Changes

As you can see, I have been making changes to my blog.  There's a new look, which I hope you like :)  I'm also changing the focus to a broader scope of whatever is on my mind.

I hope you enjoy the changes!

testing again

Testing Signatures and Graphics

Trying Something New

Aarti (the newest Food Network Star) posted a link to a NY Times article about rosewater and its uses in cooking.  I'm currently exploring some new flavors and dishes to help me with healthier eating habits, and am always interested in the unusual.  Rosewater certainly qualifies :)

Here are some excerpts from that article:

But don’t think of t as an exotic ingredient used in far corners of the world. Before 1841, when vanilla became widely available, rose water was also a primary flavoring in a wide range of desserts and pastries in Europe and even the United States.

...

Taking a cue from 18th-century bakers, substitute rose water for the vanilla in cupcakes, puddings or scones. Or (a personal favorite) add a teaspoon or so to your next batch of French toast batter. Put a drop or two in a glass of lemonade for a remarkably refreshing summer drink — or make a rose martini in the same manner.

Rose water matches uncannily well with many fruits, drawing out their shy aromas. Try adding a bit to a bowl of strawberries, or sprinkling sliced melon, plums or peaches with rose water mixed with a bit of riesling.

And if you make a salad of bitter greens dressed with a vinaigrette that has been barely touched with rose water, you’ll quickly change your mind about the versatility of this ingredient.

Here are a couple of interesting recipes using rosewater:

Victorian Lavender Cookies with Rose Water Icing Notes

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lavender, crushed (be sure it's food grade lavender)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
5 1/2 teaspoons water
6 1/2 teaspoons rose water
Serves / Yields
About 4 dozen

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, lavender, flour, baking powder and salt.

Drop by teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes.

While the cookies bake, prepare the icing by mixing the powdered sugar with water and rose water. Drizzle over the cookies after they have cooled.

Recipe from The Spice House

Rose Water Sugar Cookies
Time 20 minutes  Serves 12

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter or margarine
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 1/2 tsp rose water extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups flour
dash salt

Directions
Cream sugar and butter well.  Beat in yolk and extracts to blend.
Mix baking soda into sour cream and mix well with other ingredients.

Add flour, mix with a spoon by hand to mix well

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface and cut out your cookies as you would for sugar cookies.  Place on baking sheets a few inches apart.

Bake 325 about 20 minutes or just slightly pale brown.  Cookies should be set and cooked.  Do not over bake.

Cool on rack.

These should have a soft texture and mellow flavor.

From Grouprecipes.com

 Enjoy!

Monday Thoughts

One of the hardest things about choosing to live a healthy life is, well, choosing to live a healthy life!  There are so many temptations around me, and I struggle with them constantly.  I think my biggest struggle is giving myself a treat.  I can come up with thousands of reasons to treat myself throughout the day, and in so doing I lose the discipline I need to stick with my healthy choices.

Not having a set menu planned in advance is also a problem.  I think it would be a good thing for me to plan the week's menu in advance, shop for only what's needed, and follow the menu faithfully.  I'd have more control of the calories that way, and can also fit in those small 'treats' on a daily basis, making sure the treats are healthy choices.

I think it would be helpful to have at least 3 staple recipes for breakfast and lunch that I could rotate through, and then have more variety with dinner, or maybe have 3 staples for dinner and have more variety with lunch.  Whatever I do, though, I need to make sure the food is healthy and filling.

More thoughts on this in my next post.  I'm also interested in knowing your thoughts and what's worked for you, so comment away :)

Heart of a Lion

It's been 4 weeks and 1 day since Andrew brought Spiffy into our home and hearts, and what a month it's been!  The first few days were a roller coaster of worry and hope as Spiffy dealt with what seemed like nearly insurmountable odds.  Every morning I woke up, afraid that he might have died, hoping that he made it through another night.  I was so afraid he might be dead that I had my husband check on him first to be sure he was still alive.  And every morning, Spiffy was awake, alert, and waiting for us to let him out of the computer room.


During that first week, I was constantly holding Spiffy and cuddling him, and Spiffy enjoyed the attention.  I'd be at the computer and Spiffy would climb onto my shoulder and sit there, leaning against my head and purring as if to thank me for being rescued, warm, fed and loved.  My heart melted at those moments and the little ache I still had over the loss of Riley began to heal.

It wasn't an easy first week with Spiffy...we'd gotten him flea-free the first night (thanks to Capstar!), but we still had an eye infection, URI (upper respiratory infection, basically a cat cold), an infected wound along the bottom edge of his ear, and constipation to deal with.  We diligently kept his eyes wiped clean and applied terramycin ointment 2-3 times a day and also constantly wiped his nose and put him in a steamy bathroom about twice a day.  We cleaned out his ears and applied some NFZ Puffer once a day.  To get his bowels moving again, we mixed some plain pureed pumpkin with wet cat food, along with some milk and a small amount of mineral oil.  We worked hard to help Spiffy get better using our knowledge.  (Just a note...had Spiffy not been eating like a pig, drinking plenty of fluids and had his bowel movements not begun and if he'd been lethargic, we would have taken him to the vet immediately.  Since none of this was an issue, we did what the vet would have told us to do if we'd taken him).

Today Spiffy no longer has an eye infection, his ear is almost completely infection-free, and he is not constipated.  My husband laughed at me when Spiffy did his first big poop after we began treating him for constipation...I don't think I've ever been so excited about cat poop in my entire life!  The URI is hanging on, but is nowhere near as bad as before.

He is my fluffy little baby!!!  Right now he's sleeping in the hanging house on the cat tree just 2 feet away from me.  He's such a beautiful little kitten; if you had no idea what he looked like when we found him, you'd never believe he could have looked that bad.

He truly is a little kitten with the heart of a lion!

Smoky Salmon With Watercress and Bacon-Corn Couscous

I was switching channels this afternoon and stopped on the  Rachel Ray Show.  She was getting ready to prepare what looked like a wonderful healthy recipe that fit into the Mediterranean diet concept: Smoky Salmon With Watercress and Bacon-Corn Couscous

For your pleasure, I am sharing it here :)





Smoky Salmon With Watercress and Bacon-Corn Couscous

Ingredients
    * 4 filets of salmon, skin removed
    * Salt and pepper
    * Old Bay Seasoning
    * 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
    * EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
    * 1 large or 2 small bundles upland cress or watercress
    * Juice of 1 lemon
    * 2 slices smoky bacon, chopped
    * 1 ear of corn, kernels scraped from cob
    * 1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped
    * 4 scallions, finely chopped or 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
    * 1 cup chicken stock
    * A couple of tablespoons chopped fresh dill
    * A few dashes hot sauce
    * 1 cup couscous

Preparation

Season the fish with salt, pepper, Old Bay and smoked sweet paprika. Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a shallow nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, cook fish a few minutes on each side until just cooked through or a bit pink at the center; you can gauge doneness very simply by looking at the side of the filets as they cook.

Meanwhile, dress watercress with lemon juice and a little EVOO, then season with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a saucepot over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook to crisp, then add corn and peppers and scallions or onion and stir 2-3 minutes to tender-crisp. Add stock, dill and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Add couscous and turn off heat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Top the fish with watercress salad. Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve along side the fish.


Yields: Serves 4

It's Been a Spiffy Month!

And he's looking incredibly improved :)  It's hard to believe that this adorable little kitten came to us in such horrible shape a month ago today!  He still has a hint of an eye infection (as you can see from the dried gunk around his eyes) and the cold isn't quite gone yet, but other than that he's in great shape!

He's such a sweet little guy, too.  He's very mellow and quiet, but can also be playful.  We aren't quite sure of his age, but I'm guessing he's nearing 3 months old.  It's more obvious that he's a boy and when I weighed him a few days ago, he was about 3 pounds.

Right now he's sleeping on the couch, and is looking so adorable that I thought I'd share that photo here as well:

For those who are new to this blog, you can click here to see what Spiffy looked like after we cleaned him up the day my husband brought him into the house.

You can see more adorable animal photos at this Friday's Ark over at The Modulator.  You can also visit Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat for this week's Carnival of the Cats, and Weekend Cat Blogging which is also being hosted at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat this week.

What a Surprise!

Not really, but it's good to see information confirming that drinking water before meals helps with weight loss:

DRINKING WATER PROVEN TO HELP WEIGHT LOSS

 It's a popular dieting secret: Drink more water, and you'll shed more pounds. Finally, science is adding weight to the practice.

After about three months, a new study found, obese dieters who drank two cups of water before each meal lost 5 pounds more than a group of dieters who didn't increase their water intake. A year later, the water-drinkers had also kept more of the weight off.

The study included only middle-aged and older adults, but other studies suggest that drinking water might help dieters of all ages, said Brenda Davy, a nutrition researcher at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. After years of folklore, she added, this may be the first hard evidence that pounding water is viable weight-loss strategy.

"It's this popular idea that, oh yeah, drink more water -- that's what you have to do when you want to lose weight," said Davy, who presented her new findings today at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston. "It seems to be logical, but it had never really been investigated."

Davy and colleagues reported one of their first findings in 2008 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. That study found that older adults who drank two cups of water half an hour before breakfast ate about 75 fewer calories -- or 13 percent less -- than a comparable group who hadn't drunk water before the meal. People in both groups were overweight or obese, and all were allowed to eat as much of the food as they wanted.

To see if that behavior would lead to actual weight loss, the researchers started by putting more than 40 overweight and obese adults on a diet. The dieters, all between the ages of 55 and 75, were instructed to eat healthy meals that totaled no more than 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day.

Half of the dieters were randomly assigned to drink a 16-ounce bottle of water before all three meals. The others received water but were not given any instructions about when or how to drink it.

Twelve weeks later, the water drinkers had lost an average of 15.5 pounds, compared to an average 11-pound loss in the other group. That's a 44 percent boost in weight loss, just from drinking water.

Davy's experiments have failed to find the same effect in younger adults, possibly because the gastrointestinal tract empties more slowly as we age, so water might lead to a longer-lasting feeling of fullness in older people.

But water might still work as a diet aid for younger people -- just in different ways. One year-long study, for example, found that younger dieters who reported drinking more than a liter of water a day lost a little more weight than dieters who drank less water.

The reason could be physical. According to some research, water consumption might spark the body to produce more heat, boosting metabolism and burning more calories. Or, drinking more water might simply make people less likely to drink a lot of high-calorie sugar-filled beverages, said Barry Popkin, director of the Interdisciplinary Obesity Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

In hundreds of studies, Popkn said, people eat just as much food no matter how many calories they drink. And Americans are now drinking an average of 235 calories a day -- far more than ever before.

Davy's findings need to be repeated, Popkin added, before doctors can confidently tell dieters that downing water will boost their efforts. But it can't hurt to keep a water bottle nearby, especially if that helps you take in less soda, juice, energy drinks and other caloric beverages.

"Water is by far the healthiest beverage, and if you can't drink water, then drink unsweetened tea, coffee, diet beverages or for kids, low-fat milk," Popkin said. "The fewer calories we get from beverages, the healthier we're going to be."

Spiffy the Wonder Cat

It was two weeks ago today that my husband rushed into the house after work, holding a kitten.  When I saw the kitten, I gasped and began crying.  I was sure it was going to die.  It was in awful shape...filthy, skinny, a horrible eye infection, covered in fleas, runny nose, and weak.  I was angry that someone would allow a kitten to get into such a horrible condition.

We immediately ran warm water in the kitchen sink and began the long process of bathing the kitten, getting the fleas off, and gently soaking and prying the dry crust covering one eye off.  That crust was so dry and so huge it looked like the kitten didn't have an eye anymore, but instead had a huge tumor where an eye should be.

He was also covered in fleas, which swarmed all over him as we washed him.  We didn't have any soap that was suitable for kittens, so I made a quick run to a nearby pet store, Incredible Pets. I bought some canned and dry kitten food and a flea comb, and after talking with a couple of the clerks I put the shampoo I'd intended to buy back and stopped at a grocery store to buy some blue Dawn dish soap.

When I got home, we used the soap to wash the kitten, then gave him half a Capstar pill to kill the remaining fleas.  We also offered him some food, and he began eating it.

I named the kitten Spiffy, and as you can guess I was in love with him.  We had 4 cats, now we have 5.  My husband told me this kitten was my blue-eyed gift from God :)

For the first few days, I was worried that Spiffy wouldn't make it.  The upper respiratory infection (URI) was pretty bad, and he was so skinny.  On the plus side, he had a voracious appetite and was drinking plenty of water, and was using the litterbox regularly.  We did deal with a bout of constipation, which we treated with by mixing his canned food with milk, mineral oil and pureed pumpkin.

In this two weeks, Spiffy has gained weight; you can't feel his spine or ribs as clearly as before.  His URI is nearly gone, he's no longer constipated, his eyes are clearing up and the fur around his eyes is growing back (it came off when we were cleaning the dried discharge off).  He has no fleas, he's playful and curious, and is sweet as can be.  We think he might be part Ragdoll...he has the longest legs and whiskers I've ever seen on a kitten, and his chest is also broad.  He has gorgeous blue eyes and he loves to sleep on me.

The improvement in one week is amazing!  He looks even better today :)  As I type this post from my living room couch, Spiffy is laying down on my right, watching me type as he purrs.

So begins the story of Spiffy the Wonder Cat...he really is a wonder!  Such a huge fighting heart inside a teensy kitten body :)  I hope to share many more stories and photos over the coming years.

It's been a long time since I've boarded the Friday Ark...it's good to be back again :)  Be sure to visit the Friday Ark for more animal photos and stories, it's a fun place to visit!

Daily Links

I thought it would be interesting to keep track of the links I visited each day that aren't a part of my regular browsing, kind of like a virtual history of my day-to-day life.  Here are the links I visited yesterday:

Barbecued Pork Sandwich Recipe featured on Martha Stewart - I don't usually watch her show, but stopped on it today and saw this absolutely delicious looking recipe that I want to cook one day.

Cats 101: Ragdolls & Tonkinese Kittens - some friends and I are trying to decide what breed my new kitten may be, Tonkinese came up as a suggestion, as did Ragdolls.


Ted Dekker Library - A friend asked about Ted's books, so I looked up descriptions to suggest which would be good first reads.

Orijen Cat & Kitten Food - I bought a small trial size bag of their kitten food for Spiffy (I will be blogging about him soon) and was curious about the company.

Harvie's Catio - An online friend's catio was featured on this blog...it's gorgeous!

The Benefits of Brown Rice

One way to choose to live a healthy life is to add whole grains to your diet, and avoid the processed grains.  Brown rice is an excellent example of one way to make a healthy change to your diet.

Brown rice has a wonderful nutty flavor and a chewy texture.  It takes a bit longer to cook, but once you've tried it, white rice seems bland and mushy.  I'm including an easy recipe to make brown rice after the following article.

This article from QualityHealth.com explains some of the benefits of brown rice:

Brown Rice for Diabetes

Here, a primer on brown rice to help you beat diabetes.

Next time you whip up some stir-fry, you may want to reach for the brown rice rather than the white variety. Doing so could reduce your risk of getting type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine

Eating five servings of white rice each week was linked to a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes, while eating two or more servings of brown rice was linked to a lower risk of the condition. The researchers who conducted the study said that replacing 50 grams of white rice (that's one third of a typical daily serving) with an identical amount of brown rice could lower the risk of type 2 diabetes by 16 percent.

A new study, published online in the June 14, 2010 journal of Archives of Internal Medicine, is thought to be the first to look at white and brown rice consumption as it relates to diabetes risk in Americans.

Noting that U.S. rice consumption is on the increase, Qi Sun MD, who did the research while at the Harvard School of Public health, said, "We believe replacing white rice and other refined grains with whole grains, including brown rice, would help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes."

The Benefits of Going Brown

Brown rice, like other whole grains, is more slowly absorbed into the body than white rice, explains Brian Tulloch, MD, of Park Plaza Hospital in Houston, Texas and a past president of the American Diabetes Association. "And anything that reduces the rate of absorption of sugar will reduce the big swings in blood sugar," he says. "Rapid blood sugar swings have contributed not just to our increases in weight but in our diabetes rate."

Brown rice isn't the only whole grain linked to a lower diabetes risk, of course. The study also found that replacing white carbohydrates with whole grains like barley and whole wheat was linked to a full 36 percent reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

Brown rice not only takes longer to raise the blood sugar, but it's just generally better for you, says Kent Holtorf, MD, medical director for the Holtorf  Medical Group in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"Brown rice has so many beneficial properties," he says. "White rice is stripped of all its good properties. Anytime you eat brown instead of white, you're doing yourself a favor."

One cup of brown rice, considered a 100 percent whole grain, contains two of the three recommended daily servings of whole grains and is made of complex carbs, according to the USA Rice Federation.  Like white rice, it's sodium and cholesterol-free, it's gluten-free, and it's the least allergenic of all the grains. Among its wonderful vitamins and minerals are folate, iron and zinc. So lose the white rice, and say hello to healthful, nutty-flavored, nutrient-loaded brown rice.

Here is a recipe for baked brown rice from Alton Brown:

Baked Brown Rice
1 1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately.

The reviews of this recipe are great, and Jackie from Columbus, Ohio, made the following modifications to the recipe:

This is an amazing recipe! or as one might say, "fool proof"! I made a double batch .I added cooked chicken cubes (used the broth instead of water) added green peas,cooked chopped carrots and a little dried dill to the dry rice . mixed the chicken broth with a 3 chopped olives,2 cloves of garlic,1/4 C crushed tomatoes,touch of tomato paste,saffron ,salt,black pepper,garlic powder,1 tbs butter and 1 tbs EVOO . There is no limit to what you can do with this recipe.My add ins might sound like a lot but I was following my middleeastern senses and this is where I was taken! the rice was perfectly cooked ,the grains where seperate from one another ,no mushiness or stickiness in sight! Unlike that one time when I made brown rice pudding without intending to or the other time when I made the brown rice mush into soup ,had some and hid it from my husband!you know how it is! or maybe not! haha .anywho if you're still following me! don't hesitate to try this recipe,use your instincts and creativity and you shall not be sorry! happy cooking!

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you :)

Lentil and Spring Greens Salad with Cranberry Apple Cider Vinaigrette

The salad was wonderful!  I made it with my changes and loved it.  I'm going to post the modified recipe here along with its new name:

Lentil and Spring Greens Salad with Cranberry Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients
3/4 cup green lentils (or 1 cup already cooked lentils)
7 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar
6 ounces diced pancetta
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries, about 3 ounces
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups spring salad mix
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese, about 2 ounces (can use plain or mediterranean flavor feta)

Directions
In a heavy saucepan cover lentils with water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain lentils well in a sieve. Rinse lentils under cold running water to stop cooking and drain well.  Skip this step if using already cooked lentils.

In a bowl toss lentils with 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. (Lentils may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lentils to room temperature before proceeding.)

In a skillet cook pancetta over moderate heat until crisp.

In cleaned saucepan heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook shallot, stirring, until golden brown. Stir in water, cranberries, sugar, and remaining 5 tablespoons vinegar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Add half of vinaigrette to lentils and toss well. In another bowl toss spring greens with half of lentil mixture, half of pancetta, half of cheese, remaining vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.

Divide remaining lentil mixture among 6 plates and top with spinach mixture. Sprinkle salads with remaining pancetta and cheese.

A Salad for Tomorrow

I received an email newsletter from LiveStrong.com with a recipe for Lentil and Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese and Tart Cherry Vinaigrette.  The recipe looked intriguing, and I plan to make it with some changes, which I'll note in parenthesis:

Ingredients
3/4 cup green lentils (I bought steamed lentils from Trader Joe's)
7 tablespoons red-wine vinegar (I'll be using unfiltered apple cider vinegar)
8 bacon slices, about 6 ounces (This will be replaced with diced pancetta)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot (Trader Joe's has diced shallots, garlic and onion which I'll be using)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dried unsweetened tart cherries, about 3 ounces (dried cranberries are cheaper, so I'll use those instead)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups baby or regular spinach leaves (I have a bag of spring salad mix to use instead of this)
1/3 cup blue cheese, about 2 ounces (I hate blue cheese, so I'll be using feta instead)

Directions
In a heavy saucepan cover lentils with water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Drain lentils well in a sieve. Rinse lentils under cold running water to stop cooking and drain well. In a bowl toss lentils with 2 tablespoons vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. (Lentils may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring lentils to room temperature before proceeding.)

In a skillet cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp and with tongs transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble bacon.

In cleaned saucepan heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook shallot, stirring, until golden brown. Stir in water, cherries, sugar, and remaining 5 tablespoons vinegar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Add half of vinaigrette to lentils and toss well. In another bowl toss spinach with half of lentil mixture, half of bacon, half of cheese, remaining vinaigrette, and salt and pepper to taste.

Divide remaining lentil mixture among 6 plates and top with spinach mixture. Sprinkle salads with remaining bacon and cheese.