Ancient Quote & A Perennial Issue

"Let food by thy medicine"
                                                                           ~ Hippocrates

"In March 2012, a family of four in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, would have paid nearly $475 a week, or almost $25,000 a year, to eat healthy meals, according to the Revised Northern Food Basket survey tool." [1]

This same article indicated that the cost in Toronto would be around $175/wk. [1]  I'm intrigued by the concept of good quality and healthy food to prevent illnesses. So if food is meant to be preventative medicine, there are portions of Canada that charge very differently.  It's amazing (and disheartening) to realize how geography plays such a role in a person's health.

[1]  Cavanaugh, S.  (2013).  What's for Dinner?  Canadian Nurse, 109, 22-25.

Whoa, talk about falling off the bandwagon! And Quiche...

Well, the cooking resolution obviously flopped. I bit off more than I could chew, pun intended.  The amount of cooking exceeded the rate at which the cooking was consumed, and well ... my freezer could only hold so much food.  So I'm cautiously taking a slower approach.

I was at Michel's Baguette having ham quiche, a butter croissant and a hazulnut coffee when inspiration struck. The following is a quiche that I put together, off the top of my head. Sadly, my broccoli was in very poor shape from sitting in the fridge for too long :(  Also, the quiche could have used a little bit more milk or eggs; I'll have to fiddle with the recipe a little bit.

Broccoli-Kolbassa Quiche

3 Broccoli Florets + Stem, washed and diced small
375g Kolbassa Sausage, diced small
Old Cheddar, a chunk shredded (I estimate it was about 1/4 of a long slab)
2% Milk, 500 mL
8 eggs
4 pie crusts
salt, a pinch
pepper, a dash

1) Mix broccoli, sausage and cheddar in a large bowl. Divide equally amongst the 4 pie crusts.
2) Whisk together the milk, eggs, salt and pepper. Divide equally amongst the 4 pie crusts.
3) Bake for 1 hour in a preheated 325 degree oven.

Edit 2013-06-13:
Adjustments for the next time:
- measure amount of shredded cheese. Use approximately 2 cups.
- Use 2 1/2 cups of milk
- Use 9 eggs
- Bake the crust about 10-15 minutes before filling

2012-05-05: Hawaidj Soup

From Gusto! (Sep 1997).  It's inspired by North African stews and is pleasantly spicy and filling. It's full of beans and vegetables and is probably quite healthy.

2012-03-17 Whoops-I-Should-Have-Written-the-Recipe-Somewhere

So one day, I woke up a little hungry and decided to throw a few things together from the fridge.  It actually tasted ok for something with randomized ingredients.  Unfortunately, I didn't write the recipe down.  There were eggs, cream, flour and chunks of cheddar cheese. Mmm.  I call it Cheese Puff Thing, because it is descriptive and for lack of a better name.

On another note, both bowls of Sourdough Starter did not survive. :(
It was an interesting experiment in bread-making, and I think I'll stick to less finicky kinds of  bread from now on.

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.