Kitchen Coinage

If you are tired of looking at veggies stir fried, boiled, steamed or roasted, do raw. Apart from potatoes and their kin that do need heat to break down their hardened natures, there are scores of other add-ons and they can be had raw. Raw brings out all of the natural graces of their being and adds hugely to nutritional requirements. I like pretty food. It sets my appetite right into the alert mode and it isn't hard to do right in the privacy of your own kitchen. Here's my recipe. Nothing original,  but you can expand and create on it which makes it all the more appealing to single solitary eaters like me. We screen gazers, need food that is not only good for us but also tidy. We don't want to dig through the keyboard to rescue an elusive hunk of cheese or a stray grape tomato that got away unforked. In fact, we would rather not have to use forks at all. And who heard of knives at the keyboard? Uh uh. So here's my answer to all of those conundri or ums. I do my own whole grain bread dough and lately I have been forming buns that look like fat little hot dog buns. I make coins of them by slicing across to form thin coins. I can slice a whole platter of coins using only one bun that amounts to about a hundred calories. And I do not use butter on them. For example, to day I spread a bit of mayo on each, added a slice of cheese, a round of garlic ring and a sliced grape tomato. Using my favorite Nothin But The B seasoning, I put the glass platter into the microwave just long enough to melt the cheese and smush the tomatoes a bit. It smelled tantalizing and tasted the same. When the coins had cooled down a bit, off we went to my den with a small bottle of milk and some writing time along with nips and sips. Yum. For lunch, using the same coining method with another roll, on went a thin spread of mayo, a thick slice of cucumber and a dash of that great seasoning that has sesame and garlic, pepper and poppy seeds. With it, a small fresh squeezed orange juice. Although not this day. but perhaps another I might slap on cream cheese and fruit: orange section, grapes, apple slice, melon, whatever lurks in the fridge. If I can't drum up dinner, I might slice up a pork chop, roast beef or steak or some salmon, a prawn or six and even do up a tiny burger. Lay on baby spinach and a smear of feta or brie. If you're a vegan or related soul, you, too, will have fun finding a way to make your palate happy with coinage-ing. You cannot live by coins alone, however, but as long as you can, you'll love the ease of it, the convenience and truly, the taste.  If you want to impress your guests this is an easy and very welcomed way to entertain as well. There are endless tricks of coining using boiled eggs, seafood, sauces and meats, fruits and of course, veggies. Your guests will adore a big tray of these delights and making them before the company arrives is non-messy fun and a simple thing to do ahead of time. I guarantee they will disappear rapidly. Also, set out bowls of makings and let the kids get involved in making coins.