Racergirl Television Episode 11: Cooking with Mel

For this TV Tuesday, I decided to demonstrate a healthy recipe that you may enjoy.

 

First, however, I decided to rant.  I have created this table to illustrate my point that there is a continuum of deliciousness that goes past health food into the divine…. and sometimes you have to eat things that aren’t 100% responsible to your body in order to enjoy every awesome thing in life. In moderation.

You should try to stay above the bottom end of this deliciousness scale even while eating healthful foods which means avoiding your British relative’s cooking most of the time.

 

McQuaid Scale of RPD: Rate of Perceived Deliciousness (1-10 increasing delightfulness)

0 Tree bark; old bread with mold on it; anything made in the UK other than curry*

0.5 Very, very weak effort: burnt vegetables, overcooked and soggy vegetables, fast food ie most of the menu at Tim Hortons and McDonalds

1

2 Weak effort: prison food; quinoa in its natural potential

3 Moderately tasty: toast with almond butter; romaine lettuce; apples

4 Somewhat good: steamed vegetables at tender crisp with cheese sauce or nice seasoning; stir fries; fruit salad

5 Strong effort: quinoa with delicious accoutrements, thin crust pizzas that are not drowning in toppings.

6 Many fancy cheeses.

7 Very strong effort: pad thai; curries from Vij’s in Vancouver; lobster bisque; sushi from Sushi Paradise in Maui,bacon salad at Brasserie l’Ecole.

8 Very, very strong effort: Polenta cubes at Ulla Restaurant, fresh margaritas with fruit handmade on the beach with a muddling stick, homemade grammas cookies straight out of the oven on a cold day.

9

10 Very, very strong effort = TO DIE FOR:   30 year barolos from Northern Italy, Neuhaus chocolates from Belgium, any 100 pt wine, very old Gouda cheese from the Dutch store on Quadra, sausages made by Eddie out in Sooke, purportedly some banana bread in Vancouver (which I cannot confirm or deny but does contain Belgian chocolate so could be a contender).

 

So ponder that.  On with the show.

* With this I am calling out my UK teammates Julie Dibens and Lesley Paterson.  I thought it would be nice to have a little team cooking competition at some point this year.  Lesley will likely make something with a pint of oxblood (revoltingly Scottish ingredient) and Julie will just burn the hell out of whatever she puts on the stove like any good British housewife so likely this will be an easy win.  You girls in?

Recipe if you READ MORE

 

Quinoa with Caramelized Onions, Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard

2 cups quinoa

3 cups broth

1 cup white wine

1 medium squash (peeled, seeded, sliced, tossed in olive oil and roasted to mushy at 350 degrees)

1 bunch swiss chard

1 large sweet onion

Parmesan cheese

Fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil or coconut oil. I like to finish with some USANA Optomega which is an omega 3/olive oil blend on the top.

For the breading: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup any flour,1 cup panko crumbs or cornflakes, peas, cheese, herbs (whatever you want stuffed inside)