7 Layer Salad

And, once again, here's another favourite from the white recipe book. Looks like I was the contributor of this recipe originally but I have no idea where I got it from! What I do know, Auntie Alvina used to bring this salad to gatherings and I have always loved it! 

12 slices bacon, fried and drained

1 large head of crisp lettuce, cleaned and torn* to small pieces

1 x 10 oz package of frozen peas

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups small cauliflower florets

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup Ranch dressing

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp dried dill

3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

in a 9 x 13 pan, layer the lettuce followed by the peas, green pepper, bacon, cauliflower, and celery.

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Spread mixture over salad.

Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and chill at least 8 to 12 hours before serving.

Notes:

Start with these two tasks:

1) Rinse lettuce and put into Tupperware bowl for several hours to allow it to get cold and crispy.

2) Fry the bacon (cut it up with kitchen scissors when putting it into the pan), drain, and cool.

* I cut the lettuce with a sharp knife. It turned out fine.

Add or swap toppings! Hard boiled eggs are delicious in this salad. Try adding red peppers, broccoli, or shredded carrots.

Mango Kombucha

My sister has been making fermented foods in the last couple of years so I thought I'd give it a try as well. Please note that you do not use metal at any step in the process. Here's my first attempt:

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp loose tea (in tea bag)

1 quart boiled, distilled water (not tap water)

Combine the first three ingredients in a glass jar and allow it to cool to room temperature. Remove tea bag(s).

Once cooled, add:

1 cup mango kombucha (store-bought or saved from previous batch)

SCOBY (see notes)

Cover jar with coffee filter. Let sit for 7 days in a warm spot. (On the counter or on top of the fridge.) It does not need to be stirred during that week.

After the fermentation period is over, remove the scoby with plastic (not metal) utensils. Basic kombucha is ready to drink at this point.

If planning for a second ferment, add chopped fruit of choice, seal in glass containers and allow to sit for 7 more days.

Notes:
I found I had to vent the jars for the second ferment every day or two. The fermentation builds up carbonation and creates pressure. If you don't vent it, you might have an exploding jar!

SCOBY: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. It's like a mushroom. You can order them online, possibly purchase them in a health food store, make your own, or get one from a kombucha-making friend. I'll let you research each of those options.

Pete's Recado Chicken

My brother-in-law Pete loves to cook and he's very skilled at it! His Mom, my mother-in-law, recently brought recado home after a trip to Belize. If you're not familiar with this ingredient, I am going to borrow heavily from Wikipedia. And by "borrow" I mean copy and paste:

Recado rojo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Recado rojo (achiote paste) ingredients

Recado rojo or achiote paste is a popular blend of spices. It is now strongly associated with the Mexican and Belizean cuisines, especially of Yucatán and Oaxaca. The spice mixture usually includes annatto, oregano, cumin, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, garlic, and salt.^[1][2] The annatto seeds dye the mixture red, and impart a distinctive red-orange color to the food.

The paste is dissolved in either lemon juice, water, oil, or vinegar, used as a marinade for meat, or rubbed directly upon it. The meat is then grilled, baked, barbecued, or broiled. Sometimes, it is added to corn dough to create a zesty flavor and color in empanadas and red tamales.

So, that's what it is. That's what it looks like. Pete is great at experimental cooking, we both had recado to play with, here's what he came up with, and what I made for supper tonight:

2 Tbsp recado rojo

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

1 tsp cumin*

10 chicken thighs with drumsticks attached

I combined the first four ingredients in a large Corning Ware dish, mashing the recado with a fork until it dissolved in the liquids. I added the chicken into the marinade. It probably would have been a better idea to mix it all in a bowl and pour it over the meat.

I covered the dish with foil, popped it into the oven for over an hour. The meat was very flavourful and tender! 

Notes:

Pete says he likes a bold hit of cumin, so he would have used 2 tsp for this recipe. We prefer it as a milder flavour, and I only used 1 tsp.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Last weekend, we had a birthday supper to celebrate with/for my Dad, his wife Gloria, and my Uncle Neil, who all had birthdays within two weeks of each other. Birthday celebrations mean delicious food and this meal was no exception! My sister-in-law Janine brought this incredible salad. 

Strawberry Salad

Calvary Temple 90^th Anniversary Cookbook

Combine the following in a large salad bowl:

3-4 Romanine lettuce hearts, chopped/torn

2 lbs fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced

½ red onion, thinly sliced

In a small bowl mix the following and add to lettuce just before serving:

1 cup Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise

¼ cup vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar (I use 1/3 cup)

2 tsp poppy seed

¼ tsp paprika

2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Toasted slivered almonds as garnish(optional)

Serves about 15 people

Strawberry Cheesecake "Burritos"

I found this recipe on cookpad.com and it was originally submitted by Ashley Shinoda Sullivan. You know I can't make a recipe the way it's written and I wanted to only use what I had on hand. Here's my version: 

1/2 of an 8 oz Cream Cheese; room temperature

1 tbsp Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup strawberry jam

4 packages (8-inch) Soft Torrillas

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, jam, vanilla extract. 

Divide the mixture evenly between the 4 tortillas. Slather the filling in the lower third of the tortilla. Fold the two sides toward the center and then roll the tortilla up like a burrito. To keep the end closed, wet the edges with a wet paste of flour and water. (Isn't that a great tip? I read it here.) Let sit, edges down, until ready to deep fry.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

In a deep saucepan, place about 2 to 2½-inch vegetable oil for frying & heat it over medium-high heat until it reaches 360ºF.

Fry the burritos until golden brown & crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip them as needed. Work in batches.

Transfer the burritos to the paper-lined towel on a plate to drain. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar.

Let cool for a few minutes.

PMDD

There's PMS and then there's PMDD.

On one hand, you've got your standard irritability, mood swings, increased emotions. The number of days each woman is affected by symptoms varies, but the average would be about seven days.

And then there's PMDD. 

PreMenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. (Dysphoria meaning anxiety, unease, mental discomfort. The opposite of euphoria.)

It's like The Hulk with PMS. The symptoms are more intense, to the point of causing significant disruption to life, both for the woman, her significant other, and family. 

It becomes disabling.

This has been my experience. For two weeks out of every four, my outlook on life and interaction with the world changes dramatically. I feel deeply discouraged, hopeless, overwhelmed, and possibly the worst part: rage. From zero to Hulk in one second. I try not to plan things during these two weeks because odds are, I'll ruin it and/or have very little capacity to enjoy the activity. I want to, or feel like I need to, stay in bed for two weeks. Not due to deep depression, but to avoid small annoyances that trigger me and to reduce how overwhelmed I feel by life. 

But don't misunderstand me. I'm not suicidal. There are definitely women that do feel and become suicidal with PMDD, but I don't. 

Both PMS and PMDD are caused by hormone fluctuations, and in my opinion, both can relate in part to the foods or beverages we ingest. I find avoiding coffee helps me feel much calmer. I've been drinking black tea, which includes some caffeine, and I'm trying to switch to just plain hot water, so we'll see what happens with that. 

So then, what can be done?

I am taking medication for it, but I'm not convinced it's very effective. And I don't like the side-effects.

What has been very effective is a vitamin buffet including B6, Vitamin D, rhodiola, magnesium, calcium, and L-Theanine. When I got to my "that's enough!" moment, with research, I took B6 and felt better within a couple of hours. There are days it seems the vitamins don't help as much, but by far, they are helpful and fast-acting.

Routines have been a saving grace as well. I might not feel like doing the necessary daily tasks, but I know how long each job takes and I can get through most of them a few minutes at a time. I can make supper because I've prepared a meal plan and stocked my kitchen with what I'll need.

Daily exercise makes a big difference too. 

I went alternative this cycle: Chinese medicine. I have felt as close to normal as I have in... who knows how long! I've had acupuncture every few days and gulped down a lot of Chinese herbs. Thankfully, our insurance covers it, but at the rate I'm going, I will use up my year's allotment of coverage next month! 

From what I've read, the only guaranteed relief from PMDD is to have a hysterectomy and remove the ovaries. I think there must surely be a better alternative! I'm not prepared to consider it as an option at this point. 

Okay, so why am I sharing this information with you? Nearly two years ago I heard a woman share her experience with PMDD at a women's event and she has been a tremendous source of information and support for me. Hearing her story validated that this was in fact a disorder and not a character flaw. If her journey helped me, I have the responsibility and privilege to pass the information along.

If you think you might have PMDD, here's a tracker that might help you:

http://napmdd.org/toolkit/symptom-tracker

For additional information, read the Mayo Clinic (reputable, world-renowned) site:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/premenstrual-syndrome/basics/symptoms/con-20020003

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

A friend was over for a visit yesterday and I thought a fresh batch of muffins would be a treat. This particular friend doesn't eat wheat so I adapted an old oatmeal muffin recipe to exclude it. Even though I've tagged this as gluten free, oats are not necessarily GF, so you'll have to do your own homework on that.

1 cup of quick-cooking oats

1 cup of boiling water

1 1/2 cups of oats, ground fine in blender

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 mashed banana

coconut oil or other shortening (1/2 cup or so)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 12 muffin cups.

Start by grinding the 1 1/2 cup portion of oats in the blender until fairly fine. I might have ended up with half of it being powder and half still in pieces.

Soak the 1 cup portion of oats and let stand for five minutes.

Combine all dry ingredients.

Mash banana and fill to 3/4 cup with melted coconut oil. Combine soaked oats and banana/oil mixture. Add the egg.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, adding water last. Stir until just mixed. Fill muffin pan.

Bake for at least 30 minutes. When I tested these muffins with a toothpick, it still looked a bit wet, but they tasted cooked through when we ate them warm and cold. 

Notes:
I made a second batch today, using old fashioned oats, applesauce, cinnamon, and no coconut oil. Nope! Note to self: stick with the recipe as written!