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I'd love reader feedback on these three questions. I know most people will reply on Facebook, which makes it really difficult to save reader reaction. But there's no stopping that train, so... copy/paste/save. Instapot Yes, I know it's an Instant Pot. I like to call it an Instapot. I think the Instant Pot folks missed an opportunity. I'm late to the Instapot bandwagon, but I'm glad I waited before jumping on. I bought a huge 8-quart Ultra, which is big enough for the batch cooking I prefer, has all the features, and has more safety features than the early models. I love  making steel cut oatmeal in this thing, and also rice. It is so easy, and it comes out perfect  every time. Steel cut oats don't actually take less time in the Instapot than on the stove top. Factoring the time to pressurize and the natural release, it's about the same time on the clock. But using the stove top, you have to stand there and stir. And if you don't pay attention, and someti...

Some years ago, after reading about overfishing and the horrendous state of our oceans, I vowed to stop eating tuna . Certain species of tuna are on the brink of extinction, thanks to soaring demand and modern fishing methods. Plus, the "eating fish is good for you" equation has changed because of the presence of mercury in many fish, especially tuna. I decided to put tuna in the same category as veal and lobster -- animal products I no longer eat. Alas, while I have no problem foregoing lobster or veal, tuna was a promise I couldn't keep. I don't know how long I lasted, but five years later I was writing about  homemade vs. Whole Foods tuna salad . (If you're reading the old posts, there's an update here .) Fish and shellfish are mainstays of my diet. We eat a lot of salmon (Pacific only) and shrimp, occasionally halibut, Pacific cod, squid, and other shellfish -- and I eat a lot of tuna. I joke that I'm going to turn into a thermometer . But I don't ...

In Egypt, breakfast almost always includes a hardboiled egg. Even the breakfast cart parked near our bus to Petra had a bowl of hardboiled eggs. And the eggs are always perfect . The shell slides right off, leaving a smooth, perfect white, and a bright yellow yolk. How do they do it? Way back, I posted my method for making hardboiled eggs , which at the time, I thought was perfect. Alas, it was not. With some batches, every egg peels perfectly. Others, about half do. And in some batches, I'm lucky if two or three eggs peel well, and the rest are a mess. My beginner's Arabic is nowhere near good enough to discuss cooking methods, and none of our Breakfast Guys had sufficient English, so I didn't ask. I just peeled and ate each egg, marvelling at the consistent perfection. I was so excited about the eggs that I peeled one for Allan every morning, too. On the internet, you'll find many different egg-boiling recipes, each claiming to be The Best. I decided that when we got...

I've noticed that ideas that I used to blog about, I am now posting on Facebook instead -- a combination of laziness and time pressure. I'm going to try to get the ideas here, first. Conventional wisdom has it that preparing food at home is less expensive than buying prepared food. I'm not talking about frozen or processed food, but freshly prepared food from a store like Whole Foods, or increasingly, regular supermarkets trying to compete with specialty stores. Allan and I buy quite a bit of prepared food. With limited time and energy, it's often the tool we reach for to keep healthy eating on track. It's less expensive than eating in a restaurant, and it's more convenient if you're tired and want to stay at home. I always think we spend far too much on prepared food, especially something I could make myself -- and once did, in the dark ages before Whole Foods came to Mississauga. Of course, you're not comparing the price of prepared food to not eating....

I found a bunch of recipes similar to this, and adapted them to my tastes. This one is easy (especially if you use a food processor to shred the zucchini and cheese), healthy, and tasty. I feel like the ability to tweak and change recipes marks a turning point in my cooking evolution, in both confidence and knowledge. I like it! Also, I don't have measurements for this one. It's down to what proportions you like and what ingredients you have on hand. Zucchini-Corn-Tomato Bake 1 medium-to-large zucchini, grated or shredded 2 large ripe tomatoes, coarsely cubed Kernels of corn, either fresh (one cob) or frozen (one box or half of one bag) Fresh basil, shredded Seasoned bread crumbs Parmesan cheese, shredded (omit this for a dairy-free dish) S&P to taste In a baking dish, combine zucchini, tomatoes, corn kernels, basil, salt, and pepper. Stir until all are thoroughly mixed. Mix Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, then sprinkle the mixture on top. Bake in 400F/200C oven for 45 mi...

This is probably the easiest way to use zucchini from your garden, and if you're growing herbs, it's an excuse to use those, too. It's also one of those dishes that takes just about anything you like in pasta. I'm keeping it very simple, so as not to drown out the zucchini. I use brown rice pasta. I originally tried it when we thought one of us was celiac, then it became habit. It's delicious and very healthy, but it does need the extra step of rinsing the cooked pasta. If you don't do that, the pasta will all stick together in a one big gluey mess... something I discovered painfully on my own.  Also, if you use brown rice pasta, it's easier to use a "cut" pasta, like penne, rotini, or ditalini. Long pasta like spaghetti or linguini is more difficult to rinse properly.  Pasta with Zucchini and Fresh Herbs 1/2 package of penne pasta  1 large zucchini a variety of fresh herbs, washed and shredded (I used basil, thyme, and cilantro) 2 cloves of garlic...

Apparently if you grow zucchini, you have too much of it. Being new gardeners, we didn't know how prolific our one zucchini plant would be, or the insane quantities - and size! - of the vegetables it would produce. And those leaves! They're gigantic and there's so many of them! It's been a source of wonder and amusement. We've cut back the leaves several times, as they're crowding out the herbs and the eggplant. And of course cutting back just makes the plant produce even more. I remember that much from my indoor planting days. There's no shortage of recipes online offering ideas and advice on how to use your surplus zucchini, including several suggestions of leaving some on a neighbour's porch. So although there's no need, I'm going to add mine to the pile. My recipes are all adapted from what I've found online, usually a combination of ideas I find in two or three places, tweaked to our own tastes and cooking style. Zucchini Fritters 1 huge...

Last summer, I asked for help in turning my drab lentil soup into something more yummy and enticing. Thanks to wmtc readers, I've done it. Yesterday for the first time, I made lentil soup that I will actually look forward to eating (as opposed to tolerating because I made it and don't want to throw it out). Here's what I did. I switched from chicken stock to beef stock. I took out the celery and added mushrooms. I added something acidic, in the form of the tiniest drop of Tabasco sauce. This made an appreciable difference, and now I understand why soup recipes often call for a splash of vinegar or the juice of a lemon. When readers suggested Tabasco, I was skeptical, because I don't want the soup to be spicy, but you were right: a tiny bit added flavour without heat. I also balanced out the other seasonings, which I had overloaded in an unsuccessful attempt to give the soup more flavour. At this point the soup was much improved, much tastier. If I wanted to keep the so...

The healthy slow-cooker recipe of the week - now running about every-other week - has hit a snag: lentil soup. I love lentil soup, but my own is turning out just OK, not really delicious. After the first try was too bland, Stephanie suggested using allspice and more bay leaves. Excellent idea! I upped the bay leaves from three to six, and added allspice. Result: big improvement, but still not great. If you make delicious lentil soup, can you share your secrets? (And if the secret is homemade stock, then I'm out of luck.) More below. * * * * I'm still using the hell out of my slow-cooker. I usually cook with it twice a week - once for food for the weekend, and once for my meals at work, one batch for the week. I'm still collecting meal ideas , if you have any favourites to share. I notice that recipes I find online tend to be exceedingly bland. With the exception of foods that are supposed to be hot-spicy (which I avoid), the recipes I see are shy of seasoning. Lentil soup, ...

When it comes to soups and stews, there is a seemingly endless number of variables that can be changed to create new variations of any given dish. If you like chicken stew, for example, you could experiment with different combinations of vegetables, different seasonings, better (or quicker) stocks, fresh herbs - and then with various combinations of all of those. Since buying my slow-cooker some months ago, I've made lots of different chicken stews, all of them easy, tasty, and healthy. This one is my current favourite combo. A note about these stews. To make a proper stew, most people use some sort of thickener. You can dredge the meat in flour, or add corn starch, flour, tapioca, bread crumbs, or even oatmeal to the liquid. I don't do this. For me, thick means gloppy; I don't like it. Plus, I prefer not to add gluten or additional calories to any dish. If you prefer a thick stew, you'll want to thicken any of my recipes. Or you could try one of the three ways I serve ...

Whether this recipe qualifies as healthy depends on whether you think sausage can be part of a healthy diet. I buy sausage that is made from local, organically raised turkey and free of preservatives. The sausage is slightly higher in saturated fat than skinless chicken breast, but way lower in fat than pork sausage. Plus at about a half-sausage per serving, you're not eating a huge amount of meat. The sausage adds terrific flavour to the stew, and the combination of beans and meat make it very thick and hearty. If you can, get loose sausage meat, not in casings. If you can't, slit open the top of the casing and squeeze the sausage out of the tube. 4 turkey sausages (or 1-1.5 lbs of loose sausage meat) with Italian seasoning, sweet or spicy according to your preference 1 19-ounce can of white beans 1 19-ounce can of chick peas 1 13-ounce can of black beans 3-4 tomatoes, diced, or use 1 19-ounce can of tomatoes 2 medium or 1 large carrot, chopped 1 large onion, run through food ...

This week's healthy slow-cooker recipe features barley , a yummy and healthy grain. I especially love the chewy texture. Barley is one of the four oldest grains to be cultivated by humans.* Unfortunately, whole-grain barley is difficult to find. The more common pearl barley is not a whole grain . I haven't found a convenient place to buy whole-grain barley, so I reluctantly use the pearl version. It's just as tasty and contains fibre, but lacks the full-impact health benefits of whole grains. I don't know if it's cultural predisposition, being raised on mushroom-barley soup as I was, but to me barley's natural partner is mushrooms. I prefer the cremini variety, but you could use any kind you like. This recipe was adapted from my friend and cooking guru Matthew Bin . I got the barley idea from Matt, but I suspect this version would be too mushroomy for him. 2 lbs. beef cubes, preferably locally sourced and traditionally raised 1 large onion, chopped or run throug...

This has turned out to be one of our favourite slow-cooker meals. It's delicious, incredibly easy to make, super healthy, and inexpensive. Adapted from nowhere: it's my own. Canned beans, properly rinsed and drained, have the same nutritional value as dried beans. They're much easier to use and work well with the slow cooker. Combined with brown rice, they make a perfect protein, and give you lots of fibre. And lots of yumminess. 1 19-ounce can of each: - corn niblets - black beans - white beans - chick peas - diced tomatoes 1 large onion, diced or run through food processor 1 red bell pepper, core and seeds removed, diced or cubed 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced or run through food processor bit of olive oil 1 tablespoon dried basil 1 tablespoon dried oregano anywhere from 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dried chipotle, according to your preferred level of spice anywhere from a dash to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2-3 dashes of salt a few turns of freshl...

In defiance of current internet rules, I am posting this on my own blog instead of on Pinterest - but please feel free to share this on Pinterest if you like. I'm going to post one slow-cooker recipe each week until I run out of ideas. Each recipe will use whole foods, be high in fibre and low in salt, and contain no processed foods of any kind. They'll also be easy to prepare. Thai Peanut Chicken, adapted from The 150 Healthiest Slow Cooker Recipes on Earth , by Jonny Bowden and Jeannette Bessinger. chicken drumsticks and thighs, on the bone but without skin 1 sweet onion, run through food processor 1 cup peanut-only peanut butter (i.e. no added salt, sugar, trans fats, or chemicals) 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari sauce juice of 1 large or 3 small limes 4 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or minced 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon red pepper (optional, I don't use th...

I just bought a slow-cooker, the first one I've owned. Do you use one? If so, what are your favourite things to make with it? Any tips or suggestions? I know there a zillion slow-cooker recipes online, but I'd like to hear what friends and readers like. Thanks!

This has been a strange winter break. I've been working at the library, collaborating with Allan on some paid writing work, taking care of the massive number of appointments and personal chores that pile up while I'm in school, seeing a few friends... but also making sure I spend a fair amount of time on the couch either reading or watching DVDs. The one thing I haven't been able to do is any serious writing for wmtc. My brain and my time management somehow doesn't get past scraps of notes and drafts. We leave for Quebec on Sunday, so chances are dwindling. On the other hand, my courses this term may not be too taxing. (I'm being polite. I think they're pure manure.) So I might actually write these posts in January. Here are a few items that don't warrant posts of their own, but might be useful for someone Googling or stimulate conversation or provide a moment of entertainment. 1. How to make hard boiled eggs that peel perfectly. Here's a great way to ma...