She Shines From Within

12:01 AM

Monday, March 28, 2011

travel the world by cooking: destination; Thailand

as I mentioned before; I love to cook. And I love to experiment with different flavours and techniques that really challenge me, and it almost always tastes good. for the past while on my facebook, I would post on Sundays (or Wednesdays, whenever I cooked for the week), "I'm going to Mexico! (or China. or wherever)." depending on the nature/style of the food, would be where I would go.

it was so much fun. :)

I tend to go to Thailand. A lot. Tons of stir-fries, and ginger and spice. I think after Thailand, India is the place that I "go" to with my frying pans and pots. (boy - I once made lentil burgers and it smelled like India in my apartment for weeks after that!).

This weeks culinary adventure is mostly Thailand-themed. I made

Thai-Inspired Salad: this was a virtual cookery school recipe. I beefed it up by nixing the beef, adding pan-fried mushrooms (with olive oil spray - a mix of potabellos, and cremini), and adding mint, argulua, cucumbers and a lime-white vinegar dressing. Can we have a yumm-o?

(Crowd says yummo).

I also had poached eggs in a tomato coulis (my heck that was good). (That was Mexico). The breakfast this week is lentils, almonds and kale in a soy-dressing.

I also made a broccoli stir-fry with a salmon burger (today). and marinated tofu for the rest of the week. (Thailand/Chinese inspired. Chinese because I used Chinese 5 Spice seasoning :D).

I'm starting to incorporate more snacking (healthy snacks!) into my diet because I am burning up what I eat really quickly. I really hit it out of the park with this recipe.

Hempy Sunflower Boats

2 Celery sticks (washed and trimmed)
2 tsps (level) Sunflower Seed Butter (I really recommend Nuts to You Nut Butter.)
4 tsps (level) Hemp Seeds

wash your celery hearts clean.
spread the sunflower seed butter into the nook. (crook)?
sprinkle carefully the hemp seeds onto the sunflower seed butter.

Nom, nom, nom.

This is jammed packed with protein. I had this after my killer workout today. I'm going to try to work it out to have this as my snack all the time. (also might try it with Chia-seeds as well). I had orginally purchased the hemp seeds to make milk - but we'll just stick with the Hempy Sunflower Boats instead. :)

Workout Today: 45 minutes: Kettlebell Butts & Guts; Revisited, 45 minutes Jillian Michaels, Banish Fat; Boost Metabolism. (it was a great workout - but i ended up with a exercise induced headache).

Labels: cooking

12:56 AM

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

my love affair with cooking...

I love to cook.

I don't know where this love came from, at all. I remember when my aunt was teaching me how to make rice in Montreal, and I was so, earthly bored. [Her recipe was some chicken stock, some onions, and boil, then simmer rice. easy peasy]. Cooking was Momma's job. (Which was funny because she hates to cook). She cooked, I came and ate. That was life.

I did like to bake though. Best childhood memory (and chortle): making Momma chocolate chip cookies from that Neiman Marcus chainletter - and mistaking 1/2tsp salt for 1/2 cup of salt. Then making the batch three times!. Needless to say Momma didn't get any cookies that year.

I didn't really learn how to cook until I lived on my own, second year of university. And even then, it wasn't so much cooking, then it was reheating. I could make a mean pot of pasta, lasagna... quiche. But basically, I lived off smoothies, and instant meals. (Low fat instant meals, remember, I was trying to lose weight!).

The actually cooking took place in Korea. It was learn how to cook, or starve to death. Really. We had an option to get meals cooked for us and take it out of our stipend. I couldn't stomach Korean food. I couldn't even stomach Korean baked bread. I was living off chicken and eggs, and eggs and chicken, and dried cereal for meals.

Then, I discovered: Better Homes and Garden, 12th edition. Paperback. I flipped through it, and I saw an easy recipe for Tomato soup. And it was love at first simmer. I was so geeked out that I actually made something from scratch. And it tasted much, much better than Campbells. This became a staple in my cooking rotation to this day (not the same recipe, mind you).

The next thing I learned how to make was zucchini bread. (and I won't even lie - I am like famous for this bread. I make this for my mom all the time, and she shares this with her friends, and they're all like - 'What the heck?' and I have to make tons).. And it was delicious. But then the first "experiment" came to pass, when I decided to add apples and raisins and carrots along with the zucchini. [Don't ask me where this came from].

It's good stuff. It actually tastes like carrot cake. Yummo.

And then it it just grew. Whatever my mind came up with, I would do it. Sometimes it flopped. (Peach-Banana Yoghurt muffins, never rose, and soggy in the middle). Sometimes they rocked - and sometimes I made such amazing recipes, off the top of my head... and then I totally forget what I did to make them The Best Meal Ever!

I honestly think that anyone can learn how to cook. It might not be as simple as picking up a cookbook and BAM! (in best Emril voice), you can cook. I think sometimes you need someone teaching you. (I still can't make a good roux, no matter how much I try. And still epically trying to make a delicious looking mushroom soup). I am lazy, so I don't julliene, dice, chop, whatever - I just make things bite sized. But there is magic in the kitchen, and if you just trust your senses, and your imagination, you can go wild. The kitchen is one of my safe, happy spots. [I am one of those people though who uses every single pot and pan, so my kitchen is never clean, because they are all soaking and being used, and there are spitters and spatters all over the place]. I know half the reason why my Momma can't wait for me to graduate is because she wants some good cooking! (Seriously. as much as I love the cooking, she hates it. It's now reversed. I cook, she comes and eats!).

How does this apply to my weight-loss journey? 75% of the time - my goal is to not eat anything I don't cook myself. I have a little sign in my kitchen that basically says "If I don't Cook it, I don't Eat it." I cook enough for the entire week, and then left-over it. I am also going to stock up on tupperware and make some instant-microwaveable meals and pack up the freezer, so when the time comes when I just don't feel like cooking (usually around this time - exams and stuff), it's already there. When you have a kitchen minus instant foods - you really have to stop being lazy.

Why this strict approach? A: I can control what goes into my mouth - and I know it's whole, natural, and delicious. if I want pie - I'll make myself some pie. If I want cookies... well. I won't lie - this is where I go to Safeway and get those oatmeal cranberry raisin cookies. (So. freaking good. I have to develop a recipe for those). But - basically if I want something sweet - I'll make myself something healthy sweet. If I want a hamburger, I'll make myself a hamburger with sauce and all. (Well. a vegetarian option to the hamburger). When you cook yourself, you control the over all calories - and when once you "portion size" it it's all manageable.

So get yourself a good cookbook, and start practicing - trust me it will be worth every delicious bite in the end. =)

Labels: cooking