Food Musings

A Winnipeg blog about the joy of preparing food for loved ones and the shared joy that travel & dining brings to life.

“Women Food and God”-A Good Read

May25

I’ll start with the conclusion-Eating Guidelines:

“1. Eat when you are hungry

2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment.  This does not include the car.

3.  Eat without distractions which may include: radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-producing conversations or music.

4.  Eat what your body wants.

5.  Eat until you are satisfied.

6.  Eat (with the intention of being full) in full view of others.

7.  Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.”

I took particular note that the list did not include eating when you are sad, stressed, tired or bored but “Eat when you are hungry”.  A simple and basic concept that I would love to really embrace.  

I review these guidelines and I think about my previous day: I consumed breakfast and lunch at my desk while grading student’s papers (a stressful task in itself).  I did sit down in the dining room to eat a well balanced supper with my husband.  But we had a short dining window because he was going to spend the evening doing laundry and already had his laptop set up to work at home for the evening.  I thought that I had to be somewhere at 7 in order to get some assistance for a writing deadline that is looming.   We did have a pleasant chat but we did not pause to make eye contact, take a sip of anything or savour the wholesome fare.  And I write a blog about celebrating life with food!  I wasn’t celebrating my husband or our time together or my blessed life-I was going through the motions so that I could get onto the next task on my to-do list!

Geneen Roth’s New York Times bestseller also revealed some other thought provoking notions for me based on her premise that “the way that you eat is based on your core beliefs about being alive.”  “Your relationship with food is an exact mirror of your feelings about love, fear, anger, meaning, transformation and yes even God.”  I would beg to differ with this last premise but won’t go into it here.

If you have a healthy relationship with food, if you don’t despise any part of your body, if you don’t obsess about getting on and off the scale, if you don’t exercise obsessively, this book is not for you.  But if you said yes to any of the “don’t” items above, this book will help you look at what’s “eating” you.

We only have one life and one body-we are precious and lovely.  Celebrate that!

Joe Senser’s Sports Theater-Minneapolis

May24

D is originally from the Minneapolis area and we love to head down for a variety of reasons, typically Viking match ups.  But this particular trip was  for a very special celebration-the marriage of a beautiful niece.  We had a bit of a window before we all had to get gussied up for the ceremony and #1 son had found Joe Senser’s Sports Theater the night before.  I am often skeptical when a place’s main claim to fame is that it is owned by a football player.  But Joe was a Viking and since I acquired purple blood through marriage I was willing to give it a try.

I didn’t get much conversation out of my family of diners because their eyes were fixed on various screens -the start of the French open, baseball updates and one devoted to video bloopers.

But when the food came it was just what the doctor ordered and so I was content.

D enjoyed this Cobb Salad which took him forever to eat.

The Frenchman: this combo special of a burger, waffle fries AND boneless chicken wings.

Daughter #2 went with the chicken wrap that was so huge, Daughter #1 ate the second half on the car ride home the next day.

For me?  They had me at artichokes….artichoke and chicken flat-bread.

Joe Senser's Sports Grill on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote:“The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite.”-A. J. Liebling

Purple blood in my veins but a true blue heart….

Getting Ready for the Long Weekend-Tacos in a Bag

May19

We took possession of our precious little cabin on Lake Winnipeg (and I mean little-500 sq feet) on May long weekend, about a dozen years ago.  Every May long since then I get butterflies of excitement, knowing that cottage season is about to begin for another year.  As my husband tells me: being at the lake, completes me.  It enhances who I am by rejuvenating and relaxing me so that I can be the best I can be.

I also get excited about planning our family brunches on the deck, barbeques and campfire meals.  This weekend I was at a family barbeque that was the “day after” wedding gift opening party on the other side of the lake and this handy meal was demonstrated for me by my cousin.  She got the idea from attending pow wows around the province.

Ingredients:

individual bags of taco chips like Doritos

seasoned taco meat-cooked according to directions on the package

shredded or chopped lettuce

sour cream

cheddar cheese, grated

salsa

Optional:

Niblet corn

black beans

jalapeno peppers

cilantro, chopped

avocados, cubed

anything else you might add to a taco salad

Directions:

Open a bag of tacos,  Add a spoonful of all the ingredients listed above to your liking.  Close the bag up and shake well.  Consume and when you are done-toss out the bag and your clean up is done!

Kath’s quote:  Prepared and fast foods have given is the time and freedom to see cooking as an art form-a form of creative expression.”  Jeff Smith

Thanks Tan.  Love you.

posted under Recipes | 1 Comment »

Shrimp Ceviche for a Gang

May18

Ceviche is simply seafood marinated in lime juice.  The acidity in the lime actually “cooks” the fish and so the fish does not have to be put over heat.  The results are that your taste buds really get to explore the sutleties of the seafood rather than the batter and sauces that we are inclined to prepare them in.  

To bring back memories of our time on Isla Mujeres, I have previously posted my ceviche recipe here.  But I have adapted it more recently to feed a larger number of guests.  The result is half ceviche and half salsa and would be a  refreshing and healthy appetizer this May long weekend.

When I know that the dish will be sitting out for guests for an extended period of time, I actually par-boil the shrimp to ensure that the shrimp is safe for the evening.  Remove them and rinse in cold water just as they start to turn pink.

If you are using larger shrimp, I divide each into 3 pieces, illustrated here.

a generous pound of peeled shrimp

marinated in the juice of 2 limes

another lime

1/2 a medium white (or purple) onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 c chopped cilantro

1 c diced cucumber or jicama (or 1/2 c of each)

3 ripe tomatoes chopped

chopped jalepenos to taste

salt & pepper to taste

Marinate the shrimp for at least 3 hours.  Drain in a colander and then place in a glass bowl and add the rest of the chopped ingredients. Depending upon the residual liminess from the shrimp, add more lime as desired.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with a sturdy tortilla chip.  I use multi-grain and black corn.

Kath’s quote: “Don’t be too daring in the kitchen. For example, don’t suddenly get involved with shallots. Later, when you are no longer a Lonely Guy, you can do shallots. Not now. If you know cilantro, stay with cilantro and don’t fool around. Even with cilantro you’re on thin ice, but at least you’ve got a shot, because it’s familiar. Stay with safe things, like pepper.”-Bruce Jay Friedman

posted under Appetizers | No Comments »

Mask Restaurant-Gimli

May17

On our way to our cottage, when we drive over the last hill with our first glance of the lake, we can often see the lights of Gimli on the opposite shore.  The distance is about twenty miles as the crow flies and yet we often do not get over to the east shore of Lake Winnipeg.  But on this weekend, we were invited to a family wedding and decided to stay the night to enjoy some time meandering the shops and galleries of this Icelandic community.

We asked for breakfast recommendations and the Mask Restaurant was the unanimous choice.  The cafe has two entrances-one for breakfast and lunch and the other for fine dining.   The casual side is painted a beautiful “brillante giallo” -a vibrant yellow reminiscent of cafes that we visited on the west coast of Italy.

Sisters #2 and 3 were immediately drawn to order the Eggs Benedict- a family favourite.  I got to taste the homemade hollandaise sauce on the dish that I just had to try.

 

The “Fisherman’s” breakfast includes a pan-fried piece of pickerel with a drizzle of the lemony/buttery sauce.  Fish for breakfast?  Well, never before, but it was amazingly delicious!  The dish also included two rashes of crispy bacon, a perfectly cooked over-easy egg, lacy hash brown potatoes and marble rye toast.  

Our server was always around to refill the fabulous coffee or a stronger European blend if you so choose.  If breakfast is this good, what on earth would dinner be like?

Alas, it will be a very long time before I get to find out as the regular treks to “our” side of the lake are about to begin.

Mask on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote:“Love, like a chicken salad or restaurant hash, must be taken with blind faith or it loses its flavor.”-Helen Rowland

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