New Order Living

Growing up in Europe exposed me to many different cultures, history that is thousands of years in age, the beauty of landscapes and architecture like no other. When I moved to Canada over 15 years ago, I immediately fell in love with the people, their warm welcoming ways, the possibilities for anyone wanting to lay a hold of them. And who can beat jaw dropping clearance sales? Yet there was something missing... I grieved the richness of Europe, and I missed little things, like admiring homes with rather short front doors, a building date of over 800 years past above it. It's taken me years to allow myself to discover Canada, to learn about it's youthful beauty, it's multicultural diversity, all scrambled into one big pot. Today, I love this country, even it's winters, with snow so high you can't help but get out into it. I love that we are so welcoming, I love that we have freedom to raise our kids just the way we feel is best.

Summer day trips in Europe are still amongst my favourite childhood memories. The steep Swiss mountains with it's clean, crisp valley lakes. Not far from these same mountains, cafes in bustling cities. Riding street trams for shopping expeditions, visiting museums, and my favourite, old castles, some in ruins, many perfectly restored. Now that my own girls are at prime day tripping ages, we have taken full advantage of this, every free Summer day, we are on our way, discovering and loving this country, Canada.

One lasting favourite is St. Jacobs, Ontario, where Old Order Mennonites live as they did many years ago. A personal Mennonite heritage on my father's side sparks additional interest, one can't help but feel curious about these plain, simple folk. Aren't you? Is your first impression one of admiration, or do you wonder why they would live such deprived lives?

I have had to assure my husband on many an occasion, I would not attempt to reform to an Old Order, still I can't help but feel fascinated by these people's priorities, and how they are amongst the healthiest and most satisfied in the country. While I can't imagine a life of plain dress, no cars, or the comfort of electricity, I admire with all my heart their love for community. So I ask myself, why are they amongst the healthiest in our large country? Theirs is a life without daily trips to the gym or grocery stores filled with quickly accessible fancy health foods - to me, it's proof in the pudding that all these new health craze studies, all that fancy gym equipment, might not be what we should be striving for. So what do Mennonites do differently? They work physical jobs and they are loyal to family and community. They even take Sundays off, no questions asked. Could it be that simple? That, plain? Can we take some of their ways of life and incorporate them into our modern ways, creating a New Order of living? Should we prioritise community over our careers, just one day out of seven? Can it profit us all, even studio apartment dwellers in high rises, to get our hands a bit dirty, to learn about our land while we work it and profit much more than a few home grown vegetables and herbs? And rather than spending money at restaurants, might it be wiser to gather in people's homes after Sunday worship, filling long tables with a Thanksgiving-worthy feast through combined effort, every week? When our neighbours are in need, are we the first to drop everything, and gather others to help where we can?

I hope your heart warms when you think of community, as does mine. Open your homes, your hands, your resources.

And buy your boys straw hats, your girls cute bonnets. Pinching cute cheeks may just out last that fleeting baby stage.

Hell-O Jell-O!?

I hope you are one of us crazies who read package ingredient lists, especially when it comes to childhood essential treats, cringes, and, with a disgusted to the gut feeling, puts the product back on the shelf.

I have been called upon the "depriving" I have inflicted upon my children of many foods that no child should do without. And yes, my kids beg for the stuff. But they have become experts at reading labels and we most often end up in the produce aisle rather than the boxed kind. They don't seem to mind a bit once they are informed!

When immigrants passed through Ellis Island many a moon ago, they were often served Jell-O as a "welcome to America" treat. Making the stuff essential to our food culture, even in my mind (and my belly). But there is no need to buy those little boxes basically made up of artificial flavour and food coloring. Why should these be part of a complete childhood? Research is not lacking in evidence of the horrific things these have done to it's eaters.

I have happy news!!

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Wiggly Jiggly Fruity Cups

Serves 8

1 liter clear juice (meaning texture, not color), like grape, cranberry, apple, 100% juice - not sweetened "fruit" cocktails

2 pkgs. Knox Gelatin, or enough of your brand to set 1 liter, or 4 cups, of liquid

2 tbsp superfine sugar (optional)

assorted fruits, with the exception of pineapple, which hinders gelatin of doing it's job

Measure out 1 liter of juice. Pour 750 ml into a medium saucepan. Stir the gelatin into the remaining 250 ml, let it absorb in the juice for 5 minutes.

If using, add the 2 tbsp superfine sugar to the juice in the saucepan. Bring up to a gentle boil, stirring, to melt the sugar. Now carefully pour the hot juice into the gelatin mixture. Stir to combine, then pour into individual serving cups.

Refrigerate until just about set, 1 1/2 hours, add chopped fruit, and allow to set until firm about another half hour.

I dare you

It's no secret - our family's dream is a move out to the country, build our dream house in the midst of tall trees (which is far from a mansion, but a humble home, using creativity and simple materials, not high end expensive finishes - a house should feel like home, after all), grow fruit and vegetables to feed a crowd, swing in hammocks while reading good books, finishing days with guitars and bon fires and friends. Most of us have dreams, too many of us never dare to pursue them. As I watch my children grow, and their eyes light up whilst doing things they love, when we have that typical grown-up to child conversation about what to become one day, it brings joy to my heart when they have big dreams, when they don't say silly things like, "well, that would be nice, but that's impossible, so I won't dare try". I wonder if God sees dreams passed over, dreams let go by us, the same way I do when I see a child's can't do outlook? Dreams usually have purpose, and when they are beautiful dreams, they extend past ourselves and include those around us, often many more, people we may never know. So please, allow yourself to follow your dream, don't be too humble to brush God off, thinking it's not for you. He's in the dream business, His dreams came true when He created you.

Allowing myself to take the time to learn to cook, without being so hard on myself when I fail, has been a dream for me. I want my legacy to be memory evoking recipes left behind to generations after me, for people to enjoy them and to smile and perhaps shed a few little tears, when they remember the times we spent around the kitchen island. I refuse to let anything stand in it's way.

Still there is something to be said about efficient cooking, so more time can be spent sitting together, enjoying each other's stories and thoughts. During cold winters, we love spending time near the oven, it keeps us warm(er), and the beautiful aromas evoke comfort in so many ways. Summers are short, cooking outdoors a special treat, and I do embrace it any chance I get. This dinner is a perfect example of this, the house remains cool, and post-cooking wash up is sparse.

I started with skinless, boneless chicken thighs, about 2 per person (plus extra for lunch the next day, or course). I grabbed a large bowl, and combined these seasonings in it:

2 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp turbinado or brown sugar

1 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 - 3 tbsp olive oil

Pat your chicken dry, then add it to the bowl, using your hands, coat with the seasoning rub. Set aside.

Now, grab a large head of broccoli, cut it into medium florets. Using a large length of aluminum foil, make a pouch for the broccoli by laying it in a 2 inch line in down the center. Crimp both ends of the foil to make a pouch, but leave the top open. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Time to heat the BBQ to high.

Meanwhile, scrub 4 russet potatoes, then place in the microwave (yes, I know... but do you really want the oven on for an hour right now??!), and cook on high for about 15 minutes. Check for doneness, adjust cooking time if necessary.

When the BBQ is good and hot, place the broccoli pouch on one end, and the chicken, presentation side down first, on the other. Turn the BBQ to medium. The broccoli (which I love cooked rather than raw but with a good crunch left in it) and chicken will be ready in about the same time, roughly 10 - 15 minutes. Turn the chicken as little as possible. I like to cook it about 3/4 of the way on one side, then almost to done on the second. At this time I add my favourite BBQ sauce to both sides and let it caramelize, turning it once or twice.

A few chives snipped from the garden, chopped and stirred into thick sour cream with a little salt and pepper completes the dish. (By the way, read your ingredients even on basic foods like sour cream, you might be surprise what you find. I only buy Western sour cream, it's entirely natural and tastes so much better for it.)

Voila - dinner is ready, just 20 minutes later, and the kitchen is still refreshingly cool.

Slow life revolution

"Today's online services turn friendship into fast food -- wrapping everyone in a "friend" paper -- and sharing really suffers". (foxnews)

Stop for a minute and think about that. Are we feeling more connected? Perhaps. Do we have conversations with friends over dinner, interesting topics abruptly ending with, "yup, saw it on facebook". Do we visit people less, since we've "visited" with them online? Guilty, I am. Lately I questioned myself repeatedly, are my friendships becoming deeper, or, not at all? Is there value in daily virtual chats, or will I enjoy face to face visits all the more, even if they are less in quantity, but more in quality? My intentions are not to start an anti-facebook revolution, it's a life change I am embracing, and in doing so, I have noticed just how much facebook has taken over my social activities. I worried for a several days about losing touch with past friends found, about missing out on saying a quick hello to every day friends, about seeing photos and keeping up to date. Now I am certain, keeping in touch will continue with those truly apart of my life, I may just pick up the phone more often and hear my friend's voices, photos might become more precious again when sent by snail mail. Instead of missing out, I will learn to appreciate once again. I think that's what I've missed.

My thoughts on food are not far off, cooking from scratch with time invested elevates the most basic of all foods to a level where fine dining can't touch it. If you don't understand what it means for there to be love in your food, then you need to make a point of finding out. It's not something that can be explained, but something that needs to be discovered. If I am going to start any sort of revolution, that would be it. Value the simple. The every day. And find satisfaction in an entirely new way, which has nothing to do with success or money.

Try this marinara, it's slow cooking process, resulting in a depth of flavour that is pure bliss, not to be forgotten any time soon.

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Roasted Vegetable Marinara

4 large, ripe tomatoes
1 large red pepper, quartered, seeds removed
1 head of garlic

olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Brush tomatoes, red pepper, and garlic head with olive oil and place in a shallow baking dish. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes.
Remove vegetables from the oven, set them aside to cool slightly.
Peel tomatoes and red pepper by pulling the skins off with your hands. Squeeze the garlic out of it's shell. Place vegetables in a food processor with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and pulse until almost smooth, leaving some texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook your choice of pasta in salted water until al dente, drain but do not rinse, place back in pot. Add marinara and cook until heated through.

Try it with turkey meatballs and a little cheese, but it's pretty devine all on it's own.

Perfectly crisp, through and through

Being of the health food eating kind, never craving junk food, I do have one exception, you probably do too - fries. It's not just the kids with this one, mom and dad have cravings just the same! Having home fries is, sadly, never the same, we miss out on those gorgeous crunchy outsides. Home fries certainly are not a substitute, they are, in my opinion, an entirely different food.
Then comes an a-ha moment... while watching Food TV with my very interested 7 year old daughter, who replaced mindless kid's shows with Discovery Channel and Food Network (my heart gets all fuzzy and warm thinking of this).
I've made home fries countless times. I've read many a recipe. None share these easy, vital steps that make ALL the difference. Are you ready for this? It's simpler than you might think... (seems all things in simple form somehow come out on top, doesn't it?) Here it goes:
After cutting scrubbed but unpeeled Russet potatoes into even sized wedges, put them into a bowl of cold water, drain and rinse, repeating until the water goes from milky to clear. You have now washed off excess starch. Step two: place the wedges on a clean dish towel, and dry thoroughly.
That's it.

Place the wedges in a dry bowl, drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over them, about 1 for every large Russet potato. Add a few pinches of sweet paprika, kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Toss to coat the wedges evenly. Put them on parchment lined cookie sheets, spread apart so steam can evaporate, rather than make the wedges soft. Bake in a 425 F oven for about 40 minutes, until tender inside and crispy outside. I use two cookie sheets since I make a huge amount for my fry loving family, rotating them top to bottom halfway through the cooking time.

Remove from the oven and hit them with a little steak spice to kick it up a notch, or coarse salt if you prefer.

And when bikini season comes to a close, I figure we'll dress the fries up a bit, piling them high in a round casserole dish, adding a good covering of Monterey Jack cheese and bacon bits, then melting the cheese under the broiler for a minute or two. Pretty it up with chopped green onions - all males in your house will love you just a bit more that day!

Inspired by Chuck Hughes

From the inside out - the anti diet

I don't believe in diets, and yet I do watch what I eat a whole lot more this time of year than any other, with just two rules: avoid sugar as much as possible, and eat vegetables more than usual with every meal (snacks included). And since we don't eat processed or premade foods, I think that's enough effort. This quote pretty much sums it up, "Don't focus on the growth of something ... focus on it's health! Healthy things grow!" Eat right, feel right.

No time to cook? Try this one on for size: snow peas and onions are flash heated and left perfectly crisp by draining pasta over them right in the strainer. Add in fresh, ripe tomatoes, a bunch of herbs, some garlic and a hint of cheese, your dinner is ready in 15 minutes. You could even barbecue chicken in the same time by pounding chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap until 1/4 inch thick, seasoning with salt and pepper, and brushing with good for you olive oil. Barbecue on medium heat for about 12 - 15 minutes. I bet waiting for pizza delivery would leave your belly hungry for a whole lot longer!

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Spring Garden Pasta
Serves 4 - 6

1 lb dried shell pasta
2 cups snow peas, trimmed and cut in half
2 cups ripe grape tomatoes, any variety
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

herb pesto:
2 cups fresh herbs, like basil or parsley, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 - 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan OR 1 cup grated Mozzarella

Cook pasta until tender.
Meanwhile, place trimmed, halved snow peas and sliced red onion in a colander set in the sink for draining the pasta.
Make the pesto by pulsing the garlic and salt in a blender, then add herbs, olive oil, pepper and Parmesan (if using Mozzarella, don't add to the blender, but stir into pasta when ready). Pulse again until combined. If you have a proper chefs knife, you can skip the blender by chopping your herbs and garlic super fine, and stirring into olive oil, then adding cheese.
When pasta is tender (but not mushy), drain right over the vegetables in the colander. Do not rinse. Pour pasta and veggies into a large bowl, add pesto, cheese and tomatoes, toss to combine. Serve with additional cheese if you so desire.

When your garden's bounty is herbs...

It's Spring.
It's hot.
It's almost Summer.
I love it.
Because I love the BBQ.
And herbs.

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The Herby Turkey
Serves 4 - 6

Foccacia buns or slab, cut into burger size squares, sliced

patty:
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 - 2 shallots, finely minced
a good handful finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

pesto:
about 10 sage leaves, finely chopped
one parsley sprig, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp grated Parmesan

to cook:
2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder

mayo

To make the herby pesto, place garlic and salt in a blender. Pulse for a few seconds. Add almonds, pulse again. Add everything else and pulse just enough to combine. Done!

Fire up the BBQ on high, get it good and hot. To make the herby turkey patties, mix your patty ingredients with the turkey, only until just combined. The more you mix, the tougher the end result. Oh, and use your hands, they are your best tool. Shape into 4 - 6 even patties.

Stir 1/2 tsp garlic powder into some olive oil, and using a pastry brush, coat both sides of each patty.

Turn the BBQ down to medium, gently place the patties about 2 inches apart on the grill. Now leave them alone for 6 - 7 minutes (use a timer!), then flip, only once, never more, and cook another 5 - 8 minutes, or until firm to touch.

Quickly toast foccacia on the BBQ, then spread the bottom half of each with a little mayo. Add a patty, spoon a little pesto on it and finish with the top half of the foccacia. Serve with a simple tomato salad.