MG can create gold from any ingredients (and more importantly, any lack of ingredients) lying around.  I’ll catch him surveying the contents of my cabinets and fridge and ask, “what are you looking for?” and without even glancing over at me, he’ll simply reply, “I’m just looking.”

Akin to the thrill of returning from a restaurant bathroom to find your food awaiting you at the table is the thrill I get from returning from picking up our morning coffees to find the most eye-popping breakfast coming together in the kitchen. This morning, he really outdid himself. I helped by having nearly every ingredient he went searching for on hand. Together, we are the perfect breakfast-making machine. All we need to do is throw in mimosas, Bloody Marys and maybe hire a Celtic harpist and we could open for business tomorrow!

Follow the link for more pics and the recipe.

Scrambled Egg Towers

• 5 eggs (without the yolks, MG suggests throwing an extra egg in)
• 2 tortillas (3 to 4 inches diameter)
• 4 tbsp olive oil, separated
• 1-2 mild Italians sausages, uncooked
• 1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 small onion, chopped
• a few pinches of dill
• 2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan.  Break up your sausage, throw into the pan and let brown – medium heat.  As it does, start your omelette base  in a large mixing bowl with the eggs, salt and pepper , a tablespoon of water, peppers, onions and the dill. Stir well and once the sausage is cooked through, poor omelette base into it.  Add in the two tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Scramble on low heat and continue to stir so nothing sticks to the pan, allowing to cook for 5-7 minutes.

Fry tortillas in olive oil in a separate skillet. Put each tortilla on a plate, pile on the sausage veggie scramble.  Cover with  1/4 cup of grated mozzarella and zap for about 40 seconds in microwave or until cheese has melted.  Dot with jabanero or scotch bonnet sauce and serve immediately.

Mine was so filling I couldn’t finish it and still be able to consider myself a responsible adult.  MG, after a few pit stops, didn’t have the same problem as you can see below.

As of last night, I am no longer the Last American Crock Pot Virgin!

After months enduring slings and barbs from my co-workers for spending as much time as I do in the kitchen without a crock, I finally lucked out and scored myself one for Christmas, courtesy of my mom and dad.

It’s little.  It’s like a “Bachelor Crock Pot,” or perhaps a “Baby’s First Crock Pot,” or a “Vern Troyer Crock Pot.”  I didn’t actually think there were crock pots this little, but now that I have mine, I see them in this little Hobbit-size nearly everywhere I go!

As for the first meal to make in it… that wasn’t a tough call.  I’d just recently enjoyed a fantastic pulled pork sandwich at The Tipsy Pig, a great gastropub up in San Francisco, and it had been flickering around in the back of my mind like a fugitive kite ever since.  Plus, I’m always looking for a reason to use barbecue sauce, and finally and most importantly, my boyfriend wanted it.

I let the pork cook through most of my Saturday afternoon.  The smell that slowly snaked its way through my apartment… well, you can imagine.  Even my twenty pound cat who doesn’t do much of anything other than lie on his back all day was dancing back and forth through the kitchen with his nose twitching and pointing up to the counter.  When MG finally showed up and walked through my door, the first thing he said was, “Hey, it smells like North Carolina in here!”  What kitchen-dabbler could ask for a better compliment than that?

So, thank you to my co-workers in the booth for the bullying, and to my parents for listening to them, and to MG for loving food, and to pork everywhere, and to the pulling of pork, and most importantly to the Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago for giving birth to the original slow cooker that would eventually go on to a life of fame and praise.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

• 1-2 pound pork loin, trimmed of fat
• 1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce, divided
• a medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• hamburger buns or the rolls of your choice

Place pork loin in crock pot and top with onion, pepper and barbecue sauce

Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours

Shred with a fork, stir and continue to cook for another hour at least

Pile it up on your hamburger bun or roll and have at it!

Click on the below pics for hi-res versions.

• “I hate cumin.  I can’t even stand the smell.”
• “I…..don’t…..really….like…..cumin.  Rephrase.  I…..hate…..cumin.  It smells like wet dog to me!”
• “…no cumin (I hate cumin)”
• “I hate cumin and restaurants that try to sneak it into perfectly lovely things like veal piccata.”
• “cumin sucks men of their life forces”
• “cumin smells like feet, unless im thinkin of somethin else, but im pretty sure that crap is cumin”

Nice to know there are others. Even nicer was discovering amidst the web results, a link to the wonderful Seriously Delicious, hosted by the talented “Her Chefness,” a video game tester in Washington. “Her Chefness” has apparently gone through some sort of cumin-haters deprogramming therapy, and this recipe seems to have had something to do with it. It had been lingering in my consciousness for weeks after reading it, and I finally found time to get to the store and pick up the boneless pork loin chops, something I haven’t eaten in probably 20 years. The meal was delicious. MG loved it even more than I did. It’s also simple to make, easy to clean up after, and, of course, fun to photograph.

Pan-Fried Porkchips in Cumin Tomato Sauce

Altered from Seriously Delicious. Altered from Dining Alone

2 boneless pork loin chops, about 1″ thick
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked cannellinni beans
3 stalks celery, chopped
35 tsp. ground cumin (just kidding – 1 tsp. cumin)
1 can (15oz) diced or crushed tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Season your chops with salt and pepper and place in a heated pan with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook between 4 and 5 minutes on either side, until they’re well-browned. Take them out of the pan and wrap them in aluminum foil or set in the oven to keep warm.

Add your onions and garlic to the pan and heat until the onions start to brown and soften. Stir religiously.

Then add in the celery and the dreaded cumin and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes (the original recipe called for about 2 tablespoons of lime juice, but that didn’t sit well with me). Stir until fully combined.

Add pork back into pan and cover with sauce. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until chops are cooked through. I added roasted Brussels sprouts and a little garlic bread, suggestion courtesy of Her Chefness’ photos. I really don’t think this recipe required the cumin at all, and next time I make it, cumin will not be invited to the party.