Guess Who?!

Who's got two thumbs and brand new keys to her first place?

THIS GIRL!!

That's right folks, I'm a homeowner.  More to come, much more...

Election Day Thoughts

Let me start by saying that no one hates political ads and campaign crap more than me, so this post is really going to have very little to do with the election and politics. Second point of business, I know I said the next time I posted it would be about Guatemala (I'm really sorry it's taking me FOREVER to get on that already), but it's going to have to be pushed one more time simply due to timing of current events. With that, on to my thoughts on the election...

I vote me for President (ha - no way!). But seriously, our candidates are (and always have been) focusing solely on current needs of the country; you know, how to fix our problems. I get that that sounds ridiculously stupid; of course they're going to focus on fixing our problems. That is the job they are vying for, after all. But I'd love to see someone running for President who is looking at the real root of our nation's problems and talking about how they may address those issues in addition to the immediate and current issues.  Granted, if someone did that they would probably sink their own ship.

If you ask me, which I know no one did, I think all of our problems are due to three things: overconsumption, over-indulgence and self-satisfaction. Thinking about it now, I suppose overconsumption and over-indulgence could both be attributed to the desire to feed the need for self-satisfaction. I mean, let's take food for example. We have a food supply that can hardly be sustained as it is. We have an unimaginable number of food products that are in no way natural or needed (think Cheez Whiz and Pop-Tarts). To produce these products we've had to add numerous unnatural ingredients to make the foods more shelf-stable. To produce the amounts of foods "needed" for the people's over-indulgent way of life, we've needed to modify certain ingredients so the foods can be cheaper to produce (think high fructose corn syrup). To produce food at the rate needed, we've had to find ways to make more food faster (think growth hormones and antibiotics pumped into our livestock). All of this just to meet the "needs" of our nation's population. But, if we got back to eating for survival and not for satisfaction and over-indulgence, we could hugely reduce our food production and ideally get back to a more natural food supply. This in turn, could partly solve the obesity epidemic, reduce health care costs, and reduce our environmental footprint.

A couple of other issues of overconsumption: consuming the environment to continue to grow our society (causing global warming, ice melt, rising sea levels, and various forms of destruction caused by these changes in environmental balance) and consuming things we can't afford (dealing with the various downfalls of excessive debt is part of the reason for our current economic state).

I also think over-population is a problem. It contributes to the consumption of the environment, the thought that our food supply needs to increase further, and possibly even part of the reason for lack of jobs. Consider the fact that science and technology has helped people to live longer, healthier lives. This likely means that people are holding jobs for longer, not to mention that the baby boomer generation is still holding many jobs that could be available in a few years (I'm sure whoever is president during the period where those jobs become available will take credit for fixing the job situation rather than recognizing that it may be largely due to the natural ebb and flow of life). Anyway, if we could all take personal responsibility for the national population I think it could have a large impact on our nation's future as well.

Anyways, these are just some of the thoughts I was having today. They are in no way researched or proven statements, and I am not even especially well versed in some of the topics I mentioned. Someone who is very well educated on the environment could tell me my statements are in no way justified or accurate. In fact, they may be straight up wrong, but they are just some things I was thinking about today and that I believe could be important items to address (or at least discuss) as a nation to get to the root of what causes our problems. How to go about that though, I've got no clue. Hopefully a presidential candidate in the future will!

Happy voting!!

Changing It Up

Hey! I'm just dropping in real quick to explain the redesign of my blog.

I realized the blog was becoming very focused on food, cooking, health, etc, and less on my life, random thoughts, and daily adventures. Of course food, cooking & health are all a huge part of my life, but still I wanted something more streamlined. So I created a brand new blog and redesigned this one to match! The new blog will become my primary blog and that's where you can follow me on this food challenge and my weekly ingredient and recipes. You may want to read my pilot post as well to see what I have in mind for the new blog. 

I will still keep this blog up and running, but it will be just for the daily life and personal stuff. I may not update it quite as frequently, but it will still be here and I'll try to post pictures and stories of the fun I find as often as possible.

To find the new blog, you can either click here or use the tab at the top of this page called "Get Real." Once you're on that page, a similar tab at the top will redirect you back to this part of the blog if you want to see what's going on in my life. That tab is called "My Reality."

Hope that all makes some sense. Thanks for reading!

Oh, and just to whet your appetite for what's to come next on this page....

Guatemala

Ingredient of the Week

Before I get to this week's ingredient, let me display my goods for the week from the Farmer's Market:

{cantaloupe, tomatoes, corn on the cob, garlic, carrots, green beans, and kettle corn}

This week's ingredient is tomato!

Tomatoes, although commonly known as a vegetable, are actually a fruit. They're a great source of antioxidants and are specifically rich in vitamin C and lycopene, among many other vital nutrients. Lycopene has many protective health factors such as building bone mass (especially important for us women), making skin less sensitive to UV light damage and reducing risk of cancer. Tomatoes are also important for promoting immune health (vitamin C) and vision/eye health, and they can even make your hair stronger and more shiny (thank you vitamin A!).  

All in all, plenty of reasons to eat tomatoes. And another little known fact - unlike many vegetables, cooking and processing tomatoes can actually make the lycopene more bioavailable. So feel free to cook up your tomatoes in sauces, soups, and any other way you may want to. Here are three ways I enjoyed tomatoes this week.

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

4 beef steak tomatoes, halved horizontally

1/4c freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1/4 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1. Pre=heat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Wash tomatoes and cut in half horizontally. Place in a baking dish, cut side up.

3. Top with parmesan, oregano, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

(source)

**I didn't measure anything for this recipe, just sprinkled and drizzled until it looked right.

 {before going in the oven}

{served with couscous and greens}

Bruschetta
5 roma tomatoes
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/8+ cup fresh basil, shredded
fresh bread

1. Boil a pan of water. Remove from heat and cook tomatoes 1-2 minutes, covered. Remove tomatoes, discard water. 

2. Let tomatoes cool slightly; chop tomatoes, removing skin if desired. Place in medium bowl. 

3. Add next 4 ingredients and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Slice bread and bake until crunchy at 350 degrees, or brown in a sauté pan using butter on bread (similar to making a grilled cheese).

5. Top bread with bruschetta.

(I don't know where I got this recipe from originally.)

{step 1}

{step 2}

{step 3, after mixed well}

{step 4}

{step 5}

Caprese Salad

beef steak tomatoes

fresh mozzarella cheese

fresh basil

extra-virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into equally thick pieces.

2. Clip fresh basil into whole leaves, wash and dry well.

3. Layer tomato, mozzarella cheese, and basil. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 {pre-dressing drizzle}

{quick and easy lunch for work!}

Enjoy!

Ingredient of the Week: Aug 12

My ingredient of the week for the week of August 12: cilantro.

Cilantro is also known as coriander, and all parts of the plant can be used. Most commonly used are the leaves and dried seeds of the plant. This is one of my favorite herbs and I especially love it in the summer. It has citrus overtones and adds so much flavor to dishes. Here are a few ways I used it the week mentioned (although, I must admit - the first recipe I actually made a couple months back). Both recipes came from Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa (serves 4)

1 lime

2 mangoes, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped

¼ c honey

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Snipped fresh cilantro

12 oz fresh or thawed frozen large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 c unsweetened flaked coconut (~4oz)

Lime wedges (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Finely shred 1 tsp peel from lime and squeeze juice from lime; add lime juice to blender with 1 cup of the chopped mango, the honey and cayenne pepper; cover and process until smooth. Remove ¼ cup to shallow dish. Transfer remaining to bowl; top with lime peel and snipped fresh cilantro. Set aside for dipping sauce.

2. Rinse shrimp; pat dry. Sprinkle with salt. Place coconut in shallow dish. Dip shrimp in the ¼ cup mango sauce and then coconut, pressing to coat. Place on baking sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until coconut is golden and shrimp are cooked through. Serve with dipping sauce, remaining chopped mango, cilantro, and lime wedges.

{served with sautéed zucchini, extra mangos, the dipping sauce, and a missing side of pasta - horrible presentation, I know}

Garden Veggie Linguine with Cilantro Pesto

8oz dry whole grain linguine or fettuccine

8oz baby zucchini, halved lengthwise, or 1 small zucchini, sliced

8oz package peeled fresh baby carrots, halved

2 seedless oranges

½ c olive oil

1 c fresh cilantro leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp minced garlic or dried garlic

½ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to instructions on package, adding zucchini and carrots in last 5 minutes (may add carrots sooner as they take longer to become tender). Drain; reserve ¼ c pasta water. Return pasta to pan.

2. For pesto, peel and quarter one orange. In processor combine orange, olive oil, cilantro, pasta water, salt, mustard, garlic, and red pepper. Blend well, until it becomes a pesto consistency.

3. Peel and chop remaining orange. Toss pasta, pesto, and orange slices together; top with extra cilantro and orange peel.

*I always add extra veggies to the pasta as I'm cooking it because I like a lot of veggies. Specifically, I usually add yellow squash and sometimes broccoli.

As a flavoring/seasoning

Add cilantro to guacamole, salsas, dressings {honey-cilantro or cilantro-lime}, salads, or any variety of food for a citrus-y burst of flavor!

{here I added cilantro to my shrimp salad}

Enjoy!

Ingredient of the Week

Ingredient of the week for August 5th: peaches!

Peaches are one of my favorite items from the plethora of summer produce. I enjoy them almost every week, but usually I just eat them as a snack in their raw and natural form. This week though, I enjoyed peaches in a few ways other than simply plain. Here are my recipes/ideas for the week:

Fruit Salsa (great for topping fish, chicken, or even eaten with pita or tortilla chips)

2 fresh peaches, peeled and chopped

2/3 c diced red pepper

2 tbsp each, fresh cilantro & white wine vinegar

1 tbsp each, sugar and olive oil

1/3 c minced red onion

1 avocado, diced (add just before serving)

½ tsp each, salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in small bowl and chill 1-2 hours.

{served over grilled salmon}

(I got this recipe from my mom; not sure of the original source.)

Peach Smoothie

1½ c frozen fruit (any combination you like - below is what I chose)

Peaches

Pineapples

Mango

Papaya

Strawberries

Low fat vanilla yogurt, about 1/3c

Orange juice, enough so that about 1/4 - 1/3 of fruit in blender is covered

Blend all together and enjoy!

Fresh (As Is)

As a snack - whole or sliced

As a topping on oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, ice cream, etc.

 Enjoy!