A week has past since my New Year’s Confessional and I thought that an update was in order.  I’ve been out walking more frequently, started Zumba again and cooked and cooked and cooked.  I  have cooked up some successes and some flops.  I go to extremes.  It is probably enough that I am consuming only what I have made from scratch.  I have filled the larder with whole grains, beans, lentils and nuts, eliminated white flour, white rice and white pasta. Where I have gone over-board is that I have attempted to also reduce sugar and fat.  This is where some of my flops come in.  Moderation would do the trick.

The hits:

Baked Potato with Tuna Salad and Lemon Mayonaise

Salmon Fillets in Rice Paper Wrappers, Carrot Salad with Moroccan Dressing

Ingredients for Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Wheat Berry and Grilled Corn Salad

Other hits (with no photos): Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies, Five-Grain Muffins, Low Fat/Low Salt Nuts & Bolts

The flops:

Nick Malgieri’s Fudge Brownies (ingredients above)-I replaced the sugar with Monk Fruit in the Raw, yuck.

Asiago Drop Biscuits -don’t think my oven had pre-heated and they spread all over the pan.

I plan on focusing on what I have gained instead of my usual doomed missions regarding what I have lost.  I have gained energy and am sleeping well.  I am not as winded as I bundle up and lug the dog along for his walks.  My appetite has shrunk but I am still craving salty snacks. I have enjoyed being alone this past week and only fixing a small something as my appetite dictates. One week down, 51 to go!

Let me know if you want any of the recipes mentioned above.

Kath’s quote: “Without wishing in the slightest degree to disparage the skill and labour of breadmakers by trade, truth compels us to assert our conviction of the superior wholesomeness of bread made in our own
homes.”-Eliza Acton

Love-that is all.

Yesterday during the festivities of cheering Rider Nation onto their well deserved Grey Cup win and gnoshing on homemade pizza and wings, we opened our first Snackbox.  It is a monthly subscription of healthy, natural, and most of all, delicious snacks.  Each month they ship 10 – 12 items to their members across Canada through Canada Post.  All of their snacks are “curated” by their in-house holistic nutritionist, so busy professionals and parents don’t have to spend time reading the labels.

The Quinoa Skinny Cracker proved to be a tasty way to scoop up the mango salsa that I chopped up just before game time and the Veggie Straws were perfect when dipped into the baba ganoush that I had in the fridge.  The Fruit and Nut Medley was a big hit as were the Pear Slices.  The latter are dried without the use of any additives or preservatives and tasted as close to a fresh pear as you could get.  For dessert, J2 indulged in the Toffee Coconut Dark Chocolate Bar.  You can taste the quality of the dark chocolate with every bite and the bar is rich and satisfying.  D is on the road this morning (for a business visit to our victorious neighbours to the west) so he packed up Hemp Protein Bar, a Cashew Lara Bar and My Smoothie Green .  I have a Green Tea chilling in the fridge to accompany my lunch of left over pizza.  At first we mused that the Sponge Bob Square Pants Cheese Puffs were an odd inclusion but J2 thought that they tasted just like Cheetos without the concern of unnatural ingredients.  In fact, J2 decided that they would make a perfect first fun snack when the Wee One is old enough to begin her solid food journey.  The last ingredient of our Snackbox was a Gobi Spice package that is recommended to toss with cauliflower.  I intend to pick up some fresh veggies today capitalize on this organic certified exotic, spice mix.

The cost of a subscription goes from $24-$33. +tax per month depending upon the length or your subscription.  The lovely folks at Snackbox have created a special code for Food Musings readers if you would care to sample your own box of healthy goodies: “FOODMUSINGS”. It entitles you to $15 off your first Snackbox, and it expires on Dec. 31, 2013. It is valid for new customers only. The coupon code is not valid for gifts.

Snackbox is also launching gift subscriptions this week. It is the same as their regular subscriptions, except the subscription does not auto-renew, and shipping is free.

The Wee One was decked out in Vikings gear for her Grandpa but failed to go home and change into her Giants jersey for the second pre-Grey Cup game.  The results?  Vikings won, Giants lost and the Riders didn’t need any help at all.

Kath’s quote: “I am out of words”.  John Chick, Defensive End, Saskatchewan Roughriders, on yesterday’s win

Love-that is all.

I am writing this as part of the Canadian Food Experience Project which began June 7 2013.  As we the participants, share our collective stories across the vastness of our Canadian landscape through our regional food experiences, we hope to bring global clarity to our Canadian culinary identity through the cadence of our concerted Canadian voice.  My topic: The Canadian Harvest in Manitoba.

Even though I have not been to school (as a student) since I graduated from University many years ago, I still get that “back-to-school” butterfly feeling every September.  I look forward to the change of season even though it means I have to pack up from my extended stay at our summer house and embrace my routines of our house in the city.  One special event that I look forward to every fall is celebrating the harvest season by traveling to the Dalgarno Family Farm in Newdale Manitoba.  This is the second time I have been invited by the Pen-Dale Farm to attend a “Supper-in-the-Field”- a term known to most farm families.  During harvest time meals are taken to the field so as to be time efficient for the workers.  Often friends who have other occupations assist at harvest time and so there are many to provide a hearty meal for.  Last year, Bruce Dalgarno who is a volunteer fire-fighter was called away to fight a field fire in the area.  His wife Carol, didn’t skip a beat and hosted a large group of us “city-folk” and celebrated her grandson’s birthday all at the same time.

Pen-Dale is a fourth generation farm and they operate a 3000 acre mix of canola, cereals, oilseeds, grasses and pedigree seeds.  All this seems daunting enough but they do so at an elevation approaching 2000 feet which means that the area has one of the shortest growing seasons for agricultural land in Manitoba.  Bruce and Carol are true illustrations of being the “salt of the earth”.  They met in the area and have lived a love affair with the land, ever since.  They are humble, kind and trustworthy; the kind of people that you would love to have living next door to you, or a mile or so down the road.

Tables were beautifully set prior to our arrival.  I felt very pampered because the prior year we ate more picnic style.

Chef MJ Feeke of Benjamin’s in Selkirk, Manitoba is the beautiful woman wielding the tongs.  I have had the pleasure of sampling her creations on many occasions.  She too loves the land and the bounties that it delivers and feels that food nourishes both our bellies and our souls.

Our post-supper discussion was a passionate one about GMOs and the ethics of bio-technology.  I would never knowingly harm my family with food that was dangerous in any way.  I try to expose myself to whatever information I can, to make a rational decision in the face of the radical anti-GMO movement.  I am concerned about food security both at home and around the world and I worry that the anti-GMO movement will paralyze the bio-ag industry to deliver new technologies to feed the hungry of this earth.  Where can we go for the truth, for the straight goods on all of this?  Well, I can visit Bruce Dalgarno who loves to farm because he can “feel the earth and watch and smell the crops grow”.  I can watch he and Carol with their grandsons and I know that they would not knowingly harm those boys either.

When we left the farm that evening we could hear the din of the combines in the vicinity and the honking of geese overhead and knew that  glorious evenings like this were numbered, as summer gave way to autumn.

Kath’s quote: “Feed the world.”  Bob Geldof

Love-that is all.

Have I mentioned that I am frugal?  I love the challenge of rummaging around in the freezer, fridge or pantry and whipping supper up with a couple of unearthed ingredients.  Lately though, this particular cupboard wasn’t producing any gems, so I decided to shake out the cobwebs and completely emptied the mess and reorganized.

I had made a quick trip to a cash and carry restaurant supply store in town and picked up three different sizes of clear deli containers.  Once I had everything repackaged and restacked, I stood back in amazement at the number of items that I didn’t know that I had.  While I was still purging I slow roasted pretzels, Shreddies and popcorn and took it to a Poker party as psuedo nuts and bolts. I thought that it was delicious and I heard at least one other snacker declare so.  Since the weekend, I have made a ham and split pea soup and have plans for homemade granola utilizing the coconut, dry mixed fruit, hemp hearts, wheat buds, whole flax seed, ground flax and sprouted chia and flax seed powder that I now apparently own in abundance.  In combination with the two cases of my Mom-in-law’s preserves that I actually went through in the basement pantry, I am also going to make a pear and peach crisp since I have more oatmeal (both whole and instant), than you could ever desire.  In the crock pot at this moment is 13 Bean chili which came together in a jiffy with her preserved garden tomatoes and her home-made salsa.

Homemade, wholesome food is so satisfying to spoon out and place down in front of my family.  When I have done so without making a trip to the grocery store, it makes it even more so.

Kath’s quote:

“Beautiful soup, so rich and green
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful soup!
Beautiful soup! Who cares for fish
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth of beautiful soup?”

Lewis Carroll

Love-that is all.

D and I know that fish are some of the most nutritious food products that you can eat because they are high in protein and in omega-3 fatty acids (good cholesterol). Studies show that eating fish at least twice a week can significantly reduce the risk of hypertension, heart disease, rheumatism, and dementia, among others.  Since I have recently received my first high blood pressure reading, I am researching natural ways to get my readings back into the normal range.

We know that we are not the only ones, many are not eating enough fish on a regular basis, because fish cuisines are generally difficult to prepare. The best way I have discovered is with the use of a microwave. The trusty and versatile cooking appliances can be utilized to cook healthy fish recipes in an instant. Here are two quick recipes that I am going to try.

Garlic Cod

Get a small piece of cod that is about eight ounces in weight and carefully place it on a microwaveable dish, cover. Set the mic on full power and cook the cod for two minutes.

Take the fish from the microwave and allow it to simmer. Add a knob of butter and crush about three to four cloves of garlic and scatter them over the fish (you can add more garlic if you want). Put the fish back into the mic and put it back on full power to cook the remaining ingredients. Put some lime juice, salt, and pepper and voila your garlic cod is ready to serve!

Chili Lime and Tuna

Place a small piece of tuna that is about eight ounces in weight on a microwaveable dish, cover. Set the microwave on full power and cook the tuna for three minutes. Remove it and allow it to simmer. While at it, you can put some chilli powder and lime juice to add the zest that you want. Check the fish and make sure that it is fully cooked before serving.

As you can see, cooking healthy fish recipes is quick and easy with the use of microwaves. With these recipes, you can prepare fish cuisines that have healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acids and protein without taking too much of your time.

Kath’s quote: “In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight.” Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Love-that is all.