G’Morning PW,
I created something new this week. I took refrigerator bisquits, flattened them, put ham and cheese on and then another squashed dough on top and pinched them together and baked. Sonny really liked them. He said I made my own hot pockets.

Morning PW,

I sure can smell that bacon! Our local PBS station ran a number of early Julia Child episodes (and they are episodes). It was fun to learn how to actually make an omelet.

Thinking of making breakfast burrito today with eggs, bacon, avocados, jalepeño slices, diced tomatos, and a piquillo pepper puree.

Sounds wonderful but can you get all of that into one burrito? :)

My mom has lung cancer and the radiation has burned her oesophagus, so we’re trying to figure out ways to get nutritional food in her with less pain. We’ve tried ensure which she’s not fond of and tofu and ice cream milkshakes. A friend suggested wheat grass to blend in a milkshake. My mom is a little leery about trying new things, so I tried it this morning to help me decide what to do with it. It’s very gritty.

You just have to get the enormous tortillas. The 12″ to 14″ ones. But, believe me, it has been done although the piquillo sauce stays on the outside.

I will make a batch of breakfast burritos then freeze most in plastic wrap. 2 minutes in the micro makes a quick go meal.

Watermelon run through the blender to make a pulpy juice will help keep her electrolights in line.

Bannana with yogurt will give potassiu and protein –you can vary it by adding coco paowder or strawberry or pinaple (canned). and it won’t be too acidic going down the throat.

Do not forget soup. Lentil or bean soup wiht well cooked (headed toward mushy) brown rice will give a protein boost and can be very soothing to a sore throught.

And cream of chicken soup. Boil chicken with aromatics, bay leaf, etc.. Run the meat and some broth through the bender maybe with some sauteed mushrooms. Fuinish with soe milk, cream or even cream cheese. Very conforting on a sore throught and it’s real food.

You can short cut with babyfood chicken, but by the time you doctor it up to get some flavor, you might as well boil the real chicken. You can just buy a package of chicken thighs instead of whole chicken. They are of uniform size and cook faster. They have MUCH MORE flavor and are easier to strip the meat off the bones.

And for salad in a glass, don’t forget about white gaspacho, just cut down or eleiminate the vinigar and citrus juice.

Please excuse the many typos in my #8 above. I pushed “submit” without reading what I typed, and it looks like a chimp typed it

Making an order for Green Eggs and Ham at Ann Sathers in Andersonville.
Accompanied by a fresh cinnamon roll and black coffee.

When my father was fighting lung cancer my mother made custard almost every day. The texture is so soft and smooth. She made it extra egg-y, to add protein. Best wishes to your mom and you all.

I thought all your suggestions were really good – typing is just typing. Besides, I like bannanas with 2 Ns – little more tasty than the 1 N kind. :)

Back in the day, my orthodontist recommended cheese soup as a meal after getting braces tightened. It’s basically the broth of your choice with cheese thrown in and melted. Serve. Can she eat warm things?

Baking pumpkin loaf this morning and thinking of Jane’s Kobe.

I love the flavors of this season. The cranberries and pumpkins and sweet potatoes. Yummy! *remembering one lonely trip through India during the holidays craving waldorf salad*

I love the food at this time of year. Could eat sweet potatoes every single day. Do you freeze your Pumpkin loaf?

Each morning I have “Sticks and Twigs” the name my friends gave my healthy homemade granola. Also grapefruit juice and coffee. Fills me up, powers me fully ’til 1:00 p.m. Of course, a healthy daily dose of FDL tops it all off.

I would if it lasted long enough. The recipe I use makes two loaves and (iirc) says that the second can be stored for future use.

Sweet potatoes are my favorite thing, ever…

Twain, have you ever tried this sweet potato recipe? To die for.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Candied-Sweet-Potatoes-102577

So jealous. That smell of coffee and cinnamon at Ann Sathers smells like home to me!

Vegetable purees are yummy. The New Basics cookbook has a number of them. They’re like baby food, but with an interesting season. Kolrabe with garlic (my least favorite of the ones I’ve made, I think because the kolrabes were too big and not tender enough so the flavor wasn’t quite right), beets with a bit of vinegar & a spice I can’t remember, and my favorite, carrots with cardamom. You can also do mashed potatoes very soft by just adding more milk (or heavy cream if you want to be really decadent). And, anything can be added to mashed potatoes besides garlic. I have some frozen pesto that has green peppers in it, which make it too liquidy for pasta, but is great in mashed potatoes.

((((ellenbeth’s mom))))

I love pumpkin bread, which is what my recipe is called. I had some in the freezer from last year which I just finished off, so soon I’ll make a fresh batch.

I also baked a butternut squash recently, & added a bit of butter & nutmeg when I scooped it out of the skin. I’d forgotten how good that is.

Thanks for the recipe. My granny used to make Candied Yams and I loved them. I’ve never had her recipe but this one sounds very much like hers. Thanks again.

Back to the burn pile. Be good and eat well.

Butternut squash – yummy. had it a couple of weeks ago.

Homemade baby food is a great idea, and there are a lot of places to find recipes.

We have some food sensitivities, so my recipe is great even without nuts. Sometimes I miss the nuts, tho.

I actually prefer yams and always use them in that recipe. Nothing else that I’ve made even comes close to the yum of that one.

There’s nothing like the smell of homemade instant coffee in the morning!

Do it at Home, America!

(humor)

My Mom has trouble swallowing too and hates all food these days except smoothies; made with 1 small banana, 1 container of activia, the same measure of blueberries and one of juice (mango, pom, oj) and unbeknownst to her a dose of benefiber and protein powder. Followed by a gas-x, later on in the day :)

Yams are much better, I think. Sweet potatoes are stringy – IMO

I yam what I yam, right?

Anyway, just finished a breakfast of freshly made hashbrowns with bacon, onions, red and green peppers and garlic (yes, I love the smell of garlic in the morning), creamy scrambled eggs and coffee. The coffee wasn’t that good. Beans too old.

The hashbrowns were really brown and flavorful. Made in a cast iron Frying pan.

I love my cooking!

Bad coffee will ruin the whole meal. I had 3 couble cappucinos myself. Yeah, I’m ready to roll!

Stupid part is that I bought some coffee on sale. Should have declined when I noticed no pressure relief valve on the package. And I saved a whole dollar!

Oh, well. I’ll use it to sober up next time I need to, if ever!

OK here goes.
saute half an onion with a bunch of garlic. add celery then add water then about 4 large carrots shredded then peel and dice two large sweetpotatoes throw that in. next you need a little sage and paprika maybe some Herbamare and black pepper 2 tbls honey. simmer till you can puree the whole thing. add a cup of wild rice and let simmer till soft. put the thing in fridge when cooled and let sit for two days. then reheat and have some warm garlic bread perhaps a dolop of yougurt. enjoy.

The home made bread that my wife loves to bake-the smell alone would sell a house-and even better the very home made pancakes-which look and taste just like cake-using a receipe that is way over 100 years old-when she was cooking at her tavern, this used to bring in SRO crowds for breakfast. I also love her french toast, made with home made bread/cinnamon roll.
Buttermilk pancakes. 1 egg; 1 cup buttermilk; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon soda; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 2 tablespoon butter, melted.
Sift dry ingredients together, beat egg; add buttermilk and stir together, add sifted dry ingredients and beat until smooth, stir in melted butter. pour onto hot griddle(380 degree F) and bake until bubbles form, turn pancakes and bake until delicately brown. Yield, about 16 4″ pancakes.
Sweetmilk pancakes, use sweetmilk instead of buttermilk in basic recipe. Omit soda and add an extra 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Ham cakes, fold 1/2 cup finely-chopped ham or bacon or Canadian Bacon into pancake batter just before cooking. She makes many other variations like Fresh Peach cakes; Blueberry cakes, onion cakes-really really tasty; Apple cakes or Sausage cakes. See also, Pan-sans(pancake sandwitches-the iron miners in Mi UP used to eat these(at least that is where my wife got that variation) Waffles. Then we have a very old recipe for Rice griddle cakes. cira 1890.
But my favorite will always be the pancakes. They actually look and taste like cakes and they melt in your mouth. Also good cold or even reheated in microwave. Try them, you will never go back to the pancake in a box.

I drink a coffee called Tip of the Andes, very similar to Blue Mountain at far less than 1/2 the price. Since coffee beans don’t freeze I always keep my beans in an air tight container in the freezer. Have never had any go stale, even tho I have to buy 10 lbs at once. I use a drip coffee maker and use 1 scoop of coffee per cup of water. Never bitter, but when friends drink it without diluting it, they get very hyper.A real waker upper.

Spaghetti Squash is also quite good

If you see this (I’m writing long after the fact), please email me at barbara at clotheslineblog dot com. Dealt with David’s esophageal cancer, which presented the same kinds of difficulties. Have a few thoughts about this FYI if you’re interested.

Ellenbeth –

My BIL successfully survived throat cancer, going thru radiation and chemo treatments. His throat was understandably sore and it was very difficult to swallow.

We sent him a professional blender complete with cookbook (Vitamix.com). Expensive but worth it. You can put vegies in with broth and it actually COOKS soup while you watch. Super easy to clean, important during stressful times.

Check out the site where you will find many testimonials from other cancer patients. Sending good wishes to you and your family.

Thanks for all the suggestions!