food – Page 54 – Looking to God

Insomnia

Posted on June 28, 2013October 17, 2014 by Jack Flacco

It’s two in the morning. What am I still doing up? In a couple of hours, I have to start my day. If I don’t get to sleep, I will have been up a full twenty-four hours. The kettle, I unplugged it, didn’t I? I’m sure I did. Did I turn off the stove? I did. I’m sure of it. I can’t seem to get that song out of my head. Think about something else. Don’t think! Sleep!

This is Freedom Friday. This is how I escaped the abyss.

One day blends into the next. There is no difference. Today’s a semblance of good day. I don’t look like a character out of a Tim Burton movie—spiked hair, sunken eyes and pale skin. I can get things done. The birds chirping aren’t a bother either. Why do birds chirp? Why don’t dogs chirp?

Two years ago, I averaged two hours sleep a night.

My reflection in the window of the department store scares me. I run. I glance over my shoulder but no one is there. Everyone looks the same. Why are they laughing at me? Who is that? Is he the one following me? I sit on a bench staring. My thoughts continue to race. Tonight, will be a good night. I will sleep.

The doctor asks if I am suffering from stress. I ask, doesn’t everyone? I’m in perfect physical condition. Then why can’t I sleep? Perhaps a prescription? No, no drugs.

Where are my car keys? What did I do with my keys? I lost my keys. Why can’t I remember where I put them? Here they are. I hate my chores. I don’t want to take out the garbage. I don’t want to mow the lawn. And I do not want to have a smile on my face when all I feel is emptiness. I just want to lie down in a dark room, close my eyes and fall into a coma for a month.

She asks, is everything all right? I say, yes.

I must have tossed on my pillow a dozen times. I can’t get comfortable. What is wrong with this bed? Lie still. Breathe slowly. Now close your eyes. I can’t. Damned clock. Stop telling me how much time I have left before I’m supposed to wake up!

A year later, I had to put a stop to it.

She asks, is everything all right? I say, no, I can’t sleep again. What’s wrong? I just—can’t sleep. Pray. What? Pray about it.

I pray, asking for release.

The lamb smells good. I broiled it in a marinade of garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. I thought it would go well with the sautéed red and green peppers, and onions. That salad is to die for, too. Fresh cucumbers and onions give it a pleasurable crunch. I can’t wait to try my new Merlot I made a month ago. I’ve been saving it for tonight’s special meal. Everything smells so good.

I relax downstairs by the fireplace watching Edward Scissorhands, one of my favorite Tim Burton movies. I allow my mind to wander on the day. How sweet the birds sounded chirping this morning. How funny I looked passing that department store window this afternoon. How the car purred heading home. Although the lawn didn’t need mowing, I had taken out the trash. My smile grows. I so much enjoy watching this film.

The bedroom door clicks behind me. I pull the shades and dim the nightstand light. I turn the alarm clock to face the wall. After slipping into a T-shirt and brushing my teeth, I sit and read. Shakespeare sure has a way of making a story unfold. My eyes begin to droop. It’s time.

I pray.

The bed feels comfortable. I turn off the light and close my eyes.

Silence. Darkness.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale October 22.

Have you ever had to battle insomnia?

Weekend Getaway

Posted on May 31, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I’ve sat here for the past fifteen minutes trying to come up with a witty and funny intro to last weekend’s getaway I spent with my wife in Barrie, Ontario. But the more I tried, the less I accomplished. I suppose trying too hard, if that is possible, makes for an unproductive experience. In some ways, I can see why.

Welcome to my Freedom Friday post where I talk about whatever comes to mind. And what’s on my mind at this moment is last weekend. What did we do that was so special? My wife and I loaded the car, dropped the kids at friends, and spent three days away from it all. We enjoyed a mini-vacation, if you will, without the cares and worries of life’s little inconveniences. You know the ones. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, dusting, shopping, mowing the lawn, washing the windows, picking up and dropping off the kids to their activities, and a myriad of life’s other chores we do, but have only so many hours in the day to accomplish.

When we arrived at our hotel last Friday night, I unloaded the car while my wife took care of our room. The first thing that’d happened, which set the tone for the rest of our stay, was my wife’s chitchat with the desk clerk led to a free upgrade to the room. There was a lacrosse tournament happening that same weekend, and rather than have us stuck on a floor with partying teenagers, the desk clerk booked us in the honeymoon suite complete with a king-size bed and Jacuzzi. When I say Jacuzzi, I mean hot-tub-in-the-center-of-the-room Jacuzzi. It gets better.

Our hotel was close to the highway, making it easy for us to travel from one activity to another. Most of our time, however, we spent in the throes of relaxation. The word downtime comes to mind. It doesn’t even come close to describing what we experienced. Believe me, a weekend without the kids does not inspire a time of planned recreation.

Inside the hotel room, we dropped our bags on the spot and left for dinner. We have a special restaurant we visit whenever we’re in town called Ling’s Cuisine. I can describe their food as delicious, yet somehow the phrase needs some work. Beyond delectable? How’s that for a description? Their atmosphere is quiet, and their service is perfect. Their servers know their menus, having the ability to recommend plates and understanding their ingredients. For instance, I didn’t know what tobiko was until our server said they were flying fish eggs. The eggs don’t fly, it’s the fish that breed the eggs that fly. Good to know, anyway. I ordered a couple of plates of salmon maki while my wife chose a Miso (vegetable) soup and Salmon Teriyaki. As we enjoyed our dinner, my wife nodded regarding the couple behind me. They, too, were enjoying time alone. They had a full bottle of white wine with their meal. By the end of the evening, it was all gone. She smiled at me knowing where they were going.

Our Saturday consisted of waking up late and heading to the pool. The water was cold yet manageable. I spent most of my time in the hot tub gazing out the ceiling windows into the clouds. One cloud in particular caught my attention. It was the puffy white kind set on a crystal blue background. It shifted. First, it turned into a genie, then it became a cowboy. As the minutes passed, it became apparent it was disappearing before my eyes. It sparked a thought. Our lives are like the clouds, passing so fast that one day we’ll also disappear into nothingness. One day we’re here and the next—poof—we’re gone. Well, that was the morbid portion of my post. I also do song and dance on demand and recite funny limericks.

That afternoon we headed to Boston Pizza, a Canadian gourmet pizza franchise that also specializes in serving gluten-free pizza. My wife was happy, and as I said once before—happy wife, happy life. This time our conversation centered on how nice it was not to have any responsibilities for the weekend. Both of us had dopey eyes for most of the meal. Boy, we thought, we should do this more often. Amazing what alone time will do. You young parents will know what I mean when you’re away from the kids for some time. It’s like a natural sedative.

For our Saturday night entertainment, we enjoyed that wonderful Jacuzzi and went back to Ling’s. Good things go a long way. You know, it’s funny. We were driving to the restaurant and I notice a biker in all his glory on this amazing-looking bike. I mentioned this to my wife, telling her how much I admired it. She said, “Yeah, Jack, but it isn’t a Harley.” I thought, who is this woman who I’ve known for almost half my life. Is there something she hasn’t told me about her past? How does she know what a Harley looks like?

On Sunday, we wanted to head over to see the new Star Trek movie Into the Darkness, but we had the complimentary breakfast in the guest lounge downstairs, and went back upstairs in the serenity of silence instead. Without a doubt, we got our money’s worth from our room. The explanation I have for you there is when you get free time away with the person you love most in this world, you don’t want to spend it watching a movie. So we sat next to each other on the bed reading.

And, as the cliché goes, all good things must come to an end. We got back home late that evening after having treated the kids to the Sushi Garden. I guess you can say we all enjoyed a sushi-filled weekend.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale October 22.

Have you ever gone on a getaway weekend with your love? What did you end up doing?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Avocados

Posted on May 3, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Did you know avocados are a fruit? I didn’t know that for a long time. Much like tomatoes, they have a seed inside. According to science, that’s what makes it a fruit. In cooking, however, it’s a different matter. Served in delicious savory meals, chefs define it more as a vegetable. Avocados also provide an enjoyable snack for the health conscious.

For my Freedom Friday series, I would like to show you how easy it is to make avocados a part of a nutritious, balanced diet.

When my wife first introduced avocados in our diet a few years ago, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I trusted her sense of flavor, but as in all things borne from the unknown, I still had my reservations. She got the idea from watching someone. And one day she brought a bag full of the Persea americana from the grocery store. From there, as my sense of curiosity got the best of me, she went on to show me how to eat it.

This is the easiest avocado recipe in the world. Anyone can make it. With a handful of ingredients, guaranteed you’ll like it too!

Ingredients:

1 avocado

1 lemon (you really don’t need a whole lemon, or half a lemon for that matter)

salt

Directions:

Cut the avocado lengthwise exposing the seed as an oval. I usually use a steak knife, but you can use any ol’ knife. Just make sure it’s sharp and can penetrate the avocado’s hard skin. To remove the seed, I always stab it in the center with the knife, jostle it a bit, and it should pop right out of there.

Once you’ve removed the seed, with the same knife gently poke holes into the avocado’s meat. They don’t have to go all the way to the bottom. And you don’t have to poke a million holes. Just enough for the next step.

Squeeze some lemon on the meat. All that lemon juice will then seep into the holes from the previous step. This way a balanced coat of flavor covers the meat.

Sprinkle salt to taste

To eat it, all you need is a spoon. Believe me when I say it’s a refreshingly delicious snack!

For those wondering the health benefits of avocados:

About 67% of its total fat is monounsaturated as oleic acid

Consumption of monounsaturated fat reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (the bad) cholesterol, and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (the good) cholesterol

Oleic acid reduces blood pressure

Contains carotenoids, which protects against eye disease

Its 3.4 grams of soluble fiber promotes satiation, which contributes to weight loss

A cup of avocado contains a quarter of the recommended daily intake of folate, which aids in the protection of an unborn baby

Do you like avocados? Do you have a recipe you’d like to share?

Freedom Friday, Photo Opportunities

Our Dates

Posted on April 26, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Once a week my wife and I do something special. Something unique to reflect what we like doing as a couple. It may be going out to eat, watch a movie or just sit outside and talk. Whatever we choose, thank goodness the kids have nothing to do with it. For this edition of Freedom Friday, I’d like to give you a peek at what we enjoy doing on a date.

One of our many walks through our neighborhood

My wife and I have been married forever, although it doesn’t seem that way, given I still think it was yesterday. But yeah, we’ve been married for a long, long time. During the course of our life, we’ve done almost everything together. We visited Disney World, Disneyland, the Caribbean, Nova Scotia (oodles of times)—suffice it to say we’ve traveled a fair bit. However, what we enjoy the most are the simple things in life. No matter how busy we get throughout the week, we always try to spend some time away alone. It’s difficult with the kids, but we’ve managed quite fine.

Our big night is movie night. Every weekend, we pick a movie we’d like to watch, get some snacks, plop on the couch into a cuddle, and become entranced by the images on the screen. Sometimes the movie’s great. But sometimes, ugh, it’s awful. This prompts us to heckle the characters, which usually leads me to throw unknown projectiles at the screen. I can’t say how many times I have found popcorn, toys and socks behind the TV. It makes for some interesting conversation the next day, though. That’s what’s important, right?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve taken an opportunity every week or so to ask my wife out at our favorite eatery. Down the street from us, we visit a cozy, little restaurant called Mr. Greek. We call it “our place”. This is where we talk about life in general, in the warm setting of Greek food and music. It also provides some much-needed downtime in the middle of the week between tossing the kids between activities and the regular daily chores. We look forward to these impromptu dates. We really don’t know what our conversation will be like, but we know we’ll have lots to say.

Another fun thing we like doing together is to take weekends away from it all. We’re rather blessed because our town is located in and around resort country. A few minutes drive, we’re into beautiful vistas of lakes, streams and forests. One of the most memorable weekends we had without the kids was last spring when we traveled to Barrie, Ontario. We reserved a hotel room for a couple of nights and had fun in the pool, restaurants, walks, talks—it was so great. We had a fabulous time. You know, there’s nothing like being alone together without the cares of the daily grind.

I’m going to let this post fade with our most favorite thing we enjoy doing (besides that). We’re walking enthusiasts. Yep. We love walking around our neighborhood, hand-in-hand, talking, laughing, joking—gosh, I just noticed we seem to talk a lot with each other, huh? In the summer, our usual jaunt begins from our house and covers about two kilometers (a mile). As we take in the aroma of BBQ drifting in the air, we love seeing our neighbors’ kids having fun kicking a soccer ball in their yard.

What are your favorite things to do on a date? Do you have some place special you like to go?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Eggs and Hash Browns

Posted on April 5, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

As part of Freedom Friday, let me introduce to you my favorite dish I make on a hurried Wednesday night. I’ve been making this for years. Sometimes I add to it, sometimes I take away from it. But most of the time, it remains the same: eggs and hash browns.

Wednesday is Costco night for us. This means a night where I head over to the consumer warehouse and buy everything in bulk. It’s amazing how far my dollar stretches when the product comes bundled in boxes. By the time I get home, I’m too tired for anything else. That’s when the routine developed of cooking eggs on Wednesday night. They’re quick, easy, and it takes me twenty minutes tops from idea to plate.

Fried Eggs—This is the easiest recipe. Crack a couple of eggs in a frying pan and away you go. It may seem easy, however if the pan isn’t greased properly, sunny side up eggs will become scrambled in no time. I use an extra large chrome skillet and prep it with olive oil, allowing the oil to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Not a lot—just enough to coat. Then I turn on the burner to medium heat. How do you know if the oil’s hot enough? Dip your finger in water and allow a drop to fall into the pan. If it pops, it’s ready.

Start cooking the eggs (you don’t need me to tell you to crack them and place them into the pan, do you?) When the egg white turns white, drop the heat to a minimum temperature, this will prevent the bottom of the eggs from burning. To know if the eggs are ready, I touch the top of the yolk with the pad of my finger. Do this until the eggs feel room temperature (I don’t know what to tell you if your eggs didn’t come out of a fridge). Also, as it cooks, use the spatula to lift carefully the edges. Once it’s done, the eggs should naturally slide off the pan into the plate.

Scrambled Eggs—There’s a trick to making good scrambled eggs: never allow them to cook long. They have to remain fluffy and moist. Not like rubber, where you chew it and it tastes like the inside of a boot (not that I know what that tastes like, nor do I want to know). Attaining fluffiness is easy. Crack a couple of eggs in a bowl and beat senseless. Well, at least until they have a creamy texture to them. If you like, you can add a touch of cream or milk to them, but I usually don’t bother.

Now, prepare the pan just as I’d described in the fried egg paragraph. There’s a difference though. Once the eggs hit the pan, turn off the burner and continually fluff them with a spatula. Keep doing this until the eggs look loose but not soggy. When you get them to that consistency, you’ve got yourself a fluffy scrambled egg.

By the way, a few things you can do with scrambled eggs to make them interesting is while they’re cooking, add some spices to the mixture. I do this in the bowl where I beat them. I like paprika, cumin, and garlic and onion powder. I’ll then season it with little salt and pepper.

I have an omelet recipe, but I think I’ll save it for another time.

As for the sides, I’ll make hash browns, which take about twenty minutes to cook. I tend to time my eggs so everything pops from the stove all at the same time. Depending on my mood, I’ll add baby carrots or celery as another side dish. Cucumbers are cool, but I find the taste less desirable—I don’t think it makes a good combination. Maybe I’m wrong. Oh, and during the summer, I eat salads, so that’s something to consider when making any of the egg dishes I described.

Do you have any egg recipes you’d like to share? What would be your choice of sides?

Freedom Friday, Photo Opportunities

My Favorite Things

Posted on February 22, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

For a long time, photography has inspired me to travel great distances, survive sour weather and mangle my body into weird positions all in the expectation of capturing that perfect shot. Today, I hope you enjoy this edition of Freedom Friday because today, I’d like to give you a tour of my favorite subjects.

Canada's Wonderland Water Fountains — Canada’s Wonderland Water Fountains

As I’d mentioned, I enjoy taking photos of, well, almost everything. If it’s something I’ve wondered about and wanted to capture, I’m the first one there.

One of my favorite subjects is by far Canada’s Wonderland. Nestled in Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto, this 330-acre (130 ha) theme park features some of the most awesome roller coasters in the world. What makes this site special for amateur photographers (that’s me), is the simple areas that reflect a moodiness sought after elsewhere in the world but achieved here with simple landscaping and music. Its fountains, mountain, and fireworks makes for a wonderful experience for travelers wanting excellence in a vacation. My family purchases a yearly pass to take advantage of the park’s beauty and relaxed atmosphere (yeah, and the rides are pretty cool, too). The hand-in-hand strolls I take there with my wife at night are worth every penny spent.

Canada's Wonderland Mountain — Canada’s Wonderland Mountain

Canada's Wonderland Fountains — Canada’s Wonderland Fountains

Canada's Wonderland Fireworks — Canada’s Wonderland Fireworks

Next up, Toronto. How can I ignore the place I call my second home? From its CN Tower to its beautiful lake shore, Toronto provides me with many opportunities to take shots centered around color and culture. More specific, the downtown core where I frequent the most, hosts a myriad of activities for the family. It’s difficult to say what impresses me the most. Is it the buildings or events? I think the multicultural aspect of the city gives me pause. Whenever I walk the streets, I have to admire all those who roam from faraway places and call Toronto their home. It is something of beauty.

Another favorite place I enjoy taking pictures is the Ontario Science Centre. Located in the heart of Toronto, the complex houses hundreds of interactive and passive exhibits. My family and I will head over during spring break when the rates are lower and the place is bustling with crowds. We have fun with the various activities and I’m always on the lookout for something interesting to shoot.

What else? Food, of course! As you may have gathered from my sushi and eleven-spice chicken recipes, I love food! And being Italian doesn’t help. There’s always something in the culinary arts to keep my interest as an obsessed shutterbug. My mom makes these phenomenal meals like Rigatoni with cheese and meatballs, veal cutlets with potatoes and green beans, broiled lamb with peppers and pickled vegetables—she’s a crazy momma. Whenever I visit my parents, I loosen my belt two notches. Yet, sometimes a simple plate of fries captures my attention. Call me squirrel-minded!

Autumn is my favorite season. What would a post about favorite things to shoot be without a fall photo? During this time, the colors here in Canada burst. Maple trees line the roads in orange coats. Forests erupt in a kaleidoscope of gold and reds. And me? I’m out in the woods taking shot after shot of the amber carpeting. Fall is my season. If I had it my way, I’d sleep out there every night, listening to the leaves drift to the ground.

These are a few of my favorite things.

Do you have a favorite photography subject? What is it that makes the subject interesting to shoot?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Eleven-Spice Chicken

Posted on February 8, 2013May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Saturdays is a big thing here at our house. While everyone in our neighborhood shovels the snow from their driveway, goes shopping or runs errands, my family unplugs and relaxes with good food, great conversation and awesome friends. This is my Freedom Friday post, and this is my Eleven-Spice Chicken recipe.

My family lives a hectic lifestyle. I can’t tell you how busy my wife gets hauling the kids back and forth to their activities or how I manage to stay sane doing the same thing in the evenings. But the day we look forward to the most is Saturday. Saturday is our day. Actually, it’s my wife’s day, since I get to treat her with one of my most delicious recipes. She enjoys the food. I enjoy the cooking. And when we have company over, it makes for a delightful evening of giddiness and good time.

Born from my many Saturday food experiments comes my Eleven-Spice Chicken recipe. Yep, this is a true-blue, Jack Flacco original just like the sushi recipe I wrote about a few weeks ago. How this recipe came about was from watching nothing but the Food Network for a whole year and trying various BBQ recipes from multiple hosts. I tried a myriad of spices to get the right mix of what I liked. Some meals come out from the oven smelling incredible. Some—not so much. I would tweak the ingredients slightly and try again until I got the combination right. I did this until one day, my son said, “Boy, is this ever good!” That’s when I knew I had something. When I finally tasted it, he was right, “Boy, is this ever good!”

Now, if anyone ever asked, I used to hold on to my recipes like gold. Never quite revealing everything I’d put in them. Then I thought, that’s kind of selfish. The whole point of cooking is to share a great experience with people and have them try something unique. Something they never tried before. What better way to do that than to share it with you all!

Here we go, then…

Ingredients:

Black pepper

Brown sugar

Cayenne pepper

Coriander

Cumin

Curry powder

Garlic powder

Ginger powder

Onion powder

Paprika

Salt

Skinless chicken thighs and/or chicken legs

What prep looks like:

Directions:

Buy quality, skinless chicken. I tend to purchase my chicken thighs and legs from Costco. They have them packaged nicely and the thighs are already skinless, so you’ll save some time with prep. Also, you get a lot in the package, which will allow you to save money in the long run.

Get yourself a deep skillet and set your chicken in there. Some have argued chicken tastes better in a metal skillet as opposed to glass. I’ve tried both and I can’t really tell which tastes better. It’s going in the oven, not the BBQ. I’ll leave that up to you. Live on the wild side!

Spice the chicken. You’ll notice all the ingredients are powders. There’s a reason for this. With powders, you can control how much of a spice you’d like to taste in the meal. My rule of thumb is to put in what you like. Here is how I do it: Salt the meat. Nothing worse than tasting bland meat. Then sprinkle liberally all the other ingredients except for the brown sugar. Do it for both sides. Once you’re done, take a teaspoon of brown sugar and sprinkle it on one side as your last ingredient. When the dish comes out of the oven, you’ll find the sugar will have melted and caramelized over the chicken, helping to seal in the juices. I also use brown sugar because it contains molasses, which gives the dish an extra edge of rustic flavor over white, flavorless sugar.

Finally, preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C, cover the dish with tin foil and slip it into the oven for an hour. Once complete, take it out and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, pass it along.

Do you have any chicken recipes you’d like to share? If you’ve cooked this, how did it turn out?

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: