kayeon eats: I’ll Write What I Want Dang it! – Eggs, Sausage and Yam + GF Chocolate Pancake

I know I know I know. I said I would write about the 10 things that I wrote yesterday, and I really do want to write about them but … you must understand that to ME, it’s a little redundant when there’s things happening RIGHT NOW. Which means… that I might have wanted to write the blog post just as they happened so that the blog post captures the excitement of the newly discovered creation. In all honesty, if I had an assistant that could record my thoughts, and be ME, so that I could blog my thoughts and food every day…then that would be great… but no such luck so far. I’m holding interviews at your earliest convenience. Email me at kayeoneats@gmail.com if you so feel like you could be my personal assistant or my clone…

Until that happens. I suppose you’re just going to have to deal with my inconsistency.

So what am I writing about today?

Well, my friend Yune posted a picture on Facebook from our adventures whilst I was in NYC, and that prompted me to want to write about how I came to make that meal for her and I that fateful day. Someone had made a comment saying that once they get to NYC, they expect her to make that meal for her without knowing that she doesn’t know how it’s made. So this is an instructional guide that will hopefully help her make it happen.

I went down to NYC a couple weeks ago and I really really enjoyed it for the first time in a very relaxed pace with no pressure or concrete agenda. I was there pretty much to get away from Toronto and the stresses looming over me (who isn’t stressed lately? Geeze, it’s only March and people every where are stressing out!) so I went to relax as well as explore the parts of the city that I never really anticipated running into. You could say that I viewed Manhattan like that of a local, in the sense that I wasn’t running around trying to take in the sights and sounds of the city as a tourist would. OH you know, like running

My favourite shoes EVER! (Don’t worry I didn’t buy them)

from Empire State, to Times Square, then Battery Park to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, Shopping til you drop, then see a Broadway show. I always needed a vacation from a vacation after I went to NYC. It’s like running a constant marathon!

This time around, I was fortunate enough to enjoy it in leisure because I had been lucky enough to have been here 4 times prior. I suppose I go at least once a year. I stayed in HI Hostels the 1st time as a youngster at the age of 17, in a Queens Apartment the 2nd time, Harlem L Hostels the 3rd time, Harlem at a Bed and Breakfast then Lower East Side at a Bed and Coffee place the 4th time. This time however, I was able to stay at my friend Celine’s place, on the Upper East Side on 86th… and it was by far the most relaxing trip I’ve had to NYC.

I cooked in the kitchen as if it were my own apartment, I was able to sleep in without a worry, Yune and I walked to the MET and saw just the bit of the exhibits that we wanted to see rather than trying to take in the entire thing. I suppose I was just… going with the flow, which is something that I hadn’t done often.

If any of you know me personally, which I think most of my readers at this point, are just my friends, you all know… I usually have to have everything planned to the T. I admit, I haven’t let go of that yet, but ya know…. (uhhh, now I’m getting off track…what was I talking about?)

OH YES, the breakfast. It was entirely spur of the moment, I think this was the morning of my last day in NYC, actually… and I just had yams in the fridge, 2 Italian Sausages, Eggs… Yogurt… Cilantro…

then I thought. I don’t only want a savoury thing… I was dessert too! (Yes, I want it ALL, all the freaking time!) So I made gluten free vegan chocolate pancakes with Honey Yogurt. YUM!

Ok I’ll shut up now. Here’s the meal:

I don’t have a “Before Picture” like I usually do… I do however have the pictures from while we shopped at the most expensive grocery store I’ve ever been in. The Food Emporium.

Scenario: 7pm at night, people shopping for groceries before dinner, people pushing $1000 baby buggies wearing black wool coats and designer bags. everywhere. I suppose that’s what it’s like on the Upper East Side as it’s an affluent neighbourhood with $ Million (+) Condos and such..

Anyway. This place was pretty pricey.. we just got a few things here, then went to another 24 hour grocery store. It was quite the nice grocery shopping experience though! It was like being in a museum full of food! Everything displayed so nicely, with gleaming descriptions on each item and beautifully showcased displays. Who wouldn’t want to spend $3.99 on Broccoli and Cauliflower?

They did have some neat things though, that I had never seen before. I suppose it’s not THAT expensive.. it is reasonable… but… I suppose food prices are just expensive everywhere… except for China Town.

I don’t know if you can see that but the left one says: Robust & Peppery Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The middle one says: French Extra Virgin Olive Oil with quaint illustrations

The right one says: Fig Vincotto Vinegar. ooOooo… Fig Vinegar from Italia?

At least they try! They had a sign that says Please Don’t Double Bag! (props! I HATE people that double bag… ahem.)

So we migrated to another place with I suppose cheaper groceries but a great selection! 100% Soybean Waxed Paper? AWESOME! (Yes I’m a dork)

We Mainly came here for the spices. Look at this selection! Guess what there was at the Food Emporium? Pshh… the SMALLEST selection of spices in TINY bottles for like… 5 bucks each! RIP OFF!

AAAAAAnyways. Here’s how you make the meal:

Ingredients:

Main Meal

1 or 2 Yellow Cooking Onions, sliced.
2 Spicy Italian Turkey Sausages
1 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil
2 Large Yams
2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce of some sort
1 tsp Dried Cilantro
2 Cloves of Garlic
Handful of Fresh Cilantro
Salt and Pepper
One green Onion
A little butter
2% (+) Plain Yogurt. We used Plain Greek Yogurt
2 Free Range Eggs (it doesn’t have to be Free Range, but… think of those poor chickens!)
Serve with Orange Juice

Gluten Free Chocolate Pancake

2% (+) Greek Honey Yogurt. If you don’t have honey yogurt, just add some honey to some plain yogurt
1/3 cup Coconut Milk
1 cup or so of Bob’s Mill Gluten Free Brownie Mix
1 egg

Instructions:

1. Slice up an onion and sauté an onion in a little veg. oil. Medium Low Heat so it gets some caramelization going.

2. Slice up the 2 Spicy Italian Turkey Sausages in coin size medallions. Add to the onions, and wash your cutting board thoroughly. Cover the pan with a lid so that it helps the sausages cook through evenly.

3. Boil some water in a pot. Don’t fill it up all the way or else it will overflow once you get the Yams in. Cut up some yams. Slice in inch thick slices, then cut into 4’s. I leave the skins on because it actually has a lot of nutrients and vitamins in it.

4. Add some tomato sauce in. I used this jar I just found in the fridge.

5. Add spices and seasonings. Black Pepper, and dried Cilantro

6. Water’s boiling! Add the yams and put on a lid

7. Stir it around a bit and put the lid back on.

8. After a couple minutes, mince some garlic with a knife, I micro planed it in. The garlic always likes to stick to the bottom of the micro plane so I always tap it against the side of the pan to get the excess off the bottom.

9. Fresh Cilantro! Take the tops off and try to get the least amount of stem as possible. Wash it, squeeze all the excess water out, roll it into the tightest ball as possible, and slice it, then chop it. Add to the pan

10. Add some salt. Ahh so cute! Be Careful! Not too much! Stir it around and take it off the heat It’s basically done.

11. I switched sides. Put the yams where the largest burner is to make it cook faster. Slice up a green onion to serve with the meal later.

12. Pour out a bit of the Gluten Free Brownie Mix, and crack and egg without getting any of the shell in. As you can tell, I failed on that respect. It’s okay, I fished out the shell. (Taking photos with one hand and cracking an egg with another isn’t such a great move). Mix together with a fork.

13. Add enough coconut milk to make it like a pancake batter consistency. Not too thick, Not too runny.

14. Poke the yams with a fork and if it goes in smoothly, it’s done. Drain the yams either in a colander, or I just used a sieve to transfer it. Fry it up in another non stick pan