Category: Healthy Eating

Use it Up!

January has been a month of creativity for us – in food, and how we live. We decided at the beginning of the month to follow the old advice: use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. I must admit we haven’t felt as though we are doing without, but instead, finding things in our cupboards, closets, drawers and refrigerators and turning them to a more interesting purpose. The delicious horseradish mustard that we use frequently in summer made a tangy start to this egg-wich, which also amps up its veg quotient with minced broccoli ends and a few straggler mushrooms that were left in the bag.

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We are working our way through the summer’s harvest, our forgotten condiments, and frozen remains of big batch cooking from the fall. And it’s been a delicious journey…one we will continue for as long as possible.

It's a Blue Kind of Day

ImageWhat a wild weather week we’ve had! From knee-deep snow and frigid temperatures, the thermometer dropped yesterday and we had rain and high winds overnight. Now the sun is doing her best to break through the clouds, illuminating spots in the woods with her brilliant gaze. We’ve put the slow cooker on for a pot-roast dinner, and prepared for whatever the blustery day brings with some blueberry whole-wheat pancakes.

Whatever the weather, we’re grateful – for friends, family (thanks for the call last night!), and the good fortune to live with a big garden, great neighbours, and a view of the Bay.

Start off on the Right…Food!

I’m off to a business breakfast this morning – a good one, where there are usually great people to network with, and much to learn. But these things can also wreak havoc on healthy habits of both the dietary and professional variety. While buffets are improving in their number of healthy choices, they still tend to feature heavily (no pun intended) in carbs and fat. Besides, with so many bright people to meet, why spend time chewing a chocolate chip muffin?

So here’s how we are fueling up for a more productive day: veggie and goat cheese omelette, with a slice of whole wheat toast. On the toast: apple butter from our daughter’s kitchen. What better start could we have?

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Sometimes Simple is Best

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We started the morning with a serious workout, so a heavy breakfast seemed to defeat the purpose. It was a great opportunity to continue our exploration of the treats we began socking away in the freezer last summer!

Blueberries! Quick frozen without sugar, they only take a few minutes to thaw. (Or a minute or so in the micro if you are really in a rush). Top these with some organic yogurt, plain and unsweetened. A sprinkle of cinnamon will trick your tongue into thinking there is sugar, and if you add the crunch of a tablespoon or two of chopped almonds (roasted without salt) it is like a breakfast parfait. Round it out with half an English muffin and some peanut butter for extra protein. Tasty, fast, go!

Stormy Day Chowder

We’ve been under a blizzard warning today and haven’t even ventured outside. Here on the east coast we know what to do during stormy weather – keep calm and make soup! The key to managing when roads are impassable is to have a good stock of staples on hand at all times. Had we lost power, we might have subsisted on tuna, or peanut butter, or dozens of other “in a pinch” choices. But this time we were fortunate to just have to hunker down and keep warm.

Our easy, delicious chowder was made from ingredients we always have on hand: frozen fish fillets, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, and a few other flavours.

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For two:

Place 240g/8oz fillets on a plate to thaw enough to safely dice. Meanwhile…

Dice:
1 peeled potato
1 medium onion
1 peeled carrot
1 stalk celery

Bring to boil and simmer in 250ml/2c water until tender.

Add diced fish and:

2 bottled or canned anchovies, chopped
2 ml pepper

Simmer until fish is cooked and will flake.

Add:

1 can evaporated skim milk

Heat through and enjoy with crackers or whole meal bread. We did!

Hole-y Toast!

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This is one of our favourite breakfasts, especially if there are kids around. For some reason we have always called it toad in the hole, even though that moniker seems to apply to a host of other dishes. No matter what you call it, the appeal of having an egg cooked right into the toast, and a tiny toast circle to mop up the egg yolk, never gets old.

Butter a piece of bread for each person. Melt a little more butter in your frying pan or on a griddle. Cut a circle out of each bread using a cookie cutter, or a drinking glass. Put all of the pieces in the frying pan, butter side up. Crack in an egg. When you can start to see that the bottom is cooked (check the circles!), flip the pieces. Cook until they are as done as you like, and enjoy with some fresh tomato – or even a spoonful of guacamole and salsa.

Today is Remembrance Day. Please take time at 11am to remember those who have fought to gain the freedom and democracy you enjoy.

50 Ways to Eat Your Apples

It all started with a trip to the Valley. Two beautiful 20-pound bags of apples – Cortlands, and the apples I have longed for over my long absence from Nova Scotia: Gravensteins. Of course, combine this with a busy life, a business trip, and a couple of days off sick, and I have had to start coming up with apple ideas.

There are the usual, of course, like pies, or just eating these delicious orbs as is. (And on that note, I challenge anyone to claim they really find Red Delicious apples to be anything close to delicious!) We’re poring over recipes for mincemeat, chutney, and more. Yesterday we canned a supply of applesauce to last over the winter. But this morning, a simple solution: whole wheat cinnamon apple pancakes. Warm and tasty after a night of howling wind and rain, they will sustain us through what promises to be a dreary day. For that we’re grateful.

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Shank You for a Delicious Meal!

We made a lovely road trip with the parents on Saturday, including a visit to Grammy, now aged 100. Side stopovers included Oulton’s meats, where we watched the talented team of butchers make short work of preparing a variety of delicious meats. In our case, we bought half a lamb, which included these two tasty shanks. We expect to be featuring all sorts of fall lamb recipes over the next weeks.

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We wanted to take advantage of local produce as well, including the delicious apples we picked up on our last trip to the Valley, and some potatoes we grew in our own plot. Here’s how we did it, for 2:

2 (12-ounce) lamb shanks, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/8 cup alcoholic sparkling cider
2 large diced apples
A good handful of fresh basil, thyme and oregano, minced
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley for topping

1. Heat oven to 300F. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle lamb with freshly ground black pepper. Add lamb to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan. Add garlic to pan; sauté 15 seconds. Add cider; cook 2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in apples and herbs; cook 2 minutes. Return lamb to pan. Cover with apples, cover pan and bake 1 hour. Turn lamb over; cook 1 hour more or until meat is done and very tender. Remove lid and cook until thickened if necessary. Serve sprinkled w parsley, and mashed potatoes on the side.

A Fresh Start

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Hurricane season is underway and here in Nova Scotia we spend a lot of time with our eyes cast skyward. Today we’re expecting a bit of weather…no hurricane, but definitely some serious wind and rain. On a day like that, a serious breakfast is called for. So we rolled out some green tomato bennies to get us started off on the right foot.

Top a toasted English muffin with sliced tomato and a little prosciutto, then a poached egg. For the blender hollandaise, blend an egg yolk, a small squeeze of lime juice, a little hot sauce and a dash of dry mustard. Blend, and meanwhile heat an ounce of butter in the microwave til boiling. Keep the blender running and pour the butter into the egg in a thin stream – it will cook while you do this.

Serve and enjoy.

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So…much…produce!

Wow! We are surrounded by a bountiful harvest.

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The consequence, of course, is that we have to find ways to use it all…and preserve what’s left for future use. So tonight’s adventure included a zucchini-orzo-pepper-goat cheese dish…after we finished putting two batches of roasted beets (golden and red), two batches of beet greens, and a couple of jars of pesto away for chillier days. Fortunately the orzo was quite a reward – reminding us why all our hard work has been worth it!

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