Author: Robinne Weiss

Sunflowers

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DSC_0009 smMany vegetable plants are attractive. Many have pretty flowers—okra (a hibiscus), scarlet runners, peas. None is more showy than the sunflower. Indeed, sunflowers are in the ornamentals section of the seed catalogue, not the vegetable section. There are plenty of sunflowers that don’t produce big meaty seeds for eating, but those that do are no less ornamental.

We eat sunflower seeds in a variety of ways. They are delicious sprinkled on top of a casserole or galette. They add nutty flavours to granola and veggie burgers. And they make a great snack!

We don’t grow nearly enough sunflowers to satisfy our appetite for sunflower seeds, but it’s always worth growing them, even if it’s only to enjoy the flowers!

Stomach bugs!

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100_3544 smIt has been many years since a stomach bug has hit our family, but I’ll admit I expected this one, after we brought a very green friend home from school earlier in the week. He didn’t quite vomit in the car, but it was a close thing.

So when I got the text at 10 am that my son was vomiting in the sick bay at school, and could I come get him please, I was disappointed, but not surprised.

But of course, that begs the question, What do I serve for dinner? It’s no problem for the sick boy—he’ll get miso broth with plain crackers, if he eats at all. But I was planning on burgers slathered in ketchup and jalapeño peppers. The rest of us feel fine now, but we were just as exposed to this bug as my son, and at the same time. There’s a good chance we’re going to start vomiting in the next 12 hours, too. Do we really want burgers and hot peppers in our stomachs when we do?

I think not.

I’m thinking that something bland and easy to digest is probably the wiser choice for dinner. We’ll save those jalapeños for some other day.

5-minute Beets

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DSC_0036smIt took years to get our son to eat beets.

No. That’s not true.

He ate beets for years before he liked them.

Red beet eggs, nope.

Roasted beets, uh uh.

Grilled beets, no.

5-minute beets, OH YES!

This recipe comes straight from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison (one of my favourite cookbooks), and I’ve never been tempted to alter it in any way. It is absolutely perfect!

4 beets (about 500g/1lb)

1 Tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

Lemon juice or vinegar to taste

2 Tbsp chopped parsley, tarragon, dill or other herb

Grate the beets coarsely. Melt the butter in a skillet, add the beets, and toss them with ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste. Add ¼ cup water, then cover and cook over medium heat until the beets are tender. Remove the lid and raise the heat to boil off any excess water. Adjust salt, season with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar (I use balsamic), and toss with the herb.

Extra meals, extra time

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Stop and smell the roses...or at least weed them.

Stop and smell the roses…or at least weed them.

My husband is away for two weeks. Before he left, we made sure there were meals ready-made in the freezer, so that my job as sole parent would be easier, particularly on those nights when extracurricular activities meant we didn’t get home until late. I also made sure that, over the weekend, I made extra burgers, so we had another quick meal in the fridge.

As I considered the meals available and our schedule for this week, I realised that I don’t need to cook at all this week.

Which, of course, begs the question, what do I do with that extra hour of my day?

The weather has been lovely, so I’ve been spending those pre-dinner hours outside—washing the car, weeding the flower beds, tidying downed branches in the yard…

It almost feels like cheating, and I have to remind myself that I did put in the hours to make the meals we’re eating this week—I just did it ahead of time.

Though I enjoy cooking, and have no problem spending an hour or more preparing our evening meal each day, the break is nice. The car and the yard are looking much nicer for it!

Sweet potato oven fries

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100_3540 smI made lentil burgers for dinner last night and served them on Mum’s Fluffy Buns. I wanted a side dish, but I wasn’t in the mood for ordinary fries, so I made sweet potato (called kumara here) fries instead. I cut the sweet potatoes into wedges about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick, tossed them in a shallow baking dish with olive oil, salt and black pepper, and baked them at 190°C (375°F) for about 30 minutes, until they were browning and the thin edges were crispy.

Easy as! And delicious, too!

The Gardeners’ Level of Hell

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gooseberryplantsmI used to imagine that there was a special level of Hell for bad gardeners in which one was forced to weed thistles out of raspberry bushes for all eternity. I’ve since revised my idea of that level of Hell; I’m now convinced it involves weeding those thistles out from under gooseberry bushes. The combination of prickly plants with tap roots (that will grow back in less than a week) and vicious spines gouging eyes, face, and arms is as good as anything Dante conjured.

I spent an hour of my afternoon in this hell, and have the scars to prove it. But the gooseberry bed looks very nice now—neatly weeded and mulched!

Moose on the Loose!

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100_3526 smWell, not moose, but mousse. Chocolate mousse!

A friend mentioned mousse the other day, and I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I picked up some lovely dark chocolate and some cream and made mousse this morning.

While I was making it, I remembered why I don’t make mousse very often. Though it’s not necessarily difficult, it dirties an inordinate number of mixing bowls, and involves a lot of whisking!

Still, I enjoy making mousse, just for the chance to play with foams. There are three separate foams in the mousse recipe I use.

First is a cooked egg yolk foam. This robust foam is the first to be mixed into the melted chocolate. Next is a stabilised egg white foam, gently folded in. Then finally comes the delicate cream foam (mixed in, and dolloped on top for serving!).

The result is a divinely fluffy and rich mousse.

A foam is simply a film of proteins surrounding pockets of air. Foams are important in food—the structure of a foam changes the flavour and feel of food, and has a profound impact on how we experience it. Ice cream, fruit smoothies, cakes, soufflés, whipped cream, beer, and fancy coffees rely on foam to make them what they are.

So go ahead and enjoy some foam today, in whatever form you like it!

Travel survival

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airportfoodMy husband recently travelled to the United States, a trip that usually takes about 30 hours. Unfortunately, flight delays meant that his journey took about 44 hours instead. That’s nearly two days of airport and airplane food. Ugh!

It got me thinking about the ways we manage to eat well on those long-haul trips. Here are a few tips from our own experience and others:

  1. Whether you are vegetarian or not, consider choosing the vegetarian option when booking your flight—it’s often a more flavourful meal, and because it is brought to you individually, it’s always hot. (or you can choose another of the special options if you prefer)
  2. Resist the ease of junk food snacks. A package of cookies or a candy bar might be easy and quick, but in the end it will just make you feel bad. If you have the time, find the shop selling fresh fruit and salads, or bring healthy snacks with you (but make sure you declare any leftover food or dispose of it as required when you arrive, if you’re headed overseas).
  3. If you’re stuck in the airport for a meal, don’t be tempted to buy cheap, premade sandwiches which are invariably old and nasty. It’s worth the time and expense to sit down for a meal at an airport restaurant. Not only is the freshly prepared food better, the more civilized atmosphere of the restaurant helps dispel airport fatigue.
  4. Judiciously employ alcohol. You certainly don’t want to drink a lot when you travel, but when you’re stuck waiting for a delayed flight, or your layover seems interminable, a beer or glass of wine can make the wait more pleasant. I also find that a glass of wine on a long-haul flight helps me sleep on the plane.
  5. Drink plenty of water. Airports and airplanes are dry environments. Keep well hydrated or you’ll wilt like a potted plant, and end up cranky and with a headache.
  6. Avoid the dependable mediocrity of chain restaurants, and enjoy the local cuisine, even in the airport.
  7. A small package of mints is a life saver when you need a little pick-me-up or can’t brush your teeth.

Java Cat

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drinkingcatIt’s another Throwback Thursday…

I ran across this photo of our cat, back when he was still cute, having a little taste from my coffee cup.

I don’t think he liked what he tasted; nowadays, he sniffs tentatively from a few inches away, then turns away in disgust. It’s what he does to most of our food. How a family of vegetarians ended up with a strictly carnivorous pet, I don’t know, but the positive result is that the cat rarely jumps onto the kitchen counters or tries snatch food from unattended plates. His only kitchen crime is sitting on the dining table in order to look out the window.

That does not mean he is well-behaved–oh, no–the Malevolent Beast from Hell has many evil habits, but at least stealing food isn’t one of them.

Diverse cultures, diverse food

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Three unnamed ducks. Photo: Eric Weiss

Three unnamed ducks. Photo: Eric Weiss

I was delighted by this post on the Peace Corps Facebook page. The post and the hundreds of responses showcase the wonderful diversity of the human diet.

Food in Panama is generally not so…leggy as it is in many places around the world, but cow brains and chicken feet were regular menu items in our village.

Our landlord, Julián, loved to tease us about our vegetarian diet by introducing us to the carnivorous aspects of Panamanian cuisine.

One day he walked carefully down the path between our houses with a plate in his hands and a wicked smile on his face. As he grew close, we could see that, on the plate was the head and neck of a large duck, plucked and cooked, but expertly posed, as though it was casually resting on the plate while the remainder of its body went for a nice swim.

Julián explained that stuffed duck head was prepared for pregnant women near their due date. The dish was supposed to facilitate an easy delivery.

When Julián had returned home with his duck head, my husband and I turned to each other in horror, exclaiming in unison, “That was Dave!” Dave was a drake who frequented the drainage ditch by our porch. He had an unmistakably gnarled face.

We never named another duck again.