Zurek at Easter

Yesterday's menu soup’, 'Żurek' is a dish that has been enjoyed by many generations of Poles.

There are as many recipes for cooking żurek as there are regions of Poland. It is made differently in Kraków (with vegetables) than in Kielce, Podlasie, Namysłów and elsewhere. The one essential, common ingredient is the leaven made of fermented rye flour with a piece of whole-meal bread crust.

The Lenten Żurek is a very plain soup, served with a minimum of basic ingredients. When fasting is done, żurek becomes a rich soup generously supplemented with cook's special reserves of sausage, spare ribs, bacon cracklings or a hard-boiled egg.

To make the basic 'Żurek' you will need:

• 100 g of whole-wheat rye flour
• 250 g of carrot
• leak
• celeriac and parsley
• 200 g of white sausage
• water
• salt, flour, garlic, marjoram

Allow the flour to sour in the water for a few days. Cook a stock from mixed vegetables, strain, add sour flour liquid (żur), spice with flour, bring to boil, add salt. Add white sausage cut into small pieces, spice with garlic or marjoram. Serve with hard boiled eggs cut into halves. When Lent finishes, then Zurek becomes a rich soup generously supplemented with cook's special reserves of sausage, spare ribs, bacon cracklings or a hard-boiled egg.

*A basic Zurek can be kept refrigerated for 5 days and then used for the Easter version. You can also freeze a Lenten Zurek to be thawed and used at Easter.

 http://www.polishfoodinfo.com/

Chef Cut Tender Lean Pork in Mustard Cream Sauce

Price per serving for two: $ 2.85

I can always count on a nice lean cut of pork from the local butcher. This dish requires very little time and money. You will need besides the pork loin some heavy cream and your favorite Dijon mustard.  Tonight's side, roasted potatoes and mushrooms if you like.

Take your covered skillet out and melt in 3 tbs of olive oil and the same of coconut oil. Then shake in red pepper flakes, garlic powder and salt (according to dietary allowances) plus your preferred dried herb seasonings. As you have already noticed, I always start every dish of meat with those basic. Why reinvent the wheel. However, if want to try something new, you can always reduce your savory to simple salt and pepper with a fresh squeeze of citrus or fresh herbs; i.e. mint or thyme. The loin can be 'chef' cut into thick wedges. They take no time at all to sear up. Simmer then for 8 min. At the end, add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and a large dollop of Dijon.

As for the potatoes, simple... put cut halves into a glass dish, coat with olive oil and parmesan along with dried herbs and bake for 30 min and or until tender. You can do them quicker in the microwave for 10 min. and then in the broiler for 3 on high.

 

If you have mushroom lovers, then try an additional side of champions. Saute in butter with a bit of cream and fresh thyme and Voila! ...ready to be served. 








Chef cut lean pork with creamy mustard sauce.
Absolutely guaranteed to bring your family to the table. 

Sharing and Eating Food ~ Blessings we Bestow

Food is not just about sustenance to keep the body going. When we share food and eat food together, we share in what it means to be human. In this sharing, we bless each other with our presence. When we cook for each other, we show our love and concern for others. I posted about how studies suggest that cooking made us human. What we understand from that is that cooking brought people together in a different way... different than any other activity. Yes, of course, people can move about together and eat as they go. But, animals do that in the pasture or open range.

Cooking food and sharing that food in one place is much more than just 'herding' for protection while grazing. We can even see how the division of labor occurred through settling and cooking in a place. Cooking caused a fundamental change in terms of social cohesion, a change that was evolutionary.

In sum, cooking and eating is a positive social phenomenon. Effectively, we bless those we love by taking the time to prepare a meal and to eat with them and others in a designated space 'set' especially for the sharing of that prepared cooked food (essentially meat which grew the brain) - a meal was born in the human mind and heart. We can see how dinner time has evolved ...establishing place settings; one can imagine then how all human civilization and human celebrations came to be; i.e. from the Evening meal to Thanksgiving and even the Wedding feast. Cooking has made us socially evolve! Let's not regress.

Bestow blessings everyday!

For Goodness Sake ~ You Don't Need All Those Gadgets

Kitchen Gadgets ~ Who Needs Um?

If you have been reading my blogs, then you know I have one covered skillet and few stock pots, a cutting board, a spatula, spaghetti drainer and hand held grater. I have never been one to get into kitchen gadgets. Why? Because, you don't need them. Sometimes, I think I have too many. A knife, a board and a pot will prepare and cook a lot of things different ways.

A chef has a favorite skillet or stock pot. They just do. Its because it has cooked/held some dishes that were exquisite ... never to be forgotten.

So, if you open your pantry and it looks like this...

its time to down size!


Once in a while, I do treat myself to something fun ~ its just the artist in me!

Heritage Pork ~ Cubed Steaks with Savory Roots

Price per serving for two: $ 1.95

Hard to believe the price. But, its absolutely do - able. I found a package of 3 delicious cubed pork steaks for less than three dollars. I also bought a single parsnip for less than .50 cents and three carrots for .51 cents.  I like to buy single items because I can use them quickly and thus don't have half a bag of something in the fridge.

You will need from the pantry list: Olive oil, coconut oil and seasonings. Start with melting in a covered skillet 3 tbs of olive oil and the same of coconut oil. Just ask yourself, how does a chef approach his/her cooking. He/she takes a skillet and melts in cooking oils and then seasoning and then the food item they want to cook. I personally like to get the seasoning a little hot before I add any meat or veggies. Once the oils are just disappearing in the pan, shake in all desired seasoning, of course having them handy to do that.

For this dish, I used red pepper flakes, garlic powder, sea salt and dried herb seasonings* rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme. Once the seasonings start to pop and spit in the oils, I lay in the meat - cube steaks searing them quickly on both sides. Reducing the heat, I cover and let them finish taking about 5-6 min. In this time, French sliced the root veggies.

Remove the steaks from the heat, put them onto a serving platter and cover with foil to retain the heat. Add your root veggies to the skillet that the steaks were cooked in. Since there is nearly no fat in the skillet, only wonderful juices, I take advantage. Cover and let cook for 8 min. When they are just getting tender, I uncover, turn up the heat and brown the edges to pull the sweet savory taste from the veggies.

Add them to the platter and serve.

Blessings!

Cooking Food Makes us Human???

Did you know that eating meat and cooking food made us human? Studies suggest, that cooking food enabled the brain of our ancestors to grow dramatically over a period of time. 

At the core of this research is the understanding that the modern human brain consumes 20 percent of the body's energy at rest, twice that of other primates. We now know that meat and cooked foods were and are needed to provide the necessary calorie boost to feed a growing brain. http://www.livescience.com/24875-meat-human-brain.html

Let's look at the Pros and Cons of Cooking...


The Fire Diet ~ by Nancy Sherer

While cooking destroys some vitamins, it leaves plenty behind that are more available to our digestive system. Raw vegetables have more vitamins, but our teeth and digestive system can't efficiently digest the plant matter that contains them. Consider how your teeth and jaws have to work to chew a raw carrot. How long would your teeth last if they were stressed that way at every meal? 
Fruits are softer, but they contain sugars and acids that destroy tooth enamel. Digesting raw vegetables creates enough excess gas to cause lots of discomfort. Fruits cause even more severe gastrointestinal problems. Grains also must be processed before they serve as the ‘staff of life.’ Without pounding, grinding, dissolving and heating, wheat, corns, rice, most legumes and seeds are virtually indigestible- to humans at least. 

Cows, birds, and mice can eat grains right off the stalk along with the stalk itself. Although humans require vegetation as a source of nutrients and calories, we did not evolve to eat them raw. But that doesn’t make us carnivores. That tender steak in the upscale restaurant has been hanging around ‘tenderizing’ for many weeks before it melts like butter in your mouth. Most cuts of meats require marinades, stewing, grinding, or pounding with a mallet before they can be chewed, but chewing is only part of the problem. 

Eating raw meat of any kind is risky for humans. Unlike predators such as lions or wolves, our digestive systems did not evolve to eat unprocessed meat. Internal organs, such as livers, brains and intestines are protein rich and easy to chew, but we still never eat them raw. I’m not sure why we cook internal organs, but if we prefer to not eat raw innards is it reasonable to assume that we evolved on a such a diet? Try to get a two year old to eat liver, raw or cooked.

Humans need protein, and lots of it to develop our big brains. Most of this brain growth takes place before age five. Salmonella, E. coli, and other bacteria in raw meat are deadly to infants and toddlers. By age three, children are weaned, but they still need a high protein diet. Something happened long before we were Homo sapiens that enabled toddlers to get enough protein to feed a growing human brain. 

We need animal sources of protein. We need vegetables for vitamins. We need to eat what our teeth can’t chew and what our stomachs can’t digest. There are some exceptions.
We can eat raw sea food without much risk. As long as the water isn’t contaminated, and the fish is fresh, sushi is a healthy source of protein. It also is easy to chew and easily digestible. However, our bodies can't manufacture most of the vitamins that are required for good health, so our teeth and digestive systems didn't evolve solely on 'sole' fish.

It is possible, and even very likely, that use of fire to alter food played an important part in our evolution. Unlike other animals, we are mesmerized by fire rather than terrified of it. Cooking food removes hazards of bacteria and parasites, allows us to exploit food sources that we otherwise couldn't use, and even begins the digestive process for us. Did our hominid ancestors move down from the tree tops to walk or to cook? The idea at least is something to chew on the next time you sit around a campfire.

... for sure cooking has made us technically and socially evolve!

Swiss Steak with Pierogi

If you are lucky to get good beef, then you know the taste isn't comparable to anything super market store bought. I am lucky to have family that raise their own Angus. I love being with my granddaughter, she is a real cowgirl... takes after me. We were together just the other day. And, for my babysitting, I was treated to a beautiful lean top round steak.

Well, if you know ...like I do ...what to do with a lean top round steak, then I don't have to tell you- Swiss Steak. The key is good beef, lots of onions in olive oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and dried herb seasoning. Cut your steak into small pieces, but not chunks. Brown with onions, olive oil and seasonings on med heat, and cover for 10 min on low to get the juices flowing. Then you add your tomato paste or even left over homemade tomato soup jarred in the fridge will do with a little thicker to get the necessary gravy. 
You can peel and boil potatoes to mash or use potato filled pierogi like I did for this meal. That's it and don't be surprised if everyone calls you the best cook ever!

Wine, chocolate, and butter... to lose weight???

I just love when I read that wine, chocolate and butter can help you lose weight. Not that I did not know that being the brainy gourmet, of course I knew/know. Now, others are just waking up to that.  Here is what they have to say.

Pour the wine, because there’s ample evidence to suggest a glass of wine a few times a week could aid weight loss. The benefits come from chemicals found in grape skins. One compound, ellagic acid, has been shown to change the way “fat genes” express themselves, boosting the metabolism and slowing the growth of existing and new fat cells. More research suggests another healthy ingredient in wine—resveratrol—could help to counter some of the negative effects associated with lack of exercise, like muscle-loss and blood sugar sensitivities.

As for chocolate, if just making you happy isn't enough!

 

And,  Julia Child was right: Butter, and other high fat dairy products, are nothing to fear. In fact, real butter—particularly grass-fed—is an excellent source of fatty acids that can support weight loss. One acid, butyrate, which actually derives its name from the Greek word “butter,” can help dieters by improving the function of mitochondria—the “batteries” in your cells that essentially keep you young. Another fatty acid, conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is actually sold commercially as a fat-burning supplement.

https://www.yahoo.com/health/8-vices-that-actually-help-you-lose-weight-113980379278.html

Pork Teriyaki Stir Fry with Red and Green Peppers

Price per serving for two: $3.43

You will need to buy a pork tenderloin. I like to get mine at the local butcher, its always fresh and relatively inexpensive, even less than a loaf of bread. Try to find some large crisp green and red peppers and if you don't have rice noodles in the pantry, better get some too. And, don't forget the teriyaki sauce.

Start a stock pot of water with a pinch of salt to cook the rice noodles in. Take a covered skillet and melt in 3 tbs of olive oil and the same of coconut oil on low heat, set off to the side or remove from heat; wash and cut up your peppers so that they are ready to go. Set the peppers aside and cut your pork tenderloin into med. thick slices.  Return your skillet to the heat on high and lay in the pork and stir quickly browning the pork on all sides, at the same time shake in some red pepper flakes, garlic and onion powder, turn down your heat and add the peppers. Continue stirring.  The water should be rolling so add the noodles.

I like to splash on the teriyaki sauce last ... a quick flash in the pan.  Turn off the heat on both the skillet and noodles. Drain the noodles, and ladle them onto a serving platter finishing by pouring out your pork teriyaki over the top.

Simple as that, amazing!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patricks Day ~ A Family Affair!

When St. Patrick's day comes around, its a family affair. I need say no more.

Chicken Romano with Red Peppers and Buckweat Groats with Brown Rice

Price per serving for two: $2.63

You will need to buy a package of chicken breasts, one red pepper, buckwheat groats/brown rice if you don't have in the pantry and heavy cream if you don't have in the fridge. This is a simple and yet such impressive dinner.

Take a covered skillet, put in 3 tbs of olive oil, 3 tbs of coconut oil. Then chop 3-4 cloves of garlic, add to that red pepper flakes, sea salt, dried herb seasonings* mint, rosemary, oregano and basil. Lay in your chicken and let them sizzle (on med. flame/heat) a bit on each side. Now, slice your fresh red pepper ( use half) and lay those slices on top, cover and simmer for 12 min. Then add 1/4 cup heavy cream and grated Romano cheese, cover again turning the flame to low; simmer 5 min.  

All the while the chicken is cooking, you should have water boiling with a pinch of salt for the side dish.
Add either one package of brown rice 'boil in the bag' and one package of buckwheat groats 'boil in bag' together to the boiling water. You can of course do the same with organic packaged/boxed brown rice and groats.

Chop some fresh green parsley for garnish. Once the rice and groats are tender, drain and ladle into a low lipped serving dish, garnish. Take a large serving platter and place your chicken breasts then cover with the savory red pepper creamy Romano sauce.

Amazing!

The Big Chimi ~ Not For the Faint of Heart!

I like it hot from time to time but my sweetie likes it hotter. Today's post is as about as far as you can get from the previous post on a good Christian's diet. Not that rich, tasty, hot food isn't Christian or unhealthy. I think if you indulge once in a blue moon... it's ok. I also think it is wise to take time for cleansing the system and or time off from rich, hot tasty food.

As you know everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial - 1 COR 10:23.  It would make sense then, that a little oil, grease and hot sauce would be oik...even like a good cleansing.

I never preach that diet is supposed to be or has to be to be rigid. Nor do I advise to throw your life away. Life is to be enjoyed, as it will be in the hereafter. So, when I get a taste for hot Mexican food, we head for the local Taco Patio (owned by Greeks?). I like the chicken taco dinner with rice and beans and my sweetie has to have the Big Chimichanga with steak. He dresses it up with a layer of sour cream and lots of hot peppers in oil - giardiniera.

Eating Right ~ Socially Recognized

Socially recognized, the idea of eating healthy as the way to well being belongs to Christians who more than any other group in this country had/have consciously considered and practiced controlled diet as a means for a longer and a more virtuous healthy life.

As recorded... It began with Sylvester Graham a Presbyterian minister who lived from the early to mid 1800s. He spent his adult life trying to convince Americans that white bread was weakening the nation. Reverend Graham's solution, instead of white bread, was to eat a coarse brown bread and or whole-wheat crackers - Graham Crackers!

This whole grain diet he proposed was picked up by the Seventh Day Adventists around 1850 and became part of their church doctrine; whole-grain foods, no meat, limited fats (fats are necessary); no alcohol, no tobacco, no coffee.

At about this same time, those Seventh Day Adventists selected Battle Creek, Michigan, as their national headquarters and started a small hospital which by 1866 had grown into a nationally renown health institution called the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

By the 1870s this spa was taken over by Dr. Kellogg adopting the Adventists doctrine. Kellogg, over the next thirty years, made it one of the leading health spas in the nation. At the Battle Creek Spa, Dr. Kellogg invented his first health food called Granola and he also invented Kellogg corn flakes.

C.W. Post, a Texas real estate developer had severe digestive problems and went to the Battle Creek Sanitarium in 1891. To his delight, within a day he was able to eat his first full meal. He was convinced that the secret to good health as simply to think you are healthy and to eat in moderation.  He shared in Dr. Kellogg's belief in pre-digested, non stimulant food so he had the BC kitchen invent a substitute coffee - Postum. And, C.W. felt it necessary to create a complimentary cereal to his coffee - Grape Nuts.

Source ~ Advertising in America: The First 200 Years. Harry N. Abrams. Inc. publishers NY

Don't Fear the Fat ~ Fear the Sugar!

What? Don't fear fat... fear the sugar more! 

 

Poor old saturated fat. For over forty years now, it’s been spoken of only in hushed tones, dissed as nothing but artery clogging, obesity-causing poison. This “common sense fact” has become so widely accepted that a lot of people who want to improve their diet start by purchasing skim milk, ditching their egg yolks, and beginning a life free of steak, pork, and butter.

Its been proven that sugar is the worst culprit in our diet today.

I am not talking about the organic sugar in the sugar bowl on the table that you use sparingly in your coffee or tea. That might be OK if you did not get most of your sugar from other sources. I am talking about hidden sugar which is in many foods including fruits and veggies. Hidden, because we don't think about sugar in a carrot stick or banana. Check out the sugar index on your favorites and find out for yourself. There are also many hidden sugars in packaged foods, yogurt,cereal, peanut butter, frozen items as in prepared meals and in condiments. The list is huge.

So many people worry about fat. At least you can see it and know how much you are getting. We know that fat has properties that are good for you. In a 2010 evaluation of 21 studies and 350,000 subjects, saturated fat was NOT associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease — which follows that in the past 30 years in the United States we have seen the amount of calories from consumed fat fall dramatically while obesity has doubled and heart disease has remained the country’s number one killer.  

What? Fat is good for you!

Liver Health: Saturated fat encourages the liver cells to dump their fat cells, which helps the liver to function more effectively.
Immunity: Saturated fatty acids, especially the kinds found in butter and coconut help white blood cells to recognize and destroy invading viruses and bacteria. Go get ‘em, boys! 
Hormones: Eating saturated fat tends to increase free testosterone levels,which helps to repair tissue, preserve muscle, and improve sexual function.

http://greatist.com/health/saturated-fat-healthy

*Always use moderation ~ though everything is permissible not everything is beneficial! 1 COR 10:23
 

Tagliatelle with Roasted Red Peppers, Tomatoes and Eggplant

Price per serving for two: $1.50

Why such a low cost?  That is a good question. It is due to the frugal fact that I use leftovers. Using food from yesterday or a few days ago is a good practice as long as the leftover was refrigerated just after the first use. It's just frugal goodness ...

So, what did I have leftover. I had a tomato, red pepper and onion based au jus sauce from an Italian Sausage dinner. To that, I added leftover eggplant from a previous meal and I also added a small can of roasted red tomatoes . Lastly, I added some additional fresh chopped onion and garlic. All went into the skillet and simmered for 25 mins.



In a large stock pot, I poured water and put in a pinch of salt to cook the pasta. Put in your pasta when it starts to roll. Tagliatelle is not as wide a noodle as is fettuccine but it is wider than the linguine pasta 'noodle'. For me, wider is better as it keeps the sauce on.







Basically, that's it.  Enjoy!

Get some bread to soak up the juices...

Eating a Meal ~ Food is more than just Food!

Eating is social and food is what we eat to keep going 'socially'. It is unfortunate that we eat less and less socially and I mean with other people and even less with our own family and friends as the fast paced popular culture takes over our lives.

Yes, eating in restaurants is social but we need to eat with people we know as in those who are familiar to us such as family or friends; because it is the intimate social engagement that we benefit from: body and mind.

Yes, food is a life giving substance that is central to our health; but, what we eat, how we eat, and with whom eat and where is very important as well. That is why, it is constantly being discussed, debated and politicized. Most of the time, we’re eating the wrong things or too much, or not enough, and on the run. Which is contrary to our attempts to become a healthier society.

We need to engage each other in food preparation and in serving it to those we love whom we share our lives and our problems with daily. In sum, eating social. It is about sharing our lives with those we love and in this way, we are under less stress and can enjoy a meal taken in togetherness. 























*Source ~  http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-nutrition/is-eating-whatever-you-want-the-best-thing-for-your-body-20140618-3ad5z.html

Juicy Boneless Pork Chop with Sweet Acorn Squash

Price per serving for two: $2.26

You will need to buy as many boneless pork chops as you need. Funny that meat is cheaper than bread these days. I just got two boneless beauts for $3.64, one inch thick.You will also need to buy an acorn squash, got a large deep green one at Aldi for less than one dollar.

Take from your pantry list: Olive oil, coconut oil, dried herb seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and garlic powder. Start first by microwaving your washed, halved with seeds removed acorn squash for 12 min; also drizzle as olive oil across the halves as you like. As for the amount of time, you know that my microwave is old and twelve min. is good for me. But, yours may take less time.

Melt in your skillet 3 tbs of olive oil and the same of coconut oil. Sprinkle in all the above mentioned seasonings (to taste or dietary restrictions). Once the oils spit back at you, lay in your chops, searing on both sides using a high flame. Then turn down your flame to low, cover and simmer for 15 min.

Check your squash and if tender, they are done. Slice into thick sections and use as a bed for the chops, chose a nice serving platter for this. Because, when the chops have finished in the skillet, you will remove and lay directly on the squash.

That's it! Superb dinner in no time at all.

... never work for food that spoils ~ John 6:27

What the Doctor Has to Say about Eating and Food

Taking a sociological perspectives on food and eating, recognizes that eating, in a modern and now post modern reality, is an evolved social activity. 

Sociologists of the functionalist, structuralist, and developmental approaches have varying theories and or ideas about the food and the eating of it. However, I see an overlapping among them largely located in the sphere of interactionism which is social reality being made possible by/through social dynamics in a place. 

Place has everything to do with your social reality and thus a lot to do with food and the sharing of it. The kinds of food consumed are directly related to place because of geography and climate. They way in which it is consumed is directly related to shared beliefs as in cultural data belonging to those in a place and that data includes signs and symbols exchanged in that place. 

Consumption is not just about consuming nutrients or limited to nutrients but rather includes non verbal experiences as well as ritualistic experiences that generate and circulate meanings and symbols for the purpose of identity and continuity in a place. 

Interestingly, we can describe both the modern and the post modern man’s consumption as more of a process of nutritional socialization; whereat, individuals learn not only what is edible and good for the body but also appropriate preparation techniques; appropriate combinations of foods; and the conventions which govern when, where 'place', and with whom an individual may eat ~ social.   

Today, we see more emphasis on what can be called a 'progressive' social activity; in that, each individual has a nutritional career which relates to how nutritional practices and preferences are retained for the good of society ‘group’ and this effects personal diet change throughout one's life. 

Food is a powerful symbolic presence in society.  And, reflects patterns of social differentiation as in who is who ‘identity’ as in being a member group and the role relationships found in them ~ ...families, i.e. 

It is interesting to see how visible this is as we can observe not only what is served but also what is accepted table etiquette and table settings ~ Dr. Efg.