Carrot Tea Bread
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ c vegetable oil
1 ½ c finely shredded carrots
2 ¾ c flour
1 ¾ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9X5 inch loaf pan with greased wax paper. Instead of lining a loaf pan with greased wax paper, you could also use a nonstick bread pan and spray it with baking spray.

With a mixer, blend eggs, sugar and oil in a bowl. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Add to egg mixture and mix. Stir in carrots. You can also add walnuts or raisins. Turn into baking pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Take bread out of the pan before it has completely cooled. I find that it comes out easier that way. I believe that this recipe is originally from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook.

Note: Carrot Tea Bread is not the same as Carrot Cake. Expect to find this bread to be more dense than your typical cake. It also contains less fat and sugar than cake. You will discover that the top of this bread to be surprisingly crunchy. This simple, tasty recipe may be enjoyed for breakfast, dessert or a snack.

On one particular morning, I had been thinking about trying out a new recipe such as almond scones or chocolate chip pancakes. However, I was feeling nostalgic. I thought of the breakfast breads that my mother used to make such as banana bread, carrot tea bread and zucchini bread. I scrapped the idea of something new and went with something familiar. It only took a few minutes to decide on carrot tea bread; as the bananas weren’t ripe enough and I had another plan for the zucchinis.

The next task was to locate a recipe that I liked. I knew I had the ingredients but couldn’t remember the exact amounts – a requirement for good baking. I began searching the internet which yielded many recipes for carrot cake. I almost fell into the internet abyss where I would learn about volcanic ash, check out Zappos, download that latest Rihanna song and then consider possible Mother’s Day gifts. But, suddenly and thankfully, I remembered my recipe box.

My recipe box was just that, a box where I stuffed a whole bunch of recipes. If you were to open it you would discover that recipes are on everything: yellow legal paper, a ripped magazine page or even a coupon. A few are actually written onto index cards but most are not. Some are crisp and new while others are worn and old. There is a thank you note for a fundraising brunch that I attended while living in New York. The card is in the original envelope, date stamped 20 Sep 1998 from Dorothy, who lived in Long Island, to me in Queens. Inside is her recipe for Fruit Cobbler. A few months ago, while waiting for steamed shrimp, I picked up a recipe for tilapia chowder from the seafood section of my local grocery store. I fixed the chowder a few days later and it exceeded my expectations. Folded several times over is a Cranberry Apple Crisp recipe. My mother copied it from the Baltimore Sun and mailed it to me a couple of years ago. This is a recipe that I plan to make for an occasion. Based on her rave reviews, I assume that it would be dangerous to have it in the house for me to eat alone. Finally, I find the Carrot Tea Bread recipe that I copied onto a 3X5 index card a long, long, long time ago. It came from the Betty Crocker cookbook that my mother and I often went to throughout my childhood. The last time I saw it, it was being held together by rubber bands. It was probably one of the first recipe books that she owned after getting married in 1962. I’m hoping that she hasn’t thrown it away. At this moment, I make a quick phone call to inquire about the cookbook and Mom says, “Yeah, I still have that raggedy cookbook. I still use it. I’ll never throw that out.” I ask her to bring it with her when she visits next month. She agrees and we discuss ways to try to put it back together again during her visit.

Although I could have an organized recipe box, I choose not to. I like going through it and pausing at different moments in my journey, memories evoked by the recipe or the paper on which it is written. They are in no particular order, just thrown into a box.

nos•tal•gia [no-stal-juh, -jee-uh, nuh-]
a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time (dictionary.com)

Egg Scramble (Spinach & Smoked Salmon)
1 cup of spinach
1/4 cup smoked salmon
1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 tsp of dried onion
2 eggs
Splash of milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter/margarine

Add the olive oil to a skillet (nonstick) and bring to medium –high heat. Add the spinach and smoked salmon to the pan and cook until spinach is wilted.

In a bowl, beat eggs with milk. Add dried onion to the egg mixture. Using salt and pepper, season the egg mixture to your liking. In this recipe, I only add course ground pepper because of the saltiness and flavor of the smoked salmon.

Add butter in the pan with the spinach and salmon. Once it has melted, add egg mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. At this point, it looks just like an omelette. Once the edge of the “omelette” begins to form, take your spatula and push the sides of the egg to the center of the pan. Flip over to be sure that the egg scramble is done.

Fried Plantain

On this particular day, I realized that I had a very dark, almost completely black plantain on my counter. Plantains are always a nice side dish – morning, noon or night. Peel the plantain and slice the plantain crosswise so that each piece is about ½ inch thick. In a pan, heat the cooking oil hot enough for frying. I use just enough oil to cover the pan. Add the plantains to the hot oil. Plantains cook very fast so once you get them in you probably need to start flipping them over. Remove the plantains and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil. Plantains may be salted after frying or sprinkled with cinnamon/and or sugar. When plantains are very ripe, I usually don't add any additional seasonings.

I started making scrambles out of my impatience in trying to make the perfect omelette. If you have ever tried to make an omelette before, you know the challenges - having enough egg mixture to cover your pan, the inside not being done to the right consistency, the ratio of egg to ingredients and of course…the flip! I also can’t stand the feeling of uncooked egg in my mouth so on top of everything else, for me, a digestible omelette is a cooked omelette. I might as well push the egg and ingredients around in the pan until they are done.

I don’t remember the exact date I gave up on the perfect omelette, but I do remember the feeling of knowing that I was more interested in the ingredients and how they came together, and not just the overall appearance. Instead of the plain-ness of uniformity, there were vibrant colors and flavors in unexpected places creating beauty and character - accomplishing the same goal.

Fish N Grits
Cook the grits

I use the Old Fashioned Grits made by Quaker or some store brand –whichever is cheaper. Use the amount of grits and water based on your serving size as directed on the label. Slowly stir the grits into the boiling water. If possible, use a non-stick cooking pot. Salt the grits at this time. Reduce the heat to medium to low and cover. I usually have the cover slightly ajar although I don’t know when I started doing this. Continue to periodically stir and add water. As the grits get thick, add some water and stir to loosen them up. This process is repeated over and over and over again. I usually cook grits for at least an hour. When the grits are close to done, prepare the fish.

Tip. Never waste your time trying to scrub out a pot that has just been used to cook grits. During the cooking process, grits are going to stick to the bottom of the pot. The best thing to do is to add water to the pot and allow the pot to sit for a few hours. The grits will easily come out.

Prepare the fish
I usually make this dish with ruby red trout. I discovered this fish by accident when I thought I was purchasing salmon. Although the appearance is very similar, I find the flesh of the trout to be more tender and milder than salmon. If trout isn’t available, I use salmon.

Set the oven to broil. Move the oven rack to the highest position.
Rinse the fish off and pat dry. Place the fish skin side down in a pan. For easy clean up, line the pan with foil and spray the foil with a cooking spray such as olive oil cooking spray. Season the fish to your liking. I tend to use a combination of old bay seasoning and pepper. Lightly spray the top of the fish with your cooking spray. Place the fish in the oven. If it is on the highest rack it should be about 4-6 inches from the heat source. The fish will be done within 10 minutes. However, I tend to cook it longer so that the top is slightly browned and crispy. Never leave broiling food unattended.

Pour the grits on your plate and add butter or a little cheddar cheese. You may choose to season with pepper and additional salt if needed. Place the fish on top.

The key to good grits is to allow them time to cook. It is something so simple and satisfying, yet it takes time, patience and constant monitoring. I learned that from my mother who makes the creamiest and thickest grits that I know of and she cooks them even longer than I do. I can’t count the number of mornings my mother has called out to me (usually from the shower), “Check the grits! They may need some water!” I check the grits, add water and stir. Then I pour my cup of coffee. I watch and wait.

Oatmeal & Apples

Oatmeal with Apples & Raisins

Peel, core and slice one apple. I prefer sweeter apples such as the Gala, Braeburn or Honeycrisp. Place the sliced apple in a small pot with a small amount of water. Cook on medium heat until the apples are done (5-10 minutes). You can also place the sliced apple with a small amount of water in a microwave safe dish and cook for at least 5 minutes.

Tip: For the resourceful cook, consider peeling, slicing and cooking up a bag of apples over a weekend and eating them throughout the week (with breakfast or as a side item). Apples can be seasoned with cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg. Adding a sweetener is optional depending on your dietary needs.

Prepare 1 serving of oatmeal in the microwave. To do this, take a ½ cup of 100% whole grain oats and place in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1 cup of water and cook uncovered in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Combine the apples with the oatmeal. Add a small amount of raisins. Season with cinnamon and sweeten (honey, artificial sweetener, or sugar) to taste. Add a small amount (tablespoon or two) of milk, half-n-half or cream to the top.

Sit down and enjoy a creamy, healthy, fiber-rich meal that will hold you until lunch.

Most of my life I hated oatmeal. I found it to be pretty disgusting – the color, the texture and even the smell. I don’t remember when or if I had actually tasted it. I just knew I didn’t like it. I come from a family of breakfast eaters. Growing up there was mostly cereal in the house before school which we had with a banana or toast. On the weekends breakfast was much heavier and would include anything from pancakes and sausage, bacon and eggs, grits and salmon cakes or corn beef hash. All of this is to say that we are not picky eaters. I remember seeing oatmeal around in the cupboard and surely someone in our family of five was eating it but it wasn’t me.

In an effort to expand my breakfast repertoire to include healthier options, I thought I should reconsider oatmeal. I mean the real oatmeal and not the instant oatmeal in the packets. I gave oatmeal another chance. I had to set aside my preconceived notions and what I thought it would taste like. I combined it with items that I already liked such as apples and cinnamon which made me think of momma’s apple pie. To my surprise, I discovered that I love oatmeal…of course once I made it my own.

It’s never too late to reconsider those things once rejected.