The Personal Touch

What kind of holiday shopper are you?  Do you shop ahead, finding bargains or “perfect gifts” throughout the year?  Or, do you wait until the twelfth hour, joining the pressing crowds, revelling in last minute deals or the challenges of competitive shopping.  I used to be a member of the latter camp but found, after stressing our December finances beyond tolerance, that the former method was more easily managed…both by our budget and my nerves.  As years went by, I also realized that some gift-giving options wouldn’t have been available when shopping last minute.  By shopping ahead, I could make points redemption from certain online merchants to ensure gifts, shipped directly to recipients, arrived in time and wrapped.  In leaner years, to spare our budget, early preparation enabled us to gift in more creative ways, yet still impart our love and care.

Gifts from the kitchen proved popular.  Soup mixes – varying mixtures of beans, grains and spice blends with ingredient list and instruction labels – are a great way to bring warmth to someone’s winter day.  You’ll save even more money on each jar if you’ve been bulking up.  Hot-buttered rum mix is another popular gift from the kitchen though, requiring refrigeration, it either needs specialized shipping or personal delivery.  Hot drink mixes hold up better if your shipping gifts.  A batch of home-made noodles, dried and packaged in an air-tight container, makes a fabulous gift for the pasta (and soup) lovers on your list.  This might not ship well, either, as the home-made noodles tend to break easier than store-bought varieties.  Some home-made truffles ship well and are delicious at any time of year.  Candies and brittles are another sweet yet thrifty treat most people enjoy.  In years past, I’ve also prepared traditional holiday foods – old-world recipes mostly producing copious quantities – and distributed these familiar treats to family members who also love those recipes but don’t make them because of the volume results. It was a great way of sharing traditional meals when we couldn’t actually get together.

PJ's for the Grandkids

Well-crafted, home-made items are not only a thoughtful way of gifting, you can  make for high-quality items for much less cost, particularly if you buy on sale or from “remnant” bunks.  When I was a child, my mother made new pajamas  for my sister and I, each Christmas -- that “soft gift” under the tree always confirmed the eagerly anticipated plush flannel nighties.  A few years ago, I did the same thing for my grand-children and those gifts were apparently worn thin, too.  Home-made personal products (creams, body scrubs, lip balms, etc.,) make nice gifts, particularly if prettily packaged.  It’s a good idea to include an ingredient label for recipients so allergic reactions can be avoided. Home decor objects like curtains, pillow covers, calendar hangers, or a set of matching napkins and placemats are quick and easy projects with a sewing machine, some rudimentary skill, and careful fabric choices.  The sense of smell is most commonly linked to memory, so to be long-remembered, craft some closet or drawer freshener sachets.  It can be hard to find something unique and special for unique gifts for the elderly or infirm.  Sometimes being of service means the most to them; they may need something heavy moved or a difficult household chore done.  Or, plan a special meal  as treat for a shut-in.

Don’t forget cards and packaging.  If gifting  cash or retail gift cards a home-made card with heartfelt sentiment can personalize the gift and reduce shipping costs to a minimum.  Attractive packaging and containers add a long-lasting element to gifts of all sorts. You can embellish common containers for reinforcement or to provide a dark environment for light-sensitive foods or creams.

Whether or not the budget is tight, or time is a crunch, there’s distinct joy in cooking, baking or crafting gifts; a greater sense of connection to the people for whom I’m tailoring the gift.  It needn’t be costly to share one’s love:  a box of goodies from the kitchen, a simple pomander tied with ribbon, or some time spent cleaning Great-grandmother’s ceiling fan.  Personalized care is always gladly received.

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

I’ve said it before, but summer is my least favourite time of year.  It doesn’t help that I have my own internal furnace chugging away furiously, 24-7-365.  So, when the mercury soars, the last thing I want to do is spend time in a tortuously hot kitchen.  If only appetites dwindled along with my desire to cook!  Sadly, they don’t.  I’ve had to devise creative ways to get food on the table, while generating the least amount of indoor heat as possible.

Barbecuing is a great way to avoid heating the house.  Most everything can be cooked on the grill, whether on direct or indirect heat.  All that’s needed are a few good recipes, some heat-resistant cookware, and maybe a little shade.  Metal pans are the best option if cookware is required.  Avoid using pans with Teflon-coatings or with handles made of plastic or wood as most won’t take the high heat or open flame.  Aluminum foil is great for steam-cooking but use it over indirect heat for best results.  To limit our use of aluminum (cookware or foil,) we use parchment pouches on an old cookie sheet to steam vegetables or seafood.  Also glassware, as I discovered when baking our favourite meatloaf on the barbecue, can be dangerous...although, the explosion didn’t actually take place until I removed the loaf pan and placed it on a trivet to cool.  Cast iron and stainless steel are excellent cooking vessels and both clean up well.  Not everyone has access to a barbecue, though.  And, sometimes it’s simply too windy to enable thorough cooking, in a timely manner, on a barbecue.

Our most common way to get meals on the table in summer is to cook certain components in the early morning, when the house is coolest and there are still hours remaining to dissipate the generated heat through open, shaded windows.  Those meal components are foods like carbohydrates and proteins – generally the foods requiring the longest cooking times.

Potatoes, pasta, rice and beans we use most often in cold salads, but they can also be used to create quick, hot meals.  No matter the weather, baked or par-boiled potatoes produce the best oven (and barbecue) fries, in my opinion.  Pasta, cooked "al dente," and refrigerated, keeps for a few days and can be added to (re)heated sauces until warmed through.  Rice is probably our most versatile cook-ahead ingredient.  Aside from the stir-fry option (where pre-cooked rice is optimal,) it can be used as a base for frittatas, cold salad, and a (whole grain) breakfast “pudding.”  One idea I haven’t yet tried is to form a pizza shell by packing cooked rice (1/4-1/2 inch thick) into a pizza pan and then pre-baking it for a few minutes before adding toppings and finishing the cooking process.

Caution is required if you cook enough proteins  to last for two or three days of meals.  They must be cooked thoroughly, stored in air-tight containers, and refrigerated promptly. Instead of making a couple slices of bacon for breakfast, we roast a pan full (in the oven or on the barbecue) and then we have extra to crumble onto salads, baked potatoes, or to add a little protein to a quick veggie wrap.  We cook several chicken breasts or pork chops, or larger cuts like roasts and whole chicken, to use as salad or pizza toppings, or in stir-fries, sandwiches, fajitas and wraps.   Boiled eggs are something we keep on hand, year-round.  One hard-boiled egg, sliced, on toast, is my choice for an easy, high-protein meal before beginning morning exercise.  Those eggs also supplement cold summer salads (like potato, macaroni, and rice,) in tasty ways and, with the addition of a variety of vegetables, make those salads complete meals.

Last but not least, dessert.  The custard or syrups required to make ice cream, sorbet and frozen pops often require some cooking or boiling.  Jellied desserts (and salads) are also cooling, without the excessive calories of most frozen desserts.  With just a few minutes of morning prep, your family can enjoy these chill treats at any time of day.

 
Sweltering over a hot stove can really add sizzle to summer, and not in a good way.  Cooking certain ingredients in advance, in quantity, at the coolest time of day, dramatically lessens the amount of heat generated in the home.  Not only can you save time and heat-exhaustion, you’ll also save on air-conditioning and energy costs for the stove, oven and/or barbecue.  I like the fact that cooler meals don’t raise the body’s core temperature as much (though, this may be more imperative for women like me who “roast” without cooking anything.)  Best of all, you’ll have healthy food, fast – no need to resort to fast-food when heat overwhelms.

Summer Cooking

Okay, call me crazy, but summer isn't my favourite season. I don't suffer scorching days and humid nights easily, and get especially frazzled when they stretch, one upon the next, for weeks on end. It's because of this, cooking – which I normally love doing – becomes a dreaded chore. Standing over the stove, adding even more heat to an already over-warm house, ratchets up my level of exhaustion. Hours later, that heat still lingers, too. I'd fast if summer didn't last so long.

For this reason, most of our summer cooking is done outdoors, on the barbeque. It's surprising just how much of the day's meals can be prepared on an outdoor grill. Ours is a propane model, which is not a favourite amongst many grilling aficionados but it works fastest and easiest as stove-top replacement. Even without using the side-burner, the grill top can function well as a cooking surface. Cast iron pans, grills, and griddles, as well as heavy-gauge metal pots and pans (with heat resistant handles) work well on the grill top, which happens to also be one of the best places to cook pizzas, in my opinion.

An added bonus of cooking this way is the economy of it. I stumbled upon this saving when comparing our household energy costs for the same months in other years when the stovetop was still being used. Energy costs had changed, obviously, so I evaluated the savings by kilowatt hours. The difference was significant. Then, I calculated the dollar savings and compared that with the total cost of propane refills over the same season, and found using the barbeque cost us about half of what our energy supplier would have charged us had we cooked indoors on the stove. The difference was so stark I actually did the calculations twice, just to be sure.

Not everything needs cooking, either. One of my favourite summer drinks, homemade iced tea, would normally require making fresh, hot tea, but can also be made using the sun's heat. Here's my version of "Sun Tea":

• In a 2-quart glass jar, use two (or more) teabags, depending on desired strength, immersed in a gallon of tap water (or filtered water, if necessary.)
• Add to this, half a lemon, sliced thinly.
  
• After sealing the jar, place on a doorstep, porch, or sunny window ledge, to "steep" under a hot sun for about five hours, minimum.
  
• When the tea has reached its desired strength, remove the lemon and teabags and add sugar, to taste, while the fluid is still hot.
  
• Stir until sugar is dissolved and then chill the tea thoroughly before serving.
  

Cheers to staying cool!

Egg-cellent Food

Once restricted from the daily diet for its high cholesterol levels, recent studies have restored the egg's nutritional reputation. Not only are eggs a healthy source of protein, they are also high in Vitamins and Minerals: A, B-12, D, E, Calcium, Folate, Iron, Pantothenic Acid, and Riboflavin.

Many people see the dietary cholesterol value and gasp. However, recent studies indicate this high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is good for us – actually carrying away the "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and has less impact on cholesterol levels than saturated fats. The Canadian Heart and Stroke foundation now recommends eggs as a good source of polyunsaturated fats , which help lower the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart disease. And, another recent study links the high B-12 concentrations to better brain health . In fact, various studies have proven many health benefits .

Given the rising costs of meats (see table below) the egg has become, by far, one of the most economical choices. Economy is lost, however, if cooking methods produce a poor result. So, here's a fool-proof recipe for hard-boiled eggs, without a blackened yolk:

1. Place eggs in pot and completely immerse in COLD tap water.
   
2. Set (uncovered) pot on stove and bring to a boil.
   
3. Once at a RAPID boil, remove pot from heat and cover tightly.
   
4. Set timer for 20 minutes. (This is based on sea-level cooking; I time my eggs for 17 minutes because we are a few thousand feet above sea-level.)
   
5. Rinse under cold running water for 1 minute. Then, fill pot with cold water and allow eggs to cool completely (about 5-10 minutes.)
   
6. Store unused eggs in refrigerator for no more than a week.
   

Note: I've also experimented with the "perfect" soft-boiled egg and have found that I need only change the timing to 5 minutes to achieve that result. Also, no cold water rinse is then necessary as the eggs are consumed immediately.

Nutrional & Cost comparisons -- Protein	Units of Measure	Egg (Approx. = 2 large)	Chicken (Breast, boneless, skinless)	Pork (Tenderloin/lean cut)	Beef (Tenderloin/lean cut)	Fish (Cod Loin fillet)
Calories	k	149.0	110.0	173.0	249.0	105.0
Total Fat:	grams	10.0	1.2	6.1	18.5	0.9
Saturated Fat	grams	3.1	0.3	2.1	7.5	0.2
Polyunsaturated Fat	grams	1.4	0.3	0.5	0.7	0.3
Monounsaturated Fat	grams	3.8	0.3	2.5	7.9	0.1
Trans Fat	grams	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Cholesterol (mg)	mg	425.0	58.0	79.0	68.0	55.0
Sodium (mg)	mg	126.0	65.0	55.0	50.0	78.0
Potassium (mg)	mg	121.0	255.0	433.0	300.0	244.0
Total Carbohydrates: (grams)	grams	1.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Dietary Fiber (grams)	grams	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Sugars (grams)	grams	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Protein	grams	12.5	23.1	27.8	19.4	22.8
Vitamin A	*percentage	12.7%	0.4%	0.1%	0.0%	0.9%
Vitamin B-12	*percentage	16.7%	6.3%	9.2%	15.3%	17.5%
Vitamin B-6	*percentage	7.0%	27.5%	20.7%	26.8%	14.2%
Vitamin C	*percentage	0.0%	2.0%	0.7%	0.0%	1.7%
Vitamin D	*percentage	13.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Vitamin E	*percentage	5.2%	0.7%	1.3%	0.9%	1.5%
Calcium	*percentage	4.9%	1.1%	0.6%	2.2%	1.4%
Copper	*percentage	0.7%	2.1%	2.4%	3.4%	1.8%
Folate	*percentage	11.8%	1.0%	1.5%	2.5%	2.0%
Iron	*percentage	8.0%	4.0%	8.1%	7.9%	2.7%
Magnesium	*percentage	2.5%	7.0%	6.8%	5.0%	10.5%
Manganese	*percentage	1.2%	0.9%	1.9%	0.5%	1.0%
Niacin	*percentage	0.4%	56.0%	23.3%	25.9%	12.6%
Pantothenic Acid	*percentage	12.6%	8.2%	6.8%	5.5%	1.8%
Phosphorus	*percentage	17.8%	19.6%	25.7%	18.2%	13.8%
Riboflavin	*percentage	29.9%	5.4%	22.6%	6.2%	4.6%
Selenium	*percentage	44.0%	25.4%	67.7%	32.3%	53.7%
Thiamin	*percentage	4.1%	4.7%	61.8%	4.6%	5.9%
Zinc	*percentage	7.3%	5.3%	17.3%	22.1%	3.9%
Average Cost (@ Feb/09)	Canadian $	$ 0.44	$ 0.63	$ 0.96	$ 1.57	$ 1.47
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.