Breakfast Quinoa with Oranges

Quinoa is my most high energy breakfast!  I am literally unstoppable after eating this.

The great thing about breakfast grains is that they are ridiculously simple: throw a cup of grain (in this case quinoa) in a pot, throw 2 cups of water on top, boil, turn off.

While the quinoa is absorbing the water after boiling, I prep the toppings: peel and chop an orange, chop a handful of raw almonds.  Maybe the quinoa needs a little longer… meditate, do yoga, get dressed, put on your makeup…  then top with a sprinkle of bee pollen, a drizzle of honey and a spoonful of unsweetened yogurt.  So good!

The Teaching Tree

To celebrate my milestone birthday, I went to the Wild Coast – where the sea crashes into cliffs and the wind blows gales.  The trees along these shores are not traditionally beautiful, they are gnarled and misshapen, but they are magnificent.  When you look at them you feel their strength and acknowledge the indomitable spirit of the life force.

They made me think about my life differently.  Our culture values the perfect: hothouse tomatoes, carefully pruned trees, well manicured lawns and women.  At 50 I was feeling every minute of my age, the cumulative effects of a half century of physical and mental traumas.  In these striking trees I found a new respect for myself.  I value the courage and perseverance that it takes to thrive in the face of adversity.  Survivors are beautiful.

Wild Game

My household includes vegan, gluten free diets and bacon loving hunters, so as the cook, I have to be versatile.  While I could never kill an animal, I do understand that one elk, deer, or steer feeds our family of 5 and a dog for a year.

Wild game are all “free range organic”, living a natural life, and as a consequence their meat is very lean.  For this reason, I often cook it wrapped in bacon to keep it tender, and always on the smoker, which keeps it moist.

This 4 pound baron of elk was cooked on the smoker for four hours at 190 F, and then a final hour at 250 until it reached an internal temperature of 135. (medium rare) It is the tenderest meat we have ever eaten or likely ever will.

Where we live, getting an elk “tag”, which is permission to hunt one bull elk in a small geographic area during a very brief period in late fall, is like winning the hunting lottery.  My husband and his brothers have been submitting requests for elk tags for over 20 years and my husband finally got one last year.  The first weekend all the brothers went out with all their gear but didn’t see any.  The next weekend my husband went out with his son, still no elk.  On the final weekend that he had permission to hunt, no-one else was available so he went out alone.  On the last morning of the last day, he found a herd and got a clean shot.  We don’t have an ATV, so his moment of elation was quickly followed by the realization that it was just him, dragging a 500 lb bull elk out of the remote woods.  It took him over 6 hours, using the winch on the truck.

Kicking my Heels Off

Tina Fey stripping off her dress on David Letterman was a revolutionary act (#LastDressEver).  I am ready to join this revolution.

As I grow older, many of the things that I accepted unquestioningly in my youth grow patently absurd, like red patent leather peep toe high heels.  As a lifelong fashionista particularly obsessed with shoes and lipstick, I totally GET them – they are gorgeous as design objects and they turn me into a glamorous object.  They are completely inappropriate for walking though, which really should be the main function of shoes. Walking miles in high heels mangled my feet.

What a relief to find that the aging Boomers, always a step ahead of me, are forcing flats onto the catwalks. Meanwhile, as I settle into my semi-rural paradise, it’s obvious that I will only ever wear rubber boots and trail-runners here.  There are almost no paved surfaces, it truly is a paradise!  At a long legged 5″9″ I never needed heels anyway.

So thank you Tina, for reminding us what Coco Chanel taught so many years ago: we don’t have to suffer for beauty.  As every barefoot, beachfront bride knows, the ease that comes with comfort makes you look your relaxed, radiant best.

For Sale: large collection of designer heels…

Runner’s Breakfast

The two most important things in a runner’s breakfast are that it be fast, obviously, and healthy.  I have been cooking a long time, long enough to prize simplicity, and to have figured out the shortcuts.

This is a shortcut breakfast: place sliced tomatoes on the bottom of your pan, cover with spinach, crack eggs on top of the spinach, put a lid on the pan.  Cook over medium low heat on the stove until your eggs are the desired doneness, simply open the lid to check on them.  This will take less than 5 minutes.

Placing the tomatoes on the bottom keeps your eggs & spinach from sticking to the pan, so clean up is a breeze, and the tomatoes add a lot of sweet flavour to the dish.

I call poaching the eggs on top “huevos rancheros” style, because it’s the same technique. If you like, you can add oil or butter with the tomatoes, but it’s not necessary.

The Morning Run

A concussive slap of the beaver’s tail rings out just after we start our run, as though we’ve jumped the gun.  He warns of the danger that is us.

It’s a 45 minute lake loop, all uphill at the beginning.  The trail varies from narrow deer paths, gnarly with roots and rocks, to a seldom used gravel road, and finally a wide, groomed, tourist path that I like to do wind sprints on.

My run is all pain at the beginning: asthmatic short of breath; knees, hips and ankles sorting themselves out; every extra pound a burden.  By the midway point, a boardwalk over a swampy riparian area, I have settled into a groove and my focus has shifted from my body to my surroundings.  The final act, wind sprints with the dog, is pure exhilarating joy.

Pesto

Pesto is the very essence of summer.  You have a garden overflowing with greens, the sun is shining, and you don’t want to spend long in the kitchen.  Pesto enhances everything: eggs on toast, pasta, sandwiches, soups, salads…there is nothing savoury that wouldn’t benefit from a spoonful of pesto.

Pesto can be made from so many different ingredients!  Take 2 cups of any greens, 1/2 cup of any nuts, then salt & pepper to taste, the juice of half a lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil.  Puree in food processor until ingredients are blended. Voila!  Vegan pesto!  You can enhance the nutritional value (which is already high, greens and nuts!) by adding hemp hearts.  Hemp hearts are full of plant protein and omegas, with a mild nutty flavour similar to sunflower seeds or pine nuts. I often see the lemon juice omitted in recipes but it is essential because it keeps your pesto a vibrant green, balances the richness of the nuts (and cheese) and adds sunny brightness.  Nuts can be omitted for Pistou, the Provence variation.

Of course the traditional recipe adds 1/2 cup of parmesan (or pecorino, or romano) to 2 cups basil and 1/2 cup pine nuts.  Today I used arugula with walnuts and hemp hearts, which is a great pairing.  I also frequently make it with parsley, mint and/or cilantro and almonds.  Another nice addition is sundried tomatoes which makes it sweeter and is a lovely accompaniment to fish.  Pesto will keep about a week in the fridge with a small layer of oil on top. It also freezes well, many people freeze it in ice cube trays.

Pesto deconstructed

Dining Al Fresco

Sitting at a proper table, across from your dining partner, elevates the experience for me.  We had been taking our meals on the deck in Adirondack chairs, both facing forward, toward the ocean, and thus seated seemed to have little need to make small talk.  The occasional “here comes the ferry” sufficed.  I bought a small teak table and chairs for dinner on the deck and we miraculously rediscovered the art of conversation.  Now we are sharing more than dinner again.

Next steps… do I introduce smart cocktails with a dress code?

Aunt Connie’s Banana Bread

My Great Aunt Connie’s legacy is much larger than a recipe for banana bread, but it’s a darn good recipe!

1/3 cup shortening

3/4 cups brown sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1 egg, well beaten

3/4 cups of mashed bananas – ripened

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/3 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tbsp. thick sour cream

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes if a loaf pan or 18-20 minutes for muffins.

I often substitute 2 avocados for the shortening, coconut palm sugar for the brown sugar and use sprouted spelt flour, with absolutely no difference in taste, texture or appearance. I always add 1-2 cups of toasted walnuts.

Great Aunt Connie

Peonies bloomed in my Great Aunt Connie’s yard.  A knight in shining armour, life size in oils, greeted you at the door.  There was a sandbox in a room under the stairs for the children to play in.  Sometimes my great grandmother lived in the kitchen, other times just a chicken.  There was always a cat, Agatha, and a dog, Monty.  Opera music blared, children ran wild and ate huge chocolate bunnies.  A secret room was accessed only from the upstairs bedrooms.  She had it built because she had been a spy in France during the war, and it was obvious to her that every house should have a place to hide.

Constance Campbell, born Carter, was my Grandmother Elinore’s sister, and, as Elinore lived in Montreal, the matriarch of the Western clan.  She hosted every holiday and special occasion, with great style and a little chaos.  Connie lived large.  She obtained her biology degree when very few women attended university, taught in Jamaica, travelled the world twice, and made a fortune in real estate.  She barely reached 5’3″ and was born with one arm that extended only to the elbow, but she drove a standard, raised two sons, and was indefatigable.  Energy, beauty and good humour radiated from her.  She bravely chose her own end, after a losing battle with cancer, long before we had begun to broach the subject of dying with dignity.

Every year, when the peonies bloom, I remember her fondly.