What not to eat: The best Gingersnap Cookies on earth - Recipe

 This recipe is from Company's Coming's "Most Loved Cookies" - and they don't lie. I truly think the key to these cookies is in the timing. 10 minutes at 350, no more! They come out slightly crispy on the edges, and soft throughout. If you're crazy like me, you might add some leftover dark chocolate chips to the batter. I happen to think chocolate and ginger is a fantastic combination! I also used brown sugar instead of white sugar. Not sure if that made a big difference, but I recommend trying it. I also left out the *sugar for rolling the dough in before baking - I figure cookies are sugary enough, but it does make them prettier.

Ingredients:

3/4 c Butter, softened
1 cup granulated or brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup fancy mild molasses

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp Baking soda
2 tsp Ground ginger
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Granulated sugar (optional)

Method:

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add egg. Beat well. Add molasses. Beat until smooth.

In a second bowl, combine next 5 ingredients. Add to butter mixture in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition until no dry flour remains. Roll into 1 inch balls.

*Roll each ball in second amount of sugar in small bowl until coated (optional). Arrange about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Let stand on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

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Video: "We're not buying it" - Big Food Marketing to Kids

Interesting video from the Prevention Institute about big food marketing to kids. Worth a watch:

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Leftover Holiday Turkey Recipe: Jamie Oliver's Asian Turkey Salad

If you're looking for something to do with all that leftover brown turkey meat after the holidays, the usual solution is turkey soup. I love me a good turkey, vegetable and barley soup, but it's nice to change things up once in a while. This year we tried Jamie Oliver's Asian Turkey salad. It's a refreshing change to the usual holiday selections of white meat, stuffing, and hot root vegetables. The crisp salad leaves,  tangy dressing and Asian flavours will wake up your taste buds!


Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls of brown turkey meat
• 1 large handful of cashew nuts
• 1 handful of dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons ground all-spice
• a bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
• a bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked
• 4 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped




Dressing


• juice of 1 clementine or orange
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 pomegranate, halved
• ½ red onion, peeled and coarsely grated
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated

Method:


Shred the brown turkey meat into thin strips using your fingers and put it into a dry pan on a medium heat. Add the cashew nuts, dried cranberries and all-spice. Stir occasionally, and start to prepare the salad.

Add the mint and most of your coriander leaves to a bowl with your mixed salad leaves. Make your dressing in a separate bowl by mixing the juice from your clementine and lime. Squeeze the juice from one of your pomegranate halves through your hands to catch any seeds, then discard them. Stir in your grated onion. Pour in about equal parts oil to the juice you have. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Squeeze in all the juice from the grated ginger, then throw away the pulp.

Stir and taste. If you want more salt, add a splash more soy. If you want more acid, add another squeeze of lime juice. Drizzle over enough dressing to coat the salad leaves, then use your hands to toss and dress them.

Add the honey to the pan with the turkey meat and stir through until coated. Turn the heat up to full whack for the last few seconds to really crisp up the meat mixture. Toss half of your pan-fried ingredients through the salad leaves and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon the remaining nuts, cranberries and crispy meat over the top of the salad and add another drizzle of dressing. Hold the remaining pomegranate half over the salad and knock it on the back with a spoon so the seeds pop onto the salad. Garnish with a nice sprinkling of fresh red chilli, any remaining coriander leaves and serve right away.

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What not to eat: Yam bacon pizza recipe

What happens when you combine sparse leftovers in your cupboards and fridge to make a meal? Sometimes the answer is Yam Bacon Pizza. While we didn't actually have bacon on hand (we rarely have processed meats of any kind in the house - may be a few times a year), we have a flax whole wheat pizza crust, tomato sauce, cheese, onion and yam. I Googled and found this recipe for sweet potato pizza (though I think those are yams in her photo - yes, there is a difference) with prosciutto, onions and rosemary. Perfect! Except, I'm not a fan of prosciutto (something about the texture), and I know B is happy for any occasion to have bacon due to the aforementioned bacon shortage in our house, so we swapped the prosciutto for bacon.

The result - SUPER delicious, slightly healthy (ok "healthy" might be an overstatement but hey, there are vegetables), but definitely easy meal! The combination of the sweetness of the yam, salty, crunchy bacon and tangy onion is better than I expected. A must-try treat!


Ingredients:

Pizza dough (You can make your own or cheat and use store bought)
1/4 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 medium yam thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or cheese of choice)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions until soft. Add yam and cook for 5-7 minutes, until yam is soft and a little crispy on both sides.

3. Brush the crust of the pizza with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Spread dough with pizza sauce. Add the slices of sweet potato and onion. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and rosemary on top. Drizzle toppings with remaining olive oil. Bake for 15-18 min.

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Recipe: Creamy Vegetarian Beet Borscht

I've made a few different borscht recipes before, but this one has been my favourite so far. The great thing about Borscht, is that it is pretty modifiable in terms of what vegetables you use, depending what you have on hand. I was missing the turnip so I added extra potato. You could also add celery, or any other root veggies you have on hand. I'm thinking now it would've been interesting to throw the yam I have in the fridge into the mix. Maybe next time.

As the title suggests, this recipe makes a creamier, thicker soup, which requires a bit of food processing and blending to get the right consistency. With all the processing, blending and transferring of hot liquids going on, and with the deep maroon colour of the soup, my kitchen resembled a murder scene when I was done, but it was worth it. The soup has a pleasant full texture, and a light flavour. I made some cheese biscuits to go with the soup, which make it the perfect meal for a cold winter's day.


Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):

2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil)
1 cup of chopped onion
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
3 - 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 pounds of beets (about 6 medium-sized), peeled and chopped
2 cups tomato, chopped
2 cup of potato, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 bay leaves
juice from one lemon
6 - 7 cups of vegetable stock
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 - 3/4 cups of sour cream
Fresh dill for garnishing (i didn't have on hand so I used dried)

Prep:

1) In a large soup pot, heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until soft - about 5 minutes.

2) Add the vinegar and cook until most of the vinegar evaporates, about 3 minutes. Add the beets, tomato, potato, carrot, bay leaves, stock, salt and pepper, and half of the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender (about 30 - 40 minutes). Add the remaining lemon juice. While the soup is cooking, combine the minced dill and cream in a small bowl; set aside.

3) Once the soup has cooled down a bit, process in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and gently heat over low heat.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with a bit of minced dill.


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The Garden Sleuth

I realize summer ended long ago (at least here in Calgary), but I'm still pondering over WHY my garden failed miserably this year. Yes, the garden FAILED (you can see the very sad picture of our lone tomato, hanging in defeat on the vine. That was the only one that ever appeared *tear*). There is nothing so heart-breaking to an amateur gardener as slaving over and pampering a garden all spring and summer long, only to be rewarded with wilted, stunted plants and not enough veggies to make but one salad. I have finally come to terms with my lost investment and am ready to delve into what I did wrong. I need to solve this mystery so I can ensure I don't have the same result next year.

This past summer, I made the mistake of trying a number of new growing methods and components at one time, any one of which could have lead to my dismal produce outcome. In addition, our summer was anything but until early July. As far as I can tell, my lack of fresh produce could be the result of any (or all) of the following reasons:

1) I started with seedlings, which seemed to be doing very well. Unfortunately, I failed to "harden off" the seedlings before planting them outdoors (who knew?! Now I know.)

2) Using all organic soil. I don't know why this would be an issue exactly, but the year previous I used conventional soil, and all was well.

4) Using organic compost. Again, not sure if/why this would be an issue, but the year prior I didn't use compost at all and had a better turn out, though, admittedly, also a smaller variety of "crops" (if you can call container gardening "crops").

5) The ratio of compost to soil. Pretty sure there is an ideal ratio of compost to soil, and pre-tay sure I ignored it. My 'throw caution to the wind' gardening approach may have been my downfall.

5) The monsoon we experienced for 10 days immediately after I planted said seedlings. That one weekend of heat was deceptive, and enticed me to move the seedlings outside prematurely. I thought summer had arrived, but I was sorely mistaken. The rains ensued for 10 days straight, like I have never seen before in Cow town. I covered the seedlings with garbage bags to protect them from drowning (though, they were exposed for a while before I covered them). Come to think of it - poor things also went without light for days too! I'm starting to think this garden was DEA summer (dead on arrival of summer).

6) The aforementioned late summer - the season finally appeared sometime after the monsoon stopped, but I fear it was too late.

So which one (or combination) of these items doomed my produce, I ask you expert gardeners? Could there be something I missed, or (better yet) some mysterious virus that caused fatality to my plants that resulted from no fault of my own? I know, unlikely.

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See you in 2 weeks! I've gone to...

I'm gone for a long awaited time of sun, sand and good food, and my "wedding-moon" in Mexico. I'll be back and posting before you (or I) know it! 

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Recipe: Saucy Pulled Pork

Pork is one of B's favourite foods, and I'm not big on meat (but especially pork) so it's a rarity in our house. A good pulled pork sandwich though is pretty tasty from time to time, so I decided to treat B with this recipe adapted from Canadian Living - The Slow Cooker Collection cookbook.

Our slow cooker is more of a fast cooker, so what should have taken 8-10 hours on "low" heat, according to the recipe, was done in about 4 hours on "warm". I was going for more of a BBQ-type sauce, but this recipe is heavy on the tomato flavour, which was actually very good and less sweet that some BBQ-style flavours. Unfortunately, we dug in before I reviewed the quality of the photo :s

I purchased our roast from Market 17 here in Calgary, who get their meats locally from Sunworks Farms. Pulled pork is typically served on a bun or role (which we did) and often with coleslaw or a tangy dish. We had some fingerling potatoes kickin around, so we sliced those up and lightly fried them in a bit of canola oil with onion for a very home-style, comfort food type of meal.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lb boneless pork shoulder blade roast
3/4 tsp each salt & pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chili powder (I used paprika, with a dash of cayenne pepper)
2 tsp grounder coriander (I use dried)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 - 14oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp each brown sugar and cider vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions (I didn't have any on hand, so these were left out)

Prep:


1) Sprinkle pork with salt & pepper all over. In a frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat, and brown pork all over. Transfer to slow cooker.

2) If there is a lot of fat left in the pan, drain all but 1 tbsp; reduce heat to medium. Fry onions, garlic, chili powder, coriander and bay leaves, stirring often, until onions are softened (about 5 minutes).

3) Add tomato paste; cook, stirring until darkened (about 2 minutes). Add tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar and Worcestershire; bring to a boil. Scrape into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until tender (8- 10 hours, or less if you have a fast-cooker like me).

4) Shred or pull the pork apart and serve.



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MRU's Body of Knowledge Lecture Series with Dr. Weil - Part 2

In my last post about Dr. Weil's visit to the MRU Body of Knowledge Series, I summed up the flaws in our health care system, as seen by Weil. Although a very interesting perspective on our past, present and future challenges in health care, I was most looking forward to the nutrition part of the lectures, and Weil didn't disappoint.

Why focus on nutrition?

Nutrition is of primary significance because it is the one aspect we have primary control over. We can't control our genetics, and can only partially control our environment, but we have near total control over what we eat.

Seeing a physician who is so well-versed in nutrition is a treat, but for Weil, most of this education came after med school. Weil shared that in his formal medical education he received only 30 minutes of nutrition education, and says not much has changed since then. 

As I mentioned previously, not all physicians or dietitians subscribe to all of Weil’s beliefs and recommendations. Sometimes it seems that physician's can be on total opposite ends of the spectrum, and it seems there is always some research (although usually varying greatly in strength) to support whichever view that may be. But one thing is sure, Weil has certainly done his research. Although Weil has a bit of a reputation for his sometimes unconventional ideas, his talks were based on simple nutrition principles to promote health, and I think very beneficial for the public.

Exploring nutrition as a strategy for treatment of ailment hasn't always been mainstream, but it is becoming more so. I am supportive of medical professionals that look to food, our most basic necessity, first for prevention, and even healing. Dr. Weil appears to take a cautious approach to venturing outside the western medicine box, recommending herbs and remedies that may be unheard of in the average North American physician's or dietitian’s office, but that hold some merit, and are a welcome alternative to costly, pharmaceutical treatments.

Day 2 of the Series began with Dr. Weil's second presentation - "Nutrition 101: Macronutrients and the Anti-Inflammatory Diet".

As the title alludes to, a large portion of Weil’s talk was based around his anti-flammatory diet. I previously discussed the theory and science behind the inflammatory diet. Weil is a strong proponent of the diet, which is essentially a modified version of the traditional Mediterranean diet, and he has even developed an anti-inflammatory food pyramid. The traditional Mediterranean diet (and I stress "traditional", as even this diet has fallen victim to Western influences) has long been linked with lower rates of heart disease, cancer and other chronic and age-related disease.

It is thought that certain foods contribute to inflammation (pro-inflammatory), and can increase our risk for developing these diseases. We also know that other foods decrease that inflammation (anti-inflammatory), and can contribute to better overall health. Diets that are high in sugar, refined starches, saturated and trans fats, low in anti-oxidants, fiber, vegetables and fruit and whole grains may activate the immune system, and induce inflammation. By altering our diet, theoretically, we can reduce the inflammation process and even stop it. Anything that increases inflammation, increases cell division and turnover, and increases the risk for disease process. Weil says most of us go through life in an anti-inflammatory state.

If in fact we are all going through life with this low-grade, potentially hazardous inflammation, one of the biggest contributing factors is our food supply, particularly, industrialized food. Our food supply is flooded with an abundance of omega-6 fats (such as soy bean oil, which is added to many processed and fast foods and is particularly high in omega-6 fats) and low in omega-3 fats.

Weil likes to sum up his food philosophy is one sentence: "stop eating refined, processed and manufactured foods". The more processed foods we eat, Weil says, the higher likelihood that we will see negative health effects. For instance, food industrialization has a tendency to turn carbohydrate foods from slow digesting to fast (turning a whole grain into an easily absorbed form, such as flour). Weil says the spikes in insulin caused by the spikes in blood sugar also increase inflammation. Other causes of inflammation are environmental toxins and stress.

The primary issues with our food system, according to Weil, is based on the reality that unhealthy food is the cheapest. Federal governments in Canada and the U.S. subsidize crops, which artificially drives down the cost of processed food. Although the government encourages the public to eat better with Food Plates and Food Guides, Weil argues that these food subsidies make unhealthy food easier and cheaper to come by, and points out that there are no subsidies for fruits and vegetables. Whether or not there is a wealth of evidence to support the anti-inflammatory diet, the basis of the diet is one that focuses on whole, unprocessed foods, and is heavy in plant-based foods and fish. We know these are all good dietary principles to follow.

Like many health professionals, Weil is also a big proponent of limiting sugar of all types and sources, but particularly fructose. 

Weil believes that high fructose corn syrup causes metabolic disturbances and deranges liver function. When it comes to manufactured sugars, like high fructose corn syrup, Weil believes it affects liver function and says all types of sugar, (including table sugar, which is 1/2 fructose) should be limited. Last time I checked, the jury was still out on the fructose debate, but one thing is for sure, limiting sugar intake is always a good health move.

Finally, one of my favourite components of the talk was the "Q & A" portion. Members of the audience, which was made up of public and health care professionals, were able to ask Dr. Weil his take on a number of issues. Some highlights:

Vaccines - Weil believes the benefits far outweigh the risks, and says that in the absence of vaccines, we would really see the benefit.

Genetically Modified foods - Weil suggests there may be unforeseen consequences, and says there isn't enough research. Consumers should exercise caution, he says, and believes GMO's should be labelled to allow consumers to make educated choices.

Blood Type diet - no benefit.

pH or Acid/Alkaline diet - encourages mostly good dietary principles, but there is no evidence to support this diet as a means to improve health.

RAW diet - the premise that RAW diet is based on (that the enzymes in foods are destroyed in cooking, thereby making digestion more difficult) is faulty. The acid in the human stomach would sooner destroy those enzymes than would cooking. Also, some pigments in vegetables are actually increased with cooking (such as lycopene in cooked tomatoes). Some vegetables also have small amounts of toxins in them that are destroyed by the cooking process. Bottom line - eat a variety of cooked and raw veggies.


Organic food - Weil says that agrochemicals can't be good for us, so the only question is "how bad are they for us?". Weil recommends to the Environmental Working Groups' "Clean 15" and the "Dirty Dozen", which highlights the 15 crops that have been shown to have the least chemical and pesticide residue, and the 12 that have been shown to have the most. 

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Dr. Weil comes to Calgary! MRU Lecture Series on Nutrition, Part 1

For a nutrition nerd like me, the Mount Royal University's Integrative Health Institute's Body of Knowledge Lecture Series was a very exciting event! The "headliner", if you will, was none other than nutrition rockstar - Dr. Andrew Weil (pronounced "while", not "wheel" as I have said for years!). Dr. Weil is part nutrition guru, part celebrity.

(Excuse the blurry photo - stage lights + iPhone do not make for a clear shot)

Dr. Weil combines an education in Western medicine from Harvard, with years of research and experience in alternative and complementary medicine into a fresh, somewhat unconventional view of health care, nutrition and medicine.

Tuesday evening was the kick off of the lectures with Dr. Weil's presentation on "Why Our Health Matters". Well, that seems like a no-brainer. I think a better title for the talk may have been something like "How we screwed up the health care system and what to do about it".

Weil started by discussing the state of the health care system in both Canada and the U.S. He referred to our health care system as not really a "health care" system at all, but rather a "disease management system". The money, he argues, is in treatment, not prevention - and there lies a huge part of the problem. The cost of health care is climbing which threatens our economic health. The cost to our health care system, Weil says, is largely due to its' structure, particularly:

1) The focus of modern medicine lies with treating illness once it's present, suppressing symptoms, rather than restoring balance. Many of the diseases we're treating are lifestyle-related, and largely preventable.

2) Our methods of treatment are high-tech (including pharmaceuticals) and, although low-tech treatments exist, today's MD's aren't trained in these.

So what to do? Dr. Weil argues that good medicine should begin with promoting our bodies' own healing power and enhancing this. By switching the focus to prevention, we can save major $$ in treatment down the road. Unfortunately, prevention doesn't pay and it's not where we put our money. Lastly, although the government promotes health initiatives, it also hinders progress by subsidizing crops that make unhealthy, processed foods more cheap and available. Wouldn't it be interesting to see what happens if fruits and vegetables were subsidized? Would the population eat better, if healthy choices were cheaper and more readily available, and fast food and junk food was expensive and difficult to find?

Here in Alberta, I know there are some initiatives that are tackling prevention - primarily obesity prevention in schools and adults. Will it make a difference? How long will it take to see a positive effect? We don't know, but it's certainly shifting the focus to the root of the problem and being proactive is always better than reactive.



Stay tuned for part 2, where I'll cover Dr. Weil's take food and nutrition, Q & A's, and his personal regimen.

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