Meal Log No.3

Greetings readers, I am late posting this third meal log. I have been fighting a very bad cold. That has not stopped me from going to work, a concert, a restaurant, and church. Sorry for the anti-germ people. I can't stop, I won't stop, doing what I have to do in my daily life for a cold. On to the list!

Breakfast: Sandwich with two slices of bacon (deli, thick-cut), and fried egg. 1-Liter of water, 12 oz. hot coffee with teaspoon clarified butter.

Lunch: Three slices of leftover pizza, 1-Liter of water.

Dinner: (Cracker Barrel) Gramma's sampler, 2 slices french toast (subbed) 1 slice bacon, 1 slice country ham, 1 piece sausage, 2 fried eggs (over medium). 8 ounces of orange juice. 4 16 ounce glasses of water.

Dessert: Chocolate Coke Cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Drive home: Low Carb Rock Star, Coffee. (We won tickets to a concert in a town that is roughly two and a half hours away, but with the road conditions it took about three and a half hours to get home. This was the first "energy drink" that I have consumed in approximately six months.)

So, this was not the healthiest day of meals. But it was a tasty day! Thanks for keeping up with me and my meal logs! Below is a photo of me enjoying my cake. Photo courtesy of my wife's Instagram.

I love this man. Love sharing meals with him. Love driving long drives with him. Love errything about you babe. @sivadnahtanojjonathandavis #datenight

A photo posted by Jordyn Davis (@alive_n_hishands) on Nov 20, 2015 at 8:44pm PST

Meal Log 2 11/19/15

Meal log No. 2

Ok, so I am uploading this late because I worked yesterday and I was sick.
I didn't eat much.

Breakfast: Breathe Easy tea, 1-liter warm water, 1 Cheese bagel from Costco.
Break time: Coffee (1/2 hot water) 16 oz.
Lunch Time: Three pieces of pizza from Dominoes (it was team lunch at work, and that is what everyone decided on.) 1 liter of water.
After work snack: One bite of home-made macaroni and cheese, 1 apple (Granny Smith).
Dinner: Indian Rice, Chicken Tika Masala. (I have no idea how much of this I ate, it was take-out and Jordyn and I both had a separate order. We made the rice at home and I would estimate that I ate a cup of rice. 1 liter of water.
Snack at 1:00 A.M:small spoon full of peanut butter (skippy)

So maybe that was a lot... it didn't seem like a lot of food yesterday.  I think that I spread things out a little more than I usually do.  I also didn't take any photos of my food yesterday. Dinner was the only thing that would have been interesting or photo worthy, but I was in the midst of making space on my hard drive and uploading a bunch of stuff to the cloud.  Thanks for checking in, and I hope that someone will respond with their meal list!

Tweet

Meals Log for 11/18/2015

Meal log No. 1

So, I have decided to start a food log. One reason that I am doing this is so that I force myself to upload to this food blog since I have not been consistent in doing so thus far. Part of the reason for that is that I am working two jobs, aside from my responsibilities as a parent. I am also writing for www.backpackinglight.com (for a large portion of the year,) and that was keeping me very busy. I am also producing music and have challenged myself to produce one new track per week. I have been keeping up with that! I have also been making videos for my YouTube channel, and learning how to code the internet languages. In any case, I have been eating food every day, so I might as well log it. Logging activities have always been a good means of achieving a goal for me, historically).

Follow my music challenge here.

Follow my YouTube channel here.

Support me on Patreon here.

So I should tell you what my main goal is. I would like to be healthy, and enjoy the food I consume. That's it, that is my goal.

1. 5:30 A.M.- Breathe Easy Tea, Quaker instant Oatmeal (Apples and Cinnamon flavor).

2. 7:00 A.M.- 1 Liter Warm water

3. 12:00 P.M.- 1 chocolate with chocolate frosting donut (someone brought three dozen of them to work).

4. 12:45 P.M.- 12 oz coffee with 1 tablespoon clarified butter.

That's all so far today. I will check in later to continue my log.

---

Okay, several hours have passed now. It is after dinner. Here is a list of the other items that I ate today.

1. 1/4 of a pita bread (shared with the baby while waiting for my wife to run an errand).

2. Lettuce wraps-white rice and ground turkey mixed with sausage and green onions (filling) quantity of 5.

3. Home-made Dim Sum. Ground turkey and sausage filling, quantity of 14.

4. Sauce for dipping-Orange marmalade, soy sauce, Sambal chilli paste, brown sugar. Mixed together.

5. Lots of water, sorry I didn't measure how much, but I am certainly hydrated. I ate this food over the course of the evening. Started around 6 P.M. and finished around 8:15 P.M. We had a lot of errands to run this evening, but the wraps and Dim Sum turned out to be so tasty that we (Jordyn and I) wanted to have more Dim Sum.

Okay, so this concludes day one of listing my meals/food that I consume. Thanks for checking it out, I will be back tomorrow with a new list!

Wings and Things

     Recently I have had the pleasure of engaging my senses with a plethora of wings, in flavors ranging from honey bbq, jerk chicken, to curry spiced wings dipped in Sriracha hot sauce.  All of these we have made at home.  

     With so many spices,  the internet, and foods that are available within an easy journey these days it is hard to believe or even begin to ponder the idea that there are still people living without access to food.  That is a topic for another day.  I just wanted to plant that little seed in your mind to let it grow in hopes that it will produce some fruit of compassion and gratefulness out there.  After all, food is a necessity, a commodity, a luxury, and can feel like something magical.  Shouldn't all people be able to enjoy all the aspects of food? 

     So I will pose some questions for you to ponder.

1.  What is your favorite type of wings?

2.  Have you made wings at home? If not, what is stopping you? 

3.  Who would you want to share your wings with the most? (This person can be alive or deceased.)

Ponder away, and please let me know what your responses are in the comments.  Until next time I bid you dreams of bacon rainbows, chocolate rivers, and ice cream fortresses. 

Meals of 2015...so far

Chicken and pineapple plus rice and candied carrots

Making chicken stock

Honey sriracha Super Bowl wings

Some Korean stuff

Shrimp tacos

Baked sweet potatoes and chicken

Friday home made pizza night

Stuffed peppers

Pho!

Strawberry Sunrise

     As the sun gently stretched it's arms to wave away the cold gray clouds of the Bridger mountain range this morning to reveal hues of pink and orange,  I was in a vehicle traveling for work.  A feast for my eyes, my soul was drinking it like it was a strawberry milkshake.  My mind would wander between breaks in conversation to meals that I have eaten in the past with friends and loved ones.  It is that time of year after all, for most of us we are preparing for a meal that that is seen by many to be one that carries some of the largest expectations of the year.  The last big feast before a new year is rung in, the giant light emitting diode covered orb will drop down, everyone will cheer and exchange saliva, shoot fireworks and our thoughts will once again look forward into the unknown with an intent to hope for what the new year will bring.
     However, for now we will bask in the sunlight of December, and the memories of childhood Christmas's past.  The turkey, ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes.  I recall the smiles and laughter, the arguments that lead to apologies and awkward hugging.  Playing games with my siblings and nieces and nephews.  Seeing friends and relatives that were so special I'd only see them that time of year.
     For my family there were always three things that this time of year revolved around. Jesus, love, and of course food.  Sitting down for the Christmas meal together always began with a prayer of thanks.  Thanks for our lives, each other, the blessings that have been bestowed in our lives, and the ability to pass blessings on to other people.  A thank you of such proportion can rarely be expressed outwardly with words in a dinner prayer, but it is my understanding that it is the heart behind the gratitude and the life that accompanies it that really translates.
     Then it was time to break bread together.   This was one of two times a year that I ever recall eating turkey.  A bird that must have been mischievous , because my Texan Momma would always tell me "Jon Jon, you are a little Turkey", whenever I was pulling pranks.  Certainly a turkey was also a persnickety bird, because if you didn't take every appropriate step in baking it, there would likely be a ham on emergency backup.
     I remember that first turkey that my wife and I cooked.  It was a labor laden and slimy task.  Out of the oven we pulled the big bird every 45 minutes for more butter.  That was only after we had stuffed the things cavity full of home made stuffing, pulled it's skin back and tried to get him to relax by massaging herb laden butter into his meat, and covering him with cheese cloth before placing him into the tanning bed. When it was all said and done he was looking like the turkey doppelganger of George Hamilton or Mike "The Situation" for you  younger audience members.  His skin was a golden brown that seemed not naturally achieved, All he needed was a suit and tie, an agent and we would be in business.  Honestly I do jest,  the turkey was golden and delicious, and a memory that I will never forget. My wife had to work later that day, and seeing her commitment to a proper celebratory meal had me so in awe that I knew I had made the right decision in spousal commitment!  Not to get too personal, but we would definitely be having our firstborn son Caswell within the next year.

     The thing about food, for me anyway is this.  We don't just need it.  We don't just enjoy it.  We don't just talk and write and take pictures about it because it just tastes so good.  The food is a byproduct of a beautiful and mysterious process.  Once that transcends from need, to desire, to imagination, where the thought that we may have something too good in our mind to not share it with someone else.  You can share a meal with a loved one and create a lifelong memory that can pass through generations.  You may share a meal with a stranger and both of your lives may be changed for the better through the rest of your conscious days on earth.  Food is indeed a blessing, and blessings are indeed to be shared with others.  As you plan your next special meal I pray that you are blessed with peace, beautiful memories, and many beloved ones to share it with.  Until next time I bid dreams of bacon rainbows, chocolate rivers, and ice cream fortresses, and maybe even a candy cane highway to drive into the new year!

"Fry Like Bacon"

     It was a very early morning for me today.  Currently it is one thirty-eight mountain standard time

and about twenty minutes ago I woke up from a great nap, that had I not taken my brain may have

started to head in the direction of the title of this blog post.  "Fry Like Bacon."

     I have named this post "Fry Like Bacon" and I love bacon, but alas this post is not going to

actually have any bacon in it.  I know, I know, what a jerk!  Right?  I've uttered a sacred word in the

title that just may have been the grease in your curious wheels that brought you here.  I promise you

one thing though.  This meal had no bacon.  I'm sorry. Even now I'm holding back tears.  Now that I

have apologized we can start to pick up the shattered pieces of crispy bacon withdrawal and press

forward through a window of hope that just may see something new on the horizon.  That's right, I

thought of something new today.

    Something that I have never tried, never thought to try, or have even ever heard of someone else

trying.  Now I'm not claiming that this feat has never been done before, just pointing out that for ME

it was an original idea! The exclamation point is just because I'm excited not because I'm yelling at

you.

    So as I stated before,  I woke up at three a.m. so I could go out and plow snow, throw salt, and do

many other chores while most everyone else was fast asleep dreaming of bacon rainbows and

chocolate rivers.  Maybe that's just what I dream of while I plow.  While pushing snow I began to get

very hungry.  It turns out the bananas that I grabbed on the way out of the house were not so ripe yet,

and the mountain dew I drank was satisfying only in thought before I opened it and started drinking.  I did what you need to do when there is work to be done and no food to be eaten.  I pretended that I

was pushing ice cream across the ground with the snow plow and stacking it at the edge of the

property in a protective ice cream fortress that only hot fudge or a giant toddler could penetrate.  The

time was beginning to drone and drag slowly and the ice cream was starting to just look like snow,

and for the sake of time we will skip ahead in the story...

     I woke up to smells of breakfast!  My wife had done something wonderful in that tiny room at the

front of the apartment, so I excitedly asked, "did you make breakfast!?"  it certainly smelled like

food, good, hearty, American breakfast food was in there.  There had to be some BACON, eggs,  

hash browns, maybe some chicken fried steak.... "No I just made the boys an egg in a window!" was

her reply.  So there's that.  No breakfast, just a half sleepy man and his dreamy imagination elevating

the smell of fried toast with an egg in the middle to the glory of full on breakfast menagerie.

    I'm not one to let disappointment get the better of me, so I popped out of bed, litteraly popped, and

decided that I would follow suit with her idea and make myself an egg in a window.  MMMMMM I

could already smell it was the great thing, and so I could imagine the buttery fried edges of the toast,

the perfectly fried egg that when you cut into it the golden yoke slowly flows out like glorious soul

melting lava.  I opened the refrigerator door to grab an egg and then I saw it.  It was huge, menacing

even.  It looked like something a caveman would use to hit his mate over the head with before he

drug her off to the cave.  Summer sausage.  I had forgotten that we picked this up at the market last

night.  I don't know if it was the caveman analogy or just the remnants of the Mountain Dew doing

things to my mind, but I was struck with an idea that was all new to me.  "I'm going to cut some of

this off and fry it with my egg in a frame" I said aloud to myself.  That's right, I talk to myself.  I also

blog and that's kind of the same thing.

     So I cut a piece about a quarter inch thick, think half the length of your thumbnail up from the

cutting board.  I already had my egg in a frame going in the pan somewhere between medium and

medium hi.  I decided to crank it up to high for a moment when I first dropped the sausage in the pan

just so I could hear it squeal.  No really I wanted to crisp the edges a tiny bit, but it did squeal.  Then

I remembered what my wife told be about bacon the morning before (there's that bacon again).

She said "cook it on a lower heat and it will render the fat out of it and make it crisper."  Not sure if

this is true but it seemed to work with the bacon (bacon) and my wife cooks better than your's, so I

thought I'd try it out.  I turned the heat down.  Something about this seemed like I was doing

something right.  Like that same kind of feeling when you are doing something nice for someone that

could never repay you, only in this case I was just feeding myself.  The sausage was starting to roll

up a little bit, think fried bologna, or Baloney if you don't like the weird spelling.  It didn't smell like

bologna though,  it smelled spicy, smelled like I had cranked the amplifier to eleven, it smelled good.

    It was done!  I plated this curious new idea and sat down at the table.  The first bite was not what I

expected.  I had kept telling myself, "this is gonna be weird, why did you do this?"  Bam!  I was

shocked!  It was so much better than eating summer sausage cold.  This set off a train of thoughts

and questions in my mind.  Why have I never thought to cook this before? It's sausage, most sausage

is cooked.   How many times have I eaten this and had that oily film left behind on the roof of my

mouth because the congealed fat was plastered up there like spackle? WHO CARES!? I had to eat

this now.  I did eat it, like a bear mauling a tourist in Yellow Stone.  I let my wife have a bite,

because I lover her (lover her? that typo made that sound kind of personal) more than any other

human in this world and this was too good to hoard.  Then the Cazman wanted some so I let him

have a bite.  It was starting to look like this was actually something good, not just half baked

concoction of a hungry man that just woke up from a nap.  So I made more.  I am going to post some

pictures below so you can see.

     What can I say about this meal?  It wasn't bacon, but it was good.  If you live somewhere near a

market with some summer sausage give it a shot.  You don't have to eat it cold, you can have it hot.

You don't have to take my word for it, eat it yourself...the eating rainbow!  If you were a kid in the

eighties you should get that.  If not, I'm sorry that you didn't get to be a kid in the eighties.  Until

next time I bid you dreams of bacon rainbows, chocolate rivers, and ice cream fortresses.

On the plate

In the pan

Without the lid