Frogs in Blender & Global Toast
How to stress eat & enliven yourself for theses times
I haven’t felt much like cooking lately. But wow, have I been stress eating. Rather than eat junk, which only makes me feel worse, I resolved to stress eat my way to health if it kills me. Enter Frogs in a Blender and Global Toast.
The amphibians are out in coastal Maine, as spring finally shows signs of popping. Two frogs on my door late last night when Saku and I went out for our final walk of the day, and a spotted salamander on the road we walked first thing this morning.
Inspired by the critters, and with an attempt at levity, this healthful spin on a childhood joke emerged from my kitchen...
No critters were harmed in the making. These tasty treats combine matcha, strawberries, yogurt, chia seeds, white chocolate, and coconut oil for an antioxidant, vitamin, and fiber-filled bit of decadence. Killing me softly.
Mouth full of frogs, I turn to the headlines. I’m almost never on social media these days, and I limit myself to an hour or so of news from international sources. I can barely stomach any of it, but I am fearful that completely checking out is dangerous, never mind unconscionable. So, I eat my way through the chore. A refrain emerges and sticks in my craw like a needle in an old album with a scratch. “F@%k, we’re toast.” Over and over, again and again, it spins.
Never one to shy away from a challenge—even if I may have found my match in these times—this track inspired Global Toast for brunch on a foggy, rainy coastal day. It serves as a reminder to keep my sights on the whole picture—history, planet, grains of sand—and to hold tight to the hopeful, glass half-full potential for unlikely bits to come together in thoughtful and nourishing ways, if and when we turn our creative attention their way.
Local bread pulled from the freezer fortified by local eggs, full cream milk, and full cream yogurt spruced up with nutmeg, Ceylon cinnamon, black pepper, salt, and red chile grown in the Chihuahuan desert, then, finished off with mango, cilantro, and local maple syrup cheered me up considerably. And, while the refrain, “F@%k, we’re toast,” plays on repeat for all my waking hours, at least I’m feeling enlivened and healthy enough to try to do something about it. I hope you are, too.
Big love, Ashley
P.S. I haven’t offered reliable quantities for anything in these recipes because I don’t cook that way, and I’m too swamped and scatterbrained to create a lab in my kitchen. But don’t fret; it will be hard to make a mess of these ingredients. Embolden yourself and throw some stuff together with wild abandon. Have fun!
Frogs in a Blender
Ingredients
matcha powder
white chocolate
fresh strawberries, chopped
yogurt
chia seeds
coconut oil
Method
Mix chopped berries with a couple three tablespoons of yogurt or so and also of chia seeds, and place in the fridge for a bit to allow the chia seeds to thicken the mixture up.
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and create clusters of the strawberry stuff; then, pop the clusters in the freezer to harden up.
Melt the chocolate, and add a couple three tablespoons of coconut oil till you like the texture and taste.
Stir in enough matcha powder to achieve the taste and color you like.
Pull the clusters from the freezer, and working quickly, dip them into the green goo to coat. Place back on the cookie sheet.
Pop the frogs into the freezer and once fully hardened, move to a more convenient container to store in the freezer.
When your craving kicks in, put a few frogs on a plate, and make tea or run around the block while the frogs come up to room temperature, which will allow you to enjoy the full flavor and avoid freezing your teeth.
Chew your angst to bits! Now, go do something positive.
Global Toast
Ingredients
old bread—the better it was at one time, the better this dish will be (I freeze slices of the good stuff to pull them out whenever I need them.)
full cream milk or nut/seed milk
full cream yogurt—thicker textured stuff works better
egg(s)
butter
Ceylon cinnamon
nutmeg
black pepper
salt
powdered red chile—cayenne is one kind, but there are oodles of options and mine’s from the borderlands along the Rio Grande
mango, chopped
fresh cilantro
maple syrup
Method
Whip egg(s) and milk together with cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and red chile to taste.
Soak bread slices in the mixture.
Cook the slices in a skillet with melted butter till browned on both sides.
Plate the slices and top with mango, a dollop of yogurt, plenty of cilantro leaves, and a dash of red chile.
Finish with maple syrup.
Belly full? Then, devote a belly full to some action for good. May the force be with you!
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