Enjoy a country-style chicken dish
Embrace your inner penguin this winter
There’s a certain rustic simplicity to a good one-pot meal. You know, the type of meal you bring to the table in the vessel it was cooked in. All you need to do is add a loaf of country bread and some butter and the meal is complete.
There is little more satisfying than sopping up the remnants of a good braise with some bread and washing it down with a savoury, country-style red wine.
In a time when we can’t travel, the very thought of a meal like this has me thinking about southern French vineyards with scents of wild herbs in the air. If I can’t get on a plane to travel, then let me eat and drink my way there instead.
Braised Chicken Serves 4 to 6
• 1 bottle red wine
• 1 onion, quarters
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 to 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 tbsp butter
• 150 g slab bacon, cubed
• 2 chicken legs
• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 15 button mushrooms Directions:
Combine the wine, onion, half the carrots, celery, bay leaf and thyme in a large pan. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Strain and set aside. Place butter in the same pan over medium heat, add bacon and sauté until crispy. Remove and set aside. Dust chicken pieces with flour, season with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Turn heat to medium-low and sauté the shallots and whole mushrooms until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Remove mushrooms
and shallots and reserve. Pour the reserved wine back into the pan, add reserved chicken, reserved bacon and remaining carrot. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Let simmer for about an hour. Then add reserved shallots and mushrooms. Simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve with some crusty bread and your favourite bottle of red wine.
Have you ever watched a penguin walk? If not, take a moment and look it up online.
You probably won’t accuse them of being graceful, but they do have one amazing quality, given the slippery surface they walk on: stability.
There is no doubt that safely navigating an icy surface is challenging. However, penguins have figured it out. We can — and should — learn from them.
Thousands of Canadians are hospitalized every year due to falls on ice. And many thousands more falls occur and result in injuries, but not hospitalizations.
As a physiotherapist, I often treat clients with sprained and fractured wrists, elbows, knees and ankles after they have slipped and fallen on ice. I have also seen clients with serious back and hip injuries, including deep bruising, as a result of these kinds of falls. These injuries can take months to heal and can make it hard to enjoy your everyday activities.
The biggest challenge when walking on an icy surface is preventing an unexpected slip of the foot that causes us to lose balance and fall. The penguin waddle helps to limit the likelihood of this misstep.
Here are five ways you can embrace your inner penguin and increase your chances of staying upright this winter when walking on icy surfaces.
1. Arms out to the sides
Keep your arms out of your pockets and slightly out to the sides of your body to provide an easy counterbalance. If you start to tip slightly to the right or left, the opposite arm will naturally reach in the opposing direction in an attempt to keep you upright.
2. Feet wider apart
Keep your feet a little wider
apart than normal. This will give you a bigger base of support and make it harder for you to lose your balance.
3. Bend your knees
Maintain a small bend in your knees to increase the activity in your leg muscles. This will make it easier for your body to react if your foot does slide slightly when you step down on an icy surface.
4. Take small steps
Reduce the length of your step to keep your body weight on top of your feet. This will decrease the chance that your foot will slide out in front of you when you step on a slippery patch.
5. Walk flat-footed
Place the foot on the ground all at the same time instead of planting the heel down first. It is easy for the heel to slip forward if it’s the first contact on the ground in front of your body. By contacting the ground with the whole foot at the same time, it reduces the likelihood of the foot sliding when it makes contact with ice.
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Living and parenting through a pandemic has been challenging — to say the least — but it hasn’t been all bad.
Difficult experiences teach valuable lessons and many parents have learned a lot about what they really need, what they have always taken for granted, and what they truly value. Here are some of the parenting lessons I have learned during this unprecedented time.
FOOD INSECURITY IS SCARY
I never really gave much thought to where food comes from or my ability to access what I need for my family. That was until many grocery store shelves were bare and some items were hard to find. As a result, I have a renewed interest in teaching my children about gardening, buying local, meal planning, cooking, and baking from scratch.
KIDS ARE RESILIENT
Although this pandemic has been difficult for children, they are finding ways to adapt. They are adjusting to the need to wear masks and use hand sanitizer. They are also finding new ways to learn and they are learning to socialize in a safe way.
DOWNTIME IS IMPORTANT
We live in a society that values organized sports and activities for our youth, but children need downtime, too. The pandemic was a good reminder that letting our kids experience boredom and allowing them to plan their own activities are worthwhile exercises.
FAMILY TIME IS VALUABLE
Too often, my family is busy and running in opposite directions. The pandemic slowdown allowed many families, including mine, to spend more time together, getting outside, eating meals, playing, and watching movies. As things ramp up again, I am trying to remember how important it is to prioritize family time.
GETTING OUTDOORS IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH
With less places to go, getting outdoors became more important than ever. Exploring the outdoors as a family is something I will continue to prioritize long after the pandemic has passed.
HUMAN CONNECTION TAKES MANY FORMS
Gathering limits and social distancing have made traditional means of connecting difficult, but COVID-19 has taught us that human connections take many forms. Before the pandemic, I was wary of my children spending too much time using technology, but I have learned it isn’t all bad and it’s how their generation connects with their peers. My focus has shifted from merely putting limits on technology to teaching my children how to use it responsibly.
“If the pandemic has taught me one thing, it’s that not all days are good and that’s OK. No day — and no parent — is perfect. We are all doing our best.”
Gina Bell
NOT ALL DAYS ARE GOOD
If the pandemic has taught me one thing, it’s that not all days are good and that’s OK. No day — and no parent — is perfect. We are all doing our best. The sun will set on a bad day and we’ll have an opportunity to do better when the sun comes up the next morning.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
The pandemic has caused many economic and social hardships. Many parts of our lives have become unpredictable and out of our control, but we still have the opportunity to control how we respond to difficulties. In challenging times, we have the responsibility to set an example for our children by finding positives in negative situations and facing challenges with a good attitude.
Sometimes, the most valuable lessons come from surprising places. I know we are all hoping for an end to this difficult time soon, but I’m grateful for the lessons this pandemic has taught me and I hope I remember them for many years to come.
Gina Bell writes the East Coast
Mommy column, which runs every second week. Follow her blog at www. EastCoastMommy.com or contact her at eastcoastmommy@gmail.com