5 Days of Work Food - Challenge COMPLETE!

5 days have come and gone...that went fast!

So here is a quick recap on the meals I brought with me to work:

DAY 1:

Creamy Pasta with spinach and zucchini from the garden
Plain greek yoghurt with frozen raspberries (from picking) & blueberries (from road stand)
and local honey
chopped veggies sticks - celery, carrots, sweet yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes and cukes from the garden
a grocery store apple and ivanhoe cheese curd - white!

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DAY 2:

Spinach salad with sliced turkey slices, cherry tomatoes, cukes, sweet yellow peppers and diced Wilton cheddar cheese

Home made balsamic salad dressing

a grocery store apple

Veggie sticks - celery and carrots

Mexican oatmeal - quick oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili powder, brown sugar

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DAY 3:

Turkey-Pumpkin Chili with 2 johnny cake muffins (cornbread) in reused ziplock bag

Spinach salad with cukes, cherry tomatoes, sweet orange peppers, onions and walnuts served with homemade balsamic dressing.

Maple cinnamon oatmeal with chopped almonds and apples.

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Day 4:

Leftover Sheppard's Pie

Veggie sticks (carrots, cukes, peppers, celery)

1 whole orange, sectioned

small (reused) ziplock bag of Tostitos chips with 1/4 cup homemade salsa

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DAY 5:

TAKE OUT DAY!!!
(I thought I would treat myself and,
in the process, show you what I eat for fast food)

Sushi lunch combo B

Added BONUS:  It's across the street from my work - so I can walk there!

How's that for balancing the high carbon foot print sushi?!

I could have remixed any of the elements from the week's lunches to make a fifth lunch.

It wouldn't have been that hard, once I had all of the stuff on hand.

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I tried to make a bunch of healthy snacks using stuff from the garden and pantry
for 5 whole days.
I tried to make sure I had plenty of protein (but not enough for a construction worker),
decreased my salt intake (by making home made stuff, stead of packaged),
bring stuff I could snack on throughout the day that was both sweet and savoury (to satisfy both cravings),
to eat the rainbow each day,
to reduce my waste by using and washing the same packaging...
and I think I succeeded!



So how did you do with the challenge?

Savour the Flavour

When it comes to cooking...I like it simple.

I've said it before....I don't consider myself a cook.

When I cook meals, I have a tendancy to err on the simpler side.

One of the biggest issues I have is spices and sauces.

I try not to indulge in sauces too much...preferring the original flavour to be maintained.

Plus all that added salt and sugar sauces usually contain.

If a sauce if required in a recipe, I endeavour to make it myself from real ingredients.

Again...I get to control the salt and sugar content of my dishes.

Spices are a whole other story though.

Personally, I have a very basic spice repetoire:

-basil

-thyme

-oregano

-coriander

-chili flakes

That's pretty much it...

If it's not on that list, I have to ask my husband what it tastes like and/or what is its main use.

So on a whim...I decided to check our spice cupboard....

because our family has so many spices...it takes up a whole cupboard.

Lo and behold!  I found several baggies full of different rubs or marinades gifted to my husband over the last few years.  I try not to hold onto spices for too long as they lose their potency over time (especially if not stored properly)

I grabbed 3 promising baggies...and dressed 3 thawed steaks with the following rubs:

-Cajun blackened spice rub (side left)

-Grilled vegetable marinade (bottom right)

-Perfect Spice steak spice (top right)

Cooked each steak until medium rare, removed from pan and sliced.

I served a couple of slices of each steak along with a piece of johnny cake (sweet cornbread), fried onions and a spinach salad with home made balsamic dressing.  (More iron than you could ask for!)

This exercise was a great way to try out some rubs and marinades.
It also pushed me out of my comfort zone...which is always nice for a change.

In case you were wondering, my personal favorite was the grilled vegetable marinade....

Broccoli, Baby

Our garden is all but done for the year. 

Most of the plants are long dead and have been yanked out of the ground.

The only thing still growing and producing (for some reason) is our broccoli!

Broccoli is one of those plants that likes cool weather.  You can plant it early in the season, as the cold evenings will not affect it adversely.

Its almost as though broccoli was made for Canadian weather!

We are having a tough time finding new ways to eat it though.  A side of fresh broccoli is nice...but it gets tired very quick.  How many things can you serve with a side of broccoli?  

Turns out, quite a lot. 

Any followers on my Facebook page will have noticed broccoli show up on some of my frequent meal pics.  But that doesn't mean your broccoli has to be boring!  My Mom makes a GREAT cold salad with broccoli, sunflower seeds, bacon bits and a bunch of other great stuff.  If anyone is interested in the recipe, I can get it for you...just let me know in the comments section of this post.  Sadly, it isn't a dish my kids like.  Live and learn.

I've decided to make a quiche for the first time tonite.  I've never made quiche.  I've also never made a crust from scratch either...well see how this goes...

I made the dough according to the recipe found in "The Joy of Cooking" for deluxe butter flaky pastry dough (pg 862).  I think I added too much butter though.  It just seemed like a ton!  Once the dough is complete...you must divide it and refrigerate it for at least 30 min.  The longer the better really.  The directions say 1-2 hours.  When I was working with the dough, I kept having to put it back in the fridge to firm it up.  

I pressed it into the pan, as this was my first time, so I didn't feel confident enough to roll it out and place it in the pan.  Once the dough is pressed thin in the pan, place dry beans in the center, enough to cover the bottom of the pie pan.  This method is called blind baking.  It helps keep the dough from bubbling up in the center or sliding down the side of the pan.  (ps.  you can keep the beans for reuse the next time you make crust from scratch)

FAIL!!!

I REALLY added too much butter...I suppose it helps to read the directions VERY thoroughly.  Hubbie had a good laugh at my expense...but, in the end, it all worked out.  I grabbed what was left over from the dough and kneeded it with several more tablespoons of flour.  I kneeded it until the dough wouldn't absorb any more flour and the dough was no longer sticky.  (Please do not follow this example...read the actual directions!)

This time I tried the rolling pin and it worked much better for me...

TA DA!

The new crust was blind baked at 400 degrees C for 35 min (you tent some tin foil over it for the first 20 min, then remove for the rest of the time).

Then you add the other ingredients...such as shredded cheddar cheese, fried onions and garlic as well as the steamed broccoli chopped up into chunks.  After you've laid all these ingredients in the bottom of the crust, then you add the egg mixture.  Egg mixture:  3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups dairy (we used 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk), dash of nutmeg and S & P to taste.  Pour egg mixture into crust and bake for 25 min on 375 degrees C.

QUICHE!!! 

So I lived AND learned on this recipe.

The quiche turned out great...but what to have as a side???  Hubbie had been out in the garden the whole time I was struggling with crusts.  He grabbed what was left of our beets and was removing the greens when I asked him what should we have as a side?  His reply...beet greens with honey mustard dressing!

 

As a bonus to this post, here is the recipe for honey mustard dressing a la Chester.

4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grainy dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey (organic or local)
1 tsp of white vinegar
S & P to taste

Makes enough for two...quick and easy!!!

Hope you guys enjoyed following along as I tried to make crust, hopefully the next time will be LESS EXCITING...haha.

The really nice thing about quiche is you can make it, cook it and freeze it for another day.

ps.  Hubbie was quite impressed I was able to save the dough...not bad for a beginner eh?

 

A Hearty Home Cooked Meal....

I have been away for a week and all I could think about was my garden.  Ok, I did miss the family and the hubbie too.  I was surprised to see the garden as well as Owen had grown visably!  I walked around the garden in the evenings this weekend and gandered at the of the things that had started to peter out...and some other things that are just coming into their perfectly ripened selfs.  

We celebrated being together and the wonderful summer weather with a feast!

Everything we ate came from our garden....except for the chicken.  My husband took the opportunity to remind me, we could have those too in our backyard.  

    



BBQ Roasted Chicken

I grabbed a local chicken and my hubbie spiced it himself.  Paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, S & P, and a dash of coriander before cooking on the BBQ. 



BBQ'd Red Potatoes and a Blooming Onion


Ches chopped some freshly dug potatoes and laced them in olive oil and salt.  Then we grabbed a big white onion and chopped it "most" of the way through.  He added that to the plate which sat on the upper rack of the BBQ.



The complete package



The salad consists of beet greens, washed and rinsed dry, cukes, chopped, red and yellow tomatoes, chopped, and purple peppers, chopped.  A drizzle of home-made balsamic vinegrette on the salad AND the chicken were perfect toppings.  A dollop of butter on the taters and a grind of salt over it all.

YUM!

A low carbon foot print meal that satisfied the whole family.  And boy it's great to be home.  

Milkweed capers on fresh caught bass...

So I've been pretty busy, in my non-gardening life.  I recently got a new job, and the hoops I've been jumping through has left me precious little time in our garden.  Luckily, my darling hubbie has had more time in the garden...so it isn't being neglected...but I do miss those sweet hours passing by as I weed and inspect all the plants growing.

Weeding gives you a chance to kill  many hours of your day, but it also gives you an up close and personal view of how your plants are doing, how they are growing and if anything edible has sprouted!  It like giving yourself an excuse to just stare at the wonder of gardening.  Boy do I miss that.

On the other hand, my hubbie was wonderful enough to follow my lead when I picked milkweed blossums one day and he pickled them.  (I left open the browser window that showed the link to The 3 Foragers website where we first got the idea)

  http://the3foragers.blogspot.com/2011/06/milkweed-recipe-milkweed-flowerbud.html

Its a pretty simple recipe...in case anyone was wondering.  The 3 Foragers offer up two different pickling recipes.  Ches did the one where you soak the capers in salt brine for 3 days, strain it, then proceed with the recipe.  Check out the above link for the actual recipe. 

I picked these mlkweeds on the side road that takes us to the mini-park in Verona.  I'm pretty sure anyone walking their dog that day thought I was truly nuts.  Its not a very busy road, so I thought it might be a safe location to forage the milkweed blossums.  Its recommend that you don't forage beside roads...due to the emissions from passing cars getting absorbed by the local plant life.  While I agree...I was willing to risk it on this quiet little road.  When I say blossums, I mean when the buds are still little green balls, not the highly identifiable clusters of pink blossums (as shown below).  

The other night, I came home from a first aid course (something I had to do over my weekend) and found my family getting ready for a fishing trip!  They had packed up a car with lifejackets, fishing tackle and snacks.  Both boys were ready to go and my husband was just getting the last few things together.  I changed and we were out the door.  I wished I had of brought my camera, to document the adventure we had that afternoon.  I feel that the story behind the meal is just as important as the meal itself.

However that was not the case.  I didn't bring a camera and of course we had a blast anyway...it just makes for a less interesting blog entry.  

  

Our meal this evening...fresh caught bass, breaded with homemade whole wheat bread brumbs, fresh picked lettuce and spinach greens from the garden, topped with purslane and homemade balsamic vinegrette, and hand cut, baked french fries.  

There isn't anything very complex about this meal...it was simplicity itself.  The bright shining star (for me and hubbie anyway) was the capers we had recently pickled out of milkweed blossums.  It was their first taste drive!  They were lovely!!!  I really have no idea what REAL capers are...in fact I don't care...because all I know is that we can now make all of the capers I would ever want to eat...right in our own neighbourhood.  That's pretty exciting, especially if you like capers and you don't like paying capers prices.    

Some of us preferred to skip the milkweed capers...and just enjoy the love of fresh caught bass...especially when you were the one who caught the bass....see fisherman below...

Anyone else have any good fishing tales (now that bass has opened) or foraging yarns to tell?  

When the times are tough....

I hope everyone survived the holiday season!  It was a crazy mess of food and celebration for our family.  Definitely worth every minute!

But now that the celebrations are through...you may be under a whole lotta unexpected debt.  One of the fortunate things about being unemployed is that we didn't go crazy this year.  We aren't in too deep, because we've been living on a shoestring since last March.  Its almost become a badge of honour for me, at least.  Look how little I used to make (fill in the blank)!  I've become proud of the meals and snacks I've made using the leftovers or frozen goods we stored from our garden.  I know, pride goeth before the fall...but there are times when I feel like pride is appropriate.

Each New Year I make a new resolution.  I try to build on each previous year's resolution.  I am trying to make baby steps to gently change my lifestyle.  If you try too much, all at once, you are destined to fail.

Last year I promised myself I wouldn't eat any more store bought salad dressings...of course I made this resolution after I realized how stinking easy they are to make!!!  I have been making balsamic vinigrette for over a year now.  Its an endless source of happiness for me, as I adore salads. 

Today I went to make my typical lunch time salad...only to find that I had used up my Balsamic vinegar!!!!  WHAT DO I DO NOW!?!?  Well...i turned to the white vinegar as an alternative.  White vinegar is something we have in bulk.  I only clean with vinegar, so we go through it like it was water.  (Thank goodness its cheap!)

So I freehanded this recipe and it was so lovely I thought I would share it!

This recipe is chock full of healthy things that your body need....plus it tastes fresh and yummy!

3/4 cup of Sunflower Oil
4 tbsp of white vinegar
4 tbsp lemon juice (i use concentrate...but fresh is obviously better)
1 tsp of dijon mustard
2 cloves garlice (pressed in garlice press)
1/2 tsp of ground coriander (we grew it last year in our garden, dried the seeds and keep them in a grinder)
dash of kosher or sea salt (for highest mineral content)

wisk and pour over salad greens

Now will I get more balsamic when the funds permit?  YES!  But this was a great substitute when you are living on a budget.  Dijon mustard tastes healthier than the yellow version and it lasts a long time.  Definitely a good value.  I buy the garlic locally from a guy we see every weekend at the Famrer's Market here in Verona.  Sunflower Oil is a nice light oil and very healthy for you.  You could substitute canola oil but I find that olive oil is a bit too intense for this recipe.  You could also change up the spice to your liking.  I just adore the lemony flavour of coriander...but I did consider using basil or parsley.  Whatever you like!  You can tailor this recipe based on what you grow in your garden!  Or what your taste buds like....

Experiment today!

Check back for the upcoming contest where you could win a copy of "The All-You-Can-Eat Gardening Handbook" of your very own!!!