I had the pleasure this week of working with Sally Vaughan Johnston while she was in Winnipeg promoting the Best of Bridge Slowcooker Cookbook.  As a food stylist I prepared the recipe in advance and then assembled the ingredients to take to CITY TV and CTV to be included in Sally’s on camera appearances.  The recipe itself is a breeze and comes out beautifully.

The batter is spread into the bottom of the slow cooker, then the fruit goes on top with melted butter pored over all.  The lid goes on and you just forget about it. While baking, the aromas of apples, cranberry,  brown sugar and cinammon are as pleasurable as a tri-wicked ented candle from Bed and Bath.

The tartness of the cranberries and orange peel in the marmalade beautifully offset the slight sweetness of the hearty cake.

Kath’s tip: I let the cake cool completely in the crock and then pulled the cake away from the crock with a spatula.  When the time came to plate it, I used a large serving spoon that I had purchased at an Asian food store for serving rice.  Sally indicated that it had come out more neatly than she had seen it previously.

Kath’s quote: Cranberries-“The Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicious sauce.” –John Josselyn, 1663

Love-that is all.

 

The answer to yesterday’s query is the Barley Risotto also contained these three items from Mairlyn Smith’s list: canola, dark green leafy veggies and onions & garlic.  Here are the rest of recommended foods from our wonderful evening at Be Well Connect.

4. Canola Oil is high in two “good” fats that are essential in your diet because your body can’t make them. One protects against heart attacks and strokes by helping to lower bad cholesterol. The other is important for the brain and for the growth and development of infants.  Compared to all other vegetable oils on the market, canola oil has the lowest levels of the fats that are “bad” for human health.  One serving of canola oil each day will deliver about a quarter of all the vitamin E you need. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and is known to protect against cancer and memory loss.

5. Onions & Garlic (and Scallions) act as powerful antioxidants, stimulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Mairlyn also added that they are anti-fungal so maybe I can clear up the mossy stuff that is growing between my toes (JK wanted to see if you were still awake).  These are so easy to add to so many dishes.  Tonight as an example, we enjoyed left over prime rib in sandwiches on dark pumpernickel rye bread.  I sauteed up a mess of onions and garlic (in canola oil) to top the meat.  Oh, yum.

6. Dark Green Leafy Vegetables have the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. (I didn’t even know that there was a vitamin K).  I particularly like arugula for its peppery taste but you can also include more kale, spinach and bok choy into your meals.  Mairlyn suggests that you build your evening meal around a leafy green vegetable which will be a mind shift for me, as I typically create my meals around a protein and a carb.

7. Nuts! Well I wouldn’t call Mairlyn nuts but she is pretty kookie…   Mairlyn is very petite and she scopped up a small handful of almonds (she prefers walnuts) to illustrate that even though nuts are a very important inclusion in your diet, you should limit them to a small amount.  I imagined the quantity would be just right to top a salad or my morning yogurt.

8. Berries are the easiest of the list for me to get really excited about.  Mairlyn adds that she only eats locally harvest fruits which are now out of season so she substitutes frozen berries at this time of year.  I too always have a wide selection of frozen berries to choose from.  Some bags are the flash frozen strawberries from u-picks in our area and other are the wild blueberries that are now available in the freezer section.  Not only do I always have something available to whip up a quick dessert like Platz but we love berry sauces with pork tenderloin, or mixed with garlic and balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing. 

9. Orange fruits and veggies hold an abundance of antioxidants, vitamins and  fiber and are good for your skin, eyes and heart, and they may also decrease your risk of cancer. The best-known nutrient in orange foods is beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant which gives sunny fruits and vegetables their brilliant color. Experts say beta carotene is not only good for eye health it can also delay cognitive aging and protect skin from sun damage. Orange foods are chock full of vitamin C, an antioxidant which boosts the immune system, protects against cardiovascular disease and helps rebuild collagen in the skin.  Mairlyn even referred to the benefits of using orange zest, which may explain why I am often compelled to eat the skin of my oranges.  Perhaps I should listen to my body more often.

10.  I can’t for the life of me remember Mairlyn refering to salmon but I understand that it is on her list.  So here is a good illustration that I need to eat more foods that a) will help with my hearing or b) inrease my memory capacity. Perhaps it was because we were also sipping on a rich deep red wine at the time or that we were tucking into our barley risotto, so I was admittedly distracted.

So, there you have it.  Focus on eating more of these and you will find that you are eating less of the empty calories! Be well.

Kath’s quote: “The onion and its satin wrappings is among the most beautiful of vegetables and is the only one that represents the essence of things. It can be said to have a soul.”-Charles Dudley Warner

Love-that is all.

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.

And the recipe incorporates more than just barley from the food list.  Check back soon to see what they are.

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.

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.

 

My gang loves food stuffed into chicken (case in point-their all time favourite: Asparagus Wrapped Chicken Breast with Hollandaise Sauce).  Truth is, we’ve been preparing that recipe for years so I was happy to discover this version, dreamed up by the inventive Chef- Ted Reader.

I got to work side by side with Ted this week when he was in town on his Schnieders/Beerlicious tour.  Having put in a full prep day for his TV visits, I was happy to have three portions of this recipe left over, after I had done the last of the dishes.  The Frenchman was getting ready to leave for Montreal (and to reunite with Daughter #2) and so we invited him to join us.

D seared some asparagus on the grill as the bundles were roasting and all we had to add was a crusty loaf of bread.

If you are watching your fat intake and are concerned about the bacon, you may wish to remove it from your bundle and pass it along to Mrs. Spratt.  You will still enjoy all the bacony taste that has permeated the chicken.  I try to reduce fat with products where I do not miss the taste  like Greek yogurt and sour cream, so that I can enjoy real butter on my popcorn or a crispy, salty strip of bacon.  Moderation folks, is the key (took me way too long to learn this lesson). 

Daughter #2 is still in Montreal, J1 & J2 are heading to the lake, Daughter #1 is staying in town to attend Movies in the Park and D and I are off to assemble with his family at a Minnesota Lake, so we will not be together for this long weekend.  But I am looking forward to us assembling in our backyard paradise so that D can fire up the grill and I can ensure that the beer is icy cold.  What could be better? 

Kath’s quote: “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”-Doug Larson

Love-that is all.

Photo used according to stipulated conditions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/not_on_display/with/4430743342/