Honestly, I don't get paid for this.
I was just enjoying a few spoonfuls of Liberty Méditerranée yogurt this evening—enjoying in this case involved leaning against my kitchen counters with my eyes rolled back in my head in absolute ecstasy—and I thought, hey, this is why I decided to start a blog about food, to share some of my discoveries, be it recipes, resources, restaurants, or even just stuff you can buy off the shelves.
Liberty yogurt is one of those amazing discoveries. If you can just ignore the little sign on the container that says "8% m.f." (aka, about the same amount of fat as cereal cream), you can enjoy little bursts of heaven with every mouthful.
My first experience with the Méditerranée line was several years ago in Vancouver. I couldn't resist picking up 'plum and walnut' flavoured yogurt, in spite of the high fat content. It became a permanent line item on my shopping list. Then I moved home to Saskatoon, and seriously mourned the loss of one of my favourite dairy products (the other being cave-aged Gruyere). Then it appeared at the Steep Hill Food Co-op. Then I saw it at Dad's Organic Market. I was so excited! Now, I can find it any number of places, including Safeway and Souleio Foods.
With flavours like lemon, hazelnut, mocha, peach and passionfruit, wild blackberry and our family favourite, coconut, I can't imagine ever wanting another yogurt again. Yes, it's very high in fat. But I have a theory on that--the more you enjoy a food item, the more wholesome and healthy it is for you, fat or no fat, because that feeling of well-being is an unrecognized factor in diet and nutrition that merits further research. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
P.S. After a concerted effort on the part of my friends and family, involving several requests that they carry cave-aged Gruyere, I'm happy to say that my other favourite dairy product is now a fairly permanent fixture on the shelves of the Bulk Cheese Warehouse—and an excellent seller. If you haven't tried it yet, you should. You can thank me later.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
There's lasagna, and then there's lasagna..or is there?
Chili and lasagna are two North American dishes about which I am completely ambivalent. My position is that in everyday life, I am destined to happen across a meal of chili or lasagna often enough that I never feel the need to cook them.
My husband, on the other hand, could live on chili and lasagna, with the occasional Vietnamese bun dish for variety. This is an area of contention in which (surprisingly) my extended family helps our marriage—my mother considers lasagna to be a last minute stand-by recipe that she can throw together to feed unexpected visitors. And because she knows my husband loves it (and loves her lasagna in particular), she tends to make it for us fairly frequently when we visit. Which is why I never feel the need to cook it myself. So while my husband is grateful for any and all lasagna, the current set-up pretty much guarantees that, unless he makes it himself, he'll never get lasagna in his own home.
Until this week, when I drew a blank during meal planning. When I asked him what he'd like me to cook this week (I should know better than to ask), he responded the same way he always does: "Lasagna!" For once, I couldn't think of anything better, and since I have unlimited supplies of hamburger in the freezer, as well as a big bag of frozen garden tomatoes that needs using, I thought, why not?
But I wasn't going to make a lasagna that required any opening of cans. Oh no. Mine was going to be 100% from scratch (well, except for the noodles).
Between my toddler's naptime and my baby's afternoon nurse-and-nap frenzy, I had a small window of time to pull this together. I boiled noodles and started gathering my sauce ingredients. I like to add as many veggies as possible to my meat sauces, so I chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots and mushrooms, and on a whim, a small remainder of my dad's home-smoked bacon from Sunday's breakfast. Who needs olive oil when you can cook vegetables in bacon fat? I browned the bacon, added the veggies and had just added the beef when I got summoned by my baby—all the while I nursed him I fretted over whether anything was burning, and tried to put my yoga practice into practice by just relaxing and being in the moment, and trusting that everything would work out. Nothing burned, to my relief.
A recipe that I was using as a loose guide suggested canned tomatoes, some beef broth and tomato paste. I had frozen tomatoes, a small amount of homemade beef stock (very rich, though), and tomato paste. I figured the extra juice in the frozen tomatoes would make up for the demi-glace-like beef stock, and I threw in a bit more tomato paste and salt to make up for the lack of canned tomatoes, added some dried oregano and bay leaves and let it all simmer.
As the sauce finished cooking an hour later, and I had finished mixing up the ricotta-spinach layer, my toddler woke up from his nap. He kept himself occupied with grated mozzarella while I assembled the dish. Everything looked and tasted fine, and the stoneware lasagna pan weighed a ton once the thing was built. I looked at the wreckage I'd left behind in my kitchen, and wondered, is the effort and mess really worth it? And the other thought was, how does my mother consider this an easy last-minute dish?
The verdict? It was a nice lasagna. Our toddler dug right in and ate half a piece. The bacon added a nice touch, but as I said, I'm fairly ambivalent about it, and this particular incarnation didn't change my mind. But was it actually better than if I had followed the recipe on the noodle box and just used store-bought sauce? I don't think my lasagna would stand up to a rigorous cost-benefit analysis.
My husband, self-proclaimed lasagna connoisseur, enjoyed it, but more for the novelty of actually getting to eat lasagna at home than for any inherent value in this particular version. When I asked whether it was any better than other lasagnas, he said, "Your mom's is way more tomato-y and tangy. Why is that?"
It's decided, then. Mom, you can keep my husband in lasagna. I'll move on to other things.
My husband, on the other hand, could live on chili and lasagna, with the occasional Vietnamese bun dish for variety. This is an area of contention in which (surprisingly) my extended family helps our marriage—my mother considers lasagna to be a last minute stand-by recipe that she can throw together to feed unexpected visitors. And because she knows my husband loves it (and loves her lasagna in particular), she tends to make it for us fairly frequently when we visit. Which is why I never feel the need to cook it myself. So while my husband is grateful for any and all lasagna, the current set-up pretty much guarantees that, unless he makes it himself, he'll never get lasagna in his own home.
Until this week, when I drew a blank during meal planning. When I asked him what he'd like me to cook this week (I should know better than to ask), he responded the same way he always does: "Lasagna!" For once, I couldn't think of anything better, and since I have unlimited supplies of hamburger in the freezer, as well as a big bag of frozen garden tomatoes that needs using, I thought, why not?
But I wasn't going to make a lasagna that required any opening of cans. Oh no. Mine was going to be 100% from scratch (well, except for the noodles).
Between my toddler's naptime and my baby's afternoon nurse-and-nap frenzy, I had a small window of time to pull this together. I boiled noodles and started gathering my sauce ingredients. I like to add as many veggies as possible to my meat sauces, so I chopped onions, garlic, celery, carrots and mushrooms, and on a whim, a small remainder of my dad's home-smoked bacon from Sunday's breakfast. Who needs olive oil when you can cook vegetables in bacon fat? I browned the bacon, added the veggies and had just added the beef when I got summoned by my baby—all the while I nursed him I fretted over whether anything was burning, and tried to put my yoga practice into practice by just relaxing and being in the moment, and trusting that everything would work out. Nothing burned, to my relief.
A recipe that I was using as a loose guide suggested canned tomatoes, some beef broth and tomato paste. I had frozen tomatoes, a small amount of homemade beef stock (very rich, though), and tomato paste. I figured the extra juice in the frozen tomatoes would make up for the demi-glace-like beef stock, and I threw in a bit more tomato paste and salt to make up for the lack of canned tomatoes, added some dried oregano and bay leaves and let it all simmer.
As the sauce finished cooking an hour later, and I had finished mixing up the ricotta-spinach layer, my toddler woke up from his nap. He kept himself occupied with grated mozzarella while I assembled the dish. Everything looked and tasted fine, and the stoneware lasagna pan weighed a ton once the thing was built. I looked at the wreckage I'd left behind in my kitchen, and wondered, is the effort and mess really worth it? And the other thought was, how does my mother consider this an easy last-minute dish?
The verdict? It was a nice lasagna. Our toddler dug right in and ate half a piece. The bacon added a nice touch, but as I said, I'm fairly ambivalent about it, and this particular incarnation didn't change my mind. But was it actually better than if I had followed the recipe on the noodle box and just used store-bought sauce? I don't think my lasagna would stand up to a rigorous cost-benefit analysis.
My husband, self-proclaimed lasagna connoisseur, enjoyed it, but more for the novelty of actually getting to eat lasagna at home than for any inherent value in this particular version. When I asked whether it was any better than other lasagnas, he said, "Your mom's is way more tomato-y and tangy. Why is that?"
It's decided, then. Mom, you can keep my husband in lasagna. I'll move on to other things.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Sunday Meal Planning...slightly derailed
My weekly goal of having a meal plan and groceries purchased on the weekend was almost not met today. Got home from volleyball at 3:30, nursed baby, had a shower, thought about what I wanted to eat this week, drew a blank (which is a rarity), visited with my husband and mother-in-law, and then realized that it was 5:15, I had to get groceries still, and Safeway closes at 6PM. Not to mention dinner for tonight.
Quick rethink--asked the in-laws to stay for dinner, called the Mandarin Chinese restaurant (our top pick in Saskatoon for Chinese food), made an order for pick-up, grabbed my grocery list and ran out the door. I made it home to a hungry family at 6:45, with the big bag of Chinese delicacies in tow. I had switched up our usual order this time around, in an effort to get more vegetables in the mix. My only complaint (and the complaint I hear most often from my vegetarian friends) about the Mandarin is that it's hard to get a lot of vegetables with your meal, and their all-veggie options are limited. I opted for veggies by ordering meat dishes with veggies. I found the prawns with Chinese greens to be an excellent option, with gorgeous little mini-bok choys nestled in amongst the shrimp. We also went for beef with Chinese broccoli, which is really mostly Chinese broccoli. By the way, when I mentioned ordering Chinese food, our two and a half year old started babbling on about having Chinese broccoli. He was most excited at the prospect. Very gratifying! We rounded off our meal with wonton soup, bbq pork chow mein (my mother-in-law's favourite), and my favourite, chow fun—wide rice noodles.
Now I have an extra meal to use up this week, since I made my grocery list before I decided to order takeout, and didn't make the connection until after I'd made my purchases. I'm sure the extra dish will get made somewhere...
Meal Plan, Week of January 9
Sunday
Mixed vegetable soup, made with my homemade Chinese stock (made from pork, chicken, green onions and sherry) [this is the meal that didn't get made, but I bought the groceries for]
Monday
I've got a plan for lasagne, because when I asked my husband what he wanted this week, that's what he came up with. Poor guy. He would be happy with variations on ground beef every day, and I insist on using cuts like chops and steaks. I don't have a recipe selected for lasagne yet, but it will use a bag of frozen tomatoes I have in my freezer, and I've got whole wheat noodles, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan ready to contribute to the final product. More on that later.
Tuesday
Addictive sweet potato burritos — a vegetarian family favourite.
Wednesday
Currently planned for leftovers, since we'll probably have some. This might be where the additional meal gets fit in...
Thursday
Lemon almond pork chops from The Canadian Living Cookbook
Brown rice, broccoli
Friday
Anise-scented poached chicken with squash from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook
One last note on my shopping trip today—the state of the grocery store was a stark reminder of our food systems and how fragile they are. The produce section was noticeably bare, and I realized it's because there are major storms in Alberta and the Trans-Canada Highway is closed. Two days of stormy weather and our food supply gets sketchy. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?
Quick rethink--asked the in-laws to stay for dinner, called the Mandarin Chinese restaurant (our top pick in Saskatoon for Chinese food), made an order for pick-up, grabbed my grocery list and ran out the door. I made it home to a hungry family at 6:45, with the big bag of Chinese delicacies in tow. I had switched up our usual order this time around, in an effort to get more vegetables in the mix. My only complaint (and the complaint I hear most often from my vegetarian friends) about the Mandarin is that it's hard to get a lot of vegetables with your meal, and their all-veggie options are limited. I opted for veggies by ordering meat dishes with veggies. I found the prawns with Chinese greens to be an excellent option, with gorgeous little mini-bok choys nestled in amongst the shrimp. We also went for beef with Chinese broccoli, which is really mostly Chinese broccoli. By the way, when I mentioned ordering Chinese food, our two and a half year old started babbling on about having Chinese broccoli. He was most excited at the prospect. Very gratifying! We rounded off our meal with wonton soup, bbq pork chow mein (my mother-in-law's favourite), and my favourite, chow fun—wide rice noodles.
Now I have an extra meal to use up this week, since I made my grocery list before I decided to order takeout, and didn't make the connection until after I'd made my purchases. I'm sure the extra dish will get made somewhere...
Meal Plan, Week of January 9
Sunday
Mixed vegetable soup, made with my homemade Chinese stock (made from pork, chicken, green onions and sherry) [this is the meal that didn't get made, but I bought the groceries for]
Monday
I've got a plan for lasagne, because when I asked my husband what he wanted this week, that's what he came up with. Poor guy. He would be happy with variations on ground beef every day, and I insist on using cuts like chops and steaks. I don't have a recipe selected for lasagne yet, but it will use a bag of frozen tomatoes I have in my freezer, and I've got whole wheat noodles, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan ready to contribute to the final product. More on that later.
Tuesday
Addictive sweet potato burritos — a vegetarian family favourite.
Wednesday
Currently planned for leftovers, since we'll probably have some. This might be where the additional meal gets fit in...
Thursday
Lemon almond pork chops from The Canadian Living Cookbook
Brown rice, broccoli
Friday
Anise-scented poached chicken with squash from Mark Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook
One last note on my shopping trip today—the state of the grocery store was a stark reminder of our food systems and how fragile they are. The produce section was noticeably bare, and I realized it's because there are major storms in Alberta and the Trans-Canada Highway is closed. Two days of stormy weather and our food supply gets sketchy. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Brunch is the New Dinner Party (for foodie parents)
Once upon a time, we and our friends would regularly get together for dinner parties--often elaborate dinner parties, with several courses, wine matched to each course, beginning around 7PM and continuing past midnight. Sadly, since we all started having children, the days of leisurely, wine-soaked dining are over.
But it turns out that we miss our foodie friends, and they miss us. So we have begun a new tradition--a monthly brunch. Three couples take turns hosting, and we descend upon each others' homes, toddlers in tow, at 10AM. The festivities usually wrap up around naptime.
We attended one of these lovely get togethers this morning, and while someday (MANY years from now), I look forward to getting back to the leisurely dinner with friends, for now, the brunches are an excellent stand-in. Give it a try with your own group of friends. You just might like it!
But it turns out that we miss our foodie friends, and they miss us. So we have begun a new tradition--a monthly brunch. Three couples take turns hosting, and we descend upon each others' homes, toddlers in tow, at 10AM. The festivities usually wrap up around naptime.
We attended one of these lovely get togethers this morning, and while someday (MANY years from now), I look forward to getting back to the leisurely dinner with friends, for now, the brunches are an excellent stand-in. Give it a try with your own group of friends. You just might like it!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Never Thought I'd See the Day
I didn't post a meal plan for this week because I was out of town for two days. I left 'the boys', meaning my husband, D and my dad, who came in to help out while my mom and the baby and I traveled to Edmonton for meetings, to their own devices. I thawed porkchops for them to use one day, suggested they cook the whole frozen fish in the freezer for the day we returned, and otherwise left it up to them.
When we came home last night, the fish was in the oven, and my dad had stuffed it with a rice pilaf, the recipe for which he'd found in Rose Reisman Brings Home Light Cooking. I shouldn't be so surprised by this, but I am, for a couple of reasons. First, I have never seen my dad look up a recipe. Ever. Second, his typical cooking repertoire almost invariably includes an open flame or vat of hot oil (usually heated over an open flame). The few times this is not the case is when he's frying bacon and eggs, boiling macaroni, or offering up Ichiban noodles or 'tube steaks'. To whit, when I mentioned there was fish in the freezer that I thought was a whole Pacific cod (gifted by my friend's dad who fishes in Prince Rupert), he was all set to fillet it, bread it and deep-fry it.
I'm not really giving him enough credit. He CAN cook—he just prefers to deep-fry whenever possible. But last night, he proved he really can cook, and the baked stuffed salmon (which it turned out to be—not cod) was absolutely lovely (and it was endearing to see how much pride he took in his creation). But when we laughingly pointed out that he got the recipe from a "Light" cookbook, he looked quite disgusted. He was about to tell me how he didn't like many of the other books in my cookbook collection, but we didn't get to the details. I'll try to get that from him next time I see him.
When we came home last night, the fish was in the oven, and my dad had stuffed it with a rice pilaf, the recipe for which he'd found in Rose Reisman Brings Home Light Cooking. I shouldn't be so surprised by this, but I am, for a couple of reasons. First, I have never seen my dad look up a recipe. Ever. Second, his typical cooking repertoire almost invariably includes an open flame or vat of hot oil (usually heated over an open flame). The few times this is not the case is when he's frying bacon and eggs, boiling macaroni, or offering up Ichiban noodles or 'tube steaks'. To whit, when I mentioned there was fish in the freezer that I thought was a whole Pacific cod (gifted by my friend's dad who fishes in Prince Rupert), he was all set to fillet it, bread it and deep-fry it.
I'm not really giving him enough credit. He CAN cook—he just prefers to deep-fry whenever possible. But last night, he proved he really can cook, and the baked stuffed salmon (which it turned out to be—not cod) was absolutely lovely (and it was endearing to see how much pride he took in his creation). But when we laughingly pointed out that he got the recipe from a "Light" cookbook, he looked quite disgusted. He was about to tell me how he didn't like many of the other books in my cookbook collection, but we didn't get to the details. I'll try to get that from him next time I see him.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Mediterrasian.com
One of my favourite websites for healthy recipes is www.mediterrasian.com. My two favourite food groups, so to speak, are Mediterranean and Asian--what could be better than a website devoted to both of them together?
Tonight I'm making Baked Feta and Walnut salad for supper, and having it with some of the leftover dips and cheeses from our New Years party. It's gonna be easy. It's gonna be good.
Tonight I'm making Baked Feta and Walnut salad for supper, and having it with some of the leftover dips and cheeses from our New Years party. It's gonna be easy. It's gonna be good.
The Winter Shopping Dilemma
I always dread shopping for food in the winter. Winter in Canada is when the fruits and vegetables start coming from farther and farther away, and I feel acutely the food miles that I am accumulating. And then there are the tough decisions about how much fresh food to buy for my family in spite of the distance it may have traveled. And then there's the local vs. organic dilemma.
After struggling with all of this for several years, I have come up with the following list of rules that help me make those decisions:
• Local AND organic if possible
• If local is available (meaning, during the winter, grown somewhere in Canada), choose over organics grown in the U.S. or farther afield
• Opt for frozen foods if necessary (a good way to keep Canadian grown peas, beans, and berries in your diet)
• Say adios to certain foods til spring--I don't buy non-organic grapes for example. Too many pesticides on a soft-skinned and therefore absorbant fruit. Not to mention that during the winter months they come from super-far-off places like Chile and South Africa.
It's a good thing I like root vegetables. In the meantime, I'll grit my teeth at the grocery store and take solace in seed catalogues. Next summer I'll make up for it by growing my own veggies.
Good luck with your own shopping adventures! I'd love to hear other readers' own strategies for keeping up variety while keeping down food miles during winter months.
After struggling with all of this for several years, I have come up with the following list of rules that help me make those decisions:
• Local AND organic if possible
• If local is available (meaning, during the winter, grown somewhere in Canada), choose over organics grown in the U.S. or farther afield
• Opt for frozen foods if necessary (a good way to keep Canadian grown peas, beans, and berries in your diet)
• Say adios to certain foods til spring--I don't buy non-organic grapes for example. Too many pesticides on a soft-skinned and therefore absorbant fruit. Not to mention that during the winter months they come from super-far-off places like Chile and South Africa.
It's a good thing I like root vegetables. In the meantime, I'll grit my teeth at the grocery store and take solace in seed catalogues. Next summer I'll make up for it by growing my own veggies.
Good luck with your own shopping adventures! I'd love to hear other readers' own strategies for keeping up variety while keeping down food miles during winter months.
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