Food for Thought

If you are committed to staying hydrated, then you already know that drinking 8 cups of water a day helps you fight disease, increase your metabolism, and make you look younger. But did you know that you can also significantly increase your fluid intake with food? Vegetables, for example, range from 85 to 95 percent water by weight. Fruits and veggies are also rich in the healing antioxidants your body needs for cell repair and healthy skin, and they contain trace minerals that your body needs to make new cells. 

The vegetables with the most color (think bright oranges, yellows and reds) provide the most nutrients. 

(Info courtesy of Shape Up The Nation)

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Making Cheese

I've been so excited to get started making cheese since the class at the SCA event on Jan 29th.  The only reason I haven't yet is I've had so much trouble finding cheesecloth!  Believe it or not, it's actually not so easy.  The stuff you see in all the stores is unfortunately not FOOD grade.  It's CRAFT grade.  I finally gave up and ordered some online.  Hopefully it will be here soon.  I have everything else all ready and waiting!

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Organic Vegetables & Fruits

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/29/recommended-vegetable-list.aspx

If you were to get all of your vegetables from conventionally farmed sources, this would be better for your health than eating no fresh vegetables at all. However, conventionally farmed vegetables are not your best choice. Organic vegetables are a much better option.

 Of the 43 different fruit and vegetable categories tested by the Environmental Working Group and included in their Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organic:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet bell peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Lettuce
• Grapes (imported)
• Pears
• Spinach
• Potatoes

In contrast, these foods were found to have the lowest residual pesticide load, making them the safest bet among conventionally grown vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Banana
• Kiwi
• Asparagus
• Sweet peas (frozen)
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Sweet corn (frozen)
• Avocado
• Onion

So if you need to work within a certain budget, use this information to help guide you to the best choices when it comes to lowering your overall pesticide exposure.

Why?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides to be carcinogenic, and most are damaging to your nervous system as well. In fact, these powerful and dangerous chemicals have been linked to numerous health problems such as:

• Neurotoxicity
• Disruption of your endocrine system
• Carcinogenicity
• Immune system suppression
• Male infertility and reduced reproductive function
• Miscarriages
• Parkinson's disease

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Stuffed

Well, I only had to send David to the store twice (I thought I had bought it all!), and everything came out as planned... the brined, injected, spice rubbed 12 pound turkey who roasted over the open pan of gravy - in the oven for 2 solid hours with NO opening the oven - turned out maybe even juicier than last year.  Definitely more tasty, since the recipe has been improved upon!  The oiling and searing at 500 for 30 minutes really locks in the moisture so basting is NOT needed. The gravy in the pan retains humidity in the oven so basting serves no purpose.  


So I went with everything linked in the previous blog entry, and I intend to repeat exactly the same again next time.
Om nom nom.

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Turkey Time!

I know, I know, I have to wait 1 more week.  But just remember to get all your ducks in a row THIS week, so that NEXT week you won't be stressing and fretting.  :-)  Get your recipes out, start your shopping list, and all that good stuff, NOW!

As for my holiday cooking plans, well, they're not much different from last year, though the turkey gets a few tweaks:

The Bird:
-Alton Brown's Good Eats: Roast Turkey is the base plan since it has been SO DELICIOUS the past few times now! But I am going to make use of the gravy and wet rub sections from The Ultimate Turkey. I wish I could incorporate the smoking wood but I'm doing it all in the oven. It will still get injected though, bwahaha. I believe I am going to try this Turkey Injection Recipe unless I can come up with anything better. This one sounds good.

-Butternut Squash Casserole - It's so good you won't ever make sweet potato casserole ever again after trying this. Seriously. I have to make a whole casserole separate for my dad every year!

-Cranberry Apple Pear Chutney - A step up from the canned gel glop garbage. So good you can eat it on the side with a spoon! ;D

-Chicken & Dressing - my family has always done the "stuffing" on the side like this. (Here's a decent recipe, minus the apples and raisins, eww.. Plus, you need to use cornbread, not loaf bread! Just a few slices for consistency.)

-Green Bean Casserole - a requested staple.

And for dessert:
-Fat Man's Pie - Another annual prerequisite.
Maybe some of you would prefer the Mystery Pecan Pie. I might save that one for Christmas.

-Maybe I will mull some apple cider, too.  Mmm...



Refrigerator thawing. This is the easiest method. Leave the meat in its packaging in a pan deep enough to catch drips. Allow one day for every four pounds, so if you have a 20 pound turkey to cook on Thursday, you need to start thawing it on Sunday.

8-12 lbs. 1-2 days
12-16 lbs. 2-3 days
16-20 lbs. 3-4 days
20-24 lbs 4-5 days

Cooking Time:

At 325°F, a 15-pound bird will be done in about 3 to 3.5 hours.  A 20-pound bird should take a total of about 4 to 4.5 hours.  The total time depends on how well you control the oven temp, and how often you open the lid.

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A Lemony Caper Alfredo Chicken Dinner

Mix together in bowl:
mushrooms, quartered
capers
artichoke hearts (marinaded; including the sauce)
lemon juice
minced olives

boil:
linguine

Cook until done, in olive oil:
chicken breast chunks
chopped onions
minced garlic
fresh ground pepper
salt, to taste

Reduce sauce.
Reduce heat.

Drain pasta and put on plates.

add butter
alfredo sauce
sour cream

Cook over low heat, until heated. 
Serve over pasta.

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Mad scientist time

We decided this one was worth saving some notes on so we can make it again later :)
I don't know what to call it.  Chicken a'la Tina?

Boil noodles.

Fry in skillet 2 slices of bacon. [drain when bacon approaches mostly done; return bacon to skillet]  Add about a quarter of an onion sliced to skillet and fry, along with about 1 tsp garlic, 1 pat butter.  When this has had time to soften, add 4-5 sliced mushrooms, 1 tbsp diced black olives, and about 2 tbsp pesto sauce.  If bacon begins to overcook, push to outsides of skillet.  Remove it when it's done and cool, and crumble and set aside.
--Do NOT do a taste test at this point.  You'll think that I'm crazy and that I have ruined your dinner. LOL  Trust me, it will come together in the end.  The flavor combination is NOT there yet by this point!--
Add 1 more butter pat. Cut up one large chicken breast into chunks and add to skillet along with fresh ground black pepper; cook until done.  Stir in bacon, alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese, and sour cream. 

Serve over noodles.

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