Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Here's an easy great breakfast or lunch.

I had this for lunch

and am so satisfied with my nutritious,

flavor packing lunch.

And it was so easy.

I poached and egg.

I toasted a whole wheat sourdough English Muffin.

I opened a jar of 

Trader Joe's

Red Pepper Spread

and put it all together.

It needed a little dusting of 

Celtic Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper, and dried Parsley.

I had forgotten about how good this spread is.

It is Red Pepper (which I don't usually care for, but love in this combination),

with Eggplant and Garlic.

The color is vibrant, the flavor is bold and for my TuesdayMorning challenge that I gave myself,

buckle up for good news friends!

0 pts.

Seriously.

0.5 Fat, 2g Total Carb, 1 Fiber, and 0 Protein

and that is for a whole tablespoon.

So I piled it on my English Muffin and topped it with a velvety rich

Farm Fresh Egg from my little chickys in the hen house.

Whole meal- 6 pts if you eat both sides of the muffin.

Of course I did.

But if I were workin' my points like a rockstar, I'd probably do this 

1/2 and open face because I am not skimping on

the nutritional bombshell egg sitting on top.

So,

tell me if you like this friends.

Of course,

it's worth noting that this jar is less than $3,

and you could bring it out to mingle with your fresh 

veggies for quick munchies, spread it onto a whole wheat tortilla with some left over roasted chicken and spinach strips, tweak a caprese appetizer by slicing a thin bite of fresh mozarella, spreading a spoonful on top and capping with a fresh basil leaf.
 For dinner,
my daughter is mixing a large dollop of it with canned tomatoes, for change up on pasta sauce. Added a few small fresh mozarella balls, chili flakes, parmesan, and another small dollop on top for dragging noodles through. Very nice. Not sure of points, but when in doubt, eat out of a small ramekin and you'll be fine.

 I'd like to try it with some cannellinni beans, small drizzle of olive oil, salt/pepper, and a little dollop of this spread on top.

You could try anything.

It's cheap in price and points,

so have fun friends

and let me know what you like to do with this.

Science and Food

I often pick up silly little books like this at

used book stores,

garage sales,

and such,

with all of the greatest

intentions

of incorporating them into our

hectic lives and

planned 

curriculums.

I haven't yet confided on this blog

that I 

homeschool

my

kids.

When you school at home

this is one of the things you do.

You look for things that

will make

life and learning

fun.

So now that I've used the phrase

"all of the greatest intentions"

it will not 

surprise anybody that

this dusty,

little beauty has 

barely been 

cracked open.

(I said we

"look for",

we hardly ever 

use

all the materials we gather.-

It's similar to a seamstress going to a

fabric sale

or a scrapbooker looking for paper,

we just can't get to

everything!)

During the summer you will remember

that we surprised our son

by making over 

his room

while

at

camp,

and in the process of doing so

I rediscovered several

"great intentions"

at the bottom

of drawers

and 

cubbies.

Well, 

I decided to crack open this silly little book

to investigate if it was age appropriate

still to use on my students-

hahahaha!

And I'm laughing because I said

"cracked!"

(It'll make sense-stay with me).

After I sat on the sofa looking all

homeschooly and academic

and responsible

and serious

and school administratory

and in control of our schedule

late summer,

I discovered something wonderful!!!

on page 20!

"Poached Egg Physics"

Now a quick side note:

I had an egg allergy that I discovered around 

17 and I spent the next 20 years of my life

avoiding eggs like the plague.

So all that time that I was cultivating my love of cooking,

perfecting recipes,

and 

collecting my repertoire of tried and true delicacies-

I had avoided eggs.

In my late 30's I had that allergy "fixed" 

by a kinesthesiologist

and 

happily began making up for lost time!

I started making and eating all

the good eggy dishes:

frittatas, creme caramels, omelettes,

crepes, and souffles,

all the decadent things 

I had missed.

But the poached egg 

brought

insecurity.

I couldn't seem to get it just right.

Now,

back to page 20.

"Poached Egg Physics"

The book lays out an experiment.

Here's what you need:

a tall, narrow pot

4 cups of water

a slotted spoon

a short, wide pot

2 raw eggs

a timer (optional)

Wait a minute.

I'm not doing an experiment.

Experiments are for the kids.

The students.

They need to learn by touching, feeling, and experimenting.

I need to know how to poach an egg.

I skipped past-

What To Do

What Happens

and down to the all important

Why?

which I believe will tell me

something important.

Basically,

I learned that I need to poach my egg

in a short,

wide,

pot

because it boils at a lower temp,

which means that it takes

less time

and 

my yolk is

PERFECT!

Reading on,

this little "science book"

is full of 

crazy helpful information.

In fact,

I am skipping now to 

page 57

which has the tricks and tips

to make beans

less

farty.

"Making Beans User-Friendly"

Despite their importance in our diet, beans often make us feel bloated and give us gas.....

Simple Kitchen Experiments: Learning Science

With Foods by Muriel Mandel