Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms

Some days you really fall off the wagon. You wake up in a pissy mood because there are more tasks than minutes, and your daughter can’t find her shoes because she leaves every pair she wears in the car that your husband took to work so you’re really late to work and dropping her off, and after third period you realize some kid in your class actually used their gum to make little sticky stands on the bottom of your water bottle, and at noon you realize that there isn’t enough food in your lunch sack because you were being optimistic this morning, and when you get home everyone is eating Limited Edition Lemon Oreos while you search frantically for something to put in your mouth before you cry.

Then you spend the 5 hours you have after school, even though you have a billion things to do, shopping and planning and cooking to make the best amazing yogurt dessert so that you can win a trip to NYC to see Bobby Flay, even though you can’t eat yogurt. Then you make your husband drive to the studio to get your photography lights and set everything up and spend even more time taking pictures and editing them. And you sit down with minutes to spare to enter said contest, only to realize that the deadline was midnight Eastern Standard time, not Pacific Standard time.

I had a day like that this week.

You know what I did?

I ate my dessert. Yogurt and coconut panna cotta and crumble with a lilikoi top. And it was amazing. It would definitely have won that contest. Paleo diets don’t stand a chance against really bad days.

But I’m back on the wagon.

Tip #3: Start over. Again.

I started off again strong the next day and when someone offered me cookies, twice, that day, I knew I’d feel bad about messing up. I think especially with something strict like this, you have to be very committed to it, but you also have to allow for some mistakes.

Put most of your savings in the bank of health, and you’ll have a little to spare for the occasional Doritos splurge or those lemon bars you’ve been wanting to make.

It doesn’t hurt if your diet allows for bacon wrapped Enoki mushrooms.

I’ve used this recipe on my blog before, but I’m really reveling in the fact that I can eat bacon whenever I feel like it. Ok, so maybe I don’t eat it whenever I feel like it, but I eat it pretty dang often.

I’m not super into trying to force every food into a substitution for Paleo, so I try to find, as often as possible, foods that already fit the bill. I think I’ve done well trying to eat mostly normal looking foods, rather than trying to trick myself that vegetables can be cut and cooked to look like carbs.

Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms (wrapped in lettuce leaf)

Good as a snack, appetizer, or part of a meal

• 1 package of Enoki mushrooms, stems trimmed
• 4 pieces of bacon, cut into thirds
• romaine lettuce

1. Split your mushrooms into little sections to go inside your bacon slices. Wrap the bacon around the mushrooms. You can either secure this with a toothpick or you can be like me and just plan to sear it on the overlapping edge first.

2. Heat a non stick pan to medium high heat. Put the bacon wrapped enoki into the hot pan, the ends facing down. The sear should help seal it. Keep rolling the little bundles around as they begin to golden in the pan until the bacon is cooked. The mushroom heads should get golden.

3. Wrap in pieces of romaine lettuce and eat immediately.

  

Bake Sale is Live!

If you want to bid on the HUGE array of crazy yummy stuff over at the Tomato Tart, to aide Japan… TODAY…

(including my crack pie, and Da’s alfajores pops)

Check HERE for the rules

And HERE is the list of lovely lovely yummy.

Just as long as you don’t outbid me. I wants me some preserves. I’m willing to pay big.

And my offer to send you some recipes, salt and or pottery is still up! I just found out that my local store will match any donations to The Red Cross for Japan, so I’m doubling our money. Yes!

Thank you to everyone who has donated already. Thanks to all who tweeted and showcased our efforts! I love seeing all the support. Let’s make it last.

xoxo,

The Little Foodie

Bake Sales, Crack Pies, Butter Mochi, and Pretzel M&M Bars

Dear Japan,

I would gladly bake for you,

if that could ease your burden.

Here’s my blogger version of a bake sale. Just for you. And made with love.

I spent all weekend coming up with the recipes for Little Foodie Originals.

Li Hing Mui Mango Butter Mochi bars

(Chewy, with a crust, and dusted lightly with that salty, licorice-y sweet of Li Hing Mui)

and Pretzel and PB M&M chewy, fudgy, cookie bars. Salty and sweet. My favorite. Almost as good as eating cookie dough. There’s a layer of cookie, topped with a layer of fudgy chocolate—not brownie chocolate, but chewy chocolate.

If you donate $5 or more here, I will e-mail you the recipes. I want to just mail the food to you, but by the time it gets to you, off the island… well, who knows how long it will take. Stale bars are no good.

If you donate $40 or more here, I’ll send you a jar of homemade salt, boiled down from water in our very own Hawaiian bay.

If you donate $100 or more here, I’ll send you a piece of Jacob Jackson original pottery, a small serving bowl or cup or whatever comes out of the kiln today. My husband is the hero. He offered this up when I was brainstorming. Just for you.

100% of the proceeds will go to the Red Cross’ relief efforts in Japan.

You don’t need a paypal account, you just need a credit card. Just click the “continue” link on the left lower side under the “Don’t have a pay pay account” heading. (Thank you Rieko, for telling me it was NOT WORKING! What would I do without my readers???)

Bloggers everywhere are gearing up for events to aid Japan.  I wish there was more we could do but until then… My dad told me he wishes he was independently wealthy and could just go over there and help. What would we do? I don’t know. Something to make us feel like we’re not just sitting around waiting. For good news.

I am so impressed with the generosity and concern I have seen already with this disaster. It is refreshing.

Also, coming up, The Tomato Tart is going to hold an on-line auction bake-sale. I’m offering a Crack Pie. The Momofuku variety. Sent directly to your house, and I guarantee it won’t be stale.

Why do you need this pie?

Oh, friend, you need this pie. I know, it’s not pretty, but trust me.

It may become a unhealthy addiction. I made two this weekend. Guess what I ate for breakfast this week? Breakfast of champions. This has an oatmeal cookie crumble buttery crust, and the sweetest, gooey-est, best reason to eat butter and sugar together filling.

The suggestion is to eat it cold, straight from the pan, with a fork, and with someone you love.

Or maybe you just want it for yourself. The auction starts on the 30th. I’ll remind you when it happens. With all the bloggers involved, I’m sure you’ll find an offering that suits you.

The Way of the Natto

According to Amaya, this is what she looks like:

She made this on starfall.com and she always makes the avatar of herself the same way.

She loves The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and dresses up like Ash.

“YAWN!” she says, when I ask her to clean up her room.

Maybe 4 year olds are just weird, but this one likes natto

And using chopsticks.

Hopefully her weird will stick around. We’ll make a little foodie of her yet.

When I was young my mom would eat natto (fermented soy beans) and stink up the whole house. NASTY we would say. How can you EAT that stuff? we would say. It smells rotten and the strings are long sticky spider webs from your lips to your mouth and then back again. Your lips feel like you’ve loaded on a ton of carmex after you eat it. Except slimier and you can’t rub it off.

Now the smell and taste are nostalgic for me. It satisfies a strange umami craving.

My favorite way to eat Natto (thanks to my Mom)

1. Put it in a bowl. Stir it around like crazy. Till it looks like nasty snot. (healthier this way, Mom says.)
2. Wait 10 minutes.
3. Chop up some avocado and put it in there, and empty the little sauce packet over the top of it. If you didn’t get the natto with the sauce packet, you are wrong.
4. Tear up some shiso leaves and mix those in.
5. Serve with rice.
6. Take a shower and wash your face because you are covered in slime.

My mom eats it with a raw egg too. I won’t recommend it unless you know your eggs are safe.

Are there any weird foods you or your kids eat?