Word spreads faster than the speed of light.

It seemed that many capsuleers and executive VIPs were catching wind of my efforts to promote healthy living. For some it sounded a resonance within, encouraging them to take up the mantle and do what they could to bring good health to the masses. Others bared their fangs, barking at the potential cuts into their profiting from the consumption by the masses of the fast and easy life.

As with all things in my lives, I had made some new friends, and some new enemies.

The owner of the soon to be opened Mendre nightclub, had invited me to sample some of the items from their day menu. She had mentioned I would be particularly excited about one of their new signature items.

I always enjoyed good food, and good company, so made my way to Mendre as my schedule allowed.

And I have to admit, the place was shaping up nicely, despite the ongoing interior renovations. The meal I had was delicious, but it was the dessert that was the real winner.

Heart of Roc

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 cups chopped strawberries
• 8 cups blueberries
• 8 cups raspberries
• a little bit of cranberry
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pack toast bread
• sour cream (optional)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

METHOD:

1. Into a pan, add berries and 1 cup sugar.
2. Cook on medium heat for 10 – 20 minutes or until the juice starts to come out.
3. Cut the bread crust and dip in the berry pan.
4. Place the breads in a bowl and pour the berry sauce on top of them. Place another layer of bread on top.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place another bowl on top of it to press down.
6. Leave in the fridge overnight.
7. Optionally serve with sour cream and/or brown sugar.

“Roc, what the hell is a pizza cone?” – Tufat Tukaar

Sometimes I speak out of turn. Sometimes in my efforts to help people live a life of wealth and health, I occasionally make references to things of my distant past. It wasn’t too long ago I mentioned the dreaded pizza cone.

Here’s a picture:

I can see some of you drooling now. All the glory of a pizza wrapped in the handy convenience of a cone. For shame.

But, I get it. I totally understand. Snack food is easy, convenient; it’s why we don’t mind paying the extra price, both financially and physically. Entire industries exist to promote this lethal cycle.

But it needs to stop.

You want taste? You want convenience? You got it. And I’ll even make it cost less!

Healthy Pizza Cone

INGREDIENTS

• fresh tuna
• low fat cream cheese
• fresh mint and fennel
• whole grain wraps
• one lemon
• parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. Dice tuna into small pieces
2. In a small bowl, mix fresh herb mint and fennel top
3. Add to the mixture, half the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of cream cheese and the tuna
4. Stuff the wrap, roll into a cone shape, and serve

I look forward to hearing everyone’s variations on this easy, tasty treat.

To this day I am often asked how to achieve the balance between healthy eating and flavourful food. I usually get a quizzical look in my eye, raise an eyebrow, try to convey a demeanour of deep and earnest thought, then simply reply “Why are the two mutually exclusive?”

Here’s the thing, food already has taste. Some have rich and luxurious flavours while others are so pungent they turn the palette. Either way, the taste is there. More often than not our food is stripped of its flavour during preparation: boiling, frying, broiling, etc, etc.

And worse yet is that it’s losing its nutrients! So no taste and no nutrition; welcome to 90% of our lives, a scary statistic I just made up now, but it’s probably more accurate than any of us would like to admit.

But fret not, creating quick, healthy and flavourful dishes is really not that daunting a task. Today’s recipe is a perfect example.

STEAMED APPLE CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 skinless organic chicken breasts
• 2 tsp avocado or extra virgin olive oil (like any of us have extra virgins laying around)
• 3 cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 small onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and finely diced
• 1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
• 20 baby corn, trimmed
• 250 ml freshly pressed apple juice
• 100 g raw beansprouts

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 200 C
2. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and place the chicken breasts in the centre. Drizzle over the oil and add the ginger, garlic and vegetables. Draw up the sides of the foil and pour in the apple juice.
3. Scrunch up the foil to seal everything in and place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, check that the chicken is cooked (if it’s still pink in the middle put it back in the parcel and cook longer), and when cooked allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Open the parcel and serve each person immediately.

Serves 4 happy people.

I’m afraid of the sea, silly as it may sound.

I’ve commanded thousands of crew members, traversed the stars in ships that boggle the minds of mortal man, have died and been reborn a hundred times, yet the ocean terrifies me.

There are many rationalizations for this innate fear I have: the sensation of water filling my lungs until I drown, the many known and unknown predators that are far more comfortable in their habitat than I will ever be, namely sharks and other deep sea creatures rarely seen by man. Even being pommeled by crashing waves during a storm as I tread water 4,000 miles offshore is not something that fills me with warm fuzzies.

I’m not even comfortable on beaches: crabs, seagulls, starfish… don’t even get me started on those. All kinds of creepy little hostile creatures ready to take on something too many times their own size.

Obviously nature didn’t wire these creatures correctly.

Reminds me of the time I wrestled a 20 lb lobster; nearly lost a finger to the bastard.

Angry Lobster

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cloves roasted garlic
• 1/2 ounce chopped garlic
• 2 ounces white wine
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 pound lobster, cut into 6 pieces
• 3 ounces clam juice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed pepper
• 1/4 ounce dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 ounce chiffonade basil
• 8 ounces linguini
• 1/2 ounce chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

METHOD:

1. Place sauté pan in oven to heat. When hot, add lobster and put back in oven for 3 minutes. Add garlic, dried oregano and red pepper. When garlic is lightly caramelized, deglaze with white wine and clam juice. Season, then place back in oven.
2. Finish lobster sauce with butter.
3. Heat pasta in boiling water for 1 minute, strain and place in fresh sauté pan.
4. Arrange lobster putting body back together. Pour sauce over all and garnish with rosemary and chiffonade basil.
5. Chopped Parsley – 6 bunches = 12 ounces chopped.
6. Soak parsley in ice water. Remove and shake off excess water. Gather leaves together and twist. Julienne from top until you reach edge of stems. Dice until fine. Put wet towel and rinse. Let dry slightly. Store in refrigerator.
7. Cook Pasta – 1 pound = 3 portions
8. Place pasta in salted boiling water for 7-9 minutes or until al dente. Shock in ice water to stop cooking. Toss with blended olive oil to coat and prevent sticking.

Show that crustacean who is the highest on the food chain!

OFFICER’S BALL
PATOR SYSTEM

“I do say, this quiche is simply to die for!” the Valkear General’s wife said in the most naturally snobbish whine I had ever heard before breaking into well rehearsed laughter that even the most critical directors of stage plays would have to applaud.

She made me sick.

I pulled at the bottom of my dress jacket, looked down at the crease of my well pressed trousers. I felt very out of place at this function, but it was a required duty, and I was never to walk away from duty, even if it was the most hostile snake pit I had ever been in.

“Don’t you agree, Matar Colonel? Are these not simply the most dreamy appetizer your palette has ever enjoyed?” She smiled again, her heading tilting back for more canned laughter.

I had the overwhelming urge to shove quiche down her throat until she choked and died.

“Excuse me,  ma’am.”

I grabbed the rim of my officer’s hat, bowing my head slightly, and took my leave lest some unfortunate quiche accident had to be explained away.

I walked into the kitchen, found a refrigerating unit, and grabbed a beer, cracking the cap off on the edge of a shelf, and guzzling half the bottle in my first gulp.

One of the kitchen workers, a cook, I couldn’t be sure, smiled and nodded. He came by with a tray full of appetizers.

“Try this. Simple and to the point… for men like us.” he winked conspiratorially.

I picked up the small morsel of food and popped it in my mouth, letting it roll around while I chewed it. It was simply delicious.

Several beers, several hours, several simple snacks later, it turned out to be an enjoyable evening.

—

Salmon Cream Cheese Crackers

You’re in luck today. You’re getting three options for one very simple, very tasty recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• thinly sliced salmon
• cream cheese (your preference)
• half sliced whole wheat bagel,Wasa Bread, or thickly sliced Cucumber
• dill seasoning (optional)

METHOD:

1. Cover bagel half/wasa bread/cucumber with cream cheese
2. Place salmon on top

It doesn’t get easier than that!

And by choosing a light cream cheese, and using the cucumber, not only can it be delicious, but it still can be somewhat nutritious as well!

I was tired of being in a straight-jacket, but despite what the holovid illusionists would have us believe, they were near impossible to escape from when secured correctly. Combine that with the fact that three sets of thick leather straps covered my body, wrapped tightly around the bed, and I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

As a desperate act of rebellion, I had clamped down on the last attending nurse’s finger with my teeth as she fed me. I wouldn’t let go, digging as deep as I could, ignoring the blood splattering on both of us, and her screams, until I could feel my jaw lock around bone.

I had been designated a “trouble patient” as a result.

One consequence of that action was that I was forced to wear a lower face mask that prevented me from opening my jaw, and was fed my fresh, new liquid meals through a straw, for the safety of the facility staff.

As stupid and out of place as it sounds, one of those meals in particular stood out in my mind, and as I savoured each different flavour, concentrating on the blend and balance of each within the whole of the recipe, I mentally created this, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Banana Blueberry Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 bananas
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 6 cups apple juice
• 1/4 cup sugar or sugar-free substitute
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon cinammon
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
• 2 cups blueberries

METHOD:

1. In a food processor, puree bananas with lemon juice.
2. Place in a pot and bring to a boil with 3 1/2 cups apple juice.
3. Add sugar. Set aside.
4. Blend the cornstarch into the remaining apple juice.
5. Add to the soup; simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Remove and chill.
7. Add the cinammon to the cream.
8. Whip into the soup.
9. Chill.
10. As the soup chills, drop blueberries into the soup for decoration.

Intravenous tubes sustaining us with protein. Catheters removing our bodily wastes. Amniotic like fluids maintaining homeostasis amidst all piloting conditions. Enhanced computerized filtering of all sights and sounds.

That is what life is like inside a pod, and life is good.

Outside the pod is a different story entirely for a capsuleer. Muscle atrophy, overpowering spices and tastes in foods, nauseating scents assaulting our olefactory; regular life can be brutal when you’re not accustomed to it. Never take normalcy for granted my friends.

Something I’ve always kept handy when leaving my ship; something I’ve always trusted not to make me gag when my senses are new and weak; something that is healthy but perceived as somewhat “normal” among the civilians is power bars. Power bars can pretty much sustain you when needed, though I don’t recommend it, but if you need an extra boost to your day, give these a try.

Minmatar Power Bars

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups almonds (raw)
• 1/2 cup flax seed
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup unsalted almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 4 drops stevia liquid
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup dark chocolate 73% or higher (optional)

METHOD:

1. Place almonds, flax seeds, shredded coconut, almond butter and salt in a food processor.
2. Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds.
3. In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat.
4. Remove coconut oil from stove, stir stevia, agave and vanilla into oil.
5. Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.
6. Press mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.
7. Chill in refrigerator in 1 hour, until mixture hardens.
8. In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously.
9. Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens.
10. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve.

SERVING SIZE: Makes 20 bars

Recipe originally found at Elana’s Pantry.

At some point in each of our lives, we will fill the metaphoric meaning behind this recipe, whether we admit it or not. But what is “Humble Pie”?

Quite simply, the origin of “eating humble pie” came from ancient times, when the deer entrails of the daily hunt were thrown to the peasants, who then made them into a pie while the aristocrats ate the better meat. Quite simply, eating humble pie is to face the lowest forms of humiliation.

I remember a time I faced the Military Tribunal, something about shooting on our own forces…

Humble Pie

INGREDIENTS:

• Entrails of a deer – stomach, washed intestine, liver, etc.
• Beef suet to the same weight as the deer entrails
• 10 cloves
• 1 tsp mace
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinammon
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 pounds of currants
• 1/2 pound of candied orange, lemon and citron peel
• 1/2 pound of dates
• pie shells

METHOD:

1. Parboil the Humbles of a deer
2. Take all the fat off of them
3. Add the Beef suet and mince it finely
4. Season it with cloves, mace, nutmeg, and a little cinammon and salt
5. Put some currants, candied peels and dates, stoned and sliced
6. Fill your pie and lid it
7. When baked, put in a sack and serve it