Life is learning.  To learn is to live.
I'm learning with salad.  Salad and I have a love/hate relationship.  I know it's good for me but I think it's lame.  I know that everybody likes when I post salad 'recipes' because we all think that we're better people for eating it... but I still think it's lame.  Sometimes, in my laziest moments, I will wash two or three big leaves of some kind of green and stuff them down my throat just to appease the salad pushing monster in my head.  The last few 'salads' that I made were disgusting.  There is always way too much of a good thing... even with salad.  I now feel that I have adequately explored the too much and am learning to keep it more simple.  My favourite salad used to be a chickpea and carrot adaptation from 'Moosewood'.  So I've kind of channelled that salad while adapting another one that I found online.  Wonder of wonders, I liked it.
This salad process has gotten me thinking.  I was out today with Kid #2.  It was his first day on a two wheeler bike.  I held onto the back while he worked to steer and watch where he was going and keep the pedals turning and balance himself.  Of course I can't let go of that bike but the reality is that he's not really going to be able to truly learn how to ride until I do let go.  The only thing that my holding is doing is keeping him from falling over and/or getting so frustrated that he stops trying.  Everything else he won't get until he can do it on his own.  How much of that learning do we carry with us throughout our entire lives?  I still feel like that's how I learn.  You can tell me.  You can show me.  You can help me.  Ultimately, I won't understand those things until I start trying on my own and making the mistakes I need to make in order to get it.  Cooking and baking are very much like that.  It's not something you just get... at least I didn't.  I've never been scared of it but I've also made my fair share of mistakes, disasters and ho-hum dishes.  At my best, I try to learn from the mistake and at my laziest I simply don't stop trying.  Effort - there it is.  Effort is required.  I have to try - I can't stop trying.  Like Kid #2 on his bike.  It's going to take him a few days but he'll get there.  All of a sudden I won't have to hold on to the back of the bike so that he doesn't fall over and then I'll let go... and he'll fall over but he'll get it.  Motivation will keep him getting back on that bike until he can do it without thinking.


I've made a lot of mistakes lately - a lot.  Fortunately for me, I have people in my life who not only love me but who stick around.  Mistakes are embarrassing.  I am muddling my way through learning new stuff all the time and I'm hoping that it's what keeps us alive on the inside - thinking, feeling (good stuff and bad), challenging and making efforts.  This salad was a lesson for me in simplicity (can we stop with the four kinds of protein in one salad, please), in humility (ok - that absolutely blew, let's try it again) and in satisfaction (this one sucks a whole lot less and maybe salad can not be lame).
I'm probably reading a whole lot into salad because I need to write some crap before I give you the recipe.  Whatever.  I'm not gonna write a book about it or anything but I did get a decent salad and it all made me feel very very healthy... Salad Pushing Monster appeased for another day.


Green Bean and Chickpea, Parsley Salad adapted from Simple Provisions

2 cups fresh green bean, trimmed and cut into about 1 1/2 inch lengths
1 400g tin (about 2 cups) chiced and cut into about 1 1/2 inch lengths
3 green onion, diced
2 med garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
dash of sugar
2 dashes of cayenne
2 cups fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (approx.) good quality feta, crumbled

Have a bowl of cold water and ice cubes ready.
In a saucepan bring about 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add in the green beans and simmer for 4 minutes.
Immediately drain the beans and throw them into the ice cube bowl for about 5 minutes.  Drain on a clean towel to dry them off.  Set aside.
In a large bowl or dish add the chickpeas (with extra liquid), green onion, garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and cayenne together.  Mix well.
Add in the dry green beans and mix well.
Add in the parsley and mix.
Add in the feta and mix.
Check the taste and adjust if necessary.
Refrigerate for about 3 hrs.

The good news:
Summer Break has just started... like just now.  This means that I can begin to rebuild that thing called a 'life at home'.  I have vague memories of it - the cooking and baking, the sweeping, the cleaning, the kids.  This is good.  This also means that I should be able to post more than one thing per week here because I know that this blog basically keeps your world turning.
More good news:  It looks like my shin problem was very short lived and since my foot is doing much better I'm going to slowly start ramping up my running and see if I might be able to hobble through a half marathon in the fall.

The bad news:
All of this stuff will happen but hasn't yet happened.
This Salad.


This Salad and I failed together.  We're on the outs... maybe permanently.  I had high hopes for it and it disappointed me thoroughly but it was my fault - I think.  It was supposed to be simple - a chick pea, feta, parsley thing.  That was where it started.  Then I saw that there were radishes and peppers in the fridge.  Into the bowl they went.  Oh yeah... then cucumber.  Chopped and into the bowl.  And What?  I've got a can of tuna in the cupboard... can't leave that out.  You guessed it - into the bowl.  What I ended up with was a crazy mish mash of a salad.  I mean, how much protein does one salad need.  My advice, should you be brave enough to go for it, is to omit the tuna entirely... and maybe the cucumber too... and maybe less feta if there is less salad.
Damn - I ate this for four days straight.  D doesn't believe in salad with dressing ever.  Only stuff with nothing dressingy in or on it.  Kid #1 and Kid #2 - they probably didn't even know that the salad existed in our fridge but the knowledge wouldn't have made a difference one way or another.  I could barely stomach it, I sure wasn't going to force it down anyone else's throat.  Serving salad is an optimistic endeavour in our house at the best of times and this one was barely edible even to me.  Maybe I should have thrown some pasta in there too... that it.  Throwing something else in there would probably have fixed everything.  Thank god for D coming to the rescue and cooking some food for the week.
This must be a new personal low for me and I'm thinking that after this there is only one direction that food in this house can go.  Here's looking at a good food summer.


Chickpea and Parsley Kitchen Sink Salad... with Feta 

A funny thing has been happening to me.  I lost weight... in Italy.  Italy is now a place where everyone goes expecting to gain weight now thanks to 'Eat, Pray, Love'.  I've been trying to figure out why exactly because it's a noticeable amount of weight.  Here's my run-down:
I didn't sleep much (that's supposed to make me gain pounds not lose them)
I had my gross morning tea (apple cider vinegar and honey - good for the gall bladder) way before eating unlike at home where I drank and ate simultaneously.
I completely lost my chocolate tooth.
I worked out anywhere between 20 minutes and 40 per day (mostly 20 min) which is less than my usual.
I drank beer and/or wine almost everyday. (again, shouldn't that make me gain pounds?)
My meals were regular but sometimes I didn't get to eat everything on my plate (but we're talking 3 courses at least)
I walked quite a bit but not a lot.
Each meal (with the exception of breakfast) contained pasta and bread of some sort.
In short, there is really nothing here that yells WEIGHT LOSS in all of the normally prescribed ways one might think.  If anything, according to almost all the advice out there I should have gained weight.  Once I came back to Canada and realised what was happening (i.e. 'where the hell did my tummy go') I started racking my brain for the magic formula.  How could I keep this going? (It has continued but again I'm not sure why) Then I would feel stupid and guilty and angry that it even mattered to me because I don't want to be all 'OMG size totally doesn't matter' when it comes to other people and all 'OMG I can't fit into a size ___ anymore' when it comes to me.  That's lame.  All the same, something was changing here and I'm curious to find out why.
Then I started reading one of my favourite blogs.  She talks a lot about her crazy food/eating journey and how jacked up it has been and how much she's working on making better terms for her.  For her mind body and for her food.  She is learning to eat again.  In fact, a lot of people out there are getting really sick of diets or no carbs or salads all the time or whatever.  People are starting to just eat real food again and maybe they're losing weight, maybe they're not.  What I seem to be finding though is that they are feeling better.  Eating real food as they want it (not junk - let's be clear) including bread or pasta or rice or ice cream and getting lots of rest makes people feel better.
I'm thinking about all of this.  It flies in the face of just about everything I've ever been told to do when trying to maintain a 'healthy' weight.  The overriding message for me seems to be this:
Change is good.  Doing and/or eating the same stuff eventually just becomes something your body gets used to and then adapts to.  Keep changing it up and add variety.  Don't count calories every single day.  Let yourself loose a little and indulge once in a while.
Sleep is good.  Sleep is great.  Get lots of sleep.
Exercise is good but don't kill yourself.  Again, change it up.  Take lots of rests in there too.  I don't feel like I need to exercise vigorously 6 - 7 days a week.  It doesn't help me.  Working out 5 days a week with 2 of those days being rigorous might be just fine.


I've experimented with this salad throughout the work week.  Not because I thought it would continue my strange slim down but because it appealed.  I saw one of my office mates walk in with a quinoa salad last week that cost her about 7$.  I figured I could make it pretty easily or at least some kind of facsimile.  It's a great salad, simple and refreshing, but I have to admit that I'm kinda hungry about 2 hours later.  Maybe I should eat it with a burger.

I think that these salad pictures pretty much suck so I'm leaving you with this picture of my lilacs about to bust open.  That doesn't suck.

Quinoa Salad with Kale, Beets, Carrots and Feta adapted from BBC Food Magazine
serves 4 - 6

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
2 regular sized beets, peeled and diced
3 regular sized carrots in bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cup cucumber, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cup red or yellow pepper, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup chives, coarsely chopped
3 - 4 tbsp lemon juice
4 - 5 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
pinch pepper
pinch sugar
1 cup feta, broken into small chunks
4 - 5 cups kale or leaf lettuce, coarsely chopped

Cook the quinoa (using the 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa ratio) in simmering water for about 8 - 10 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
Boil the beets for about 15 minutes or until almost completely soft. Drain and set aside.
Boil the carrots for about 10 minutes or until almost completely soft.  Drain and set aside.
In a small container combine the cucumber, peppers, chives, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and sugar together.  Stir to mix and set aside.
At this point if you are having the salad at a later date (like later in the day or the next day) then you can cover everything and put it in the fridge.
When ready to eat...
Place the chopped kale or lettuce on a large platter.
Top with generous amounts of quinoa (you don't have to use all if you don't want to).
Sprinkle liberally with beets and carrots.
Add the cucumber and peppers mixture on top of that.
Top the entire thing with the feta chunks.
Serve
I made mine for lunches so I just combine it daily in a container... worked well.

Where do I begin?  This is a bit of a 'catch-you-up' post.
You ever have that feeling that you remember doing something and just can't remember whether that was yesterday or a week ago (or maybe even a month ago).  Yeah.  That's how I've been living for the last... I'm not sure.
What goes through my head:
'I need to call my parents - when did I last call? - I can't remember, maybe Mother's day - Damn, that was weeks ago - Crap'
'I have to return that phone call - when was that phone call - I'd better check my phone - Jeez, it was 3 weeks ago - heavy sigh'
'I know that my friend is having her going away party soon - she sent me an evite - I'd better check - ok Doof it was yesterday'

I'm not sure how exactly I've managed to get so accomplished at it but it now seems that scattered and frazzled is the new 'normal' for me.  Is this finally 'Soccer Mom' syndrome setting in.  Is it just what happens to women of a particular age.  Should I be asking my Dr why I need to ask my phone to remind me to bring my keys with me each morning.  I would love to hear your suggestions... and please don't be one of those people who sends me this message about how I need to take a month off and go to a spa or something completely beyond the realm of remotely possible.  I guess I want to know if this kind of thing happens to anyone else.  Time gets lost, timelines are fuzzy and remembered details are random events.

In the middle of the kind of week where I dragged my whole family to the wrong soccer field for Kid #2's game - argued about it for a minute, checked my email thanks to my phone, apologized to family, got back in car and drove straight to correct field - I've been living on some things both simple and fantastic.


I made quiche.  Not just any quiche but quiche with a potato crust.


Potato Crust adapted from 'The Moosewood Cookbook'
makes 1 quiche crust

3 cups shredded potato (I used about 6 med/sm potatoes)
1 egg
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp melted butter

Grease or butter a regular sized pie pan.
Preheat oven to about 400 degrees F.
Combine the shredded potato, egg, salt, pepper and melted butter together.  Stir well.  Pour into the greased pie pan.  Using your fingers, spread the potato mixture out evenly over the whole pan and up the sides.
Bake for about 30 minutes.  Brush with a little oil or butter again and bake for another 10 minutes or so.  Remove from oven a cool slightly before adding quiche ingredients.  Done.


...You won't hear me talk much about salad but this dressing has kept my spring greens happy for the last week.  I saw it in one of my BBC magazines and thought I would try it.  Fan-Friggin-tastic.


Grainy Mustard and Maple Syrup dressing adapted from BBC GoodFood magazine

1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp grainy mustard

Combine everything in a bowl and whisk until it's completely combined.  Pour over some greens and freshly sliced radishes (perfect!) and go...

I have a serious dilemma here in my house.  It's school lunches.  Because we both work outside the house, kid #1 eats her lunch at school.  She doesn't like sandwiches.  Because I'm cheap and too lazy to haul my ass out to buy something and usually don't have time to anyway, I have to eat my lunch at school too.  I also don't like sandwiches.
I will eat them when I have to though.  Two years ago I spent the entire school year eating lunches which consisted of two slices of whole grain bread, some cheese, some dijon, some lettuce, two slices of shaved deli meat and maybe a slice or two of tomato.  Sounds good doesn't it?
Trust me, after about January you start to get bored and by June the thought of another sandwich triggered my gag reflex.  Last year I did the same thing but with flat bread and cooked chicken breast.  Ugh!  This year I've got to get something goin' on.  Kid #1, she takes a thermos with homemade soup or pasta and sausage sauce (her favourite) or leftover quiche.  I am having trouble somehow with doing all this for myself.  Aside from a hard boiled egg my lunches so far have been paltry to non-existent.  I'm trying to fix it though.  Last week I went to the grocery store and bought some pre-made 3 bean salad from the deli counter.  Yeah... you know the stuff.  I know you do.  You look at it too, don't you?  And you wonder about it, right?  Well, I tried it.  It was ok.  I can do it better though.


So, I decided to get it in gear and make it.  I figure that I can just take a big container of it to work on Monday and eat it for two or three days straight.


I have a feeling I'll be doing lots of 'school lunch' posts this year.
Just a note here... I would definitely blanch the green beans for about 5 minutes in boiling water to soften them up a bit.

Wanda's 3 Bean Salad
(makes 4 school lunches ;-)

1 can Chick Peas
1 can Kidney beans
2 cups Green beans (2 inch pieces, blanched for 5 minutes)
1/2 cup red or green onion chopped
1/2 cup red or green pepper, diced small
1/2 cup mixed fresh herbs (parsley, chives, basil, oregano, marjoram - whatever's on hand)
salt to taste
cayenne to taste
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil


Mix the peas, kidney and green beans together in a large bowl.  Add the onion and peppers.  Mix in the chopped herbs.  Add the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and olive oil.  Check the taste to see if you are happy with the oil/vinegar ratio.  Add in the salt and cayenne and check the tastes.
Lasts well in the fridge for a few days.


P.S. fits well into my lunch container too!

We do this at least once every summer. Invite over a whole truck load of people. We are never sure who exactly is going to show up. We cook ridiculous amounts of food. We call one of these events Kid #2's birthday bash. Yes, his birthday is the 4th of July. Great, except we're Canadian but whatever, it's close enough. Kid #1's birthday is December 31st so we've got some kind of holiday thing goin' on.