Avocado Hot salad. This one was hot when I ate it. Took the photos fast. I was hungry. The true secret of this dish is the Middle East herb and spice zaatar / zaa’tar / zahtar / zartar / zaartar) with roasted sesame seeds. Also some sweet basil. The mushrooms, bell pepper sliced thin fried in olive oil, with the avocado put in just before turning off the flame and after mixing somewhat transporting the whole thing to the plate. 

Olive Oil Pan Fried Swiss Pizza. Just thought that the Italians get too much mileage on the generic pizza. So, I decided to correct the imbalance. This is so named because I used Swiss cheese instead of mozzarella. The piece upside down is so you can see the bottom. All of the toppings were fried first – especially the garlic which was golden browned before adding it to the rest of the mix. So, the list of ingredients goes like this: Soy burger mashed, bell pepper, mushrooms (champignon), Oregano, dill, tomato sauce (its optional because I had it right there, and forgot to put it on which is one of the problems of not working off a recipe), Very good without it, if you hate tomato sauce. Bon appetite as they would say in the French part of Switzerland, or Buon appetito in the Italian part, or En Guete! in the German part, and I have no idea what they say in the fourth official language Romansh. One interesting note: An archeological find of a preserved Bronze Age pizza in the Veneto region. Mine tastes better.

 Raw spinach salad. Well washed and diced spinach leaves, avocado, cherry tomatoes, zaartar, olive oil and salt.

  Eatable Spinach.  This is not to say that spinach is not normally eatable. Well, it isn’t. But with a cheese sauce on it, anything is possible.

This is my WakeupCall. Realized that I am not getting enough of what broccoli, bell pepper, zartar, sweet basil, eggs give in terms of vitamins and minerals we generally bypass in our daily rush to just get by. Since earlier is better than later, and breakfast was the earliest time I could muster, this was the solution. But only after drinking two glasses of water and waiting an hour to let the water percolate throughout the system and lay the basis for some serious vitamins and minerals. It is the next best thing to a trip to the doctor. In fact, it’s  preferable.  By the way, I also ate the brocolli stalks which are not shown. Art often gives us only a slice of the whole thing. 

 Cherry Tomato Tree Salad. With my now famous (at least in my house – that’s with me and cat doesn’t count when it’s salad) dressing with some changes of sweet and sour sauce, fruit chutney, mayonnaise, soy sauce, olive oil, water for consistency, honey, brewer’s yeast, turmeric, coriander, salt, crush black pepper. This makes eating a salad a real treat. Proportions are up to you and your taste buds. One word of warning. Turmeric was used to dye cloth a brilliant yellow in the old days. So if you get it on your clothes do not let it dry. It’s also put in yellow mustard which is called American mustard by the rest of the world.

 Brown Bean Tempter. Forget the lemon. It’s there to suggest that what you are looking at is eatable. Beans are one of the healthiest foods on the planet and all too often they are sidetracked. Soaked over night, boiled, and water changed with new water added along with the tomato sauce, sweet and sour sauce, two drops of hot chili sauce/oil for a bit of a bite, and the cheese/milk/mushroom powder sauce on top. The brown bean, originally from Sweden, is related to the pinto and kidney bean. High in fiber and antioxidants, it is a full protein which actually helps you lose weight, and has been found to be extremely beneficial health wise. Do yourself a favor, add beans to your diet, and look up some really good recipes.

A balanced meal. At least that’s what I call it. A dietician would probably look at it and say ‘this guy needs help’. I’m showing it because lately I have not been getting anything close to it. I cook a dish, always make it for two. Why, I do not know. And end up eating the whole thing and not looking around for the balanced part. I have not really cooked before. Oh, when I had to have something sweet and there was nothing in the house, I would put some flour, water and sugar together in a pan and put it in the oven to see if a cake would come out. Nobody would ever eat it except for me. Offered a cookie I had made the same way to a neighbor who I think ditched it as soon as I was gone. She never did give me her opinion on it.  

 Can you do without lettuce? I can. And yet, well you know the routine – it’s good for you. So this will make it interesting enough to overcome the natural tendency to go in the opposite direction when handed a menu. Of course you will not find this on any menu, at least not the sauce. Lettuce, tomatoes and avocado with blueberry dressing. Don’t gage until you try it. And you won’t then either. The sauce is a combination of blueberry jam, mayonnaise, olive oil and just enough water to make it pour.
Red Cabbage Revisited. By the time I decided that this was definitely good, there was nothing left on the plate. One of the problems of good food. Doesn’t stand around too long. The other problem is that many of the foods which are best for us in one facet of nutrition or another, is not always the most palatable. And chefs have agonized over this for centuries, not to mention mothers. This one takes the bite out of a bite, and leaves you looking for a second helping. One word of warning. It grows on you as you are eating. The base is cabbage – that hard to sell under any circumstance vegetable which gives so much in terms of cell detoxification and cleansing, promotion of gastrointestinal health, protection against cardiovascular problems and many cancers, and possibly even helps in the protection against Alzheimer’s (particularly red cabbage). So with that introduction, what do we have to do to make it interesting? Red cabbage chopped and fried with red pepper, half a cubed apple with skin, grated ginger root, caraway seeds, raisins, brewer’s yeast (have to get the Bs in somehow), sweet and sour sauce, fruit chutney. With the add-ons giving their own health benefits, this is one powerful dish. You may say to yourself, ‘why suddenly ginger?’. The health benefits of this root are prodigious. Take a look at  whfoods.com/ginger and you will include it in your next meal.  You will have to wait until I make it again for the photo. Source of health benefits of red cabbage whfoods/health benefits red cabbage.  Next on the list – Brussels Sprouts.

Panache. (1. Dash; verve. 2. A bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet. Thefreedictionary). The word just emanates from this dish. For a history of Panache from King Henri VI of France to Cyrano de Bergerac, see Wikipedia/Panache. Base: Flour, egg, water, brewer’s yeast for extra B vitamin (not baker’s yeast). Additions: Ground walnuts/almonds/sunflowerseeds, raisins, banana!. “Baked” in the skillet with heavy lid. When the time came to turn it over, had to ‘plate’ it (plate on top of pan and turn over) Requires nerves of steel, an unbreakable plate, and heat guards. Of course this is only for the uninitiated. once you have burned yourself, dropped the plate, and lost your breakfast, you will be more adept next time. Just this takes panache.
I look at my cat lying there sound asleep after breakfast, waiting for a little sun. “It’s a great life”.