Someone once said to me: “For ultimate good health, instead of focusing on what you should be eliminating from your daily diet, focus instead on consuming the foods that will increase your wellness”.  Darn it, who was it who said this to me?  I am going to have to search out some “menopause-brain” restoration foods, so that I can remember.

This concept has always been of interest to me, but it seemed so very complicated to put into practice, until I met Mairlyn Smith, that is.  Mairlyn is the most accessible best-selling cookbook author I have encountered. She speaks plain language in a first hand manner and you instantly trust her knowledge and her advice.

Recently, D and I got a “speed-dating” style opportunity to hear what she has to say about including 10 particular foods that will  “rock your socks off”.

1. Barley (and other insoluable fibres).  These are considered gut-healthy fibers because they add bulk to the diet but do not dissolve in water, so they pass through the gastrointestinal tract relatively intact, and speed up the passage of food and waste through your tummy. Other natural sources are whole wheat, whole grains, wheat bran, corn bran, seeds, nuts, couscous, brown rice, bulgur, zucchini, celery, broccoli, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, green beans, dark leafy vegetables, raisins, grapes, fruit, and root vegetable skins.

2. Oats suck up “bad” blood cholesterol and major toxins like mercury.  I know from other reading, that these foods include oatmeal, oat cereal, lentils, apples, oranges, pears, oat bran, strawberries, nuts, flaxseeds, beans, dried peas, blueberries, cucumbers, celery, and carrots.

3. Mushrooms and other vitamin D rich foods (salmon, tuna, soy, fortified foods like oj, low fat milk, and cereal) protect your lungs and up your immune system.  And because I am the age that I am, I need vitamin D to help my body absorb the calcium rich diet that will ensure my bone health, as I further “blossom” and mature.

While Mairlyn was chatting with us in her unique style (she is also an alumnus of the Second City Comedy Troupe) we got to sample a barley risotto.  Since I have never cooked with barley (except for a couple of soups), I started some recipe book browsing (I don’t happen to have copies of Mairlyn’s, but I am putting those on my Christmas list) and rediscovered  a cookbook that my friend Laura had gifted to me entitled Eat Well-healthy ways to enjoy the foods you love from Williams-Sonoma. 

I plan on making this delicious looking barley risotto soon.

Oh yea, it was Sister #3!  Perhaps I remembered because I had a orange with my Greek yogurt and bran (and vitamin C is good for the brain)!

Kath’s quote: “Among the liveliest of my memories are those of eating and drinking; and I would sooner give up some of my delightful remembered walks, green trees, cool skies, and all, than to lose my images of suppers eaten on Sabbath evenings at the end of those walks.”-Mary Antin

Love-that is all.

One of my business associates lives on what my family has always called the Lockport Road-north Henderson Hwy.  I recently had an evening event in Selkirk, so stopping in at his home on the way was a perfect opportunity.  As opposed to meeting in what he jokingly calls “the world headquarters”, that is to say the office in his basement, we met at his dining room table because it was “Happy Hour”.  He poured us both a cocktail and then he briefed me on a new client.  But true to form, he also had a delectable treat warming in the oven (he even had the recipe printed out for me to take with me).

Kath’s quote: “Too much work, and no vacation,
Deserves at least a small libation.
So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses;
Work’s the curse of the drinking classes.”
-Oscar Wilde

Love-that is all.

Do you know how things in your life sometimes create a circle in a very serendipitous fashion? I am experiencing one of those “full circle” times right now. As a Sobey’s blogger I have prepared a post for their Better Food Lovers Blog site about last holiday season when we “faked” Christmas morning.  The two recipes that I made for our Christmas brunch were from The Best of Bridge series: Christmas Morning Wife-Saver which I have renamed “Domestic Partner-Saver” and Land of Nod Cinnamon buns.

I have to keep my beloved collection of the Best of Bridge Cookbooks in boxes made to hold periodic files because there are worn and torn.  Included in my collection are a couple of “Best Of” compilations that I pack when I am heading up to lake country for a month.  So I literally can’t live without them.

When I look back at the B of B recipes, I see how they evolved with my cooking and lifestyle (or perhaps it was the other way around).  As a newlywed and new Mom, I relished the opportunity to mix a half dozen ingredients from my pantry (often one of them was cream of mushroom soup) and “voila”, have the concoction come out absolutely delicious every time.  As the years went by and I wanted to lighten up our meals and use less processed ingredients, the B of B ladies seem to be focused on the same concerns and they began rewriting recipes and incorporating more and more ingredients from my refrigerator rather than my larder.

In the midst of this time, I noticed too, that on the front fly leaf where the Bridge ladies always had their group pictures, that one of their friends was missing.  This struck me more deeply than you can imagine; wondering about the circumstances surrounding what I had assumed was a passing but imagining how the ladies would have rallied round their friend, that family and each other with gifts of food= love.

My readers know about fanaticism about artichokes and that was first fostered by one of the early B of B recipes: Artichoke Nibblers.  Every year about this time, I will make up a huge batch and then wrap and freeze them for last minute guests, to take as hostess gifts and to serve every Christmas eve when we have friends over for a glass of wine after church.

Last week, I got a call from a publicist about a couple of food-styling assignments and sure enough, one was for the cookbook tour of a new Best of Bridge book.  The ladies have teamed up with Sally Vaughan-Johnston to create The Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook which includes a number of old favourites.  My little crock pot is as old as our marriage, (it is missing its only knob) and sits in our furnace room where excess appliances are stored if not in regular use.  But it has been pulled out many times recently, not only because I (and many other cooks) have busy lives, but because we realize that the slow cooking method (think pulled pork) is an exceptional way to use a “lesser” cut of meat and yet provide a delicious and nutritious meal.  And as I have just posted recently, even though I do not need the convenience of the slow-cooker to the same extent, because I work from an office in my home, I still love to have the aromas wafting through the house now that winter is upon us.

I received my advance copy of the cookbook and I see on the back cover that somehow I missed the publication of “Bravo” and “Fanfare” Bridge Titles.  Now I know what I will be asking for on my Christmas list.

I have not tried any of the slow cooker recipes first hand but that will occur in the days to come and I will share my successes.  In the mean time, I am off to purchase a couple of new slow cookers.  The $20. gift that I received 29 years ago deserves a quiet retirement and I plan on taking her out to the kitchen at the beach house.

Kath’s quote (my love of quotes originally came for the B of B, where every recipe has a quote on the bottom of the page):

All my life’s a circle

Sunrise and sundown.

Moon rolls through the night time

Til the daybreak comes around.

All my life’s a circle

But I can’t tell you why

Seasons spin around again

The years keep rollin by.

It seems like I’ve been here before

I can’t remember when.

But I’ve got this funny feelin

That we’ll be together again.

No straight lines make up my life

And all my roads have bends

There’s no clear cut beginnings

And so far no dead ends.- Harry Chapin

Love -that is all.

As I drove south on St. Mary’s Rd., I saw a number of restaurants that are either new (or new to me) and it occurred to me that we really do stay put in either our residential or workplace neighbourhoods.  I have been to Santa Anna Pizzeria & Bistro previously, but not because I was familiar with it, but as a result of being invited to lunch by a friend.

On this day, I arrived at about half past noon on a Tuesday and the place was hopping, with not an empty seat in the place.  As I surveyed the room, I saw mostly women and only one gentleman.  There was a large group of women in fact, and another assembling in the foyer.

I am ga-ga over seafood pizza, especially in countries where the seafood is freshly caught like Mexico and Italy.  The “Pacific” is topped with shrimp and fresh garlic which works very well together and then celery and sun-dried tomato are added.  The celery provides a fresh crispness and works hard to bring out the delicate flavour of the shrimp but the sun-dried tomatoes were a wee bit overpowering.  Next time I order it (and I will be), I will request that they go easy on the tomatoes.  I know that this will be easily accommodated because there is a list at the bottom of their pizza page with an abundance of fresh and somewhat exotic ingredients, to customize your personal pizza tastes.

The second choice was the “Tropicana” which was a unique twist on a ham and pineapple pizza with the inclusion of pulled pork, bacon, red onion, pineapple and hickory barbeque sauce.  I pulled off the jalapeños but I am sure many palates would enjoy the heat.

The pastas look stellar, even though I have not yet had a chance to sample them.  The black-walled dining room makes you forget that you are in a suburban strip mall.  The kitchen is open to the reception area which means that you can watch the fresh ingredients being assembled and can see the flames of the wood burning oven in the corner.  Service was very cordial and accommodating, in spite of how busy the restaurant was.

Kath’s quote: “Salt is the policeman of taste: it keeps the various flavors of a dish in order and restrains the stronger from tyrannizing over the weaker.”
Margaret Visser

Love-that is all.