It seems like wherever I turn these days I am getting the , same message about food. Go a little more natural, less preservatives, less sugar filler just the beauty of the food brought out. Use spices and herbs to enhance flavour. Snack on the basics to meet your cravings (I'm currently munching on nuts and raisins instead of my usual chips and dip and liking it). Stock up with more fruits and veggies. Drink more *gasp* water (I'm really bad at this). So I'm trying a little at a time to untroduce some changes. I figured this blog would be a good outlet for my venture (and hopefully being public about it will help me along). I also bought 3 (count 'em 3) new cookbooks this week.
The first is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. You knew that was coming didn't you? I'm usually not one to get on a cooking bandwagon. I don't watch cooking shows very often (weird for a foodie I know). This is, in fact, the first Jamie Oliver cookbook I've ever bought. I'd been hearing a lot about this book and caught one episode of his show of the same name. I liked what I saw. I checked out his website and the recipes he left on Oprah's site and really liked what I saw, so I bought the book. Yum! I love what's inside. (I love reading good cookbooks - not so strange for a foodie)
The other two books I credit a new friend with. We recently moved and have been meeting new people. We've dined twice at the home of this lovely cook. Her secret to amazing food comes from these books. So, we splurged and bought 2 of them. They are Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's beautiful recipe books. I bought 'Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia', and 'Mangoes and Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent'. I would love to get more of their books (hint, hint). I really look forward to creating with these books. We love authentic ethnic food and I have craved being able to recreate that in my kitchen.
Onto more of my goals in eating these days. 1-better breakfast, I'll blog on that another day. 2-more salads. This is one of my favorites which I never made because my husband doesn't like raw spinach. It just occurred to me that I could just make a smaller salad for myself (well duh!). Very simple, a handful of baby spinach leaves, some sliced strawberries, a shake of slivered almonds and a spoonful of Renee's poppyseed dressing. Renee's is the best I've found when it comes to salad dressings. Sorry my American friends, this is a Canadian brand, I hope you have an equivalent.
Tonight's dinner had this salad on the side of Salmon baked in a honey hoisin sauce (PC brand out of the jar) and some of Jamie Oliver's nutmeg and garlic rice. The family verdict? Salmon - very yummy, salad - only I ate it and loved it, rice - mixed opinion. My oldest son (who is 5) tried it and wasn't a fan. My husband thought it was a nice change for once in a while. I did too.
I used a basimati. Cook the rice first. Separately, in a large frying pan, over low heat, heat a bit of olive oil and a pat of butter. Add 8 cloves of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced), add a little salt & pepper to season. When garlic is just starting to turn colour add a tsp of ground cinnamon and 1/4 ground nutmeg. Add cooked rice and blend altogether. Remove from heat, squeeze juice of 1 lemon over all and serve hot.
1 comment:
I agree we all need to eat and cook more naturally! I have been trying to keep up with Jamie Oliver's quest with bringing a healthier meal to the school children, and hope he succeeds!
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