Omelette at Home

For breakfast, I made a potato, green bean, and mushroom omelette, with coffee to drink.

I used TJ's "country potatoes" frozen blend, which is a mix of the aforementioned veggies in a garlic-parsley sauce.

The potato blend is pre-"pan-fried", so it was sufficiently oily that I didn't need to do anything special to my cast-iron skillet. I covered and steamed the potato blend, in the hopes it would cause them to cook faster, then uncovered for a few minutes in an effort to develop some crust. It didn't really work- I got some nice char from the skillet, but only minimal crispiness. After cooking thoroughly, I added an egg. The result was pretty tasty overall, though the mushrooms seem to have been chosen for prettiness rather than flavor. Nevertheless, it was certainly faster than chopping and cooking my own potatoes.

The coffee was less successful. It's the dark French roast from TJ's, aka their cheapest coffee blend. I used to drink it, but after a few years of drinking better stuff (ie, Northwest Coffee) it's awful. So now I'm looking for a palatable, freshly roasted, and inexpensive local substitute. Any suggestions? So far, I have heard good things about Mayorga and M.E. Swing.

TJ's Win

For lunch, I had some "multigrain pilaf" from TJ's, along with a huge mug of tea.



I don't like the vaccuum-packed Indian meals as much as Jon does. I'll eat them, but I get sick of them quickly, whereas he could eat them for months on end. Happily.

So I was skeptical about this, which is basically a grainier version of those. But I couldn't pass up the uber-healthy ingredient list: two kinds of millet, cracked wheat, and soybeans, with some tomato, onion, and spices. Huge amounts of fiber and protein.

Given the caveat that I love whole grains, it is AWESOME. I'd heard talk of TJ's Harvest Grain mix a few weeks back, but balked on buying it because it's actually not that healthy (Israeli couscous= white flour; orzo= white flour); this is much healthier, and much easier because it's already prepared. Win. It tastes just like a generic Indian vaccuum-pack meal (tomato+onion+turmeric+garlic), but with better texture and substance. It's slightly more expensive than the Harvest mix per serving, but that's okay- it's still under $3 for two generous, filling servings, and it's hassle-free. It would be a great vegetarian main course.



The tea was also nice. The dog and I walked to our favorite coffee shop in the rain to buy more beans, about 3mi round-trip 4.6 miles...I knew I was tired (with a nice little detour into Forest Park), so the tea helped me defrost.



Celestial Seasoning's Tension Tamer is perfect- spearmint, catnip, and eluthero, mostly. It really does help with stress, and I know a number of professionals who are addicted to it.