Fresh Beet Salad

Photo property of Sister in the Mid-West - Simple Inspirations

Root vegetables are a good way to make a winter salad. This beet and carrot slaw style salad with fresh apples and lemon juice from Sister in the Mid-west sounds like it would be refreshing and very nutrient rich. 

By the way, I was thinking that a handful of fresh cranberries before shredding or a handful of dried ones added afterwards could add a nice flavor variation. Also, if it isn't quite sweet enough for you a bit of honey or your other favorite sweetening could be added. This is a versatile recipe. You can make variations. It would be good served with a variety of meals as well, or added to sandwiches or wraps. The color alone makes it a winner for making winter meals pretty. :-)

Simple Inspirations - Beet Salad Recipe!

Crown Jewel Patties

I think I found this recipe in a magazine years ago. Sadly, I never made them and now there are several ingredients that I can't eat any more due to intolerances. I still like the idea, though. :-)  I wonder if I could make them with mashed beets and some gluten free bread crumbs. Hmmmm.


Crown Jewel Patties

In a mixing bowl beat:
1 egg
Add and mix:
1/4 C. mayonnaise
1/2 C. finely chopped onion
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 C. mashed cooked carrots

Add and mix thoroughly:
3 C. soft bread crumbs

(If mixture is too wet to handle, add more bread crumbs or saltine cracker crumbs. If using cracker crumbs, let stand a couple minutes or so to allow it to soak in good.)
Shape into 2 1/2-3 inch patties and coat with:

2 C. crushed cornflakes

(Crush cornflakes in small "batches" as you need them for this, to avoid crushing too many.)

Bake on a greased baking sheet for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Yield: 5-6 servings.

Allergic Reactions to Fresh Vegetables

 

[NOTE: This information and the suggestions given are not intended to be a diagnosis or cure for any problem.  If you have a serious problem along this line or continual difficulties of this type, please consult your healthcare provider.]

My brother and sister-in-law and I have had some problems with reactions to fresh vegetable recently.  Carrots and celery have been a big trigger for the most part.  All three of us have experienced itching in the mouth, and I’ve had a sensation of having damaged my throat or that it was swelling.  The itching seems to be clearly an allergic reaction, but the other doesn’t seem clear as to whether it’s caused by something in/on the vegetables or if it’s a problem with the roughness of the texture.  (My brother and I both have skin, mouth, and digestive responses from rough textures.)

Today I had a reaction to organic celery (which, due to USDA rules, may not have been truly organic).  I noticed a sensation of itching in my mouth before my throat started to feel like there was a piece stuck in it.  I don’t know if there actually was or not, but it felt like that.

I expect that other people may have had this problem as well if there are three out of six of us on this property who have had problems, so I thought I’d pass on a small tip that might help someone.

Twice now when I’ve had this “swelling throat” sensation where it feels very irritated, I have used this method:  I crushed a half a Benadryl between two spoons, mixed it into some water and then sipped it very slowly, letting my throat get a good exposure to each swallow.  This has helped me both time.  When I did it for the reaction to the carrots some time back it helped a lot.  Today I did it for the celery issue and it helped some.  I could do a second half a Benadryl and probably get more relief, but I don’t really want to spend the afternoon sleeping. :-/  Because of that, I also sprayed my throat with Chloraspetic and sucked an Altoids ginger mint since ginger is an anti-inflammatory.   The thing about the Benadryl is that it can help the throat and it will also help by going into your system the usual way (if it’s an allergic problem).  Also, I expect it works faster since it’s dissolved in liquid.

Foods have been having strange affects on people these days, and this has been a recent problem to us, so I thought I’d pass this on.

As far as the carrots go, my sister-in-law found that if she buys the whole carrots and peels them herself they have less trouble, so it’s probably something that is put on the “baby carrots” to keep them fresh that bothered them.  My issue came from an organic whole carrot that I peeled myself, so that didn’t make a difference for me.  (We have no trouble with these vegetable cooked.)  Even if it was just a texture issue, the Benadryl in water did help, so if you have that issue you might try it.  It’s very unpleasant to feel like your throat is swelling or has been abraded.

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After thought – If you actually do have something stuck in your throat, and you’re not choking (no trouble breathing or even talking) – a bit of lettuce, celery string, tomato skin, etc. – and water won’t dislodge it, try eating a piece of bread or drinking hot water.  A friend of my dad’s got a piece of lettuce stuck in his throat once and the only thing that dislodged it was bread.  Cooked rice might also help.

Freezing Food for Easy Use --- and to Save Money

Since I usually am only cooking for two people these days, but sometimes for 4 or 6 or more, it is good to have a flexible method for freezing some food.  It occurred to me that it would be handy to freeze things like they do for commercial frozen food where you can reach in the bag and grab just what you want, or measure out the exact amount you need.  It also means you don’t have to take the time to thaw a large quantity when you are only going to need a couple of servings.  So, I started working on it and found some things that freeze well this way and work for my cooking habits.

The first step is to lay the food your planning to freeze out on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper.  You may skip the paper, but it will be harder to get them off.

[At right is a tray of kielbasa type sausages which we buy in quantity at Costco (a membership warehouse).  These can go straight from the freezer to the frying pan or into water to boil.  Cook over medium heat till heated through.  Raw sausages will take longer to cook than pre-cooked.]

Step Two – Place the trays in your freezer (in such a way that they won’t fall out when you open the door), and leave them there till the food is frozen solid enough to be moved to bags without fusing together again. 

Step Three – Move the food to plastic zip freezer bags marked with the content and date and store in the freezer.

Since the food is loose and not all stuck together you can take out as much as you need at a time.  This really works well for certain foods and makes a healthy “fast food” “repertoire” for you to choose from.

Here are baby carrots that I froze this way.  They may freeze from raw OK, but to speed up cooking I put as many as I want to freeze into a 2 qt. pot and almost cover them with water.  Then I bring them to a boil and turn off the burner allowing the carrots to sit in the water till they cool enough to handle.  This will partially cook them, but they will still be pretty firm.  I spread them on the lined cookie sheet, freeze them and later break them apart and put them into the freezer bag.  (I also save the broth from cooking them to drink as it contains added nutrients over plain water.  You could also use it for soup base.) 

To use these I usually add them to a dish of food that I’m cooking towards the end of the cooking time.  By the time they are thawed and the dish is done the carrots are done too.  For firmer carrots, add them closer to the end.  For softer, add them earlier.

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You can freeze serving-size strips of raw meat (pre-cut, or cut by you) also by laying them close together, but not touching, on the sheets.  Once they are frozen and bagged they can be used without pre-thawing them as they will cook quite fast.  You can remove just the number you need for the meal without thawing a whole steak or roast.

Individual pieces of raw chicken can also be frozen this way for quicker thawing or immediate use in stews and such.  (Do not try to bake it without thawing it first.)

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  Lastly, you can freeze broth for future use by pouring it in muffin tins and freezing it (don’t use the waxed paper for this).  It is important to freeze till they are solid!  Once they are frozen solid remove by popping them out of the cups one at a time.  Only run them under water (on the bottom of the pan) if necessary, being careful to only do one cup at a time and having your hand there to catch the frozen “cubes”.  Place them in the bag and return to the freezer as quickly as possible to avoid them melting and sticking together. 

You can either do an approximate measure or you can use an actual measuring cup to measure the broth the same way every time so you have an exact idea of how much broth is in each “cube”.  You can thaw and add this to recipes or add it directly to soups, stews, etc. when you need more liquid.  It is very handy, and it means you can buy broth in larger quantities and not have to worry about using it up before it spoils.  Or you can use up your homemade broth without it spoiling.  (Homemade broths can be used to make gravy as well, though I don’t recommend this with the store bought broths since they usually lack flavor in my opinion.)