Food Friday: Spring Ahead

Good morning, Gentle Readers. Rise and shine. Arcane laws, Senate bills, and agrarian rituals dictate that you will lose an hour of sleep this weekend – unless you are enjoying an early spring break and are waking up someplace in Ft. Lauderdale. But that is another story.

We change the clocks this weekend: we are springing ahead. Luke the wonder dog will be puzzled. He has the most accurate internal clock I have ever seen. Daily, he starts moaning and wriggling and doing his little wake up tap dance around 5:58 AM, certain that Mr. Sanders is about to oversleep. Every morning of the week. Luke is no fan of Daylight Saving Time. He and the birds will be up when the sun beckons, and not a minute later.

Changing the clock is as bad as jet lag, without the perk of foreign travel. We stumble around for a few days, dazed and confused, cotton-mouthed and vaguely exhausted. Who needs Ft. Lauderdale? So pour another cup of coffee and pull up a newspaper on your tablet. Breakfast awaits.

I always feel smug when I remember a meal I have stashed away in the freezer. Luckily, clock-watcher Luke, who is my constant companion, is unaware of these rare moments of personal triumph. As handsome and good as Luke is, he is an anxious dog. He has separation issues. His life is better when he has company. Mr. Sanders is his preferred human, but I will suffice during the day. He attaches himself to me, limpet-like, at 7:00 AM. We go for a long walk first thing so he can suss out the neighborhood. Then he follows me around the house, the garden, the laundry room, through my studio. I announce to him when I am just going out to the mailbox, though I will be right back. He pays more attention to where I am than my mother ever did. He is asleep here, by my side, twitching, chasing bunnies, anticipating the storm trooper UPS delivery who will shatter our domestic idyll.

I have realized that I don’t need to go to the grocery store, or abandon Luke to the uncertain fate of menacing Amazon deliveries. A day without a trip to the grocery store is a good day for Luke. Tomorrow’s breakfast is already nestled in the freezer, so I won’t need to leave him. Instead, I will just clatter around the kitchen, making pizza dough for tonight’s pie, and our secure, cosy routine will not be interrupted. There are only 6 more hours until our second walk of the day, and at 5:58 PM, approximately, Mr. Sanders will sail through the front door. It’s going to be a good day.

I like easy peasy muffin pan meals. Last week we had the sweet muffin pan Portuguese cream tarts. This week we are going for something savory: Cheesy Bacon Egg Muffins. You can prepare clattering bowls of sticks and twigs, glasses of juice, and steaming mugs of coffee to be wholesome, or you can just reach into the freezer, pull a couple of these muffins out, and call it a meal; it all depends on your level of sleep deprivation. We are having company in a couple of weeks, so I want to be fully prepared and well-stocked. These will be perfect.

Cheesy Bacon Egg Muffins for Early Mornings

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grease muffin pans with olive oil or cooking spray, or use cupcake paper liners

5 large eggs
1/4 pound (about 8 slices) crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
Luke the wonder dog and Mr. Sanders prefer
crumbled breakfast or Italian sausage
1 cup grated cheddar, or any cheese you like
1 cup chopped onions and bell peppers, sautéed (optional)
A pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed chili pepper flakes or dried herbs (Luke won’t say, but I like oregano)

It’s the perfect time and place to sneak in some diced tomatoes, broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, leeks, spinach, green onions, olives, fresh basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley; or any other old Simon and Garfunkle song you can remember.

Break eggs in a bowl, and beat them with the salt and pepper. Add cheese, bacon (sausage), pepper, other add-ins – and stir. Divide the egg mixture into the greased/lined muffin cups and bake in the oven until set, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of your muffin pans. I like to put the muffin pans on cookie sheets in case of spillage. Serve warm. Save one for Luke. He has earned it. No UPS guys broached his defense today.

Here is a variation: https://morethanmeatandpotatoes.com/bacon-and-egg-muffins/

For the Keto Diet fans this is even simpler: https://theketocookbook.com/keto-recipes/bacon-egg-cups/

Luke isn’t too bothered by the clock change since he never skimps on his naps and he makes sure his meals are served on time. Mr. Sanders and I are hoping this will be the last time Daylight Saving descends on us all. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-approves-bill-that-would-make-daylight-savings-time-permanent-2023-2022-03-15/

“I’ve lived on the equator all my life and we never had to change clocks. Now they’re telling me time goes forward an hour after midnight? What is this, Narnia?”
― Joyce Rachelle