WIAW 76 – Fine Fresh Fruit – and a Guest!

Most of the time, we don’t really eat much fruit. We get bananas, and a week later, say “I should probably Do Something with those bananas…” Periodically I go through the crisper drawer, and find an apple that rolled behind the cabbages, and salvage what I can…

But really fresh fruit? In season? That’s another whole story! All Fall, when those apples are so crisp they bite back, I munch them happily… I eat tangerines at Christmas, and strawberries in June… And in August, we feast. And Sunday, fruit made a part of two meals.

I’ve muttered a few times that I want to Do Something about variety in my breakfast – and last week I finally experimented with making breakfast cereal. OK, yes, I’m crazy… But when you put Gluten Free, Whole Grain, and Unsweetened together you run out of commercial options real fast.(Well, OK, I ran low on commercial options at Unsweetened… never mind the rest.) The granola I made last year fits the bill, as long as you use gluten free oats – and as long as you have no trouble with oats. But apparently I do… (because I never do anything the easy way…)

Initially I thought of figuring out some other granola type concoction – other flaked grain? Puffed grain? And I may still play with that down the road… but right now, I’m going in a Grape Nuts Inspired direction, largely because that’s what Rich always eats… and I’m working at least some protein into it, as well.  This is my first version, and it needs work, but it is promising… You’ll hear more about it eventually. (And I’m still alternating it with the bean tacos.) But back to fruit – we usually split a peach or nectarine in the morning. So half is on my cereal, and the other half is waiting for him. (And I had – and didn’t take pictures of – a couple of eggs…)

We’d gotten some cottage cheese as well. And I am extremely unhappy to discover that the Friendship cottage cheese I’ve been carefully buying, because it was the only one without a lot of added junk, now has stabilizers… Still fewer than other brands, it’s not quite as wet and mushy as others, but it is no longer (as of just last month) pure cheese. I’m going to have to go back and find posts where I recommended it and edit… I don’t want to have to make cottage cheese just to get real cheese! (And, yes, all the organic companies I’ve seen do use gums and starch and other junk that does not belong in cheese – I do not consider them a viable option. If you know a brand with nothing but milk, cultures, and salt, please let me know!) But anyway, I have it, so I’m finishing it… even if I am cranky about it… And lovely fresh blueberries go a long way to make me less cranky.

And then – we had a visitor! In the evening, when I was just gearing up to go cook dinner, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, up on the air conditioner. Well, the cat sits there… wait, that’s outside, that’s not the cat… that’s not a pigeon… It’s one thing to know that red tailed hawks live in the city, and even to have seen them flying around the neighborhood (and I have.) It is another thing all together to have one sitting on your air conditioner looking in your window at you!

I told Rich to come around to look – and grab the camera. When he moved, the hawk flew away, but to our neighbor’s air conditioner, where it sat and posed for us. The pictures are affected by shooting through our window, and by the sunset… but you can still see the bird clearly. It was really cool.

So we geeked out about the hawk for half an hour or more… and then realized it was time we ate dinner! I had put rice on… and luckily I plan for meals. I had some cooked shredded pork, and some cooked pinto beans, and an eggplant… I heated the pork in a pan, cut the eggplant in small pieces and put it in, added the beans and a cube of frozen oregano, and simmered for about ten minutes. Then I diced a plum tomato, added it, set the table, and served…

So, on the whole, an exciting day! (Though I confess I’m glad the hawk didn’t bring his own dinner to the party… shudder…)

Speaking of parties – today Jenn’s party is at Meghan’s – Clean Eats, Fast Feets.

Come on over!