A few new foods and creations have come through my kitchen in the past few weeks. First, I needed to come up with something to eat during the week after my morning workout. Since there have been changes in my diet recently, I could no longer have my usual oatmeal. I wanted to have eggs but knew that I wouldn’t have the time to make them each morning before work. A simple solution would be hard-boiled but my taste for hard-boiled eggs comes and goes. Sometimes I can eat them and sometimes I’m bothered by the texture. I remembered the Vegetable Quiche Cups from the South Beach Diet and decided to make my own version.

I chopped up some veggies (onion, garlic, orange pepper, broccoli, and zucchini) and quickly sautéed them. Once cooled I added them to some beaten eggs, poured the mixture into a very well-greased muffin tin and baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. They have been the perfect reheat and go breakfast! I’ve even been eating them as mid-afternoon snacks too.

About a week or so ago, my mom gave me a goose egg from her friend, Natalie, at work. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to do with it, I’ve never had a goose egg before. I waited till the weekend so I could really enjoy this new egg experience. I decided to cook it over easy with just salt and pepper to keep it simple and not ruin the natural flavors of the egg.

It took up half of one of my large plates! One goose egg is equal to about 3 chicken eggs. The yolk is large and bright yellow. This one was pretty mild in flavor according to others who got goose eggs from Natalie, but since this was a first for me, I couldn’t compare. It was really fresh, filling, and I loved the consistency. The best word I can use to describe it is “yolky.” Oh, and if you are wondering what is on the other half of that plate, it’s a sweet potato hash with polish ham and black beans. Probably my favorite homemade breakfast so far this year!

Lastly, I made sunflower seed butter from scratch. In Fall 2009 I found out I had a mild allergy to peanuts. This was right after living off peanut butter and banana sandwiches that entire summer. I didn’t feel any physical allergy when I ate peanuts or peanut butter so I never figured it was a problem. At that time all those pb sandwiches weren’t helping my already over stimulated immune system. These days I indulge in it occasionally. I know there are other nut butters out there but I do get allergic reactions from some tree nuts. For example, raw almonds make my mouth itchy but not when they are roasted. It all depends. I avoided them all together and came across sunflower seed butter. I liked it a lot but it got expensive after a while. Only recently did it dawn on me to make my own. Come to find out, it’s much cheaper and it’s really simple.

Roast the sunflower seeds in the oven and cool. Finely grind them in a food processor with a pinch of sea salt. While it’s running slowly add a mild flavored oil till you get the consistency you want. I used grapeseed oil and I liked it on the thicker side. The first batch I made was smoother. I’m still messing with it. I’ve been putting it on granny smith apples and Mary’s Gone Crackers. I can’t stop eating it. I think I’m slightly addicted. 🙂