EAT AT OUR HOUSE - May 14, 2008
Dorothy Eedy, Columnist Most of the time my small bridge foursome, who meet once a week, arrive at the designated home (we alternate) at 1 p.m., sit down and play bridge till 4 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. and go home. We don’t do a full lunch, just snack and have a cool cranberry juice. Sounds serious, but the good players have put up with me for years — I never seem to improve. I don’t let this bother me as two of them play bridge with others two or three times more a week and know all the latest rules, etc. I’m just there for the companionship, fun and a bit of exercise for my brain.
The odd time, we finish early and so we have a half an hour to visit and the topics we cover are quite interesting. Believe it or not, it is usually something someone read in the newspaper or saw on the TV news. This happened last week. Someone mentioned that Barbara Walters was going to be
interviewed that evening about her new book, telling all her very intimate secrets. We all agreed that we were not interested — as someone said “who cares” — so many famous personalities are deciding that the world has to know who they slept with, etc., and it is “bor-r-ring!”
That put behind us, we went on to health issues. One bridge gal came up with something her son told her as she complained about not being able to go to sleep when she went to bed. “Mom, do what I do and that is eat a half a
banana just before bedtime.” It was the “magic pill” and she has had no
problem since. I added that I don’t really have a sleep problem; my new Obus
Memory Foam mattress topper has me sleeping on a cloud. Mine is just a
half-inch thick so I can still use my fitted bottom sheets. Another who
admitted to real sleep problems invested in one of those automatic beds that
vibrates and does all sorts of things like lifting different parts of the
bed with a push of a button and she has had good nights of sleep for the
first time in years.
And then a friend sent along an eight-page e-mail telling of the dangers of
Aspartame, written by a doctor, with many horror stories. But I’ve also read
that in some of these cases, people drink 10 to 12 cans of diet drinks a day
— so overdoing any product can cause problems. But also, maybe some people
are allergic, as with peanuts, and there should be an alert put on “sugar
free” products?
It was of interest to me because I thought Aspartame was taken off the
market years ago but it must have been something else. It doesn’t have a
dangerous effect on all people but for those who have problems it can be
life threatening. Any product labeled as “sugar-free” has Aspartame in it —
and that includes Equal, Nutra Sweet, and Spoonful. The wood alcohol in
Aspartame, as the article says, converts to formaldehyde when the
temperature exceeds 86 degrees Fahrenheit, then turns to formic acid which
in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Anyone who drinks diet drinks should be
on alert.
I phoned Pepsi, and a very nice person told me that they never use any
anything in their products that haven’t been certified by Health Canada and
the United States Food and Drug Administration. She said they did use
Aspartame in their product but the company never uses products that haven’t
been certified by Health Canada and the Food and Drug administration in the
United States. I spent an hour calling them, and the line was always busy
…Next thing I’ll be on TV doing investigation programs! Another good idea
the Pepsi representative said was to Google aspartame – there are a variety
of website with differing opinions of the effects of Aspartame. Health
Canada’s website, www.hc-sc.gc.ca, is a reliable resource.
Regardless of how Aspartame makes you feel, everyone can enjoy these great
recipes from Foodland Ontario, using local produce.
Easy Oven Stew
Ladle out bowlfuls of this hearty, vegetable-laden stew for hungry
appetites. Can be made the day before to let the flavours mellow — serve
with thick-sliced crusty bread.
1 and 1/2 pounds of lean stew beef
all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can (10 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup of water
2 cups carrot chunks
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup frozen cut green beans
1 cup evaporated milk
salt and pepper
Cut meat into bite-size pieces; coat with flour. In Dutch oven, heat 3 tbsp.
of the oil over medium high heat, brown meat. Remove meat and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium, Add remaining oil to pan and cook onion, stirring
until tender. Return meat to pan, Stir in soup and water. Bake, uncovered,
in 350 degree oven for one hour, stirring occasionally. Add carrots, cover
and bake for 30 minutes. Stir in cauliflower, beans and evaporated milk;
bake covered for another 30 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Apple-Beef Stir Fry
Ontario apples add sweet-tart flavour to this colourful stir-fry. Experiment
with favourite in-season vegetables to make it a year-round specialty.
3/4 pound top sirloin beef, cut in strips
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 Ontario mushrooms sliced
2 Ontario Onions, halved and sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 small green, red, or yellow pepper, sliced in thin strips
1 clove garlic
2 cups spinach leaves, cut in bite size pieces
3 Ontario apples, cored and sliced
Marinade
2 cup beef stock
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Combine marinade ingredients in bowl and add beef strips and set aside. Heat
oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onions, celery
and green pepper, stir-fry for five minutes. Add garlic, stir-fry 2 more
minutes or until all vegetables are softened. Remove vegetables and keep
warm. Add remaining oil to wok and heat. Using slotted spoon, remove meat
from marinade, reserving marinade.
Return vegetables to wok with meat and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add spinach,
apples and remaining marinade. Stir-fry until well combined and sauce is
thickened (about 2 minutes). Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.