Guerre is still War

Words are powerful things. If you say the word Christmas, people are instantly drawn to thoughts of family, festivities and all that those things have proven to be in their experience. You say the word hate, and it evokes a very different feeling. Then everything changes if you speak the same word in a different tongue. Haine does not sound so ugly and Noel sounds more romantic. With this in mind, consider the following :

Alouette, gentille Alouette
       ( Lark, nice lark)
Alouette, je te plumerai
       ( Lark, I shall pluck you)
    Je te plumerai la tête
        (I shall pluck your head)
    Je te plumerai la tête
        (I shall pluck your head)
    Et la tête
        (And your head)
    Et la tête
        (And your head)
    Alouette
       ( Lark)
    Alouette
        (Lark)
   O-o-o-oh 

Still think of it as a cute French children's song ? It is a work song used by the Voyagers. Still want to shop at Target and worry about those colorful Mimes jumping out from anywhere ? Plucking larks (and other birds ) indeed !

Sadly, I must admit that I have a rather strong French ancestry , and thoughts of that song and sights of these visitor at my patio make me think of one thing- chicken dinner ! But not simply tossing a chicken in the oven. Something , as Paula Deen would say  "is better than it's mamma knew it" . This Pollo alla Olive fits the bill !

Pollo alle Olive

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 pinwheel chicken parts ( legs and thighs)
salt/pepper
3/4 chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, de germed and chopped
14.5 ounces canned cherry tomatoes – chopped
4 fresh sage leaves – chopped
1/2 cup Pitted Black Olives – halved

1. Pour olive oil into a deep sided skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add chicken {skin side down} . Season with salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is browned on all sides. Turning as necessary. When browned, transfer chicken to a plate.
2. Add chicken stock to hot pan. Allow to evaporate to half volume. Add garlic, tomatoes and sage and pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 minutes until mixture is warmed through. Return chicken to pan. Cover and allow to cook until sauce has thickened and chicken is cooked through. Approximately 20-30 minutes. Add olives, add salt to taste.

Sticky Chicken

Through the years, I have belonged to different email lists that discuss ides for homeschooling,weight loss, housework and freezer cooking. It's like opening up your mailbox and finding some tip that can make your life a thousand times easier - what's not to love ! The freezer cooking loop was at one time a treasure house of economical, good tasting meals that could be done in bulk or frozen for future use, and I was in love ! I tried many of the recipes with great success, but there was one that I hesitated to try- sticky chicken !  The name comes from the fact that it turns out like store bought rotisserie chicken, and the skin is sticky from the herbs.The biggest reason I would not make it was that it involved using chicken with a skin. Oh, the horror ! Chicken with skin is so high in fat, and fat is so bad for your weight and heart. Since learning the truth ( fat DOES NOT make you fat and if you eliminate animal fat from your diet you will do serious, long term harm to your health), I have included chicken with the skin on and bones in tack. Better to make bone broth with .

I came across the Sticky Chicken recipe the other day and decided that I wanted to try it. First you create a dry rub marinate of spices, coat the chicken with it and leave it on for at least 6 hours, and then roast it in a low oven for a slow pace ( 250 for 5 hrs). I did not have a whole bird, but had chicken legs. I noticed one problematic ingredient in the rub- cayenne pepper ! My son has "Canadian " tastebuds and often complains that things like katsup are too spicy. I am not a fan of spicy foods either, so I decided to test out the dry rub on the legs and see what needed to be altered to the rub

Sticky Chicken rub

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
 2 onions, quartered

The results ? HIGHLY seasoned , yummy chicken ! I let the rub sit on the chicken for 6 hrs and then cooked them at 350 for 1 1/2 hrs. I believe the rub would work best with breasts, as the flavor is more mild. I used half the amount of Cayenne, but  next time I will leave it our all together- the paprika adds enough of a warming on it's own. The chicken did com out very moist and somewhat sticky. This one would be a definite "better for you homemade" recipe to replace those supermarket rotisserie birds or even Boston Market. Leftovers work well in any recipe calling for cooked chicken.

Meanwhile, life has been good. Slowly recovering, and finding less and less need for my cane to walk. Every now and then my knee completely gives out, so I have not completely abandoned it's use. Noticing several old scars continue to fade, which is very strange. I have needed to use my glasses less and less, and it seems that my cycles have returned, without PMS problems. Nick continues to make a lot of intellectual strides. The other day he chatted with me about his idea for a grocery shopping company that he could start, and he has a sudden desire to do a lot of things completely independent. That is something I worried would never occur ! The "backlash" with this is he seems to be in the midst of another growth spurt, and has an appetite that could terrify most wallets. It is as if his body has woken up with the inclusion of things like whole eggs, butter, cream, liver, animal fats.It is so odd to see this child who was at one time distant, mentally absent and eating only plain pasta emerge from his very silent, internalized world emerge and talk about his dreams, goals, opinions and so much more. The future looks very bright  indeed.

Moroccan Chicken and future plans

Yesterday , the biggest decision was to enroll in a Real Food nutrition class or not. I am a big fan of education, and most of my life I have been active in some form of studies, often informally. Herbs and alternative medicine have been the primary ones for the last 16 years, and when something comes along that I feel will help round out the existing knowledge and expand it, I jump at the chance ! Unfortunately this is not a free course, and till Nick is graduated the majority of funds devoted to education are applied to his education. I pondered and pondered, and came to a brilliant conclusion- rather than enroll in the class, I will simply buy the textbook and do some independent study. This is not an accredited course, so there is no real need to enroll ( in my opinion). Between our library and Amazon, I was able to find not only the text book , but several that the textbook cited as sources. I am excited ! A course that actually recognizes that food is an essential component in nutrition !

Sadly, this seems to be something that has been forgotten. In order to get "healthy", you must use secret information, passed down to the masses via an authority. Sort of like a religious rite where the Priest is the only one privy to the information and will dispense it to the masses. The secret knowledge comes from a lab that evaluates the components of said product, and lists them in the form of calories, fat, protein and so forth.To be "healthy" ( sanctified), you must ingest a certain number of these components, and ignore all else. Appetite, enjoyment, aversion are all unnecessary ( and evil) things. These are "The Devil" , and all  efforts should be taken to turn your back from these. Interesting theory. Seems that nature and The Creator were just doing stupid experiments till science came along and straightened us all out !  

Amongst the real food offerings in this house yesterday was a new to me chicken recipe. Moroccan chicken, and the blend of spices sounded very intriguing .

 Moroccan Style Chicken ( Sally Fallon inspired)

  1 frying chicken cut into pieces( or parts, preferably with bone and skin on)
1/4 Soy Sauce
1/4 cup  dry white wine OR vinegar
  2 TBL  honey
 juice of 2 lemons
 grated rind of two lemons or 3 TBL preserved lemon peel
  1 clove  garlic peeeled and mashed
  1 teaspoon  curry powder
  1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  1/2 teaspoon  dried oregano, thyme and pepper
  3 Tablespoons  melted butter
  2     cups  chicken stock
  8                     dried apricot halves -- coarsely chopped
                        and soaked in warm  water

Mix soy sauce, wine, honey, lemon juice, lemon rind, and all spices together. Marinate chicken pieces in this mixture in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Remove pieces, pat dry and set skin side up in a stainless stell baking pan, reserving marinade. Brush with butter, season with sea salt and pepper and bake at 375 degrees for about 1 hour. Reduce heat if chicken begins to burn. Remove chicken to heated platter while making sauce.
Pour chicken stock into the pan, bring to a boil and stir well.  Add marinade and drained apricot pieces. Let sauce reduce by about one half. Check seasoning and pour over chicken pieces.

I served this with roast broccoli, whole wheat couscous, the sauce and the fermented cranberry relish that I made the other day

The verdict ? The chicken was flavorful, but not what I anticipated for some reason. The lemon twang seemed to overpower the other spices. The sauce was not as thick as one would anticipate. These were infinitely better than the fermented cranberries ! WAY too salty ! The consistency was a bit softer than whole berry relish, but the addition of salt to cranberries was kind of like a cruel joke. I don't think I will be making this one again. Live and learn I guess. I am going to try fermented carrots next week, and tonight we try the sauerkraut  that I made. What excitement 1!

Childhood myths- the wrong ones are right

Let's talk about some childhood myths. If we are raised in the average American Home, we are told early on that Santa brings the presents on Christmas Eve, the Easter Bunny hides eggs and brings baskets on Easter Morning, The Tooth Fairy collects your baby teeth and exchanges them for money, the opposite sex has cooties and there is a Monster living under your bed that can be awakened by flushing the toilet in the dark.You believe in these with your heart of hearts as being true. Then you are told other things that sound implausible and you automatically relegate them to the stuff of myth, such as  bed bugs and Water on The Knee.  Within the last two years I have found the implausible things to be very real - bed bugs are an epidemic in major cities and Water on the Knee is a fairly common  ailment with those experiencing knee injuries . The latter I learned to be true of my right knee, and the result of the injury I sustained recently.

There are  options in mainstream medicine for this condition, involving things like cortisone shots, surgical drainage and other dubious things.None of which I feel are safe, considerable or actually healing, so I am embarking on an herbal and alternative medicine course of action to treat and heal this. Ice, rest and elevation are indicated ( as opposed to my previous actions of try to move it more, use the heating pad -that does not work- and feeling guilty about not exercising more). Herbs like comfrey , nettles and willow bark will be used freely as will massage therapy. It appears that once this condition begins, there is a constant chance that it will reemerge. All the more reason why activities like yoga and Tai Chi are in, running , all forms of jumping and many forms of twisting movements are permanently out. I will be honest- I am NOT at all happy with this reality. To be completely honest, my fitness goals are simply to become pain free and mobile enough to once again clean my house and walk in the grocery store. That is what I am working to achieve now. Another part of the healing involves eating nourishing fats, protein and bone broth whenever possible. Bone broth has substances that aid in the health and repair of joints and many other body tissues. Do you think it is a coincidence that things like rampant arthritis , osteoporosis and tooth loss became more prevalent when we were all told the lie about how bad fat was for us ? ( Depression, Heart Disease, Diabetes and Obesity also became epidemic when everyone moved to high fiber and low fat). When bone broth was replaced with fat free stocks out of a can or carton, we began to rob our bodies of vital nutritional substances.

Last night for dinner was another in a quest to serve nutritionally dense foods on my table. Bones and roots- perfect foods for wintertime. Root veggies are good for you, but too many get stuck on just potatoes . There is a wide variety of roots to eat, and many are nutrient dense as well as tasty. One nice way to work with the bitter taste that some carry is a creamy mustard sauce, such as the following :

Turnips in Creamy Mustard Sauce Serves 4

2 Tbs.  Butter
  1 1/2 Pounds  turnips  cleaned and cut into 1 inch chunks
   Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper
  1 Tsp Splenda
  1 Cup  more or less chicken  stock( I used bone broth)
  2 Tbs.  Dijon mustard
  1/2 cup  fresh cream

Heat the butter on medium heat in a saucepan  When the butter is hot, add the vegetables, give them a toss and sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Allow the vegetables to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until they begin to brown and they are nicely cooked.
When the vegetables are lightly browned, add in the sugar and the stock to cover the vegetables completely and turn the heat up to high and achieve a boil
Allow the vegetables to boil, giving them only a stir or two, uncovered for about 30 minutes. They are ready when the vegetables are shiny and browned and sitting in a little puddle of syrupy liquid. Turn the heat down and stir in the mustard and cream until it is well combined .  Serve warm

This seemed to be a good in place of potato sort of side. We all really enjoyed the flavor. It went well with the spinach we also had and made a nice complement to these simple marinated chicken drumsticks. Any chicken parts could be used here, simply adjust cooking time accordingly. The flavor was infused through the meat nicely- this is one of my new favorite recipes !

Lemon Garlic Drumsticks- serves 3
 6 drumsticks (about two pounds)
  Marinade:
  2teaspoons  dry mustard
  3  large  garlic cloves -- peeled and finely minced
  1 teaspoon  sea salt
  Lots of freshly ground pepper
  Zest of one large organic lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
  Juice of about half of the lemon
  3 tablespoons  olive oil

1: Combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Rinse and drip dry drumsticks. In a large ziploc or bowl place drumsticks and pour over marinade. Mix to combine well. Place in refrigerator, covered and marinade for a 2-12 hours.
2-When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place drumsticks in a small casserole dish and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes, or until done. The juices should run clear when pierced with a knife.

Saint Ambrose would approve

Yesterday was another feast day- St Ambrose, and he is celebrated in the Catholic Liturgical Calender.  He was Bishop of Milan at one time and for reasons I am not certain , became the patron saint of beekeepers. Where there are bees and beekeepers, there is honey, so a dish to celebrate his feast should involve honey in some form.

Honey...one of those things that is avoided by weight loss people because it is a "bad" food ( bad meaning calorie dense). It is often replaced with a frankenfood like corn syrup or some low cal thing like splenda. In doing so you miss out on a tasty opportunity to consume a food that is a natural germicide and anti oxidant. ( Better to shoot for that magic number on  the scale because that will guarantee you are healthy and develop hardening of the arteries, stiff joints and a higher risk of cancer in the process, don't cha know ?) It is obvious that nature designed our appetites and foods to fulfill them, and then somewhere around 100 years ago slipped a mickey into our gene pool and everything that was naturally beneficial to the body suddenly became an evil substance. I see. Was it nature making the change, or bad science ? Or bad science that could be used to increase several peoples profits ?

So on to searching for a dish to mark this feast. Hmmm- here's a chicken dish featuring honey. And chicken with skin on. And perhaps the most evil substance of all- butter ! Three badies together-the horror ! We have all been told of the "evils" of butter , saturated fats and fat in general . "It promotes heart disease !"  " It will make you fat !" Truth is, butter and saturated fats will do neither. In fact, there are  lot of health benefits to butter. Consider the following :
   1. Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
   2. Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.
   3. Contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
   4. Contains anti-oxidants that protect against free radical damage.
   5. Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
   6. Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
   7. Is a very rich source of the vital mineral selenium.
   8. Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
   9. Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster
  10. Vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
  11. Protects against tooth decay.
  12. Is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
  13. Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
  14. Is a source of Activator X, which helps your body absorb minerals.
  15. Is a source of iodine in highly absorbable form.
  16. May promote fertility in women.Eating butter also prevents vaginal dryness.
  17. Is a source of quick energy, and is not stored in our bodies adipose tissue.
  18. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children's brain and nervous system development.
  19. Contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
  20. Protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young or the elderly.
Yes. An evil "must be avoided for your health" substance indeed.I could follow all of the current health guidelines ( which actual scientific data , as opposed to bad observation, is doing more to make us fat and sick than anything else), or go with things the way nature intended us to eat them ( very low tec methods that were stumbled upon by real people doing real things and not in a laberatory). I opted for the latter, and here is what we ate

  Honey Curry chicken with soaked brown rice ( cooked in chicken bone broth) topped with butter and a mix of kale and chard sauted in coconut oil and seasoned with garlic. Yummy !

HONEY-CURRY CHICKEN

Chicken parts, bone in, skin on,in a sufficient quantity to feed your family.
mix the following:
4 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 Cup honey
1/2 tsp curry
1/4 cup mustard
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
Soy sauce to taste (about 1-2 TBSP)

Place bone in, skin on chicken parts in a 9x13 casserole. Pour or brush on the mixture, cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven for 1 hr. I tossed out the pan drippings, but you could pour them over rice.

Saint Ambrose was a passionate man who people either loved or hated. He had a way of standing for the truth, no matter who or what rallied against it. I think he would be pleased by the real food offerings that I chose to serve in remembrance of him on his feast day

Long Monday

Kind of a busy day with getting back into the routine of planing for school again. That bad kind of busy where you get forced to spend a lot of time sitting, digging for necessary things. I think I spent 4 hours just pouring through my files trying to find a notebook form that we will be using every week in the coming school year ! I hate when that happens, and as a result I felt like I was in serious danger of developing butt callouses ! Good news is that the forms were finally found, the first week of school is planned, and now I can find a new groove to fall into for the year.

Thought I would photo journal what the new way of eating looks like. Trying to get the right mix of fat, fiber, protein and all of those good nutrients for our bodies.

Breakfast consisted of 2 eggs with mushroom, green onion, zucchini , Mexican blend cheese accompanied with 3 slices turkey bacon, two slices of Santa Clause melon and 4 big cherry tomatoes.

Lunch was Boar's Head corned beef and a slice of Swiss on an Earth Grains Multi grain roll and joined by 2 cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, celery and sliced roast red and yellow beets. To make the beets I roasted them with the skins on at 350 till fork tender, cooled, peeled and sliced. Nothing else on them, and they are almost like candy !


For dinner, I played with another oddball sort of vegetable- Long Beans !

These are also sometimes called snake beans or longevity beans. In Chinese folk custom they believe that serving these helps to bring a long life. Perhaps it does, but in the mean time they are kind of fun to toss in the cart ! They taste like slightly tough , chewy green beans, and to cook you wash, ,tip and tail them, cut them into bite sized portions and proceed with any fresh green bean recipe. They wound up being served with crock pot honey chicken and coconut rice


Honey Chicken serves 4

1 lb chicken breasts, no skin, no bone ( or boneless skinless thighs)
1/4 tsp. Curry powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
½ cup diced onion
3 T. coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4tsp. Powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1/4 tsp. Paprika
½ cup water

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Toss well to coat the chicken evenly.
Place the mixture in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
If desired, serve over rice or orzo (rice-shaped pasta)


Coconut Rice
1 cup brown rice
2 cups tap water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut

In a 2-quart pot bring the water and salt to a boil. Stir in the dry rice and the coconut.
Stir and return the water to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible flame.
Place the lid on the pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peak while the rice is cooking.
OR place in rice cooker


Szechuan style green beans

1 pound Chinese longbeans (also called yardlong beans or just longbeans)
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
2 scallions (spring onions, green onions)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil for stir-frying, or as needed

Wash the longbeans, drain thoroughly, and trim the tops and bottoms.
Cut the longbeans on the diagonal into slices approximately 2 inches long.
Chop the garlic, ginger and scallions.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the longbeans and stir-fry until they start to
shrivel or "pucker" and turn brown (5 - 7 minutes). Remove the long beans and drain in a
colander or on paper towels.Heat 1 tablespoon oil on high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions. Stir-fry for a few seconds stir-fry for a few more seconds
until aromatic. Add the longbeans and the remaining ingredients. Mix together and serve.

Saturday , and people seems to be sick

Yesterday was the weekly shop and chop day, made more interesting with time constrictions. Bob had to sing 4 pm mass, meaning he had to leave by 3 pm so all errands had to happen early again. We grabbed some oatmeal fro breakfast, during which Nick announced his throat hurt- never a good sign. I got him to let me look in his throat and his tonsils are swollen. It seems that most years he goes through this at this time of the year, so it meant time to make a batch of sinus herbal soup . Good thing I was heading to the store for supplies!

We finsished shopping and headed home for lunch - ham salad ( run a handful of cooked ham in the food processor to chop fne, do the same with a handful of green onions and 2 stalks of celery, mix in a bowl and moisten with a mix of mayonnaise, plain yogurt and lemony salad dressing) on the multigrain buns with a banana, 5 sugar free cookies that were hiding in the cabinet and refrigerator coleslaw.

Refrigerator cole slaw 2

10 cups chopped cabbage ( green or combo green and red)
2 golden beets- peeled and chopped fine
1 red pepper, chopped

Dressing:
2 c splenda ( can use sugar)
1 t salt
1 c apple cider vinegar
1/8 t white pepper
1 t celery seed

Place all veggies in a container. Place dressing ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Pour dressing over veggies. Store in tightly covered container in the refrigerator. Will
keep for several months

Then it was on to chopping and getting some medicinal chicken soup going. For this I took 2 chicken legs and tossed them in a crock pot, added 5 slices of astragalus ( a Chinese herb), a bunch of fresh thyme, a head of garlic( peels and all), the cut off portions from 2 bunches of celery, the tops of about 20 carrots, 2 inches of whole ginger, 4 parsnips, 3 whole onions, 1 bunch of parsley , 2 leeks sliced and a bunch of green onions chopped. Add water to the top , cover and cook on low 12 hrs. In the morning strain out the bits and you are left with incredibly rich, hearty stock to make a variety of soups with that will help deal with colds.

I also made some chop salad for the week's lunch packing. What is a chop salad ? Simply vegetables chopped with a simple vinegar dressing. The vinegar helps to prevent deterioration ( think pickles)

Chop salad

1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped red pepper
1 c sliced green onion bottoms
2 diced tomatoes
2 skinned, seeded and chopped cucumners
chopped parsley
3 T fig infused vinegar
1 T honey
1/2 t salt
dash white pepper

combine and store in covered container

As the afternoon progressed Nick started developing a cough and sneezes, which is usually an indication of a sleepless night for him ( and me). He may be 18, but when he is sick he is still my little boy who comes to tell mom about every weird thing happening with his body and wanting me to fix it. I treat him with herbs and reiki, which he loves the feel of when he is sick. He caught a nap and so did I in preparation for what may well come.


Dinner was a cabinet experiment. I discovered a pack of pesto mix that I found at Aldi's a couple of months back and rationalized that it was basically basil, garlic powder and other things, and it would probably go great on chicken. Hence, pesto chicken was born. I sprinkled the powder on chicken thighs, baked them at 375 for an hour. On the side was Ronzoni pasta with basil and garlic , steamed asparagus and a salad of greens, tomatoes, mushrooms and sunflower seeds. Yummy ! Saturday nights here mean a treat, and we have been picking up single bakery items of everyone's choice( mine has been a brownie). This week, to keep expenses down, I made a batch of black bean brownies from scratch.

Black Bean Brownies 2

½ cup dark cocoa powder
2 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 can salt-free black beans (drain liquid) -- (15 oz.)
1 large handful sunflower seeds or 1 T. ground flaxseed
1 ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups pitted dates (chopped)
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Put the first six ingredients in a food processor. Turn it on and then gradually add the
2 cups of chopped dates, a few at a time until blended. Add the flour and continue to mix
until everything is well blended. Turn off the machine, remove the blade, and stir in the nuts.
Place in muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This morning Nick is coughing but so far his tonsils have not gotten worse. No fever, no aches, but tired with interrupted sleep. Both he and I were up at least 5 times last night. He made me a card on the sneak, which is always sweet ! He and Bob made breakfast because I was in a dead sleep but thankfully did not try to bring it to me in bed. I HATE eating in bed for the record.But it is always nice when someone cooks for you ! Not sure how the day will go- a sick Nick is a real wild card around here.

It's an evolving process

I have been doing a lot of internal questioning the last few days. It seems to be something that has come out of watching Food Revolution, Ruby, reading many weight loss blogs and events in my own life. While weight loss is what we are working for as a measurable goal, health is much more of the focus.While calories and fat grams and sugars are important, they are not the first things I think of when planning meals ( or the things the guys ask about or look for.) It has evolved into a quest for eating real, actual, nutritiously dense foods with minimal chemical additives because it best fuels our bodies. This is meeting a desire to keep our food budget down, in an attempt to rebuild the financial cushion that was taken with the purchase of the car. Are things like Arnold's Deli Thins really superior to homemade bread in monitored portions ? Is any "organic" cereal supoerior to home made granola ? Questions like this flow in my mind. Before we began the weight loss journey, I was making all of our bread products, baked goods, yogurt and more, because it proved to be more economical. Once we began weight loss I gave these up in favor of commercially made pre portioned pre packaged items. It worked until I began to question just what it was that we were putting in our bodies in the name of lower fat and calories. I am going to stop doing this, and learn how to make my own and portion it out accordingly. It should be easy after all this weighing and measuring of everything else. I am going to spend today baking and mixing and so forth as Bob is taking Nick with him to work and an event after work. I can refresh my memory without interruptions on some skills.

Yesterday's eats were as follows

Apple cinnamon raisin oatmeal for breakfast

Lunch-Split pea soup with peanut butter on homemade whole wheat soda bread ( in the freezer from March) , carrots and celery

Dinner- roast zucchini, broccoli, peppers and mushrooms with Sesame Braised Chicken and Cabbage

Sesame Braised Chicken & Cabbage

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts -- cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups green cabbage -- sliced thin
4 cups finely chopped kale -- stems removed
1 medium-sized onion -- cut in half and sliced thin
1 TBS minced fresh ginger
2medium cloves garlic -- minced
½ cup + 1 TBS chicken broth
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 can diced tomatoes -- (15 oz) drained
2 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped scallion tops
1 TBS sesame seeds

Prepare ingredients as listed above.
Heat 1 TBS broth in a stainless steel wok or large skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another minute.Add chicken pieces and cook for a couple of minutes. Add turmeric, coriander, and mix with chicken. Add kale. Sauté for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly.Add ½ cup broth and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat covered for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add cabbage, diced tomatoes, and vinegar and simmer for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat, toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.Serve sprinkled with minced scallion tops and sesame seeds.Serves 4

Tumeric is a very healthy spice ! It smells warm like ginger and orange but with an earthy sort of character.Turmeric (Curcuma longa), the bright yellow of the spice rainbow, is a powerful medicine that has long been used in the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat a wide variety of conditions, including flatulence, jaundice, menstrual difficulties, bloody urine, hemorrhage, toothache, bruises, chest pain, and colic. It gets it's yellow color from curcumin.Curcumin has anti-inflametory affects , which work the same as chemically produced substances like hydro-cortisone and Motrin. Unlike these substances, curcumin produces no toxic affects such as intestinal bleeding and decreased white blood cell count.It can provide inexpensive relif for conditions like arthritis, IBS, Cystic fibrosis as well as inhibit the growth of cancer cells.It also seems to help prevent different forms of cancer as well as Alzheimer's Disease.

I was hoping to head out for a nice walk by myself today, but the weather has decided this would be a great day for a thunderstorm with heavy rains. Looks like it will be hall walking between playing with a few recipies !

Hello to my little childhood friend

Woke up with part of a voice and decided I should be well enough to get back to exercising, After all, outside of the pain in my throat and some minor sniffles and being a little tired, I felt fine and sitting around is not the greatest thing ! So let's start the day with a good breakfast. Something a little different this morning came to mind. A few weeks back our market was out of steel cut oats , and I bought some multigrain cereal in it's place ( wheat, barley, rye,spelt,oats,rice,millet cracked like steel cut oats). I found steel cut oats at the next store as a temporary item and bought them as well. Sadly the multigrain cereal has sat, so I decided to include it in breakfast today

Oatie Grainy mix

2 apples, diced
2 cups water
1 T raisins
1/2 cup multi grain hot cereal
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Place apples, raisins, water and multigrain cereal in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a rolling boil.
Pour in the rolled oats and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.Place in bowls and top with 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries and 1 T goji berries

Goji berries get a lot of hype as a "miracle food"with more vitamin c than any other plant source and many other erroneous claims. Much of the hype is not based on any fact, but bad information passed from source to source. Goji berries have been used in eastern medicine for almost 2,000 years because they do have medicinal qualities- there they are known more commonly as wolf berries and often used to treat liver ailments and diseases that have a root cause in the liver.So what exactly is the truth about goji berries ?

They contain
* Selenium and Germanium: These are well-known anti-cancer agents.
*Beta Sitosterol: This anti-inflammatory agent has been found to lower cholesterol, and has been used to treat impotence and prostate enlargement. Some have considered them to be an aphrodesiac for this reason.
*Zeaxanthin and Lutine: Have been known to protect the eyes.
*Betaine: Produces Choline in the liver, which helps detoxification processes there. It is also known to protect DNA, enhance memory, encourage muscle growth and protect against fatty liver disease.
*Cyperone: Used in treatment of cervical cancer. Known to benefit blood pressure, heart and menstruation problems.
*Solavetivone: An anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent.
*Physalin: A compound known to boost the immune system. Also found effective in treating leukemia, cancer and hepatitis B.

5 tablespoons of dried berries contain 112 calories, 21 grams sugars, 170% daily value of Vitamin A, 20% vitamin c and 12% iron

Once breakfast was over we began school and after a few subjects we headed out for a walk.Sunny day, nice and warm, should be a great thing . As soon as we hit the outside my lungs started behaving oddly. The best I could describe it was an itchy swelling kind of feeling- much like you feel with a mosquito bite, but in my throat. The feeling spread to my bronchial passages, and suddenly I was finding it difficult to breathe. As a child I had bronchial asthma, and this was feeling like the start of an asthma attack. They are very frightening, and I no longer have any kind of an inhaler or medication to deal with these , so I had to force myself to calm down, move slowly but deliberately back into the house and deal with this as best as I could with what herbs I had on hand. It seems that what I am dealing with may not be a cold, but instead an allergic reaction to one of the pollens in our area at this time. We have an unusually high amount of water hemlock this year, and it has come up early.There are also numerous false honeysuckles in bloom, but it seems that those are not a known allergen. I think to be on the safe side, till my cold is completely gone or the water hemlock stops blooming, I best limit my workouts to indoors. We came back in, exercised with the Wii and continued with school till it was time for lunch- 15 bean soup and tabbouleh on a bed of baby spinach

TABOULI

1 cup bulgar ( cook according to package directions)
1/2 c lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil -- or more
2 bunches parsley -- chopped finely(must be fresh)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 bunches green onions -- sliced thinly
3 fresh tomatoes -- chopped
1 can garbanzo beans , drained and chopped

Place the bulgar , mint, parsley tomatoes and onions in a bowl and toss . Combine lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl, whisk and pour on salad mixture. Toss. Cover and refrigerate. Will keep in the refrigerator covered for a week.

The rest of the day was spent with school and other mundane things till it was time for dinner. I decided to try something a little different- a variation on the ole campfire packet dinner. In campfire packets the food is placed in a foil packet, and the moisture from the food itself creates steam in the high heat and the result is a very moist and flavorful meal with minimal clean up. It can be done at home in an oven set to a high heat as well. I served these with Ronzoni pasta flavored with mushrooms and garlic sauteed in a wipe of walnut oil and water (stir steam if you will) , and a salad of romaine, watercress, dandelion greens and navel oranges with sunflower seeds.

Breast of chicken with asparagus and carrots serves 4

1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp parsley
2 tsp lemon juice
1 leek -- thinly sliced
1 carrot -- cut into sticks
4 boneless -- skinless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into .25 in. strips
1lb asparagus -- trimmed and cut into 1 in. lengths
heavy duty aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 450°F. Tear off 1 large piece of foil for each serving. Arrange sliced chicken
in center of lower half of each length of foil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with equal
amounts of asparagus, carrot, and onion. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Pour equal amounts of mixture over each. Fold two ends of foil together and tightly fold
3 or 4 times. Repeat process with ends to seal packet tightly. Arrange foil packets in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes and serve.

Last night I was kept awake with a lot of coughing and sneezing in an attempt to dispense about 50 pounds of crud in my lungs that had been building all day. I think this means that this cold/allergy thing is not done with me yet, and I will have to baby myself for a little while still. I don't like it. Being sick is very uninteresting and a hassle that keeps me from doing what I wish to do. Oh well- best see what I can learn from this experience !

My own food revolution- 4 bushels of produce for the week

Yesterday was our weekly Shop and Chop day.We go as a family for a couple of reasons. First, it makes a terrific learning opportunity for my son. He knows how to follow a list, how to identify more kinds of produce than most adults , how to read a nutritional label and is now learning about price per unit and how to make a substitution. Second reason is that in shopping together there are no arguments about where the money goes. Shopping together can be a lot of fun and many hands make quick work. It seems that my son is not the only one learning . We have been watching Jamie Oliver's Food revolution, and my husband thought Jamie was perhaps exaggerating about the sugar content in flavored milk or picking on an isolated brand. He has started reading food labels himself ( house rule is that if it has more than 13 grams of sugar per serving it does not get bought ), and has discovered this problem to be true. He has also discovered this truth about many "lite" yogurts and so forth. He has also become shocked at the sodium levels in things. It's a whole different food revolution going on in this house !

After breakfast we headed out , and did our usual use of the store's boxes instead of bags ( easier for us to get in the car, put on a cart and use to bring out the scraps from chopping) and Bob noticed that we had bought 4 bushels of produce for the week. No more or less than we have bought every week for quite some time. There is rarely anything that gets tossed, and he is beginning to agree that we are becoming rabbits. 6 hours of chopping and cooking later, I had it broke down to ready to go veggies and salads for the week. Here are the salads being offered in MY "school lunch "program.

Quinoa with Orange and Basil serves 8

1 cup dry Quinoa (prepare according to package)
1 Handful chopped fresh Basil + some for garnish
3 Oranges: cut into small pieces with pith and seeds removed
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans or sliced almonds
1/2 Lemon or 1 Tbs Lemon juice
juice from 1/2 Orange
1 T Olive Oil
Salt to taste
chopped Green Onion (Scallions)
1 Dash the following spices:
ground Black Pepper
Cinnamon
Tumeric

Prepare quinoa according to package.
Let quinoa cool and toss with all of the above ingredients.

Coconut Fruit Salad

1 cup cantaloupe -- cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup honeydew melon -- cut into bite sized pieces
1 cup pineapple -- cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup green grapes -- cut in half
1/2cup red grapes -- cut in half
1 pint organic strawberries -- cut in half or quarters
1/2 pint blueberries -- (1/2 to 1)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix all ingredients together

24 Hour Cole Slaw

2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 onion, chopped
1 golden beets, shredded
2 carrots, chopped
1 apple, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 cup water
1 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups splenda
1 teaspoon celery seed
Toss veggies together. Heat , vinegar, water and spices,Bring to boil.
Pour over cabbage - onion mixture. Chill 24 hours.

Broccoli Slaw (because I had several huge broccoli stems )


5 large broccoli stems, peeled and shredded
3 carrots shredded
1/4 c mayonnaise
2 T rice wine vinegar
1 T honey mustard

Combine and refrigerate

After all that chopping , it was time to make dinner. Happily, I took care of that prep while I was doing the other chopping

Chicken and roast vegetable salad

1 zucchini , sliced
1 fennel bulb sliced
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 onion cut into wedges
16 baby bella mushrooms sliced
1/2 lb asparagus sliced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
9 cups mixed salad greens
dressing of your choice

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Place all veggies but salad greens in a zip lock and toss
with the vinegar, garlic, rosemary and pepper to coat.
Place on cookie sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or till tender.
Meanwhile grill the chicken breasts and season as desired.
Cut chicken breast in strips. Divide salad greens into 3 portions,
top with 1/3 of the roast vegetables and 1 sliced grilled chicken breast.

After dinner we settled in for an evening of Huggermugger . I love playing these kinds of board games with my son especially ! Bob is another word geek and we always have a great time , but with my son it serves to be a better indication of knowledge mastered than a paper test. It always calms any anxieties I have about what he is actually retaining or understanding , and it makes for a lot of family laughs ! All in all it was a very good day !

O is for the way it is obvious,u is for uncomfortable,c is for...

OUCH !!!!
I was rather excited that I was beginning to feel benefits from the abdominal work so quickly, and pleased that I was not really feeling any soreness from the developing muscles. I think I spoke too soon on that one , for late in the afternoon I started feeling soreness in my glutes , sort of proof to my mind that abdominal muscles influence back muscles in the form of an anatomy lesson I was not likely to forget. I decided to walk it out- ignore it, and by bedtime they were throbbing crybabies that demanded my attention, and woke me in the middle of the night in protest. Tylenol and an Epson salts bath are going to be very good friends of mine today, Progress happens with pain, and healing is a zitch !

Breakfast was cinnamon oatmeal with cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds and half a banana. I thought a little extra protein might be wise while I am trying to build some muscles.

Lunch was couscous salad I made over the weekend with an Peppridge Farm Deli Flat spread with red pepper hummus , sprinkled with a pinch of mozzarella and a big pinch of fresh cilantro and grilled.Yummy ! Some carrot and celery sticks joined in.

Dinner was a wonderful Indian Mango salad on a bed of romaine and watercress with roast broccoli , garlic whole wheat pasta and boneless skinless chicken thighs seasoned with garlic, thyme, paprika and lemon juice. The mango salad is going to appear on our table more often !

Indian Mango Salad

1 red pepper chopped
1 red onion chopped
1/2 tbsp. Mrs Dash
2 mangoes peeled and sliced
2 firm tomatoes -- chopped
1 pinch chili powder
2 stalks celery -- chopped

Mix all ingredients in a covered bowl and refrigerate.

A weird little chicken

Thanks for the comments and support ! We all get those days that make you go "grrrr" , and it seems with each stage of life new ones come up. I am soon to be 52, and life is filled with a lot of wild cards these days it seems. Looking at retirement in a few years ( Ha Ha Ha !), looking at my son going to college or whatever he chooses for his life in a year, aging parents who need care decisions ( my mother in law is in a nursing home and my mom will most likely be in one soon, my father in law to watch over ), and on the very near horizon the realization that after 15 years of being the main focus in my life, I am coming to a time when I will no longer be a homeschooling mom.All of those hours spent on lesson planning, chasing down materials, adapting lessons, record keeping and more will be over. After 20 years of either working to improve my body so I could conceive, being pregnant , being a mom of a little or a homeschooling mom, I will finally have the main focus be on me. It's like I am suddenly back to being on the edge of 17, wondering who and what I am , but with a lot of life wisdom to temper the choices. You don't quite know what to expect it seems.

Much like what I found the last time I bought chicken legs . Our market often has a good deal on 5 lb bags of chicken legs and thighs, and when they go on sale I buy them , split them up into meal size portions and freeze for future use. The last bag I bought had several legs and one sort of scrawny, wings removed whole chicken. I portioned off the whole chicken , with intentions of using this guy for a big pot of stock, but forgot to label him as such. Note- ALWAYS label what you put in your freezer because things can become very indistinguishable ! So I pulled him out thinking he was a bag of legs, and Surprise !!

So what do I do with this whole chicken on a day when it is almost too warm to run the oven ? Crockpot to the rescue. Here is how to do it where it does not wind up swimming in grease or so dry it makes you choke.

Take a sheet or two of aluminum foil and bunch it into a ball. Place in your crock pot with a scant cup of water in the bottom ( crock pots work best with moisture, but the moisture will not evaporate so go easy). Then place your chicken on the foil ball and prepare your seasonings

Roast chicken rub

1 teaspoon Black Pepper
2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Paprika
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Mix together and then paint your chicken with the mixture

Now here's the important part- cook on low for NO MORE than 5 hrs ( 3-4 is optimal)! Modern crockpots run very hot, and the old method of starting them in the morning and letting them run all day will produce something that has a very unpleasant taste and texture. Many a meal has been spoiled by this fact.
I served the Weird little chicken with roast broccoli and a spinach , strawberry, walnut red onion salad with lemon dressing from the other day. Yum !

Exercise wise it was a great day. We went out for a couple of walks and spotted 4 red tail hawks circling in the sky above. I suddenly thought about those cartoon depictions of vultures scanning soon to be dead prey and my changing life, and just got a fit of laughing. I may be getting older, but I am far from ready to let these guys have at me ! Funny how thoughts like that can make you walk extra laps ! All around us the trees have burst into leaves and there are ten million dandelions on the lawns. Rather than focus on those circling hawks above, I think I will join with the dandelions and trees and get excited about my own soon to be new life .

Did you happen to catch the end of The Biggest Loser last night ? They had a man who lost over 400 lbs on his own at home, and he did it through diet and walking. I think he is my new hero- proof that you DO NOT have to join a gym, run, buy a lot of equipment or join exercise classes to get results. Simple walking will indeed get the job done. It did for me when I lost 110 pounds in the past , and it gives me renewed hope that it will work again ! Walking made up a lot of our day yesterday , and when not walking we would take out time to play Walk it Out for the Wii with the brilliant decision to place the nunchuck in our socks, sit in the chair and swing your feet to the beat instead of walking and potentially annoying the neighbors. Sort of an air walking fidget if you will that was a heck of a lot of fun.

These things helped me to discover one very important motivational saying that I have repeated to myself my entire life when faced with a challenge- it's easy to make lemonade out of lemons, but a sign of genius to turn them into gold. Anyone can do anything with the perfect environment and equipment , but many times in life the only thing you have is a desire and your wits. If you stop focusing on what you do not have and concentrating on what you have in hand, you can pretty much do anything. Where would we be without people like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell - both of whom are men who wanted to accomplish something important and according to the voices around them could not do it. They took what they had and what they knew , used it to the best advantage and created something that changed the world.I see that kind of thinking involved with both my weight loss journey and overall life dilemma. Instead of pondering all those things I cannot do and all the restrictions, the only thing I can do is use what I have in my hand and make every possible moment count. Perhaps if the economic climate continues and less and less two car/two income households begin who have less and less ability to take children to numerous activities and events, people like my son , who has lived it, will be needed to show people how exactly to make fun and memories without external things. Perhaps.

Eats of the day were some goodies !

Breakfast was apple raisin oats with pumpkin seeds. I grabbed a pack of salted ones by mistake at the store, so I am stuck with them till we use them up. The salty and sweet does make for a good combo tastewise though !

Lunch was a mug of the current batch of 15 bean soup with veggies and hummus. My son seems to inhale this, lentil and minestrone soup. It makes me giggle- before we started this journey he absolutely hated soup, or an foods that contained multiple tastes and textures.

15 bean soup

1 bag 15 bean soup mix
1 lb pork product ( ham, sausage, ham hock, ham bone- highly flavored chicken sausage works as well)
4 cups chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 carrots, sliced
3 onions, chopped

Wash beans and soak overnight ( I put mine in my crockpot overnight covered with water on low)Drain the beans and place with all other ingredients in a crock pot , cook on high for 4 hours

Dinner was something that has become a new favorite- Creole chicken with spinach and rice. This time I made it with rainbow chard instead of spinach because it was so good looking in the market on Saturday and on sale . Chard and Spinach are interchangeable in recipes, but because chard has a lower oxalate acid count, it has a slightly more mild taste. I used chard also because i had a craving for a spinach strawberry salad, which came along for the ride. So many greens....

Creole Chicken with Spinach and Rice

1 cup brown rice -- uncooked
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil (small amount)
3 chicken legs and thighs
1 1/2 cups chopped organic celery
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes -- (no salt)
10 ounces spinach or chard
1 cup chili sauce (low salt) or salsa
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 large green pepper -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Cook brown rice according to package directions, adding chili powder to cooking water.
Using a paper towelmoistened with olive oil, lightly coat a deep nonstick skillet and heat. Cook thin strips of chicken on medium high, turning occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until no longer pink.
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer covered for
10 minutes. Serve over seasoned brown rice. Serves 4.

Someone's in the kitchen, working

Yesterday it seems that the entire day revolved around food in some way- and not in a fun way ! It was spent cooking, cleaning, chopping and then repeat.Some days are like that , and I hate them. Not because I hate cooking, but rather it is a sign that I did not think out my plan well enough in advance to make it workable. On those days there is nothing for it but to push through and know that things will be different the next day .

We started out with a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, and then Bob headed off to sing at services. I sat down to plan the week to come school wise, and I remembered we were having something new for lunch so I stopped to check the menu and remembered about 15 other food related tasks I needed to accomplish for the week ahead, so I stopped to do those first. And in that process I discovered about 5 other things that needed to be done Saturday but I had run out of steam to accomplish. So add them. In the meantime the sink got filled up with dishes so did them, noticed the counter was filled with debris so deal with that, go back to the tasks and notice it was almost lunch time so speed through those and do the lunch prep and....it was just non stop in the morning! Lunch was a little latter than normal because of rehearsals, which was a good thing in a sense because it gave me a little more time to try to catch up.

Lunch was a Portabello and red pepper sandwich on a whole wheat pita with tahini spread and arugula. Served with carrot and celery sticks and fresh fruit salad. Yummy ! Our market had several varieties of berries on sale this week and I took full advantage of that fact.

If the morning did not provide enough fun, the afternoon certainly tried to make up for it. The original plan was to head out for a walk after lunch but I was still knee deep in must do things and behind on other no food tasks, the income taxes needed to get filed and I was really achy from the morning and the day before so we declared a rest /catch up day. I finished the food related things ( and the clean up ) and moved on to lesson planning, my own studies, reiki work and then something new and novel- more cooking ! Dinner prep needed to be done. This was a delicious but fiddly sort of meal. At least it felt fiddly after a day of so many other food related activities.
Baked Apricot garlic chicken thighs with Doubly Delicious greens - really turned out delicious !

Baked Apricot Garlic Chicken Thighs


4 apples -- quartered
2 oranges -- quartered
1 onion -- peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
20 fresh sage leaves
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup apricot spreadable 100% fruit
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
3 teaspoons Spike seasoning (no salt) or other no salt seasoning
6 cloves garlic -- pressed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut apples in quarters and slice core out leaving flat.
In baking pan arrange apples, oranges, and onion close together. Lay herbs on top of fruit.
Place tenderloins on top of fruit, onion, and herb mixture. If using turkey scallops, fan out
three scallops on top of each other and place over apple, orange, onion and herb mixture,
and do the same for the remaining three. Mix apricot spread, liquid aminos, Spike and garlic.
Generously spread turkey with sauce. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until
turkey juices run clear when pricked in center with a fork. Serves 3.



Doubly Delicious Greens

1 large bunch bok choy -- chopped
1large bunch Swiss chard -- chopped
1 medium onion -- coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt) -- (15 ounce)
2 cups shiitake and/or baby bella mushrooms -- sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning

Place bok choy, Swiss chard, onions, and garlic in a large steamer and steam until almost tender,
about 10 minutes. In a large pot add tomatoes, mushrooms, steamed greens mixture, and seasoning.
Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8.

Come evening we were all kind of tired and spent the evening watching tv. Caught the next episode of Ruby , and it kind of struck a weird place in my head because of the connection with her father.Fathers indeed have a lot to do with deep issues of any woman, and it reminded me of several of the issues I confronted in my own journey to lose 110 lbs in the past. My father was responsible for most of the skewed food messages I had, through no ill intention of his own. Then we watched the season opener of Gene Simmons Family Jewels to watch Shannon go through a potential breast cancer scare. Oh thanks TV for the mental disemboweling of the evening ! My father died of breast cancer in 2004, and the subject evokes really strong feelings in me. Watching these two programs left me feeling like I had a whole lot of clean up to do in my head ! The evening was redeemed by the premiere of Kirstie Allie's Big life. I think I really, really like her !I don't agree with her motivation to lose weight, but I think she is going to make the whole journey a heck of a lot of fun to watch !

Back to the grind today, and I STILL have cooking things to accomplish ! In my mind I am working on creating something like The Domestic Workout where your household equipment becomes your gym. Presses with a broom while sweeping, vacuum squats, toilet scrubbing with weights and so forth. I think I could create it, package it and sell enough to hire a personal chef and housekeeping staff and chauffeur with limo so I could just get up, head to a real gym, eat healthy foods prepared for me and do all those other things I really want to do and are also good at !