You Want Some Fries With That Breakfast?

Just a little suggestion -  When you don't have home fries or hash browns on hand to complete your greasy diner-style breakfast at home, use french fries.

This little plate is graced with fried eggs and sausage patties with leftover fries from the wonderful 5 Seasons Brewery.  I think I dig it even more then the typical breakfast potatoes. 

Bon appétit!

Soft Pretzel and Hummus

An easy but delicious and satisfying combo.  The hummus pictured above happens to be a very pungent and tasty garlic hummus.  


A short list of other good things to dip into hummus:
Pita
Warm Garlic Naan
Tortillas
Tortilla chips
French Fries
Crudité (especially carrots)
Crackers
Warm Bread 
String Cheese
Fingers


Ingredients
Fresh or frozen soft pretzel
Hummus


Directions
Warm up pretzel in microwave or toaster oven.  If you're using a frozen variety, follow the directions on the box.*  Serve on a plate, with a big heaping spoonful of your favorite hummus, plain or flavored.  If you have more then one type of hummus in the fridge, you should put some of each on your plate -- variety stimulates the mind and the taste buds.  In fact, I would encourage adding a mustard or two to the plate as well if the mood strikes you.


Dip and eat with your hands.  


*once, when i was a young child, i came home from school and attempted to heat up a frozen pretzel in the microwave.  going off of memory, i failed to look at the directions on the box and nuked the pretzel for 2 minutes rather then 20 seconds.  when it finished cooking, it was completely hard.  i had baked my giant soft pretzel into a giant hard pretzel.  unfortunately it was too hard to really eat and enjoy, so it ended up in the trash.  i was very sad because it was the last pretzel.  learn from my mistakes, don't be a sad pretzel-less fool.   

Toasted Pine Nuts and Dark Chocolate Chips

It's the little things...

I thought that this would be a good introductory post.  Something simple and strange inspired by an ingredient I was using to make dinner and another ingredient that was  hanging out in the fridge.  Found ingredients are where most of the dishes in this blog will come from.  The munchee quest for most of us ends with a combination of what we have close by along with the desire to blow our minds and satiate our bellies with something so comforting or so strange.

I was toasting some pine nuts (just throw some in a small cast iron skillet and put on medium heat, toss until lightly brown and fragrant) to top some pasta I was making. After I ate the savory my craving for sweet crept up.  I went to grab a few dark chocolate chips that I had leftover from the Apple Chocolate Chip Cake that I made for my birthday.  The still warm, leftover pine nuts in the pan were calling out to mingle with the chocolate.  I couldn't refuse their cries and I'm glad I didn't.  The result was delicious and new, but with the familiar comfort of a chocolate-nutty combination with the warm pine nuts helping to melt the chocolate.   Mmmmmmmm.....

If you happen to be the type of stoner cook who keeps pine nuts and any type of chocolate around, this is a quick, easy, rich and satisfying snack.  If not, then any warm nuts and chocolate are delicious.