MOVING ANNOUNCEMENT

www.shellymercier.com
practicing in the Grande Prairie, Peace Country & Birch Hills County

ANNOUNCEMENT

I have moved my practice to the Grande Prairie/Birch Hills County/Peace Country area and begin taking new clients as of July 2nd. Please contact me here to book an appointment, please include your phone number.  I will be contacting you by phone.  All information given is private and confidential.

For the last 7 years we have been living in Calgary, AB.  My husband and I have lived in Calgary twice over the last 16 years and both our children were born there.  In between our stays there we have lived in Edmonton and Montreal always moving because of work.  I am happy to announce that this time we have moved simply because "we want to."  We moved home, finally.

Salsa and Spring Snow

Today is one of those early spring days that reminds you that you live in Canada.  It has been beautiful, the snow was melted, the grass was green and then snow.  But that is okay with me, it is just part of spring in Canada.

We stayed home today, the radio was reporting terrible traffic.  I decided that the over ripe tomatoes on my counter needed a new home, so instead of dumping them into the compost they were reincarnated into salsa.

8 ripe tomatoes
1 red onion chopped
1 chopped sweet red pepper (this eliminates the need to add sugar to your recipe)
1 chipotle pepper
1/2 head of peeled garlic cloves
1 jalapeño or 1 table spoon crushed chili pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon ground cumin
the juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of chili powder
2 tablepsoons cider vinegar

Set the tomatoes, peppers, water, salt and pepper and cumin to boil in a large pot with the lid.  When the onion is tender and the tomato skins split, remove from heat and let cool until you can comfortably handle the tomatoes with your hands.

Peel the tomato skins from the tomatoes and discard.

In a food processor place all of the ingredients and reserve the cooking liquid.  Using a tablespoon open up the chipotle pepper and scrape the insides (seeds and all) and add that to the food processor as well.  Add the remaining ingredients above to the mixture and blend quickly.  Try not to puree, keeping it a bit chunky is best for nachos.  Taste it and season it to your liking.

This will keep in the fridge for about a week.  You can can or freeze the extra salsa if you don't eat it all.

Brought to you by the Letter K

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day around the house.  I spent the day reading, crocheting, playing, eating... the usual.  I also quickly made 3 dishes all starting with the letter K that are deeply nourishing and that my family eats regularly.  We always have these 3 dishes on hand for quick sides and additions to every meal.

There is always a gallon of Kombucha fermenting on the counter.  We use great big glass pickle jars to brew this nourishing drink.  It is full of friendly bacteria, helps you to digest your food and gives you a great pick-me-up in the middle of the day.  In fact I am drinking some right now.

Kombucha - an ancient health tea.  Fermented weekly in my kitchen, this drink gives my family beneficial bacteria, digestive support and energy.  This is the only thing you should ever use white sugar for.  For a tutorial, see the link below.

Click here to learn how to make Kombucha.

Kimchi is a staple in my kitchen too.  We add it to soups, eat it as a side and sometimes even as a snack.  When I am feeling under the weather or feel a bit of a cold coming on I grab a small bowl of Kimchi.  The spicy peppers, ginger, beneficial enzymes and bacteria seem to beat the flu every time.  Next time you feel a sore throat coming on try it out.  It is simple to make and it keeps for months in the back of your refrigerator.

Kimchi - a favorite in our home.  It's spicy nature with ginger and enzymes make it the perfect food for cold and flu season.  Simple to make and low cost.  What could be better than that?  To learn to make Kimchi, click the link below.

To learn to make Kimchi click here.

Kocsonya.  A traditional Hungarian dish made of boiling pig trotters, hocks and ears overnight and letting the broth cool in the fridge until it is set like a jello.  Pronounced (Coo-chin-ya).  This is an extremely nutritionally dense food.  It is concentrated bone broth with marrow.  The Kocsonya when cubed and eaten with sour dough bread for breakfast fills you up and keeps you going well past noon.  I have also discovered broken into smaller than pea size bits is a great food for older babies.  It is high in minerals and has an appealing texture to babies.

Kocsonya (pronounced Coo-Chin-Ya) is a traditional Hungarian dish of boiled pig trotters, hocks and ears.  After boiling overnight the broth is poured into containers and left to set in the refrigerator.  It has the texture of jello, and is a great breakfast or lunch addition when served with traditional sourdough bread.  Babies love this food when it is broken into small bits with a fork to eliminate choking hazards.  To learn to make it, click the link below.

To learn to make Kocsonya click here.

So there you have it.  Three nutrient dense foods that are inexpensive and quick to prepare brought to you by the letter K.

Take care!
Shelly

Poutine

If you haven't guessed it by my name, I am French.  Not from France, I am French Canadian.  My Father's side and my Mother's maternal side have lived in Canada since before it was Canada (we think).  My ancestors were true pioneers in the east and helped to open up the western prairies where we currently live.

Along with being French I am also a quarter Hungarian (Mother's Father), and by personal preference tend toward Hungarian dishes more than French.  Seems odd when you think about it, most food lovers can't get enough French food, but not me.  I love anything with cabbage or beets.  Goulash is served weekly in my house and I buy paprika buy the pound almost monthly.

My french family has been here long enough to not consider food from France our food, we are true French Canadians.  There are two French Canadian dishes that I love to my very core.  One is a nostalgic dish, la Tourtière; the humble meat pie.  We eat meat pies every Christmas and for other special days like Easter or weddings.

BEHOLD; the French dish I didn't grow up with but will never pass up if offered - POUTINE.  This used to be a dish served only in Quebec or French communities across the country.  A hard dish to find and definitely never in any kitchens of family that I know of.  But since I discovered it in my youth it has been my absolute favorite French Canadian dish and am happy it is easier to find on menus everywhere.  But to make it at home is a true treat and extremely simple using left overs.

2013, a new year.

It is long past summer here in Calgary and we had over a foot of snow fall yesterday.  My blogging attempts are squashed as fast as the banana baby ate for breakfast this morning.  Little love bug is an active little girl with lots and lots of energy and has decided that napping is not really her thing.  So the days are spend hunched over walking laps around the house while little hands grip my fingers and bare feet slap the floor, or sitting on the floor opening doors and gates on a farm set and mimicking the sounds of the animals.  I am now quite good at a goat, I wish you could hear it.  It brings smiles to kids of all ages and adults burst into laughter.

That being said the kitchen is still bubbling with food, only the camera doesn't seem to capture it.  It is always out of arms reach and time is always of the essence.

Seed catalogues are beginning to arrive in the mail, which is giving me hope for spring all her sunshine.  It is at  this point during the year that most Canadians really start feeling the long dark winters.  Christmas is over and now it feels like forever before spring will come.

This year begins my 4th year in blogging.  It is a challenge to sit and write, but what it has brought into my life has been tremendous.  The small community it has built, the new friends it has sent my way, and the old friendships it has rekindled are all beautiful additions to my life journey.

So here is what I've been up to.