Where to start? There are so many elements to trying to lead a greener life. It encompasses everything from where we get our food from to what we clean with. For me, it even means staying away from unnecessary synthetics (in clothing, in the kitchen, etc).

I spent a good part of the last few months researching in preparation for going green. In a way, it felt counter-intuitive because I put off starting until I was sure I could start and continue with success. Part of my concern is with the aspect of where we get our food. My area of Connecticut is startlingly devoid of butchers, for instance. And finding things like wheat, flour and sugar that isn’t from a giant company and shipped for thousands of miles is pretty much impossible.

Some decide to take drastic measures for their green pursuits, much like No Impact Man is doing. That’s just not me. The more gradual change I am taking will ultimately be more sustainable in my life.

Want to know more about my green transition? Check out Operation Green, a weekly column by Cate of Sweetnicks and I on Well Fed On The Town. It appears every Monday.

I recently wrote about the Kenmore PRO line of appliances for The Cook’s Kitchen over at The Well Fed Network. The relatively new product line has professional equipment styling with a more affordable price (it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles either, but looks like it should). Have you seen these appliances on Top Chef and fallen in love? Or maybe you have them at home? Perhaps you’ve been oogling them in Sears? If you are in love with Kenmore PRO, it’s time for you to put your love into words. Read all about the Kenmore PRO: How Do I Love Thee? contest sponsored by Sears and The Well Fed Network here. The deadline for entries is Monday, June 20 at 11:59 p.m.

Will LOVES pizza. It is quite possibly his all-time favorite food, though he is still a little young to say for sure. Nonetheless, whenever I ask him what he wants to eat for dinner, the answer is usually pizza (or, as he says it, peet-za).

Knowing that my husband would be working tonight, I decided pizza would be our dinner of choice. At first I was just going to order a pie from our favorite place here in town, but then at work I started thinking about how easy it is to make. Even the dough is a cinch in the Breadman. So, after my doctor’s appointment today, I came home and threw the ingredients into the bread machine. I was reading through my go-to pizza dough book, The Best Pizza is Made At Home, when I noticed that this recipe actually makes enough for two 10-inch pizzas. So, I made sure to separate the dough and refrigerate one portions – yea for an easy dinner later.

Unfortunately, there were a few minor disasters on the way to the table. For one, the pizza stone developed this bizarre burnt section (it had appeared clean when I put it in there) leading me to believe that someone forgot to wash it last time. That’s the only explanation I can think of that makes any sense. Anyway, now I will be replacing that.

Onward and upward, I decided to use a nonstick baking sheet instead. No problem. Except that I let the pizza cook for about 5 minutes too long (Will was in the bath!) and it burned a bit on one side. Fortunately, it wasn’t ruined, just overcooked. And Will still enjoyed it.

To cook this pizza, top as desired and cook for 12-18 minutes in an oven preheated to 500 degrees. Let cool slightly before cutting.

2/3 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp active dry yeast

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a bread machine in the order listed. Set to dough (or pizza dough, if you have it) cycle. When it’s complete, divide and mold into pies. Freeze any unused dough.

Is the weekend really over already? I mean, I know I had a longer weekend thanks to an out-of-town work assignment Friday that left me with the afternoon off. And I know I fit a ton of things into my weekend, like reorganizing my pantry, my office/former dining room closet, swimming, farmer’s market, grocery shopping, etc. But is it really time to start the week all over again? I am just not ready!

But alas, I must.

One thing I love about mornings that I drop Will off at daycare: I get to spend some time with him before work. And he can be really fun in the morning. (That being said, I prefer to pick him up after work, since I get out earlier and we can come home and play too – but he’s usually a little warn out by then.) Anyway, this morning I might just make Will breakfast before we leave. That’s a first (if I feed him breakfast – daycare usually does – it’s fruit and a carb. Very simple, very quick.).

Yesterday, I was on a major cooking spree – first my big breakfast, then my perfect-every-time grilled cheeses for lunch and finally, dinner. The dinner you see above.

This was really an on-the-fly dinner that I threw together. Fortunately, I jotted down the recipe while I was running around, pulling it together. It’s definitely worth a try. Shawn was surprisingly enamored with it and even went back for seconds – well, except for the tomatoes. I think it was the subtle cheesy filling that really made the dish.

All in all, this was a pretty easy dinner to toss together. It took about 40 minutes, including prep time, to get on the table, which isn’t bad for a Sunday.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
1/4 tsp lavender
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 slices bacon
salt and pepper
Lemon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (the nonstick kind works best).

Wash the chicken breasts and pat dry. Butterfly the chicken breasts, leaving the two halves connected. The Food Network has a great step-by-step guide with pictures here on how to butterfly chicken breasts. Place the chicken, open, on a plate or work surface.

In a small bowl, combine the grated Swiss, lavender and kosher salt. Divide the mixture evenly among the chicken breasts, spooning onto one side of the breast only.

Fold the other side of the chicken breast over the Swiss mixture. Wrap each breast with one slice of bacon, beginning at one end of the breast and working diagonally towards the other end.

Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Carefully transfer the chicken breasts to the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.

Sprinkle with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and a bit of sea salt just prior to serving.

I was much more daring this week with my breakfast. We had Ina Garten’s Maple Roasted Bacon, hash browns, a cheddar omelet split between Will and Shawn, and French toast. Talk about carb overload.

Secret of making good breakfast #1: Lower the temperature on the burner!
You would think I already knew this, but the truth is that it’s not something that ever crossed my mind – until today. Rather than using my typical medium (5 on my stove) setting, I set the burners to 4 – or medium low. Well, except for the hash browns, which remained on 5. And guess what? Everything came out perfectly except for those darned hash browns (though Shawn pointed out that the, um, extra crispy hash browns were a huge improvement over the last time I made them when they were undercooked). Live and learn.

With the French toast, it was a pleasant surprise not to burn it (the spoils of using a lower temperature!). And it was the most flavorful French toast I’ve ever eaten. I’d say that’s good. The number of servings it produced (three slices of French toast) surprised me, but it’s easy enough to double. And if you are like me and like variety at breakfast, one slice is a perfect accompaniment to eggs and perhaps a little fruit.

The bacon recipe by Ina Garten, better known as the Barefoot Contessa, was not only simple and easy, but it made clean-up a cinch. The one thing I would change is that next time, I would line the drip pan with aluminum foil so I could just wrap up the grease and throw it out. Other than that, the Maple Roasted Bacon was fabulous – just the right mix of sweet and salty. Mmmm.

Now, here’s the funny thing about the meal. The omelet? That was supposed to be scrambled eggs, but I forgot to scramble them while they were cooking. Oops. And more funny, it’s the first perfect omelet I have made in . . . well, a long time. Sorry, no recipe to go with that though, since it was completely unplanned.

See also Spinach and Cheddar Egg White Omelet.

2 large eggs
2 tbsp skim milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 slices bread (white is what I used – a light wheat or raisin could be good too)

Whisk together eggs and milk. Add the cinnamon and vanilla extract and whisk together.

On the stove, preheat a griddle over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking oil.

Dredge one slice of bread through the egg mixture on both sides. Place on griddle. Cook, about 5-7 minutes per side (flip over when side facing down is golden brown).

Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Ina Garten’s Maple Roasted Bacon
serves 4
from Barefoot Contessa at Home

8 slices bacon
maple syrup (the real stuff, not Mrs. Butterworth’s)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay bacon slices on the rack of a roasting pan (I used the broiler pan from my oven; Ina also suggests that you could use an oven rack over a baking sheet).

Put the bacon in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes (I did about 16.5 minutes), until beginning to crisp. Remove carefully from the oven and brush each bacon slice with maple syrup.

Return to oven and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately.

* * * * *
What is Sunday Breakfasts?
Breakfast is daunting for me, to say the least. Pancakes burn, eggs dry out, sausage turns to rubber … it’s a curse. But one I want to reverse with practice. But I am working hard to reverse the curse. Each Sunday for the next few months, I will be posting a breakfast – including the hits and misses. And when it’s all over, I will hopefully have conquered my kitchen in the morning.

Let’s get something clear – I don’t like pork chops. I purchased a large quantity when I was developing recipes for the cookbook and have several left over. I was dreading eating them, but knew I couldn’t put it off forever (much as I would like to!). But then I saw a recipe at Kalyn’s Kitchen. Simple, easy, and sounding quite tasty. I decided to try it.

Of course, I was missing some ingredients and added others. When all was said and done, Shawn likened this to the boneless spareribs at our local Chinese food restaurant – except, this version is cleaner, healthier and fresher. And without prompting, he answered the question I always ask him, “Would you have me make this again?” with enthusiastic affirmation. As for Will? He was too busy eating it up as fast as he could give any response . . . but I imagine that means it was good.

So, thanks Kalyn for the inspiration. This was a great dish (speaking of dishes, that is Will’s new Corelle there – He’s loving it.)

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground ginger (the powdered one you’ll find in the supermarket)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cinnamon (use a good quality one)
4 thick pork chops

Combine all the ingredients except the pork chops in a bowl and whisk together.

Wash pork chops and place in a Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over. Let sit for 8 hours or more (I let mine marinate all day while I was at work – about 9.5 hours.

Cooking Methods:

1) Grill: Set the heat to medium on your gas grill. Let the grill warm. Place pork chops on and cook, 6-8 minutes on each side. Cut into the chops to be sure they are done. If they aren’t, cut slits 1/4 inch apart, place on top rack and turn heat up to high. Cook for an additional 4-5 minutes until done.

2) Oven:Turn on your broiler. Place pork chops on a broiling pan and into the oven. Cook about 12-16 minutes until cooked through. Follow the above procedure if they aren’t yet done.

No, I haven’t disappeared. Its just been a busy week. I had some work to do on the cookbook, which is coming along nicely and is due out in August (!). YAY! I cannot wait to see what the cover looks like and to hold it in my hands – a hard copy of a cookbook that I personally wrote. I am so excited.

Other than that, I am just working for the weekend right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I just need a break. But vacation is coming so that should be a good relief.

On another note, I stumbled on a bank statement from five years ago over Memorial Day weekend. Boy, have I changed in five years. Five years ago, I was just beginning my career in journalism. I was sure I knew it all (I didn’t, still don’t) and wanted to take charge (still do). Five years ago, I was unmarried with no children. My income, which was less than half what it is now (perhaps a third even), went primarily to three things: food, shopping and my car. I paid more for insuring my car then I do now for insuring both my husband’s and my own. I went tanning regularly. And all the time, I thought I was broke (I didn’t know what broke was).

I can’t help but let the if I only’s creep into my head once in a while – if I had only saved some money instead of shopping and eating out so much (I honestly rarely cooked, because I didn’t know how to cook for one and was afraid to cook with meat). If I had only had the foresight to plan for the future.

I’m older, wiser, married and a mother now. I still spend more than I should (particularly on food, but it’s ingrediants now), but I also make a conscious effort to save money too. In five years, I would like to look back and think how smart I was to start saving. I would like to be in a good, stable financial place in five years.

Where were you five years ago? Where do you want to be in five years?

See these irises? I don’t remember having them last year. I didn’t plant them. Yet suddenly they are all over my property (I am not complaining, just merely surprised). And you know what else? The strange “decorative grass” that my husband keeps trying to cut down beside my porch? Turns out it is another variety of iris, that’s near blooming. How strange is that? You would think that after three years of living here I would be used to the foliage on my property. But this has been a banner year for things blooming that haven’t in the past – like my tulips out front that bloomed for the first time this year after being planted three years ago. That being said, my lilacs had their shortest bloom in recent memory – less than a week.

Anyway, in my little garden plot (sorry, no pictures yet), I have been struggling with what to plant. At first I was thinking flowers and perhaps some compact bush-type things. After last year’s unmentionable catastrophe, I didn’t want to deal with food in the garden again.

But this past weekend, Will and I dropped by Shortt’s Farm and Garden Center (owned by my cousin and her husband) in Sandy Hook and the tomato plants just sounded so alluring that I ended up coming home with a pack of big boys, a pack of heirlooms and two packs of basil. Now I am thinking I might add some green beans and perhaps a few other herbs as well. Hopefully, with the right attention this year, I won’t repeat the mistakes of last year and the year prior (such as letting weeds get out of control. Eeeek.).

Eh, I’ll settle for just producing more than two edible tomatoes (with 12 tomato plants, I sure hope that’s the case). Ultimately, I would love to have enough tomatoes to dice, puree, crush and make into a puree – all for canning this year. We shall see.

Cinnamon toast anyone?

Cinnamon toast happens to be a favorite breakfast for both Will and I. It could have something to do with the fact that I am a disaster when it comes to traditional breakfast foods. Pancakes burn, eggs dry out, sausage turns to rubber … it’s a curse. But one I want to reverse with practice.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I haven’t wanted to know how to cook breakfast foods well – I have. It’s just that after repeated bad incidents I got a bit worn down on the whole thing. However I do plan on working hard at my breakfast skills over the next few months and posting the results each Sunday . . . particularly because Will can now speak and tell everyone how Mommy doesn’t make him breakfast (the way I told my math teacher that I didn’t eat breakfast and that my mother was okay with it in 6th grade. Oh the horror. She asked though!).

So Sunday breakfast this week? Cinnamon toast. Simple. Easy. Tasty. Check back next week for another breakfast.

4 slices white bread
1 tbsp butter
equal parts good cinnamon and sugar

Toast the bread.

Divide the butter amongst the four slices evenly and spread well.

Combine equal parts cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the slices. Tilt to remove any excess.

Serve immediately.

Back in April, Kalyn posted a question to me here. I tactfully (or perhaps not so tactfully) ignored it because it wasn’t one I was ready to answer in public. But I think I have waited a sufficient amount of time now. So, the answer is yes, Kalyn, I am pregnant. Will, my sweet little boy, is going to be a big brother.

Now fear not, dear reader, there isn’t suddenly going to be a rush of recipes for, say, pickle and sauerkraut cookies (not to say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind). Fortunately, this child seems to be more interested in fresh veggies, fruits and lots of carbs. But junk food? Eh. Ice cream? Eh. Even chips. Eh. Unless any of it is homemade. Go figure.

But considering I typically shun processed foods and prefer homemade over store bought, it’s not so bad, particularly now that walking in my kitchen isn’t cause for running far, far away.

These cookies? They are my favorite recipe – the old Toll House one. I revisited the recipe last night, making a few minor changes because of ingredient mishaps and the desire to just do it by hand. I never use nuts, and my husband just threw out my baking soda (who knew it expires!). Oh, and I didn’t feel like pulling out the Kitchen Aid, so I mixed everything by hand – what a good workout!

The cookies came out buttery and sweet and perfect. Just the way I like ‘em.