Random Thread ~Usagi-Chan ☮ Tūsurī~

[erilaz]

And that belief would be wrong, since the kana character used to write "haha" is pronounced "wa" when it is the topic particle. You know that already, of course; I'm just clarifying it for the folks out there in Internet Land.

[rikkikow]

Close Encounter of The Duck Kind.
Just as I was taking the photo from my car window (about three miles from home) they had to skedaddle due to pickup truck coming.

[TotallyUncool]

That last picture looks like a classic "taking off from a lake" duck pose!

[Celedam]

My latest development in breakfast technology…

6 fl oz milk
½ cup (58 g) Grape-Nuts cereal
1 packet instant oatmeal (choice of flavor; I prefer maple & brown sugar)
2 Tbsp (14 g) chopped pecans

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl or mason jar. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir in pecans, and then microwave for another 20–40 seconds, depending on the wattage of your microwave and how "cooked" you like your cereal.

I grew up with maple & brown sugar oatmeal, but instant oatmeal by itself is low-quality mush. I've tried doing steel-cut oatmeal for the last couple years, but it's such a pain to cook that I will only make it in large batches, and then I'm committed to eating it almost every day before it goes sour. And most other boxed cereals are too expensive for what you actually get: sweetened corn, wheat, or rice paste, puffed and dried like styrofoam. Grape-Nuts is one of the few exceptions.

I wanted something like steel-cut oatmeal that I could make one serving at a time when I wanted it. I'd had cooked Grape-Nuts in the past, but I didn't like the flavor of it. So it finally occurred to me to start with a base of Grape-Nuts and then extend and flavor it with instant oatmeal. And you can get a surprising amount of variety by mixing and matching the oatmeal flavors and toppings; maple & brown sugar topped with pecans is just my own preference..

This is better than any other breakfast cereal I've ever had, because it scores high on all three sides of the "Good, Fast, Cheap" project management triangle. And it seems ridiculously obvious in hindsight.

[erilaz]

I'm not a fan of pecans myself, but oatmeal and Grape-Nuts sound like a good mix.

Speaking of good mixes, my salad dressing of choice lately has been a mixture of Wish-Bone Robusto Italian and Kikkoman Chili Ponzu. Yum!

[esm]

I love oatmeal, but I'd buy it plain (instant ones) and flavor it myself.

I recently bought grits because there's this cafe near my house that serves breakfast bowls consisting of grits, cheddar cheese, fried egg, and bacon (or whatever choice of meat), and I really like it.

It's a bit annoying to make at home though because while I don't mind a few extra dishes, I live with two dudes and one of them can fill up the sink in a day and the other still uses more dishes than I do... so sometimes I don't want to add extra things to the pile of stuff that end up taking me 30-45 minutes every few days to take care of >.>

[TotallyUncool]

For me, it pretty much has to be lots of protein and slow carbohydrates (no sugar) in the morning, so eggs, cheese, turkey or seafood, and whole-grain bread are fine. And I learned a long time ago that if I put anything in the sink, it stays there for six months, so I've gotten very good at preparing huge piles of seafood and vegetables (with plenty of spices) in the microwave using three or four of the cheapest, thinnest paper plates I can find, along with a few paper towels.

[Zunu]

I was on a Grape-Nuts kick some years ago; it's tasty! But generally when I have cereal these days it's Cheerios or Corn flakes dusted with artificial sweetener.
I'll eat oatmeal occasionally made with milk and butter, or cream of wheat or grits, same way.

[erilaz]

And I learned a long time ago that if I put anything in the sink, it stays there for six months

That's one of my very bad habits that I need to break. If I'm eating at home, it's usually either before hurrying off to work or while watching TV in the evening, so the dirty dishes always get thrown into the sink to be dealt with "later".

I recently bought grits because there's this cafe near my house that serves breakfast bowls consisting of grits, cheddar cheese, fried egg, and bacon (or whatever choice of meat), and I really like it.

I used to eat grits quite often, but I haven't had them in a while. I need to change that.

Grits always make me think of this bit from "New Jersey Turnpike" by Laurie Anderson:

I know this English guy who was driving around in the South. And he stopped for breakfast one morning somewhere in southeast Georgia. He saw "grits" on the menu. He'd never heard of grits, so he asked the waitress, "What are grits, anyways?" She said, "Grits are fifty." He said, "But what are they?" She said, "They're extra." He said, "Yes, I'll have the grits, please."

[rikkikow]

That looks like a good yard for bugs, so I imaginee that they're finding plenty to eat!

I walked right by them today and didn't even notice them until I looked back! I was looking up for different kitchen window ideas. Looks like these two birds are making this place their base; it's around the corner from where my house is located. When I came back on the side street, I could see the female foraging around in the grass like TotallyUncool predicted. The male was standing guard like in England for the Queen!