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Friday’s Fresh Five! (9/10/10)

Posted in Creativity, Helping Others, inspiration, Organization, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, while taking photos of birds in my backyard, a blue belly lizard struck a regal pose on a nearby rock as if to say, “Hey, don’t forget about me! Aren’t I a grand specimen?” Waiting until the light was just right and presenting me with his best side, he allowed me a couple of quick shots before he skittered away into the bushes. The beautiful colors of nature are often seen in small and unexpected things.

#1 – The Colors of Kool Aid
Apparently Choo Choo Cherry Kool Aid is good for more than just drinking. Check out these sites that use Kool Aid to dye things other than your tongue.

Basic How-To
Tie Dye
Yarn
Playsilks
Scarves
Hair!

#2 – Consumer Search
I came across this site called Consumer Search: Love What You Buy. It is run by About.com which is part of the New York Times Company. Supposedly Consumer Search collects reviews of items, analyzes the items, and then makes its recommendations. Since one of my children recently purchased appliances for his home, I compared his research against Consumer Search’s and was pleased with the results.

#3 – Packing Tips
Having just spent the last couple of days helping another one of my children move again, I thought it would be a good time to share these helpful packing tips from United Van Lines.

#4 – Get the Point!
Dalton Ghetti is an artist, but the medium he uses is an unusual one. A pencil. Except he does not draw with it like other artists – he carves the pencil tips! Read this article about him in the New York Times and view some of his amazing pieces of art.

#5 – Enjoy the Little Things
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
~Robert Brault

Try to enjoy every little thing that comes your way this weekend!

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Grilled Portobello Mushroom Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on September 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Cooking for one is tough, but cooking for one while you are on a student budget is even more challenging. To make sure my daughter is eating a healthy diet while she is away at college, I’ll occasionally ask her what she’s cooking for dinner. Last week she told me she made a pasta dish with Portobello mushrooms. Thick and “meaty” Portobello mushrooms are good nutritious alternatives to eating meat and they cost less, too. She’s a smart cook who likes good food, but can still eat healthily on a budget.

Portobello or Portabella mushrooms are one and the same and are merely large (4-6 inches) brown crimini mushrooms. According to the Self Nutrition Data site, a Portobello mushroom ” . . . is low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Zinc and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Selenium.”

When purchasing Portobello mushrooms, look for ones that are firm and without spots or discoloration. Avoid mushrooms that are broken, shriveled, or have a wet and slippery feeling. Whole mushrooms will remain fresh for 5-7 days if stored properly. Sliced mushrooms have a shorter shelf life. To prevent loss of flavor, avoid washing Portobello mushrooms in water before cooking them. Wiping them gently with a damp cloth or brushing them lightly with a cooking brush will remove any sand or debris.

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Salad
Adapted from a Gourmet Magazine recipe

Salad Ingredients:
4 large portobello mushrooms
6 oz. mixed salad greens

Sherry Vinaigrette Ingredients:
1/3 C medium-dry sherry
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced shallot
1 T sugar
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C vegetable oil
3 T finely chopped mixed herbs, such as parsley, basil, thyme, sage and chives

Directions:
1. In a very small pot, boil sherry until reduced by about half. Let cool.
2. In a bowl whisk together sherry reduction, balsamic vinegar, garlic, shalllot, sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Add oils in a stream, whisking until emulsified.
4. Whisk in herbs.
5. Reserve 1/4 cup vinaigrette for dressing salad greens.
6. Transfer remaining vinaigrette to a large sealable plastic bag.
7. Remove and discard stems from mushrooms. Add mushrooms to bag; remove air and seal bag.
8. Marinate mushrooms in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 2 hours while occasionally turning the bag to redistribute marinade.
9. Remove mushrooms from bag, letting the excess vinaigrette drip off.
10. Grill on hot grill for about 5 minutes on each side or until done. Let set for a few minutes and then slice.
11. In a bowl toss salad greens with reserved vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 plates or or place in shallow serving bowl.
12. Transfer sliced mushrooms to plates or place slices on top of greens in the shallow serving bowl.

Serves 4.

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (9/3/10)

Posted in Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

School buses roaring down the street combined with the high-pitched symphony of chirping birds act as my alarm clock these days. Kids are back in school now and daily routines for some get needed adjustments. Hard to believe that summer is almost over. Finally turned the page on my calendar today – so September’s officially here! In the back of my head, though, I know that Halloween is just around the corner, Thanksgiving is just a ways down the stretch, and Christmas is only 16 weeks away!

#1 – Self Portrait
This cartoon made me both laugh and think, thereby qualifying itself for inclusion in today’s post. How accurate would your self portrait be?

#2 – Recycling Books for a Better World
Better World Books is a business that collects books from colleges, universities, and libraries and sells them for profit to help fund literacy programs throughout the world. The website states, “BetterWorldBooks is a for-profit social enterprise that collects used books and sells them online to raise money for literacy initiatives worldwide. We offer great bargains on used books – over 6 million used and new titles, with free shipping anywhere in the U.S. and just $3.97 worldwide. What’s more, you love cheap used books and so does the environment – when you buy used, you save books from landfill and conserve resources.”

#3 – Is It Skin Cancer?
I’ve known a few people who developed Melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, and who sadly lost their battle with it. Having my share of beauty marks and freckles, I’ve always been concerned with their appearance. Here’s an iVillage article that contains the ABCDE photo guide that helps to differentiate harmless moles from the more dangerous ones. Take a look at the photos and the study the ABCDE’s of moles – this information could save your life or the life of someone you know.

#4 – Don’t Fork It Over!
Never use a fork to turn over a piece of meat on the barbecue. A fork will pierce the meat and let natural juices escape, causing a loss in flavor and moisture. Use a pair of tongs instead!

#5 – Be In Charge of Your Attitude
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Charles R. Swindoll (American Writer and Clergyman)

Have a safe holiday weekend!

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Quinoa Salad With Tomatoes and Basil

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , on September 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

How fortunate it is that tomatoes and basil both thrive in summer heat. When it’s too hot to cook, salads make frequent appearances on the dinner menu in my house and with the bounty of tomatoes and basil outside in the garden, who could resist not finding as many ways as possible to use these two summer favorites? It only gets better – here’s a recipe that combines tomatoes and basil with the healthy goodness of quinoa. In an earlier post Quinoa and Shrimp Salad, I explained why quinoa is a nutritional gem; these tiny seeds contain a balanced set of essential amino acids, making them complete proteins, and are a great gluten-free source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and iron.

Quinoa Salad With Tomatoes and Basil
Adapted from a recipe by Rachel Venokur-Clark

Salad Ingredients:
1 C quinoa
1/2 red onion, diced
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), diced
1/2 C fresh basil, chopped
1/4 C pine nuts, toasted

Dressing Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
3 T white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Measure quinoa into a sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add quinoa. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside and let cool.

2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients, except for the olive oil. Pour oil in a small stream into the the bowl of dressing ingredients, whisking the whole time to form an emulsion. Set aside.

3. Toast the pine nuts in a pan until lightly browned and fragrant. While toasting, keep an eye on them and stir them occasionally so that they don’t burn. Let cool.

4. To the cooked and cooled quinoa, add diced onion, diced tomatoes, diced sun-dried tomatoes, and diced basil. Toss gently.

5. Whisk salad dressing again and pour over salad ingredients. Toss again.

6. Serve on a bed of lettuce and garnish with toasted pine nuts.

Serves 4-6.

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Sweet Potato Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , on August 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Creamy potato salad is standard food fare for outdoor summer gatherings, but after consuming it, possibly the only thing gathering in your body is cholesterol. Here’s a potato salad recipe that is low in cholesterol and is easy to make. Plus, it uses sweet potatoes, which are packed with vitamins A and C, and contain almost twice as much dietary fiber than their more common counterparts – white potatoes. Utilizing the clean flavor of grapeseed oil and the fresh flavor of oranges, this sweet potato salad is bright in flavor and light in cholesterol. You won’t miss the mayonnaise, sour cream, and eggs!

Sweet Potato Salad
A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients:
* 4 medium sweet potatoes (3 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces (8 cups)
* 3 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
* 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
* 1 scallion, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1/4 cup safflower or grapeseed oil
* 1/2 scallion (dark-green part only), thinly sliced diagonally for garnish

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes, and return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.
2. Whisk vinegar, orange zest and juice, 1 scallion, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with pepper. Toss dressing with sweet potatoes in a large bowl, and garnish with remaining 1/2 scallion. Refrigerate until chilled, up to 1 day.

Serves 4.

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/27/10)

Posted in About me, Health, Helping Others, inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2010| 1 Comment »

I was telling a friend that I should be a cast member on the hit television series Glee. Not because I can sing, because I can’t, but because songs are always playing in my head. Not just the latest catchy tunes, but songs that describe how I’m feeling at the moment. Like this morning the Mamas and the Papa’s song Monday, Monday was playing in my head as I sat down at the computer. Except in my head it went like this, “Friday, Friday, so good to me . . . .” Don’t you think that sounds better than the original? Who doesn’t prefer Fridays over Mondays?

#1 – Thought-Provoking Questions
Here’s a beautiful photo series with thought-provoking questions for all of us to ponder. Which ones hit home with you?

#2 – Food Dyes
Here’s another thought provoking question. Are food dyes safe and if not, why are they still allowed to be put in our food? I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite monthly reads is the Nutrition Action Health Letter published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This month’s featured article is titled, Color Us Worried which questions the continued use of food dyes in America and their related health risks. To read the report Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks and to look over a 1,300 dyed foods list, click here.

#3 – Signs of Dehydration
In another health education newsletter that I received from my community hospital, there was an article about dehydration. Since thermometers in my neighborhood hit triple digits this week, I thought it might be a good idea to refresh everyone’s memory on the signs of dehydration. Initial signs of dehydration are obvious – increased thirst and decreased urine output, but if dehydration continues these additional symptoms may occur, but are not limited to:

Lack of perspiration
Confusion
Increased body temperature
Fatigue
Nausea, vomiting and chills
Dry mouth
Eyes stop producing tears
Muscle cramps
Heart palpitations
Becoming lightheaded
Loss of appetite
Dry skin
Skin flushing

Obviously, a doctor should be called if you have any questions or concerns about any of these symptoms or if you suspect dehydration is a possibility.

Athletes, please remember to hydrate adequately during hot weather. Dr. Gerry Lee, a family practitioner interviewed in the article, recommends that if you must exercise in hot weather you should, “Drink two to four glasses of water or sports drink per hour during activity.”

#4 – 100 Ways to Live a Better Life
I accidentally found this site and so enjoyed reading the author’s list of 100 Ways to Live a Better Life. Many entries on the list are things that I am personally working on to improve myself. Maybe we need to print this list up and reread it every morning as a reminder of the potential we all hold and the promise that each new day brings.

#5 – Bird Songs
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.”
Chinese Proverb

“Use the talents you possess – for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best.”
Henry Van Dyke

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.”
Chinese Proverb

Take time to listen to the birds sing this weekend. Have a good one!

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Spaghetti Salad

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , on August 25, 2010| 2 Comments »

Here’s another quick summertime dish that’s a wonderful accompaniment to grilled meats or is perfect by itself for lunch. It’s a pasta salad that involves only a few steps to make, is full of flavor, tastes better the next day, makes use of sweet summer produce, and is great to take to potlucks or picnics. What more could anyone want? It’s been almost thirty years since I clipped this recipe out of a small town, local newspaper, but it has stood the test of time. I’m asked for this recipe just as frequently now as I was when I first started preparing it!

Spaghetti Salad
Adapted by Linnell

Ingredients:
1 pound package spaghetti
8 oz. Wishbone Italian Dressing
McCormick’s Salad Supreme
1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 orange or yellow pepper, diced
2-3 oz. black olives, sliced

Directions:
1.  Sprinkle 1/4 package of Good Seasons Italian dressing mix into the bottle of Wishbone dressing and shake to mix. Let sit. Seal the remainder of the package for use at another time.

2.  Cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente. Do not overcook. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Pour on the salad dressing while the noodles are still warm. Toss.

3. Add tomatoes, onion, peppers, and olives. Toss. Sprinkle 1/3 jar (or to taste) Salad Supreme and toss again. Chill until serving.

Note: I’ve found this recipe to be adaptable and forgiving. It’s difficult to botch it up and almost anything can be added to it. For variety, I’ve added a combination of the following ingredients to create an antipasto-type salad: quartered artichoke hearts (marinated or packed in water), diced pepperoncini, sliced mushrooms, and salami, cut into thin strips.

Hope this recipe stays in your recipe files as long as it has stayed in mine! Enjoy!

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Bird Pins for Steve

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Helping Others, Jewelry, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 23, 2010| 6 Comments »

Steve loved birds. That’s all I could think of two nights before his memorial service. As I sat in my house dealing with my own feelings of regret and wishing I could do more for his family, I came up with the idea of making birds for Steve. Bird pins to be exact. My creative mission became to make as many bird pins as I could, so that members of his family and selected friends could wear a “Bird for Steve.”

Strangely, as I crafted these pins, I felt signs of Steve’s presence. Just small silly things. Unable to stop the flow of creative juices, I stayed up late the first night working on the pins. My husband and dog had given up on me and had long gone to bed. The house was quiet and still – just the way I like it when I’m in deep, creative concentration. Out of nowhere a gust of wind swept in from a small work area window and caused a pair of paper wings to take flight. They fluttered all around before landing. One wing was easily found on the carpet; the other was never found. I searched and searched for it and finally sighed and said, “Hi Steve, thanks a lot.” The next morning as I was cutting, gluing, and painting my baby birds, a real bird outside my window raised a ruckus like I’d never heard before. It was chattering and squawking like an irate drill sergeant, which made me smile and say, “Good morning to you, too, Steve. Do you approve of my birds?” And then much later in the day when a glob of super glue was growing on my thumbnail and my back and neck were protesting, a subtle wisp of air snuck in around me and scattered all the little birds’ eyes off a piece of paper and onto the floor, while leaving the vial of beads standing on the paper still upright and intact. “Very funny, Steve!” I remarked sadly sarcastic.

Sixty-seven unique little birds were at last ready for their journey. With wings poised for flight, they all found homes on the clothing of those that loved or cared about Steve. During the service I saw some of the birds go up to the church’s lectern and in my head I envisioned Steve grinning and saying, “That’s very cool.” Just for you, Steve.

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (8/20/10)

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2010| 2 Comments »

I was born on a Friday and somehow Fridays have become my favorite day of the week. Who could resist a day whose doorway holds so much promise for the weekend ahead? Plus, writing my Friday’s Fresh Five posts are always a fun challenge. Finding those helpful (and maybe a bit quirky) tidbits of information to present to you every week keeps me on my toes and nourishes my brain!

#1 – Apple Flavors
Ever wonder which apple varieties are sweet and which are tart and which ones can be baked with, but not cooked with? Print up this chart and post it in your pantry for quick reference.

#2 – Mosquitoes
Sitting outdoors and enjoying summer evening activities can often be ruined by nasty mosquitoes. Looking for a non-DEET repellent, I found a couple of posts that recommended using vitamin B1 or Thiamine as a mosquito repellent. It seems that after ingesting vitamin B1, it is excreted in your sweat which the mosquitoes find repelling. I guess plain old sweat isn’t repelling enough! I haven’t tried this, yet, so I can’t say if it works for sure and if you’re concerned about adding more vitamin B1 to your diet, please check with your doctor.

So that you can read about this yourself, here are a few links:
ehow
bigtravelclub
mothernature.com
dermnetnz

#3 – Body By Numbers
In an online article entitled 100 Very Cool Facts About the Human Body, amazing properties of our bodies are highlighted. If what the author states is true, then we should be darned impressed with ourselves! Here are a few snippets of information you probably didn’t know:

80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.

The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razorblades. While you certainly shouldn’t test the fortitude of your stomach by eating a razorblade or any other metal object for that matter, the acids that digest the food you eat aren’t to be taken lightly. Hydrochloric acid, the type found in your stomach, is not only good at dissolving the pizza you had for dinner but can also eat through many types of metal.

By 60 years of age, 60-percent of men and 40-percent of women will snore. If you’ve ever been kept awake by a snoring loved one you know the sound can be deafening. Normal snores average around 60 decibels, the noise level of normal speech, intense snores can reach more than 80 decibels, the approximate level caused by a jackhammer breaking up concrete.

The human body is estimated to have 60,000 miles of blood vessels. To put that in perspective, the distance around the earth is about 25,000 miles, making the distance your blood vessels could travel if laid end to end more than two times around the earth.

#4 – Craftster
Reading the words on a cartoon at the top of a Craftster.org page made me laugh. Unfortunately, this particular Craftster’s phrase, “Save everything – you might need it someday,” describes one of my better known behavioral patterns! What is Craftster? The website explains, “Craftster is an online community where people share hip, off-beat, crafty diy (do it yourself) projects. The term “Craftster” means “crafty hipster” and is also meant to be an homage to the pioneer peer-to-peer sites Napster and Friendster. Check it out if you “save everything” and are looking for ways to use all of your stuff!

#5 – Gracious Living
“Awareness, attentiveness, and appreciation are the energies that light our path toward gracious living.”
~Alexandra Stoddard, Author

Hope today is the start of a wonderful weekend for you!

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A Sideline Perspective

Posted in About me, Kids, Parenting, tagged , , , , , , on August 18, 2010| 3 Comments »

A short volley darts across the net. My son starts to run towards the ball. I watch intensely as he scrambles to salvage the point in a district championship tennis match. With baited breath I wait to see if he’ll get there in time. I hear someone yell out, “Get it, Kevie!” Oops! That someone was me! I thought I had my emotions under check, but the words just kind of popped out of my mouth. To put this incident into proper perspective, “Kevie,” the youngster in this photo, is now in his mid-twenties and likes to be called Kevin these days! The point I described above was played just last week. I guess not much has changed – it’s just as hard watching my kids play sports now as it was when they were young.

I thought I’d learned my lesson to “zip my lips” during sports activities when my second child started playing soccer at age five. Because he was stocky and strong, the coach assigned him to the position of goalie. Playing this position was not fun for my son because it involved long periods of time just standing around when the ball was at the other end of the field. And in my case, this was not a fun position for me to watch my child play either. Anxiously, I would keep an eye on him, the lone figure standing in front of a huge goal, trying to fend off a bunch of charging offensive players. Sometimes when the ball came down the field towards him, I would yell out, “Watch out!” or “Get it!” or “Here it comes – be ready!” Then after one particular match, he came off the field crying. Alarmingly, I said, “What’s wrong?” He sobbed, “Mom, why are you yelling at me?” I didn’t think I was yelling at him as much as I was yelling precautions to him. Lesson learned either way. No more calling out from the sidelines and if anything escaped from my mouth it was only positive reinforcement.

Three children and three sports amounted to a lot of sideline sitting. Even though, I don’t play tennis, I always tried to give them a pep talk and remind them of certain strategies before they entered the court for a match. If people asked if I played tennis, I always answered, “No, but I learned the game through osmosis.”  Watching over a decade of lessons, three times over, I was bound to pick up a thing or two.

Moms are their children’s cheerleaders in life. We dream their dreams with them. We live vicariously through them. This cheerleading doesn’t automatically stop when a child turns a certain age. Whatever the endeavor and whatever the age of the child, you can bet there’s probably a mom in the background somewhere silently, or in my case not so silently, rooting for her child. Just ask my mom.

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