Misc

I just found out that my local Farmer’s Market isn’t opening until June 13!!
I DON'T WANT TO WAIT THAT LONG!

But I will. I’ll have to make an extra trip, and work a little “faster” in the last couple days before my Father’s Day feast, but I can handle it.... It will definitely make for a better meal.

If you have a Farmer’s Market in your town (and most of us do, if we look for it), PLEASE check it out!!!! Prices vary, sometimes week-to-week; sometimes VERY cheap, and sometimes (I admit) can be a little higher than the grocery store – but OH, the quality is so great! It might sound hokey, but once you’ve tasted FRESH, you’ll want to go back to the "farm" again and again…

Look for it; support it, and most importantly, ENJOY IT!

I've just received this email. I'd love to credit the author, but it was unsigned. Enjoy!


Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life, is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. . What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain, Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride"

AND.....For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

GMA just ran this spot – and I couldn’t agree more. They made a three-course meal spending $25.77 at the ‘dollar store’, and $112.15 at some gourmet shop. Some items should always be purchased fresh whenever possible, but why not save a few bucks when you can (and probably should . The Food Network did the research, and provided some recipes; for more details, please go to: Good Morning America, 99 cent Meal. There are many items that we all have in our pantry where brand name simply doesn’t make much of a difference. Think about doing your next ‘stocking up’ trip at a ‘dollar store’ – you just might be amazed at the selection you find. One word of caution – these stores carry much more than food! I can speak from personal experience that it is EXTREMELY easy to walk out having dropped a large amount of cash! Good value, but beware…

I love bacon! Nothing tastes quite like it, and when properly cooked, it isn’t QUITE as bad for you as it seems. And a little will go a long way… A couple years ago, I learned how to make my own – at home, without special tools, smokers, etc, etc… thanks to PBS. and the internet. One show provided the basic technique, another showed how to get smoky flavor from your oven... It’s actually quite easy, and costs about the same or less than the cheaper brands at my local stores – and is MUCH BETTER than even some of the priciest brands! I’ve been making it ever since… One family occasion I used a whole pineapple as the appetizer centerpiece, and used bamboo skewers to make a glorious presentation. Each skewer had a cube of bacon (or, "lardon"), a green pepper square, and a pineapple cube cut from the whole – each skewer was stuck into the original shell like a flavorful porcupine! Very kewl, and well accepted! In the interest of being concise, you can find the recipes for: Curing Salt, Bacon Process, Indoor Smokehouse, and Lardons in our recipe files. We don't have to bring it home - we can make it at home!

I just watched a commercial for a flatbread and eggwhite sandwich that was "healthy for you, and low in calories". I'm confused. It's time to break a couple myths regarding eggs. I know, egg yolks were feared for many years, but SCIENCE now says that they are actually very good for us! Check out The Incredible, Edible Egg. Yes, this particular site may be biased, but they have the most succinct description of the health values that I’ve found. I've read and heard the same info from many other sources for years! Please, Google for yourself. In my humble opinion, it never was the eggs – just the bacon or sausage or home fries that we love to serve with them! (or the grease we love to cook them in?!? ) Oh, and BTW “flatbread” is simply a different method of baking the same carbs and sugars we’ve all grown to love… as BREAD! Again, just my opinion...

Sounds like something I heard Jackie Gleason say… But, seriously, I do want to talk about Hominy.

In a recent conversation with Shirley S we were discussing ingredients that were not readily available in Upstate New York. And hominy was on her list.

Well, on my last trip to the grocery store, I found some. On a whim, I purchased a large can. NOW WHAT?!?

I could easily search Grandmother’s old cookbooks (she was from North Carolina) – but I don’t ever remember her serving it. I could search the web – but I’d rather hear from YOU!

Help a gal out here…

I was recently looking for a recipe for Ciabatta Bread. I went to my usual sources, and found the same recipe over and over… so I tried Google. One site listed under “ciabatta bread recipes” was trinigourmet.com. I clicked it, and this is what I got: “Welcome to TriniGourmet.com. You came here from a www.google.com searching for t. As a result, I recommend the following posts: · No related posts “ Well, I wasn’t happy. This site wasted my time for no results. And when the “back” button wouldn’t work to get me back to my search, I was even less happy… I had to start all over again!!!! That’s when I started to write this article, and boy, was I gonna make some comments…. PLEASE KEEP READING! In fairness – to you, and Trini – I tried it again. I got the same “non-message”, still couldn’t use the “back” button, and was ready to RANT. But as I was making sure my quotes were accurate, I saw (just above the horizon) the top of a picture of what I knew was the crust of Ciabatta Bread! My apologies! What followed was a very well documented photo/recipe journal that, well, even if I didn’t know how to make bread I could have followed! In fact, I’ve got a batch started! So, a word of warning – all websites (including this one) can have glitches. If I had been as impatient on my second pass as on the first, I would have missed what looks to be a great recipe! Thanks TriniGourmet for a valuable lesson (and recipe)!