Here we again, another Wednesday. And look, I'm actually posting F.O.O.D. Wednesday on a Wednesday! Aren't you impressed? I realized I don't really have a theme for my weekly wednesday post. I figured I would have more to see about our weekly veggie pick up, but Wednesdays are another day that I don't often end up cooking. For now, I'm going to treat it as a way to spread some news about some interesting food related articles or newsbites I've come across. I've got some good ones for today.
I have been very lazy in the kitchen lately. It's been a busy week with Heather, one of my bestest friends, visiting and with Ryan and I buying a new car. Mostly we've been living on leftovers, junk food, eating out, my mom's food, or quinoa cooked up in a variety of ways. It's pretty atypical of my food habits but it's been fun.
Speaking of eating out, check out the word about Winnipeg's newest burger joint. They're called Boon (located where Common Ground formerly was on Maryland). Not only are they a vegetarian burger joint that will serve 8-10 themed burgers, but they're going to be gluten free (still unsure if that means all their food will be gluten free or if the patties will be gluten free and they'll have the option of gluten free buns)! It's supposed to be up and running in June and I'm really excited to try it out. It's within walking or biking distance and is just the kind of thing I've been craving. I didn't eat fast food very often before I went gluten free so it wasn't a big deal to give it up, but in the summer it's nice to at least have the option of going out and getting a burger and fries from "fast food" type diner and not have to worry about my health.
Here's another interesting link to the Chickens for Winnipeggers group on Facebook. The group appeared in an oddly timely manner since urban chickens are something I've been thinking about a lot more. It's not a possibility now, seeing as how we live in an apartment with no balcony and we also like being lazy in our mid-twenties. But this is something I could see myself doing in the future. Even though my naturopath recently told me she strongly suspects I have an egg allergy (I really hope I don't, I love scrambled eggs!) I think it would be a great endeavour.
Finally, you might be wanting an update on my garden. I have yet to make a move on actually starting it because I got stuck on the logistics of it. I'm confused about what method I should try to use since we get no direct sunlight. Right now I'm thinking of a mix between herbs that don't need much light in the windows, a very small basic window farm, and some shelves and artificial lighting for some easy veggies. I didn't really know where to turn though to get the kind of help or information I want. But then I took the bus last week and less than a 10 minute walk from our apartment is an indoor gardening place! So I plan to stop in there by the end of the week and get some advice. I just need some direction from someone more experienced. I think this little project is going to cost me a few dollars but to be able to grow some of our own food, totally worth it.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
A Visual of Riverside
For a few weeks now I've been wanting to show off my workspace and kitchen but I've just been too unmotivated to tidy up the increasing clutter on the kitchen table and make sure all the dishes are away and there's no mess. But the longer sunny days have been making me want to do something more with my time for a while. So finally I dragged out my old Nikon D40 and got to work.
Behold the kitchen as a whole! It's a long galley style kitchen but the odd lack of counter space and old fashioned sink make it appear we have more room than we do. It's the worst when Ryan and I are both stuck in that space between the counter and the stove. But since I'm usually the only one in the room and we're both on the dishes pretty quickly the counter size doesn't really phase me too much.
Check out this sink. I have to scrub it with Comet Bleach about twice a week because it stains really badly. It looks lovely when it's all clean and sparkly. We both appreciate that room for the dish rack is right on the sink and isn't really stealing any extra counter space.
Here is the multipurpose shelf. This actually acts as a pretty decent counter when we need it. In fact, so does the radiator so long as you put one of the big cutting boards on it. I brought this shelf from my room at home and it worked out really well in the kitchen. We have a ridiculous amount of appliances all over the kitchen and I have to use a separate gluten free toaster from Ryan so mine is the white one.
One "breakfast nook" or whatever you want to call it. I bought this table when I was still living at home and dying to make my room feel less bedroomy and more let's-pretend-I-don't-still-live-at-home. It's a great little bar table with four stools and we actually eat breakfast there fairly often in the morning, listening to good ole' CBC. I'm actually surprised I haven't talked about CBC more often. Ryan is a total CBC Radio 1 convert. We listen to it all the time, in the car - me more than him, but still. He'll turn it on when I'm not even around now.
Out compost corner. My mom kept one of these containers under her kitchen sink but I didn't think it would fit in our windows. I picked one up anyway and it fits just perfect. It doesn't give off a smell really and it keeps thing tidy. When the bag is full I just wrap it up and stick it in the other windowsill until I can drop it off at my folks place.
We live in a building that was built in 1931 so we even have an ice chest. But we use it as the pantry for snacks and potatoes and onions and oils.
And lastly, my funky new mixing bowls. I love these things. The 3 largest sizes have nice grips on the bottom so I can finally use my hand mixer without the bowl going crazy.
That's it for now. Ryan and I were busy buying a new car this weekend!
Behold the kitchen as a whole! It's a long galley style kitchen but the odd lack of counter space and old fashioned sink make it appear we have more room than we do. It's the worst when Ryan and I are both stuck in that space between the counter and the stove. But since I'm usually the only one in the room and we're both on the dishes pretty quickly the counter size doesn't really phase me too much.
Check out this sink. I have to scrub it with Comet Bleach about twice a week because it stains really badly. It looks lovely when it's all clean and sparkly. We both appreciate that room for the dish rack is right on the sink and isn't really stealing any extra counter space.
Here is the multipurpose shelf. This actually acts as a pretty decent counter when we need it. In fact, so does the radiator so long as you put one of the big cutting boards on it. I brought this shelf from my room at home and it worked out really well in the kitchen. We have a ridiculous amount of appliances all over the kitchen and I have to use a separate gluten free toaster from Ryan so mine is the white one.
One "breakfast nook" or whatever you want to call it. I bought this table when I was still living at home and dying to make my room feel less bedroomy and more let's-pretend-I-don't-still-live-at-home. It's a great little bar table with four stools and we actually eat breakfast there fairly often in the morning, listening to good ole' CBC. I'm actually surprised I haven't talked about CBC more often. Ryan is a total CBC Radio 1 convert. We listen to it all the time, in the car - me more than him, but still. He'll turn it on when I'm not even around now.
Out compost corner. My mom kept one of these containers under her kitchen sink but I didn't think it would fit in our windows. I picked one up anyway and it fits just perfect. It doesn't give off a smell really and it keeps thing tidy. When the bag is full I just wrap it up and stick it in the other windowsill until I can drop it off at my folks place.
We live in a building that was built in 1931 so we even have an ice chest. But we use it as the pantry for snacks and potatoes and onions and oils.
And lastly, my funky new mixing bowls. I love these things. The 3 largest sizes have nice grips on the bottom so I can finally use my hand mixer without the bowl going crazy.That's it for now. Ryan and I were busy buying a new car this weekend!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
F.O.O.D. Wednesdays - A Day Late
Once again, I'm late on my FOOD Wednesday post. I usually pick up our produce box first thing in the morning but yesterday was an unusual work day so Ryan picked it up before he went to work and I didn't even get to see the box until around 10 last night.
I'm really impressed with how the Fresh Option folks seem to spread out their boxes each week. What I mean is, one week we'll often have a lot of big bulky veggies that I often don't get to use within a week - last week we had swiss chard, 1/2 purple cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, etc. If I have a busy week it's a lot more difficult to use up those ingredients, especially because the chard is more like two veggies (the stalk and the leaves). But those big bulky boxes are usually spaced out well. This week we got more broccoli and a carrot and some smaller root veggies which last longer and are often easier to use. We also got basil! Beautiful, beautiful basil! Basil is probably one of my most favourite herbs to use. It goes with so many different types of foods, it makes amazing dressings, and tastes surprisingly nice on fresh fruit (by the way, fruit is never an issue with the fresh option box because who doesn't love fresh fruit?! We get a good amount of bananas, apples, oranges, pears, grapefruits, mango's, kiwi's, and lemons usually).
I've mentioned before that the Fresh Option box is good because it forces me to cook and eat foods I might not consider buying. There are some foods I've learned I'm just not crazy about and some I've learned I might not be crazy about but I can hide them pretty well in a lot of other foods. I have yet to find a recipe I like that really features swiss chard. It's often used as an add-in but never gets to be the main attraction. I've been searching through blogs to find something that will stand out.
But last night I went for the good ole' "hide it" option. Taco's are pretty common in our home. They're quick, easy, and deeeeelicious. I cooked up some ground beef/pork from frigs and chopped up 6 or 7 stalks of swiss chard. I pulled the leaves off and cleaned them for later use. After the meat was cooked through I added the chard, some taco salt, and let it simmer together for 15-20 minutes while I got my cheese, olives, yogurt (we were out of sour cream), and cabbage (we were also out of lettuce). The 'hidden' chard was surprisingly delicious. It gave the taco's a bit more of an earthy flavour but it didn't overpower the other tastes going on. The cabbage was pretty tasty too. I didn't take a picture because I was ravenously hungry by the time I ate this, but the purple cabbage made it look very pretty.
Last week we also got some really nice fresh dill in the box. I had meant to use it in the mashed potatoes I made last weekend but I forgot we even had it. It was in the same package as the chard, so I decided to break out the dehydrator again. I'm very happy to say, we're had the dehydrator for less than a week and I've already used it twice. I spread the dill out on the trays and popped it in at 115F. In about 4 hours I had a nice jar full of dried dill, kept separate from the store bought stuff because it's more special.
I'm really impressed with how the Fresh Option folks seem to spread out their boxes each week. What I mean is, one week we'll often have a lot of big bulky veggies that I often don't get to use within a week - last week we had swiss chard, 1/2 purple cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, etc. If I have a busy week it's a lot more difficult to use up those ingredients, especially because the chard is more like two veggies (the stalk and the leaves). But those big bulky boxes are usually spaced out well. This week we got more broccoli and a carrot and some smaller root veggies which last longer and are often easier to use. We also got basil! Beautiful, beautiful basil! Basil is probably one of my most favourite herbs to use. It goes with so many different types of foods, it makes amazing dressings, and tastes surprisingly nice on fresh fruit (by the way, fruit is never an issue with the fresh option box because who doesn't love fresh fruit?! We get a good amount of bananas, apples, oranges, pears, grapefruits, mango's, kiwi's, and lemons usually).
I've mentioned before that the Fresh Option box is good because it forces me to cook and eat foods I might not consider buying. There are some foods I've learned I'm just not crazy about and some I've learned I might not be crazy about but I can hide them pretty well in a lot of other foods. I have yet to find a recipe I like that really features swiss chard. It's often used as an add-in but never gets to be the main attraction. I've been searching through blogs to find something that will stand out.
But last night I went for the good ole' "hide it" option. Taco's are pretty common in our home. They're quick, easy, and deeeeelicious. I cooked up some ground beef/pork from frigs and chopped up 6 or 7 stalks of swiss chard. I pulled the leaves off and cleaned them for later use. After the meat was cooked through I added the chard, some taco salt, and let it simmer together for 15-20 minutes while I got my cheese, olives, yogurt (we were out of sour cream), and cabbage (we were also out of lettuce). The 'hidden' chard was surprisingly delicious. It gave the taco's a bit more of an earthy flavour but it didn't overpower the other tastes going on. The cabbage was pretty tasty too. I didn't take a picture because I was ravenously hungry by the time I ate this, but the purple cabbage made it look very pretty.
Last week we also got some really nice fresh dill in the box. I had meant to use it in the mashed potatoes I made last weekend but I forgot we even had it. It was in the same package as the chard, so I decided to break out the dehydrator again. I'm very happy to say, we're had the dehydrator for less than a week and I've already used it twice. I spread the dill out on the trays and popped it in at 115F. In about 4 hours I had a nice jar full of dried dill, kept separate from the store bought stuff because it's more special.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Food Dehydrator
My Excalibur 2500 food dehydrator arrived last week! I had been considering going with a larger model but I'm glad I didn't because it is big. I found a spot for it on top of our fridge yesterday (we only have three 3-pronged plugs in our apartment despite having 4 rooms with plugs). It was delivered to my folks place and I picked it up on Friday. Now, I spent a good amount of cash on this thing so I intend to get my money's worth out of it. As it turns out, I had a lot of free time yesterday.
On March 31st we returned our cable box so we could cancel our cable but when I got home we still had cable in the spare room. We just decided to wait it out and see if got charged for it. I guess our company turns it off mid-month. On Thursday we had cable before I left for work and when I got home it had been disconnected...except for the weather channel, Discovery, and CNN...weird.
Anyway, now that we really have no TV, except for what's downloaded, I have a bit more free time to fill. Yesterday I went on a cleaning frenzy around the apartment; folding laundry, separating laundry, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping the floors, preparing dinner, re-organizing the kitchen, and trying out a dehydrator recipe.
I did a bit of research online and it seemed like fruit leather would be the easiest thing to try out first. I through a couple of cups of frozen berries and 2.5 bananas in my blender with a tbsp or two of honey and pureed. And that was it. The dehydrator comes with special sheets to make things like fruit leather on so I poured it onto the sheet and spread around. I could tell I had spread it a little thinly, but since it was my first time dehydrating ever, I was pretty pleased with it.
The National Centre for Home Food Preservation (recommended by Well Preserved - Thanks!) told me it would take anywhere from 6-8 hours to dehydrate but the book that came with it said 4-6. I just decided to check it every hour and ended up right at the 6 hour mark. The leather came out great. It's nice and tangy and a lot more tart than something like a Fruit-to-Go. I rolled it up in plastic wrap and have it in the fridge and it'll be a tasty snack all week.
I was actually really impressed with how easy the dehydrator was to use. I read the whole instruction booklet and then read up on the NCHFP and felt pretty confident. I had advice on how to position the door and how to make sure everything with situated in the right place. It was easy to check in and see how the food was doing and the fan wasn't too loud. The temperature control is a really nice feature and I'm glad I didn't go with a cheaper model.
So, that's the first experimentation with the dehydrator. Over the next week I'll probably be trying out some different types of leathers and I'm hoping to do a jerky. I'm not sure what kind of fruit or veggies we'll end up drying yet. We don't have too much extra to work with this week, but The Forks Market sells food that's teetering on being unusable in big bulk bags for 1 or 2 dollars. I'm going to keep my eyes open for the type of food they have. Last week they had cheap, slightly over-ripe strawberries, which would have been great for a leather. Hopefully I can get use out of my machine at least once a week. I'll keep you posted!
*I know, I didn't post a F.O.O.D. Wednesday post this week. I had plans Wednesday night and completely forgot to take a picture of our box. Oops! As consolation, here's last night's dinner made with some of our box items (kale, chard, onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, potatoes) and ribs from Frigs (recipe from Great Tastes of Manitoba - but it was a bit bland - BBQ sauce is my own).
On March 31st we returned our cable box so we could cancel our cable but when I got home we still had cable in the spare room. We just decided to wait it out and see if got charged for it. I guess our company turns it off mid-month. On Thursday we had cable before I left for work and when I got home it had been disconnected...except for the weather channel, Discovery, and CNN...weird.
Anyway, now that we really have no TV, except for what's downloaded, I have a bit more free time to fill. Yesterday I went on a cleaning frenzy around the apartment; folding laundry, separating laundry, cleaning the bathroom, sweeping the floors, preparing dinner, re-organizing the kitchen, and trying out a dehydrator recipe.
I did a bit of research online and it seemed like fruit leather would be the easiest thing to try out first. I through a couple of cups of frozen berries and 2.5 bananas in my blender with a tbsp or two of honey and pureed. And that was it. The dehydrator comes with special sheets to make things like fruit leather on so I poured it onto the sheet and spread around. I could tell I had spread it a little thinly, but since it was my first time dehydrating ever, I was pretty pleased with it.
The National Centre for Home Food Preservation (recommended by Well Preserved - Thanks!) told me it would take anywhere from 6-8 hours to dehydrate but the book that came with it said 4-6. I just decided to check it every hour and ended up right at the 6 hour mark. The leather came out great. It's nice and tangy and a lot more tart than something like a Fruit-to-Go. I rolled it up in plastic wrap and have it in the fridge and it'll be a tasty snack all week.
I was actually really impressed with how easy the dehydrator was to use. I read the whole instruction booklet and then read up on the NCHFP and felt pretty confident. I had advice on how to position the door and how to make sure everything with situated in the right place. It was easy to check in and see how the food was doing and the fan wasn't too loud. The temperature control is a really nice feature and I'm glad I didn't go with a cheaper model.
So, that's the first experimentation with the dehydrator. Over the next week I'll probably be trying out some different types of leathers and I'm hoping to do a jerky. I'm not sure what kind of fruit or veggies we'll end up drying yet. We don't have too much extra to work with this week, but The Forks Market sells food that's teetering on being unusable in big bulk bags for 1 or 2 dollars. I'm going to keep my eyes open for the type of food they have. Last week they had cheap, slightly over-ripe strawberries, which would have been great for a leather. Hopefully I can get use out of my machine at least once a week. I'll keep you posted!
*I know, I didn't post a F.O.O.D. Wednesday post this week. I had plans Wednesday night and completely forgot to take a picture of our box. Oops! As consolation, here's last night's dinner made with some of our box items (kale, chard, onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, potatoes) and ribs from Frigs (recipe from Great Tastes of Manitoba - but it was a bit bland - BBQ sauce is my own).
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Downside of Baking
Monday was one of those days that just flew by. I started work at 8, worked until around 1 and then took a break for an hour and a half and biked to the library to check out a gardening book, and then went back to work till 5. By the time I finished work I was starving. Ryan and I were both home yesterday evening so I asked him to start dinner while I was finishing work.
A lot of the time it's just me by myself in the kitchen. I like cooking alone. A lot of times I don't even think to turn on the radio. I find cooking and washing dishes almost meditative. I like keeping my hands and brain occupied. But sometimes that can get boring or lonely. It was a nice change to be cooking in the kitchen together.
We went with a very summery meal yesterday. Last week at Frigs we picked up some bison burgers. I'd been craving one all weekend and yesterday we took out our tiny countertop grill - which really is tiny, it fit two patties exactly and that was it. I love those grills. We have a giant one that my older brother and niece got us, and this mini one that my folks got us. We just pre-heated for 5 minutes and then the burgers were both cooked in less than 15 minutes from frozen.
When I got home Ryan had already taken care of the oven fries and we tossed them in for 30 minutes. Earlier in the day I'd made up a batch of naked quinoa so I grabbed that out of the fridge, threw in the snap peas we'd gotten with our Fresh Option box this week, and added some balsamic dressing, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, paprika, and feta cheese. Mmmm....simple, but delicious.
While I made up the couscous, Ryan got all the condiments and cut up some cheese, kale, onions, etc for his burger. We had no buns so he had his on toast but I just had mine naked. Yum yum yum, this was a really satisfying meal and is making me look forward more and more to summer. There are a lot of BBQ pits in little parks dotted all around this area of the city so I'm looking forward to the day when it's warm enough that we can grab a frisbee, my hammock chair, some friends, and good eats on a lazy, sunny, afternoon.
You may have noticed this entry is called the downside of baking. After dinner Ryan and I both felt like something sweet but our home is empty of junk food. So I walked into the kitchen and thought "...butter and sugar...that's about all I have....what can I make with butter and sugar?" Naturally I turned to Four Chickens blog.
I scoured through some recipes before settling on gluten free donuts! You'll have to go to her blog to get the recipe, but these were faaaaantastic. And surprisingly easy. I took out all the ingredients, threw them into a bowl, mixed, added flour, mixed, and then refrigerated. Once the dough was cooled I heated some oil and got to work shaping the donuts. Jeanne recommends using cutters to make your donut shapes but I found this didn't really work well. Instead I opted to pull off a chunk of dough, roll it into a thick, but not too thick, snake, and then mold it into a small mini-donut ring. I molded them and then, very smartly otherwise we might have eaten them all, stuck 8 mini donuts in the freezer. Then you carefully place them in the hot oil and watch over as they cook. I mixed some brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it on top of the finished donuts. I think these will be making frequent appearances in our kitchen.
A lot of the time it's just me by myself in the kitchen. I like cooking alone. A lot of times I don't even think to turn on the radio. I find cooking and washing dishes almost meditative. I like keeping my hands and brain occupied. But sometimes that can get boring or lonely. It was a nice change to be cooking in the kitchen together.
We went with a very summery meal yesterday. Last week at Frigs we picked up some bison burgers. I'd been craving one all weekend and yesterday we took out our tiny countertop grill - which really is tiny, it fit two patties exactly and that was it. I love those grills. We have a giant one that my older brother and niece got us, and this mini one that my folks got us. We just pre-heated for 5 minutes and then the burgers were both cooked in less than 15 minutes from frozen.
When I got home Ryan had already taken care of the oven fries and we tossed them in for 30 minutes. Earlier in the day I'd made up a batch of naked quinoa so I grabbed that out of the fridge, threw in the snap peas we'd gotten with our Fresh Option box this week, and added some balsamic dressing, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, paprika, and feta cheese. Mmmm....simple, but delicious.
While I made up the couscous, Ryan got all the condiments and cut up some cheese, kale, onions, etc for his burger. We had no buns so he had his on toast but I just had mine naked. Yum yum yum, this was a really satisfying meal and is making me look forward more and more to summer. There are a lot of BBQ pits in little parks dotted all around this area of the city so I'm looking forward to the day when it's warm enough that we can grab a frisbee, my hammock chair, some friends, and good eats on a lazy, sunny, afternoon.
You may have noticed this entry is called the downside of baking. After dinner Ryan and I both felt like something sweet but our home is empty of junk food. So I walked into the kitchen and thought "...butter and sugar...that's about all I have....what can I make with butter and sugar?" Naturally I turned to Four Chickens blog.
I scoured through some recipes before settling on gluten free donuts! You'll have to go to her blog to get the recipe, but these were faaaaantastic. And surprisingly easy. I took out all the ingredients, threw them into a bowl, mixed, added flour, mixed, and then refrigerated. Once the dough was cooled I heated some oil and got to work shaping the donuts. Jeanne recommends using cutters to make your donut shapes but I found this didn't really work well. Instead I opted to pull off a chunk of dough, roll it into a thick, but not too thick, snake, and then mold it into a small mini-donut ring. I molded them and then, very smartly otherwise we might have eaten them all, stuck 8 mini donuts in the freezer. Then you carefully place them in the hot oil and watch over as they cook. I mixed some brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it on top of the finished donuts. I think these will be making frequent appearances in our kitchen.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Back to our Roots
I've referred to my very favourite cookbook a number of times here. I would actually probably call this more of a lifestyle book as opposed to a cookbook. I discovered Nourishing Traditions through an online friend. At first glance, it looks a little far out and accusatory and is sub-titled "The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats". That being said, this book contains a wealth of knowledge.
The first part is laid out more like a textbook than a cookbook with each section separated into fats, proteins, minerals, enzymes, etc and goes into depth explaining how each works in your body. This was really valuable to me. I don't like to prescribe to anything without first understanding it. This book broke down how my own body works in such an easy to follow way. I can understand a lot of the metabolic processes that are happening and that gives me a lot more power over my own health. Sometimes Ryan will ask me a question about the difference between certain fats or why coconut oil is good for you or any odd thing and I'll whip out the book and look it up.
The second half of the book is laid out by main ingredient more than anything. It starts out with basics; real basics like butter, kefir, cream cheese, etc. She has a whole chapter on laco-fermented foods and their health benefits. Later it moves on to different kinds of meats, including fish, game meats, poultry, ground meat, plus more and then vegetables. The vegetable section is often really helpful when we get our Fresh Option box each week. If there's something new I'll flip to the vegetable's section and see if there are any good recipes. Another thing I love about this book is that the sidebar will explain interesting facts and nutritional information about the food featured in the recipes.
This book also talks a bit about how the grains we're encouraged to eat today are worlds away from the grains we were eating hundreds of years ago. I think this is something really important to remember when we're talking about the prevalence of certain diseases, like celiac. The grains we eat today are grown so differently and are processed in such a totally different way you can hardly make a comparison between them and the ones humans ate in the past. There's a chapter on properly soaking grains and some different recipes to use them in. Following that, there's a chapter on baking with alternative grains. I haven't had much of an opportunity to try these recipes out yet but I've heard good things from online communities. There's even a legumes section that also talks about how to properly prepare beans by soaking them too.
All in all, there are so many different sections in this book I'm still making my way through most of them. There are 12 chapters, each containing a number of sections within each chapter. The recipes are usually fantastic, creative, and there's extra facts given in the sidebars. It's got an index for information and a separate one for recipes and a huge resource section in the back. If you're interested in a cookbook like this, I would suggest checking out this website, the Weston A. Price Foundation, which the author of the book runs.
There are so many reasons I use this book (right down to a measurement conversion chart in the back), it's such an amazing wealth of information. Do you have a cookbook bible that you turn to again and again? Share your secrets!
The first part is laid out more like a textbook than a cookbook with each section separated into fats, proteins, minerals, enzymes, etc and goes into depth explaining how each works in your body. This was really valuable to me. I don't like to prescribe to anything without first understanding it. This book broke down how my own body works in such an easy to follow way. I can understand a lot of the metabolic processes that are happening and that gives me a lot more power over my own health. Sometimes Ryan will ask me a question about the difference between certain fats or why coconut oil is good for you or any odd thing and I'll whip out the book and look it up.
The second half of the book is laid out by main ingredient more than anything. It starts out with basics; real basics like butter, kefir, cream cheese, etc. She has a whole chapter on laco-fermented foods and their health benefits. Later it moves on to different kinds of meats, including fish, game meats, poultry, ground meat, plus more and then vegetables. The vegetable section is often really helpful when we get our Fresh Option box each week. If there's something new I'll flip to the vegetable's section and see if there are any good recipes. Another thing I love about this book is that the sidebar will explain interesting facts and nutritional information about the food featured in the recipes.
This book also talks a bit about how the grains we're encouraged to eat today are worlds away from the grains we were eating hundreds of years ago. I think this is something really important to remember when we're talking about the prevalence of certain diseases, like celiac. The grains we eat today are grown so differently and are processed in such a totally different way you can hardly make a comparison between them and the ones humans ate in the past. There's a chapter on properly soaking grains and some different recipes to use them in. Following that, there's a chapter on baking with alternative grains. I haven't had much of an opportunity to try these recipes out yet but I've heard good things from online communities. There's even a legumes section that also talks about how to properly prepare beans by soaking them too.
All in all, there are so many different sections in this book I'm still making my way through most of them. There are 12 chapters, each containing a number of sections within each chapter. The recipes are usually fantastic, creative, and there's extra facts given in the sidebars. It's got an index for information and a separate one for recipes and a huge resource section in the back. If you're interested in a cookbook like this, I would suggest checking out this website, the Weston A. Price Foundation, which the author of the book runs.
There are so many reasons I use this book (right down to a measurement conversion chart in the back), it's such an amazing wealth of information. Do you have a cookbook bible that you turn to again and again? Share your secrets!
Monday, April 5, 2010
F.O.O.D. Wednesday: Spring is in the Air
In an effort to make sure I'm posting a little more regularly, since I have more free time now, I decided I would try and make at least one theme post day a week. Wednesday seemed like a logical choice because it's when we pick up our weekly F.O.O.D. box. I even started this post on Monday to make sure I would be good this week and get it out on Wednesday, but then I had some extra evening training and volunteer shifts this week so once again it got pushed back a bit. Better late than never!
Since we've now been using Fresh Option for a few months I think now is a good time for a bit of a review of how it's gone. Overall, we're really happy with it. We know we're paying a little bit more for our food but we also know we can afford the slightly extra expense to know exactly where our food is coming from and sometimes even who it's coming from. It also gives us an opportunity to really get to explore cooking new and different kinds of foods we wouldn't have picked up before. I don't think I ever would have bought eggplant or leeks. Even though I've discovered and I don't think I like eggplant on it's own, it's great in spaghetti sauce. And I managed to throw together a pretty tasty leek soup a couple of weeks back.
This week I'm excited to see Kale again. I think we've only had it once so far but I felt like I didn't play around with it enough. My mom makes this delicious dish she's altered many times using a bit of a cream sauce, sometimes mushroom soup, quinoa, and spinach leaves that she bakes like a casserole. I had some leftovers I wanted to try and get rid of today so I came up with a similar type of dish. I had about two cups of risotto, some quinoa, carrots, radishes, garlic, and kale and mixed that all together. I put a bunch of torn up kale on top and then added a bit of a creamy roux I'd created (with Ryan's help) and baked it for 15-20 minutes. It was pretty tasty. I broiled it at the end to give the kale on tip a bit of crispyness. It was a rich dish so we just had pork buttons and fried apples and pears. Mmmm...we love pork buttons in this house.
I feel very privileged to have the time, money, and enthusiasm to get back to knowing where exactly my food is coming from. We already know that once the farmer's market is in full swing we won't be using Fresh Option but even though next fall Shawna and Dylan will be off living their lives in Leeds, UK we'll probably still get the smaller sized Fresh Option box (unless we find someone who wants to split the medium, which reduces the cost by about $10 for 4 people).
It's been a good eye opener to start paying more attention to where all our foods are coming from. I don't know if Ryan really has any idea what he's in for. I have a lot of exciting idea's that I'll finally get to try out in the coming months and I'm hoping that we can continue our journey on the more sustainable, local, organic and homemade food products. My dehydrator should be here any day now!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Windowsill Gardening and Cadbury Cream Eggs
Now that the weather has turned and the snow is gone I'm thinking more and more about gardening. Determined not to let our lack of balcony or outdoor space deter me, I had already been planning to use our huge windowsills. Our building was built in 1931 and if the windows aren't original they must be pretty damn close. There are three panes of movable windows on a sash/pulley system but we only leave the inside window closed and there's a screen on the outside - which means we have about 6-8 inches of big wide windowsills that can fit a decent sized window box, planter, or container - we keep our compost box in one of the kitchen windowsills already. We also have multiples windows in almost every room which gives us...9 windowsills total to work with.
After doing some research I'm pretty excited to get started on this project. We have windows on two sides of our building but unfortunately one set faces east and one north, giving us no direct sunlight. It actually gets pretty bright during the day but not enough for most plants to grow. I'm planning to head down to Sage Garden Herbs to have a look at some artificial lights and get some advice on the best plants to try out. Sage Garden Herbs happens to have a great article about indoor gardening that answered a lot of my questions.
At this point I'm not sure exactly what I want to grow. I know I'm going to do a variety of herbs and also salad greens but I'd like to try some more challenging things as well. I know I'll have to experiment to see what works but I came across a great resource that I'm hoping to pick up at the library or bookstore (depending on how much I look the book when I actually get my hands on it). McGee and Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit, and Edible Flowers has great reviews and a few mentions around the blogsphere. According to the reviews and product info, this book has some really in depth info about all kinds of produce and the best growing conditions for each. I love books that are full of information so I'm hoping it lives up to my expectations.
I have so many toys that I want to buy right now. Spring is a good season for inspiration. After researching dehydrators for a while I finally decided on a model and purchased it online. I went for the Excalibur 2500 model - this brand had the best reviews on the web and I found a Canadian retailer that offered free shipping and got a decent deal. It's supposed to arrive pretty quickly so I'm excited to get to play around with it. I already have some neat ideas collected from different blogs. I'm looking forward to making some posts about it. I have to admit I'm really excited at the prospect of making my own jerky. Now that I'm gluten free it can be hard to find jerky that uses a wheat free soya or teryaki sauce.
Speaking of other new toys, my new food procesor should be arriving any day. I talked to my mom who said that as far as she knows the compay is just going to give me a new one. Woo! It was my fault I broke it but their fault for selling us a product that you can't replace because "it's only sold in Canada". The new model they're sending me is going to be replaceable if need be, although I'm hoping I can make it last more than 6 months this time.
Either than getting excited about things I could buy and things that are heading my way in the mail, I haven't really been doing all that much cooking...except for one Easter treat that I kind of regret discovering because they're so easy. A couple of weeks ago I was craving a Cadbury's Cream Egg, as I do because I love them. But I didn't feel like going to buy one so I googled "cadbuy cream egg recipe" and came across some idea's. I ended up basically using this recipe but with a few changes. I mean, you can't make these things without using Cadbury's chocolate - that's the best part! I halved the original recipe too because I got about 20 smaller eggs out of it. I found that if you did the eggs too big they were just too much cream and not enough chocolate.
Homemade Cadbury Cream Eggs
Take the mixture and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours or freezer for 30-60 minutes if you're in a hurry (like I was). Take the mixture out and shape it into little eggs and spread on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Once they're all shaped, pop them back into the fridge or freezer for the same amount of time as before.
At this point, you can start melting your chocolate in a bowl. I use a metal bowl inside a small pot with boiling water so the chocolate doesn't burn. Once the chocolate is melted and the eggs are well formed, take a spoon or two and drop each egg in the chocolate making sure it's well covered. I used the spoons to let the egg roll off back onto the cookie sheet. Once you've coated all the eggs return to the freezer for another 30-60 minutes. Re-melt your chocolate and re-coat every egg up to 3 times. I only did this twice and found that it was enough. Return the eggs for the fridge or freezer for at least 1-2 hours to properly set. Then enjoy your eggs!
*If you're feeling less lazy than I was you can also be creative and make a yellow yolk as described in this recipe. I just didn't feel like it was worth it and everyone at the potluck I brought these to thought they tasted awesome without.
After doing some research I'm pretty excited to get started on this project. We have windows on two sides of our building but unfortunately one set faces east and one north, giving us no direct sunlight. It actually gets pretty bright during the day but not enough for most plants to grow. I'm planning to head down to Sage Garden Herbs to have a look at some artificial lights and get some advice on the best plants to try out. Sage Garden Herbs happens to have a great article about indoor gardening that answered a lot of my questions.
At this point I'm not sure exactly what I want to grow. I know I'm going to do a variety of herbs and also salad greens but I'd like to try some more challenging things as well. I know I'll have to experiment to see what works but I came across a great resource that I'm hoping to pick up at the library or bookstore (depending on how much I look the book when I actually get my hands on it). McGee and Stuckey's Bountiful Container: Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit, and Edible Flowers has great reviews and a few mentions around the blogsphere. According to the reviews and product info, this book has some really in depth info about all kinds of produce and the best growing conditions for each. I love books that are full of information so I'm hoping it lives up to my expectations.
I have so many toys that I want to buy right now. Spring is a good season for inspiration. After researching dehydrators for a while I finally decided on a model and purchased it online. I went for the Excalibur 2500 model - this brand had the best reviews on the web and I found a Canadian retailer that offered free shipping and got a decent deal. It's supposed to arrive pretty quickly so I'm excited to get to play around with it. I already have some neat ideas collected from different blogs. I'm looking forward to making some posts about it. I have to admit I'm really excited at the prospect of making my own jerky. Now that I'm gluten free it can be hard to find jerky that uses a wheat free soya or teryaki sauce.
Speaking of other new toys, my new food procesor should be arriving any day. I talked to my mom who said that as far as she knows the compay is just going to give me a new one. Woo! It was my fault I broke it but their fault for selling us a product that you can't replace because "it's only sold in Canada". The new model they're sending me is going to be replaceable if need be, although I'm hoping I can make it last more than 6 months this time.
Either than getting excited about things I could buy and things that are heading my way in the mail, I haven't really been doing all that much cooking...except for one Easter treat that I kind of regret discovering because they're so easy. A couple of weeks ago I was craving a Cadbury's Cream Egg, as I do because I love them. But I didn't feel like going to buy one so I googled "cadbuy cream egg recipe" and came across some idea's. I ended up basically using this recipe but with a few changes. I mean, you can't make these things without using Cadbury's chocolate - that's the best part! I halved the original recipe too because I got about 20 smaller eggs out of it. I found that if you did the eggs too big they were just too much cream and not enough chocolate.
Homemade Cadbury Cream Eggs
- 1/8 cup butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-1 1/2 cup icing sugar, to your taste
- 2 milk chocolate cadbury chocolate bars
- 1 dark chocoalte cadbury chocolate bar
Take the mixture and put it in the fridge for 1-2 hours or freezer for 30-60 minutes if you're in a hurry (like I was). Take the mixture out and shape it into little eggs and spread on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Once they're all shaped, pop them back into the fridge or freezer for the same amount of time as before.
At this point, you can start melting your chocolate in a bowl. I use a metal bowl inside a small pot with boiling water so the chocolate doesn't burn. Once the chocolate is melted and the eggs are well formed, take a spoon or two and drop each egg in the chocolate making sure it's well covered. I used the spoons to let the egg roll off back onto the cookie sheet. Once you've coated all the eggs return to the freezer for another 30-60 minutes. Re-melt your chocolate and re-coat every egg up to 3 times. I only did this twice and found that it was enough. Return the eggs for the fridge or freezer for at least 1-2 hours to properly set. Then enjoy your eggs!
*If you're feeling less lazy than I was you can also be creative and make a yellow yolk as described in this recipe. I just didn't feel like it was worth it and everyone at the potluck I brought these to thought they tasted awesome without.
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