everyday food app is a good thing!

This photo was taken grocery shopping with Owen on my new iPod Touch. This is my first experience with mobile wireless anything - so it's a big jump forward for me - and I LOVE IT! The reason I'm blogging about it is because I can now take advantage of apps! So the first one I downloaded was the Martha Stewart Everyday Food app. 

Where was this for the past 9 months?! My life could have been so much easier with this because a good portion of her recipes are available on it and it automatically creates grocery lists based on your chosen recipes. I don't know how many times I found myself running over to Fresh Co just to buy one single item because I hadn't coordinated my list properly. Furthermore, my handwritten lists were always on Hello Kitty note pads, so Nuno wasn't exactly enthusiastic to shop from them. 

I gave this app a test run this week and it was everything I imagined. My list was pretty much automatically generated when I chose my 3 Martha Stewart dinners this week. From there, I added a few extra items we needed. Then I went through and modified the list based on what we already had in the pantry and fridge - which was very quick and simple compared to my lists which get scratched and rewritten several times during the week. 

When it came time to shop I felt so techie walking up and down the aisles checking off each item. I don't know if people thought I was playing games and ignoring my baby in front of me while recklessly scooting around the store. Which brings me to the only drawback of this way of shopping - the iPod is particularly interesting to one year olds. Steering a grocery buggy with a curious boy and an iPod in hand is a disaster waiting to happen. Luckily I developed a technique of slipping it in my coat pocket between items, which sort of helped. 

This app is useful because it now changes the way I cook. I'm able to cook straight from the iPod instead of the magazine or book. I'm geeky, and I hate splashing food or creasing the seam of my books. I just have to be careful I don't drop the iPod down the chute of my food processor. It has also come in handy because it shows all of our dinners for the week and with photos it helps us decide what we want to eat based purely on what looks like something we'd like to eat for dinner.

I'm in the process of starting a ziplist.com account to further coordinate my lists because this app works with this site. I have yet to try the barcode scan feature but I like the idea of it. There is also a grocery store feature which locates the closest stores based on your location - but it's quite dated (it told me that there are several Commisso's near me - a now defunct chain). 

This app has made me curious to try other lifestyle apps. I might try out the Food Network app as well and compare it against MS's. If anyone out there has any recommendations of suggestions on apps please let me know.

ignorance is bliss

I was going through past issues of Everyday Food magazine looking to try something new for dinner and I came across this recipe, Sesame Shrimp and Noodles (from October 2005 - Issue 26). This is the quickest & easiest recipe I've ever made. It's so fragrant when the dressing comes out of the oven, you'll feel like you ordered this entree at a restaurant. You *must* try it!

Sesame Shrimp and Noodles

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 ounces thin spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 ounces medium shrimp
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; return to pot. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together marmalade, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Add shrimp, bell pepper, and scallions; toss to combine. Transfer to a rimmed (or toaster-oven) baking sheet, and spread in a single layer. Heat broiler (or toaster oven). Broil, 4 inches from heat source, until shrimp are opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Transfer contents of baking sheet to pot; toss with pasta to combine.

Nuno and I cook shrimp dishes for dinner at least twice a week. This may change though. I have a family history of high cholesterol; my poor father has heart issues. Nuno found out the other week that his oldest brother 's cholesterol is quite high. So we've gone and had ourselves checked. I'm just dying to know what the results will reveal. If either of us has a poor result I think we will be doing a diet evaluation and sadly, shrimp will have to go.

enchiladas carnita

Nuno and I will usually try several recipes from the monthly Everyday Food magazine. This month featured tomatillos (which I don't think are very easy to find in Canada), but regardless Salsa Verde is the closest substitute. Which is what we used on this most delicious pork enchilada recipes we've ever made.

Pork Enchiladas with Green Sauce (Adapted from Everyday Food)

1 pound trimmed pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle of PC salsa verde
1 cup corn kernels
12 6" white corn tortillas (we did half corn tortillas for Nuno)
8 ounces monterey jack cheese (best you can find)

Preheat oven to 450

Dust pork with cumin rub and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place onto a baking sheet coated with foil and nonstick spray. Bake in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 145 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes. Shred pork with two forks.

In a large pan, heat oil over medium. Cook onion until soft, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in salsa verde and cook together, about 5 to 8 minutes. Combine 1 cup of the sauce, the corn and pork - mix until well combined. Add just enough of the sauce to thinly coat the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Wrap tortillas, stacked, in a moist paper towel - place in the microwave and heat for 1 minute to soften. Using one tortilla at a time, keeping the rest covered, dip into the sauce and place on your work surface. Fill the tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the pork mixture and 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Roll up and place into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Once all are in the baking dish, cover with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and place in the oven to bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and broil until the cheese has browned, no more than minutes. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.