An Announcement

Last night I slipped and fell on the ice on my way home from work.  I thought all I  hurt was my pride and just went to bed.  This morning when I woke up my left wrist was swollen and hurt like hell.  I went to the walk in clinic and discovered I hurt more than my pride.  I have a bone bruise on my wrist. I am going to have limited range of motion in  my left hand and some pain for a while until it heals.  There isn’t much I can do for it except regularly take my pills and use the wrist as little as possible.  So for at least the next week I am going to have to lay off the computer time.  It absolutely sucks but I am not going to be able to do anything on the blog until Monday, February 5th.  However, if I don’t take the time I could do further damage and have to shut the blog down for good so it really is a no brainer.

In the meantime, I’ll try not to feel too sorry for myself and continue cooking and takinng pictures and writing posts out in long hand for typing at a later date.  When I come back I will have lots of good stuff for you.

 

Sausage and Red Pepper Quiche (Whole 30)

Today I am celebrating posting my 400th post in almost 4 years.  Not too bad for a blog that was never intended to have pictures or any writing  When I started A Solitary Feast it was just going to be a place to put recipes so I didn’t have to keep writing them down when my friends asked for them.  I never ever thought anyone, outside my small circle of friends, would interested in my small batch recipes.  However, I quickly started getting likes, follows and comments saying small batch recipes are a good thing so I kept on going.

I thought that blogging would just be me and my computer sitting on the couch or cooking in the kitchen.  I never, ever, expected the connections I would make with people all over the world.  Sometimes those connections would be just a comment or two between blogs.  Sometimes those connections have resulted in a real life friendship that seen through one of the darkest times in my life.  Thank you for your wit, humor and just being my friend, Audrey.   You are an awesome person and an even better friend.  I am still not sharing Jeffery Dean Morgan with you though.  He is mine.  LOL!

Then there is you, my readers,  thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my recipes and try my recipes.  You will never know how much it means to me when you make me a part of your busy day.

Sausage and Red Pepper Quiche

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From Maria Makes

1 Tbsp ghee, melted

8 oz potato, grated on the large holes of a box grater

7 eggs

1/2  red bell pepper

8 oz homemade Italian sausage, cooked and drained

1 tsp ground mustard

salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil or melted  ghee over the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan.  Place the grated potatoes on serveral paper towels and squeeze as much liquid as you can out of them.  In a large bowl, combine the thawed/drained hash browns, 1 Tbsp of melted ghee, 1 beaten egg, and salt/pepper.  Press the hash brown mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan..  Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is set and the edges have started to crisp up  .  Meanwhile whisk the 6 remaining eggs with salt, pepper, and ground mustard.   Brown the sausage and chop the pepper.  Remove  the crust from the oven and add peppers and sausage.  Top with the beaten eggs and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set.

Italian Sausage (Whole 30)

So tomorrow I have a Whole 30 breakfast you are going to love.  The original recipe called for bulk pork sausage but I couldn’t find any without added sugar so I made my own.  it only takes a minute.  I made half into patties for breakfast yesterday and used the rest for today’s breakfast.  It could also be cooked and frozen for use at a later date.

Italian Sausage

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

1 lb ground pork

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

In a medium bowl,  Add the ground pork and all the spices.  Using your hands, mix the meat and spices until well blended.  Don’t over blend the meat or it will make the meat tough when you cook it.  Either form it into patties and cook it 6-8 minutes per side or cook without forming into patties and use it anywhere you need Italian sausage.

Stuffed Pepper Soup (Whole 30)

I have been trying to write the post for this recipe for the last two days and it’s just not happening.  So just enjoy the comforting soup on some of the coldest days January can throw at us.

Italian Sausage

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

1 lb ground pork

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

In a medium bowl,  Add the ground pork and all the spices.  Using your hands, mix the meat and spices until well blended.  Don’t over blend the meat or it will make the meat tough when you cook it.  Either form it into patties and cook it 6-8 minutes per side or cook without forming into patties and use it anywhere you need Italian sausage.

 

Mayonnaise (Whole 30 )

Today is day 15 of my second Whole 30.  I have officially passed the halfway point.  Hurray for me!!!   This round has been so much harder than my first.  I blame that on the fact, between my birthday on December 17 and New Years Day, I ate out almost everyday and had more sugar than I did in the previous two months combined .  The first round I felt none of the ick on the Whole 30 timeline.  This round I felt all of the ick on the timeline.

The good news is I think I am pasted that now and I am starting to see the rewards of doing a Whole 30.  Some of my non scale victories have been…

1.  I successfully ate a meal out at a sit down restaurant with Steph.
2. I have more energy and it is more consistent throughout the day.
3. I am not so exhausted  when I come home from work that I fall asleep in my chair before waking up and going to bed.
4. I didn’t weigh or measure myself because I still don’t want the Whole 30 to be about weight loss.  However,  I know I lost some weight because I can fit into some of the tight spaces I need to get into at my new position at work.  I couldn’t get into any of them when I started the position two weeks before Christmas.

There are a couple of things you need to do in order to have a successful mayo.  First, use a light olive oil, NOT extra virgin olive oil.  I guarantee you won’t like the taste of extra virgin olive oil in your mayo.  It is disgusting.  Second, add the olive oil very slowly at the beginning and throughly incorporate the oil before adding more.

Mayonnaise

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From Daphne’s Dandylions

1 egg yolk

2 tsp Dijon style mustard

1 cup neutral oil

Put the egg yolk and mustard in a bowl.  Beat together with a wire whisk.  Begin to dribble the oil into the egg yolk mixture, very slowly, while you keep beating.  Add more oil as it is incorporated.  You will notice when a thick emulsion starts to form.  When the thick emulsion starts to form you can add the the oil a little faster.  The mayo is done when you can drag your finger through it and the track doesn’t fill in.