You know, I'm one of those people that more times than not, forgot to wash the apple I've just taken a bite from. Thinking deeper than the dirt from the field, I guess I need to be just a tad more attentive to this task as there's more than dirt on the apples!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/health/05real.html?_r=1&ref=health
This is a nice article I thought you may enjoy!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
I Can Can!!!
I've had the book Stocking Up by Carol Hupping for the past 30 years. It is a wealth of knowledge for anyone who needs to learn the art of food preservation. With info on canning, recipes, building a root cellar, fermenting and freezing, it is the ultimate guide save for the Ball Blue Book of Canning.
Although I have always wanted to can food, I was afraid that I'd do it wrong and kill us all. I used it mostly for the freezing method. Then I set it aside. For years and years.
One weekend last summer I was at a yard sale (when am I not, right?) and found a canner with all the accoutrement's. The agate pot with the basket rack to lower the jars, the lid and the steamer rack. For $6, I thought, why not? A few jars and some fresh produce and I could try.
That was last year and like the book, I put it aside.
Then I got the bug. For some reason this year, I decided to make some sauce. Then some pickles. Then salsa. Then tomato jam from a recipe from Foodinjars.com. Now I am hooked!
The woman from Food in Jars is from Philly and teaches classes. I'm looking to get a group together and have a lesson from her in the spring. Interested my foodie friends? Space is limited!
I know the proof will be in the pudding, er' the sauce and all the other stuff, but so far, jars have sealed and they look wonderful!
Although I have always wanted to can food, I was afraid that I'd do it wrong and kill us all. I used it mostly for the freezing method. Then I set it aside. For years and years.
One weekend last summer I was at a yard sale (when am I not, right?) and found a canner with all the accoutrement's. The agate pot with the basket rack to lower the jars, the lid and the steamer rack. For $6, I thought, why not? A few jars and some fresh produce and I could try.
That was last year and like the book, I put it aside.
Then I got the bug. For some reason this year, I decided to make some sauce. Then some pickles. Then salsa. Then tomato jam from a recipe from Foodinjars.com. Now I am hooked!
The woman from Food in Jars is from Philly and teaches classes. I'm looking to get a group together and have a lesson from her in the spring. Interested my foodie friends? Space is limited!
I know the proof will be in the pudding, er' the sauce and all the other stuff, but so far, jars have sealed and they look wonderful!
Friday, July 23, 2010
A Burning Heart
I know it has been a while since I’ve written, but home has been a bit difficult these last couple months.
As mentioned before, I am now living with someone with GERD. What is GERD, you might ask? Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is where the stomach leaks food and liquids backwards which can cause tremendous heartburn, discomfort and sometimes symptoms you’d never expect from a little indigestion.
Yes, it is true that heartburn can feel like a heart attack, so don't hesitate with contacting 911 if you think it may not be indigestion.
Ok, so it wasn’t just a little indigestion, but heartburn so bad that she went for months getting only about two to three hours of sleep, in a recliner at that. While I tried to sleep in bed, she’d be pacing the floor thinking of waking me up to drive her to the ER.
On top of this thrilling experience, we have learned that Joanne’s breast cancer has come back and metastasized in her bones and several lymph nodes in and around the lungs. So, things have been exciting, to say the least.
This has all been going on as the garden was being planted, the plants have been growing and we are now starting to harvest loads of things such as cucumbers, herbs, peppers. The farm markets around us have lots of great produce and corn arrived about three weeks ago in time for the Fourth of July holiday!
Cooking for someone with GERD is an adventure. Even on the little purple pill, Joanne is occasionally having difficulty with certain foods. They found her system empties slowly and have put her on another medication to up that action. Along with the side effect of tardive dyskinesia – uncontrolled muscle movements especially of the lower face, that once they start they don’t necessarily go away – is the possibility that your metabolism may work faster causing weight loss. Let’s see…put these on the scale of life and which outweighs which?
After some time of making scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, rice, noodles and broth for dinner, it became apparent that neither of us could live off this diet.
It wasn’t until the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival that we saw she was getting better. She decided to just say the hell with the cautions and ate her way through the event. She didn’t have any wine or alcohol of any kind, but went from table to table tasting everything from shrimp and grits to beef sliders and ceviche. Her day ended with a piece of tiramisu and my head spinning with thoughts of rushing her to the hospital.
With no ill results from the escapade, we started to just eat again. It has really been a trial and error course of events with some decent discoveries of trigger foods. The biggest we’ve found is of course acidic foods. Not all, just certain ones.
Vinegar, most notably balsamic; causing some burning that lasts a few hours. Tomatoes, don’t seem to cause that reaction, but I’m limited in the use of vinegar and lemon juice as well.
Garlic and onions can be issues, especially if raw, but I’ve found using a microplane grater seems to help with the garlic. Maybe having it so miniscule is the key? Go figure.
So, right now we are still tippy-toeing on eggshells with most foods, although pizza is a go as well as grilled cheese, sautéed and stir fried foods and even an occasional French fry.
As for the breast cancer rearing its ugly head, we are seeing an awesome oncologist and even though its in the bones and lungs, they are treating like breast cancer. Joanne’s cancer is estrogen sensitive, so hormonal therapy is being started with an infusion of Zometa. We feel this is the best of the worst diagnoses we could have been given and are taking prayers, positive thoughts, mantras, chants, and all other forms of good will openly and encourage it right now.
Will try and keep up with this as we move along through the summer and fall…
As mentioned before, I am now living with someone with GERD. What is GERD, you might ask? Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease is where the stomach leaks food and liquids backwards which can cause tremendous heartburn, discomfort and sometimes symptoms you’d never expect from a little indigestion.
Yes, it is true that heartburn can feel like a heart attack, so don't hesitate with contacting 911 if you think it may not be indigestion.
Ok, so it wasn’t just a little indigestion, but heartburn so bad that she went for months getting only about two to three hours of sleep, in a recliner at that. While I tried to sleep in bed, she’d be pacing the floor thinking of waking me up to drive her to the ER.
On top of this thrilling experience, we have learned that Joanne’s breast cancer has come back and metastasized in her bones and several lymph nodes in and around the lungs. So, things have been exciting, to say the least.
This has all been going on as the garden was being planted, the plants have been growing and we are now starting to harvest loads of things such as cucumbers, herbs, peppers. The farm markets around us have lots of great produce and corn arrived about three weeks ago in time for the Fourth of July holiday!
Cooking for someone with GERD is an adventure. Even on the little purple pill, Joanne is occasionally having difficulty with certain foods. They found her system empties slowly and have put her on another medication to up that action. Along with the side effect of tardive dyskinesia – uncontrolled muscle movements especially of the lower face, that once they start they don’t necessarily go away – is the possibility that your metabolism may work faster causing weight loss. Let’s see…put these on the scale of life and which outweighs which?
After some time of making scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, rice, noodles and broth for dinner, it became apparent that neither of us could live off this diet.
It wasn’t until the Lehigh Valley Food and Wine Festival that we saw she was getting better. She decided to just say the hell with the cautions and ate her way through the event. She didn’t have any wine or alcohol of any kind, but went from table to table tasting everything from shrimp and grits to beef sliders and ceviche. Her day ended with a piece of tiramisu and my head spinning with thoughts of rushing her to the hospital.
With no ill results from the escapade, we started to just eat again. It has really been a trial and error course of events with some decent discoveries of trigger foods. The biggest we’ve found is of course acidic foods. Not all, just certain ones.
Vinegar, most notably balsamic; causing some burning that lasts a few hours. Tomatoes, don’t seem to cause that reaction, but I’m limited in the use of vinegar and lemon juice as well.
Garlic and onions can be issues, especially if raw, but I’ve found using a microplane grater seems to help with the garlic. Maybe having it so miniscule is the key? Go figure.
So, right now we are still tippy-toeing on eggshells with most foods, although pizza is a go as well as grilled cheese, sautéed and stir fried foods and even an occasional French fry.
As for the breast cancer rearing its ugly head, we are seeing an awesome oncologist and even though its in the bones and lungs, they are treating like breast cancer. Joanne’s cancer is estrogen sensitive, so hormonal therapy is being started with an infusion of Zometa. We feel this is the best of the worst diagnoses we could have been given and are taking prayers, positive thoughts, mantras, chants, and all other forms of good will openly and encourage it right now.
Will try and keep up with this as we move along through the summer and fall…
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Run of the Mill Eggs...my ass!
I left a comment here at the NYTimes blog...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/01brod.html?src=me&ref=homepage
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/01brod.html?src=me&ref=homepage
For the Pet Lovers
I just read this article recently in the New York Times and thought I'd pass it along. I have written to the author, Jane E. Brody regarding my obvious concerns about Rx foods for pets since I purchase two different kinds...I'll let you know what she has to say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/01brod.html?src=me&ref=homepage
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/health/01brod.html?src=me&ref=homepage
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Gimme a Good Dog!!!
I know its been a while since I’ve been on here and for that I apologize, but I have been dealing with Joanne and her digestive issues. Let’s talk about that another time, shall we?
With the Memorial Day just nearly upon us and the summer grilling season ahead of us, I just had to write this post.
Today I’m here to discuss hot dogs. Yeah, I know what your thinking…I’m vegetarian, so why would I talk about hot dogs here? Well, they are one of the only meat items that when I smell them cooking, make me salivate. I think it’s mostly the smoky scent that does it to me, but regardless, I can smell a hotdog and get a craving that I can’t squash till I have one or two with all the fixins’!
I often get the impression some of the blogs I read that vegetarians aren’t supposed to have cravings for meat-like products. The idea is that we gave up meat, so we shouldn’t want to replicate that by using products that have flavors and textures similar to ground meat, burgers, chicken and hotdogs.
I beg to differ with those people. Vegetarians don’t always give up meat because they dislike the taste and texture. Some of us give it up because of moral and ethical reasons regarding factory farming. That’s for another column; maybe another blog. Some give it up to be more friendly to the earth or even for health reasons.
For a lot of years, vegetarians didn’t have many options than to make their own veggie burgers and loaves and a vegetarian hotdog was heresy.
It took a while, but there have been some true advances in how textured vegetable protein has been processed. TVP is basically soy. From tofu, tempeh and miso, to other meat-like proteins such as seitan and mycoprotein made with mushrooms has been worked into palatable sources of meal item staples for those wishing to get the high protein with less fat than red meat.
Joanne and I have used all of these products and when I get the craving to enjoy veggie hotdogs, my go-to brand has always been Morningstar Farms.
I’ve tried Tofupups, and Soydogs, but Moringstar Farms has always been the brand that had a texture most like a hotdog and a bit of a resistance when you bit into them that was similar to biting into the actual casing of a hotdog and getting that snap. It was truly a mouth-feel for me, besides the flavor.
On a hotdog roll with fried onions, coleslaw, relish, ketchup, mustard, cheese, sauerkraut, guacamole, salsa, broken taco shells, meatless bbq (made from TVP) and any other number of great toppings and I’m set. With a side of baked beans and mashed potatoes and some watermelon for dessert and I’m a happy girl.
However, this will be a sad, sad summer for me. It seems Morningstar Farms has discontinued their America’s Original Veggie Dogs!
I took a gander and wrote them in April. Much surprised that I received an email back, I was grateful for the explanation. I thought you’d enjoy seeing their response here:
May 4, 2010 10:31:40 PM, kellogg@casupport.com wrote:
Hello Rose,
We know this answer may put us in the dog house, but we have discontinued our Morningstar Farms® Veggie Dog products including Morningstar Farms® America's Original Veggie Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Mini Corn Dogs, and Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs Made with Natural Ingredients. We know we have lots of big fans of these products.
This situation was not a decision we made due to poor sales, but rather due to our inability to secure an appropriate manufacturing facility to produce them on an ongoing basis. Veggie dogs are not made using the same technology as our other products so we relied on another company to make them for us. It is difficult to make the choice to discontinue a product, as we know it is always someone's favorite.
We value your business and would love for you to try our Morningstar Farms® Veggie Italian Style Sausage. They are great for family grilling! Or if you prefer a hot dog, we suggest Worthington® Veja-Links® vegetarian hot dogs. (Worthington is part of the Morningstar Farms family). This is a canned product and is readily available at most natural food stores.
Thank you for contacting us. Please join us on Facebook, where we post the latest information about Morningstar Farms, including inspiring recipes and an occasional coupon!
Best of health,
Mark A. Suriano
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs
Ok, so it’s not poor sales, but an operations issue. I understand, but if a company as big as Kelloggs can’t find a way to manage the production of this product we’re all losers. Although I’ve never seen it anywhere to be able to try it, It makes me wonder about the canned product in their ‘family’ and where that gets produced. Will that also be pulled from the shelves in the near future?
They offer me an option, but who wants a hotdog out of a can? Ok, maybe astronauts or campers and maybe even our vegetarian armed forces, but why can’t a company as enormous as Kelloggs find a way to make this work.
I can’t possibly be the only person who really enjoyed these TVP hotdogs, can I? I think not!
Well, I’m going to start a Facebook page to see if we can get Kelloggs to bring these back! It worked for Betty White, didn’t it? She was on Saturday Night Live all because of Facebook and it could even work for Carol Burnett…let’s see what it can do for the Morning Star Farms America’s Original Veggie Dogs! Look em’ up in a few days and sign up!
What is that Margaret Mead quote? Never under estimate that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Ok, so veggie hotdogs aren’t changing the world, but it’s a start, right?
With the Memorial Day just nearly upon us and the summer grilling season ahead of us, I just had to write this post.
Today I’m here to discuss hot dogs. Yeah, I know what your thinking…I’m vegetarian, so why would I talk about hot dogs here? Well, they are one of the only meat items that when I smell them cooking, make me salivate. I think it’s mostly the smoky scent that does it to me, but regardless, I can smell a hotdog and get a craving that I can’t squash till I have one or two with all the fixins’!
I often get the impression some of the blogs I read that vegetarians aren’t supposed to have cravings for meat-like products. The idea is that we gave up meat, so we shouldn’t want to replicate that by using products that have flavors and textures similar to ground meat, burgers, chicken and hotdogs.
I beg to differ with those people. Vegetarians don’t always give up meat because they dislike the taste and texture. Some of us give it up because of moral and ethical reasons regarding factory farming. That’s for another column; maybe another blog. Some give it up to be more friendly to the earth or even for health reasons.
For a lot of years, vegetarians didn’t have many options than to make their own veggie burgers and loaves and a vegetarian hotdog was heresy.
It took a while, but there have been some true advances in how textured vegetable protein has been processed. TVP is basically soy. From tofu, tempeh and miso, to other meat-like proteins such as seitan and mycoprotein made with mushrooms has been worked into palatable sources of meal item staples for those wishing to get the high protein with less fat than red meat.
Joanne and I have used all of these products and when I get the craving to enjoy veggie hotdogs, my go-to brand has always been Morningstar Farms.
I’ve tried Tofupups, and Soydogs, but Moringstar Farms has always been the brand that had a texture most like a hotdog and a bit of a resistance when you bit into them that was similar to biting into the actual casing of a hotdog and getting that snap. It was truly a mouth-feel for me, besides the flavor.
On a hotdog roll with fried onions, coleslaw, relish, ketchup, mustard, cheese, sauerkraut, guacamole, salsa, broken taco shells, meatless bbq (made from TVP) and any other number of great toppings and I’m set. With a side of baked beans and mashed potatoes and some watermelon for dessert and I’m a happy girl.
However, this will be a sad, sad summer for me. It seems Morningstar Farms has discontinued their America’s Original Veggie Dogs!
I took a gander and wrote them in April. Much surprised that I received an email back, I was grateful for the explanation. I thought you’d enjoy seeing their response here:
May 4, 2010 10:31:40 PM, kellogg@casupport.com wrote:
Hello Rose,
We know this answer may put us in the dog house, but we have discontinued our Morningstar Farms® Veggie Dog products including Morningstar Farms® America's Original Veggie Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs, Morningstar Farms® Mini Corn Dogs, and Morningstar Farms® Corn Dogs Made with Natural Ingredients. We know we have lots of big fans of these products.
This situation was not a decision we made due to poor sales, but rather due to our inability to secure an appropriate manufacturing facility to produce them on an ongoing basis. Veggie dogs are not made using the same technology as our other products so we relied on another company to make them for us. It is difficult to make the choice to discontinue a product, as we know it is always someone's favorite.
We value your business and would love for you to try our Morningstar Farms® Veggie Italian Style Sausage. They are great for family grilling! Or if you prefer a hot dog, we suggest Worthington® Veja-Links® vegetarian hot dogs. (Worthington is part of the Morningstar Farms family). This is a canned product and is readily available at most natural food stores.
Thank you for contacting us. Please join us on Facebook, where we post the latest information about Morningstar Farms, including inspiring recipes and an occasional coupon!
Best of health,
Mark A. Suriano
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs
Ok, so it’s not poor sales, but an operations issue. I understand, but if a company as big as Kelloggs can’t find a way to manage the production of this product we’re all losers. Although I’ve never seen it anywhere to be able to try it, It makes me wonder about the canned product in their ‘family’ and where that gets produced. Will that also be pulled from the shelves in the near future?
They offer me an option, but who wants a hotdog out of a can? Ok, maybe astronauts or campers and maybe even our vegetarian armed forces, but why can’t a company as enormous as Kelloggs find a way to make this work.
I can’t possibly be the only person who really enjoyed these TVP hotdogs, can I? I think not!
Well, I’m going to start a Facebook page to see if we can get Kelloggs to bring these back! It worked for Betty White, didn’t it? She was on Saturday Night Live all because of Facebook and it could even work for Carol Burnett…let’s see what it can do for the Morning Star Farms America’s Original Veggie Dogs! Look em’ up in a few days and sign up!
What is that Margaret Mead quote? Never under estimate that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Ok, so veggie hotdogs aren’t changing the world, but it’s a start, right?
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