A basket? No, how about a skillet?

Baked Omelette Pie

     In keeping with my attempted resolution to drop gluten, at which I failed last night by having a piece of pizza, here's a wonderfully complex, but workable, recipe. Here is a link to the original recipe. This recipe calls for a cast iron skillet, but if you don't have one, a regular skillet can work, but be sure that it is able to be used in an oven up to 350° F (175°C). Below is my version of it with accommodations for this MesS.

Ingredients

1 large baking potato

6 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped ham

1 tomato, sliced

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

     I know it seems like a lot to do just to make something for breakfast, but I do have a few 'short cuts' that might make it easier to make it. 😏

• Instead of a large baking potato, consider a Yukon golden, or red skinned potato. They're smaller, cook faster, don't need to be peeled, and taste MUCH better.
• Instead of cracking six eggs, which for me is enough work to need a nap on some days, consider "Egg Beaters," or some other alternative. They have an added bonus of being a little healthier too.
• Slicing tomatoes always gives me fits. Trying to hold the tomato, slicing through, and NOT squishing it is never easy. Sometimes I just use canned tomatoes, or even sun dried. But be careful, with sun dried tomatoes a little goes a long way.

Directions

• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add potato and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and slice.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Beat together eggs, salt, pepper and parsley.
• In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion and red pepper until soft, then stir in mushrooms. When mushrooms start to shrink, add the chopped ham, potato and tomato slices. Pour in the egg mixture; gently stir to combine.
• Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and place skillet in preheated oven. Bake until eggs are firm, about 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool briefly before serving.

It tastes wonderful, and leftovers make a good brunch or snack cold right from the fridge. Now, for some cheesy egg puns. 😜

"I went to the store today and bought some really oddly shaped eggs.

Now I can't find them.

I think they've been mislaid."

"What day to eggs hate the most?

Fry-day."

"How many French eggs do you need?

One egg is un oeuf."

"I was walking past the store today when I saw a sign saying, 'All items one-third off.'

So I bought a dozen eggs.

Unfortunately four of them were rotten."

There are a lot more here.

Deliciously Vichyssoise

     In keeping with my attempt to lower the impact that I make on the ground, losing weight, I have embarked on a trial of going gluten free. Now, I am not severely going gluten free, as some have to do for health reasons (i.e., celiac disease). I am not going this extreme for two main reasons. First, I do not have Celiac Disease, so I do not have an aversion to gluten. Second, I know that if I try to go full blown, zero gluten I will: get bored, become frustrated, and then quit. But, I am going to try a gluten free recipe and share it along with any extrapolations I have come across or improvised.
     So, here is the first: Vichyssoise, or leek and potato soup. It can be a very simple or a highly complicated recipe, depending on how much of a stickler for following recipes you are.  Now, this might seem like it is very difficult, but there are some aspects that make it easier for those of us with limited mobility.

• It only uses one pot. Since there is no grease to be drained, meats to be separated, or cooked things to add later, this entire recipe can be cooked in one big pot.
  
• It is easy to supplement some the 'pricier' ingredients with just one simple one. See the notes in RED.
  
• It tastes REALLY GOOD! - Fat guys know what tastes good. The proof is in the pudginess.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 
  
• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed leeks (Clean and slice a leek) I also add an onion, sliced, for extra flavor.
• 
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 
  
• 1 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into eighths (any potato will work, but Yukon Golds are the best.)
• 
  
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or more as needed to adjust thickness

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• (to make it simpler, I just use 1-2 cups of buttermilk)
• 
  
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• Chopped fresh chives for garnish
• *An added ingredient that I also use is good cheddar cheese, grated and stirred into the soup while hot.*

Directions

1. Melt butter in soup pot over medium-high  heat. Add leeks and salt; cook until leeks begin to wilt. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook until soft and almost paste like, 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Place potatoes in the pot; add chicken broth. Adjust heat so mixture simmers slowly. Cook until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Puree mixture with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Whisk in heavy cream and creme fraiche. Heat over medium heat. Add more salt, if needed, and cayenne pepper. Do not boil.
3. Serve with a drizzle of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of chopped chives.

Here's a video of a chef that really follows the recipe.

Experiment: Gluten free?

     I have officially embarked on a new journey. I am trying a gluten free diet. At first, I was anxious about it. I really didn't want to give up a lot of the foods I like, have to buy only expensive, often severely so, foods, or adopt veganism. But, upon researching the topic, it turns out that most of what I feared to lose did not need to be avoided. Then there's beer-cue the exasperated, "Sigh." But, I've figured a way around that mountainous molehill: Vodka! Speaking of vodka, I've also started trying gluten free recipes that I've either used before, without caring whether or not they were gluten free, or discovered after looking into the topic.

Here's some reasons why I'm hoping it'll help my symptoms:

1. Multiple Sclerosis News Today
2. Verywell.com
   
3. Naturally Savvy

     So, here's my first choice: Leek and Potato Soup. It is from a wonderful web page All Recipes.
Here's the recipe (PDF)