Tag: food

The Daily EO: June 23rd, 2012

There are 1000s. . . millions? even of halls and church basements in North America.  And each year community groups gather for bake sales, dinners, Christmas pageant planning, piano lessons, service club meetings, teas, dances, lunches, bazaars, wedding receptions, book sales, and anything else you can imagine.  Almost all of the basements seem to have similar design and layout.  Almost always support poles, a kitchen off to the side (stocked with mismatched dishes and dull knives) and stairwells that are just low enough you feel the need to duck coming down.  The hall walls have historical information in there – plaques for former presidents of this or that, newspaper clippings, thank you certificates, etc.  And in my experience, all seem to be just slightly cluttered in the closets, kitchen and storage area with items from previous events – one offs that someone deems useful one day.

My husband and I volunteered at the Lioness/Rotary Lobsterfest on Saturday evening.  150 lobsters and about 15 Roast beef dinners.  We started at 1 pm, but other volunteers decorated the hall the previous evening with shells, nets, lobster traps, etc.  We set up the bar, tables and chairs, decorated the tables, and set up serving stations.  We were smart enough to stay well away from the kitchen where several family matriarchs battled for kitchen leader status.

The lobsters were from New Brunswick and had arrived via plane that morning.  Each was at least 1.5 pounds each.  The roast was rare and in a wonderful rosemary garlic.   Both served with coleslaw and potato salad.  The scones were homemade and then served with fresh Ontario berries.

I sat in my Lobsterfest apron in the basement of the hall during the predinner lull and thought of the basement of the Anglican church in Cranbrook, British Columbia.  I remember I played Mary in the Christmas pageant one year and we did some rehearsals down there.  I remembered the basement of St. Mary’s Catholic Church of the Assumption in St. Catharines, Ontario.  I hid down there when my now sister-in-law got married (I didn’t want to be in family pictures just in case) and a church pig roast dinner for the congregation.  I remember craft shows and Stag and Does, engagement parties, Maple Syrup festivals.  All held in these aging halls and basements.

Community halls are the vehicles. Right now as I type, many are planning events to raise money for good (or questionable, I’m sure) causes. People will volunteer, people will gather and memories are created.  We are linked in these basements.

June 23rd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Part of the traditions in hall basements.

The Daily EO: June 20th, 2012

I’ve been crazy excited about my first CSA basket.  I don’t really know why.  Last night I was cutting the strawberries for an arugula salad and I found myself chanting to myself “I’m saving the world”.  Now buying a CSA share from a local farm is probably not saving the world, but it feels like it.  It makes me feel good.  It makes me feel like I am supporting the little guy.  I’m a good person everyone!  A GOOD PERSON!  (please tell your friends and neighbours)

Our First Box (we have a half-share):
– 4 liter heaped basket of strawberries
– a head of bok choi
– bunches of  arugula
– a bag of lettuce mix

Is there anything better than ripe Strawberries fresh from the farm?  They just melt in your mouth and provide so much flavour and kick off summer.

June 20th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Proving my worthiness with reddened lips and fingers.

The Daily EO: June 18th, 2012

How many pounds will I gain if I eat a pound of butter?  How many pounds will I gain if I eat a pound of lettuce?

I think the answer should be the same.  I mean if you step on the scale holding a pound of butter, your weight will go up 1 pound.   Swap that out with a giant bag of lettuce, same difference.

So if you hold these items with your stomach instead of your hands, it is the same.  Yet.  If you live your life and then sleep on it, not so much.   In some magical way, butter turns into weight, lettuce turns into . . . well, poop, I guess.

Over the weekend, I ate like a normal person.  Not a normal person focused on weight loss, not a NFL linebacker, but a normal person enjoying food.

Highlights:

Friday evening:   Chicken with Champagne and Vanilla Bean Sauce/asparagus/green beans/mashed parsnips & potatoes, followed by Strawberry Cake and a couple of blueberry cookies
Saturday:  Strawberry Cake for breakfast (we couldn’t let it go to waste), Roast Beef Sandwich with broccoli salad for lunch, Steak (small piece) with salad, veggies, and a small helping of mashed potatoes
Sunday:  Cheese and bread (too much of both) for brunch, and then a side busting dinner at Mandarin Buffet all-you-can-eat restaurant
Snacks:  Cookies and some pieces of chocolate and tea with cream and sweetener

Please note, I run 5k on both Friday and Sunday.

So, not the best diet ever, but not over the top (except for the Mandarin Trip).  Normal person, eating lots of vegetables, eating too much bread and despite trying to eat healthily at the Mandarin, eating excessively.  I also was short of sleep for the weekend.

So, Monday morning, when I climbed upon the scale, there should have been an uptick for sure.   A pound or two.

June 18th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:   Gaining 5 pounds in 2 1/2 days.  I should not have eaten those five pounds of butter.  Hmmm.

The Daily EO: June 15th, 2012

Sorry for the delay, I was without a computer since Saturday (travelling).  Writing on my smartphone is like using a stick in the sand.  Slow and hard to read.

Friday was busy.  Due to our flood.  Nay, our trickle, or perhaps our moistening is a better term.  Nonetheless, the our landlord contacted insurance and disaster clean-up as the damage was done.  They responded quickly and by 10:30 am, I showered (at a friend’s house as water was off here), picked up a key for the storage locker, co-ordinating the stuff to be moved out, and agreeing to bring dessert for dinner out that night.

By 10:30 am, Emile had been at work for 2 1/2 hours needing to tie up all loose ends that day.  After all, it had arrived – his final day with the company.

At about 11:30 am, I was standing downstairs with my friendly landlord discussing whether the laminate flooring in the basement should be replaced with laminate or perhaps Berber carpet for warmth.  We were undecided but leaning towards the carpet.  The disaster clean-up team was moving boxes/furniture out, starting the ripping out process, and their equipment was all over the front porch.   The entranceway was filled with furniture and items that were not leaving, but just pushed out-of-the-way for ease of passage.

The doorbell rang.

A friendly looking fellow was standing there.  He said “We were just driving by and saw your sign, would this be a good time to look at the house?”.  We stared as him, somewhat dumbfounded – not because he wanted to see the house – but because after weeks of everything being just so, the house was not exactly show ready.  Well, never turn down a showing – and this way, they could see the work being done professionally.

Deb & Glen toured the house and were unfazed by the mess (“One time when were selling a house, we had a flood AND I was 9 months pregnant”).  They loved the place, and stayed as long as they could until they had to get to their next showing.  I casually invited them back if they wanted a second look in the afternoon, and off they went.  We forgot to even get their phone number.

That afternoon, I started making Strawberry Cake and Blueberry Muffin Cookies for dessert that evening.  Try to make dessert without water and see how that goes for you.   I was coated in butter, sugar, floor and the kitchen was completed covered in dirty dishes.

The doorbell rang.

Deb & Glen wanted to see the place again.  This time, the basement was cleared up – the crew was gone, the floor ripped up and the furniture all placed back.  But now the kitchen was a mess and I wasn’t the cleanest either.  I let them have run of the place – afterall, if this was a scheme to steal our stuff, they deserved it after executing the perfect plan.

They wandered around, discussing rooms, asking questions and I baked a cake.  This time, I remembered to get their number so we could follow up later.

June 15th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Less than 24 hours after showing up unexpectedly, Deb & Glen entered a verbal offer (no conditions) on the house.  What is the point of doing all that cleaning?

AND:  Emile finished his contract and is ready for our next adventure.  I’m proud of how professionally and well he worked to set up robust systems that needed little support.  And with little to no direction from headquarters.  If you need a Systems Manager, Emile is one of the best.

The Daily EO: June 13th, 2012

I hate my toaster.  It’s okay to hate things – just not people.  I guess I don’t hate it, as I would have replaced it before now if I truly hated it.  I dislike it a lot.  It is a 2-slice stainless steel KitchenAid toaster that I ordered from Sears.  I did not see the toasted in person before purchase, so I cannot be totally faulted for having bad taste.  When the toaster arrived – I was certain they sent us the 4-slice one because it is so big.  I am sure some people would love the hefty slots and the beefy, manly appearance.  I do not.  It also doesn’t always engage when I press down on the tab.  I hate that.

On the other hand, I love my kettle.  It’s a Breville stainless steel electric 1.8 liter kettle that is simple (No, I do not need to control the water temperature).  It boils water quickly and has a lovely blue glow when it is on.  Do you think in 10 years that stainless steel is going to be out?  Will it be the “avocado” of the seventies?  I think it may.  Anyways, I also bought this kettle from Sears and I am pretty happy with it.

Our microwave is weird.  It came with the house, so I cannot be blamed – we sold our built-in over-the-oven microwave with our house.  It is quite attractive – stainless steel again – and has a quick start button and preprogrammed food buttons.  But it is disturbing.  For some reason when the microwave finishes, the fan keeps going.  So, even if you have retrieved your reheated leftovers or warmed up tea, the microwave still sounds like it is running.  Now, this seems quite reasonable to me – it’s like your interior car lights staying on for 10 seconds after you turn off the car.  But it stays on for a while.  A long while.  Every now and then, you find yourself suddenly jerking up and running over to the microwave because you think you have left your food to heat to record temperatures.   But it is not really running.  It’s weird.

I almost bought a new toaster at Sears about 2 months ago.  I had a gift card from my grandma and it was on sale and it was a Breville one that matches my kettle.  Why didn’t I?  Well, we were in the deep throes of Fit April and eating little to no bread.  So, buying a replacement appliance for something that is working 95% of the time and we aren’t using it 95% of the time seemed a waste of resources.  The KitchenAid one is just fine.   Until now.

One of my favorite food is a toasted 1/2 Dream Bagel (high fibre and protein) with 1/2 ounce of extra old white cheddar cheese.  It comes in at 125 calories and is a huge protein, fibre and energy source for me.  I eat it at least once a day.  (Please note, the toaster’s wide slots overwhelm my poor little bagel).  I cut my bagel and slipped it into the toaster.  But the toaster would not engage.  Again.  Again.  Again.  Stupid toaster.  I want my bagel!

June 13th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Did you know you can toast a bagel half by placing it on a ceramic stove top element and turning the heat to medium high?  It burns a bit and stays cool on the rounded side, but boy does it toast fast.

 

 

The Daily EO: June 12th, 2012

The Independent (“Promising you low prices”) recently tricked me into purchasing a bag of sweet cherries.  They put the cherries in their flyer – with no price – and then put the cherries on the end of a row – with no price.  Both of these actions made me believe the cherries were on sale.  But they were not.  The cherries cost me $8.99.  Gasp.

I’ve been telling people this story and pretending that I didn’t notice the cost until I was at home.  But that is not true.  I noticed when they were rung in.  And for some reason – be it social pressure, fear of looking cheap or a pulsing desire for cherries – I didn’t say “No, Thank You”.   Shame.

This bag of cherries was the same size that I previous purchased at Fresh Co. the week before for $3.99.  So, with the trickery and memory of the previous purchase, I ended up with another bag.  I told Emile the cost, but he did not seem to like the $8.99 any more than the $3.99.

I sat down with a book, the bottom half of the pricey cherries and a pit bowl.  My fingers skimmed across each cherry – looking for the smoothest, firmest and sweetest cherry to savour.  To often, my fingers skipped to the next one.  And I found myself staring into a bag of fruit that while edible, had lost its peakness.  I’ll be damned if I don’t enjoy every single one of these cherries, so I started considering options – jam or baking.  Not enough for jam, so baking it is.

I found a great recipe and started off.

When I was a kid, I grew up near the Okanogan Valley and Creston, BC.  These two places were – and still are presumably – is where you got your fruit.  Strawberries, peaches, cherries, nectarines, grapes, apples, raspberries.  Every year we’d have fresh fruit so sweet and warm and often delivered by my grandfather.  I remember my little brother eating cherries until his face was purple and he couldn’t spend too much time away from the bathroom. I remember BC MacIntosh apples in the fall – that we kept on the porch.  So sweet, so small, so crunchy.  No matter where I get apples now, none compares.

I’d make jams with my mom.  And I loved using her strawberry huller and cherry pitter.  Vintage now, they were simple metal tools that easily did what you needed them to.  And I missed that hand-held cherry pitter today.

I sliced each cherry with a knife and then picked out the pit with my thumb nail.  Over and over again.  My determination did not waver.  Every single one of these cherries would be used.

I made three little cherry crumble ramekins – one for me, one for Emile and one for our guest Jefferson.

June 12, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Perfect Cherry Crumbles.  Purple fingers.

 

The Daily EO: June 5th, 2012

About 2 weeks ago, I purchased a package of peeled garlic.  I really couldn’t tell you why, other than it had one of those 50% off stickers on it because it was approaching it’s best before date.  I found it in the fridge drawer today and it was now past its due date.  You know what you do with food that is nearly bad – you make soup.  I vaguely remembered a recipe for garlic soup from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but instead of following that recipe, I found two on the internet and combined those.  I’d like to point out now that these were legitimate sources.  One was from Epicurious.com (with almost 300 reviews, 91% would make again) and one was from Christopher Ranch – a garlic farm in California. (whom grew the garlic I was looking at).

How can you go wrong with roasted garlic, roasted onions, heavy cream and fresh thyme?  And essentially that is what the two recipes called for.  One had some potatoes, one said to leave some of the garlic raw and then boil it in the soup.  Both had thyme, both had broth, both had onions.  Most of the reviews said the soup only got better with time, so I planned to serve it for dinner the next day.

I coated the garlic in olive oil and then roasted it in the oven  And the aroma!  The house smelled so delightfully good.  And it only got better when I started frying the onions.   I threw it all into a soup pot with vegetable broth, salt, pepper and let it simmer.  Then with an immersion blender and a little milk (instead of cream), the tasting time was upon us.   Yummy, Yummy.

Tasting went like this:  Garlic. . .  Creamy. . . ouch garlic. …. punch of bitter in the throat. . . . ugggh.

Add Lemon Juice?

Uggh.

Add Maple Syrup?

Uggh.

June 5th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  How could the best ingredients in the world, smelling so good, taste so… bleeck?  I’m going to have to keep trying this.  Soup anyone?

 

 

The Daily EO: June 3rd, 2012

Many years ago when my husband and I were dating, I was making something using pine nuts.  Emile told me that he didn’t like pine nuts.  It’s not that I didn’t believe him, I was surprised.  Because during our courtship, he’d proven himself someone who enjoyed different foods and trying new things, but frequently stuck to the basics.  Meals were usually Meat/Veg/Pot affairs, fast food, quantity versus quality and generally totally different from my childhood and cooking style.   I asked him when he’d actually eaten pine nuts. He couldn’t remember, but he restated didn’t like them.  I put them in the salad anyways because I can’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t like them.  He could pick them out (after retrying them of course from his previous mythical tasting) and I liked them.

Turns out Emile loves pine nuts.  Not the price – because he is cheap.  Nor the caloric denseness – because he is focused on weight loss currently.  But they are now one of his favorite additions, because let’s face it, pine nuts are so so good.

I’ve had my things too.  I didn’t like bell peppers for years, and then one day I ordered a greek salad (not one of those that have lettuce – a real one) and decided to actually eat the peppers.  And you know what?  They were good.   (why someone who doesn’t like tomatoes, peppers, or olives would order a greek salad is a question I cannot answer – probably the promise of feta cheese).

Also, bananas.  Somewhere along the line, I decided I didn’t like them, or I had to be in a banana mood.  What the hell is a banana mood?  I don’t really even know myself anymore.  Now I know bananas are delicious – all the time.

I am always hoping that not liking tomatoes is a thing too, but from time to time I keep tasting that strange bitter fruit just to check.  And you know what?  I still hate the taste.  One day I will be able to enjoy a BLT.  One day.

When you are selling your house, you avoid doing messy things.  So, when someone invites you to dinner, you go.  Even if you don’t like the people very much.  But fortunately, in this case, we do like the people.  So, it wasn’t much suffering to keep our kitchen clean to eat free food with friends.  As I have previously blogged, I am a picky eater, so when people invite me for dinner, I try to eat what I get (exceptions:  fish and tomatoes and anything else that could be considered a side dish like olives).

This particular night we had barbequed pork loin, grilled bell peppers, broccoli, goat cheese and greens salad and a strawberry and rhubarb crisp.  Normally people look upon this menu and think “excellent” (well except the vegetarians/vegans, but . .)  I did too, with one exception.

Every year I hear people about go on and on about rhubarb season.  That and asparagus are the first spring products available here in Ontario.  People have these giant rhubarb patches and they are often trying to give it away, and there are those who happily take it all and bake every rhubarb item they can think of.  I do not like rhubarb.  I don’t like the grainy texture.  And the flavour.

But I was a guest in someone’s home, I hadn’t had desert in a while and they were serving it with good quality vanilla ice cream (you know, the one with the flecks of vanilla bean in it).  I decided that for courtesy’s sake and ice cream I would suffer through the rhubarb.

June 3rd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Why Rhubarb isn’t actually that bad.  Hmm.  In fact, it’s pretty darn good.  And with strawberries and ice cream and crumble topping, Holy Toledo!

The Daily EO: May 29th, 2012

I’ve entered a period of time that I don’t feel like writing – I suppose you’ve noticed in my more sporadic – and brief – entries as of late.  There is so much going on in my head, a level of heightened anxiety that I don’t want to examine in depth now.  That doesn’t mean I want to stop writing The Daily EO – it’s just I want you to know that sometimes they don’t come easy.  I guess that is when I need to push through and remember why I write this in the first place.

Breaking News: As I write this, our cat Beavis caught and killed a mouse.  Outside, not in our house.  He’s feeling pretty smug, but he still expects his regular food – no raw, stringy mouse meat for him.

Today’s EO. . .  Today’s EO. . .  Um…..

Okay . . . back from surfing the internet. . . .  Um. . .

It doesn’t help having Emile watching Penn & Teller’s BullShit in the background.

Okay. . . focus.. .  .

You know what it was?  The small order of french fries from Wendy’s – fresh and salty.  Oh, so salty.  So crunchy, so fatty.

Damn it.  Now I have to run with the mosquitos.

May 29th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  French Fries so good they overshadowed by the junior burger.

Maintenance May Day 29:
SMALL fries and JUNIOR burger (body, wallet)

The Daily EO: May 22nd, 2012

There are some days that I amaze myself!  But this can have unintended consequences.

I made a Barbeque Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner tonight.  It was one of the best caesars I have ever made.  The dressing was creamy, rich, garlicy and lemony, the croutons crunchy and delicious and the chicken tender and sweet..   The whole plate – and that was 2-3 cups of greens and a chicken breast each – was under 400 calories – with only 12 grams of fat, 9 grams of fibre and 40 grams of protein.  And how did I accomplish this miraculous feat?  The romaine was bumped by spinach (more iron my starving red blood cells), the croutons replaced by roasted chickpeas and the dressing base was soft silken tofu.   Yes!  Can you believe it?  I replaced the egg and the usual 1/2 cup or so of olive oil with TOFU!  That is crazy, crazy stuff, people!

And because I don’t want my inbox flooded with requests for the recipe, here you go:

Delicious and Healthy Caesar Dressing (unless you are allergic to soy, then delicious but not healthy)
1 cup soft silken tofu
2 cloves of garlic (or more because garlic is good!)
2 tbsp of Dijon or other spicy mustard
1 tsp olive oil (just a touch for consistency’s sake)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegetarian if you swing that way)
2 oz of grated/shredded parmesan cheese, I used the Kraft stuff, but you could use the good stuff or not (you could replace this with nutritional yeast flakes I suppose if you were a vegan, but it will lose that sharp and sour parmesan taste, but if you’re a vegan, you already gave that up ages ago)
1.5 tsp of wine vinegar (I used red because that is what I had)
salt and pepper
2-4 tbsp of lemon juice (I used the lemon juice to adjust the thickness to my liking)

Blend all the ingredients except lemon juice in food processor until smooth.  Then add enough lemon juice to taste.  You can also add more olive oil if gets lemony enough without thinning to your liking.  I found I only used 1/3 of this batch to coat about 5 cups of spinach and the chickpeas, so toss to your liking and the rest can be saved for another day.

Here is a link to the chickpea roasting method.  I took the time to remove all the chickpea skins (warning – only undertake if you need some quiet contemplation time, and you like chickpea-y fingers) .  I’ve done it both ways (skin and skinless), and I don’t think it really makes that big of a difference.  But I had some time today. Please note, you want to roast them until they are crisp, so they stay crisp in the salad.  As I was making a caesar, I used garlic, olive oil and italian seasoning as my spices of choice.  I still want to try a salt and vinegar version one day.

So, cook your chicken in some barbeque sauce and pour over your tossed salad while still warm, that is the best!  It wilts the top spinach pieces a bit (which incidentally helps our body digest iron from spinach more readily).

I know!  I know!  It is amazing that I am not cooking for a living!  Thank you for noticing.

Unintended side effect of healthy dinner:  The next day Emile weighted in at 160.2 lbs.  Although I still weigh less than him, the possibility of his number beginning with a “1-5” is disconcerting to me.  I am going to start sneaking in calories into every meal I make for him.  “Here’s your turkey sandwich, dear, enjoy that low-fat mayo I put on it.  It looks weird because it is low-fat, not because it is coconut oil.”  I want him healthy, but I don’t want him lighter than me.  Damn men and their metabolisms.

May 22, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:   Soft Silken Tofu, Hello!

Maintenance May Day 22:
Feeling no guilt at all for missing my friend Lisa’s birthday on May 21st.  It’s our “thing” afterall.  I might wish her a good day come June.  (soul, friendship)
Baking two batches of vegan brownies and not eating a single brownie.  (body)  Let’s not talk about the chocolate chip sampling.
Not killing the cat when he stepped in white paint I left out and walked all around the house (carpeted stairs and all).  (Kindness to animals)
Phone interview with company.  (career)