Simple meals

Meals don't have to be complicated.  They can be simply 1 starch, 1 veg and 1 meat.  Yummy.

Here are some examples from my last year:

 

Beef, carrots from mom's garden, asparagus on a bed of spinach

(I don't see rice although I'm sure it was there, knowing me)

Pork, yam, asparagus

Quinoa, stirfry veg, salmon. 

Likely have bragg's soy seasoning on the stir fry.

 

Sticky rice (cooked with apple juice and cinnamon), white fish (salt, dill and lemon baked in foil), roasted red peppers and zucchini (using olive oil and salt) on a bed of spinach. 

Yah this last one was a bit fancier though still only 1 rice cooker and 1 tray in the oven.

 

Now this one IS easy - leftover BBQ pork, 1 can of baby corn, leftover quinoa.  Boom.  Dinner.

 

As it feels like summer is coming ...

As today it felt like summer was finally going to come back.  As I write this I may actually have a bit of colour in my cheeks from being out in the sun on my breaks from taking a course at work.  25 degrees and sunny on May 5th in Fort McMurray?  Yes please!  It reminded me of the great meals I had last summer sitting out on the patio. 

I hope I can enjoy this sort of meal in a few weeks when I am back home (and hopefully it will be this gorgeous out too!)

Salad version 1 - I love using sweet chili sauce as a dressing

That would be marinated pork, with my homemade Vietnamese bbq sauce

Salad version 2 - mmm cucumbers

Homemade hummus with red pepper and paired with green tea :) 

Check out the jickama (got at CO-OP), I had to find it after I tried it in Mexico

Christmas Smorgasbord

I grew up in a house with one dane and mom of british and scotish descent.  We tried to blend the traditions at Christmas.  To honour the Scandinavian tradition we would open one gift on Christmas Eve with the rest being opened on Christmas morning. 

We would also have a Danish Smorgesbord on Christmas eve followed by a full turkey dinner on Christmas Day. 

So what is a smorgasbord?  It's a feast in many courses.  There are traditional sandwiches that you can make.  We have this lovely cookbook from the Danish museam which outline some of the different sandwiches. (I might add some detail later when I'm back home.)  Needless to say it's full of rye bread, white bread, cheese, tomatoe, mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, Italian salad, deli meats, frickedella, ramoulelle... notice a pattern?  Most of which I cannot eat.  Surprisingly I was able to enjoy with some minor modifications.

I stuck to one sandwich and modified it in the following way:  Earth's Oven corn bread, prosciutto, cucumbers soaked in vinegar (a traditional Danish thing, tangey and quite lovely), and daiya cheese loaf in jalapeño pepper.

Merry Christmas! (yes this is a very belated post, I know that it's May)

Return to blogging

So, I have gone on a bit of a hiatus when it comes to this blog, but I'm back :)

PTI Beaver River

So when I decided to take a work contract north of Fort McMurray I was a little nervous.  I thought that I would have to prepare myself for a world of hurt food wise.  I have been pleasantly surprised.

I had emailed in advance my list of other food allergies and they were expecting me when I showed up to the hot food counter.   I was so excited to see that I could even eat off their regular dinner service line.  Their regular dinner service has a printed sheet out identifying which items have allergens. The allergens they track for everyone are gluten, diary, nuts, and seafood.  They even have a symbol for diabetics and such.  Because I have so many more allergies they also set aside a to-go bag for me from dinner to have at lunch the next day.  The kitchen staff are wonderful.  There are actually gluten free options for desert although most I cannot partake in yet they always have a selection of Jello.  Yay.

Anyhoo I have to get going to bed as being up north means all I have time for is eat, work, eat, work, eat, sleep repeat.

Sausage!

Since I found out that I can't have gluten and diary I found it harder to get sausage.  Then when I found out I couldn't have onions it made it nearly impossible because I had to avoid everything that said "spices".  I am pleased to announce that I have found sausage and it is glorious!

I happened across it rather randomly.  I was washing my car and noticed a trailer that said sausage and meat.  I had been looking for a better meat supplier here in Claresholm and thought that I would give it a try.  I assumed that sausages were out of the question.  I went into the trailer and was surprised to see that they were ALL gluten free.  Talking to the man in charge I realized that he was actually was the man in charge of the entire operation, and he could tell me what was in each sausage because he made the spice mixtures himself.

Meadow Creek Sausage & Meat.  I highly recommend it.

My favourite so far is the chicken roasted pepper and Murray's favourite is the beef blueberry.

I'm going to visit their store today, pictures to come :)

My pantry

I thought it was about time to post what is in my pantry

Dry Items

• Quaker - Crispy Minis Rice Cakes - Original
• Want-Want - SuperSlim - Brown Rice Crisps - Original
• Nature's Path - Corn Flakes - Sweetened with Honey
• Rizopia - Rice Pasta
• Mrs Leepers Corn Pasta (macaroni)
• Rice
• Quinoa (white and red)
• Wild Rice

Canned Goods

• beets
• baby corn
• coconut milk
• sweet potatoe puree
• cream corn

Baking Items

• flax (ground)
• chia (ground)
• celemix egg replacer
• Bob's Red Mill - Gluten Free Cornbread Mix
• Glutino Chocolate Cake Mix
• quinoa flakes
• Namaste - Perfect Flour Blend
• Sunmaid Raisins
• cornstarch
• baking powder
• baking soda
• crisco

Oils & Vinegar

• canola oil
• olive oil
• sesame oil
• coconut oil
• apple cider vinegar

Other

• EnviroKids - Crispy Rice Peanut Butter cereal bars
• Tres Marias Corn Tortillas
• Daiya Cheese Style Shreds
• Nuts to You Butter - Cashew Butter
• Unsweeted Almond Breeze
• Bragg's Liquid Soy Seasoning
• Sweets from the Earth - Flourless Cashew Cookies