Marinades.Dressings.Sauces

Additives, preservatives, color enhancers and other 'fake' ingredients are pervasive in many of the foods we buy, especially, the 'toppings' that grace the 'main' dishes in our diet. We strive to buy quality foods but we fail, realizing some food companies just don't get it. Stop it already. Save your money. Save your health. (We cannot survive without them).

The biggest concern is the continual use of sodium EDTA and other ridiculous non-food but food grade??add-ins that frequent the 'toppings' we use. Perhaps the time has come to wrest control from those companies who do not care. Momsey's sauces, marinades and dressings are simple, meant to provide health benefits while adding to the the overall appeal of the food. Eating is about health not just satisfying hunger. (Glucose-fructose is still there stimulating our appetites to no end).

Using a dry rub concoction, after the marinade has done its duty, requires simple experimentation: choosing 'clean' spices that excite your palate that can also add colour for visual appeal. I use iodized salt, pepper and tumeric to start then add smoked paprika (mimics bacon's flavour) other paprikas, oregano, thyme, rosemary to customize the taste for a specific meat or vegetable. (Sourdough breadcrumbs are the only breadcrumbs I use for breading foods for frying since writing about Sourdough, Rice and Pasta (Oct. 5/15) Marinades are simple. Using a heavy duty freezer bag, I add vinegar and/or, lemon juice, salt, perhaps Worcestershire sauce, chopped yellow onions or the milder vidalia onions, diced or sliced crosswise for a stronger flavour. Massaging the contents, before the air is removed from the bag, helps strengthen the process of tenderizing and flavour enhancement. Leave in fridge for a few hours or overnight. (My favourite is a Saskatchewan recipe using lamb chunks layered with onions and lemon juice. It's a tremendous addiction).

With dressings, we begin the process of making the salads that begin or end a meal, with their suitable topping on top. (Homemade concoctions trumps anything in the grocery aisle). All it takes is one look at the ingredient list. Glucose-fructose is still with us. Go away! Even Dr. Oz has warned us of its use in processed foods. It has not been a part of food preparation in my kitchen for decades. Can't 'afford' it. For my simple oil and vinegar dressing, I use organic white vinegar with organic olive oil, canola, grape seed or avocado oils, to name a few, or a combo of all. A mix of oil to vinegar or lemon juice to suit one's palate, (2:1 ratio ) shaken with salt and pepper and other herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme is all it takes. Refrigerate. I never add sugar. Why? Dessert is just around the corner, if wanted. Let us add our own reduced sugar, if the need arises. When making a fruity dressing, adding pureed fruit to the oil and lemon/vinegar base kicks the flavour up a notch or two for a change of pace delicious. (Pureeing dried fruits adds flavour and sweetness according to your meal time rules)

Lemon juice is truly the 'additive' king. It cleanses the body as it adds incredible tenderizing flavour to all meats, other foods and salads, too. In a marinade, lemon juice modifies the flavour of lamb, beef, pork, chicken, when paired with them. Lemon is my #1 go-to ingredient for nearly every food or mix of ingredients I eat. This powerful 'additive' is on the counter, ready for action. Into my Chinese teas, lemon is added, adding health benefits, too. It takes no time or effort to shake the ingredients into fresh homemade salad dressing. With white sauces, it is brown rice flour, a discovery by my 'daughter' a few years ago. I love it. It's nutrient value, ease of combining and mild flavour makes it my gluten-free flour of choice. Into the white sauce, I add other ingredients to make varied cheese sauces, foundation for chowders, stews and chicken pot pie, to name a few dishes. (My gravies are now 'guilt-free'). With tomato-based sauces, there is a litany of herbs to add after the onions and garlic have been sauteed. Keeping life simple helps to keep food preparation simple, as well, and more likely to happen. No added sugar!

While visiting a bakery, recently, we noticed the gallery of cookies, pies and cakes enticing us to buy. (We had already eaten.) The adjacent 'hot table' provided a cornucopia of choices to wet the appetite. When told of the maker of some of the cakes we were adoring, we were disappointed, but not surprised when we discovered their 'online' 20 non-food ingredients found in these elegant desserts. Their composite list far exceeded any I would have had in any cake or pie I might have made at home. Real ingredients, mixed in with strange sounding names, and other additives to make the sweet creations had me wondering, “What exactly is modified corn starch?” When will 'they' realize they would sell more product if they would only use real ingredients? We do not need additives or preservatives in our food. We have refrigerators and freezers for that!

More Baking Outdoors

In my 6^th year of blogging, I have come to realize that food posts must make sense, be meaningful and helpful. Our health status is a barometer of the food we eat. Momsey is no clown, does not fool around when it comes to food. And she listens.

Food is about health, longevity and strength. Cooking is not performance art as many food shows would seem to make us believe. We eat to be healthy and 'wealthy'. Cooking is not a joke. Neither is barbecuing. The “Living Better, Electrically” mantra of the 60's or 70's, has no meaning today. How could it? Costs of this utility has skyrocketed. Using the barbecue rotisserie adds another costly layer to a homemade outdoor meal meant to be cheaper and healthier.

As obesity rates rise, worldwide, we must begin eating at home, more often, year round. As the menu selections of the retail dining landscape change, we must wonder what is still inside those dishes meant to feed us. Some dining spots are still not listening as they present to the dining public overcooked-fried foods, especially, the ever-popular fish and chips in its over-used 'frying liquid'. Refuse its' over-done' appearance. Only golden will do. The acrylamides lurking in carb loaded 'high heat' foods can 'inflame' us. Send it back to the kitchen. (Cancer has been mentioned). Not again. Oh My. Char grilled steaks have no place in our diet, anymore. High heat is bad idea, left to the past. This overly done technique harms the integrity of healthy fats, meats and us as it releases the acrylamides into the foods we love to eat and into the bodies we need to protect..

Our new 'end of summer clearance' barbecue, bought last year, does not have a rotisserie add-on. I did not want it. I did not need it. We found a basic model and acted quickly on its sale purchase. Our new 4-burner barbecue is a dream. It is a simple appliance made of stainless steel, inside and out. The old one was fraught with rust and danger. It had to go. The new heat indicator, on the outside of the hood in this new basic model, registers a correct inside temperature, something the old one could not. Setting a specific temperature now allows me to bake more items, more easily, outdoors, with our new hot box, in the stifling humid days of summer. (Always clean the grills after using. The 'aromatics' left behind, can attract critters in your area and make for a nice nesting spot for little ones, inside). Removing all noticeable fat from meat is also a good idea, first. Flare-ups from direct heat are then avoided.

Placing whole meats or their 'pieces', fresh or frozen, directly above unused burners #2 and #3 while #1 and #4 are on, helps 'roast'  the foods slowly, thereby retaining valuable juices and unimaginable flavour with the vegetables close by. A food baster is a must as it replaces the rotisserie's 'coating abilities'. Helping to bath the meats in its own juices is a nice delicious touch. (Collected juices can be used for soups later.) The threat of overcooking is reduced. Aluminum foil and pans makes cleanup and cooking a breeze. ... With our newest feature - a working hood thermometer - accurate cooking times and temperatures are now a reality for Momsey. Soon, I will be testing my theories by 'barbecuing' an apple pie in this outdoor cooking appliance. Carrying a portable timer from place to place allows me freedom to go wherever I must, inside and out. (Remember, open flames, outdoors, even in a barbecue can be dangerous.)

I am now considering cast iron pots, those age-old cooking utensils. They are perfect, able to withstand the effects of the intense heat of a barbecue. Cast iron has been used for thousands of years, great for open-pit camping, too, though its weight can interfere with the miles per gallon equation we hope to achieve when travelling by car. Understanding how quickly the 'hot box' heats up, even under controlled circumstances, makes the baking of cakes in 'low-rise' pans, possible. Fruit crisps, too, and three layer cakes with two pans on the bottom, and one on the top shelf. A sheet of foil can slow the browning of the baked foods on top.

Cornbread, biscuits, crumbles and other delicious dishes are now possible, baked in the outdoors in an appliance called a barbecue. The 'bakery' is an easy stop on our food journey to the barbecue in the suffering heat of summer. But I also make cauliflower au gratin, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, all prepared ahead of time then cooked in the barbecue for roasting or that last minute oven-baked look and yummy taste. In my Phillips Air Fryer I have baked 4 cookies. Baking these handheld goodies in the barbecue is next. ... Watching the temperature and the 'maillard' browning action take place, makes baking outdoors an exciting experience for all. All it takes is the desire to modify convention to incorporate the unconventional and to never use burners #3 and #4, ever again. Well, maybe, sometimes.

When Only Lettuce Will Do

As I left for home, having spent time with my my 2 month old grandson, I thought of the sandwich his dad had made with the ingredients brought to the house for lunch that day. ... (The Momsey editor gave birth in March on the anniversary of the day I found our Tiggy, the now 14-year-old wonder cat). Five fresh artisan buns, a few tomatoes, chicken, lettuce and some roast beef had been brought to the house. Simplicity in food preparation is always a nice change of pace. The baby had his own customized super food, courtesy of his mom. 'Lucy' was receiving a special order of grilled calamari with an oil, garlic and lemon juice dressing topped with diced tomatoes and green onions, during this nursing phase of motherhood. The only thought that came to mind as I made my left turn, that afternoon, was the large fresh crispy head of lettuce torn apart to accessorize the sandwich he was making. Flashes of the past came to mind when only lettuce would do.

Lettuce was the star attraction in salads and sandwiches, of my youth, with coleslaw as its mate, a nutrient dense mix of shredded cabbage, diced green onions and grated carrots in an oil and lemon juice drizzle. Nutrition was never under discussion. My mom simply knew. (She was born in 1921). We dressed the 'appetizer' mainstay, built on lettuce, with the usual ingredients: tomatoes, curly endive, green onions, grated carrots and radishes, everyday, unless there was soup. Soup was the main entree not the appetizer it is today. My mom's Saturday night meal - ours, too - was always a large head of lettuce, caraway rye bread and kielbasa. Nothing else would do. We ate it, too. That was understood. Today, the produce aisle of greens involves romaine, spring mix, beet tops, kale and other exotic leafy foliage to grace our meal time choices. My childhood dinner plate was always half full of salad made with lettuce. Salads were my dessert. (Meat was less important). Herbs and spices are center stage, now, packing a nutrient dense wallop to our health while adding a flavour and taste punch to the foods we eat.

Winter time gives rise to those 'tired' heads of lettuce that have travelled great distances and look the part. I choose the exotic greens then. The humble lettuce cannot compare to the colourful salad greens of nutrient dense fame. But sometimes, only sometimes, only lettuce will do. As I entered the home of my grandson, today, excitement ruled the moment as the sandwich materials began their journey to creation. The final crowning glory on top of the chicken, in the onion bun, was a large chunk of fresh crispy lettuce, the 'sound' of which cannot be duplicated in the exotic: kale, spinach or mixed greens.

Lettuce was king in my yesteryear salads. It had to be. Mom bought nothing else. Salad = lettuce. This off-white, mixed yellow and green head of plant leaves graced our dinner table landscape often, especially on Saturdays. Today, lettuce's large outer leaves now lay claim to being a bun stand-in whenever bread is not wanted. Though lettuce was the main act, once upon a time, today it is simply support staff when contrast of colour and crunch are wanted. Mother nature's simple foods are always energizing, tasty, healthy and cheap, regardless of their origins.

As he made his sandwich that afternoon, my son separated then washed the layers of lettuce for that final glorious step, in this simple lunch time favourite. It's crunchy, green leaves had left an indelible mark on his food history. Lettuce made it all work. In this moment, it punctuated the sandwich in a way that leafy greens could not. Lettuce had been a crunchy part of our family's food history and the only colourful choice in the salad made to accompany Momsey's homemade noodles and cottage cheese.

The more processed a food is, the more 'others' have interfered with its production and will, ultimately, with 'you'. Health matters daily, not occasionally. Lettuce is nothing special, of course, in its close-knit family of greens. But sometimes it is my must-have sandwich/salad link, to 'clean', healthy and delicious. It may not be exotic, glamorous, or heavenly to look at but lettuce can make everything it stands beside, in a sandwich or salad, the 'icing on the cake' for just having been included. Lettuce, like celery, can sometimes be missed, when it is absent. But every so often, in certain instances, it just seems right that only lettuce will do.