eric

My love of cooking good food comes from my mom. As a young boy, I would stand on a step stool in the kitchen and help my mom wash fruits and vegetables, measure out ingredients and stir whatever was simmering in the pot. When I grew up, I realized that Mom’s cooking was hard to come by, so it was up to me. One of the first things I did was to pick up some herbs and spices. With most people, salt and pepper are all that reside in their spice drawer or cupboard. Don’t get me wrong. There are lots of foods that can stand alone and have incredible flavor by themselves. However, foods like chicken need some assistance. That’s where herbs and spices come into play. A dash of this and a sprinkle of that can turn bland and boring into fragrant and flavorful. If you’ve perused any of my recipes, you’ve seen some of my favorites like curry powder (a combination of nine different spices), oregano (Mexican and Italian), basil (fresh and dried), paprika (Hungarian and Spanish) and thyme.

My suggestion to you is to pick up some herbs and spices the next time you’re at the grocery store. What kinds? Any. Then build a meal out of those ingredients. Need ideas? Check out my recipes or go to your favorite cooking website. Remember, you can easily grow your own herbs. It can be an herb pot on your kitchen counter, a larger container on your patio or a plot in your vegetable garden. FYI many herbs come back in the spring. Heather’s garden is full of perennials like mint, chocolate mint, sage and oregano. If you let cilantro, dill and fennel go to seed, plenty of seedlings will come up on their own. Time to get cooking!

We have over 60 herbs and spices in our kitchen cupboard
and more in the pantry.

When it comes to healthy menu ideas, I focus on:

Flavor. Some workout gurus say food is just fuel. That’s not me. I enjoy foods with aromas, scents and spices. As a matter of fact, I have over 60 different herbs and spices in my kitchen.
Easy-to-prepare recipes. Like you, I’m well-versed with a knife, whisk, peeler, blender and cheese grater. With those cooking implements I’m pretty dangerous.
A Budget. Whether you shop at Whole Foods, Willy Street Co-op, Copps or Costco, we’re all on a budget. Over the years, we’ve trended towards fresh organic produce. Eric, isn’t that expensive? That, of course, depends on what you buy when you’re at the store.

So here’s an easy-to-prepare, healthy and delicious meal under $10. It serves 8 — that’s just $1.25 per person! Plus it’s high in protein and fiber. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used bison meat)
1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
2 beaten eggs
1 8-ounce can organic tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
ketchup (optional)

Directions
Combine all ingredients; mix well. Shape into a loaf in your favorite baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F about 75 minutes. At the 60-minute mark, squirt some ketchup on top of the loaf. This adds some sweetness. Return loaf to oven for remaining 15 minutes. Makes 8 servings.
Recipe modified from Better Homes and Gardens: New CookBook.

If you’re bored with rice or pasta, then try couscous. It’s delicious and easy to prepare. Traditional in North African cuisine, couscous may be served as a side dish or in recipes. Nutritionally, it’s low fat (1 gram per cup), cholesterol-free and relatively high in protein for a wheat product (6 grams per cup). There are three types of couscous (Moroccan, Israeli & Lebanese) that differ in size. I used the medium Israeli couscous that I purchased from Willy Street Coop. In the video, the recipe calls for steaming the couscous for approximately 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. However, since this is a larger grain you may want to wait 10 minutes. Enjoy!