A power surge Sunday night toasted our computer monitor. I think of how Emmie Oddie wrote this weekly column by hand and later by typewriter, mailing it to The Western Producer in time for the next edition. How we take things for granted. Thank goodness for family nearby, since this week I have chosen to drive a few miles to use their computer rather than write it out the old-fashioned way.
At the farm, we are enjoying the variety of spring weather this year with cold mornings, the odd hot day and plenty of wind. The ground is warming up, trees are blossoming and seeding is in full swing.
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Last weekend we got a call from our daughter, Jaime, who works in Calgary, to say she was coming for the weekend.
It turned into an even greater surprise when after she’d been in the house for 10 minutes, our youngest, Matt, came around the corner of the stairs. We weren’t expecting him for another month from traveling in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia. And just in time to help with seeding. Marla also will be home to help off and on for the next few weeks.
With the kids home, I tend to cook differently. They prefer pastas, tacos and stir-fries, whereas Don and I eat more homemade soups, stews and casseroles. I have found that Quick Cooking for Busy People by Karen Wokes is an excellent cookbook for the young adults.
This year Don learned he has Type 2 diabetes. I contacted the Canadian Diabetic Association, which provides nutritional information and resources. Its website is www.diabetes.ca.
More than two million Canadians have diabetes. There are three main types.
Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children, occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin, an essential body requirement that ensures body energy needs are met.
About 10 percent of people with diabetes have Type 1 diabetes. The remaining 90 percent have Ty-10-pe 2, which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body does not effectively use the insulin that is produced.
Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adulthood, although increasing numbers of children in high-risk populations are being diagnosed.
A third type of diabetes, gestational diabetes, is a temporary condition that occurs during pregnancy. It affects two to four percent of all pregnancies and increases the risk of developing diabetes for both mother and child.
Under the diabetic diet I use more spices, less sugar and try to cook fewer high carbohydrate foods. My sister-in-law, Wanda, loaned me a cookbook she likes called Kay Spicer’s Light and Easy Choices. It is about food for fitness, nutrition and fun, and is published in co-operation with the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. It is published by Grosvenor House Press Inc. in Toronto.
The following cookies are light and airy with a nutty crispness.
Pecan crisps
2 egg whites
pinch cream of tartar
1/4 cup brown sugar, 50 mL
lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 mL
1/3 cup chopped pecans 75 mL
1 cup rice cereal 250 mL
Line baking sheets with brown
paper. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, then vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in pecans and rice cereal.
Drop one tablespoon (15 mL) of batter at a time, two inches (five cm) apart, onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake in a 325 F (160 C) oven for 20 minutes or until firm. Then turn off the oven and leave cookies in for a half hour longer to dry. Peel cookies from paper when cooled.
Great gift idea
Are you looking for a gift for Father’s Day, a graduation or for summer visitors? Saskatchewan Trivia Challenge – How much do you know about Saskatchewan? is a good book about the province.
A lot has happened in Saskatchewan from momentous events in history and politics, to achievements in sports, agriculture, industry and the arts.
Authors Robin and Arlene Karpan were at a writing and publishing workshop in Rosetown, Sask., a couple of weeks ago. I bought this book for Don, and we are all enjoying reading about Saskatchewan. It can be ordered from Parkland Publishing, 306-242-7731 or e-mail parkland@skyport.com, $14.95 plus shipping and handling.
