Breakfast F-Bomb

If you haven't already found Thug Kitchen, you have a treat coming, but be prepared. The style and the language are tough, rather like a punch in the face. I am so very tired of hearing/seeing "F**K" used as a noun, an adjective, an adverb, and a verb that you'd think I'd hate any blog that uses all of those, and more. And, the recipes are healthy/vegetarian/verging on vegan - not my usual kind of eating. But, somehow, the surprising juxtaposition of the tone, the cursing, the in-your-face design and fonts with serious vegetarian recipes comes together in a wonderfully irreverent, clever way that tickles me. Now one of my very favorite blogs.

I don't even know if the Thug is a male or a female - the voice could be either and the blog offers little in the way of info about the writer.

The other day, the Thug posted about an improvement to My Beloved's breakfast. Toasted steel-cut oatmeal with quinoa. See what I mean? Oatmeal? Quinoa? Not a beer with a raw egg cracked into it, the kind of thing one might expect a thug to have for breakfast. 

My Beloved actually likes oatmeal. It may be his only flaw. Gag me with a spoon; I literally shudder at the mere thought of oatmeal. But, he does like it and it's good for him, so we make it and he happily eats it roughly 5 mornings out of 7. It fuels his day and scrubs his arteries and his innards, so we are happy. 

But, when I read about quinoa added to oatmeal that had been lightly toasted in minimal olive oil before adding the water, well, I just had to try it. The recipe is easy to make, taking very little more time and attention that our old method, and it really does make a big difference in the flavor of the oatmeal. When he heats his daily portion in the microwave, the scent that fills the kitchen is more reminiscent of whole wheat toast than of oatmeal.  I gingerly tasted a spoonful in the interest of science, ready to spit it out immediately if it was gross, and found that I actually liked it! Hey, Mikey!

My Beloved topped his portion with a just a splash (maybe a tablespoon) of half-and-half and some fresh strawberries, and happily gobbled it all down. The Thug has some other suggestions for toppings, all of which sounded pretty great.

The recipe makes a boatload of breakfast cereal so, unless you have a big family or a seriously big eater at your house, don't double the recipe the first time, as I did. I ended up freezing 2/3 of it so My Beloved won't get tired of it before it's gone. 

So, helly on over to Thug Kitchen  - WTF, it will be fun!