Refrigerator / Toaster Oven: Polish-Style Sardines on Toast

It’s 2:30 in the morning and I could not get a line of dialogue out of my mind. I had been watching Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s BBC TV show, “Elephant’s Can Remember.” A character in the story had said, “I had sardines on toast.”

Because I enjoy British dramas, I occasionally focus on the food mentioned in the stories.

I laughed, nothing says British cuisine like “Sardines on Toast.” It’s simple, cheap and sounds bland.

But, I like sardines and knew I could find some “fancy” recipes for “Sardines on Toast.”

The recipe I choose (link below) is an enjoyable read. Also, the author provides more information and ideas on ways to make and serve “Polish-Style Sardines on Toast.”

 

 

Polish-Style Sardines on Toast
(Adapted from: https://www.everydayhealthyrecipes.com/sardines-on-toast/)

Ingredients:

1 Slice Multigrain bread, toasted

Mustard, or Butter, or Veg oil

1 Large sardine from 425g can of sardines

2 TBspns DIY Pickle Relish

1 Tspn Onion flakes

2 Tspns Dry Parsley

1 TBspn Ketchup

1 TBspn Mayo

Salt to taste

Ground Black pepper to taste

1/2 Capful Lime juice

Optional: add diced radishes.

 

Process:

Spread mustard or selected spread on toast.

Place toast on a plate.

In a bowl, add 1 sardine, pickle relish, onion flakes, parsley, ketchup, mayo, salt and pepper.

Mix, stir, and smash ingredients until ingredients are throughly mixed and smooth.

Spread mixture over toast.

Sprinkle with lime juice.

Sprinkle a little parsley on top.

 

Refrigerate any remaining spread.

 

Microwavee / Toaster Oven: Mug O'Scrambled Egg Bread Pudding or Toast Topping

Went to the frig, what did I need to use up? There was a cracked egg. There was a bit of salsa and a piece of baguette. Sounds like a bread pudding, to me.

Now, while I am getting better at making dishes from various food items and while they often come out ok, I always assume it will be a disaster.

 Mug O’Scrambled Egg Bread Pudding or Toast Topping

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

Black pepper and Garlic powder

1 Egg

3 TBspns Coconut creme or milk

1-2 Tspns Canned salsa

1 Tspn Dry Thyme, crushed between the palms

1 Small piece Baguette (Approximately 2” in length), torn into pieces

Variation: a slice of toast with a light layer of mayo.

Optional Topping: Cilantro dressing

 

Process:

In a mug, add vegetable oil.

Add black pepper, garlic powder, egg and coconut creme.

Stir and whip ingredients well, for about 30 seconds.

Add salsa, thyme and bread.

Stir thoroughly, so the bread is soaked in liquid.

Cover mug with a saucer.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Note: the saucer may pop off.

 

 
Serve straight up in mug, or tip onto a plate, or onto a piece of toast with a light layer of mayo. If on toast, slice egg mixture so that it covers the top of the toast.

 
I was amazed, the thyme gave this a scrambled egg bread pudding a special flavor. I also tried a bit of Cilantro dressing, while I liked it, I liked it plain, better.

 

Microwave: Mug O'Creole Bread Pudding

First, I am shocked.

 

This recipe calls for over 11 ingredients. Me, make a recipe with more than 5 ingredients, never.

 

What happened?

 

I am getting more comfortable cooking recipes that call for more than 5 ingredients, especially, if the ingredients are fairly common. 

 

Ok, ok, I know that reducing a recipe for many to a recipe for one often does not produce the same flavor combinations.

Also, reducing a recipe for many to a recipe for one is often not exact.

Second, I was surprised this recipe uses baguette bread rather than a slice of bread, and it gave this bread pudding quite a different flavor and texture! The pudding is more dense.

 

 

Mug O’Creole Bread Pudding

(Adapted from: Best of the Best V8, p126)

 

Ingredients:

A Dab Vegetable oil

1-3 Drops Hot sauce

5-8 Dashes Onion flakes

3-5 Grinds Ground black pepper

1 Tspn Chorizo, torn into bits

1 TBspn Apple cider vinegar or 3 Tbspns pickle juice

1 Dollop Coconut cream & a dab of water, or milk

1 Dollop Cream

1 Egg

1 Piece of Baguette bread, very small or slice of bread, torn in pieces

2 TBspns Shredded cheese

Toppings:

DIY Sour cream, a sprinkle of cilantro dressing

 

Variation: Add sprinkles of Parmesan Cheese

 

 

Process:

• Add oil, hot sauce, onion, pepper and chorizo to a mug.
• Stir.
• Microwave 15-30 seconds.
• Add coconut cream, cream and egg to mug.
• Whip and stir ingredients thoroughly.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Stir and mix to make sure bread is soaked in liquids.
• Place mug in microwave, cover mug with a saucer.
• Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Check to see if liquid had cooked off. Microwave 30-60 seconds more, if necessary.
• Eat from the mug or spread over a piece of toast with a bit of mayo.
• Add topping of choice.
  

Tip: coconut creme adds a delightful flavor.

 

 

Note: photos taken from two different times,

I made this recipe.

Microwave: Mug O'Scrambled Egg with Cilantro Aderezo (Dressing)

Life is all about solving problems. From birth to death, we face problems to solve. We fight for breath upon birth. We struggle to grasp the significance of the world around us from day one. We must learn to communicate, to move, to walk, to run, to play, to fight, to defend, to love, to wait, to plan, to laugh, to cry, to care, to repair, to decide.

As we age, many nagging problems are often insignificant. We are always learning, how to balance the checkbook, how to change a tire, how to fix the mechanical things we rely on, how to fold a fitted sheet, how to remove a stain, how to study for the latest test, how to parallel park, how to sew, how to catch the right bus, how to read the electric bill, how to find shoes that fit or the right coat or sweater to grab as we run out the door. Problems can nag at us like, forgetting to pickup eggs, milk and bread or aspirin when needed, hoping the ATM has cash and won't reject your card, forgetting to plug in the phone when the battery is low, damning the scammers & money seekers who call day and night, and struggling to find the right ingredients for a new recipe.

I have struggled to use fresh cilantro (can't find any bottles of dry cilantro or coriander where I live). Just pulling the tiny leaves off the stems is a struggle. Freezing does not work for me. So, when I saw this bottle of Cilantro Aderezo (dressing), I decided to give it a try.

Solving problems is also one of the joys of life. Buying that bottle of dressing was a good decision. It has a great taste and does make this recipe full of flavor.

This recipe reminds me of the joy of flavors and how we crave a variety of flavors, hot, sweet, salty, tangy, bitter, intense, smoky, sour, and more.

 

 

Microwave: Mug O’Scrambled Egg with Cilantro Aderezo (Dressing)
(Adapted from: Scrambled Eggs - Indian Style, BBC Food, https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/indianscrambledeggs_86454)

 

Ingredients:

1 Dollop Vegetable oil
1 Tspn Butter
3-4 Shakes Onion flakes
2-3 Drops Hot sauce
2 Grinds Black pepper
1 TBspn Salsa
1 Egg
1 Dollop Milk
Topping: Bottled Cilantro dressing

 

 

Variation, Toast Topping:
1 Tspn Mayo
1 Slice Multi-grain bread, toasted

 

Process:

Add oil, butter, onion, hot sauce, and black pepper to mug.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Add salsa, egg and milk.

Whip and stir ingredients quickly and thoroughly.
Microwave on high for 1-1:30 minutes.
Dump egg mixture onto plate or on top of toast spread with mayo.
Top with a 1/2 capful of Cilantro Aderezo.

 

 

(Product Del Molino de Cortez https://www.alcorsa.com/)

 

Refrigerator: Mug O'Blueberry Cheesecake

Finally, I found a great recipe to make a single serving of refrigerator cheesecake.

 

Refrigerator: Mug O’Blueberry Cheesecake

(Adapted from: http://singularcity.com/satisfy-your-sweet-tooth/)

 

 

Pre-Preparation:

 

I keep dry blueberries in stock. But, if you have fresh blueberries, you can skip this step.

 

Soak 1-2 TBspns dry blueberries in water overnight.

OR

Put blueberries in a cup, add enough water to soak them. Warm blueberries briefly in the microwave (20-30 seconds). Allow to sit at least 30 minutes.

 

 

Ingredients:

2 Sugar Cookies

2-3 TBspns Cream cheese

1 TBspn Yogurt, plain

1/2 Tspn Lime zest

3 Tspns Lime  juice

6-8 TBspns Blueberries, dry, soaked and drained or fresh

 

Process:

• In a cup, stir cream cheese, yogurt, one Tspn lime juice and zest together. Reserve.
• Place one cookie in bottom of mug or cup.
  
• Pour one Tspn lime juice over it.
• Spoon 1/3 cream cheese mixture over the top.
• Place second cookie on top.
• Pour the remaining lemon juice over cookie.
• Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over the top and smooth out the surface.
• Place the blackberries (drained) over the top of the dessert.
• Refrigerate for one hour before serving.
  

MIcrowave: Mug O'Banana Crumble

Make a crumble from almost any fruit.

 

Microwave: Banana Crumble

(Adapted from: http://cookingmatters.org/recipes/banana-crumble)

 

Ingredients:

1/2 - 1 Banana, sliced

Topping:

1-2 TBspns Sugar

1-2 TBspns Flour

1-2 TBspns Oats

1-2 TBspns Vegetable oil

1-2 Dashes Cinnamon

 

 

Process:

Place banana pieces in a small microwaveable bowl or cup.

In a separate bowl, add remaining ingredients.

Stir ingredients to mix well.

Spoon topping over banana slices.

Microwave on high for 1-1/2 minute.

Optional Sauce:

Mix 1 TBspn each, yogurt and honey together.

Spoon sauce over cooked banana mixture.

Variation: Top cooked banana mixture with additional slices of banana and a dash of cinnamon.

 

Microwave: Mug O'Mexican Bread Pudding

Mug O’Mexican Bread Pudding

(Adapted from: https://www.goodtaste.tv/recipe/capirotada-mexican-bread-pudding/)

Ingredients:

1 8oz Coffee mug

1 TBspn Olive oil (or margarine)

2-3 TBspns Raisins

1/4 Apple, diced

1 Slice Multi-grain bread, torn into pieces

1 Egg

1 - 1 1/2 TB Sugar

2 Dollops Milk (or yogurt) or more if needed

1 Capful Vanilla flavoring

1 TBspn Almonds, silvers or crushed

2 Dashes Cinnamon

2 Dashes Nutmeg

Topping: Mixed cheese or other cheese, grated

Optional: 1 Slice of toast with mayo.

 

 

Process:

Add oil to mug.

Swirl oil in mug to coat bottom and sides of mug.

Add the rest of ingredients except cheese.

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.

Add more milk if contents are not moist.

Top with grated cheese.

Place mug in microwave. Use a saucer as a cover.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Check to see if all liquids have been cooked off. If not, microwave on high for 30-60 seconds.

Tip mug contents onto a plate or onto a slice of toast (with or without mayo) on a plate and spread over toast.

 

Microwave: Mug O'Denver Omelet

Mug O’Denver Omelet

(Adapted from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/denver-omelet-4160677)

Ingredients:

 

A Dab of Olive or Vegetable oil

1-2 Drops Hot sauce

1 Egg

1 Dollop Milk

1 TBspn ham or turkey, diced (or 1 slice lunchmeat, sliced), or imitation bacon bits

1/4 Bell pepper, diced or sliced or 3 TBspns Frozen mixed vegetables, cooked

1 Tspn of Canned mushrooms, drained

1/2 - 1 Tspn Onion flakes or 2 TBspns Onion, diced

2-3 TBspns Pickle juice

1 Tspn Salsa

1 Heaping TBspn Cheese, grated

 

Process:

In a mug, add dab of oil. Swirl oil around to coat bottom and sides.

Add hot sauce.

Add egg.

Add milk, stir and whip ingredients.

Add meat.

Add bell pepper, mushrooms, onion flakes, pickle juice, salsa and cheese.

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.

Microwave on high 2-4 minutes to cook off liquids.

 

 
Variation: Use as a toast topping. Spread mayo on toast, add layer of mixture. Refrigerate any leftover mixture.

 

Microwave: Mug O'Peanut Omelet -- An Introduction to George Washington Carver

From tragic beginnings, George Washington Carver became a noted botanist who promoted various agricultural methods and new cash crops like the peanut and sweet potato that helped save the American agricultural economy in the 1930s.

 

This is the first of several peanut recipes, I will attempt to adapt based on Carver's recipes published by Experimental Station, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, Tuskegee Institute Press in BULLETIN NO. 31 June 1925 (Revised from the original publication of April, 1918).

(Retrieved 6/2/2019 from: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/carver-peanut/)

 

 

Original Recipe

"NO. 44, PEANUT OMELET
Cream a slice of bread in half a cup of rich milk; beat the whites and yolks of two eggs separately; add the yolks to the bread crumbs and milk; to half a cup of finely ground peanuts add a dash of pepper and salt; mix thoroughly; fold in the whites, and cook as usual in a buttered pan."

My Version is below.

Mug O’Peanut Omelet (Bread Pudding)
(Adapted from: How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption Seventh Edition, January 1940, By George W. Carver, M.S. in AGR., Director, No. 44, Peanut Omelet)

 

 

Ingredients:

Olive oil
2-3 Drops Hot sauce
Ground Black pepper to taste
A Dollop Milk
1 Egg
1 Slice Bread, multigrain, torn into pieces
1 TBspn Crunchy Peanut Butter or Smooth Peanut Butter

1/2 Tspn Crushed peanuts (Optional)

 

Process:

Add oil to mug, swirl to coat bottom and sides of mug.
Add hot sauce and milk.
Add black pepper.
Add egg.
Stir and whip thoroughly.
Add bread pieces.
Stir and mix to make sure bread is soaked in liquid.
Add peanut butter.

Add crushed peanuts (optional).
Stir and mix thoroughly.
Cover and Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

 

Came out pretty good. For me, because it was a bit sweet, I think of it as a dessert.

 

 

For more information about George Washington Carver:

 

George Washington Carver -- Biography.com
https://www.biography.com/scientist/george-washington-carver

George Washington Carver
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/carver/aa_carver_subj.html

George Washington Carver -- ACS
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carver.html

 

George Washington Carver -- The State Historical Society of Missouri

https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/c/carver/index.html#referenc

George Washington Carver -- National Agricultural Library

https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/ipd/carver/

George Washington Carver -- Peanut Products

https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver/carver-peanut-products

George Washington Carver -- Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

 

(Source: https://www.tuskegee.edu/support-tu/george-washington-carver/carver-peanut products)

Microwave: Mug O'Apple & Mock Mincemeat Crumble

This is just one use for Mock Mincement.

 

Mircowave: Mug O’Apple & Mock Mincemeat Crumble

Ingredients:

Topping:
1-2 Tspns Sugar
2  Level Tspns Flour
2 Heaping Tspns Oats
2 Tspns Olive or vegetable oil
2 Shakes Cinnamon

Add ingredients into a cup. Stir well. Reserve.

 

Additional Ingredients:

1-2 Drops Hot sauce
1/2 Apple, washed, diced
2 Full TBspns Mock Mincemeat
2 Shakes Cinnamon


Process:

Coat bottom of a mug with oil.
Add hot sauce.
Add diced apple, mincemeat, and cinnamon.
Stir and mix well.
Top with reserved Oat Mixture.
Microwave 2 minutes on high.

Mug O'Basic Bread Pudding

Like my post on Simmer Sardines on Toast, this recipe and others illustrate that "What is old is new again."

 

For some reason, I am always amazed to find that many of the latest food trends like Mug Recipes and Toast Toppings are not new. You can find, in several cookbooks over 100-years-old, precedent recipes for Mug Recipes (Tea Cup Bread Pudding) and Toast Toppings (Broiled Sardines on Toast) recipes.

Also, many older cookbooks refer the use of leftovers. A bread pudding often uses stale bread.

 

Mug O'Bread Pudding

(Adapted from: No. 198 Tea Cup Bread Pudding, A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes by Charles Elmé Francatelli)

 

eBook available on Project Gutenberg

 

 Ingredients:

 

1 Dab Olive oil

1 Slice multi-grain bread, torn into small pieces

1 Level TBspn Sugar

1 Dollop Milk

2 Shakes of Nutmeg, powdered

1 Egg

 

 

 Process:

 

Add olive oil to a mug.

Swirl the oil over the bottom and sides of mug.

Add bread pieces.

Add sugar, milk and nutmeg.

Stir ingredients thoroughly.

Add egg.

Stir thoroughly.

Place mug in microwave, use a saucer as a cover.

Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Dump mug contents onto a plate to eat or eat straight from the mug.

 

 

Microwave: Mug O'Vegetable Timbale

 

 At times, trying the Use What You Have method of "cooking" gets great results.

 

Believe it or not, this recipe stems from my attempt to make "Chicken Timbale" from:

 

Cook Book of Left-Overs

UCA

P54/60 physical page no.

"Chicken or Turkey Timbale with or without Mushroom Sauce

 

"When no more slices can be cut from a cooked chicken or turkey, take the bits of meat near the bones, chop fine, and to two cups of such meat allow one cup of soft, white bread-crumbs and one- half cup of hot milk. Mix the crumbs and hot milk together, then add the chopped meat and yolks of two eggs. Season with one teaspoonful of salt and one - quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Beat the whites slightly—they must not be frothy —and mix them well in. Turn the mixture into a buttered pan or mold, cover with a greased paper, and steam; or set in pan of hot water and cook in moderate oven about one hour. Carefully unmold on a hot platter, and serve with or with- out mushroom sauce (see page 69)."

 Until I found the recipe Chicken Timbale, which is similar to a bread pudding, in The Cookbook of Leftovers, I never realized how flexible a bread pudding recipe could be. There are so many variations you can make to a bread pudding recipe.

This recipe is a marriage of a Mug O'Frittata and a bread pudding.

Plus, this recipe includes sources for grain, vegetables, diary, and protein.

 

 

Mug O'Vegetable Timbale
(Adapted from: Chicken Timbale, The Cookbook of Leftovers, published by Harper & Brothers, p60)

eBook available on Project Gutenberg

 

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1-3 Drops Hot sauce

A Dash of Ground black pepper.

1-2 TBspns Pickle Juice (Optional)

A Dollop Milk

1 Egg

2 TBspns Canned mixed vegetables

1 TBspn Canned mushrooms (Optional)

1 Slice of multi-grain bread, torn into tiny pieces.

1 slice of Turkey lunchmeat, torn into pieces (Optional)

Optional Sauce: 1/8 Cup Mushroom soup mixed with a bit of hot sauce and ground black pepper.

 

For Toast Topping:

1 Slice Toast, multi-grain.

Mayo

 

 

Process:

Add a dab of oil to mug.

Swirl oil to coat bottom and sides.

Add hot sauce.

Add ground black pepper. 

Microwave mug and contents for 10 seconds.

Add pickle juice.

Add milk.

Add egg.

Stir and whip ingredients thoroughly and rigorously.

Add vegetables and mushrooms.

Add bread pieces.

Stir to make sure bread is soaked in liquid.

Add turkey pieces (Optional)

Stir and mix ingredients thoroughly.

Place mug in microwave.

Use a saucer as a cover.

Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Check to see if liquid has been cooked off.

If not, microwave for 30-45 seconds more.

Remove.

Use a knife to separate mixture from the side of the mug.

Tip mixture onto a plate.

Heat mushroom sauce in separate bowl.

Pour over mixture.

 

Variation Toast Topping:

Place toast on plate.

Coat toast with a bit of mayo.

Spread some of the mixture over toast.

 

With or without the toast, this is a substantial meal.

 

Updated 1/16/21, text added, process changed, picture added.

 

Microwave: Mug O'Frittata

Over time, I shifted from making a Mug dish and eating it straight from the mug to using the recipe as a Toast Topping. Now, I am using various recipes as a Quesadilla filling.

 

Also, over time, I have moved away from frying foods. Plus, I hardly every use salt in my recipes because often many of the ingredients already contain salt.

 

I do attempt to make my recipes GERD-friendly. This can not be labelled GERD-friendly primarily because it contains cheeses.

 

 

Mug O’Frittata 

(Adapted from: Recipe Tin Eats https://www.recipetineats.com/baked-vegetable-frittata/ and WikiCookBook https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Frittata)

Ingredients:

1 Slice Multigrain toast or “fried” Tortilla*

1 Dab of Olive oil

1 Egg

1 Dollop of Milk (lactose-free)

1-2 Drops Hot sauce

1 Tspn Parsley, dry

S/P to taste

1-2 TBspns Hard or mixed cheeses, grated

1 Slice of Turkey lunchmeat, torn into pieces

2 Heaping TBspns Canned mixed vegetable, drained & rinsed, or frozen mixed vegetables

Mayo (Optional)

Topping: 1 TBspn Canned Mushroom slices / bits, rinsed (Optional)

Garnish: parmesan cheese (Optional)

 

Process:

Add oil to mug, swirl to cover bottom and sides.

Add egg, milk, spices and S/P.

Stir and whip thoroughly.

Add cheese, vegetables and turkey pieces.

Stir and mix well.

Top with mushrooms.

Microwave on high 2 minutes.

Check to make sure all liquids have been cooked off, if not microwave 60secs or more.

Remove and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Spread some mayo over toast or "fried" quesadilla.

Mash and spread the mixture over toast, or a tortilla and fold (It will be stuffed).

 

 

I did not use the mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, or put mayo on the "fried" quesadilla and it was fabulous and filling.

*Note: I microwaved the tortilla for about 60sec on high to "fry" it. A microwaved tortilla is not as good as a fried tortilla but I am just not frying much these days.

 

To fry a tortilla, put a bit of oil in a skillet and brown the tortilla on both sides and then while still in the skillet fill one side of the tortilla, fold over and cook a bit more. Then remove from skillet to plate.