I had a huge response to my column about litter. It seems I am
not alone in my disgust with the folks who throw tons of fast food wrappers to
the wind. Do you think if we start a movement back to the days when we ate
together as a family around the dining room table, we could get them to join
us?
I am willing to do my part, so I climbed the ladder in my
pantry, blew the dust off my large crock pot, and started digging around for
great slow cook recipes. Even though I work out of my home office and could
easily take the time to cook dinner every day, there is something about the
aroma of dinner slowly seeping through the house that warms the cockles of my
heart.
What could be better than throwing another log on the fire,
dishing out homemade stew along with hunks of great bread, and catching up on
the day with the family?
Judith Finlayson wrote a great cookbook called The 150 Best
Slow Cooker Recipes. Who can resist her Roast Chicken in Tarragon-Cream Sauce,
or Shepherd’s Pie with Creamy Corn Filling, all served up when the wind is
howling and the temperature drops?
Years ago, I was given a cookbook called Fat Free, Flavor Full
by Dr. Gabe Mirkin and Diana Rich. You can tell how often I use the book by the
battered and splattered pages. I make gallons of One-Step Split Pea Soup, Primo
Minestrone and Carrot and Chick Pea Soup, ladle into containers and freeze for
the days that run long and all you want is a hot bath, flannel pajamas and a
steaming bowl of soup.
I have requested, from my local library, two interesting books,
Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Nevi, and Once a Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson &
Mary Beth Lagerborg. I know I am not alone in researching fabulous home cooking
because there is a long waiting list for each book.
One of my favourite cook book authors is Australia’s Donna Hay.
All Donna’s recipes are simple and fabulous. My current passion is her Off the
Shelf, Cooking from the Pantry. No exotic ingredients here — all simple
and at hand. In each of her cookbooks there are sections called “tricks and
tips” which are shortcuts and “short order” her instructions for such things as
balsamic-roasted red onions or garlic roast asparagus. Simple recipes that lift
the ordinary to the extraordinary.
Remember it is very important to buy as many local foods as
possible so we cut back on trucking fruits and vegetables across the country.
Our new mantra is to buy local!
I am writing this on Sunday morning and all this chat about
food has created a ravenous appetite... mmm, should I make Hearty Ribs with
Rigatoni or Great Goulash with Potato Dumplings for dinner?