We all fall victim to that vending machine fix when we’re having a mid-morning or mid-day hunger attack. You might think – “hmm, what’s my healthiest option?” – pretzels or animal crackers? “I know” - licorice, skittles or three-musketeers – right? Well, it’s a good try, but realistically all of those low fat options are expensive empty calories! Here are a couple of easy suggestions using snack size baggies that will keep you going and save you time and money. Plan ahead and bring them with you.
Buy any of these you like: grapes, cherry/grape tomatoes, radishes, celery sticks, cherries, carrot sticks, on your next grocery run. When you get home, immediately wash the produce and transfer them all into the baggies. Your packing is done for the week for everyone in the family. Just grab a couple out of the refrigerator each day and you’re set. Each snack size baggie holds about one cup so you will have a complete serving of fruit/veg with each snack.
Healthy trail mix – Using any combination, combine one cup from each category – nut, a seed, a high fiber grain and a fruit. Here are a few suggestions: unsalted almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried apricots, raisins, Cheerios, Bran Chex, 94% fat free popcorn, mini-marshmallows. (The marshmallows give you some sweetness that won’t melt in your hand or your briefcase). Mix together in a big bowl. Put ½ cup into each snack size baggie and you’ll have a power house snack that is really good for you.
Eating healthy using the Mediterranean diet includes daily servings of fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds. Planning ahead, using easy take-along containers and taking advantage of the prewashed/precut vegetables at your grocer will keep you healthy, happy and on the go. Snack on!
February is National Heart Month – stay tuned for some great tips for being heart smart using Fast Life Good Food’s Meditermerican System.
Prep/ Cook time: ~1 hour Servings: 6-8 Type: Main dish
Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 ½ inch slices of onion (1 for chicken, 1 for enchilada sauce)
Salt to personal taste
California chili pods: ½ a 3 ounce bag.
1 Garlic clove
1 Tsp dry oregano
Half of an iceberg lettuce finely chopped
Cotija cheese
Mexican sour cream or sour cream is fine
Salsa roja as desired
Directions:
Wash chicken breasts thoroughly. Place in pot, add enough water to cover breast and bring to boil (this will get rid of any yucky stuff left in the chicken). In another pot, bring to boil about a quart of water. Transfer chicken from first pot as soon as it starts to boil. Bring to boil. Add slice of onion and salt to taste. Let boil uncovered for 20 minutes. Let your sense of smell embraces the chicken and onion fragrance.
Place chicken breast in a plate and let them cool down. Shred chicken. Set aside.
In another pot, add California chili pods (another one of my favorite scents), garlic, and onion. Add water to cover the chilis. Boil for 10 minutes. In a blender, add chilis, onion, garlic, oregano, salt to taste, and water used to boil the chilis in. Puree and transfer in to a 6in bowl. Set aside.
Your set up should look something like this to make it easier for you. I also have the rice and salsa ingredients cooking while I’m making the enchiladas to buy some time.
In a pan, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Heat up oil using low/ medium heat. Dip both sides of the tortilla in the tasty enchilada sauce you just made. Place the tortilla in the pan. Cook for about a minute and then turn over using spatula. Cook for another minute. The oil will run low, depending on the amount of enchiladas you are making. Add oil as needed. Try not to overcook the tortilla, you just want to soften it not make it crunchy. Transfer it to a plate, add whatever amount of chicken you desire and roll up. You can use a fork to assist you so you do not burn your little fingers. Now put it in a serving dish lined with napkins to catch the extra grease. Continue to do this for as many enchiladas you want to make. Unused enchilada sauce can be stored in the fridge for about a week or you can discard unused portion or use it alllll up ;O) which is what I usually do.
Now for the Mexican Rice
Ingredients:
1 Cup white rice
1/3 Cup chopped onion
1 Garlic clove
1 Large tomato diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Cups of water
1 ½ Tbsp chicken flavor bouillon
Directions:
Dice tomato and onion. Leave garlic whole. I like to put it in whole. Just make sure you take it out when rice is done so nobody bites into it :O)
Wash rice until water runs clear and set aside in colander to let dry. Chop onion and tomato. Set aside. Add a tbsp of olive oil to pan. Add rice and garlic clove to hot oil; cook until lightly browned in low/med heat. Add onion and cook until transparent.
Add tomato and cook for 5 minutes.
Add water and bouillon. Bring to boil and reduce to low heat. Heat covered for 20 minutes. This is what your beautiful and tasty end result will look like.
Now to bring it all together :O)
In a plate, place the amount of enchiladas you and your guest want to eat. On top, garnish with lettuce, Mexican sour cream, cotija cheese, and salsa. Rice on the side. Hasta la proxima!!
Aloo vada is one of the most popular snacks in almost all the regions in India. Sometimes its called Aloo vada, other times it is Aloo bonda or Aloo bada etc. It is simple, easy to make snack in cold or rainy weather. This recipe is M.P. [madhya pradesh] style Aloo vada.
Garma garam aloo vada ke saath ek cup chai, mazaa aa jaye……
Ingredients:
For Aloo vada or Aloo bonda (8 vadas)
Besan [Gram flour] – 1.5 cups
Ladu besan [ Coarse besan] – ½ cup
Potatoes – 3 medium
Onion – 1 medium (finely chopped)
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder – 1 pinch
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Green chilies – 2 (finely chopped)
Cilantro - 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Lime/Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Baking power – 1 pinch
Salt as per taste
Cooking oil to fry
Method:
Boil and peel potatoes. Mash them and keep aside.
In afrying pan, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Add Cumin and mustard seeds. When it starts splattering, add asafoetida powder.
Now add chopped green chilies and chopped onions to it. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Don’t fully cook the onions. Keep them crunchy. Add turmeric powder.
Add mashed potatoes to the pan. Also add salt, red chili powder, cilantro, lime juice and sugar. Mix well.
If it off the heat and let it cool. Make 8 even balls of it. Keep aside.
In another bowl, add regular besan and ladu besan, ¼ tsp salt and ½ tsp red chili powder, a pinch of baking soda, add some water, mix well for about 4-5 minutes with wire whisk and make an even batter of it. Batter should not be runny, it should be thick.
Heat cooking oil for frying the vadas.
Cover the potato balls in the batter and deep fry them in medium hot oil.
Drain it on the kitchen towel when turns golden and crispy.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup with a cup of tea.
Green chutney recipe: http://shvetahora.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/mint-cilantro-chutney-green-chutney/
I have had to battle garlic and they’re papery skin, so many times that I had to try something to make the job easier and faster. This silicone tube was my favorite tool from all of my Holiday cooking.
If you want to keep your garlic cloves whole and intact and not crushed or broken into many small pieces (if your recipe does not call for whole cloves, you can use the flat part of a large knife whacking the garlic on a hard surface to get skins off , results can be varied ).
* This peeler is easy to use and is worth the $8 in time saved peeling garlic. I do have a hint take a tiny slice off the root end each clove and you will have great result’s, before you place inside the peeler.
* Place 3 to 4 cloves inside center of the tube, roll firmly on a hard surface back and forth a few times. Shake out cloves and skins will fall away from the garlic cloves, ready to use. If you don’t get all the peel off the first time, repeat.
* You can find this garlic peeler at Amazon and Sur La Table or any other good kitchen store.
* If you make a recipe with large amount of garlic in it … such as the yummy 40 clove garlic Roasted Chicken, this is a life saver.http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-with-40-Cloves-of-Garlic-105502
I’m writing this on my drive home from my Grammie and Grandad’s house, drinking a frosty diet beverage, but enough about me, how bout food?
This morning started out to a sleepy start. My fiancée originally woke me up at 7:25 when we were supposed to be meeting at church at 7:30…needless to say we didn’t make it to first service. After talking to him for all of 20 seconds, I feel back asleep and was once again woken up at 9:10, which happens to be 10 minutes after we had again said that we would be meeting up at our favorite Sunday morning breakfast joint.
After getting to breakfast around 9:40, I get ready pretty fast, it was time for breakfast. I love our breakfast joint for a couple of reasons, they have some great food and they are awesome on making some substitutions for those who are trying to eat healthier. I had been known before for getting their vegetarian omelet with no cheese and made with egg whites, but in the last couple of weeks I started switching up my order by ordering a grilled chicken breast and egg whites. The breakfast also comes with a side of cantaloupe and a side of toast, which I always order dry whole wheat toast. The breakfast is always great. This restaurant is small, so they do not have nutritional information so here are some basic tips on ordering breakfast from a place that might not have nutritional info. Always avoid the fried items, it’s better to be safe than sorry. When choosing a breakfast meat, the order in which to order should be grilled chicken (if possible), ham, bacon and the very last resort should be sausage. Also remember that if you are order meat simply as a protein for the meal, remember that eggs are packed with protein, and egg whites have no less protein than a whole egg just less fat. Try ordering egg whites or Eggbeaters instead of whole eggs, every whole egg is 75 calories and 5 grams of fat, an egg white is only 30 calories and 0 grams of fat, these numbers really start to add up if you are ordering something like an omelet. Think about it, when you order an omelet typically 4 whole eggs are used, that means that you are consuming, just in the holding case of the omelet, 300 calories and 20 grams of fat, just in the thing that is holding your breakfast together! If given the opportunity order a white colored cheese as opposed to a yellow one, it’s a fact that yellow cheeses typically have a higher amount of fat then their white counterparts.
Anyways, enough about breakfast, after breakfast my fiancée, Dan and I headed back to my house for a little bit of relaxation before leaving to go to my grandparent’s house later that afternoon. Breakfast always goes for a couple of hours, which meant by the time that we got home it was practically 12 and we would be getting hungry soon. After relaxing and talking for a bit, I offered to make Dan something for lunch, and resorted back to one of my all time favorite meals, the patty melt. Ever since I was a kid, I loved hamburgers, not cheeseburgers (I was never really a fan), I was known for ordering them everywhere I went with a big side of French fries. I even used to order a hamburger for breakfast, when I wasn’t feeling in the mood for a standard burger, I would resort to its not so distant cousin the patty melt. This was a burger that I enjoyed the cheese on, and the perfect thing on top besides those grilled to perfection onions, was of course mustard. I had been looking through my “Cook this, not that!” cookbook earlier that day and had seen the recipe, ever since that moment I couldn’t get it off my mind. The recipe seemed pretty standard, but we all know how I like to do things, I did my best to substitute what I could off the already light patty melt swap. I used one piece of bread instead of two, and cut it in half for a couple of reasons - the burger patty was not overall thin it was more thick and wouldn’t require as much bread, and rye bread slices are always huge. I also substituted out the ground sirloin in place on 93% lean ground turkey, based on convenience and I swapped out the full fat Swiss cheese for reduced fat provolone, also based on convenience and the fact that Dan despises Swiss. The last swap that I made that was different from the already lightened recipe is that I eliminated the oil; instead I used a good pan with a great non-stick surface and sprayed the pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. The result of all my swapping brought me back to my burger days. The patty was juicy and the cheese was gooey, it was amazing. A regular patty melt from your favorite burger joint just might add up calorie wise to: 1,030 calories and 64 grams of fat the lightened version in the “Cook this not that!” cookbook clocks in at: 340 calories and 12 grams of fat and my tasty rendition comes in at a smooth: 296 calories and 12.6 grams of fat. Just goes to show what cooking in your own kitchen can really do.
After making lunch we only had a limited time till we were going to leave to head out to my grandparent’s house, and I had promised that I would make dinner and dessert tonight. I had talked to my Grammie earlier that week and we had decided to go with Chicken Parmesan, served on top of whole wheat angel hair and low-fat marinara, our sides would be the Heart Attack Cheese Bread, roasted vegetables and a large garden salad. But wait that’s not all, for dessert, a Butter Almond Layer Cake with No Trans Fat Here Frosting. Not too long after lunch we started getting everything ready to take to do the cooking and the baking, and soon we were on our way. As soon as we arrived, I went to cooking, I wanted to make sure that dinner would be ready in plenty of time and that the cake would have plenty of time to cool prior to frosting it. The cake was the first thing that I worked on, and it was probably the recipe I have been the most worried about modifying. The recipe involved shortening. I had never run into this problem before and wasn’t quite sure what to do. I decided to do some online research and found allrecipes.com to be helpful for swapping tips – I found that butter is the perfect substitute for shortening. This was helpful because I know that applesauce works as a great moisture substitute for butter in many baked items. To create this recipe swap I switched out quite a few things, first thing that I subbed was instead of all white flour, I used 1 cup oat flour and 1 ¼ cups white flour – giving the cake more fiber and more protein. I then switched out the sugar for Splenda, and the eggs for Eggbeaters. Lastly I swapped the recommended 2% milk for fat free milk and the cup of shortening for ¼ cup of butter and ¾ cup of no sugar added applesauce. After preparing the batter for the cakes I baked the cake layers and allowed them to cool so that I would be able to frost after dinner would be completed. For the chicken parmesan I used Devin Alexander’s recipe found of the Discovery Health webpage for Chiseled Chicken Parmesan. I don’t normally modify Devin’s recipes because I honestly can’t get them to be any lower than what they already are. Devin’s chicken parmesan is still breaded like the classic but instead of being fried it’s baked. The recipe is super easy, and everyone always loves it.
Here is Devin’s Chiseled Chicken Parmesan, try making it for yourself, I’m sure that you will love it!
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Lightly mist a non-stick baking sheet with spray.
Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and, using the flat side of a meat mallet (a heavy rolling pin will also work), pound them until they are an even 1/3-inch thickness working from the center outward. In a medium, shallow bowl, mix the flour, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper.
Make sure the chicken is as dry as possible (without actually drying it) and dip one piece into the flour mixture until it is coated on all sides. Shake off any excess flour and place the breast on a dinner plate. Repeat with the second breast then place it on the plate next to the first breast. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a second shallow bowl, use a fork to lightly beat the egg white with the milk. In a third, shallow bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with the parsley. Dip the floured chicken breasts, one at a time into the egg mixture. Allow any excess egg to drip from the chicken (this is important or breadcrumbs will clump) then coat it with breadcrumbs. Dip it back into the egg then back into the breadcrumbs. Place them side by side on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer the dish to the oven and cook the chicken 7-9 minutes per side until the chicken is no longer pink inside.
Just before the chicken is cooked, heat the marinara sauce in the microwave or in a small pan on the stovetop until just hot. Top each breast with 1/4 cup marinara sauce followed by the mozzarella then parmesan cheese. Then bake the chicken for an additional 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve the chicken hot with a side of pasta and/or a large green salad.
Makes 2 servings.
Each (1 Chicken Breast) Serving has: 301 calories, 37 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat, 1 g sat. fat, 79 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 776 mg sodium Traditional Chicken Parmesan made with a 4-ounce chicken breast has: 613 calories, 65 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 32 g fat, 16 g saturated fat, 176 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 1000 mg sodium
Along with our awesome chicken parmesan we enjoyed our butter almond cake with the no trans fat here frosting, and I have to say for my first layer cake, it wasn’t amazingly decorated, but at least it stayed together . For my rendition of the layer cake it clocked in at: 154 calories and 3.3 grams of fat per slice with frosting. The original recipe comes in at a staggering 528 calories per slice and 20.9 grams of fat in each slice with frosting. When it comes to the lighter recipe I would have to say I have won this one. As for me now, I am at home with a very tired Dan who should be leaving soon and a half empty diet soda. Until I am in the kitchen again…
A while back, I found Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd in the discount bin at Chapters. Even though I rarely cook for 20+ people at a time, I do do a lot of big batch cooking, so I thought some of the recipes might be interesting or useful, and bought it. I have two or three other Moosewood cookbooks, having once lived in Ithaca, New York state, home of the Moosewood restaurant (I was a starving grad student at the time, so only actually ate there once or twice). The cookbook turned out to be a very good buy, with lots of interesting recipes that I can adapt or use as inspiration.
The following recipe is inspired by the MRCfaC’s “Black Bean Soup” recipe.
Chipotle black bean soup
1 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked, or 2 cans black beans, rinsed
I make most of my soups, including this one, in a slow cooker / crock-pot, but I’ve included instructions for making it on the stove top as well:
Mince the garlic and ginger, and dice the onion. Saute them in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions soften. Use a frying pan or small pot if you’re going to transfer to a slow cooker, use a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot if you’re going to cook the soup on the stove top.
Stir in the cilantro, cumin, cayenne, and a dash of black pepper and “cook” the spices with the onions for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
If using a slow cooker, dump the sautéed onions & spices into the slow cooker and deglaze the pot with some of the stock. If cooking on the stove top, add the stock to the pot and stir.
Peel and dice the sweet potato, and add it, and the cooked black beans to the pot or crock-pot. Top up the pot with additional stock or water if necessary to just cover the vegetables & beans.
Peel and roughly chop the roasted red pepper, and add it to the pot or crock pot.
Add the minced chipotle peppers or chipotle sauce, and give everything a good stir.
In a slow cooker, cook on high for at least 2 hours or on low for at least 4, or until the sweet potatoes are soft. On the stove top, bring to a boil and then simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft. With either method, add extra water if the soup gets to thick and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.
Adjust the seasoning if necessary by adding more chipotle peppers (or sauce) if the soup isn’t spicy enough. If it’s too spicy, serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yoghurt in the middle of each bowl.
This serves roughly 6 people for a main meal with a side salad or bread.
I have just taken delivery of my first organic fruit and veg box, from the appropriately named company, Nudefood. The Husband thinks I’m mad (not to mention extravagant), but then he didn’t see how many times I had to wash the lettuce I bought from the local market: it took four rinses to get rid of the foamy, slimey goo covering the leaves. The brouhaha over the dangers of pesticides hasn’t yet reached Sri Lanka, so in 2010 I’m playing safe.
What you get in a fruit and veg box is always a lottery, but at least in the UK it’s possible to actually identify the goods. Among the carrots, beetroot, lettuce and herbs are two mystery parcels of green leaves. I think one is gottukola and the other kung, but I’m not sure which is which, nevermind what to do with either of them. Cook? Eat raw? Who knows.
The Husband is in for some weird and wonderful suppers this week. Lucky boy.
Here’s another recipe to brighten your day. I’d write about writing or marketing or something else, but life is so crazy right now, recipes are about my speed.
1 c. real butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
2 c. sugar
1 t. rum flavoring
8 qts air-popped popcorn
Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add corn syrup and sugar. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and reaches firm ball stage. (Drop a tiny bit in very cold water. It should form a firm ball that is just a bit crunchy around the edges. This takes about 7 minutes.) Remove from heat. Stir in flavoring. Pour over popcorn. (Yes, it’s 2 gallons of popcorn, use a really BIG bowl.) Stir carefully until popcorn is coated. Dump onto large piece of waxed paper. Spread and let cool for 30 minutes. Break into chunks. Store in loosely covered container.
The A1 near me has been closed due to some stu silly idi people pinching a lorry full of gas canisters which has now set on fire and it is going to take until around midnight to clear the road so i bet all the traffic is gonna come through our village today!!!!
News over and now for the weather
No Snow yet and it’s still dark so not sure if its gonna be a sunny day or not? It’s not raining so thats a bonus!!
Right Tuesday Update
I managed The following
Have several cups of tea (I know its going to be hard but someone a has to do it) done (Well it wasnt that hard was it?)
put a few more loads of washing on ( where do 2 and a half people get so much washing from????) Done sort off i’ve one more load to do today!!
Tidy Office/Desk I’ve done the desk when I mean I’ve done the desk I’ve moved the pile of papers off the desk to a different location
Cook Dinner (mmmmmmmmmmmmm what to have ………………………….) Done We had Honey and mustard Sausages Mash and Onion Gravy Mmmmmm yumm!!!
write some more blog! well no thats why im updating now!
Right to do today
Nip round to in-laws ( Forgot to say yesterday Fil (father-in-law) was in hospital he has been there nearly 2 weeks but he is home now so said i nip and say hi! obviously i will have to stay for a cuppa it wouldn’t be good manners not too )
sort the office out as I didn’t have time yesterday!!
washing /change bed
cook tea
might nip to my friends as I haven’t been for a bit
Today I’m not cooking dinner. I’m glad to say I cooked a ham this weekend and leftovers will me filling our plates for a few days. On Friday, I usually take the day off from cooking but this past Friday I was in the mood for Buffalo wings and I did not feel like spending a bunch of money and eating out so I made them myself. I made sure to buy celery and blue cheese (FYI, didn’t care much for the blue cheese brand. They stated it would have chunks, it didn’t) Made the meal look just like a restaurant dish. I even had some beer to make it complete. Next time I’ll try a different blue cheese and maybe a different sauce.
The easiest way to clean the fridge and nourish your kids in the winter is to pull everything out, cut up the little pieces of unused veggies, meats or fish if you choose, take a blender and blend 2 onions with water & some fresh garlic too if you have it. Throw it all in a pot and cook it. Begin serving toddlers soup & broth so acquire an appreciation for the soothing, nourishing qualities of a good soup broth.
I was reminded of how easy and important these early steps to expose little ones to the goodness of soup last night. The sweet toddler girl I was eating with just sat there in her high-chair, with her own little spoon, as I fed her with another. I made sure there was plenty of broth in every mouthful. Pretty soon, determined to learn to enjoy this delicious fish soup broth by her own hand, she fumbled a bit and eventually found a way to savour a few drops by tipping her spoon upside down into her mouth. She repeated this unlikely maneuver for about 10 minutes, slurping and spilling and enjoying every drop (while her bib caught the rest).
There is nothing that makes my heart toastier than watching children eat the nourishing food I prepare for them. This was one of those moments. Little Ella is clearly a fan of fish soup and I was comforted by knowing that this particular fish soup made from a whole fish, the fish liver (incredibly rich in Vitamin D & other nutrients), leeks, potatoes, carrots, onion and a little cream was just what her body needed.
Vegetable Soup can be made from most any vegetables in the fridge
Don’t wait for the perfect ingredients. Experiment with what you have. WHen the vegetables are almost cooked, you can add the bits of leftover uncooked pasta, making it even more attractive to kids. Whether it’s lentils, pasta, rice, or potatoes, there is always something around you can pop in after the veggies to make a soup heartier.
Remember the onions! This is the secret to flavor and garlic is great too! (Of course, chicken broth is a good back-up.) Then there’s the bits of lettuce, parsley, spinach, 1/2 tomatoes, etc…….. Every bit makes the soup and the broth more delicious and more nourishing!
ENjoy and do not underestimate the value of teaching little ones to appreciate soup broth!!!!!! Yummmmmm….
What is your go to food? You know the food you make when you have been stuck in traffic for the past hour or two and get home STARVING but still want something good to eat that you can make yourself…My go to food is TACOS!
In my humble opinion tacos are the bomb! They are super easy and fast to make. You can personalize them in a bazillion different ways. For instance you can make:
Ground beef tacos
Steak tacos
Buffalo chicken tacos
BBQ pork tacos
And my personal favorite: Texas Tacos (although I buy these from Serious Texas BBQ down in Durango, CO which is 6 hours away so I don’t eat them very often)
SO many ways to save dinner with Tacos.
Yesterday I had wonderful and delicious sushi for lunch but unfortunately for me sushi does not stick to you very long and by 4pm I was starving. So you can imagine how I felt after leaving work at 5:30PM then driving THROUGH TRAFFIC for another 45 minutes. So I got home and whipped up some tacos for me and the boyfriend. In 10 minutes dinner was served!
My hero the TACO! Hip hip hurray!
So what is your go to dinner choice when you are famished?
This article is adapted from a segment Joel did as a semi-regular guest on Radio Adelaide’s weekly food show ‘Gastronaut’.
Last year’s winter rains saw the forgotten edges of our backyard proliferate with growth. As the bits I couldn’t get to – down behind the shed, and outside the kitchen window – disappeared beneath a thicket of thistles and dandelions, I consoled myself with the permaculture-based observation that weeds are an essential part of ecological succession, colonising available niches as they prepare the ground for healthier ecosystems.
As the driveway disappeared beneath prickly lettuce, I was fascinated to read in Michael Pollan’s book The Botany of Desire, that traditional Andean farmers leave the wild ancestors of potatoes – what we might call weeds – growing on the edge of their potato patches so that the cultivated varieties can cross-pollinate with their wild relatives, “refreshing the gene pool” and imbuing them with wild resilience and robustness.
This idea of the wild, weedy edges indicates the resilience and value of weeds. Pat Collins, a herbalist from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales describes how many weeds not only have culinary or medicinal use and are good companions for fruit and vegetables, but they are also good indicators of deficiencies in soil health. Through their lives, weeds work to cultivate the life of the soil through improving soil structure and rebuilding organic matter.
Purslane: "keeping early settlers scurvy-free since 1788"
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
With the onset of the hot weather, some of the weeds that saw winter-abundance, like the delicate chickweed, have receded, making way for others to emerge. Purslane is a familiar plant pushing up through the driveway gravel. It has small, thick, flat leaves in a tear-drop shape that run in opposite pairs along the long, succulent, pinkish-red stems. Now naturalised pretty much everywhere, it’s apparently considered one of the world’s most effective colonising weeds. Pat Collins’ invaluable book Useful Weeds at our Doorstep says that you can eat the slightly salty leaves and the succulent stems. They are very high in Vitamin C, and helped keep early settlers and European expeditions in Australia free of scurvy. You can eat purslane leaves and stems raw in salads, stir-fried or pickled. Collins and other writers describe how some Aboriginal groups would harvest purslane seeds and cook them into cakes that tasted something like linseed. Collins has tips for how to do this in her book. Isabell Shipard further describes purslane’s health benefits in her book How can I use herbs in my daily life?, with highlights including increasing nursing supply in nursing mothers, both human and non, and being a significant source of Omega-3 fatty acids. In short, Shipard says, the nutritional value of fresh picked purslane is likely to be higher than anything you buy at the supermarket.
Prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
Prickly lettuce: catching the sun
Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
Tucked up against the house, and often found beside railway tracks, prickly lettuce looks like a tough, spiny version of a familiar, domesticated lettuce that has bolted to seed. Its central stem carries rows of spines, also present on the central vein on the underside of the leaves. Despite not appearing like something you might want to wrap your tongue around, herbalist Pat Collins says that she eats this common weed when it’s still young and tender (and I’ve started having a nibble every morning while I feed the chooks). Its leaves are bitter – good for digestion – and the familiar lettuce-like appearance is because prickly lettuce is thought to be the wild ancestor of the lettuces we try to keep alive through summer heatwaves. One of its other names is “Opium lettuce” and it has been used historically as a sleep inducer, pain reliever and calmer of nerves. In Useful Weeds at Your Doorstep, Collins notes that some consider prickly lettuce an aphrodisiac, supported by recent Italian research by ethnobotanist Giorgio Samorini. Samorini’s research suggests that the plant depicted in Egyptian bas-reliefs as an offering to Min, the ancient god of fertility and sexuality, is none other than the previously innocent prickly lettuce under our kitchen window. The same study proposes that depending on the dose, prickly lettuce can calm libido, as Pliny the Elder noted in his Natural History, but change the dose and the effect becomes that prized by Min and his swollen member.
A squat dandelion in a sunny spot sticks close the ground...
...while on the dark side of the house, dandy grows thick and tall
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Of all weeds, the dandelion is perhaps one of the most familiar, with its yellow flowers transforming into the wish-granting gossamer balls composed of parachuting seeds that kids obligingly distribute by blowing on. Its jagged, deep green leaves can be added to salads, soups or juices and are very high in minerals and contain a suite of vitamins and potassium. How can I use herbs in my daily life has more on the wonders of this plant. The fun doesn’t stay above the ground with dandelions however, the tuberous roots of the dandy can be harvested, washed, roasted until dark brown, then ground into a powder for use as a coffee-esque infusion. Soph and I did this once on a property in Canada and the hot drink made from the roots had a rich, earthy flavour.
Catsear: the same but different
Fat and furry: one of the ways to differentiate catsear leaves from dandelions
Hunting for plants like dandelions highlights some of the challenges of urban foraging. Dandelions can often be confused with catsear (cat’s ear) which looks similar and often grows prolifically in similar spots. However, while the dandelion has a single, hollow stem with a single flower head, catsears often have multiple flower heads and fatter, furry leaves. While catsear isn’t harmful to humans (in fact, it’s probably pretty good for you), it demonstrates the importance of getting the right plant. Make sure that when you’re foraging for wild delights that you have a good guide that can help you positively identify plants (Collins’ book is a great place to start for common weed identification). It’s also important to be aware of the safety of the plants themselves, the possible effects of consumption, but also that they haven’t been sprayed with poisons or aren’t growing in contaminated soils. John Kallas, an American forager recommends, that you “don’t gather within 4 feet of an old house because of lead paint. Don’t gather within 30 feet of a highway – and even then, preferably gather uphill – because of nickel and cadmium from the batteries, petroleum chemicals wearing off tires and washing off the side of the road, coolant, and gasoline. And never, ever, ever gather near railroad tracks. They’ve been putting pesticides and herbicides in those areas for the last 100 years”. Plants also provide food and habitat within an ecosystem, so consider only taking as much as you need to ensure a perpetual harvest for other foragers, human and non-human alike.
For some northern hemispheric inspiration, Becky Lerner of Portland, Oregon, USA, took a challenge to only eat foraged food for a week and blogged about her adventures.
The folks over at Cafe Flora invited me over to their restaurant to try their new brekafast menu. As of Jnaury 4th they have been serving breakfast from 9AM-2PM during the weekdays so I made my way over this morning to see what they had to offer.
It was my first time visiting Cafe Flora so I did a little bit of research before making my way over. Cafe Flora is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Seattle on Madison Ave. It’s a few feet away from Rover’s (The Chef in the Hat!!!!!) so I was thinking that one day I need to start at Cafe Flora and end at Rover’s……I would crawl with a full belly of awesome food.
You noticed earlier that I said it was a vegetarian/vegan restaurant and while that might turn off some of you I think you should listen to me for a second. Vegetarian, carnivore or whichever food club you want to be a member of is fine in my book as long as what you are eating is good food. The food at Cafe Flora will make you forget that something doesn’t have meat in it….it doesn’t need it. They have found a way to make meat a distraction if it was served with their dishes….yeah, it’s that good. Fresh ingredients with flawless execution.
Eric, what food are you talking about? When I go to places I have never been the first thing I ask the server is what they normally eat or like the most. Our server, Jack Wilson, read our minds. There were two things that stood out on the menu and before I said anything he said, “try the quesadilla and the forager”. He reads minds….and plays in a pretty damn good band, more on that later.
Eric, shut up, show us the food! Ok, geez…….here it is!!!!
Fall Forager- Locally foraged wild mushrooms (chanterelle’s, my favorite!!!), crimini mushrooms, roasted butternut and delicata squash, fresh sage and Fontina cheese.
Breakfast Quesadilla- A flour tortilla filled with roasted yam, poblano peppers, corn and Pepper Jack cheese wrapped with egg topped with “Snappy Sauce (Chipotle)”, tomatillo salsa, lime creme fraiche, and served with wild greens dresses in cilantro vinaigrette
The Chef sent us over this plate of mozzarella cheese grits…….f’ing amazing.
I loved everything I ate. Mindy was with me and she loved everything as well. The two different sauces on the quesadilla….YES!!!! The absolutely fresh mushrooms in the omelette’s…..YES!!! Cheese grits….YES!!! If you live in Seattle and you’re not starting off your morning with breakfast at Cafe Flora then you’re not starting your morning.
Check out their site for their breakfast menu and more information about location, directions, and other menus for lunch and dinner.
Cafe Flora (click)
Thanks once again to Cafe Flora for hosting Mindy and I this morning. The food was fantastic!!!!!!!
And now for a little outro music from Jack Wilson and the Wife Stealers! He was our kick ass server this morning so check out his music on Myspace (click) and Facebook (click).
I have put a little thought into the French Paradox since arriving in France. Michael Pollin’s book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto has prompted me to articulate a little of what I’ve learned (but don’t always practise). Theories why the French, while living on rich foods, lots of oils, meats and wine, manage to stay healthy are varied and numerous. My own theory has perhaps been solidified by this book’s musings on omega-3s and leafy vegetables.
Personally, I like my veggies, dairy, pasta and rice. I like a bit of meat and fruit too. I’m not big on breads or desserts. I like wine and beer. I like to cook things myself and do so almost all the time. The French way of eating isn’t too far removed from my habitual one, but just enough so that I noticed a few things.
The French adore dessert. Dessert is a highly anticipated and somewhat revered part of most dinners. The desserts aren’t always sickly sweet – mostly they’re carb-heavy and slightly sweetened. I think the anticipation of dessert is what stops French people from over-eating throughout the meal. I mean, you don’t want to eat too much of the main course only to find you can’t fit in any dessert (as I do). It’s not only rude to the chef, but you’re missing out on something fabulous. There’s also cheese and more bread at the end of a meal. So, a French diner will happily graze on the meal with the full knowledge that dessert, cheese and more bread will fill any ‘gaps’ and ensure they’re not left hungry. Often when if comes to dessert you can only fit in a tiny bit anyway, but I think knowing it will be eaten changes the mentality of the diner for the rest of the meal.
French meals (both lunch and dinner) will start with an entrée of either salad or soup served with bread. Practically speaking, this gives you something to eat while the main course finishes cooking (salads are quick and soup can be re-heated). Nutritionally, both are vegetable and/or leafy-green heavy (in restaurants, you often get a little cheese, terrine or seafood in an entree too) and are often laden with oils or salt, so your body gets food it desperately needs (leafy greens and other veggies) before other things. The oils and salt help to tell your body that it’s eating and no longer hungry any more. Often I feel full after an entrée – this is the point. Your body has been tricked into eating all the most healthy stuff “just while you wait”. Depending on how many young kids are at the table, the main course can cook for quite a while longer while you eat the entrée. When you finally eat it, your stomach is settled. You’re no longer ravenous and you’ve gained some important nutrients. When a modest portion of main course arrives (usually meat-heavy with some veg – very rarely pasta or rice), you are left wondering if you can eat it all, rather than thinking it’s not enough. And then there’s still dessert.
Oh, and one only drinks wine with a meal. When the meal is done, French people don’t tend to sit around drinking wine into the night (as Australians do).
So, in summary, my personal mantra for which parts of the French diet are most beneficial to health:
- Always eat a large plant-based entrée (every meal) with enough flavour to stop yourself feeling ravenous.
- Only drink wine while eating the meal.
- Always plan a dessert just so that you know it’s there (even if it’s just yoghurt).
This post is an excerpt of my full review of Michael Pollin’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto on Goodreads (a social network for book reviews). If you’re interested in the book, see my full review here.
Years ago when I decided to make the vegetarian leap (for the second time, mind you) one of the flavors I knew I would miss most was meatballs! I love a great homemade pasta sauce, meatballs, and a hearty whole wheat pasta. Some of the vegetarian meatballs you can find in the frozen section of the supermarket just don’t cut it. They sometimes have a strange aftertaste or less-than-appealing texture. Although there are some good brands out there, the best veg meatballs, hands down, are my homemade ones! I managed to feed them to my boyfriend’s carnivorous family, and even they were fooled! When made with good, quality ingredients, they are both hearty and healthy!
Abby’s Infamous Veggie Meatballs
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, minced
1 Tbls Olive Oil
2 cups grated cheese
1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
3/4 c walnuts, powdered in food processor
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbls ketchup
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbls dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
First, saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil until lightly browned/ slightly caramelized, about 6 minutes, stirring often. Set aside to cool. In the meantime, combine the eggs, cheese, breadcrumbs, powdered walnuts and spices in a medium bowl. Add the veggies and ketchup and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least half and hour. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Remove bowl from the refrigerator, and shape the meatballs to about the size of a tablespoon. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, turning them over gently after 10 minutes. The meatballs can now be added to a pasta sauce and simmered for about half an hour and served over your favorite pasta, or frozen for a meal down the road!
I promise this is a recipe the won’t let down!! Give them a try and ENJOY! Bring it to a get together and fool and the most meat-hardy!
This is my first blog on here. You’ll see lots of photos. It’s a passionate hobby. The notes behind this photo is that my son is married to a lovely hungarian/british young lady. For Christmas a family member of my daughter-in-law gave me a copy of the cookbook manuscript that she is working on. I actually got the manuscript as it is not out yet. That in itself was an honor.
I was excited to try one of the recipes, of which this one is the first. It’s red cabbage. The photo’s title shows the hungarian wording for the recipe.
I can’t tell you how proud I was to actually make it. It will go on our Christmas Holiday dinner menu next year. It goes well with pork, and I make an authentic Spanish dinner that includes pulled pork.
I will give the title and writer of the book once it’s finished. It has amazing, delicious and easy recipes.
1 package tempura batter
1 carrot, cut into sticks
1 zucchini, cut into sticks
button mushrooms
1 sweet potato, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 head of broccoli, but into florets
canola oil
tempura dipping sauce, soy sauce, or plum sauce
Mix batter according to package directions. Add 2 inches of oil to a wok and heat over high heat until reaching 350 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, you can judge the temperature of the water by sticking the end of a wooden spoon in the oil. If the oil around the wood begins to bubble, the oil is the right temperature.
Dip the vegetables in the tempura batter and add to the hot oil. Fry the vegetables until golden brown.
Transfer the vegetables to a plate lined with paper towels and let drain briefly.
Serve the tempura vegetables with tempura dipping sauce, soy sauce, or plum sauce.
This can also be done with other vegetables and shrimp. The carrots and sweet potato take longer than other vegetables.
My husband Joshua’s Grandma Violet has a legendary collection of cookie jars from the 1940s and 50s. They are amazing. Last year, with the passing of Josh’s Gramps, dear Vi decided to distribute some of her jars, one to each grandchild. Josh got this awesome walrus one – do you not love its awesome old-fashioned cartoon-ish styling? It’s kinda Betty Boop-esque, methinks. I adore the little bird on his head.I saw it sitting on the top of one of our bookshelves, sadly empty – its purpose in life unfulfilled.
I couldn’t stand to see it like that so I decided to honour Violet’s jar by engaging in a little late-night baking of oatmeal chocolate chip raisin cookies.
So here’s another Commitment for 2010: to always keep the walrus’s belly full of home baked cookies. Hmmm… let’s see if I keep it up. This batch is already almost gone (and I only made it yesterday morning! We are Cookie Monsters!), but there’s already a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’m excited to make. All this after so much holiday indulging that Josh and I vowed to only eat salads for the next two weeks. Oh well.
P.S. Do you like how my photos on this blog are absolute shite? Good thing our new Panasonic Lumix is coming in the mail soon. Notice how I’m blaming our current camera on my lame photography skills.
…i don’t know what to make of 2010. have not done anything much in the way of excitement. just dealing with the never-ending snowstorms and freezy-cold temps like everyone else in the northern hemisphere, it seems.
i think i found this vintage snowflake glass sometime last year after winter was long over. and winter wasn’t long over ’til just about august, was it? seems a little more apropos now in light of the recent weather, although i must confess, i have not felt much like drinking a cold beverage in recent months. i’ve held steadfast to the red wine and hot cider.
i might need some tasty tequila this evening however, as a mandatory meeting for my department at work has been scheduled for all staff members. i hardly think this signals good news given the bleak business we’ve had of late. i’m convinced it means one thing: layoff. stay tuned.
and to make matters worse, see this cute little pedestal cake stand of muffins? they’ve found a home right in the garbage after this photo was shot. more allergy-free treats that taste AWFUL. somebody has messed with the formula in that company because they leave an aftertaste that is downright vile. i absolutely do not recall this foul foul taste when making these prior. in fact, i was overjoyed at how good they tasted. and this time i made sure to smell everything, the bowls, the muffin tin, the oil, the eggs, the mix, the mixing spoon, everything before mixing it all together. and then the exact same thing happened as with the brownies. the batter didn’t taste right. that’s two times in a row. there goes the occasional baked good sweet treat right down the drain.
Let me just say I love cabbage!!! It is one of those vegetable that taste good no matter how you cook it Thats how easy it is to make!! I have many twist on cabbage, this one’s my favorite. Many people say they don’t like a certain food but its all about how you try it. If your not a cabbage lover eat it this way and I promise that will change!!!
Syns: 2 syns for entire recipe on Green or Extra Easy
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
2 white onions, halved and sliced into 1/2 rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot chopped finely
1 courgette chopped
1/2 cup green lentils
500ml water
1 vegetable stock cube
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon of curry powder
freshly ground black pepper to taste
to serve:
Fat Free Natural Yoghurt and Fresh Coriander Method
Heat oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Saute onion for 10 minutes or so, until it begins to turn golden. Add minced garlic and saute for another minute or so. Add carrot, courgette, cumin , curry powder, lentils and water with stock cube to the saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer about 35 minutes, until lentils are soft ( this may take less time, depending on your water and the lentils).
Meanwhile cook the spinach in microwave according to package directions. Add spinach, salt and pepper to the saucepan. Cover and simmer until all is heated, about ten minutes. Serve topped with some fat free natural yoghurt and fresh coriander
I’m joining in this project here because I want to achieve good things this year. I’ve had a break from just about everything and now is the time to step up and start getting things done again. The categories for each month are follow with my wants for each category.
January – Fabulous Beginnings – getting into good routines and being really well prepared for relief teaching
February – Fabulous Organization – getting routines fine tuned and getting the family more involved
March – Fabulous Fitness – build up my stamina and lose weight
April – Fabulous Food – cooking more meals, baking more things for school lunches, making more interesting things for my own lunches
May – Fabulous Style – hair and make-up
June – Fabulous Fun – planning birthday parties for the boys
July – Fabulous Hobbies – knitting up a storm
August – Fabulous Finances – making a budget
September – Fabulous Food – more of what was done in April
October – Fabulous Health – stress management and sleep
November – Fabulous Home – making the bedroom a sanctuary
December – Fabulous Blogging – building up my readership
Gillian thought that the eggs I was making for Hannah at breakfast yesterday smelled and looked good. She said she’d like to give them a try. Keep in mind, Gillian has a few basic food groups:pizza, ramen, pita/quesadilla, and most forms of chicken.Eggs were to be avoided. She took a bite and decided she liked scrambled eggs. She wanted more. She ate 4 more eggs and by the end, she was making them herself. Today she decided she could do it herself …………..and she did. She said she might like to be a cook when she grows up. Sounds good to me.
Today was a good day. Brandon and I worked from home, although there was little to do.
Yesterday I got it in my head to make a Basque Gateau, which is just a super-fancy way of saying a Basque cake. I’d never had one before, and when I found the recipe I thought…Oh, something that sounds complicated to make? Count. Me. In. I’m a sucker for complicated. Go figure. And then, when I realized that it wasn’t really all that bad, I decided to make candied lemons to go on top of it. That’s a whole other ball of wax, but they came out fine. Brandon didn’t like them – I’m pretty sure I overheard him compare them to a weird gummy bear. Listen, I tried it. That’s all I can say. Anyway, the cake is really good, easy to make, and you can mix it up with the filling any way you like (I used lemon curd, which is so tempting to eat out of the jar that…I did). Tomorrow I’m making another one with wild blueberry jam. Should be good. The cake itself takes like two pie crusts mashed together with yumminess in between.
So……………then we were on this tear to use the smoker my parent’s bought us for Christmas (who’s an Adult now?), so we bought this enourmous pork loin. E.NOR.MOUS. I’m not kidding, there were all kinds of bad jokes being made at the pork loin’s expense, being that it was huge and, well, huge. Brandon found a jerk pork loin recipe, and as hard as it was to hand off the kitchen, I did it. At first, I didn’t, but then I did so I think that counts the most. He did a great job.
For most of the day, we just hung out, cooked, smoked the loin, did a little bit of checking in on the computer, not-working on the LSU quilt and visiting with friends. For dinner, we had Ed and Natalie, Will July, and Jada and her baby Sofia. It was a good night, and a good entry into 2010.
Happy New Year everybody. Let’s hope it’s a good one.
Totally ready to cook.
candied lemons
candied lemons
Basque Gateau
Jerk Pork Loin
Brussel sprouts, roasted veggies and scallop potatoes.
We all fall victim to that vending machine fix when we’re having a mid-morning or mid-day hunger attack. You might think – “hmm, what’s my healthiest option?” – pretzels or animal crackers? “I know” - licorice, skittles or three-musketeers – right? Well, it’s a good try, but realistically all of those low fat options are expensive empty calories! Here are a couple of easy suggestions using snack size baggies that will keep you going and save you time and money. Plan ahead and bring them with you. 
Zak Designs E Z Garlic Peeler
. For my rendition of the layer cake it clocked in at: 154 calories and 3.3 grams of fat per slice with frosting. The original recipe comes in at a staggering 528 calories per slice and 20.9 grams of fat in each slice with frosting. When it comes to the lighter recipe I would have to say I have won this one. As for me now, I am at home with a very tired Dan who should be leaving soon and a half empty diet soda. Until I am in the kitchen again…
This is my first blog on here. You’ll see lots of photos. It’s a passionate hobby. The notes behind this photo is that my son is married to a lovely hungarian/british young lady. For Christmas a family member of my daughter-in-law gave me a copy of the cookbook manuscript that she is working on. I actually got the manuscript as it is not out yet. That in itself was an honor.
So here’s another Commitment for 2010: to always keep the walrus’s belly full of home baked cookies. Hmmm… let’s see if I keep it up. This batch is already almost gone (and I only made it yesterday morning! We are Cookie Monsters!), but there’s already a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’m excited to make. All this after so much holiday indulging that Josh and I vowed to only eat salads for the next two weeks. Oh well.
