Broadcast, Restore Family Nutrition, Easy Corn. Animals Shot.

Well, my broadcast worked pretty well although I was somewhat nervous. Randi asked for a different pic and I sent him one from Christmas a couple of years ago which was taken by a friend. Matt listened to it and a friend phoned and said could she have my autograph, funny. Randi, the DJ, is going to send me an MP3 so I can email it to anyone who wants to hear it. He also asked me if I wanted to do this again, I said sure, it was fun.

I have talked before about the efforts of some of us locals to promote healthy cooking and eating in the area, particularly the local schools. Restore Family Nutrition is our banner and this is a link to the blog which goes with this promotion – there is also a link on my blog list on the right hand side. We are looking for people to participate in the conversation to Restore Family Nutrition.

I have just watched a video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4 which shows how to clean corn without fighting the silks, the cobs come out clean as a whistle. Mind you I don’t know how well cooked they are, probably fine, I often microwave corn in grease proof paper (waxed paper) and it comes out fine, probably even better in the husks.

An incredible story from Ohio  about a man who had a preserve with lots of dangerous wild animals, opened all the cages and then shot himself. There were some 58 animals on the loose including 18 rare Bengal tigers all of which had to be shot as explained in the article here. Some of the animals did end up at the Columbus Zoo, but not many of them. What a tragedy, Jack Hanna who is the Director Emeritus of the Zoo was particularly distressed about the rare tigers which he considers to be such beautiful animal. There were also lions, bears, wolves and so on. No-one really knows why the owner did this and shot himself, a neighbour said she thought it was an f*you situation.

I promised the recipe which I spoke about on the radio yesterday. Some years ago we ran a small catering company, we cooked for people in their own homes, and this was always a favourite. We didn’t last long as it was pointed out to us that we needed hefty insurance for such a business.

Roast Pork with Apple and Nut Stuffing

Reader’s Digest The Cookery Year

3.5 Loin of Pork
1 Sml onion
2 oz pecans
2 oz white crustless bread
1 cooking apple
1 stick celery
1 Spoonful chopped parsley
1 oz butter
Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dried summer savory
Lemon Juice
3 Tbs veg oil
1/4 pint dry cider

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and roughly chop the nuts. Dice the bread; peel, core and dice the apple. Wash and finely chop celery and parsley.

2. Melt the butter in a small pan over moderate heat and fry the onion and nuts until they are just turning color. Add the bread, apple, celery and parsley and continue cooking until the apple is softened. Season to taste with salt, pepper, summer savory and lemon juice.

3. Open up the pocket of the roast and spread stuffing evenly. Roll up and tie with kitchen string. Roast in a 400° Fahrenheit oven for 20-30 mins then reduce to 350°Fahrenheit and cook for a further 1 1/2 hrs or until juice comes out amber coloured when the meat is pricked.

4. Remove roast and keep warm. Skim off fat in roasting dish. Add the cider and deglaze the pan. Season to taste and put in a sauce boat to serve.

Servings: 6

Have a great day

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