Friday, January 20, 2012

Fat Free? Snow,

New one on me, reduced fat tofu. I didn’t know there was such a fat-free_300thing. Tofu is a vegetable product, how can it have fat in it? I don’t basically believe in buying non-fat, reduced fat, low cal anything. If I am going to eat it, I will eat the real thing, in moderation and eat less of something else if necessary. Foods which are reduced frequently taste lousy and contain things I shouldn’t eat anyway. No thank you, I will stick to the real thing. It really isn’t necessary to stuff yourself with these tasteless foods, just moderation, moderation, moderation. If you can’t be moderate you might as well give up anyway. That’s not to say I won’t make things which are diet friendly, like the cookies the other day, I just don’t want to buy products labelled that way.

Well we certainly got some snow yesterday, first time we have had any which really counted this winter. I am told there were cars sliding all over the place, Canadians don’t remember how to drive from one winter to another, and that the roads were treacherous. We didn’t bother to go out anyway, so I can’t confirm although it certainly looks pretty white out there. I am not sure what they did about school buses, I didn’t hear anything.

There is a new movie coming out called Red Tails which is a fictionaRobin in a red jacketl account of the Tuskegee Airmen who were the first African American fliers in the second world war. There was already a movie called Tuskegee Airmen which Matt watched last night. It turns out that Robyn Roberts’ dad was one of the first Tuskegee airmen or Red Tails and they honoured her the other day on GMA by presenting her with a red airmen’s jacket. The older guy in the picture was a Tuskegee airman in his younger days. There is a video at the link if you are interested.

Its New Ye2012ar, OK Chinese New Year, which is a favourite time with me. I love dumplings and like to go and eat lots of them to celebrate, I wish you all gung ha fat choi which is the nearest we can get to their traditional NY greeting. 2012 is the year of the Dragon, my favourite critter.  I was born in the year of the Tiger – pity I would love to have been in the year of the dragon. Matt was born in the year of the pig or boar and we are not supposed to be compatible, now they tell me after almost 40 years, grin.

Afterwards there is “Rabbie” Burns Day. I would love to go to a Burns Day celebration but have never managed to do so. The ceremony of piping the haggis would be wonderful to see. They do hold a Burns Night in Fergus I believe which is not that far from here, but I wouldn’t want to go alone and I suspect Matt wouldn’t be interested.

Needless to say I have to give you a dumpling recipe. This looks fairly simple and is from Good Housekeeping. Not the greatest source for Chinese Food but helpful to Westerners. It includes using Wonton wrappers instead of having to make dumpling wrappers, not as good, but easier.

Chinese Dumplings

From Good Housekeeping

Serves: 12 chinese-dumplings
Yields: 36 dumplings

Ingredients

2 cup(s) (packed) sliced Chinese cabbage (Napa)

1/2 pound(s) ground pork

2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce

1 tablespoon(s) dry sherry

2 teaspoon(s) cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) minced, peeled gingerroot

1 green onion, minced

36 (3/4 12-ounce package) wonton-skin wrappers*, 3 1/2" by 3 1/4"

1 large egg white, beaten

Soy Dipping Sauce (below)

Green onions for garnish


Directions

  1. Prepare filling: In 2-quart saucepan over high heat, in 1 inch boiling water, heat cabbage to boiling. Cook cabbage 1 minute; drain. Immediately run cold water over cabbage to cool. With hands, squeeze as much water out of cabbage as possible.
  2. Finely chop cabbage. Squeeze liquid from chopped cabbage; place in medium bowl. Stir in pork, soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, ginger, and green onion.
  3. Arrange half of wonton-skin wrappers on large sheet of waxed paper. With pastry brush, brush each wrapper lightly with egg white. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon filling onto center of each wonton wrapper. Bring opposite corners of wonton wrapper up over filling; pinch and pleat edges together to seal in filling. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers, egg white, and filling
  4. In deep 12-inch skillet over high heat, heat 1/2 inch water to boiling. Place all dumplings, pleated edges up, in one layer in skillet. Stir gently with spoon or heat-proof spatula to prevent dumplings from sticking to bottom of skillet. Heat dumplings to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare Soy Dipping Sauce: In small serving bowl, mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons angel-hair-thin strips peeled gingerroot. Makes about 1/2 cup sauce. Each teaspoon sauce: About 7 calories, 0 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 0 g total fat (0 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 240 mg sodium.
  6. With slotted spoon, remove dumplings to platter; garnish with green onions. Serve with dipping sauce.

    Nutritional information is based on one serving without sauce.

  7. *Available in Asian food stores or some supermarkets in the refrigerator case in the produce section.

Have a great day

Jo

2 comments:

  1. I have been reading your blog every day for a ? years and enjoy it so much. I always want to know how you are dong and about your pain. I hope that isn't nosy--just interested. Hope you are feeling better. I guess I'll know when you are bowling again. Thanks for your blog. Lulu

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  2. Thank you so much for your nice comments Lulu, it is always pleasant to hear from people who enjoy reading what I write. As for the pain, it is heaps better than it was, I'm pleased to say, although I still have pain in my shoulder. Not quite up to bowling again yet. Have an ultra sound and a CT scan coming up next week though.

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