire blog where you’ll find her favorite recipes and some lovely ways to create garnishes out of fruits and vegetables.

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