Bye 2014 - Hellooooo 2015

(Photo from my wild looking veggie plot this July)

Whoah, that went fast!
I feel like the year went by particularly speedy this time (of course having that ridiculous flu/bronchial infection for over a month of it didn't help).

Time to recap the year with a 2014 Resolutions Report Card:

MORE: 
B+  time outside, walks and gardening and painting trim gave me lots of time outside this year.
A+  wholesome food, nothing but good stuff for my body by the end of this last year
A    gardening, lots of amazing foods came out of our plot this year!
B    billable hours, I changed gears and it paid off
B    kindness, I took the time to reach out to good people and now we are friends
C+  learning, I have read some great ideas, in all sorts of areas, but not implemented it as much as I could
C    housecleaning, Same as ever. A struggle with dirt and grime.
C    patience, Next!
A    quiet time, Honoured my needs by enjoying time by myself gardening or reading more
B+   time for loved ones, every dinner together as a family and walks as a family helped create an excellent forum for contact
C+   creating art, I bought supplies and clipped ideas, but not much happened yet
A++ respecting my health, marvellous results! Paleo has worked miracles for my family

LESS: 
B chaos, schedules, decluttering, better health all help have less chaos
A++ processed foods, that crap isn't allowed in my body any more!
C+   useless stuff, I bought an ornate chinese noise maker because it was so beautiful, and a stuffy because it made me laugh, and more clothes than I need... but I'm getting better!
C     procrastinating, room for improvement. minimally meeting expectations
C     pushing my opinion, lifelong challenge for my obstinate nature. no worse than usual.
B     TV definitely watching less. we only have basic TV and no desire for any more.

Continuing on this path, I want to accomplish more of the same for this year: 
A comfortable, safe environment to live and work for myself and my dear family through good nutrition, growth through learning, clean home, loving attitude, calm listening and healthy habits.

So far so good. No grains, processed, dairy, sugar, nor legumes is leaving us with an amazing, colourful, delicious menu and we feel great! Not sure one ingredient is the magic bullet here, probably a combo of some causing enough inflammation to make the others harmful. I don't even care, this is sustainable.

I feel especially blessed that  live in a time and place where food choices can be for optimum health, not just survival. I can be a food snob only because I live here and now. And trust me, I am thankful to my very core for that fact.

I am optimistic about this year, my oldest is graduating high school (if the stars align), and moving into manhood. He will either move north or continue with school (or both). One thing  I am sticking by my guns with.... if he's not in school he will be paying full market price for room and board. 18 is adult, no matter what generation he's from! This year, I am getting serious about teaching him to bachelor cook and keep house (he knows how to cook an assortment of breakfasts, does laundry and vacuuming already). He's got a good sense of money handling, but his follow through is terrible, so he will have to be taught how to internet bank and pay bills too. 

The odd part is I don't remember my parents teaching me a damn thing about money except that it was hard to come by. Ample chores taught me how to keep house and prep-cook, but the bills were "none of my business". It was a rude awakening when I moved out. Rent contracts, tuition, supplies, phone, hydro, keeping clothed and getting the house outfitted from scratch (I had only one cooking pot for a few months), all of the car expenses, FOOD.

But that was the past.... THIS year I will work towards preparing my boy for independence along with the regular goals for health and prosperity.

Cluck Cluck Cluckity Cluck Cluck

 (translation: "Nice to meet you")

My sister in law is moving (the house they were renting sold out from under them) and the selection in their town is VERY limited. The only place that was even close to what they need allows NO PETS OF ANY KIND. A sad day for the 3 kids as they are scrambling to find homes for the cat, dog and 17 hens, a rooster and 4 new chicks.

Since a few of our hens are mostly past laying age, we said we would adopt a few of theirs. The stopped by last night with 4 large hens and a tiny bantam hen. Well that puts us WAAAAAY over our coop's limit, so I posted on-line for 3 free hens. The response was incredible! We chose a casual hobby farm just outside of town. They have 30+ chickens of all shapes and sizes, ducks, geese, turkeys, goats and even a couple piglets! She said she doesn't mind keeping old hens because she gets more than enough eggs and they have work to do clearing her field for a future veggie garden and keeping pest off the apple trees. They are not only free range, all the different species are together as they please all over the lot. I brought our 3 least productive hens (made me a bit weepy since one of them is my favourite hen-friend (the bottom one on the picture), Cami was very sad packing them up too, but he ended up happy with the farm. 

So we left them there. Angel, Penny (top left) and Stripes. We hope they are happy on their new farm.

The new-to-us chickens are still getting their bearings. They are all in their prime laying age, so they might actually be able to keep up with our appetite for eggs! One is downright feisty and instantly tried to assert dominance over the whole flock (bloody beaks and combs all over the place). But 18 hours later she seems to be calming down. I guess they need to figure out their pecking order, right?

Introducing the new members of the flock:

"Puffy Cheeks" soon to be re-named "Toast"

"Arwen" Ya, she's keeping that name!

"Stripe II" soon to be renamed "Oreo" (big bird upper left) and the little birdy to the right is actually an adult chicken named "Penny"  or "Little Penny"

and this black, camera-shy one is "Lucy" but the kids want to rename her "Maleficient" because of her black feathers and her comb that looks slightly like horns

There you have it. I will miss our originals, but look forward to getting to know these new hens. I can already tell that Toast and Arwen will be sweeties.

Sweet Tooth

When I was battling the cold from hell, I lost 6 pounds. Other than endless ab exercises from coughing and sneezing, I got ZERO exercise. And, I completely lost my sense of taste. As a result, my texture-only motivated meal choices were mostly raw vegetables, fruits and copious amounts of clear liquids. Dairy, bread and sugar had no appeal at all... apparently the smooth texture of chocolate is not possible with the cold since I couldn't suck it slowly (too stuffed up to suck at all).

That was good news from an otherwise miserable month. Healthy foods, lost weight.

However as soon as my sense of taste returned, so did the sugar cravings -- with a vengeance!

The weight came back as quickly as it was lost. boohoo for me.

Here is the takeaway from the experience:
SUGAR - all by itself - causes me about 6 pounds of excess weight.

I am not alone in this revelation. My husband has cut out sugar since January - only sugar - and has lost almost 10 pounds! No increase in exercise, no decrease in wheat products or anything else.

My darling friend Spider told me of her extraordinary health transformation more than a year ago after she gave up the sweet stuff, her results are lasting and truly incredible! I have to admit, though I respect and admire her life choice, I must not have TRULY believed it was for me, because I didn't embrace it for myself. Maybe I don't think I have the strength of will.... I am ridiculous about sweets, I crave them and ALWAYS have... sneaking baking chocolate to my room as a kid, eating more dessert than dinner at special occasions... Perhaps when faced with the idea of a change I talked myself into thinking I am different (after all isn't everyone's metabolisms slightly unique?).

Maybe the sugar has brainwashed me!

Today I stood naked in front of the mirror under the harsh bright bathroom lights and resolved not to eat ANY refined sugar product unless I was willing to eat it in front of a mirror. It's a bizarre idea, but not without precedence. That's why there are mirrors at safe injection sights, because facing yourself doing something destructive is very hard to do if you have any will to live. If it works for drug addicts, it should work for sugar addicts too, right?!

And I don't have to feel the panic that it is forbidden to me forever. If I follow the rules, I can eat sugar. But it will be inconvenient and ugly so I will likely leave it alone voluntarily.

It cannot be mindless consumption anymore. I deserve better than that, my kids deserve a happy, healthy mom and my husband deserves a wife that feels pretty.

The only reason I am sharing this publicly is because I want it to work.

***************
UPDATE: March 12, since posting this on the 8th, I have only twice gone to eat a treat, and I honoured my own rules and ate in front of a mirror. That really sucks to be honest. Inconvenient and unpleasant. There were other moments when I wanted a treat, but the idea of going through the hassle  kept me from the sweet stuff. It's too early to tell if this will continue to work, but so far so good.

French Onion Soup

Have you ever had a great bowl of French Onion Soup?

I have, and every time I order it from a restaurant I hope that it will be that good.... usually I am sorely disappointed with some salty fake tasting powdered knock off.

This week I took matters into my own hands (and my own kitchen). With the research (internet) I soon discovered that it is a very time consuming prospect to do it right. A decent consommé stock takes nearly 2 days to make, and that's before it even starts to become onion soup!

First I bought some nice soup bones (beef and pork), roasted them in a hot oven for over an hour, then added various herbs, spices and vegetables and simmered in water for 18 hours (thank you slow cooker). Strained and skimmed and seasoned some more, it was finally good to use for whatever I want.

Next, I sautéed 3 thinly sliced, large, sweet onions with 5 cloves of garlic in a decent dose of butter until caramelized. Then added a glass of red wine to the onions and kept it simmering until the wine had evaporated. Added some salt and pepper and a bit of flour until clear, then finally 2 quarts of my home-made broth. And simmered to a rich, savoury perfection.

Thick sliced Italian bread topped with an organic Canadian Swiss grilled to bubbly under the broiler and put onto the steaming, deep bowls of soup.

Was it worth 2 days of time?

YES!

It was everything I dreamed a French Onion Soup should be.
(I would show you pictures but we ate it too quickly.)

"I love it when a plan comes together."
-John "Hannibal" Smith, A-Team

food?

Food food food food

It's a politically charged subject for me. Farm factories and monoculture, and GMOs and additives and preservatives and the plight of the bee… its all so scary!

I want to eat well.
 I want to eat clean.
   I want to eat socially responsible.
     And I want to be able to eat that way on a budget!!!!

Really I need to grow more of my own if I want to be sure what I'm getting. (That sounds like work.)  I admire the pure 100 mile diet folks, I think they are brave and so much smarter than me. I bet they don't eat processed anything. (Sounds expensive). Around here 100 miles is mostly coniferous forest, mountains and sea. On the island there are few serious commercial vegetable farmers, and they have short seasons. There is beef and fish, but no bananas, grains, chocolate, vanilla, pepper, spices, teas or coffee -- it sounds bland.

Damn, now I want some coffee (free trade certified organic please)

fall foraging feast

A beautiful walk in the woods with a camera is a wonderful thing any time of year... but THIS time of year is MUSHROOM SEASON! Oh my there was a beautiful assortment of mushrooms! My camera was so happy clicking away at colourful (toxic) looking fungal fruits. Our trail system was THOROUGHLY picked over for edible varieties.... kicked over and stomped through...sad sad for me. BUT I did a shaggy mane, a puff ball and some lobster mushrooms (which I have not tried before but were too gorgeous to leave behind). They are heavy and dirty and technically what makes them lobster mushrooms isn't the mushroom at all but the mushroom's parasite! Freaky, but cool.

 Just one of the 50 or more mushroom photos from today...

 Cleaned, it is much more appetizing..

 I decided to make a Newburg sauce with extra paprika (lobster mushroom, but no fish)...

 The finished meal with puff pastry and chard from the garden....

The whole family enjoyed it thoroughly and now I have one more food in my foraging repertoire.

Harvest Time!

Lots of weeding this week (I let it get a little out of control) rain or shine, I uncovered the veggies among the unwanted grasses and weeds.

Happily gardening, there was harvesting of veggies.
And digging out the canning supplies... pickled green beans anyone? I'll be tacking tomatoes later in the month. And the apples are just getting started!

 

It was a disapointing year for zucchini, and raspberries, but a bumper crop of peas and beans, and my first attempt at potatoes and broccoli was rewarding enough to want to plant more next year.

The onions were being systematically destroyed from leaf tip to hollowed out root bulb by something, so I pulled the remaining ones early (and small) just so I'd have SOMETHING of them.

All in all the first season in this new garden (the test run for the soil and space) was successful, and it will be getting more action and even more plants and rows next year. I will be enlisting hubby and children to really make it an honest effort for food production instead of the dabbling of fresh treats that it has been up to now.

I must move the raspberries. The spot that I put them is hard to access (not that I got any berries anyhow) but I can't think of where a good spot would be with good sun, easy access and not in a place that would block other veggie's sun. It will come to me.

And I get to explore my small greenhouse's potential now too. The summer sun was too intense to use it, but now that the sun is more shy, I should be able to plant some lettuces, spinach, and maybe beets and kale. The potted strawberries will head for the shelter as well.... I wonder if that will help them. I found a really neat thing on line for a tiered strawberry planter made from large PVC pipes that I want to try to make... pretty sure gutters would work too.

I have a fig tree. It looks very sad. I think it wants to stretch its roots deep in the ground instead of the pot its in. Where to plant it? Figs CAN grow very large. But I'm not sure if I have that kind. They also like warmth and sun.... like the raspberries, I need to find that sweet spot for the plant before I dig. Somewhere that I can easy wrap it to protect tender shoots from winter frost until it's well established.

This weekend wasn't ALL work. T and I managed to get to a friend's 50th birthday BBQ and T's dad's birthday lunch. I visited my sister, went for a couple walks and the family even went to the park and whacked at some tennis balls with a baseball bat (the first time ever for that activity). So it wasn't raining the WHOLE weekend. LOL.

I can't wait to take a bite

I'm a huge fan of food-conspiracy documentaries, and some of the books too.
"The Botany of Desire" and, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals", "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" are favourites of mine and all by the same brilliant author that seems to really care about our relationship with what we eat...

Michael Pollan has a new book! "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation"

 

I - M-U-S-T - F-I-N-D - I-T - !

(and in looking on line I just discovered a couple more that I haven't read! "Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual", "Second Nature: A Gardener's Education " and a few more that he has his name co-authored to.)

More Wood's Goods

When my dear friends J&J were here, I went foraging for big leaf maple blossoms. I just found out they were edible and wanted to try a recipe in my beautiful new cookbook, "PACIFIC FEAST"  (by Jennifer Hahn) that I bought last fall. I was just waiting for Spring to give me some fresh ingredients.

Got a nice, big grocery bag of the green, grape-like clusters, easy to get this time of year, they were clean, tight and bug free!

 

Then I steeped the blossoms in hot milk for a few minutes. The result was a greenish milk that smelled kind of arrowrootish. Not unpleasant at all! With that I made Creme Brullee's.

 

.I didn't have the correct dishes (ramekins), but it's not a disaster to improvise sometimes. I thought the resulting dessert was very tasty. Creamy, mildly flavoured and not too sweet. I wished there was MORE.

Wood's Goods

Yesterday T wanted to go for a good hike, and this time I was prepared to forage the natural bounty of SPRING! I made sure I had sturdy gloves, bags, and scissors.

By the time I got home several hours later (and all exhausted by the pace my husband likes to trudge through the woods), I had a sizable amount of fresh, young, tender stinging nettles! Mmmmm.

I have tried nettle foods before at the Edible Wilds Food Fair, but never had the courage to go get them myself. Those nettles really sting!

It was worth the risk, these super-greens are scrumptious! Milder than spinach, I found the flavour delicate and deliciously "green" tasting.

Following the instructions carefully, I washed in cold water for 5 minutes (with heavy gloves on):

Then blanched in salted boiling water for 1 minute:

 

Then I squeezed out the excess juice (reserving the water and juice for a very healthy stock) and proceeded to make a nettle pesto which I served on Gnocchi dumplings! OMG this was yummy!

 

 

(I got the batch pictured above and 2 more cups of Nettle Pesto saved in the freezer)

 

The positive reaction by the whole family towards this vibrant green dish prompted me to head out with my gear again this morning to pick some more!!!!!

 

I think maybe a nettle lasagna would be nice....

Family Menu

In January I did the freezer challenge, and I have to say I REALLY enjoyed it!

One of the fun parts of it was writing down what we ate for dinner. I would like to continue that trend and start posting our dinner menus (just because). :)

I know, I am too busy to do that.... but I'm going to try anyways because I liked it!

Here are some of the meals I crafted for my family lately...

February:
Lasagna
Chicken Fingers w/ Yam Fries
Turkey Tetrazini
Pad Thai (Tim's birthday)
Saurkraut presure cookered w/ porkchops and potatoes
Chicken Stirfy w/ tons of veggies on noodles
Green Ham Curry on Basmati rice w/ palaak paneer
Hot Dogs, potato salad and fresh veg plate
Fritatta and salad
Chicken Tortellini in tarragon cream sauce w/salad
Saurkraut/european weiners w/ mashed potatoes and carrots

March:
Prime Rib dinner! (my birthday)
Hamburger/ fries/ salad
Poutine / sweet kale salad
Hot dogs / potato salad / brocoslaw
Grilled chicken breast / quinoa / sweet kale salad
Butter chicken /  palaak paneer
Pork & Apple Stew
Spagetti & Meatballs
Fishsticks / fries / kale salad
Soft Beef Tacos
Tortellini with vodka sauce (chicken and bacon)
Broiled Basa & salad
Pesto Prawns on Ravioli and broccoli
Pork Gyoza & edamame
Butternut Squash Ravioli with sausage and diced tomatoes
Rouladen, Spaetzle and Brussel Sprouts (Steve's Birthday)

And so far in April.....
Frittatta
Mustard Tarragon Pork Chops w/ asparagus on Brown Rice
Feta Ravioli w sundried tomato, wilted spinach and pine nuts
Green Ham Curry on basmati rice w/peas

yum yum yum! How I loooove to cook!

Pickled Eggs

My dad used to make them
I still love them
They are too expensive to buy

Pickled Eggs!

Not too hard to make, just time consuming and it's hard to wait overnight to eat one!

A New Year, A New Opportunity

Welcome to 2013!

In the spirit of tradition, it is time to make resolutions. But instead of the traditional "exercise more" or "eat better" (good resolutions, but not my style). This year I am trying a different approach, and I'll keep you updated on the progress. This year I am resolving to follow a "More or Less" list

I have a page in a note book split down the middle with a heading over the two columns "MORE" on one side "LESS" on the other.

In no particular order, here is an insight into what I want for 2013:

MORE; reading, writing, billable hours, time teaching my kids, learning, vegetables, whole foods, housecleaning, walks, yoga, time for friends, kindness, time outside, patience...

LESS; dairy, fructose, excuses, processed foods, shopping, criticism, procrastination, TV, food hoarding, chaos

Some of these things are natural companions (less TV naturally means more time for healthier activities, I think this is doable, and my life will be better for it!

Not as Easy as it Sounds

I have been watching the wild strawberries grow and bloom in eager anticipation of a bountiful harvest of tiny, flavour explosions! This morning was the perfect day for berrypicking ... slightly overcast, not windy... after walking my youngest up to the school I trekked out into the woods with my bucket eyes peeled for tiny treats.

One and a half hours later, this is what I had gathered:

Pretty pathetic, eh? They are very hard to find, and unfortunately for me I wasn't the only one anticipating strawberries this year! Creatures had already been there, not many left for big fumbling bipeds to find!

But all was not lost, I did collect some superb Salmon berries

And sweet wild rose petals too!

My strawberry walk was a bust (almost) but it was alovely day to be scrounging around on meadow floors, tromping over moss, avoiding stinging nettles, brushing cobwebs off my hands and startling sunning garter snakes. My hands were right in the thick of it, and that was a good experience!

Yesterday I harvested 4 healthy bullrushes to try marinating some in lemon juice and salt (like palm hearts)

More wild foods

I learned something yummy today!

The common Bulrushes (or Cattails) are edible!
I had heard about it, so I had to try for myself (of course)

Today on the way home from picking up Cami from school,  I pulled one out of the muck, peeled of the outer layers and snapped off a crisp 9 inches of clean, bright white stalk. I sniffed it tentatively... smells like garden fresh cucumber! So I tried it and I liked it!

But I cautiously waited a while before eating more than a nibble. It's been my experience with wild plants that sometimes the initial taste can be pleasant but the aftertaste can haunt for ages. This crisp gift is no exception... the first nibble tastes like cucumber sweet and refreshing, but the aftertaste is more like a very mild spanish onion, sweet and savory at the same time... I think it will be very very good in salads! Very good indeed.

Suddenly with this new knowledge, the acres of weland I cross on my way to and from the school have something more to offer than just gorgeous scenery and birdsong!

I like foraging.

The weather was lovely and I was feeling seized up my spine, so we walked to school this morning -- (oh man, my back is in serious spasm this morning!)

Lucky me though, the trail was clear and the SALMON BERRIES ARE READY!

Some people find them a lttle too bitter to want to eat, I have always liked how they taste REAL and how they are FREE to anyone that wants them, just waiting on the sides of the local wooded trails near water.

Today, I happened upon an unlikely but delicious pairing of flavours:

Mmmm... for some unexplicable reason, eating the lush, fresh petals of the wild rose before eating the salmon berries makes everything perfect! The perfume in the rose mellows out the bitter in the berries and brings out the tart tang of them, and the tart tang mellows out the perfume flavour of the petals. It's a win-win flavour combo for a sunny Spring snack on the go!

I love foraging for snacks as I walk.

Taking Stock

I had to admit this morning that I had lost track of my pantry...

What lurks in the deep recesses of this low cupboard anyhow?

What can I make for dinner without having to go shopping?

How many cans of kidney beans do I have -- enough to make chili?

So I decided to pull everything out and take stock -- literally -- of my "cans" pantry.

I printed out a list of staples, with a line for each can. When I open a can I should be erasing a mark, and likewise when I buy a can, I should add a mark. This system works great when I am the only one adding or taking things from the cupboard... not so great when others are involved, so we'll see how long it lasts this time.

Verdict?

I have a LOT of canned olives and "dinner foundation" soups

No more smoked oysters for a while please (I went through a phase.... then I grew tired of them)

I have no Red Kidney Beans.... sorry, no chili until I get more.

There are some canned fruits that I forgot existed in there.... mango smoothies for breakfast tomorrow!

Dinner Tonight?
Cream of Celery Tuna casserole.

Here is my canned goods pantry as it stands right now:

Mountains of Food

Steve has a friend from out of town... he gets off the ferry and I suggest we have lunch.... "How hungry are you?" I ask.

"REALLY HUNGRY!" they chorus together.

So how do I satisfy 2 teenage boys' monster appetites?

Take them to Mrs. Riches downtown Nanaimo and order them a "Mountain Burger"! I've always wanted to see somebody try to eat one of these things. This is no ordinary burger! A whole pound of ground beef, a fried egg, gobs of bacon ham and cheese and massive quantity of veggies (pickles, lettuce, tomato slices and onions) on the absurdly gigantic triple stacked bun! There is enough on that plate to comfortably feed a family... but these two 13 year olds were going to share it.

They were talking a big talk when they ordered, but hysterical giggling at the size of the thing started when it was put in front of them. This sucker is BIG!

Too big for these boys... even without touching the fries and with abandoning the third layer of the bun arrangement. (Leftovers that they happily consumed for breakfast this morning). It was a huge mess, but they were very happy, and they were even given a photo for a souvenir by the restaurant.

The "Mountain Burger" is NOT even the biggest on Mrs. Riches' menu -- they have a "K2 Burger" that is twice the size! The K2 is being featured on a TV food show coming up soon... it's called You Gotta Eat Here.....

Well, I think I gave Steve's buddy a memorable lunch at least.

Domo Arigato

Wow.

I have terrific respect for Japanese chefs. Today I decided that I really really wanted to make a Japanese dinner. So I double checked what materials I had on hand..... Roasted Nori, Bonito Flakes, Pickled Ginger, Rice Vinegar, Wasabi Powder, Toasted Sesame Seeds, the little bamboo mat, imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, red pepper, prawns.  GREAT! And a list of things I needed to get, tempura mix, a good quality tamari, yam, zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, sushi rice.

With a plan and a list I did my weekly grocery shopping and made sure those things were on the list.

I started cooking the meal at about 1pm. Starting early is not unusual, I've been know to start dinner the night before to get ahead. But the amazing part was the shear amount of labour involved in this Japanese dinner. The sushi rice needed to be cooked properly and cooled with the folded-in ingredients making it "just right for sushi".

As the rice cooled, I watched some fantastic U-TUBE videos about making Inside-Out California Rolls -- my favourite!!! And got to work putting them together. With the right equipment and a properly done batch of rice AND actually having seen it being done right, it all come together quite well. Even with all the fiddly steps and a messy countertop. The results looked really PRO!

With the sushi rolls done, I watched more web-casts for Tempura and the yummy Tempura Dipping Sauce. This was much easier (in theory) than the rolls, but in fact turned out much more difficult in practice. The batter kept looking too thick, and it kept sliding off the prawns in my too-cool, oil-filled wok. In fact it was looking like a bit of a disaster! BUT, I figured out what I was doing wrong in time to save dinner.

By 6pm there was a mountain of amazing food on the table, Tempura veggies (yam, eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, broccoli) and tempura prawns with the amazing home-made dip, and my spectacularly successful looking California Rolls. Complete with pretty square plates, nice soya sauce dipping bowls and pretty little piles of pickled ginger next to the green blobs wasabi paste. it was really a nice looking meal. Colourful and fresh just the way I like it!

It was completely devoured in no time at all.  Five hours to make, 15 minutes to eat, 1/2 hour to clean up.

It was really delicious though, everyone agreed.

BUT, I think it will only be a once-in-a-while dinner.... it's so much easier to go to the sushi restaurant. (At least now I fully appreciate why sushi is so expensive).

I meant to take photos, but it just disapeared too quickly. You'll have to take my word for it, the kitchen looked like a hurricaine struck it and the food was gorgeous.

Salsa Revelation!

I'm not talking about sexy dance moves dance here... I'm talking about the tomato-based condiment that's infinitely superior to ketchup (or "catsup" for our neighbours to the south).

I don't think I really "discovered" it until 1990, and then I have to say my taste buds were opened to a whole world of possibilities! I LOVE salsa on fried eggs with a little sharp cheddar melted on top, I love it with corn chips, in Kraft Dinner (using sour cream instead of milk), etc. Mmmmm! Even before we had kids I'd buy the "family sized" jug of the stuff.

My world has been rocked once more now that I have found the recipe for Sra. Lopez Salsa, it is marvellously easy to make and the fresh flavour kicks butt on the store bought stuff! I did take the liberty of putting my own mark on the recipe however, so I dropped the Perrins sauce and added a squirt of lime juice to customize it (her recipe is perfect, I am just adding my twist -- we love lime salsa).

THANK YOU LATINA-ISH!

She has single bloggedly introduced our household to the joys and simplicity that is Salvadoran Cooking. And my whole family loves it so much! I have even taken to making cheese-stuffed papusas to dip in my homemade cheesy soups (totally a saturated cheese overload, but oh so good!) And for the record, the Curtido salad is completely fantastic with a bratwurst sausage wrapped in a naan bread (how's that for mixing culture foods?)!

mmmmmm..... homemade salsa..... mmmmmm......