Food for Thought: What's in Your Pockets?

Impatience

I was having a conversation with hubby about healthy snacks, the art of the grilled cheese and pre-meal hunger chasers and this gave me the idea for  a little experiment. I had a few pita pockets handy, a scantily packed fridge and cupboard that contained a few resources. I was nowhere near the grocery store but there was plenty to see.  Time to get inventive without throwing good taste into the storm cellar as dinner hour was fast approaching.  Lions,  and Tigers and Bears Oh my. ;) (Wizard of Oz)


As hubby headed up to the loft to listen to a few tunes, I dawned my hat  and headed out into the spectacular outdoors for a little tete to tete with Bar B Q.   She's a doll when it comes to  outdoor cooking and flavorful coal fired grilling.You can  also add mesquite seasoned wood chips  to the coals  for an added smoky mesquite flavor. Warning: Please do not gnaw on the chips, as you would a stick of  raw sugar cane,  stick to what is on the grill.. :)Just say'n as the scent of mesquite can be alluringly distracting to the hungry. Incidentally,  I have tried sugar cane,  raw, delicious!

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)
"Seek simplicity, and distrust it."

Luckily the wind came up dispelling  the hoard of  little black flies away from  my netted ear canals,  eyes and  mouth even as I hummed a few bars from "The Little Black Fly Song" in hopes of respite from the swarm.  Facial orifices  are an attraction for them much to my chagrin. With the bugs now at bay,  I lit the BBQ for dinner preparations and a little culinary adventure. Bedecked in my bear bells, I thought it might be easy to add the pitas to the grill with a small cube of cheese of choice stuffed in the pocket,  while I cooked the chicken.  The air was weighted with a silence  interspersed with a concert of bird song. Those melodies. so varied,  exist as a form of identification and communication of   birds, the vertebrata,    classification. They are the ornithologists delight and the originators of tunes long before we humans knew how to strum a guitar, or gauge our vocal chords for the purpose of producing scales and notes for perfect pitch.

Chicken with garlic, and Montreal Chicken Spice+ Grilled Cheese Pita 

Ode de BBQ was an enticing cologne in this sequestered habitat as I adjusted the flame listening less for the sizzle of chicken than the wash of ripples and gentle whisper of currents in the stream just off  my right shoulder.


Once I had grilled the non-meat pitas and achieved  a slight "pinking"  of  the chicken,  it was time to move indoors.  Quick twist:  With the wrist and hand close the valve on the propane tank and flick the dials to off. It is a most interesting turn of events and saves you from empty tanks  as the propane dissipates out of the open top BBQ into the air... or worse, imagine and do the quick twist.

What's in Your Pocket: Monster Mouth,  Frills and  Hail Caesar

 I have always found pockets and book shelves to be the most intriguing source for understanding any given human.  In my own pockets I have discovered that memory stick that I forgot about. I have also found coins and bills, to my delight,  as this feels deceptively like free money but is  the change from your last purchase.  Pockets are also references for groups of people, herds of animals or  smaller conglomerates, gathering  in a wider venue.  Today we will have a look at the pita pocket as all three are united into the  tasty pre- meal hunger chaser already mentioned. Pockets simply carry small handy items, can be filled or emptied, used  on your clothing or externally.  Case, envelope are close relatives or synonyms.


Historic: A library book had a pocket in the back for a card that was stamped for date due. We used to have  2 pockets  for  name cards  of  children who needed to go out of the  classroom  to the washroom. They went in pairs and did not need to wait to ask the teacher if they remained responsible in their choices. The teacher and students also knew where the child was in the event of an emergency.

The Pocket: What a simple and magnificent invention , when you think about. I am sure you know of many more uses for the pocket space.

 Here are pockets with potential for carrying you into a food adventure. Enjoy. Fill er up. :)

Monster Pita Pocket
Ingredients
-12 mini Pita pockets ( whole wheat or white)  grilled on the BBQ with a square or two tbsps of grated of cheddar cheese.  Try other cheeses that go with the ingredients listed below. -Feel free-
-1/2 cup of  farm fresh corn (already out ahead of season, ahh the miracles of  innovation or smart farms beyond the use of  growth hormones)
-Medium size grilled chicken(breast, thigh or drumstick, remove skin). You can also use lean ground beef if that is easier or leave out the meat altogether for a vegetarian treat.
-Sauce Choices :  Hot Sauce  Salsa, Chili, Chutney or Mango Pickle (India)
   Salsa: Use 1 tbsp per pita and I recommend  the other sauces, for chicken,  in quantities to taste. The hot sauce can be added to any one of the others or used alone.

Directions
-Place small cubes of grilled chicken in the grilled pita with cheese.
-Add sauce of choice.
-Finally add steamed corn ( 12-15 min. in boiling water) cut the cooked kernels off the cob with a sharp knife close to the cob or use canned corn ( warmed)  if you must. 


Serves 4  

Pretty in Green Frills 
This pocket is the same as above.  The exception is that you are stuffing it with a chicken Caesar salad and you do not have to grill the pocket. If you make your own Caesar dressing, this is  even better and the grilled chicken is the same as above. Try not to rip the pitas when stuffing.  You many want to make the frill (romaine lettuce pieces) tiny if you do not like the flamboyancy of the greenery hanging out of the opening. Enjoy according to pocket style choices.

Caesar Dressing 
Ingredients 
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp mayonnaise

Mix all the ingredients together and let rest overnight or for a few hours so the flavors will meld.  Keep refrigerated until use.Donated to me  from a friend. "Yummy"  her and I agree. Enjoy.


 Hail Egg Caesar

Ingredients
-12 small pita pockets, bite size.
-3 boiled eggs, shells removed.
-Homemade Caesar dressing (above) , as opposed to mayo,  added to taste and to moisten the mashed egg mix
-Sprinkle of paprika
- Light splash of  freshly squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice if you like  sour next to sweet of dressing. Careful not to flood the mixture. The fruit is a nice flavor addition to the creamy and it does not curdle from the acidic base unless you add too much.
- 1/4 cup of chopped green pepper or 1 celery stalk, tiny pieces. 

Directions
-Mix together the egg and dressing.
-Add fresh orange juice, 12-14 drops, adjust to taste preferences and stir lightly. 
-Add green peppers, tiny cubes, the size of the smallest lego blocks and stir lightly.
-Gently open the pitas, not grilled but you can heat them in the micro if you like it hot, and stuff them with the mix. Be careful to use a soft  touch so as not to rip the pockets.
-Sprinkle lightly with paprika for colour and added flavor.

Serves 4

To all of this I added some cherry tomatoes and rings of raw coloured peppers. Yummmmm
You can serve each of these recipes as one flavor on separate occasions  or mix and match depending on the number of guests, the time you have and availability of  ingredients. Find your fave and stick with it , have all three or add some of your own inventions. You can also adjust the size to serve as  large pita pockets and adjust all the quantities accordingly. This makes for a healthy, zesty  lunch. Yummmmmm.

What's in your pockets? Enjoy with family and friends.  :)

A Pocket of Canadian Geese

Copyright2014 all rights reserved Donna Thompson
http://theglitchfactory.com
Tab: Food for Thought.
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Photos are Nikon Nuance moments from my camera and I now have increased zoom zoom :) with my new used lens. The  exception is the photo with  the  bug hat.  This is  from hubby's Smart phone camera.