Personal Accounts

Pot Roast

Cooking just like mom used to make. A great recipe from the Food network.

1. 1 (3 to 4-pound) beef chuck roast
2. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3. 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
4. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 5 cloves garlic, smashed
6. 1 large onion, sliced
7. 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, in juice
8. 1/2 cup red wine
9. 2 cups beef broth, homemade or made from beef bouillon (2 bouillon cubes and 2 cups hot water) not canned
10. 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried
11. 2 bay leaves
12. 1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water, optional
13. 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional
14. Roasted Vegetables:
15. 2 medium red onions, peeled and quartered, or 6 shallots, peeled and halved
16. 3 carrot carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
17. 2 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch coins
18. 1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 8 wedges or 1 medium celery root, peeled and cut into 8 large chunks or both
19. About 5 tablespoons olive oil
20. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a large Dutch oven, with a lid, over medium-high heat. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper, and sprinkle lightly with the flour. Add the oil to the pot, lay the meat in the pan and sear on both sides until a deep mahogany brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate.

Pour all but about 2 tablespoons of the oil from the pan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, and cook until fragrant and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up by hand as you add them to the pot, and cook until a deep brick red, about 2 minutes more. Add the wine, and with a wooden spoon scrape up any browned bits that cling to the bottom of the pot. Add the remaining tomato liquid, beef broth, thyme, and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Return the roast to the pot, nestle it in the liquid, cover and transfer pot to the oven. Cook until the roast is just tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and continue to cook, uncovered until tender about 1 hour more.

Meanwhile, toss the onions, carrots, parsnips, and turnips with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet in 1 layer. You may have to use 2 baking sheets. Once the roast comes out of the oven, raise the temperature to 450 degrees F. Roast the vegetables, turning about halfway through cooking, until caramelized and tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.

Transfer the roast to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Skim the fat off the surface of the liquid and discard. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook until thickened. For a thicken sauce whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. (Test the thickness of the sauce by spooning some onto a plate and checking the consistency). Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust salt and pepper, as needed. Keep the roast warm in the sauce until ready to slice.

Slice the pot roast and lay on a platter, surround with the vegetables. Pour some of the sauce on top and serve the remaining in a sauceboat on the side.

Osteoporosis Month Feature: Milk vs Calcium supplements

NC)-Most people can best meet their calcium needs through food. However, calcium supplements may be necessary if you have a diagnosed milk allergy, severe lactose intolerance, poor appetite, or have chosen not to include milk products in your diet.

Ideas for action to improve calcium intake:

1. Find out which foods are a rich source of calcium. Try to improve your calcium intake through foods before choosing to take a supplement.

2. Enjoy calcium rich foods such as milk, cheese and yogourt on a daily basis. These foods are concentrated sources of calcium. Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends 2 to 4 servings a day of Milk Products to ensure that you meet your calcium needs.

3. Keep track daily of the number of Milk Products servings that you have. Try to have at least the minimum number of servings recommended by Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

4. If you are unable to meet your calcium needs through food, discuss your concerns with a registered dietitian, physician or pharmacist.

Food is our body's preferred source of essential nutrients over supplements. Milk products are a great source of calcium and chock full of nutrients. They are also less expensive and better tasting than calcium supplements.

Because of their rich calcium content, milk and milk products are an excellent source of calcium. The bioavailability of calcium from milk and milk products coupled with their price makes them a great choice for calcium.

Calcium can be found in a variety of foods. A serving of sardines with bones is an excellent source of calcium (100 g contains 437 g). Canned salmon with bones is a good source (1/2 can (213 g) pink salmon with bones contains 233 g). Although some vegetables do contain calcium, the bioavailability and the amount a person would have to eat to meet their needs must be considered. For example, a person would have to eat 2 1/2 cups of broccoli or about 8 cups of spinach to get the same amount of calcium found in a cup of milk.

- News Canada

Beware of Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes, so you better put a shredder on your holiday wish list this year if you don't already own one.

Here's what you can do to avoid misuse of your personal and financial information and enjoy the holiday season:

-store financial statements and other personal documents in a safe, secure place, and shred them when they expire;

-after you make purchases, review your statement and report any suspicious activity on your account to your bank or credit card company immediately;

-when shopping, carry as few cards and identity documents as possible, and always check that the credit card you get back is your own;

-cut or shred expired or unused credit and debit cards-while the card may have expired the number may still be valid; and

-beware of suspicious mail, phone or Internet holiday promotions that ask for personal information.

IF YOU LIVE IN ONTARIO
For more information on how to protect yourself from identity theft, contact the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services at 416-326-8800 in Toronto or toll free at 1-800-889-9768, or visit our website at www.cbs.gov.on.ca.

News Canada

The Holiday 7 and Other Tales of Gluttony

The cooler temperatures this time of year signals the change of seasons in our Northern climate, jump starting a flurry of activity at work as the fiscal year draws to a close. It also ushers in the major holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving, leading into the Christmas season. Canadians, the industrious lot that we are, hold our Thanksgiving in early October, a full month before our American neighbors. The reason of which still escapes me, but I do have some friends who love to be in the tradition of celebrating both. Add in a sprinkle of jewish heritage, with the New Year Celebrations just past and you have a triple play for endulging in gastromonic delights. A few things to keep in mind to avoid some of the guilt of facing your personal trainer in the near future.

Holiday 7
The prerequisite of celebrating the holidays is an abundance of food. Thanksgiving, is afterall the time of year when we give thanks for the bountiful crops which we received. A whole holiday dedicated to food. Even as we were preparing our Thanksgiving dinner, my mother was in her garden gathering vegetables for the table. However, the danger is in the overindulgence of all that bounty.
The term "Holiday 7" refers to the number of pounds that Americans supposedly gain during the six week period between Thanksgiving, which they celebrate in late November, and New Years. The label may be an exaggeration, but it has a basis in reality. A study in 2000 of 195 adlts in the Boston area found that the average weight gain over the winter holiday season was almost one pound. However, 14% of overweight or obese people gained about five pounds. And among all those tested, the holiday gluttony accounted for about half of a person's yearly weight gan.

How to Avoid the Pounds
Apparently starving yourself before the big feast only makes matters worse, so a more reasonable approach is to cut a few calorie corners where you can. If you are preparing the meal you can cut back on those nasty fats (i.e. butter, creams) used the food preparation and there are plenty of sources for recipe ideas out there now to help you out. If you are one of us singles who dines at some of the finest establishments in town, namely at family and friends, and just cut down on the portion sizes. Definately check out your local running clubs for "Turkey Trot" events to make use of all those carbs and to use that healthy outlet for unwinding from a dinner with relatives.

About the Drowsy Turkey Syndrome
There is a popular myth that turkey makes us sleepy. This argument is based on the argument that turkey meat contains tryptophan, a chemical which eventually breaks down into melatonin, which is a natural sleeping pill. However, turkey contains no more, tytophan than chicken or even tofu. In fact, turky as another amino acid, tyrosine, which is a mild stimulant, so it should offset the sleep factor.
So, essentially, the problem is the amount of food that we are consuming. It is not unusual for a Thanksgiving Dinner to top 3,000 calories, substantially more than the total daily requirement for most people. Eating a lot makes us sleepy because your body is busy sending it's blood supply to deal with having to digest all that food you sent down. Your skin gets cooler, you curl up to warm yourself, and the cozy factor makes you sleepy.

So pace yourself as you make your final holiday preparations, gluttony requires some serious training and not for those without the proper training.

Dear Diary, You Make Me Sick

Turns out we shouldn't feel guilty if about not keeping up with, or even getting around to starting, a personal journal.

According to scientists in the United Kingdom who have studied the issue, people who regularly keep a diary suffer from headaches, sleeplessness, digestive problems and even feeling awkward in social situations. The findings of this study challenges assumptions that people find it easier to get over a traumatic event if they write about it.

We expected diary keepers to have some benefit, or be the same, but they were the worst off,” says Elaine Duncan of the Glasgow Caledonian University. “In fact, you’re probably much better off if you don’t write anything at all,” she adds.

Although she does not have proof, Duncan speculates that diarists buck the usual trend because instead of a single, cathartic outpouring to offload trauma, diarists continually churn over their misfortunes and so never get over them. “It’s probably better not to get caught in a ruminative, repetitive cycle,” she says. But she acknowledges that her experiment could not demonstrate which came first - the diary writing or the health problems.

So if writing things down affects our health, what does it say about us bloggers?

LINKS TO MENTIONED WEBSITESNew Scientist

Pam Powered Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

This is a recipe passed to me by a co-worker years ago, and as the holidays have gone by,  I have adapted to suit my tastes, and decorate for the season.  You can cut calories by using low fat condensed milk and no sugar added chocolate.  By all means, use a good quality peanut butter.  The ingredients on the label should say peanuts, nothing more.

 Ingredients

• 15 ounces dark Merkens chocolate*
• 1 can of condensed milk (i sometimes use the non fat version to keep calories down)
• 15 ounces white Merkens chocolate*
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• colored merkens chocolate, sprinkles, etc. to decorate.

Method

1. Prepare 8 x 10 pan by greasing slightly and lining with wax paper. When the fudge has set, this makes it easier to remove it from the pan by simply lifting out the wax paper.
2. Prepare the bottom layer by mixing dark chocolate and condensed milk together  in a bowl placed over, but not touching, a simmering pot of  hot water on the stove.   Mix until melted.
3. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until set (an hour or so).
4. Prepare the top layer by combining the white chocolate and peanut butter together on the stove in a bowl placed over, but not touching simmering pot of water. 
5. Pour on top of the bottom layer, which has set.
6. Put back into the fridge until set.

Decorating:

Now the fun part:  Decorating!   Melt a little chocolate (colored if you have it to match the holidays or other time of year) and drizzle over the set fudge.   I have also found tiny sprinkles work well, sprinkling before the top layer has set.

This is a pretty rich fudge, so I tend to cut into 1 inch squares and present in little foil or paper cups used to serve truffles or chocolates.

The recipe goes along way and will provide lots of gifts to family and friends.  If you dig hard enough you can find specialty box stores which will sell little boxes you can use as gift boxes.  Decorate with a little and give to family and friends over the holidays.

 *Merkens chocolate are wafers/disks used by candy makers. You can buy in bulk at some stores like Bulk Barn or Michaels craft store.  In a pinch you can use Chippits or Bakers Chocolate. You can find the no sugar added versions to keep sugar down.

Who wants to be a Millionaire? The Millionaire Quiz

Do you have what it takes to be a millionaire? For the majority of millionaires, financial gains were not achieved through lotto numbers or shamelessly flaunting their assets in front of a TV camera.

So what does it take to become a millionaire? Are entrepreneurs the risk takers we image them to be?
Venture is a Canadian business television show which has followed the trials and tribulations of young entrepreneurs over a number of years. In conjunction with one of Canada’s top business schools, a Millionaire quiz was created to dispel some of the stereotypes about self-made millionaires.

Ten questions will help reveal if you have the millionaire mindset. So start clicking. You may discover something surprising about yourself, and your potential.

Take the Millionaire Quiz