FOOD!

Ok, so it's been forever! Not that anyone is reading this crap... anywho, after making some yummy beet soup today, I thought I'd blog about it. If anyone does read and try this recipe out, please let me know what you think, and how you may have adjusted ingredients.

This was 100% an experiment, but turned out fanastico! Some flavours may need to be adjusted, as I didn't really measure the spices... these were just guesstimates. Please taste as you go.

1 tbsp oil
1 med/large onion - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - pressed
1/2 C red wine vinegar

1 bunch of beets with leafs (there were about 6 in the bunch I bought) - beets and stems chunked, leaves reserved

1 sweet potato - chunked

2 large carrots - chunked
2 macintosh apples (or any soft smaller apple) - chunked
1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg*
2 tbsp curry powder
16 cups water**
2 veggie bullion cubes**
salt and pepper to taste (a lot of salt is required for such a huge pot of soup though)
2 cups of sweet peas

On med. heat, add oil and saute up onion until translucent, add pressed garlic, cook until fragrant; about 2 min. Clean up sticky bits on bottom of pot by adding vinegar and scrape, scrape, scrape... Yum, flavour-ville!

Add beets, stems, sweet potato, carrots, apple(***), ground clove, nutmeg, and curry powder. Stir these around the pot for 5 minutes, just to get the flavours released, and roast them up a bit before boiling the hell out of them. Add water, bullion, salt and pepper. Continue cooking over medium heat for about half an hour, or until the beets are soft (the beets take the longest to cook, so make sure you test them with a fork and not the other veggies)

Remove veggies from broth (I used a meshed ladle, for ease. A spaghetti strainer may also do the trick) and place in food processor. Turn it on and pulverize!!!! I left mine on for a good 3 minutes and went on the computer... you want them to turn to baby food. Once no chunks are left, pour back into broth left in pot, and stir to combine. At this point you may like to taste the soup to make sure it has enough flavour. It is likely that salt will be needed... this is a big pot, it will take quite a bit of salt for maximum flavour.

Add peas and beat leaves, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until beat leaves are soft. Enjoy!

If you want to get creative, you could add some lemon zest to the final 30 minutes of cooking. Maybe serve with a small spoon of sour cream, and crusty bread... Delish!




*My cookin' Auntie always insists on fresh nutmeg, and until I used it in this I never knew why... now I do. HIGHLY recommended!

** Ok, so I added about 1 cup of boxed organic veggie broth, and then added about 16 cups of water (filled up my huge liquid measure twice to fill my stock pot to the amount i thought looked appropriate), and THEN I decided to put in one veggie bullion cube... I figure the above measurements equal out to roughly the same, and maybe even a little more concentrated, which would be even BETTER tasting :)

*** It is not necessary to peel any of the veggies listed here. A LOT of nutrition is in the skins, and we'll be pulverizing these later, so no one will ever know they were disgusting looking things going into the pot.

I must go to school, lather, rinse, repeat...

No motivation... I have no idea why I must force myself to go, and even that forcing is difficult. I know that I am more of a work under pressure kinda gal, but this is ridiculous. 2 weeks ago I calculated that I have to do 24 hours of work a week. I work 30 + hours a week, and I refuse to do school work after 4pm, and on Sundays, which means I should have been at school about 2 hours ago... yet, here I am.

I need to be accountable for someone besides myself in order for this to work properly. I have no problem going to school when there is a set time, and I have a teacher there actually teaching me. Reading a text book drains my soul. Every time I even think to open the textbook my heart sinks a little. It is truly gruelling work. I honestly wish someone would push me; no I don't mean Kevin or my mother once a month saying "Are you even doing any work?" I need someone everyday to be accountable to.

I literally just had an epiphany... I'd rather do things for other people than for myself.

Dried fruit; friend or foe?

I'd just like to make a note about this post; I am not a doctor, nor any kind of expert on food allergies or food additives. I am just a concerned member of the public, and this is solely my opinion :)

This morning I went to school, and as a tradition that I am now forging, I went to Deningers for lunch, as it is right around the corner. After my delicious meal, I decided to head into the grocery area to grab some lovely foreign snacks.

2 mini chocolate bars, and a bag of dried apricots... which by the way turn out not to be completely dried, as they are classified as "soft apricots"; I have never had these before and they are just weird... I digress. Because they seemed so odd, I decided to read the ingredients:

Soft Apricot
Pasteurized
Preservatives
E220 (sulfit)
E200 (sorbic acid)

(yes this is exactly how the ingredient list reads... they are from France, so the grammar is a little wonkey)

I wanted to check up on these preservatives to see what kind of harm they can do to me. Sulfit, for all I can deduce is sulfite. I have heard here and there about products (mostly wine) being sulfite-free, and have never really taken a keen interest as to why things should be sulfite-free. Apparently some believe they are allergic to sulfites, but it turns out this is more likely to be a food sensitivity rather than allergy. If someone does have an allergy to sulfites, they can succumb to anaphylactic shock (that of course being one of the most severe reactions). Sensitivity symptoms include, and are not limited to hives, swollen throat and tongue, headache/migraines, and joint pain. Now, some might consider these allergies, but alas they do not fall under the medical definition of an allergy when tested on skin (or so I am lead to believe). Sulfites are also thought to promote vitamin B1 deterioration. Otherwise known as thiamine, B1 helps to metabolise carbohydrates. HELLO!!! What woman (let alone person) in their right mind would want to destroy this vitamin in their body?! Now onto..

...Sorbic acid; considered to be a natural organic compound, however it only occurs in nature through the berries of the rowan tree. Industry uses sorbic acid so much that me thinks this is mostly a man made organic compound! Now, I haven't looked too far into sorbic acid, but I don't like the idea of man made compounds being voluntarily consumed.

Both sulfites and sorbic acid are use to prevent the growth of mold, yeast and fungi... duh, they are preservatives. So here is the MAJOR ISSUE... In North America sulfites and sorbic acid are not required to be printed on the label of most foods, unless it is an actual ingredient (this means there must be over a certain amount to be considered an ingredient rather than additive). If someone has a food allergy and/or sensitivity (and I do believe there are a few of you out there, as this is in the top 9 food allergies in the US), shouldn't it be required on a label? The only reason it is on the label of my food is because it is imported from France (the EU has much stricter guidelines as to food labeling). Soy, lactose, peanut, wheat; these are all allergens that are listed on labels. We need some change here.

I just want some delicious dried fruit without suffering from untimely consequences. This is making mean lean more and more towards really becoming a nut job and starting my own farm. P.S. even organic products are not requrired to have these ingredients on the label.

Have I been drinking?

The correct answer is no. The reason I ask is I can't seem to focus. All day I have been trying to define my little blog here. The best blogs have a specific topic rather than just diary entries.

So... do I focus on nutrition, what I have learned, my trials and tribulations during school? Do I focus on my wedding? Do I focus on Sumo? Perhaps I could simply (rather, not so simply) focus on all of these things? The worst though is when people get off topic... then it's just dull.

Well, perhaps question 1; Nutrition for today.
Whilst reading section 1.8 of my grade 12 chemistry book I learned about amines. Tremendously boring molecules that I can deduce will be very important in my future studies. You see, amines, which are made up of an ammonia molecule (NH3 if you will) in which a hydrogen atom or two have been replaced by an atom from the alkyl group or bromine, are part and parcel to amino acids... YES! AMINO ACIDS! What is an amino acid? Well, my friend, amino acids are what make up proteins. Omega 3? Amino acid!

Fascinating, no? Ok, probably not. But I find it quite interesting. NERD! What can I say? I really like getting down to the nitty gritty of things. I feel like, unless I know the whole story, I never fully understand.

Ok, not so focused, but a solid effort on my part.

What am I doing?

This pretty much sums it all up... What am I doing...?

Why I decided to write a blog: I'm a nut and am currently watching the latest City Line, and guess what it is focused on.... BLOGS! Just call me a lemming!
So, why I really decided to write a blog; In the past 7 months my life has gone from routine to, what I can only describe as a volcano exploding. Now, this might sound negative, but I assure you, it is not. Praise Ala, nothing horrific has happened to anyone I love. So the story goes...

When I was in my early 20's I decided what I wanted to do with my life. I was going to work in fashion. I went to art school for a year, I then went into fashion design for 2 years, I then went into international fashion management for a year. About 8 months after I graduated I found myself in a job that was a career! Now, when getting to the bare bones of it, working in fashion is not as superficial and fake as the media portrays it. It's not all about being fabulous. It's about trying to be fabulous when people are looking. I was always the chubby girl, and between the age of 23 and 26 I managed to lose about 40 lbs, and when I started my career I found my weight creeping back up. Because you have to be fabulous when people are looking, this did not suit me. I put myself on a 1500 calorie diet and I taught myself about food. I figured out how I could eat a ton of food but keep my intake within 1500 calories.

I soon found myself talking non-stop to people about food and how it affects your body, about nutrients, about reasonable food choices, eating one thing over another, etc... and one day while I was rambling in the kitchen while at my career I had an epiphany... This is what I should be doing with my life! I realized I didn't love fashion. I didn't love talking to people about it, I didn't love learning about it, I didn't love educating people about it. So within 3 months I quit my job, moved up to my family cottage and started on my journey to becoming a Registered Dietitian.

After a month of being in the boonies I was moving out of my apartment in Toronto into a rented condo in the suburbs with my boyfriend. A month after that I was back working at the mall I was working at during high school and college, and also at the dental office I worked at during the same time.

So my life today is this; Since November 2010 I have been doing high school science part time, working in retail part time (although I have managed to give myself the title of staff supervisor, regardless of what my actual title is), working as a dental receptionist part time... oh, and a little thing happened in December, that boyfriend of mine asked me to marry him, so I am also planning a wedding.

... and why Sumo Scratch? Well, like I said in the beginning, I have no idea what I am doing here and couldn't think of a great name for this and just ended up writing down the first thing I saw... my cat Sumo scratching at the carpet.  What am I doing...