The juice of a lime can add so much flavour to food. Last night we went to our friends’ home for supper, and enjoyed a delightful, yet simple and healthy meal.
When we arrived, the main dish (boneless, skinless chicken thighs topped with chopped onions and halved seedless grapes) and the potato wedges were roasting in the oven. This is a good meal that can remain hot in the oven until you are ready to eat, such as at seeding and harvest. Although the chicken needs to cook for an hour, the wedges will cook in half an hour. The wedges were a layer of freshly cut potatoes tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with basil, rosemary, and a bit of freshly squeezed lime juice.
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The appetizer, guacamole and taco chips, was so appetizing that I could not quit eating it. To make it, our host peeled and mashed an avocado, chopped up tomatoes and a small clove of garlic, and added lime juice for flavouring. The leafy green salad was romaine lettuce topped with cut-up oranges and toasted almonds, and sprinkled with an olive oil-honey-lime juice vinaigrette.
Have you ever tasted lime juice sprinkled on watermelon? Experimenting with food can be fun. Why not try it?
Speaking of trying something new, I will always remember the balsamic vinegar on ice cream that I experienced in a fine restaurant in Ottawa. The sweet and sour dichotomy really tests your taste buds. Give that a whirl.
Clear Gel or Ultra Gel
From our readers across Canada, we received several addresses for locating Clear Gel used in thickening pies.
Dear TEAM: Clear Gel or the same product called Ultra Gel is available from Prairie House Kitchens, MaryAnn Barnett, Box 970, Oyen, Alta. T0J 2J0, 403-676-2106.
Dear TEAM: I use it all the time and I get it from Wisbeach Wine Cellar near Watford, Ont. He gets a 50 pound bag for me from a warehouse in London, Ont. His phone number is 519-849-6839. – M.L., Strathroy, Ont.
Dear TEAM: I found Clear Gel at Nutter’s stores. I was visiting my mom in Saskatoon, and it was quite by accident that I came across the product when we stopped by the local Nutter’s store. I inquired about the Alberta locations, and they are located in smaller towns such as Canmore, Camrose and Leduc. As for the rest, you would have to check for yourself. I bought a 250 gram bag for $2.49. I hope B.K., Edson, Alta., reads this article. – M.K., Edmonton
As many readers indicated, Clear Gel is available in some Nutter’s stores in B.C. and the prairie provinces. British Columbia has six store locations, Alberta has 14, Saskatchewan has eight, and Manitoba has three. I spoke to a Yorkton store clerk and she said that if a particular Nutter’s store does not have the product, they can find it. They have it in a 175 gram size in this store: Nutter’s Bulk and Natural Foods, 320 Broadway St. W., Yorkton, Sask., S3N 0N6, 306-783-7633.
Another reader, Hazel, called and said she has had good success ordering from the United States: Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 Old Salem Road N.E., Albany, Oregon, 97321-4580, 800-422-3985. I called Oregon, and the business sells two products. Clear Gel A sells in four-cup containers for $5.35 US, and instant Clear Gel sells in four-cup sizes for $5.65 US.
She also has a source (Alpine Nutrition, California) for a sweetener for diabetics called Xylitol. Phone 619-445-2689 or 800-910-9775.
Dear TEAM: There are similar products available in Canada that compare to Clear Gel. Nutter’s used to sell a product, although when I asked for it there they no longer carried it, but it could be they still sell it in the larger cities. I purchased a product called Ultra thick, Oetker brand, at the Grocery People, a wholesale grocer in Camrose, Alta. They will order it in for you, even though it takes a while. I have just ordered a case consisting of 12 250-gram containers for approximately $56. – M.G.L., Creston, B.C.
Canola oil pie crust
Dear Team: Do you have a recipe for pie crust made with canola oil? Somewhere I read one, maybe even in a previous column, but I did not save it. Would this type of pie crust be more healthy? Probably the calories are still there, but is the fat better for you? I want to make meat pies using this recipe, but it could work for other pies, right?
I have been reading labels a lot and find that many prepared soups, both canned and dry, contain MSG. I thought that was to be eliminated because a number of people are allergic to it. My husband, who is diabetic, gets high blood sugar when he eats Chinese food. Could this be the MSG? At some cafes it does not affect him. I have not asked if they use this additive.
Also, on reading labels, I noticed that all the mushrooms in cans at our Co-op store are now imported from China. I was shocked. I know that mushrooms were grown in British Columbia by Money’s. Now even theirs are canned in China. So that tells me that our growers could be out of business. Honestly, I would pay more for made in Canada products. Would the fresh mushrooms be Canadian grown or also from overseas?
As my kids would say, “mother, you get all fired up.” Hope that you can shed light on these questions. – N. H.
Dear N.H.: Canola oil is a popular and healthy choice because its saturated fatty acids levels are the lowest of any commonly consumed vegetable oil. Canola oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, second only to olive oil. It also contains an appreciable amount of the essential fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid. Canola oil is commonly used in vinaigrettes, marinades, for stir-frying and baking. This canola oil pie crust recipe is suitable for meat pies as well as fruit pies or any other pie crusts.
Canola oil pie crust
11/2 cups all-purpose flour 375 mL
11/2 teaspoons sugar, 7 mL
granulated
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 mL
2 tablespoons cold 1% milk 30 mL
1/2 cup canola oil 125 mL
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. In a small bowl, beat milk into canola oil with fork until frothy. Form a well in the flour mixture. Add canola oil mixture and combine gently with a fork until crumbly. Pat in pie plate as you would for graham wafer crust. Add filling and bake according to filling recipe. Yield: two nine-inch (22 cm) shells or one nine-inch (22 cm) pie shell and top (eight slices per shell).
Source: Canola Cooks!, www.canolainfo.org.
As for your question about monosodium glutamate, or MSG, regulations published on Jan. 1, 2003, make nutrition labelling mandatory on most food labels. The rules also update requirements for nutrient content claims and permit, for the first time in Canada, diet-related health claims for foods. So although foods purchased from grocery stores that contain MSG are labelled as such, when it comes to restaurants, the only way you know if the food contains MSG is if you ask. As you indicated, it is found in some soups, and also can be found in seasonings, snack foods and some fast food restaurants.
MSG side effects for some people range from headaches, migraines, tightness of the chest, burning sensations in the forearms or back of the neck to asthma attacks and skin rashes. Your husband’s blood sugar rise may be because the modern form of MSG is usually made from fermented sugar beet or sugar cane molasses, similar to the way soy sauce is made. Originally, MSG was isolated from seaweed in the salt form of glutamate.
Source: Good Food: The Complete Guide to Eating Well by Margaret Wittenberg.
You asked about where our fresh mushrooms are grown. Last week I went by the mushroom factory in Winnipeg, and so I was not surprised when our local store manager said that is where he gets fresh mushrooms. You might like to ask your produce manager the same question.
Removing diesel and oil stains
Several readers have sent in suggestions for the removal of diesel fuel and oil stains from clothes. We thank you for your responses.
Dear TEAM: I just add 1/2 cup (125 mL) So Clean Super Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer) to a heavy, hot water wash cycle, along with the detergent. The soda does a super job of cleaning my husband’s coveralls. – M.K., Aberdeen, Sask.
Dear TEAM: My husband was under the tractor when the diesel hose burst and poured all over him and his clothes. I wanted to throw him into the washing machine, too, but had to settle for using soap and water on him. To remove the diesel smell from his clothes, I used three steps:
First, I mixed 1/2 cup (125 mL) ammonia and four quarts (one L) water and soaked the clothes in this for 30-60 minutes. Then I drained and rinsed the clothes. If the smell is still there, a second soaking may be needed.
The second step was to soak the clothes in 1/2 cup (125 mL) vinegar and four quarts (one L) of water to remove the ammonia odor. Rinse well in soapy water. Again if the smell is still there, repeat this step.
The third step was to wash the clothes in a regular wash cycle with detergent. – O.G., Dauphin, Man.
Barbara Sanderson is a home economist from Rosetown, Sask., and one of four columnists comprising Team Resources. Send correspondence in care of this newspaper, Box 2500, Saskatoon, Sask., S7K 2C4 or contact them at team@producer.com.
