Family Nutrition, Pilaf, Elections, Book.

A few concerned locals are endeavouring to influence families and schools with the object of Restoring Family Nutrition. The spearhead of this movement is Michelle Luelo and she has begun a new blog called Restore Family Nutrition where it is hoped to have all kinds of nutrition and food information articles. The mission statement is set out on the side of the page. If anyone local has any contributions they wish to make, the team would be glad for you to join them. My personal support will probably consist of writing and recipes as I am no longer fit enough to give cooking demonstrations etc.

Talking of family nutrition, last night I decided to make a pilaf, something I haven’t done in years, heaven knows why, and to accompany it with some of the shrimp we brought home with us. I actually found it not to be a good mix. There was nothing wrong with either item, but they didn’t combine too well. I think I should have done something more with the shrimp to give them some extra contrasting flavour. Coconut shrimp comes to mind and I think that would have worked. The pilaf turned out very well though. The recipe I used is on this page together with a number of pictures as to how it should be done. The reason I decided to make pilaf was because Matt had eaten, and thoroughly enjoyed, pilaf in North Carolina a week or so ago. I would like to get the recipe from the restaurant but I don’t suppose they will share.

Yesterday we also checked on the location of the polling station where we will be working tomorrow. It turns out to be about a 10 minute drive from here. Not far at all. I am not sure if I will be able to publish a blog as we are working a 12 hour stint. Will have to make sandwiches tonight so might be a bit busy.

I have just started a new book, A Blight of Mages by Karen Miller. I have never read anything by Karen I didn’t like although right now I haven’t read enough to say much about the story. Karen is an Australian and as usual the Australian cover is much better than anything found over here. This is one of the one’s from this part of the world. I don’t think I will have much time to read it tomorrow, I might take my Kindle with me just in case.

I thought this recipe looked and sounded pretty good. Eating Well usually have some excellent recipes which are generally nutritionally pretty sound.

Sicilian Olive Chicken

From EatingWell: September/October 2011

This saucy one-skillet chicken dish is full of tomatoes, spinach, olives and capers. Try Kalamata olives in place of the green Sicilians or a combination of both. Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles with a mixed green salad on the side.

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil or other Italian-style seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/3 cup halved Sicilian or other green olives
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 4 4-ounce chicken cutlets (see Tip)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Combine tomatoes, spinach, olives, capers and crushed red pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned on one side, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn it over; top with the tomato mixture. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving :210 Calories; 8 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 5 g Mono; 63 mg Cholesterol; 8 g Carbohydrates; 26 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 527 mg Sodium; 401 mg Potassium
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 1/2 vegetable,3 lean meat, 1 fat

Tips & Notes

• Tip: If you can’t find chicken cutlets for this recipe, you can make your own. Purchase four 5-ounce chicken breasts. Remove the tenders and trim the fat. Place the chicken between pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a rolling pin, meat mallet or heavy skillet until flattened to about 1/2 inch thick.

Have a great day