Friday January 19, 2007 7:50 am Lethbridge Sunrise 8:20 Sunset 17:04 Hours of daylight: 8:44

A. Morning Musings

7:50 am It is +2 C at the moment with a high of +4 C forecast. Windy with gusts to 60 kmh.

Here are the news.

CBC Headline: Tories to Spend 300M on Renewable Energy

The program, to be announced today is for projects over the next 4 years and is similar to the Liberal party statements during the last year. This will raise Canada's generation of renewable energy to four times its present level. "Called the Eco Energy Renewable Power Initiative, it will provide money for new projects in wind, solar, tidal, geothermal and biomass energy." It seems that the Tories have finally realized that they are out of step with public opinion and are going to make adjustments to try to improve their image. It is a good start, but it would have been much more effective politically if it looked like it was their idea in the first place.

Canadian Headline: see above

Australian Headline (from The Australian): China Missile Strike Fuels Fear of New Arms Race

China used a missile on Jan 11 to destroy one of its own weather satellites. China has refused to confirm the story. Concern has been expressed by the US, Australia, Canada and Japan. One problem is the debris that results from such an action, which can affect other orbiting satellites and the second is a concern that this will lead to an arms race for the militarisation of space. While I see the logic of these two concerns, it still seems to me to ring hollow. The US has numerous "spy" satellites in orbit and we see this as okay?

Another windy day. It seems that we have wind almost every day since Christmas. It certainly makes walking unpleasant due to the wind chill factor.

From rear window	South patio
Both images taken at 11:50 am

B. Plan

Immediate
Health	Walk & exercise	1 hr
Technology	Begin reading "iPhoto"	1 hr
	Digital photography - learn about using the various manual settings	1 hr
Model Trains	Follow tutorial for 3rdPlanIt (Manual p. 8 - 13)	1 hr
Literature	Continue reading "Passage to Juneau" by Jonathan Raban	1 hr
Later
Chores	Investigate water softeners for home
Technology	Read manual for cell phone
	Make notes for chap. 4 of "Switching to the Mac"
	Burn backup of images onto DVD
	Edit iPhoto images
Mathematics	Read "Fearless Symmetry" chap 9: Elliptic Curves
Model Trains	Add ground cover to oil refinery diorama
	Continue assembly of coaling tower
	Purchase DCC system
History	Read Watson "Ideas"
Philosophy	Read & make notes for "Breaking the Spell"
GO	Complete reading "Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go"
Puzzles	The Orange Puzzle Cube: puzzle #10

C. Actual/Note

I received an email from Allan suggesting that we exchange recipes on our once a week new recipes. Sounds like a good idea. This raises the issue of an appropriate format. Let me play with this a bit. Here are a few guiding principles:

1. List ingredients plus comments on substitutions (provide for both imperial and metric measurements) (# of servings)

2. List steps (perhaps a photo or two)

3. Final comments on both result and process (preparation time, cooking time, suggestions for accompaniments).

4. Provide a nutritional analysis (important for low g.i. diets). (use FitDay software)

5. Acknowledge the source. This is a throwback to when I was an academic. Always acknowledge where you get your information from.

6. Make this personal. Describe what I actually did at each step, particularly modifications and why.

Let's try this with the recipe for this week (made a couple of days ago):

"Slow-Cooker Beef Brisket with Beer".

Original recipe in the magazine "Cooking Light" Jan/Feb 2007 p. 68.

Ingredients (serves 4)

3 pound beef brisket	I was not able to find beef brisket at the supermarket so substituted a 1.5 kg beef chuck roast (a cheap cut). Since this is a slow cooker recipe, there is no need to use tender cuts of meat.
1 teaspoon salt	I substituted Hy's seasoning salt and lightly sprinkled it over the entire surface of the roast.
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper	I lightly sprinkled the entire surface of the roast.
cooking spray	I used Pam canola oil spray
1/4 cup water
2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)	I used 2 medium onions (grown locally in Taber)
1 1/2 cups chopped parsnips (about 2)	I used 2 (grown in Manitoba)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf	I used a bunch of smaller pieces that would amount to about the same size as one full leaf
1 12 ounce bottle light beer	I used 1 can (355 ml) Kokanee beer (5%)

Steps

1	Rub all surfaces of roast with salt & pepper.
2	Coat fry pan with canola spray
3	Heat fry pan to medium-high and sear all surfaces of roast (about 1-2 minutes for each surface).
4	Remove roast from pan.
5	"Add 1/4 cup water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits." This was a disaster for me. The pan was too hot and the water immediately turned to steam, leaving a dark mess on the bottom. I had to let the pan cool and then I washed it before continuing. I omitted adding the water and simply added a little canola oil to the bottom of the pan and reheated it to medium.
6	Add onion and parsnip and saute about 5 minutes, or until tender.
7	Place onion & parsnip mixture, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and beer in slow cooker.
8	Place roast on top of mixture.
9	I followed the suggestion to refrigerate this overnight, but one could also begin cooking it immediately. Refrigerating it means that one only has to cook it the next day (no hassle). I assume that refrigerating it also acts like a form of marinating.
10	Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours.
11	Discard bay leaf
12	Cut roast diagonally across the grain into thin slices. I tried to do this, but the meat just fell apart, so I treated this as pulled beef. This turned out to be just fine, excellent even.
13	The liquid, with the onions and parsnips, was served in a separate gravy bowl and poured over the meat once it was on a plate.
14	The recipe said this serves 12 but 4 senior citizens had no difficulty eating it all. We had a Greek salad, cole slaw and sweet potatoes as a vegetable accompaniment. A very nice Australian red wine was the final touch.

Nutrition (from FitDay software)

The following two images are based on a single serving (1/4 of the above recipe)

Comments

This was very easy to make. I liked the idea of doing the preparation the day before and storing it in the refrigerator overnight. I wasn't keeping track of the time but I estimate the preparation time as a little under an hour. It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to sear the roast and about the same to peel and cut the parsnips and onion. I cut the parsnips lengthwise, and then cut each piece in half again lengthwise. I then lined up all four strips and sliced them, making fairly small pieces. The cooking time to sautee the onion/parsnip mixture was about 10 minutes. I am not sure why the meat was so tender that it just fell apart when I tried to slice it (I thhink the knife was fairly sharp), but assume it was due to the overnight marinating as well as the 8 hours in the slow cooker. Hopefully it will turn out exactly the same next time as this was truly delicious.

Now to embed this in my standard format for notes:

	Recipe of the Week 01 Slow-cooker Beef Brisket with Beer January 19
Recipe Notes
12:10 PM This is my first attempt at trying to keep notes for a new "Recipe of the Week". Original recipe in the magazine "Cooking Light" Jan/Feb 2007 p. 68. Ingredients (serves 4) 3 pound beef brisket I was not able to find beef brisket at the supermarket so substituted a 1.5 kg beef chuck roast (a cheap cut). Since this is a slow cooker recipe, there is no need to use tender cuts of meat. 1 teaspoon salt I substituted Hy's seasoning salt and lightly sprinkled it over the entire surface of the roast. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper I lightly sprinkled the entire surface of the roast. cooking spray I used Pam canola oil spray. 1/4 cup water   2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large) I used 2 medium onions (grown locally in Taber). 1 1/2 cups chopped parsnips (about 2) I used 2 (grown in Manitoba). 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar   1 bay leaf I used a bunch of smaller pieces that would amount to about the same size as one full leaf. 1 12 ounce bottle light beer I used 1 can (355 ml) Kokanee beer (5%). Steps 1 Rub all surfaces of roast with salt & pepper. 2 Coat fry pan with canola spray. 3 Heat fry pan to medium-high and sear all surfaces of roast (about 1-2 minutes for each surface). 4 Remove roast from pan. 5 "Add 1/4 cup water to pan, stirring to loosen browned bits." This was a disaster for me. The pan was too hot and the water immediately turned to steam, leaving a dark mess on the bottom. I had to let the pan cool and then I washed it before continuing. I omitted adding the water and simply added a little canola oil to the bottom of the pan and reheated it to medium. 6 Add onion and parsnip and saute about 5 minutes, or until tender. 7 Place onion & parsnip mixture, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf and beer in slow cooker. 8 Place roast on top of mixture. 9 I followed the suggestion to refrigerate this overnight, but one could also begin cooking it immediately. Refrigerating it means that one only has to cook it the next day (no hassle). I assume that refrigerating it also acts like a form of marinating. 10 Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours. 11 Discard bay leaf. 12 Cut roast diagonally across the grain into thin slices. I tried to do this, but the meat just fell apart, so I treated this as pulled beef. This turned out to be just fine, excellent even. 13 The liquid, with the onions and parsnips, was served in a separate gravy bowl and poured over the meat once it was on a plate. 14 The recipe said this serves 12 but 4 senior citizens had no difficulty eating it all. We had a Greek salad, cole slaw and sweet potatoes as a vegetable accompaniment. A very nice Australian red wine was the final touch. Nutrition (from FitDay software) The following two images are based on a single serving (1/4 of the above recipe) Comments This was very easy to make. I liked the idea of doing the preparation the day before and storing it in the refrigerator overnight. I wasn't keeping track of the time but I estimate the preparation time as a little under an hour. It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to sear the roast and about the same to peel and cut the parsnips and onion. I cut the parsnips lengthwise, and then cut each piece in half again lengthwise. I then lined up all four strips and sliced them, making fairly small pieces. The cooking time to sautee the onion/parsnip mixture was about 10 minutes. I am not sure why the meat was so tender that it just fell apart when I tried to slice it (I thhink the knife was fairly sharp), but assume it was due to the overnight marinating as well as the 8 hours in the slow cooker. Hopefully it will turn out exactly the same next time as this was truly delicious.

	Recipe of the Week 02 Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole January 19
Recipe Notes
12:10 PM This is my second attempt at trying to keep notes for a new "Recipe of the Week". Trying this recipe came about by accident. I happened to notice a package of turkey breasts in the freezer shortly after looking at the Cooking Light magazine. The photo accompanying this recipe looked like a good way to use this turkey. Since I was going to substitute turkey for chicken, I felt free to make further substitutions. This recipe was part of an ad for Campbell's soup. Original recipe in the magazine "Cooking Light" Jan/Feb 2007 p. 151. Ingredients (serves 4) 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves I substituted 3 turkey breast halves, since that was what I had. 1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup I substituted 1 can (10 fl oz/284 ml) Campbell's Low Fat Cream of Chicken soup. 1 1/3 cup water I substituted Campbell's Chicken Broth (fat free, 25% less salt), since we had an open carton of this in the refrigerator. Such a substitution makes for a richer dish. 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice I used Uncle Ben's converted natural long grain rice, which we had on hand. 1/2 tsp onion powder Yes. 2 cups fresh or frozen vegetables I used about a cup of frozen Green Giant summer sweet peas (what was left from previous meals) + 1 small can Safeway peaches & cream kernel corn (341 mL) which is about a cup in size. fresh ground black pepper I sprinkled this over the three turkey breasts   McCormick's salt free garlic & herb seasoning. I sprinkled this over the turkey breasts as well. 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese I used Kraft medium cheddar cheese. Steps 1 Mix soup, chicken broth, rice, onion powder, peas, corn in a 12 x 8" shallow baking dish. 2 Add spices to turkey breasts. 3 Place turkey breasts on top of soup mixture. 4 Cover baking dish with aluminum foil (shiny side down). 5 Bake at 350 F using convection bake setting for 45 minutes. 6 Top with shredded cheddar cheese and serve. Nutrition (from FitDay software) The following two images are based on a single serving (1/4 of the above recipe) Here are a few photos: Comments This was also very easy to make. Almost all "soup" recipes (i.e. where a can of condensed soup is one of the ingredients) are easy to make. We had tried a meal a couple of weeks ago with a package of these turkey breasts and found it a bit dry (the meat is very lean). But with this recipe, the turkey absorbs some of the moisture from the liquid and it tasted much better. The New Zealand white was very nice.

D. Reflection

I am chagrined to see how much I vacillate with this web site. At the beginning of the year I had decided to omit reference to cooking and recipes. Today I have totally reversed my decision. C'est la vie.