MUD AND SHOES

I am amazed at times what my seven year old yellow lab will get into or do.  He is a happy go lucky guy, always smiling and up for adventures.  Late summer we took him for a walk along a creek system close to our house.  You can always count on Shane to find goose poop, mud or dead critters.  On this excursion he found mud.  He trotted into a dry mud bed that had bull rushes and I am sure had a lot of good smells.  When he bounded out of that dry mud med and we saw his legs and feet, we knew that some bathing was going to happen.  The following pictures show the before and after results.

Prior to washing his feet and legs. 

Soap and water.

The end result = clean legs and feet.

I never leave shoes lying around the house as Shane can't be trusted to leave then alone.  The most recent shoe sampling occurred by accident.  One of the cats got into the coat closet that also has shoes. The door was left slightly ajar and the DH forgot about closing the door after the cat wandered out of the closet.  Voila, the dog decided to sample one of my shoes.  These were not new shoes nor inexpensive and I was still wearing them on a frequent basis.  I know that Shane will continue to have a shoe fetish for as long as he lives.  We do have several things in common - we both LOVE shoes.

For all of the things he can get into, he is a beloved dog, always happy to see us, loyal and always ready for doing things and being involved.  This past fall Shane had a health issue.  He has glaucoma which we didn't know beforehand and within two months of being diagnosed, he had to have his eye removed.  We got it diagnosed early but the medication did not slow down the damages that glaucoma creates.  He is doing really well and the removal of his eye was harder on us than him. 

POTATO PANCAKES (LATKES)

There are a number of ways you can make potato pancakes.  Some people like the potatoes to be grated while others prefer them to be pureed.  I like them to be finely grated or minced, they still have texture but they are not chunky or appear to be long and stringy.   I used a small food processor which allowed me to get the texture I wanted by not having to deal with large batches.  I doubled this recipe, used about 10 potatoes and had three frying pans going at once.  I found that if I skimped on the canola oil for frying, they took longer to cook and didn't brown as nicely as those cooked in oil.  I like to eat the pancakes with both applesauce and sour cream.  I served these pancakes to a group of 10 people as part of a meal and everyone enjoyed them.

Pancakes cooking in the pan.

Ready for the table.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, cut into chunks
3 eggs
4 large baking potatoes, peeled or scrubbed, cut thin small chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
canola oil
applesauce and sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Place onions in a food processor and chop until it is minced.  Empty into a large mixing bowl.  Add the eggs to the processor and blend.  Add eggs to the mixing bowl.  Depending on the size of your food processor chop the potatoes in batches.  Don't overchop them as you don't want them to be pureed.  Add the potato batches to the mixing bowl.  Add salt and pepper and the flour to the mixing bowl and combine well.  

Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a nonstick pan.  On medium high heat, add the batter by the tablespoonful. Flatten them with the back of the spoon. Cook until brown and crisp, turn over and cook the other side. Place the cooked pancakes on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.  Cook the batter in batches.  You may need to add additional oil in between the batches.  Makes 16 to 20 pancakes.

BAKED COD WITH VEGETABLES

This recipe is simple as it requires not many ingredients, you can add different vegetables and just requires a baking dish to cook the food.  I used cod but other fish could be used including salmon, red snapper or halibut.   I also used minimal herbs and spices and you could add other herbs based on your preferences.  Both the DH and I enjoyed this meal.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound red potatoes, unpeeled, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 glove garlic, minced
handful of fresh dill, chopped or 1 tsp dried dill
1 pound, cod, snapper or other firm fish cut into 2 inch chunks

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine the potatoes, onions, oil and salt and pepper in a medium size baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Stir mixture once while baking.

Stir the tomato, garlic and dill into the potato mixture.  Top with the fish.  Increase the heat to 400 degrees F and bake, covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes.   If the fish is not cooked, cook for additional time.  Serve the fish and vegetables with the juice from the baking dish.  Serves 4.

Adapted from allrecipes.com

BEEF STEW

After listening to a friend talk about a stew she made one night, I decided I needed to cook a stew on a recent weekend.  The end result was a tender and delicious stew.  The stew didn't contain any potatoes.  I made some mashed potatoes as a side dish and the mashed potatoes were a good accompaniment to the stew.   The DH enjoyed this meal.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 lbs beef stewing meat, cubed
3 carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped into small pieces
1 medium size rutabaga, peeled, chopped into small pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 glass red wine or cooking wine
1 cup beef bouillon
 salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size frying pan, heat the oil and add the meat, onions and garlic. Brown on medium heat.  To a large soup pot add the browned meat and onions, the vegetables, wine and bouillon.  Heat to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for two hours.  Serves 6.

CAULIFLOWER AND CARROT PUREE

Instead of making soup one sunday afternoon for weekday lunches,  I decided to make a cauliflower and carrot puree.   To the puree I added sauteed onions and mushrooms.  I enjoyed having it as part of my lunch during the week.   When reheating your serving it in the microwave, you could add grated cheese to it.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cauliflower cut into small chunks
2 carrots, sliced into pieces
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size pot, add the cauliflower and carrots to water, bring to a boil and cook on medium high  until tender.  In a separate frying pan, heat the oil and add the garlic, onions and mushrooms.  Cook on medium low until the onions and mushrooms are soft.  Set aside.

Drain the cauliflower and carrots and mash using a potato masher, food processor or hand held blender.  Puree until smooth.  Add the onions and mushrooms to the puree.  Season with salt and pepper. Combine.  Serves 4.

LEEKS WITH GARLIC AND LEMON

There are many recipes for leeks including braising them or and using in a number of soups.  When I bought a trio of leeks I wasn't sure what I was going to make with them.  I looked at multiple numbers of recipes for braised leeks with leeks as the main ingredient or as part of the ingredient list.   I adapted this recipe from ones found on Nigella's and Simply recipes internet sites.

Leeks starting to saute.

Ready to serve.

Leeks with Garlic and Lemon

INGREDIENTS

4 big leeks

2 big cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced or minced

4 tbsp butter

1 cup of white wine or chicken stock

juice of half a lemon

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Trim the ends of the green leeks and discard.  Wash the leeks really well to make sure that there is no dirt.  Cut the rest of the fresh, green part of the leeks away from the round white bulbs, finely slice and reserve.

Tear back and discard the first two layers of the leeks, leaving the tender whiter flesh. Rinse well and slice into one inch rounds.

In a large frying pan melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly fry the garlic in the butter with the dark green leek tops until the garlic is softened but not colored. Cook slowly and let the garlic infuse the butter.

Add the pieces of white leek and toss them in the garlic and butter.  Add salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice and combine.  Add the wine or chicken stock, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.  Take the cover off. bring the braising liquid to a boil and cook until the liquid is mostly gone.  Add the parmesan cheese and parsley and remove the pan from the burner.  Serves 4 as a side dish. 

BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH ALMONDS

I like brussel sprouts but I think I am in the minority versus majority.  I made this dish to jazz up the brussel sprouts for the DH.  I didn't add much oil to the dish and you might want to use butter instead of oil.  I also used a sour dough bread with fennel and raisins so I didn't add other spices to the mixture.   The fennel and the raisins in the sour dough added to the flavour.

INGREDIENTS:

about a dozen brussel sprouts, ends trimmed, washed and halved
1 tbsp olive oil
16 almonds, chopped
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 slices of bread, cut into small pieces, toasted
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size pot, cook brussel sprouts until tender.   Let cool.  In a pyrex dish mix all of the remaining ingredients with the brussel sprouts.  Cover with a lid and bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes until all ingredients are hot and the cheese has melted.  You can also microwave the dish, instead of baking, for about 5 minutes.  Serves 3.

SPLIT PEA AND BARLEY SOUP

I have many favourite soups and this is one of them.  The recipe makes a big batch of soup.  With this volume of soup, I tend to freeze several single serving containers to have for future lunches.  This soup does need the almost two hours to cook as otherwise the split peas are not soft enough.

Split Pea and Barley Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups green split peas (can be a mixture of yellow and green)

½ cup pearl barley

3 carrots, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

12 cups water, chicken or vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup fresh dill, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a large soup pot, combine all of the ingredients except for the salt and pepper and dill.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes to two hours.  If the soup is too thick add a bit of water.  Season with salt and pepper and add the dill.  Simmer for 10 minutes more.  Serves 12.

Options: When making soup you can add cut up cooked turkey, chicken or ham.

Adapted from Meal Lean Yumm by Noreen Gilletz

OVERNIGHT OATMEAL

There are days when you are pressed for time in the morning getting ready for work and doing a multitude of other tasks and also having the time to make and eat breakfast.  I found a great way to make oatmeal for breakfast the night before and either take the oatmeal to work or eat it at home before leaving for work.  A friend of mine provided me with a link to an internet site that provides recipes for both overnight oatmeal and overnight smoothies.  I haven't made the smoothies but I have been making the overnight oatmeal.

The overnight oatmeal doesn't require cooking.  It is similar to making a swiss muesli where the oatmeal is soaked in milk, yogurt and fruit overnight.  You need to use rolled oats and not steel cut oats.  Overnight the oatmeal softens and the flavours get blended.  There are many variations you can make depending on the fruit and flavourings you add.  The basic recipe requires a 2 cup container or glass jar that has a lid.  This is a recipe for one serving.  I use 1/3 cup of oatmeal but the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup oatmeal.

BASIC INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup milk, soy or almond milk
1/4 cup yogurt, plain or flavoured
1 1/2 tsp chia seeds


FLAVOURINGS:

1/2 cup fruit - berries, chopped apple, banana
1 tsp coconut flakes
1 tsp jam
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla flavouring
1 tsp maple syrup

Add the basic ingredients to the container or glass jar.  You then need to decide what kind of flavour do you want.  For breakfast this morning I had raspberry flavoured oatmeal.  When I made the oatmeal the night before I added 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp raspberry jam.  You can use either fresh or frozen berries.  I have also made apple flavoured oatmeal.  I added 1/2 chopped apple and cinnamon. I have also added peanut butter to the apple mixture.  Another time I made blueberry flavoured oatmeal.  

After you add the desired flavourings, mix all of the ingredients together, cover the contained and place in the fridge overnight.  It is ready to eat the next morning.

Here is the internet link for overnight oatmeal that I got from my friend.

QUINOA BROCCOLI MUSHROOM SALAD

I made another salad recently using broccoli, mushrooms and quinoa. When I buy a big bag of broccoli florets and a tub of sliced mushrooms from Costco, I try to find different ways to use them.  This salad keeps for several days and makes great lunches.

QUINOA BROCCOLI MUSHROOM SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup uncooked quinoa

3 cups of raw broccoli florets, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

¼ cup almonds, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

Dressing

½ cup low fat plain yogurt

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp sugar or splenda

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook quinoa according to cooking directions.  Let cool.  In a large bowl mixed the quinoa, broccoli, onion, almonds and mushrooms. 

In a separate small container or bowl mix the ingredients for the dressing.  Add the dressing to the salad and combine well.  Keep refrigerated until serving.  Serves 4 to 6.