Quick and easy meatloaf comes from an era of simpler times. In the 1950s and 1960s, meatloaf and homemade macaroni and cheese were just as common as the female/male divisions of labor. Boys took out the trash and burned the papers. Girls set the table and washed the dishes.
Meantime, Dad was out on the job, and Mom produced casserole after casserole for weeknight dinners, while saving beef roasts and whole roasted chickens for Sunday dinner. In between, Saturdays were good for any remaining leftovers.
At home all day when the kids were small, Mom was able to devise quick and easy recipes that allowed her to open the oven, pull out a perfect casserole every time, and set it on the table at the exact moment Dad walked in the door. Meatloaf was always served with a bowl of mashed potatoes and one of beans, peas or carrots. The vegetables came from a can, opened with a hand-operated can opener.
Simpler times. No computers. No cell phones. Mom at home. Lots of moms at home, and everyone kept an eye on everyone else's children. Meatloaf didn't need soy sauce or Worcestershire. Salt and pepper were the only seasonings, and most of the flavor came from Hunts or Heinz ketchup (A.K.A. catsup) heaped on every helping of meatloaf. If the glass bottle of catsup was new, the kids fought over who would get to turn it upside down and beat the bottom to loosen that first red plop.
MEATLOAF
Ingredients:
1/3 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg
3 slices bread (torn into small pieces)
1-1/2 pounds ground beef (If not eaten often, go for the more fatty beef. What a taste!)
1/2-cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Optional: 1/2-cup finely chopped green bell pepper (for variety in color, substitute red or yellow)
Optional: 1 handful fresh herbs such as parsley, sage and oregano, finely chopped. The handful is loosely measured before you strip the leaves from their stems.
1/4-cup ketchup
Optional: 1 teaspoon mustard
1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine milk and egg. Stir in bread.
3. Add beef, onion, sea salt and pepper. If adding optional bell pepper and/or optional herbs, do it now. Mix lightly by hand.
4. Lightly pack in ungreased loaf pan. (Grandma said to never pack it down tightly.)
5. Spread top with ketchup, or mixture of 1/4-cup ketchup and 1 teaspoon mustard.
6. Bake uncovered 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. A meat thermometer will indicate 160-degrees when the meatloaf is done.
7. Remove from oven and carefully drain off as much fat as possible.
8. Let meatloaf sit for five minutes, then remove and place on serving plate.
9. Serve with more ketchup!
Want to impress the children or grandkids with their own little meatloaves?
1. Grease or spray 12 medium muffin cups. Divide meatloaf mixture evenly among the cups; they will be very full.
2. Brush tops of loaves with ketchup (or ketchup/mustard mixture).
3. Place muffin pan on a cookie sheet or other large pan with a lip around the edge. (This is a must, to catch any grease that might run over.)
4. Bake about 30 minutes.
5. Proceed from (7) above.
6. Optional: Decorate each little meatloaf like a face, using a strip of green pepper or a small oregano leaf for the mouth and small pieces of green pepper for the eyes and nose. Parsley makes excellent hair.
Click here to read more of my 181 Helium articles.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Shedding extra pounds
I wrote the following article after Christmas 2008. Although specifically aimed at Christmas or other holiday dinners, I wonder how many of us face similar situations throughout the year at family dinners, family or class reunions, or when groups of friends and co-workers get together to eat out. Oh, and let's not forget retirees in Florida looking for bargain meals in the hundreds of restaurants or participating in potluck gatherings. Personally, I remember a childhood with years of Wednesday night potluck dinners in the Eustis, Florida United Methodist Church. An eat-all-you-want buffet.
If this were an ideal world, shedding extra holiday pounds wouldn't even be necessary. Everyone would eat small, healthy portions and take long after-dinner walks. This works for some people. Many, however, find holiday eating a struggle.
What to do with all that food...
The best-laid plans for not overeating holiday foods crumble when faced with platters stacked high with turkey and ham. Mashed potatoes laced with melted butter, a traditional green bean casserole and too, too many desserts tempt every eater.
Christmas day is past, the round of parties is over -- at least until New Year's Eve -- and there are all those leftovers to face. Hopefully, most were given away to someone else. Otherwise, when pressured to take food home, look for foods in their purest form, such as white turkey meat, plain baked potatoes, or any vegetable that has not been buttered or fried. At home, immediately pack leftovers in single serving containers and freeze whatever can be frozen.
Walk it off...
Anyone who didn't take a walk immediately following each feast needs to rise up now, bundle up if living in a cold zone and take a long hike. Gather family and friends around. Walks are always more fun and seem to go more quickly when done in a group. Sixty-minute walks every day aren't a requirement. A couple of 15-minute walks daily work just as well.
What you eat...
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." The old adage is still relevant. What it means is that eating nutritious foods in reasonable amounts every day keeps you feeling healthy and in fit condition. Excess pounds will also melt away.
Stock up on fresh fruits, vegetables and salad greens in addition to everything else. Keep a bowl of apples and oranges on the table at all times. Grab one or the other several times a day, particularly in view of others in the family. Set the example. Serve salads once a day, every day.
Healthy eating tips...
1. Eat all meals and snacks at the kitchen or dining room table. No eating in front of the television or computer. No reading while eating.
2. Put down the fork, spoon or food between bites. Place hands in lap while each bite of food is being chewed and swallowed.
3. Brush teeth immediately after eating or drinking.
4. When the urge to eat more strikes, wait ten minutes. Then ten more...
Work it off...
Workout equipment such as treadmills, stationery bikes or mini-tramps are not an absolutely necessity for a good workout. Television stations feature workout programs. Dozens of workout DVDs are available. Gear any exercise program to age, health and current abilities.
Numerous weight loss centers exist and can be found in every community. Many are also accessible via online memberships. Attending weekly meetings of Weight Watchers, Tops or similar groups offers dieters the companionship of others who are committed to shedding pounds and living a healthy life, not only after the holidays but also every day of the year.
Start shedding holiday pounds now -- immediately after the holidays, while the amount gained is still minimal. Get a plan, get back on track, and optimize your health as you head into a new year.
So, here we are, about to enter March, and the holidays are several months behind us. Unshed holiday pounds act like a magnet, drawing yet more extra pounds. With the pounds comes sluggishness, embarrassment, and a feeling of having bags of 5# and 10# bags of sugar strapped to various parts of our anatomy. I highly recommend the techniques and support system of Weight Watchers. I started before the holiday - mid-October 2008. As of last night, I've gotten rid of an excess of 36.4 pounds. My current goal (my second) is 164. My next goal will be 154. My low-end weight range is 132. Hey, that's what I weighed in my teens and twenties when I looked so thin. Do I want to go there? I don't know. It depends, I guess, on what my body tells me.
Click here http://www.helium.com/users/412374 to read more of my 176 Helium articles.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tips for cooking with celeriac
Celeriac is one of the undervalued root vegetables, and it isn't yet appreciated enough for its ease in cooking, slightly peppery taste and nutritional value. Television chefs are prone to experiment and introduce this bumpy, brown-skinned vegetable as a large, bulbous celery root that can be easily prepared in ways commonly used to cook potatoes, another root vegetable.
Nutritional benefits of celeriac
Celeriac and potatoes are both low in cholesterol and have no fats. Peeled and boiled with no added salt, celeriac is higher in natural sodium and has only 1 gram of protein compared to 2 grams in a white, red or brown skinned potato. The Vitamin A content of celeriac is only 4% of the recommended daily allowance while potatoes provide 45% of the daily requirement. In a calorie count, however, a 155-gram serving of celeriac beats out the better-known potato (148-gram serving). Celeriac has only 41 calories and potatoes have.
Considerations when cooking with celeriac
Celeriac can be prepared in the same ways as potatoes. The brown skin has to be removed, as it is too tough and bumpy to be edible. A serrated knife will make the job easier. Before cooking celeriac, lay it on its side and saw off the two ends. Turn the vegetable to rest on one of the ends for stability and carefully saw the skin off the sides. A regular, sharp knife is the better choice for cutting celeriac into chunks for cooking.
Have a bowl of cold water ready. Some cooks recommend adding one-quarter to one-half cup of lemon juice to the water. Begin by dividing the celeriac into quarters and place them in the water. Remove one piece at a time. Carefully cut into 1" chunks. Return the chunks to the water bowl. Continue until all have been cut up.
To boil the prepared celeriac, drain the cold, lemon water. Place the chunks in a pot and add enough fresh, cold water to just cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then lower the heat enough to allow the water to continue boiling gently. The pot may be partially covered with a lid.
Celeriac cooks faster than potatoes, so the cooking time should be watched carefully once the water begins to boil. Overcooked celeriac, liked overcooked potatoes, tend to look and taste mealy.
Mashed Celeriac
Ingredients:
1 large (1-1/4 pound) celeriac, or celery root (3-1/2 to 4 cups peeled and cut into 1" pieces)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons dried, minced onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon
olive oil
1/4-teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons skim milk
Combine 1" chunks of peeled celeriac, sea salt and minced onions in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook at gentle boil till easily pierced with a fork, 6-10 minutes.
Drain water. Mash cooked celeriac with electric mixer until lumps are gone. Add butter, olive oil, nutmeg and pepper, mixing just into incorporated into mashed celeriac mixture. Add skim milk, a teaspoon at a time, beating on medium high speed until celeriac reaches desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning.
Mashed Celeriac is a delicious, alternative topping for Shepherd's Pie. Spoon atop cooked vegetables and gravy in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven until gravy bubbles and mashed celeriac is slightly browned, about thirty minutes.
Mashed Celeriac Patties (serves 4)
Mix mashed celeriac with one whole egg and one tablespoon all-purpose flour. Spray a medium-sized no-stick pan with an olive oil spray. Divide the mixture into four parts and form patties. Place in preheated pan and cook over medium-low heat until one side is brown. A lid may be placed on the pan, slightly ajar, for the first half of the cooking time.
Turn and brown on the Mashed Celeriac Patties on the other side. Serve with salsa, if desired.
Click here to read more of my 176 Helium articles.
Nutritional benefits of celeriac
Celeriac and potatoes are both low in cholesterol and have no fats. Peeled and boiled with no added salt, celeriac is higher in natural sodium and has only 1 gram of protein compared to 2 grams in a white, red or brown skinned potato. The Vitamin A content of celeriac is only 4% of the recommended daily allowance while potatoes provide 45% of the daily requirement. In a calorie count, however, a 155-gram serving of celeriac beats out the better-known potato (148-gram serving). Celeriac has only 41 calories and potatoes have.
Considerations when cooking with celeriac
Celeriac can be prepared in the same ways as potatoes. The brown skin has to be removed, as it is too tough and bumpy to be edible. A serrated knife will make the job easier. Before cooking celeriac, lay it on its side and saw off the two ends. Turn the vegetable to rest on one of the ends for stability and carefully saw the skin off the sides. A regular, sharp knife is the better choice for cutting celeriac into chunks for cooking.
Have a bowl of cold water ready. Some cooks recommend adding one-quarter to one-half cup of lemon juice to the water. Begin by dividing the celeriac into quarters and place them in the water. Remove one piece at a time. Carefully cut into 1" chunks. Return the chunks to the water bowl. Continue until all have been cut up.
To boil the prepared celeriac, drain the cold, lemon water. Place the chunks in a pot and add enough fresh, cold water to just cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then lower the heat enough to allow the water to continue boiling gently. The pot may be partially covered with a lid.
Celeriac cooks faster than potatoes, so the cooking time should be watched carefully once the water begins to boil. Overcooked celeriac, liked overcooked potatoes, tend to look and taste mealy.
Mashed Celeriac
Ingredients:
1 large (1-1/4 pound) celeriac, or celery root (3-1/2 to 4 cups peeled and cut into 1" pieces)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons dried, minced onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon
olive oil
1/4-teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4-teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons skim milk
Combine 1" chunks of peeled celeriac, sea salt and minced onions in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook at gentle boil till easily pierced with a fork, 6-10 minutes.
Drain water. Mash cooked celeriac with electric mixer until lumps are gone. Add butter, olive oil, nutmeg and pepper, mixing just into incorporated into mashed celeriac mixture. Add skim milk, a teaspoon at a time, beating on medium high speed until celeriac reaches desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning.
Mashed Celeriac is a delicious, alternative topping for Shepherd's Pie. Spoon atop cooked vegetables and gravy in a casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake in a 375-degree Fahrenheit oven until gravy bubbles and mashed celeriac is slightly browned, about thirty minutes.
Mashed Celeriac Patties (serves 4)
Mix mashed celeriac with one whole egg and one tablespoon all-purpose flour. Spray a medium-sized no-stick pan with an olive oil spray. Divide the mixture into four parts and form patties. Place in preheated pan and cook over medium-low heat until one side is brown. A lid may be placed on the pan, slightly ajar, for the first half of the cooking time.
Turn and brown on the Mashed Celeriac Patties on the other side. Serve with salsa, if desired.
Click here to read more of my 176 Helium articles.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Red Velvet Cake
Cooking and experimenting with the ingredients is a favorite adventure of mine. Here's one of my recently written Helium articles on creating Red Velvet Cake...
I have to admit I'd never before heard of red velvet cake. And, until today, I'd never made it. One of my habits (or failings, you might say) is trying out new recipes when I don't have all the ingredients. I lack the patience to wait for a trip to the supermarket. Today is no exception as I embark on a journey to assemble and bake my first red velvet cake.
This recipe is from writer-extraordinaire and online book club owner Suzanne Beecher (ingredients and directions in parentheses are from Me.).
GRANDMA HALE'S RED VELVET CAKE
Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
*1/2 cup shortening (Substituted 1/2 cup Crisco butter-flavored shortening)
*1-1/2 cup sugar
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla
CREAM shortening, sugar, and vanilla together.
*2 eggs
ADD eggs and beat.
*2 ounces (1/4-cup) red food color (Having purchased a box with four little bottles of four colors, it turned out I only had about 1/2-ounce of red. So, I pureed about half the beets and liquid in an 8.25-ounce can of sliced beets. Using a liquid measuring cup, I measured out the 1/4-cup that I needed).
*2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
*(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder - optional)
*(1/4 teaspoon chili powder - optional)
MAKE a paste of red food coloring and unsweetened cocoa (and the optional cinnamon and chili powders if you choose to use them). Add the paste to the sugar mixture.
*2-1/2 cup cake flour (Substituted unbleached all-purpose flour which I whisked before measuring by spooning into a measuring cup and leveling with a knife)
*1 teaspoon salt (Because the label on the beets showed that the ingredients included salt, I decreased this to 1/2-teaspoon for my recipe.)
*1 cup buttermilk (Substituted 1 cup soy milk.)
SIFT or whisk cake flour and salt together. Mix the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
*1 tablespoon vinegar (I used white cider vinegar.)
*1 teaspoon baking soda
COMBINE vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter.
Bake in two 9-inch round pans, 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. (The recipe says nothing about greasing or flouring pans, so I'm using non-stick cake pans and hoping for the best.)
Split each layer when cool. Frost between layers with your favorite frosting, and frost top and outside edges of completed cake.
I tasted the uncooked batter. Yummy. Also, the correct consistency. It's in the oven, and I'm impatiently awaiting the results. I'm not going to frost it; maybe just a dusting of confectionary (powdered) sugar. Cake AND frosting would create havoc with my diet!
Twenty-five minutes into the baking, the aroma coming from the kitchen was wonderful! At a total of forty minutes, the toothpick came out clean. The cooled cake slipped easily from the pans. A dusting of sugar on top of each layer and tasting time is here!
While I have to admit that the color is closer to a light brown than to red (next time I'll try the red food coloring), the texture and the taste of this red velvet cake, even with the changes I made, is wonderful, and I invite readers to create this version of red velvet cake, with or without the changes.
More of my articles on Helium.com
My writer zone on Helium's Betaville
Travel Destination: NY State's Southern Tier
I have to admit I'd never before heard of red velvet cake. And, until today, I'd never made it. One of my habits (or failings, you might say) is trying out new recipes when I don't have all the ingredients. I lack the patience to wait for a trip to the supermarket. Today is no exception as I embark on a journey to assemble and bake my first red velvet cake.
This recipe is from writer-extraordinaire and online book club owner Suzanne Beecher (ingredients and directions in parentheses are from Me.).
GRANDMA HALE'S RED VELVET CAKE
Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
*1/2 cup shortening (Substituted 1/2 cup Crisco butter-flavored shortening)
*1-1/2 cup sugar
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla
CREAM shortening, sugar, and vanilla together.
*2 eggs
ADD eggs and beat.
*2 ounces (1/4-cup) red food color (Having purchased a box with four little bottles of four colors, it turned out I only had about 1/2-ounce of red. So, I pureed about half the beets and liquid in an 8.25-ounce can of sliced beets. Using a liquid measuring cup, I measured out the 1/4-cup that I needed).
*2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
*(1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder - optional)
*(1/4 teaspoon chili powder - optional)
MAKE a paste of red food coloring and unsweetened cocoa (and the optional cinnamon and chili powders if you choose to use them). Add the paste to the sugar mixture.
*2-1/2 cup cake flour (Substituted unbleached all-purpose flour which I whisked before measuring by spooning into a measuring cup and leveling with a knife)
*1 teaspoon salt (Because the label on the beets showed that the ingredients included salt, I decreased this to 1/2-teaspoon for my recipe.)
*1 cup buttermilk (Substituted 1 cup soy milk.)
SIFT or whisk cake flour and salt together. Mix the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
*1 tablespoon vinegar (I used white cider vinegar.)
*1 teaspoon baking soda
COMBINE vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter.
Bake in two 9-inch round pans, 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. (The recipe says nothing about greasing or flouring pans, so I'm using non-stick cake pans and hoping for the best.)
Split each layer when cool. Frost between layers with your favorite frosting, and frost top and outside edges of completed cake.
I tasted the uncooked batter. Yummy. Also, the correct consistency. It's in the oven, and I'm impatiently awaiting the results. I'm not going to frost it; maybe just a dusting of confectionary (powdered) sugar. Cake AND frosting would create havoc with my diet!
Twenty-five minutes into the baking, the aroma coming from the kitchen was wonderful! At a total of forty minutes, the toothpick came out clean. The cooled cake slipped easily from the pans. A dusting of sugar on top of each layer and tasting time is here!
While I have to admit that the color is closer to a light brown than to red (next time I'll try the red food coloring), the texture and the taste of this red velvet cake, even with the changes I made, is wonderful, and I invite readers to create this version of red velvet cake, with or without the changes.
More of my articles on Helium.com
My writer zone on Helium's Betaville
Travel Destination: NY State's Southern Tier
Monday, February 2, 2009
A not-so-typical day
I thought I'd share a day-in-the-life-of...a 63-year old woman. Everyone's day is different, I'm sure, but let's see where the similarities begin and end from waking till lunchtime.
Woke at 5:30 A.M. and fixed my tea--an equal blend of loose leaf English Breakfast and Earl Grey with a heavy dose of plain soy milk. I like my tea hot! Breakfast is typically 1/4 cup (dry) oatmeal, with a teaspoon of flax seed, cinnamon, water and skim milk. Today's fruit was banana.
Today's schedule looked light... Walmart, the bank and the pharmacy. Late afternoon would be one more trip out to a Weight Watchers meeting. If I walked to the bank and the pharmacy first, would I have the ambition to go on to Walmart. Well, Walmart wasn't essential. On the other hand, I've put off rewarding myself for another 5# loss for over a week and I desperately need a wallet. It's ridiculous how many times I've fished through my newish pocketbook to find things--no pockets in this bag, just one big open bag.
So, it was that I walked and occasionally slid the one block to catch a bus to Walmart. I enjoy the morning ride with Joyce who has always read and commented on my newspaper column. Joyce is a writer of sorts herself. A big journaller, known to pull out the book and write a few quick words when the bus is stopped at a train crossing. Our conversations tend to wander and today it came out that her younger (by 7 years) brother is big time hunter and television personality Bob Foulkrod. She also has a brother 7 years older. I'm a middle child, too, with brothers 3 years younger and 3 years older.
At Walmart I bought blinds for the living room window, AAA-batteries for my time/temp tower, and found a great pink wallet (labeled "credit card holder"). I'm not a pink kind of gal, but consider I wasn't into polka dots either until I bought the polka dot pocketbook/bag. (See December 2008 - "Staying in style".) An unexpected purchase was a datebook. I already had one (the smallest I've ever used) and couldn't stand the tiny spaces for writing. Now I'm in the process of transferring appointments and other info from one to the other. Also found--while looking for the datebook--a white board, about 12"x18". It's now on my counter replacing all those daily pieces of paper I've used to write down my day's schedule.
Oh, after the trip to WalMart, I did walk to Market Street (our main street) to pick up prescriptions and go the bank. What did I do at the bank, you ask? Cashed a $5 survey check. Also withdrew cash for other surveys and articles I wrote from checking. Got ten $1 bills to buy lotto/lottery tickets (this is a new thing for me!) and rolls of quarters for laundry and bus fares. Oh, shoot, that reminds me--I need to do laundry. Just a couple of buildings over to the machines and it's excellent exercise walking back and forth.
A few minor activities... Picked up my mail. Changed the masking tape on my fingertip several times (bandages come off and those dry, split tips hurt!). Laid down for half an hour while watching a 1970 episode of "Adam 12". Packed four leftover pieces of low-fat (yes, it's possible), vegetable lasagna in a freezer bag. Lunch today - broccoli and cauliflower, Weight Watchers bread, lite mayo, ketchup, mustard, veggie (Boca) burger and soy cheese.
There you have it, some details of the day-in-a-life-of. What was your day like?
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