Blah

Gastro sucks.

2012-02-12 Pear Hazelnut Sour Cream Pie

Well, then.  I've heard it said that it's better to get back into the saddle after falling off, so here it goes once again.  After this embarassing tumble, I had a long and hard think about stuff - I was spinning too many plates.  So I'm starting up with the recipes again, but at a more relaxed pace (i.e. when I feel like it).  I'm still looking forward to getting through the recipe box, and I know that it will take a Very Long Time.  And I'm ok with that.

So today's recipe was from September 1997's Gusto!  Except that instead of Pears, I used the Apples that I had on hand.  And instead of Hazelnuts (which I still cannot find), I used crushed cashews for the topping.  And I haven't a clue what berry sugar is, so I substituted icing sugar.  The topping got a tad browned but it tastes just fine.

2012-02-09: ACK!!

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.
The recipe resolution went floppy today.
I got home too late to start the fancy-sounding pie recipe.
I needed to eat dinner.
My cats looked so lonely.  Or rather, I wanted to cuddle them.

So even though tonight's recipe didn't happen, at least I got to spend time with the kitty cats.
And that is what matters.

2012-02-08 Chestnut and Root Vegetable Puree

Another recipe from the Sep 1997 edition of Gusto!  I incorporated too much of the cooking liquid and the end result was a soup instead of a puree.  It still tasted ok with a slice of sourdough bread on the side.

Neck and shoulder workout to be done before bedtime.

2012-02-07: Roast Turkey Stuffed with Dried Autumn Fruits

Sep 1997 Gusto!

Roast Turkey Stuffed with Dried Autumn Fruits.
Single Turkey Breast instead of whole bird.
The picture looks a little scary.  I guess roasting skinless turkey doesn't look as good as traditional turkey.

And from last night's creamed oysters on toast, this came forth once the toast was consumed:

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." ~ Matthew 6:24

2012-02-06 Creamed Oysters on Toasted Corn Bread

This came from September 1997's Gusto! magazine.  I made sourdough pancakes in place of the cornbread.  I could have chopped the oysters, red pepper and onions a little bit finer.  I added crab chunks leftover from a previous recipe.

I must say that things have been hectic, and did not really expect to find myself having dinner at 10:00pm.  Ah well, such is life.

Neck stretches - done.  Shoulder exercises - to be done at bedtime.

2012-02-05: Two-In-One

Today's post is called Two-In-One, as I cooked two separate recipes to put onto one plate.  Or, one could say that it was two day's work in one.  My brother also partook of this meal, which was a great help.  Part one was the Cajun Pot Roast (I did not see any copyright info on this recipe card, and it was provided by The Little Potato Company).  The recipe is listed here, with a few modifications.  Part two was the Lemon Rosemary Green Beans (from Gusto, September 1997), which is copyright.  The funny thing about the green bean recipe was that ... I had plenty of asparagus and beet greens and no green beans.  So I used that instead, and it wasn't bad.  Interestingly, it had a ginger flavour.  For dessert, my brother and I had the Tri-Melon Salad and a cup of coffee (boiled on the stovetop, with about 1 ounce of Fragoli).

Cajun Pot Roast

3-4lbs Blade or Cross Rib Pot Roast
1 cup beef stock  (I used chicken stock, since that's what I had on hand)
1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
1/4 tsp cayenne (I used Thai Bird Chili, since that's what I had on hand)
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup each chopped onions and celery
1 each red and green pepper, chopped (I omitted the red pepper and used mushrooms instead)
6 carrots, cut into chunks
1 bag potatoes (the recipe called for Little Potato Company Bintje variety ... but I used what I could find at the local grocery store)
1 cup each frozen corn and okra (optional - I did not use either of these, as my pot was overflowing with vegetables by this point)

Brown the roast in a large pot, reduce heat and add the remaining ingredients except the corn and okra. Simmer covered on the stove or in 325 degree farenheit oven for 2 1/2 hours. Season with salt to taste (I omitted the salt as there's plenty in the canned tomatoes).  Add corn and okra and cook covered for another 15 minutes.  Remove roast and vegetables; discard bay leaf.  Thicken juice left in the pot with a paste made from 2 tbsp each of flour and water.  Slice roast and serve with vegetables and sauce.  Makes 12-15 servings.

So now, I'm left with a slight conundrum.  The cajun pot roast was today's recipe, and the Lemon Rosemary Green Beans were for Tues 07 Feb.  Does this mean I get a day off my Recipe Resolution on Tuesday?  Or should I replace it with another recipe?  Hmmm ... I shall have to see.

NS Resolution: Neck stretches - done.

2012-02-04: A Free-Form Day

It finally happened - I needed a day to depart from cooking from the recipes because: a) my fridge is already full of food and I need to finish it before it goes bad, b) I fell asleep from a nap and by the time I awoke, it was too late to start the pot roast, and c) I really felt the need to cook something from a creative stance, instead of from a recipe. 

So I finished drying the dill and bottled it.  I started it off by baking it on a cookie sheet at around 200 degrees farenheit for gosh-knows-how-long, then I shut off the oven and let it sit in the oven overnight. Then I left it on the kitchen table.  Then I had to bottle it to protect it from my cat, who may or may not have thought it was catnip. (Who knows what a cat is thinking?)  I'm not certain if this is how dill is supposed to be dried, but it seems to have worked.

Also, after finishing off the Tri-Melon Salad for dinner, I was hankering for something a little sweet.  So I put together a berry sauce from a few random things in my kitchen.

1 cup mixed frozen berries
1 Tbsp Fragoli
1 Tbsp Raspberry Vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 cup water

Everything got boiled in a pot and simmered for about half an hour before getting strained through a sieve and cooled.  Then into a bowl it went with the last of my vanilla ice cream.  Yum.  There was enough sauce in that bowl for maybe four or five bowls of ice cream, however I had no more vanilla ice cream.  And I shouldn't eat that much ice cream in one sitting ;)

Neck stretches - done.

2012-02-03: Tri-Melon Salad

Today's recipe had a very light, fresh taste. Again, there was no copyright info. There's a little logo in the bottom corner that says "SUSTA".

Tri-Melon Salad

6 small watermelon wedges, rind removed
2 cups cantaloupe balls
2 cups honeydew balls
chopped fresh mint sprigs

1/2 cup cubed seeded watermelon
1/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp raspberry vinegar

Watermelon wedges go on separate plates, with the cantaloupe and honeydew mounded next to the watermelon and sprinkled with mint.  In a blender, blend the cubed watermelon with the raspberries until smooth, add the honey and raspberry vinegar, stir well and drizzle over the melon salad.

~~~

Neck stretches - done.  Shoulder exercises - done.

Current Shoulder Exercise Routine (no weight, workout #2 of the week):
Lying Flyes: 1 set, 10 reps
Lying "L" Flyes: 1 set, 10 reps
Internal Rotator Curl: 1 set, 10 reps
Pec Stretch: 1 rep, 10 seconds

2012-02-02: Green Bean Divan Wraps

There was no copyright information anywhere to be found on the card from the Recipe Box, so here it is.  I didn't have any green beans but still had a lot of asparagus, so I used that instead.

Green Bean Divan Wraps

1lb whole green beans
4 tortillas
1/4 cup salsa
4 slices smoked turkey or chicken
1/4 cup shredded cheddar

Lightly steam beans until tender-crisp; set aside.  Spread 1 tbsp salsa on each tortilla. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp cheese.  Wrap one turkey slice around 14 beans, allowing beans to stick out at both sides; place at one end of tortilla.  Wrap tortilla around beans.  Repeat for remaining wraps.  Microwave each wrap on high for about 20-30 seconds, or until filling is hot and cheese melts.  Makes 4 wraps.

As for the Neck & Shoulder Routine, I learned from the rotator cuff book that the shoulder exercises should be done no more than 3 times a week.  Which is fine by me.  I started off yesterday with no weights for the exercises and did the neck stretches. Yay!

2012-02-01: Pan Roasted Ontario Chicken with Mango Salsa and Lobster

Yikes. This recipe had multiple parts.  I could not find canned lobster at any of the grocery stores I visited, so I substituted it with canned crabmeat.  The entire plate was a lot of food, and likely did not need the addition of the seafood.  And since I had parsley instead of coriander, I used that too.  I'm going to have to learn how to dry parsley, as I've got so much and don't want it to go to waste.  Also, I'll need to do the same for the dill, and where I can let it dry safely away from the fond predations of my cat.

The Mango Coulis was tasty, but the flavour of the white vinegar was verging on overwhelming.  And for the Mango Salsa, I omitted the green beans, used cashews instead of hazelnuts (which I could not find), used black currants instead of red (plenty of which I still have) and omitted the poppy seeds.

Additionally, I discovered while I was pan-searing the chicken that I forgot to purchase phyllo pastry.  So ... instead of making phyllo nests, I placed a Quaker Oats Shredded Wheat Muffet on the plate (ahem). Ha ha.

And it's the start of a new month!!  So I will add another Floppy Resolution to the Recipe Resolution.
This will be a once daily neck and shoulder workout/stretch routine (NS Resolution).  So for the neck - look both ways, up and down, the "chin-push", the side stretch and the 'diagonal stretch'.  These were taught to me by my physio, and I kept up with these until I felt I didn't need to do them anymore.  But it's probably a good idea to start up with these again.  And for the shoulders, I'll start out with 10 of each exercise ... which I need to pull from reference materials I've got somewhere around here.