Make it now, eat it later

One of the many pieces of advice I got while pregnant was to make big batches of food in advance and put them in the freezer for when baby arrived. I understood that I wouldn`t have much time after baby arrived to cook (or eat!) but I also didn`t have much energy before baby arrived to cook. I tried but only managed to make a cake...which is still in our downstairs freezer. Thankfully, when Charlotte came to live with us we had the help of family and friends (and take-out) when it came to meals. During the first week, my partner in parenting made a big batch of vegetarian chili and we did manage to freeze some of it for later use.

This week, after a particularly hectic day, we broke out that chili and re-heated it. It turned into a nice snack-like late dinner. We put the chili over nachos chips with whatever veggies were in our crisper (chopped up), shredded cheese and pickled jalapenos from the condiment shelf in the fridge.

 Before: frozen veggie chili 

 After: Nachos!

I will definitely be making more batches of food for freezing in the coming days and weeks - like pastas, sauces, lasagna, meatloaf and probably more chili because it was such a big hit. I encourage anyone with a child on the way, a young one at home, or a busy schedule to do this too. It does take a little planning and effort to make food but you can cook it once and eat it many times. Just make sure to seal up the food tight and label it if you`re prone to forgetting items in the deep dark corners of your freezer. A little prep now can save you time, money and headaches later on...and it can be quite delicious.  

Here are some quick links to recipes you can make and freeze for your future starving self:

Baby Center`s 10 Frozen Assets

Canadian Living`s Deep Freeze

The Kitchn - Recipes that Freeze Well

Half-homemade berry tarts

For a recent potluck I made these mini berry tarts. I hadn't cooked in forever and was rushing from work to prepare something before the party. And my stomach and heightened sense of smell wasn't letting me be very creative in what to make. So I used frozen pastry shells, jam I had in the house already, and fresh berries (in and on top of the jam mixture). Presto! Decent looking, bite-size desserts fit for sharing at a party. Sometimes a girl's gotta suck it up and just go with the flow. At least I didn't resort to just picking up ice this time. 

M.I.A.

I've been missing in action for the whole summer. BUT I have a good excuse. I'm announcing on the blog some big news: I'm pregnant! Right now, I'm about half way through to my due date of early in the new year. Since finding out I'm with child, there have been so many ups and downs...and surprisingly many of those bumps in the road were food related. I have been more tired than I thought humanly possible. Then there was the nausea and general loss of appetite. And, of course, the weird cravings.

It's been a whole new experience for me. At first I was fine and nothing seemed that different. Then the tiredness kicked in and the food aversions. I was left unable to think about what was for dinner let alone have the energy to actually cook something. And my poor boyfriend hasn't been able to have a fried egg in the house for months. I went from eating mostly healthy, lower-carb foods to high-fat and starchy treats. And I found I couldn't eat many flavour combinations at once or it made me wretch. I remember getting a lovely sandwich as Manna Bakery one Saturday and eating about a quarter of it before having to lie down for the rest of the afternoon. It wasn't the sandwich. It was awesome: turkey, cheese, pretzel bread, mustard and lots of olives on the side. Then there was another time at International Flavours with a friend where I barely got through my curry plate. Barely. And then also had to lay down on the couch for the rest of the afternoon. At times like those, I wished I could talk to my food: "Listen, you're awesome. It's not you, it's me. Really."

Fast food was not what I needed but I ate it more than I'd like to admit. There were times I felt so tired and stomach sick, it was like being hungover. And we all know the cure for hangovers: grease. I also had a whole phase (ahm, more like month) where I wanted ice cream every day. How stereotypical! To be fair, more often than not I opted for a popsicle or frozen yogurt.

And for about a three or four week stretch I routinely woke up at four in the morning craving chocolate milk. I ended up buying my own supply of 1 % so I could trot out to the kitchen at all hours and guzzle it right from the carton. In my second month, I traveled to a national conference and I insisted that the hotel give me a mini fridge room so I could keep some fruit and my precious chocolate milk for when I needed it. I've always liked soy milk so I tried substituting that to curb my cravings. Until, about fifteen minutes into drinking a cup of the stuff, I got sick and it all came back up again. I'm officially off the chocolate milk, soy or otherwise. 

Then I found the Babyfit website and have been tracking my food ever since, the good, bad and ugly. The website allows me to see where I've been strong in my nutritional intake and where I'm lacking on a daily basis. It sound tedious but it's worth it to have a healthy me and a healthy baby!

Thankfully, I'm feeling much better these days. My appetite has come back, I'm getting cravings (which is a whole other blog post!), and I'm eating pretty well...and eating a lot! So I'm looking forward to sharing my new cooking and eating adventures here as I go through the second half of my pregnancy and journey towards parenthood.

Use what you've got

 Some nights you just want supper plain and simple...and quick. Here's another go-to pasta dish that's mostly impromptu or experimental because it allows you to use what you have in your fridge or pantry. It's one part veggies, one part pasta base, and one part sauce. Saute the veggies (and garlic - always!), add tomatoes or pre-made tomato sauce, and throw it on some pasta. Done.

This time around, I had onion, garlic, mushrooms and some nice multi-coloured tomatoes. I started with the onion and cooked them in a small pan until translucent. Then I added garlic and some salt and pepper until aromatic. Then the mushrooms went in until they were cooked and soft. Finally, I added the tomatoes and let their moisture draw out and coat everything. I had some canned plain tomato sauce which I added until it was all heated through. If you want something extra, add meatballs, ground meat or some beans or chickpeas. And the whole point of this dish is you can use whatever veggies or items you have like fresh herbs, peppers, zucchini and different kinds of pasta. Don't be afraid!

 I had olives for the sauce but forgot to add them in. They made a nice after-dinner snack though! I'm still trying to enjoy olives more because I'm not a huge fan of them normally. But with rich food like tomato sauce and some wine, I'm coming around to them a little more every time I have them. Beautiful!

KISS (keep it simple stupid) Onion Soup

Problem: limited supplies, cold night, laziness. Solution: Onion soup!

All you need to do is chop up a bunch of onions. Careful this will cause tears...take off your glasses if you wear 'em, light a candle and bear through it. If none of this works, stick your head in the freezer. Seriously. I didn't believe it work work but it does. I hate that it works. But it does!

Then put the onion slices into a frying pan with a little butter, slat, pepper and whatever else you have on hand that you'd like in your soup. This time around, I threw in a dash of the beer I was drinking, some balsamic vinegar and a little cumin. You need to wilt the onions down a lot. This is called caramelizing your onions. It will seem impossible at first but then, after 15 minutes or so your big batch of onions will caramelize and wilt down into yumminess.
In a pot on the stove, simmer some stock, traditionally beef stock. Add the onions and simmer some more. That's your soup. Simple as can be. Not necessarily the best, fanciest or refined recipe but it works. If you want to French it up, add some bread and cheese on top. Broil for a couple seconds and enjoy. Seriously. It will be tasty. And careful not to get too close to anyone afterwards - it may be KISS soup but its still onion soup!

Lazy weekend junk food

Ah, the joys of junk food.

I had an incredibly lazy but truly satisfying weekend. And I didn't cook once. Well, I pieced together a salad yesterday to make myself feel better about all the junk I had and was about to consume. Yes, this weekend was full of eating out at other people's places. Restaurants, take-out, the lovely bakery in my neighbourhood, and the the corner store.

As I write this, I am having one last hurrah of a snack: Cheetos. Aside from it being the weekend, I am rewarding myself for a couple feats and was dealing with a couple stresses. Though I love to cook, sometimes it's just nice to be treated to someone else's work - and let them clean the dishes too while they're at it. And it's ok to eat when you're stressed as long as you don't go overboard. Food should be comfort in (and hey - I did my time at the gym this weekend too).

You've got to let go and stop over-thinking every calorie and every morsel of food every now and then. And as for the Cheetos...I'm not feeling one bit guilty.

Awesome chocolatey brownies

Photo: Guilty Kitchen

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon (and celebrate my dad's birthday) than make a batch of easy but choco-gooey brownies? I have a go-to Toblerone brownie recipe but wanted to try something new. Then I remembered a brownie recipe had come through the pipes on FoodBuzz recently. It's the Guilty Kitchen's recipe for The Perfect Brownie.

I followed it to the letter - except I also added chocolate chips - and the end result was indulged, decadent and, well, awesome. Prepare all the ingredients on your counter, and pre-heat the oven while you're mixing everything together. The recipe goes by in a snap. This wonderful treat is so easy and quick to make. It's a sweet brownie that's heavy on chocolate. Here is a the recipe and I highly recommend you try this out! Thanks fellow food buzzer!

3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cocoa
6 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or more)
1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1 tsp instant coffee
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 brownie pan. In a bowl, whisk together or sift the flour, salt and coca powder. In a double boiler (metal bowl resting on top of a saucepan of water), melt together the chocolate, butter and coffee. Add sugars and remove from heat.
Add in eggs and vanilla, but do not over beat. Sprinkle flour over chocolate mixture, folding gentle with a spatula. Again, to not over mix. Pour into baking pan, bake 30 minutes (rotating halfway) or until edges are completely cooked and center is slightly underdone. Let cool in the pan, cut into squares and enjoy!

I found 30 mins to be the perfect timing but all ovens vary. Just keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking time. Leaving the brownies underdone is, in my opinion, the best method because they'll be more ooey gooey. This recipe would also be good with some add-ins like marshmallow, nuts or or dried fruit (though all those things would take away space from the coveted chocolate) and the perfect pairing is a big glass of milk!

Food therapy

So I haven't been cooking much lately and have been living on dining out, mac and cheese and other junk food. And on top of it I haven't been watching my normal arsenal of cooking shows or patrolling the usual foodie websites. I guess it's a bonafide food funk. But I already notice things turning around. On a recent plane ride, the in-flight magazine was all about food. It kept me very entertained during the bumps and dips of that turbulent flight. Then I came across this article last night. It's about how cooking can be therapy and cites the Julie & Julia story as proof of this theory.

In the article, a psychiatrist says cooking is a great distraction and a way to get attention when you need to nurture and to be nurtured. Come to think of it, I think I was using cooking and baking for these very reasons for a long time now. It was a grand distraction and a protector because no one could say I wasn't busy or didn't care as long as there were leftovers in the fridge. But now it's different. Now I can cook for myself what I want. I can choose to do it for therapy or just because I want, say, a chickpea curry or found a great recipe online for brownies. It doesn't matter.

The article quotes cookbook author Lucy Saunders,"You can start from scratch and have something fresh and new. It's creativity with some measure of pleasure, and you can enjoy the results right away. And it's a wonderful way to engage the senses, even without a spark of romance."

So it's time to pick up my knife and whisk again and use them as tools to battle not only anger, sadness or anxiety, but also hunger! Food plain and simple.

What not to eat

Being busy and energy-zapped leads to interesting meal choices. During this past week, I've had a leftover meeting sandwich (eww), leftover fish and rice from home (not so eww), basically skipped lunch once in favour of more coffee and went to the pub near my work for a lunch study session. Not all smart or healthy choices during a busy work week. Aside from making a batch of cookies on Sunday night I haven't really cooked much of anything this whole week. I need inspiration, time and some get-up-and-go. Hopefully this weekend will bring me a little more food luck!

Lazy day...

I have a day off and don't want to cook. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking but sometimes having to think up a project, track down the ingredients, scour the fridge and pantry, and actually cook the thing is more work than I'm prepared to do. On a day off no less. These lazy cookery moments are few and far between. But today I'm enjoying simple tea and toast and a nice long walk to soak up some late-summer sunshine.

Do you have any simple foods you crave to have/make when you're just not feeling up to the challenge of cooking? Anybody out there? I'm having a Julie/Julia moment and am wondering if anyone actually reads this thing...

Feel free to add a comment, "follow" the blog or just take some time to read it!