Gotta Eat, Can't Cook

January 16th, 2023

Blog, Breakfast, Drinks (no alcohol)

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Jump Starting a Good Day with Great Coffee Made Easy

How ’bout we turn around “Wake up and smell the coffee!” to “Make some great coffee to wake up to!”?

Sounds much better, and It’s easy to do.

First, here’s all you need: either whole bean (my preference) or ground coffee, coffee grinder (if needed), coffee maker, coffee filters and tablespoon.

The secret to making a great cup of coffee is using good (or great) quality fresh coffee beans or ground coffee and the correct ratio between ground coffee and cold water. That ratio is usually 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of cold water, as shown in the coffee package brewing recommendations pictured below. The only problem:…

…coffee maker machines tend to measure water not in ounces but in “cups” – and those cups are neither the traditional 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces, or 6 ounces as shown above, nor are they standard among coffee maker brands.

There’s an easy one-time technique you can see how to use by clicking this link or any picture on this page for easy-to-follow Great Coffee Made Easy picture book directions.

Enjoy and make it a good day! (More about that “make it” next time.)

January 10th, 2023

Blog, Fitness/Health, How To & Tips

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3 Ingredients That Make You YOU: Food, Body, Mind

You’ve heard it many times, “You are what you eat”. That’s only 1/3 true.

Sure, what you eat – plus what you drink and breathe – are the building blocks of every cell in your body. But you are just as much the product of how you move your body and use your mind – and regarding the mind, how you manage stress. As shown in the diagram below, YOU = Food + Body + Mind.

That simple 3 part equation has held true since man evolved as a distinctly separate species from primates four (or so) million years ago. And, despite our transition from millions of years as nomadic hunter gatherers to predominantly agriculturally-based community members only ten thousand years ago, our bodies, and what our bodies need to survive and thrive, have not changed. We still have the same bodies that were built through evolution to survive on foods close to the earth and that still need the same level of daily physical activity and stress management to function properly that we had to rely on to hunt and gather everyday.

That’s just how it is.

And that’s exactly what prompted me to learn for myself, put to practice and then promote how we can best take sensible, life-promoting measures, one step at a time, to help us (me included) make the most of our food, body and mind equation – and do it without making ourselves crazy.

To help provide you with the kitchen skills needed to empower you to make life-promoting foods, I’ll continue putting out fully flavorful picture book recipes to make food preparation as easy as possible no matter how little cooking experience you have.

At the same time, I’ll mix it up with pieces about physical activity and mental/spiritual well being, like, for example the mindfulness/consciousness “Waking Up” practice I’ve been doing daily for over 2 years. Though I’m not pushing any particular program, you get an idea about what I do by checking out the 9-minute video you can see by clicking the image below.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions about any of the above: bruce@gotta-eat.com.

All the best always!

January 3rd, 2023

Blog

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Starting 2023 with Comfortably Warm Glühwein/Mulled Wine Picture Book Directions

2022 ended with some bone-chilling extremes like what you see below.

Frozen, ice-encrusted restaurant near Buffalo, NY, last week

So, how ’bout we start off 2023 on a comfortably warm, fully flavorful note? We call it “glow-wine” in our family, which is a direct translation of the German word “Glühwein” (pronounced “glue-vine”) for “glowing wine”. Glühwein is so named because Germanic people centuries ago used red-hot glowing irons to heat the wine and spices mixed with it to make what has since become a traditional and well beloved hot winter drink. We call it mulled wine in America. Not a very inspiring title. Instead, I love our family’s American name because of how the “glow” adds magic to this very simple-to-make and fantastically flavorful soul-warming hot drink that tastes and feels great when it’s bitter cold and dark outside.

Here’s all you need for ingredients.

Glühwein/mulled wine ingredients: robust red wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and lemon rind

As laid out in the picture book directions you can get by clicking this link or any picture on this page,…

…the two keys to making Glühwein/mulled wine are using a richly flavored red wine and letting the wine and spice mix warm slowly to bring out the flavor of each ingredient.

Enjoy!

December 10th, 2022

Blog

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Best Chestnuts Foreign and Domestic

Roasted chestnuts have been a big part of Tretter family tradition for many decades. And though I knew we had some chestnut trees here in the US, almost every chestnut I’d had until this year came from Italy. That’s because American chestnut trees, billions of them that were a staple for both food and lumber, were decimated by an Asian blight beginning in the 1880’s (for more information, click this American Chestnut Foundation link) and therefore made US chestnuts hard to find, though there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel, as you’ll see below.

Regarding chestnuts from Italy, by far the most explosively flavorful Italian chestnuts I’ve ever had I found last winter in an Acme grocery store imported by Bella Vita (“beautiful life”) while visiting my stepmom in Greenwich, CT. Those chestnuts roasted so well, had such a comforting chewy texture and tasted so good that I had to call the company to let them know how much I liked them.

I called, and funny thing, Bella Vita is headquartered in Harrison, NY, and its smart, personable owner, Celso Paganini, lives within a half mile of where I grew up in that same Town of Harrison. You bet, small world. And, though those killer flavorful chestnuts are not yet available in North Carolina, something I hope we can change, please do look and ask for them if you live in the Northeast. They are well worth the effort and price.

Regarding the domestic bright light mentioned above, I just found an exceptionally rich resource of American-grown chestnuts available from early November to mid-December through Suttles Farm out of Pelzer, South Carolina. Those fresh-off-the-tree chestnuts, as with their other fresh nuts, come to Hickory, North Carolina, where I live, by the truck shown below staffed by Shane Stuart (great guy) and his team. I have to say, with decades of experience, those South Carolina chestnuts are the freshest, easiest peeling, and sweetest tasting chestnuts I’ve ever had. It turns out that American chestnuts, which are making a comeback and, as noted by the American Chestnut Foundation, are known for their smaller size and sweet flavor.

Like I mentioned in the last post, roasting chestnuts is very easy, especially in a toaster oven. Here’s all you need.

You can get complete picture book directions that show both how to roast chestnuts in a toaster oven or a standard kitchen oven by clicking this link or any picture on this page.

November 28th, 2022

Blog, Dessert, Nuts, Seasonal/Holiday Recipes, Snacks, Special Recipes

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How to Roast Chestnuts in a Conventional Oven or Toaster Oven

Just seeing fresh chestnuts in the store at this time of year, which is a little tough where I now live in Hickory, NC, with one brilliant exception – more about that very soon – brings back vivid memories: from seeing and smelling them roast, or burn, on New York City sidewalks on bone cold winter nights to my dad roasting them in an electric pan and all of us cracking them open parked in front of a blazing fire in the living room when I was a much younger kid than I am now.

Roasting chestnuts is very easy, especially in a toaster oven, and well worth the flavor payoff. Here are some quick tips.

1. Select fresh chestnuts that are both heavier in weight and firm to the touch, not spongy. Also, give the chestnuts a quick look for small circular holes in their shell as any holes you find are a sure sign that pests have entered the nut.

2. Before roasting chestnuts, make sure to give them a good cross cut on both the top and bottom of the nut that penetrates the shell and thin membrane inside, as shown below. Making those cuts allows steam to escape as the chestnuts roast. Not making those cuts will allow trapped steam to build up inside the shell to the point of explosion – great, loud sound but annoying mess to clean up, which I DO know from experience.

3. Here is all you need to roast chestnuts either in a toaster oven (more energy efficient) or conventional oven.

Click this link or any picture on this page for complete picture book directions – and enjoy!

November 3rd, 2022

Blog, Cooking Technique, How To & Tips, Microwave

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How to Prevent Splatter Safely When Cooking with a Microwave Oven

As I wrote in February this year, microwave ovens, used as they are designed, are perfectly safe for warming and cooking foods.

But then there’s the issue of how control microwave cooking splatter that is always pure misery to clean. Using any of what you see directly below made of plastic (unless that plastic is clearly certified as “microwave safe”), wax or metal is out.

Plastics from plastic wrap, plastic bags and plastic containers leach what they’re made of, petrochemicals (chemicals made from oil), when heated. The wax from wax paper can melt into microwave cooked foods. Metals, like aluminum foil, reflect microwave energy and, in doing so, will destroy the microwave oven’s energy emitting magnetron – sometimes with spectacular fire. As a good friend would say, “That is NOT good”!

The best solution I’ve found to prevent microwave splatter safely is to cover whatever you’re cooking with a wetted paper towel. Why wet? Because a dry paper towel can slide off a microwave safe plate or bowl, especially if your microwave oven, like the one you see below, has a spinning turntable.

Here’s all you have to do to use this method. Wet and squeeze dry a piece of paper towel.

Cover the bowl or plate with the wetted paper towel the same way you would if you were using plastic wrap, and…

…remove the paper towel after cooking. Easy, safe – and big time splatter avoidance.

October 18th, 2022

Blog, Breakfast, Crepes, Cycling, Cycling Food, Fitness Food, Hiking Food, Leftovers, Running Food, Sports Nutrition

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JIC Follow-Up: Crepe with Nut Butter, Cookie Spread & More

Last post was about a crepe I made with nut butter, cookie spread and raisins, as my dear ol’ mom used to say, “JIC”. And that “JIC” was “just in case” I needed it to refuel on a 60 mile North Carolina ride. And though I didn’t need to refuel on the ride, that full-on flavorful crepe sure didn’t go to waste. No way!

Crepe with nut butter, cookie spread; fruit with yogurt, jam & dried fruit; and coffee

Last weekend I used half of that leftover crepe for breakfast, as shown above, along with fruit, yogurt, jam and dried fruit and a vat of coffee – and, you bet, both the crepe and coffee got a good shot of whipped cream. Again, that breakfast – and a good meal the night before (equally as important) –

…sustained me just fine for another 60 mile less hilly ride, as shown above, with no need to chomp on the nuts, raisins and dried coconut I bagged and shoved in my pocket, again, “JIC”. Ha, Mom!

October 10th, 2022

Blog, Breakfast, Crepes, Cycling Food, Fitness Food, Hiking Food, Running Food

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My Dear Ol’ Mom’s “JIC” and Nut Butter and Cookie Spread Road Crepe

My dear ol’ Mom “live life ‘bright eyed & bushy tailed’ and with compassion” role model had quite a few family famous lines. One was “Take it with you, JIC”, aka “Just in Case”, which she almost always qualified with a blunt “It’s better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it”. Yes, ma’am.

This past Saturday I sure heard her voice between my ears while prepping for a crunch on the bike with my good Hickory brothers. I’d actually started that prep the night before by making fresh crepes – all easy (click this link for picture book directions). I then laid on a good spread of both nut butter and cookie spread and topped that with raisins (click this link for step-by-step picture directions – and skip adding yogurt & whipped cream if you’re packing that crepe as shown below).

Crepe with nut butter, cookie spread & raisins packed in a zip bag for a bike ride

In the background of the 2-shot picture above, you can see what I had for breakfast before the morning ride: fruit with yogurt, jam and dried fruit along with 1/4th of a toasted waffle with nut butter, cookie spread and raisins that I topped later with a shot of yogurt and whipped cream – and very little coffee. I thought I had time. I didn’t.

As I’ve mentioned before, a breakfast like the one above almost always keeps me completely fueled for my rides. Same thing here. We stopped for coffee halfway out. I had an extra large with milk but didn’t eat anything – I wasn’t even slightly hungry – and was just fine for the whole ride as mapped out above.

If my dear ol’ mom could’ve seen me, she would’ve smiled, “Well, at least you had it, sonny. JIC!” Ma’, you bet – and thanks! (Wow, that last line makes my eyes swim – for good reason!)

October 3rd, 2022

Blog, Crepes, Fish, How To & Tips, Leftovers

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Tuna and Provolone Cheese Crepe Picture Book Directions

Last post showed how to make fully flavorful Fresh Crepes with Nut Butter, Jam, Yogurt & Whipped Cream all very easily. Like I mentioned this summer in Killer Versatile Active Life Power Food: Fresh Crepes with Picture Book Recipe, crepes are incredibly versatile – way more versatile than regular syrup-sucking flapjack pancakes.

And crepes make for great “on-the-fly” food. I made a stack of crepes before taking off across the country this summer. On that trip, I loved keeping my foot on the gas to take in all I could about our wonderfully vibrant country. Those crepes worked great for making lunches that I enjoyed rolling on the road, like the ham, cheese and mustard crepe shown above.

I made that crepe no-kidding while gassing up the car and, therefore, didn’t take pictures. When I got home, though, I shot this easy to make Tuna and Provolone Cheese Crepe that you can make either as shown below or by substituting the tuna and provolone cheese with any meat, vegetable and cheese you like. Imagination and flavor rule!

Here’s what I used to put together this Tuna and Provolone Cheese Crepe: leftover pan cooked tuna, provolone cheese, mustard and crepe.

Tuna and Provolone Cheese Crepe Ingredients

I started by spreading mustard on the crepe, laying on a slice of provolone cheese and hand-pulling apart pieces of leftover cooked tuna on half the crepe.

Spreading mustard on a crepe and topping with provolone cheese & cooked tuna

Warm the topped crepe in the microwave oven for 20 seconds.

Warm the crepe in the microwave oven for 20 seconds

Take the warmed crepe out of the microwave oven and fold the cheese only covered half over the tuna covered side and…

Fold the warmed crepe one half over the other half

…enjoy!

September 26th, 2022

Blog, Breakfast, Crepes, Cycling Food, Fitness Food, Hiking Food, How To & Tips, Running Food

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Fresh Crepes with Nut Butter, Jam, Yogurt & Whipped Cream

Last post – I know, quite a while ago – showed how to make fresh crepes, which are just as easy to make as flapjack pancakes but are way more versatile, as shown with just a few examples above.

Whether you use your own crepes or pre-made store bought crepes, the top middle version, filled with nut butter and jam and topped with yogurt and whipped cream is very easy to make, killer flavorful and great power fuel for any kind of strenuous activity because of its combination of simple “get up and go!” sugars from the jam and cookie spread (optional), complex carbs from the flour in the crepe, protein from the egg in the crepe, Greek yogurt and nut butter, and fats from nut butter, yogurt (if you use whole milk yogurt) and whipped cream.

Here’s what I use to put together a crepe like this: homemade crepe (which can be substituted with a prepared, store bought crepe), then from left to right: whole milk Greek yogurt, almond butter, cookie spread (optional – I love both added flavor and light crunch!), jam, raisins and whipped cream.

Crepe with nut butter, jam, yogurt and whipped cream ingredients

Start by spreading nut butter, cookie spread (optional) and jam down the middle of the crepe.

Spreading nut butter, cookie spread and jam down the middle of a crepe

I fold over one of the crepe thirds and add a dab of nut butter to the middle of that third and then fold over the opposing third, as shown below, to keep the crepe folded in place when I warm it in the microwave oven.

Using nut butter to keep the folded crepe thirds together when warmed in the microwave oven

Warm the filled crepe in the microwave oven for 20 seconds.

Warming the filled crepe for 20 seconds in the microwave oven

Finish buy topping the warmed crepe with yogurt and whipped cream.

Finishing with a good shot of yogurt and whipped cream

This crepe just by itself is great. Here’s how I have it before a good crunch on the bike that keeps me satisfied completely with no need to refuel on the fly for distances of 30-50+ miles with plenty of North Carolina hills along the way.