Piling It On: Mediterranean Shake-Up

My roots are not in Themiscyra, but another Mediterranean place that apparently, almost nobody knows about.

On the coattails of the my post, things have been pretty hotfooted in my neck of the woods, and in addition to that, I'm planning to move!

Since August, the newest tenant in the suite next to mine has been a pest. He is freakier than than Crispin Glover would be if he starred in an Edward Gorey book, full of more alcohol and aggressive yelling than an episode of Jersey Shore, and one day he kept bothering me as if I were Matthew Broderick and he were Jim Carrey, The Cable Guy.

The landlord said he was going to kick him out, a week into August, but since he's all talk, I've decided that there is no choice left but to hit him where it hurts: His wallet. Now he has to balls-up and finally deal with this issue by making the guy leave, or find a new tenant who, for a limited time, is willing to pay money for disappearing wireless connection, a neighbor who listens through the cardboard-thin walls and yells psycho jibberish at 1 AM, and a friendly family next door that shouts all day onward from 6 AM. Nobody should be screaming that early unless

1) a house is on fire

2) zombies turn out to be real

3) some other type of emergency presents itself, or

4) a pastry chef finds out that all of their doughs over-proofed through the night.

I have this bad habit of trying to be Wonder Woman, so my goal this month is to squeeze as much healthy energy into meals as quickly as I can, while packing, tossing, and donating my worldly possessions to get ready for December: Moving, working at the restaurant, watching my friend's chihuahuas while she's on vacation, maybe fill in a few spots at the store, finding something cool for a Vancouver toy drive, blogging, writing for The Observer, and oh yeah, Christmas, which I might (see definition: will) end up cooking for. The plan has to include lots of foods that I can walk away from as they cook (roasted potatoes, lasagna, pot roasts), prepare ahead of time (stews, curries, polenta, or whole wheat pasta dough), cook ridiculously fast (whole wheat couscous), and load up with veggies, dairy, and proteins.

Oh, and at some point, latkes have to be made because they're addictive. Being so busy is difficult. I can't fly and don't own an invisible jet, but do understand that January usually leaves kitchen staff with a little more free time on their hands. It's a good opportunity for at-home perogy-making, recipe-testing and working on new skills, my never-ending journey. The end of learning and the subsequently following boredom are what I consider to be the kiss of death for me.

It's nearly impossible to fight your way through flu season, hordes of shoppers, annoying relatives, snowball wars, the wintery urge to hibernate all day, and gloomy weather, if you don't take the time to fuel your body and your mind first? Somebody that you care about should not end up with a cheesy reindeer sweater due to a hunger-induced lapse in judgement, they should only find one if it was asked for, for a Bad Sweater Party.

A key part of avoiding holiday burnout is to pay attention not only to what gets piled onto your workload, but what gets piled onto your plate. I have a December-ish tendency to visit platters of chocolate truffles more than is necessary, which, in my books, is okay because I make sure to eat a lot of vegetables, too. Balance must be sought! Even more important, is remembering to eat breakfast. Breakfast and dessert are my two favourite meals of the day: The stuff that champions are made of! I always have a hard time picking what to start my morning with, when at a restaurant, though: How are you supposed to choose between something hearty, with potatoes, meaty, with sausages or bacon, or light and fresh with veggies? I want it all!

This quick and easy fry-up delivers all of the above, is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and best of all, it hits all four food groups and doesn't need a proper recipe. Just use as much as you want; who has time to measure when they're half-asleep? A little of this, a little of that, and presto, you can wander back under the covers and have a filling meal. It's like breakfast hash, but better, and Mediterranean-inspired.

What a great way to make use of leftovers, like potatoes, sausages, and veggies, and you can even cut out the meat, use gluten-free sausages, throw in a squeeze of lemon juice, roasted mushrooms, hot sauce, edamame beans, pepper chunks, torn pancetta, or crumbled bacon if you like. Texture, flavour, and variety is what we're looking for here. Yum!

Dork fact of the day: Vitamin C from the tomatoes will help you to better absorb iron from the potatoes, sausage, and green veg. Every time I plan to donate blood, I load up on tomatoes, grains, dark green vegetables, and lean red meat for about a week.

Fast food that tastes good and won't land you in the doctor's office.

Spicy, Crunchy Breakfast Sauté with Potatoes, Sausage, and Wilted Greens
Serves one

Olive oil for frying
Cheese, to garnish (grated parmesan, crumbled roquefort, or goat cheese)
Salt and pepper

About a handful of each of the following ingredients:

Cooked potatoes, halved (fingerling, nugget, or chunks)
Chunks or slices of sausage (Italian, chorizo, or lamb work great)
Tomato wedges, chunks, or small tomatoes (grape or cherry)
Green beans
Leafy greens (baby spinach, chopped spinach, or arugula)


Warm up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Place potatoes into oil, cut-side down, and let cook until golden.

Shake pan to flip potatoes over, add sausages and tomatoes, and cook until tomatoes soften and sausage crisps up.

Add beans and leafy greens, shake ingredients in the pan and cook just until the greens are wilted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, top with cheese, and devour hungrily.

                               *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  

Today is my long-awaited Pajama Day, so I'm going to stay in them until I have to go out in public. I already had my shake-up breakfast (this one had roasted mushrooms!), and am going to wash some dishes, do a few loads of laundry, and bag up some clothing and dishes for donation. I need to de-clutter my living space. A part of me wishes that days off weren't so hectic, but at least there's something exciting going on right now. This year has been lucky for me. I've met some really great people in school, at work, and even on random dates, who continue to bring fun, brightness, and helping hands into my life.

Wonder Woman is one of my favourite DC characters, but she hates on males all the time. It's getting stale. Yes, in her stories, they usually are the root of her crises, and this time, they were also the cause of my troubles, but it's not fair to be mad at all of them. Good guys do exist, even in a world bereft of superpowers. The new place is only ten blocks away, and most of my friends are men, so this shouldn't be too hard. I'll plan something delicious, like a slow-cooker of pulled pork on the go or a lasagna slowly baking in the oven as we move boxes.

Eat well!
Kari