Cooking with Alison

Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

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My Detox Diet Challenge and Recipes – Day 15 (halfway)

In Random on May 15, 2011 at am

I have now been off gluten, dairy, refined sugar, soy, caffeine and alcohol for 14 days.  (See the Day 1 post here and the Day 7 post here.  See the last post here.)  I will likely be off legumes for the remainder of the month too, because I am now sick of them.  😉  Although I still feel like I have a lot of options despite the restrictions, I’m starting to miss having the option of eating out.  It is limiting my social activities, but I’ve been keeping busy with other things.

The food cravings this past week were once again directed towards sweets but were minimal and very easily managed.  In fact, I made carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting for a friend’s birthday and resisted from eating any of them!  The recipe can be found here and no one will be able to tell that they’re made with whole wheat flour.  So far, I am still very happy that I took on this detox challenge.  I hope to see more health benefits soon.

The Foods I’ve Been Eating and Their Recipes

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My Detox Diet Challenge and Recipes – Day 7

In Random on May 7, 2011 at am

I have now completed the first week of my month long detox challenge.  (See the Day 1 post here.  See the Day 15 post here.  See the final post here.)  That means I have not had any dairy, gluten, refined sugar, soy, caffeine or alcohol.  I know it’s only been a week, but I’m surprised by how mild, how manageable, and how infrequent my cravings have been.  I mostly craved sugar in the first few days, but that’s probably because it rained all week and I wasn’t allowed caffeine. In fact, I feel less hungry during the day and am consequently, consuming fewer calories.  I do, however, miss the convenience of 1. not having to think about my food, and 2.  being able to snack on anything that’s available when I’m hungry. With any dietary restriction, meals and snacks need to be planned ahead of time.  That means that both grocery shopping and cooking need to be done at least a day in advance.

Update:  Late night, Day 6, I cheated.  😦  I had planned to avoid restaurants for the month of May, but I ended up in a bar with friends when the night’s plans suddenly changed on me.  I had a beer and about 2/3 of a pound of wings.  The next morning, I was challenged with all sorts of food cravings that I was luckily able to resist.

So far, I’m very happy that I took on this detox challenge.  (See below for the health benefits that I’ve seen so far.)  My dog is even happier about my detox diet, because I feel safe sharing my homemade almond milk and gluten-free waffles and bread with him.

The Foods I’ve Been Eating and Their Recipes

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My Detox Diet Challenge – Day 1

In Random on May 1, 2011 at am

My current housemate is a naturopathic doctor and we’ve had interesting discussions about food, nutrition, and various diet regimens.  I was surprised to learn from her that dairy is a contributor to many health ailments.  Two other foods that can worsen conditions or cause people to generally feel unwell are gluten and refined sugar.  I have been looking for a new food challenge, and since I almost always feel fatigued, my housemate inspired me to try a detox diet for one month.  Although there are detox powders and pills available on the market, I believe that avoiding the “bad” foods is more beneficial to your health than consuming a lot of [unproven] supplements, assuming you’re regularly on a balanced diet.  In fact, a Chinese medicine-practicing doctor cured me of my Grave’s disease (an autoimmune thyroid condition) simply by giving me an extensive list of dietary restrictions.  I adhered to her list strictly for almost 2 years and have been off medication for longer.  So I’ve chosen to follow a basic and simple detox diet for this challenge (see rules below).  If you’re interested in doing something like this, I recommend speaking to a health care professional to find a safe detox diet that will suit your lifestyle and health concerns.

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The Stylish Blogger Award (and more about me)

In Random on March 3, 2011 at am

On February 27, 2011, Island Vittles passed the Stylish Blogger Award to Cooking with Alison (see here)!  I’ve been following Island Vittles for over a year now and have always admired Chef Theresa’s creativity in the kitchen.  So I feel very honoured to be chosen by her!

Recipients of this award are asked to share 7 interesting things about themselves and to pass the award to 10 stylish food blogs that they love.

So here are 7 random things that you might not know about me:

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Tour of a Cruise Ship Galley (Kitchen)

In Random on January 25, 2011 at am

Here’s the link to the video of the tour.

To see my review of the Princess Cruise line food in comparison to the Royal Caribbean line, see here.

In August, 2010, Krystal and I traveled to the East coast of Canada and USA with the Princess Cruise line.  We were on the Caribbean Princess ship.  There are three galleys (kitchens) where food is prepared for 3100 people (more than 1100 of which are crew members).  The ship has one main galley for each restaurant and a third galley for the buffet lines.  On the day at sea, the executive chef put on a cooking demonstration that was followed by a tour of one of the two main cruise ship galleys.  I was very excited about this rare opportunity and got up early for it on our only day to sleep in.  Krystal wasn’t quite as excited as I was.  😉  I took a video of the walk through (link posted at the top of this page) and as you can see, the huge kitchen is spotless.  The ship was launched in 2004 and the staff have clearly taken very good care of the appliances and surfaces.  I wish I could have witnessed the organized chaos of this galley during service.

Most of the initial food preparation is actually done outside of the galleys.  Below is a list of those areas and a few interesting numbers:

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Cooking with Alison’s One Year Anniversary!

In Random on January 15, 2011 at pm

Cooking with Alison was created one year ago, today!  So, like I do every year on my own birthday, I’m going to reflect on the past year’s lessons, appreciate the people that made a difference, and make plans for improvement over the next year.  Here’s to you and, hopefully, to another year of Cooking with Alison!

Statistics From the First Year of Food Blogging:

Total number of views:  58, 764

Number of views on the busiest day (Jan. 13, 2011): 529

Number of posts:  232

The most popular posts were:  Four Different Sauces for Mushroom Ravioli, How to Steam Cook Food, and Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls) With Shrimp

Number of email subscribers:  45 (plus 8 wordpress.com subscribers)

Number of email subscribers lost:  4 – It is at this point that I’d like to give a shout out to my dad, because he is one of the people that unsubscribed, haha.  (I was posting too frequently for him.)  Love you dad!  🙂

Unfortunately, I don’t currently have a way of knowing how many RSS subscribers there are (or how many I’ve lost).  😉

Number of websites inspired by Cooking with Alison:  1  (My love affair with everything)

Most Importantly, Thank Yous:

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Flour Mill Demonstration From 150 Year Old Mill

In Random on November 12, 2010 at am

Watson’s Flour Mill (website here) is a historic grist mill located in Manotick, Ontario, Canada.  It was built in 1860 and celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.  So Ed and I went to see a milling demonstration and to buy some stone ground whole wheat flour.  Although much of the original equipment is no longer necessary for today’s process, the mill still uses the original machinery.  We (well, more so I) were really impressed with the 150 year old equipment and milling process.  Below is a brief look at how Watson’s Flour Mill grinds whole wheat flour today.  (If you’re interested, check out this article about the ghosts that haunt the mill.)

Photo above was taken from the second floor of the mill.

About the stone ground whole wheat flour: The flour contains no added salt or preservatives, so it is only good for about 6 weeks, unless kept in the freezer.  It is said to have more nutrients than processed whole wheat flour.  Some of the local bakers even claim that bread and baked goods taste better when made with stone ground flour.  This flour is a fantastic option for people that are trying to eat more healthily, because it is processed so naturally.  Also, people in the surrounding area can use this as a resource for the 100 mile food challenge.

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Menus from the Titanic (First, Second and Third Class)

In Random on October 17, 2010 at am

When Krystal and I were in Halifax, NS, Canada, we went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to see the Halifax explosion and Titanic exhibits.  Both of these exhibits were full of very sad stories.  Halifax was the closest major port to where the Titanic sank.  So this museum has a well recognized collection of artifacts from the tragedy.  The meals that were served on the Titanic are known because menus were recovered from the bodies of victims.  I thought people might be interested in seeing the first, second, and third class menus that were on display in the museum.

First Class Luncheon

Consomme jardiniere, Hodge podge

Fillets of Plaice

Beef steak and kidney pie

Roast Surrey capon

From the Grill

Grilled mutton chops

Mashed, fried, and baked jacket potatoes

Rice pudding

Apples Manhattan, Pastry

Buffet

Fresh lobsters, Potted shrimps

Soused herrings, Sardines

Roast beef

Round of spiced beef

Virgina and Cumberland ham

Bologna sausage, Brawn

Galantine of chicken

Corned ox tongue

Lettuce, Tomatoes

Cheese

Cheshire, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Edam, Camembert, Roquefort, St. Ivel

Iced draught Munich Lager Beer

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I ate at a restaurant where Barack Obama ate! (Stewman’s Restaurant Review)

In Random, Reviews on October 10, 2010 at am

Bar Harbor, Maine, USA, was one of the ports of our New England cruise.  Completely by chance, my sister and I found the restaurant, Stewman’s Downtown.  Underneath the Stewman’s sign, the words “President Obama Was Here” had been written on a few wooden planks.  When a staff member confirmed that US President, Barack Obama had indeed dined at Stewman’s Downtown, we immediately asked for a table, even though we were risking not making it back onto the cruise ship in time.  I was crazy excited about eating at a restaurant where Barack Obama once dined.  It’s too bad that our actual dining experience wasn’t great.  Here is our mixed review of the restaurant, Stewman’s Lobster Pound, the downtown location.  Note that I’ve also thrown in a review of a raw bar in Bowen’s Wharf, Newport, RI.

On a side note, random food-related discoveries are among my favourite things in the world.  Also on that list are maki/sushi/sashimi, massages, comfy duvets, and whole weekends spent in bed watching tv series and movies.

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Cooking with Alison wins Best Review!

In Random, Reviews on June 7, 2010 at am

On June 4, 2010, Cooking with Alison won “Best Review” from Marx Foods for the Review of Marx Foods’ Dried Mushrooms!  This is Cooking with Alison’s first award!

Marx Foods wrote, “Best Mushroom Review: Cooking With Alison’s dried mushroom review was the most thorough and well thought out review” (link here).


Meeting Chef Michael Smith

In Random on May 14, 2010 at pm

Chef Michael Smith is a Canadian chef that has several TV shows – Chef at Home, Chef Abroad, Chef at Large, and The Inn Chef.  I think it was his “cooking without a recipe” approach that first made him ‘TV famous’.  On October 26, 2009, he came to Queen’s University in Kingston, ON, Canada, to promote his new cookbook, The Best of Chef at Home.  I went to see him at Leonard Hall cafeteria where he was serving bowls of chicken stew, and I was so excited when he personally handed me one.

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First Catering Experience

In Random on April 10, 2010 at am

I served in a banquet hall for years, so I know how things are run in large kitchens to feed hundreds of people at once.  Despite the long and late hours, sore feet and back, and No tips, I really liked working there (no surprise haha).  One day, when I own my home, I plan to design a traditional kitchen that incorporates the look of commercial / industrial kitchens (ie. through appliances, stainless steel shelving perhaps, etc.).  I bought my stand mixer in stainless steel with that in mind.  I just love the look of that contrast in a kitchen [staring dreamily into the distance]…

Anyways, I’ve never cooked or done food prep for more than 30 people.  So when a co-worker asked me to volunteer in the kitchen to help her cater a small function, I jumped at the opportunity.  This was her second time doing this and I was happy to be the kitchen helper.  The event was for 40 to 50 people, held at the Upper Canada Academy of Performing Arts, Kingston, ON on April 9, 2010.

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