I was given a very thoughtful gift this Christmas.  It was a basket of Manitoba food products.  The one that I was most excited about was the organic wild rice from Horseshoe Lake.  The lake is located in an isolated area in central Eastern Manitoba in the pre-Cambrian shield.  We used to holiday at Nutimik Lake in the Whiteshell, so the rugged rocky landscape and the pristine lakes are familiar to me.  I learned that the company has been a family run business for over 50 years and that owner Gus Carlson built one of the very first Manitoba wild rice processing plants.

Wild rice is low in calories and fat, and high in protein and natural fibre.  It also contains a wide variety of minerals and vitamins such as riboflavin and niacin.  I decided to punch up the protein even more by adding quinoa to the recipe and was very happy with the results.  The texture of the rice and therefore the cake is firm and chewy and the rice retains a nutty quality.  When mixed with celery, green onions and minced ginger the result is a complex combination of flavours.  If you think that the ginger might be too much of a surprise, try switching in out with lots of chopped garlic.

Kath’s quote: “rice is the best, the most nutritive and unquestionably the most widespread staple in the world.” –Escoffier

Love-that is all.

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.

I write this in haste.  Not because I have a particularly hectic day; in fact D’s car is in getting a set of winter tires and he has my van, so I cannot go anywhere, anyway.  I scramble to get text onto this page and press “publish” so that I will not change my mind.  I intend to start this new year differently and I require your help.  I need to be accountable to you, my loyal readers.  I believe that you come to this space because even if we have never met in person, you care about me and perhaps even love me.  With love, there is responsibility and I hope that you will encourage me in my journey ahead.

I am almost 59 years old (I know by the photos I post here and my youthful lifestyle, you thought I was much younger, correct? correct?).  I am just on the cusp of menopause which at my late age is something that has me and my doctor, quite mystified.  Her ongoing reassurance has always been that women who are pre-menopausal are healthier than those who have gone through the change.  I have never asked the chemical or biological reasons for this, just took this as a blessing and a reason for my continued good health.  But sure enough, just as one phase of my life is making way for another, health concerns that I have never had before, are now an issue.

I am now medicated for high blood pressure and my doctor is keeping close eye on my cholesterol.  I know what I need to do to get these things into check-it is pretty simple, really.  I need to be more active and make good decisions with my diet.  (So why just now, did I almost consume that thick piece of banana bread left over from the holidays instead of pouring out a small bowl of whole grain cereal?)  The only answers I can think of, is that I am careless and lazy; that I eat as a response but not based on rational thought.  I have wholesome food in my house.  I have the luxury of time to prepare it.  So, why can’t I make good choices?

I have decided to focus on all that I love: my husband, our children and our gorgeous grandbaby.  I will soon be on Isla Mujeres where I wear a bathing suit and pareo from morning until sundown, I will spend the summer at our little cottage where I love to walk the beach from end to end, I need to chose a Mother-of-the-Bride dress for later this year, D and I want to take long hikes and stroll through Europe again in the next year or so.  These are my incentives, my motivation.

I have already made some positive steps: the salt shaker has come off our table, I have reduced the salt added to my recipes, I have eliminated coffee and drink only decafe. I have reduced my alcohol consumption in quantity and frequency.  I walk twice a day but I turn back when our old dog has done his business, instead of walking as far as I had intended.  The frigid temperatures are my excuse but this too is hogwash as I have the warmest clothes that money can by.  I love Zumba and have a set of cds that I should be working out to but I have been lazy with this too, and need to set aside time each day to really get my heart pumping.

I have pulled out my two favourite Bonnie Stern Cookbooks: “Heart Smart Cooking“,”Heart Smart Cooking for Family and Friends” and one new one: “The Heart-Smart Diabetes Kitchen“.  I intend to cook my way through the pages of these three (Julie & Julia style).  Tonight: Salmon Fillets in Rice Paper Wrappers with Peanut Dipping Sauce and a Carrot Salad with Moroccan Dressing.  High in vitamins A, B6 and B12, low in carbs, calories and fat.  I will report back on the taste.

I wanted to share all of this with you, just in case you happen to be in the same place as me.  Send me an email if you are: kathryne@mediachef.ca and we can hold hands and do this together.

Kath’s quote: “When you smiled you had my undivided attention.  When you laughed you had my urge to laugh with you.  When you cried you had my urge to hold you.  When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever.” Brandi Snyder

Love-that is all.