Thanksgiving Leftovers for Breakfast

This picture might look like I’ve given up—cheese grits with butter and breakfast sausage. But, I promise you I did not. It’s all plant-based! And made by me . So let’s talk about today’s From Thy Bounty message: stay focused, enjoy your memories, but be open to creating new ones. How do you get there? Play with your food. Hear me out.

I’ve been at this plant-based eating since June, so my attitude has been “I got this.” I go out and watch others eat some of my past favorite foods, and I am not tempted. I cook foods I used to eat for my son and won’t even taste what I’m cooking. No problem. But I underestimated the impact of the holidays. This is my first since being plant-based.

For thanksgiving, I had delicious vegan foods—stuffed peppers, potato salad, mushroom Wellington—you saw the post. I even had plant-based desserts. So why were those smothered turkey wings and Mac and cheese such a bother to me this time around? As I was serving, some Mac and cheese accidentally jumped on my finger and I “accidentally” tasted it. Nothing. So I tasted it again. Still nothing. Then I heard, “Momma!!! What are you doing?!”

I wanted to taste again, but Bianca wasn’t having it. I tried explaining to her that I was curious after the first bite because I couldn’t taste anything, not that I was giving in. Why couldn’t I taste it? I don’t have, nor have I had Covid. I just couldn’t taste that. I realized in that moment the taste for those foods is gone, but the memory is not.

So the battle is not with taste of food but the memory! I now know plant-based foods are delicious. And I do believe even better tasting. But, I missed the shared mmm mmm mmms and pass me this or that of the Thanksgiving table. Got it.

That’s a huge revelation and probably why it’s so hard for many to transition—wanting to hold on to the memories certain foods hold.

Case in point. This picture. Grits, eggs, and bacon or sausage is my favorite meal. My Daddy cooked this breakfast for us for as long as I can remember until I got to high school. I also ate this meal when I visited my grandparents in Ethel, Louisiana. Except, then I also had homemade biscuits and fig preserves that grew on a tree in front of the house. See what I mean? I haven’t shared anything about the taste but the memory is one of being loved and well cared for.

So as I’m cleaning my fridge this morning (sorry y’all this is long but stay with me), I see all this plant-based rice dressing that I’m not going to eat all and I decide to roll them up like meatballs to freeze and the consistency and look was really like raw meat Then I thought, “Wait. This is the meat substitute I’ve been trying to come up with all along. So I switched from making balls to making patties and then breakfast sausage links. I couldn’t wait now to try it. So I started cooking the links.

Playing with my food I think I came up with a good meat sub—rice dressing: onion, carrots, peppers, celery, pumfu and rice. I rolled the links in a little chickpea flour and fried in a skillet. This “sausage” is leftover rice dressing, y’all. Unbelievable! I quickly got my grits together with vegan butter and nutritional yeast, and Just egg (note: They weren’t camera ready. Tip: Don’t cook Just Egg in skillet after sausage. The color was way off, but they were good.).

So what was for breakfast today? Memories of love and care on a plate. May your week be full of grace.