Today, I decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo all day via my food choices.
“More popular in the United States than in Mexico,Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture.” (From Wikipedia)
Because we live half of our retirement lives in South Texas, in an area with a significant Mexican American population, I feel pulled towards celebrating the culture too. In my world (as a foodie), food is a key element of every culture.
I love imported chocolate, especially Swiss.
I’m sure that this love of “shocklat” (as my paternal grandfather called it in his Swiss-German accent) is both learned and genetic.
For Easter this year, in addition to my annual Lindt gold bunny, the Easter Bunny brought me a variety bag of Lindt bite-sized Easter Eggs.
I enjoyed the bunny bit by bit for a few days after Easter. I weighed every ounce that I ate and counted every calorie.
Even though they’ve called out to me almost every day from the treat cupboard in our kitchen, I’ve resisted those eggs … on most days.
Yesterday, I finally silenced them.
Do you like poached eggs? If yes, how do you prepare yours?
Yesterday morning, as the sun was coming up and peering through our balcony’s big sliding doors, I was looking for something for breakfast to both photograph and enjoy.
I came across a recipe on Facebook for air fryer poached eggs.
I love poached eggs and have made them using many different methods but never the air fryer.
As I looked for a spot on my table to set up for a photo, it didn’t matter what spot I chose, the sun coming in the adjacent balcony doors caused long, dark shadows. I was hungry, so decided to just go with it.
My air fryer poached eggs were a disappointing fail of epic proportions. After the time given in the recipe, they hadn’t set one bit and were just slimy, unpalatable blobs, mocking me from the ramekins they were supposed to be “cooked to perfection” in.
I increased the temp a bit and added two minutes. The eggs were slightly more set, but still not edible. I like my poached eggs to have soft yolks but the whites have to be completely set.
I added three more minutes. Now, the whites weren’t great but just slightly more set, and the yolks were overcooked. The surface was wrinkled and not one bit appetizing in appearance.
I plated it up anyways, took the photo, and grudgingly ate my brekky.
Strike that prep method from my list.
When I was growing up, Mary Moore was a household name among the womenfolk.
Mary (Allen Clark) Moore, born in Hamilton in 1903, was a Canadian food writing legend. From 1928 to 1978, she was a nationally syndicated newspaper food columnist. Her columns, which appeared in as many as 25 daily newspapers across the country, were clipped and used by thousands of Canadians…
… Moore was known for her heartwarming, highly personal recipe columns, in which she dispensed cooking advice and also encouraged her readers to take a long walk each day. *Exerpt from thewhig.com
I remember both of my grandmas and my mom faithfully clipping the recipes from Mary’s column and either pasting or handwriting them into a notebook.
Many of the main dishes and desserts I enjoyed in my youth came directly from Mary’s weekly newspaper offerings.
When the first edition of her cookbook was released in 1978, I purchased a copy.
To this day, it’s my all time favourite cookbook.
In its pages, I can find recipes I remember my mom, my grandmas, and my friends’ moms and grandmas making. There are even recipes my high school home-ec teacher used in class.
As I gently leaf through the ingredient stained pages of this well-used and mightily worn hardcover book, I’ll come across a familiar recipe and smile with a fond memory.
One such recipe is Mock Marzipan Strawberries. My maternal grandma made these every year at Christmas and made them as table favours for my wedding.
I now make them as well.
Straight from the cookbook:
First editions of this cookbook in excellent condition now sell for $200 CDN. My book is far from even good condition, but even if it was in excellent condition, no amount of money could purchase it.
One of my favourite cold weather comfort foods is chili con carne. People seldom use the full name anymore and have shortened it to chili.
Although this dish was originally Tex Mex (from the border area of Texas and Mexico), I can recall my mom at home in Canada making her version of it when I was a child. Mom always called it by its full name.
In researching chili for this post, I was surprised to learn that the dish was introduced to eastern Canada in the early 1900’s. I wondered, given the distance, how that could be? Further reading explained that a group from San Antonio introduced it at a chili stand at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. This explained a lot, because Chicago is much closer and Canadians were very well represented at that fair.
There are many variations of this hearty meat stew, and I make it a bit differently each time.
The one in my feature photo has carrots, red bell pepper, button mushrooms, onions, celery, and three bean varieties with the lean ground beef and diced tomatoes. I prepared it in my Instant Pot, as I do all of my soups and stews. Pressure cooking has a way of locking in and enhancing flavours, which is key in one-pot meals.
We like our chili either over a baked potato, or with a side of toast. Sometimes I garnish it with shredded cheese and/or sour cream.
If you eat this dish, what sides do you enjoy with it? I’m always looking for new ideas.
I used the Touch Retouch App to clean up the bowl. As I did this, I recalled cooking competitions on TV, and how the chefs always wipe the edges of the dishes and bowls before serving.
By doing this task digitally, I was able to finally realize why that’s done.
Here’s the dish before cleanup.
Much more appealing with the dishing up smears removed, I think. Do you agree?
This week, Healthy Choice gourmet frozen steamer bowls are on sale at our local Co-op supermarket.
I recalled liking these many years ago, so decided to pick up a few today.
Wiki says this about the brand:
According to ConAgra’s official corporate history, Healthy Choice came into being after then-ConAgra CEO, Charles “Mike” Harper suffered a heart attack in 1985. Forced to dramatically alter his diet, he came up with the idea of a line of healthier frozen foods.
Hubs is away at a poker tournament this afternoon, so I decided to make one of these for my dinner.
I wasn’t disappointed. The meal was colourful, flavourful, and the exact right amount for the lighter evening meal that I prefer. The chicken was tender and juicy, and with a 4 minute microwave cook, the noodles were the exact al dente that I like.
An added plus is that the WW Points for this meal weighs in at only six. That’s a small number of points for a satisfying meal.
Yes, btw – I’m back to tracking my food again with the WW App. In 2018, I lost 40 lbs by following the WW smart points system. For a long time, I maintained the loss with a few minor ups and downs in weight, no tracking, and exercise only. I’ve recently regained a few lbs that have been more resistive to leaving me, so back I go to tracking.
First off, my feature photo isn’t mine. It’s from the blogger I’m shouting out today.
For some time, I’ve been following a recipe blog named “The Wholesome Spoon”
Lex, the author is a young, midwest USA Mom who creates recipes that are easy to follow and have ingredients most of us have on hand or can easily access at our local supermarkets.
I’ve tried many of Lex’s recipes and every one has been a hit with both hubs and me, as well as with our friends and family.
I’d highly recommend that you check her blog out here . You won’t be sorry.
For quite some time, I’ve been craving a good old pot roast meal.
Hubs isn’t a fan of roast beef, so I seldom make it. In fact, I believe it’s over a year since I’ve made a roast beef dinner.
Yesterday, I purchased a nicely marbled chuck roast (bottom blade in Canada) and cooked it in my Instant Pot. Tougher well-marbled cuts are the best for Instant Pot cooking.
The preparation is a breeze, and except for the peas and the salad, it was a one-pot meal and most welcome on a cold Saskatchewan day.
The meat was fork tender and hubs even commented that he liked it.
Win-win!
This is a late post for me. We had a busy day finding ways to celebrate the first day of spring.
We’ve actually decided to do something special each day over spring weekend 2026. More on that Monday.
Yesterday, I found a forgotten loaf of homemade focaccia bread in my freezer.
I defrosted it in the fridge overnight and this morning, set it out on the countertop to soften in the bag. When we got home from our day out of the park, I cubed up a slice for a decadent late afternoon snack. .
The slightly sweet and tangy notes of the aged balsamic vinegar floating in light olive oil made the perfect dip.
It was a bit too good.
Happy 3.14 to all of the mathematicians out there!
Pi day is the only day all year that I bake pies.
Hubs likes homemade pie a wee bit too much, so I always wait until March 14 to bake a couple for him.
This year, it’s homemade coconut cream from scratch.
I predict that at least one of the three will be completely gone by morning.
Radically Retired 