Making Noises

My latest recipe for “Make it Once, Eat it Twice” is:

Cheater Chili and Taco Salad

Meal #1 – Cheater Chili

One, 642 ml jar of chunky salsa, as hot as you like

1 1b. ground beef

1 19 oz. can beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. garlic

1 – 2 T. chili powder

Brown ground beef than add salsa, beans and spices.  Simmer about 10 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with buns or taco chips.

Take the leftover chili and turn it into Meal #2 – Taco Salad by chopping up some tomatoes, green pepper, shredding some lettuce and cheese and placing all of these ingredients in individual serving bowls.  Re-heat the leftover chili.  Assemble the salad by starting with taco chips, chili, the vegetables and the cheese.  Serve with additional salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

OLE.

Coffee- You can sleep when you're dead

The Fat Nutritionist http://www.fatnutritionist.com/ is a blog I read.  Her tag line is “eating normally is the new black.”  I am so down with that.  Death to Diets I say!  Anyways, her post “Get Out of Jail Free Cards”  http://www.fatnutritionist.com/index.php/get-out-of-jail-free-cards/ talks about “largely irrelevant” food labelling.  It began with a treatise on coffee and “Canadian style wussy coffee”, that is coffee with cream and sugar. There was a brief introduction and contained a very funny line:

black coffee is an abomination unto the Lord and shall not defile this house

After I finished laughing, made an appropriate comment on her blog about how much we in this house agree with that statement, I started thinking.  What other food and/or beverage items are, to our household, “an abomination unto the Lord and shall not defile this house?” I came up with the following list. Note:  there’s a bit of a legend:

• items marked with a single * are those which only my husband thinks fall into this category;
• and since we’ve agreed that we only buy things that both of us eat, items marked with a double ** are ones I miss eating unless I’m out, or have batted my eyelashes at him enough (i.e. whined) to get his agreement for purchase.
• items marked with*** are those which I only think are an abomination.
• no *’s at all means we both agree that these items shall never, ever defile our house.

List of Foods – Not Exhaustive, although I’m a bit tired after typing now.

• Offal
• Head cheese
• Coffee whitener
• ***processed cheez in a jar — my husband says it “adds personality.”  I say it’s one step from being plastic.
• Anything with the word “bean” attached to it [i.e. green beans, lima beans, kidney beans, et al.], with the exception of “coffee bean”
• Brussel Sprouts
• Octopus
• Squid
• Pork Sausage (possible exception:  Mennonite Sausage.  Good Mennonite Sausage that is)
• *Chickpeas**
• *Sweet Potatoes**
• *Squash of any type**
• Fruitcake
• Christmas Pudding
• ***Raw tomatoes
• *Porridge — this one comes in–never get between me and my cooked oatmeal in the morning!
• *Cottage Cheese** (exception:  Lasagna)
• Caviar/Tapioca – eerily similar, visually, don’t you think?
• *Asparagus**
• Anything with the word “blood” in it i.e. blood pudding, blood sausage.

I’m becoming a huge fan of this cooking style, particularly when I’m time-strapped or energy-depleted.
Enjoy!

Each meal serves two and both are minimally prepared

First Meal

Salmon with a Maple Soy Glaze, Rice and Frozen Vegetables

Prepare rice – I use a rice cooker –
Fill bottom of rice cooker with water.
Add 1 cup rice and 1 cup water each to the basket that is placed inside the cooker. Stir. Plug it in and set the timer to 30 minutes.

Salmon:

4. frozen salmon fillets (no need to thaw first)*
2 T. each Soy Sauce and Maple Syrup
1 tsp. each ginger and garlic

Preheat oven to 450. Lay salmon fillets in a large casserole dish. Combine soy sauce, maple syrup and ginger and garlic in a small bowl. Pour over salmon. Bake in oven for approximately 18 minutes.

The rice and salmon dishes each provide four servings. Serve with steamed stir fry vegetables.

Meal Two

Reserve half the rice and two of the salmon fillets. Cut the salmon fillets up into small pieces, combine with the rice, and add some stir fry vegetables – place in a non-stick frying pan with some water, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Fry for a few minutes until the vegetables are thawed and the rice and salmon are heated through.

*Thawed chicken breasts would also work; cook until no longer pink inside and the juices run clear.

My friend Julie Van Rosendaal, cookbook author, writer, chef, food blogger and intrepid traffic reporter [whom, astonishingly, I've never met in real life,but all that will change February 24th when I attend the Farm Table Dinner at Forage] has pulled off something incredible.  What an amazing woman!  Thank you Julie for being the hands and feet of Jesus, as the expression goes.

In just under three weeks she taken on a monumental task and has co-ordinated food bloggers from all over North America to contribute recipes for the Blog Aid Cookbook, convinced West Canadian Graphics and Blurb.com to donate their services, and sat with her friend Catherine countless hours to design, compile, and edit The Blog Aid Cookbook as a fundraising effort.  100% of the proceeds of this will go to support earthquake relief in Haiti.   $50 gets you a hardcover edition and $25 gets you a softcover edition.  With recipes from the likes of Michael Smith, Dana McCauley and Emily Richards and of course, Julie Van Rosendaal herself, this compendium will be a welcome addition to any foodie’s cookbook shelf, and make awesome gifts for the cooks in your life.  I personally can’t wait to try Snickers Bar Pie from Recipe Girl, and the Korean BBQ’d beef from Savory Sweet Life.   Huge rounds of applause to all who participated.

Matching Donations:
from http://blogaidforhaiti.blogspot.com/

The proceeds from book sales will go straight to Haitian relief via the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders, and get this: both West Canadian AND Blurb are matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised, to TRIPLE those dollars going to Haiti. And of course until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that.

Ordering information: http://www.blurb.com/books/1172809

As of 10:00 a.m. this morning, with matching donations, almost $10,000 for Haiti has been raised from this! Good on ya!

My cookbook “Chronic in the Kitchen — When You’re in Too Much Pain to Cook Too Much” which contains over 100 recipes that are easy, tasty, and healthy has been pitched to a publisher, Whitecap Books.  An acquaintance of mine, Julie Van Rosendaal, helped me tremendously with the “pitch letter.”  Julie’s  a  cookbook author, chef, caterer,  blogger  www.dinnerwithjulie.com, writer, TV star and intrepid traffic reporter.  Whitecap’s published her cookbooks and Julie helped me with the pitch letter and gave me a contact at Whitecap to direct my inquiry to.

Here’s the “pitch”:

About Me

Allow me to introduce myself – I like to eat, cook and bake.  I’m also a person who happens to have a chronic pain condition.   I’m a former administrative assistant who now has a home based writing and web design business with my husband.

 

Previous publishing credits include acting as a reporter for a non-profit organization’s bi-weekly publication, and the publication of a short story in a local writer’s magazine.  I’ve been writing since I was in my teens and blogging since 2008.

About My Cookbook

I found that a lot of recipes – while tasty – had a lot of preparation and were quite time- and energy-consuming – to make. To help people in the kitchen who, like myself, cope with chronic pain, I’ve written, adapted, compiled and developed “Chronic In the Kitchen – When You’re in Too Much Pain to Cook Too Much,” which contains over 100 recipes.  Recipes that are easy, healthy, and time-saving, designed for those who suffer from extreme fatigue, pain and low energy.   Those who experience pain in their hands from repetitive strain injuries, arthritis or fibromyalgia will appreciate the small amount of preparation required. Most recipes take 30 minutes or less counter-to-table.

Granted, there are many cookbooks that have fast, easy to prepare recipes.  However, with my cookbook, I’ve tried to minimize the amount of processed foods used as it’s possible that, for some people, certain preservatives or additives can exacerbate chronic pain.     It’s also chock full of tips to help those with chronic pain be awap (as well as possible.)

Regarding photographs, while I have a high end point and shoot digital camera, I am not sure that it is up to the task of photographing the quality images required for a book.

Note, too, that I stand ready, willing and able to handle the promotion of this book via media appearances and other marketing as necessary to help this cookbook succeed!

About Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than 6 months.

According to www.iasp-pain.org:

1 in 5 adults and 1 in 3 seniors suffers from chronic pain.  The prevalence of chronic pain increases with age.

Statistics from the Canadian Pain Coalition show that 13 – 30% of Canadians cope with chronic pain.

(Statistics included to show that there is a market for this cookbook.)

Let’s hope this pitch is a home run!

Note – if anyone would like purchase copies of this cookbook, please contact me at kathyatbignoise-enterprises.com.

Week of November14-20th:

Co-op

Mangos $1.49 each, 1 doz. Kaiser rolls, $2.99, Whole grain bread $1.99-Minute Maid Lemonade, Limeade, 5 Alive, Fruitopia or Ice Tea 3 for $3.33.  Also a lot of their own brands are on sale this week such as Co-op Ice Cream, 1.89 L. 3 / $9.99 – Co-op Frozen Vegetables, 1 kg., 2 / $5.98 – Co-op Canned Tomatoes 796 ml size are 2/ 3.00, stick or tub margarine 2.99 each – Co-op Baked Beans 99 each and Co-op Tuna 2/$4.

M & M Meats has their shrimp rings on for $3.99 each.

Sobey’s:

Rotisserie Chicken – $7.99 each – Mandarin Oranges, 1.5 lb. box 2/$5 – Pomegranates $1.98 each – Danone yogurt 650-750g 2 / $5.

Walmart Supercenter – Airdrie or Okotoks:  Zucchini, Eggplant or Yellow Squash .88 / lb – 3lb. bag of onions or carrots for $1 – fresh lean ground beef tubes, 1lb. -2 for $5. (Prices in effect until November 19.)

Superstore -  10 kg. Robin Hood all purpose flour $9.98 each- Crisco or Tenderflake shortening/lard 454 g. pack $1.98 each – Avocadoes – 5 count bag $3.38.

Safeway – Classico Pasta Sauce 218 – 700 ml (limit 5) 2 for $6 – Nabob Coffee 311 – 326 g. 2 for $8 – Ovenjoy Bread $1.49 each – pork side spareribs $1.99/lb (Club Price) – Minute Maid Frozen Orange Juice 4 for $6.

Happy Eating!

Select deals this week

Sobey’s:

Iceberg Lettuce, 2 / $1 – Celery, 2/ $1 – 1 L. Minute Maid or 5 Alive $1 ea. –  Assorted Deli Meats $1/100g – 2 lb. bag russet potatoes $2.00.

Walmart Supercentre (Airdrie or Okotoks)

Worth the drive for:

Seedless Oranges .77/lb – Oasis Juice 4 x 125 ml packs $1 – Baked Beans 398 ml. .77 – Broccoli heads $1 each – Package of fresh mushrooms $1 each – Lunch for under $5: Campbell’s Soups, 540 ml, 2 for $2, 12 oz. Fresh Express Garden Salad $1.47 each and a loaf of French bread for $.97.

Safeway:

Fresh Pineapple BOGO – Catelli Garden Select pasta sauce 2 for $5 – Sunlight Dish Liquid – 2 for $4 – Eating Right Frozen Chicken Tomato Lasagna 1.13 kg for $7.99 plus buy 2 and earn 20 Air Miles.

Co-op

Spartan Apples .88c/lb – Rutabagas .59/lb – Brunswick Seafood Snacks or Sardines 92 – 106 g size are .99 each.

Superstore:

Old Mill Bread (white or whole wheat)  4 / $5 – PC Cranberry Cocktail Juice 2/$5 – PC Blue Menu Non-Hydrogenated Margarine 1.81 kg $6 – Bok Choy .48/lb – Mini Seedless Watermelon $2.97 ea. – 4 count bag red peppers $2.48 each.

We’ve been enjoying Earthbound Farms Fresh Herb Salad which includes the following:

Organic baby lettuces (red and green romaine, red and green oak leaf, lollo rosa, tango), organic red and green chard, organic mizuna, organic arugula, organic frisée, organic radicchio, organic parsley, organic dill, organic cilantro.

The fresh dill in this salad is very nice.  An annual plant, it grows about 30” high.  A member of the parsley family, it may help to relieve indigestion, bloating, gas and cramping.

This very familiar and popular herb works well in potato salad, pasta salad, scrambled eggs, dips, salad dressings and sauces and leek and potato soup.  It also pairs nicely with salmon or any white fish.

Randy’s Cucumber Pasta Salad

3 cups cooked pasta such as penne

½ c. thinly sliced carrots

½ c. thinly sliced celery

1 c. parboiled broccoli florets

1 green onion, thinly sliced

¼ c. chopped onion

½ to ¾ c. creamy cucumber salad dressing

1 tsp. dillweed

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  4- 6 servings.

Easy Gr♦een Smoothie Recipes

[adapted from eatsprouts.com]

Tips:

• Always blend the fruit first
• Frozen fruit helps thicken the smoothie as well as some crushed ice.
• Optional additions include: plain yogurt, ground flax seed, or one or two scoops of protein powder of your choice.
• You may need to add ½ -1 c. of water [or milk, or juice] to keep it from getting too thick.
• A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down – adding 1-2 T. of liquid honey will help with any bitterness that may creep into your smoothie from the greens.
• Snap peas are not recommended.
• These make fairly large recipes probably serving at least four.
• Avoid mint if you have problems with heartburn or GERD.
• Good for selective eaters.
• Helpful for those recovering from oral surgery or who need to be on a soft foods diet for other reasons.

Some smoothie ideas and combinations:

2-3 cups any greens of your choice, 2 cups papaya, 2 oranges, 3 dates

1 handful lettuce leaves, 1 handful mint, 4 bananas, 1/2 cup water

Winter Smoothie – 1 cup organic frozen berries (any kind), 2 cups fresh spinach, 1/4 inch fresh ginger, water

Spring Smoothie – fresh orange juice, ripe bananas, frozen mangoes, and several large leaves of kale

1/2 bunch romaine lettuce, 1 cup strawberries, 2 bananas, water

4-5 kale leaves, 4 apples, 1/2 lemon juiced, water

2 big handfuls mixed baby greens, 2 pears, 2 mangoes, 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Choc-mint – 2 cups spinach, 10-12 mint leaves, 3 bananas, 2 Tbs. carob powder, 1 cup water

1 handful of spinach, 2 stalks of celery, 2 bananas, 2 pears, 1 apple, 1 cup water

1 small handful of spinach, 2 cups arugula, 2-3 mangoes, 1 cup water

1/2 head romaine lettuce, 1 small pineapple, 1 large mango, 1-inch fresh ginger

1 handful wild greens (e.g. dandelion), 1 small handful mint leaves, 3 cups honeydew melon

3-4 stalks celery, 2 ripe persimmons, 1 banana

1 handful chard leaves, 5-6 kale leaves, 3 large bananas, 1 cup water

1 handful parsley, 3 cups of peeled papaya

Tomorrow we go back to the grocery store to stock up.  It’s been an interesting week.

The temptation to shop at times was overwhelming.  We did have to enter a grocery store to fill a prescription but we did not buy any grocery items.  The only item purchased this week was milk.

The beginning of the week saw feasts.  The end of the week is closer to famine – with the exception of an exceptionally full freezer of meat, the rest of the pickings were slim.  Man cannot live on meat alone.

Some recipes were a flop. The Overnight French Toast was a disaster, particularly the leftovers-largely in part due to the type of bread I used.  (It was a bread I’d made in the bread-maker with the wrong settings so it came out quite dense.)  I thought a bit of soaking in an egg-milk mixture would make it more edible.  Initially yes. Microwaving the leftovers, not so much. Ugh.

And I must say I am sick of salmon burgers.

The tuna melts were good.  I’d call them Greek Tuna Melts as I used oregano in the tuna-mayonnaise mix and sprinkled them with feta cheese.   The apple crisp was amazing.

It was gratifying to use up items in our fridge, freezer and cupboard.   Again, a menu is a flexible thing.  Thursday’s supper, which is a potluck at our small group, saw us bring a different item due to appointments just before group started, rendering it impossible to bring anything home-cooked. Still, no purchase was made, we have a stash of emergency supplies in our freezer for such times.
Tonight we are rewarding ourselves for our austerity by eating out.

And the money we saved this week?  It is going to help a friend’s daughter go on a mission trip this summer with some of the youth from her church.