Merry Christmas to all my fellow cooks,
I hope all you made tastes as good as it looks.
Thank you for trusting all my recipes here,
So Merry Christmas to all🎄and a Happy New Year! 🎉
Diary
All This In One Week
Christmas may be coming but it never feels like it here in southern California where it’s warm and sunny, 😎 but not for long because we have a bunch of rain coming! ☔️ Of course I’m baking for Christmas, but it’s mostly sweets to give as gifts. My husband says, “It’s not fair! Chocolate-dipped macaroons are my favorite! Can I just have the scraps?” (He doesn’t know I saved some for him. 😍) Here’s what I cooked this week:
- Chocolate-dipped macaroons (gifts)
- Cabbage soup
- Vegetable stir fry with cashews
- Chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies
- Beef stew
- Apple bread
- Granola bars (for us and gifts)
- Greek lemon chicken & potatoes with steamed Brussels sprouts & broccolini
- Caramel corn. Lots of caramel corn! (gifts – okay, I kept some for me! 🍿😋)
- Salmon patties with roasted root vegetables
- Custard pudding
- Bran muffins
- Vegetable fried rice with spinach and bok choy
- Christmas sugar cookies
🎄I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and that all your kitchen creations turn out.🎄
How To Measure Corn Starch
For anyone using corn starch in their recipes, I want to share the new way that I measure corn starch… using an empty baking powder tin! I just fill the empty tin with corn starch and measure away. It’s as simple as that. You can also use these tins to measure cocoa powder or spice mixes you make at home. Well, that’s all for today. I’m off to buy popping corn for my Christmas caramel corn. 🍿😋🍿
More Good Stuff To Eat
I can hardly wait to start my Christmas baking! Some people hide Christmas presents – me? I need to hide Christmas cookies from the man who lives here. He’ll never find them because they’re in the garage in the pile of junk he promised to clean up.. in 2009! Here’s what I cooked this week:
- Pan-fried turkey meatballs but with with chicken – it’s softer so they’re kind of flat but so tasty!
- Lentil soup
- No knead whole wheat bread
- Double chocolate chip mini cookies
- Vegetable bean pasta with broccoli + salad
- Angel hair casserole + steamed beets
- Vegetable soup
- Tortillas
- Dark chocolate cashew clusters
- Spaghetti with shredded chicken + salad
- Vegetable fried rice + salad with asian dressing
- Almond butter
- Sheet pan chicken & roasted vegetables
- Taco salad
5 Small Changes Anyone Can Make
I realize my lifestyle may seem extreme but it’s really just routine to me, not a hardship at all. But if it seems overwhelming, here are five small changes anyone can make towards better health. No step is too small to make a difference:
- Reduce or eliminate soft drinks. There is nothing redeeming in these beverages and even worse are diet sodas. You could start by adding sparkling water to a variety of fruit juices. Orange juice with sparkling bubbly water is good, or start with a flavored bottled water but beware of “zero calories” which usually means artificial chemical sweeteners. I would rather have a drink with sugar than artificial sweeteners. If you’re hooked, try diluting your soda with sparkling water as a first step.
- Vegetables With Every Meal. Vegetables, especially cooked vegetables, are your lifeline to good health. So no matter what you’re having for lunch or dinner, make sure there is some vegetable with each meal (preferably more than one). At home, a steamer makes this really easy. I routinely steam carrots, beets, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and cauliflower. I add them on the side with casseroles and pasta dishes. When eating out, if your meal doesn’t include veggies, most restaurants have side orders of vegetables you can add and share at the table.
- Make your own salad dressing. You are eating salads, right? 🙂 You don’t need the store-bought dressing when it’s so easy to make your own with heart-healthy, vital olive oil. Just stir it up with any vinegar of your choice or fresh lemon juice with some herbs, mustard if you like, salt & pepper. You can make it on the spot as needed or make it in a jar to keep refrigerated, like I do. Olive oil has numerous health benefits and is also great for your skin. (p.s. I just looked up a popular Ranch dressing – 😳 it has MSG and other things I can’t pronounce! 👎)
- Learn to love dark chocolate. I like this part because I like sweets. I used to enjoy milk chocolate but knowing the health benefits of 70% dark chocolate, I learned to like it and now I love it. I started with bars with more cacao, from 40-50-60% and eventually 70%, which is where the heart health comes in. I love 70% dark chocolate and now I use it to make my own cashew or almond clusters. Don’t try too hard! 80 and 90% chocolate is a tough sell! Stick to 70% for the best taste and its many healthy benefits.
- Eat less sugar. This is a challenge for me because I love sweets! But I’m working on reducing my sugar and you can too. I’m baking my cookies smaller or have half a cookie for dessert. You don’t have to give up ice cream, just eat less (and never out of the carton! 🥄) I rarely bake cakes any more and most of my desserts are a small cookie or one or two of my dark chocolate clusters. When eating out, when I had a fancy, rich dessert, I always felt overloaded. These days, I don’t even want it. So now we split dessert, if we have it at all. Going out for ice cream or gelato? Ask for a child’s portion or ask for a smaller serving. We go for gelato occasionally, and I just say, “That’s enough right there.” I enjoy the treat and feel better afterwards.
p.s. My husband then asks if he can have the part of gelato that I didn’t get! This is what I have to deal with…. ❤️❤️
What’s For Lunch?
Yes, I have my own way of making a sandwich. They are always open face with lots of lettuce on top. I use either baby romaine leaves or chunks of iceberg lettuce. I always add fresh vegetables. This time it’s cruciferous radishes, crisp carrots, and important leafy greens. (Thank goodness we don’t have a hungry pet rabbit! 🥬 🥕🐇) Does that not look delicious?? That and a cup of tea makes a fantastic lunch! I’m never too full because it’s not a lot of bread, which is my own whole wheat bread. Salmon is my favorite but I also make tuna, egg salad, and sardine sandwiches this way. Other favorite lunches are: almond butter & banana sandwich, lentil soup, or potato pancakes (when I have time). It’s usually a quick sandwich since there is always lots to do.
I’m on my feet all day so I put on sneakers first thing in the morning. I remember an all-day shopping spree with my older sister when she was wearing sandals and I was in sneakers. At the end of the long day, she was dead on her feet and I could have still gone for hours. Sneakers are a must!
My afternoons are usually spent stocking up on a couple of our “staples” like making tortillas, granola bars, or bread. Other times it’s almond or peanut butter or hard boiled eggs, salad dressing, butter-mix, things like that. (This is NOT all in one day! 🙂 just a sampling) It’s also when I try out new recipes. When everything you eat is made from scratch, its takes effort. To me, it’s worth every effort. This probably seems like a lot of work but to me, it’s a labor of love, a gift I give to myself and my husband, that keeps us healthy.
Oh, I also grocery shop about every third day. It’s mostly “perimeter” shopping because that’s where all the good stuff is: produce, dairy, and meat, while most of the processed foods are in the cereal, snack, bakery and beverage aisles.
I’m not done yet! There is also laundry, washing dishes, and making the bed. I have no housekeeper because I prefer a less hectic household and don’t mind doing my own chores. I also monitor my website and YouTube comments every day, answering some questions when I can. By the way, companies approach me every week asking to place ads on this website or asking me to promote a certain product. It’s a firm no every time.
So there’s a typical, busy afternoon. Doing all this keeps me productive and stimulates my brain every day. I hope some of this might be of interest. I have lots more to share but it’s hard to find the time… and now you know why. 😀
More Random Facts About Me
- The more expensive the restaurant, the less I like the food.
- English was not my first language. It was Italian.
- My first full time job was working as a waitress for a month when I ran away from home. I was eleven years old.
- I worked as an opening act for Tony Bennett.
- I sewed a lot of my own clothes when I had no money.
- I composed the theme music for my talk show.
- I was arrested and handcuffed at the Newark airport.
- Larry King asked me out to dinner.
- I can’t cook pork chops.
What’s In My Freezer?
How did we live before freezers? I grew up in Canada and I’m old enough to remember the ice man coming to the house with a giant block of ice for the “ice box.” My immigrant parents were so excited to have that new modern appliance! Today, you can operate your freezer with a phone! Who knows? Some day they might say, “Remember when people actually had freezers?” 😀 These days, the freezer is the star of my kitchen. Here’s what’s in my freezer:
- Several kinds of homemade breads, sliced, separated with wax paper, and ready to use.
- Pan fried turkey meatballs.
- Cubes of my spinach-walnut pesto. I freeze them in an ice cube tray. Check it out: https://www.jennycancook.com/how-to-freeze-pesto/
- Shelled edamame.
- Homemade chicken stock, frozen in one cup containers.
- Toasted nuts ready for baking.
- Apple or lemon blueberry bread, sliced and separated with wax paper.
- Cookies. Lots of homemade cookies!
- Ice cream: One pint usually stays around for about 2-3 months.
- Muffins: homemade oatmeal and bran.
- Leftovers.
- Open packets of yeast.
- Shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Tortilla chips. I only use them for taco salad so they stay fresher longer when frozen.
- Bacon. Wait…WHAT? 😳 WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY? 😳 I said it ➡➡ Bacon! Before you drop your spatula, allow me to elaborate. Three or four times a year, I make club sandwiches as a treat. Club sandwiches are a waste of time without bacon. Here’s how I do it: I buy low sodium bacon, separate all the slices, take a sharp knife and cut away all the big chunks of fat. (there’s not much left but that’s okay) I then place the remaining lean parts onto wax paper and freeze them. When I’m ready to make club sandwiches, that lean bacon is ready for me!
p.s. The last time I made club sandwiches my husband was so happy to get bacon that after dinner, he watched “Dancing With The Stars” with me – the entire TWO-Hour Finale! ❤️❤️ That’s the power of a club sandwich!
Random Facts About Me
- I’m a high school dropout.
- I got my GED after I made my first million.
- I don’t count calories, just eat what I know is good for me.
- I’m not as tall as I used to be.
- I’m 5’4″ tall and weigh 118 pounds.
- I’ve never missed a day of work in my entire adult life – never called in sick.
- I was a contestant on The Price Is Right.
- Other jobs I’ve had: waitress, hostess at a strip club, receptionist, musician, songwriter, standup comic & backup singer for Wayne Newton.
- I’ve seen the inside of a jail cell.
- I cut my own bangs.
Who knew?
You know how I’m always making my dark chocolate cashew clusters? I just thought it was a healthy sweet treat considering the health benefits of dark (70%) chocolate and the protein from the cashews. Plus, I keep them refrigerated and cashews stay softer than almonds. So last night, I saw an article about my favorite snack! It turns out that cashews are a perfect balance of carbs, protein, fat and fiber that helps prevent blood sugar spikes. That’s even more reason to make my dark chocolate cashew clusters.
p.s. Cashews must be toasted first! I buy them raw and dry-roast at 350 until they’re light brown (about 12-15 minutes) and they taste much better than store-bought toasted ones.