RIP Davy Jones

The Monkees were the first thing I really liked as a kid.  I remember watching them when they were on Nickelodeon in the late 80s and thinking, "That Davy Jones is awesome!"  I swore I would marry him someday.  However, my dreams would soon be shattered when the Monkees came to town and I saw that he was an old guy, and not the young boy with stars in his eyes.  I still have a vivid memory of him giving away a coat on Nickelodeon to a little girl who won the contest that I had been trying hard to win.  The coat was too big, and he said that he had a daughter her age and she liked big coats.  I thought, "Wow, he has a daughter my age?"  He was 66  (about twice my age) when he died today of a heart attack.


In the 90s when they did their reunion tours and conventions and the Internet was so new and so fun, I hooked up with a bunch of Monkees fan, my first Internet friends, and followed the band around the country.  From fancy LA stadiums to hole in the wall bars, I saw lots of shows.  I ended up doing a little on the web for them (it was my first foray into Web publishing, which became my real job for a long time after).  In those years (actually, just 2), I talked to Davy a lot.  He was a nice guy.  He could be demanding and had the personality of a true celebrity, but he was also a nice guy.  I often wondered what would have became of him if he hadn't been a "washed up child actor."  I was also often surprised at the effect he had on people.  Wasn't he from the 60s?  Why did people still care?  They did.

I just saw Davy in June of last year with the Threekees  (the loving name for the group of the three Monkees).  He was bouncing around the stage, looking as fit and trim as ever.  He was a bit worse for the 10 years of time between when I saw him last, but I quipped that he would be around forever.  It was the other two that looked the worst.  Shortly after I saw him, all further performances were canceled.  I was glad I made the trip, joking to my friends, "It'll probably be the last Threekees tour ever, unless Nez decides he wants to do a final tour then we'll have one show." 

I guess it will be.  RIP Davy.  You probably didn't remember me from the 90s, but I'll remember you.  I'm glad I made it to one more show.

Cauliflower Chili

This is the Food Network's photo.

I hate cauliflower.  When I got last month's Food Network Magazine, they had a great photo on the cover of a spicy vegetarian chili (here's the recipe).  I love chili.  You can make one pot of chili and have food for a week.  There's chili "burritos" with veggies and a low carb tortilla.  There's chili mac (totally unhealthy, but yum).  I sometimes make a chili and cornbread dish.  You can make frito pies (also unhealthy, but yum).  Top some veggie dogs or make a dipping sauce for pigs in a blanket.  There's no end to what you can do with chili.

I know cauliflower are good for me.  It's in the species Brassica oleracea which cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, and collard greens are also cultivers of.  How many times do we hear we need to eat more of those? Kale and broccoli are practically superstars.  It's high in fiber and it has Sulforaphane and Indole-3-carbinol which may protect against cancer.  So, I decided that covered in tons of spices, cauliflower was worth a try.  It's probably important to note that cooking, especially boiling like one would do in chili, may destroy many of the phytochemicals.

I admit, I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I used a food processor to "shred" my cauliflower.  It wasn't as delicious as the food network photo looks.  Here's my frito chili pie.

I tried to eat it plain, but the texture was a little gritty and weird.  Maybe it would work better if you grated the cauliflower.  The chunks would likely be bigger.  My family and I ate the whole batch, but it's not something I'm in a hurry to make again.

One cup of your average chili has 287 calories, 14.1 g of fat, 30.5 grams of total carbs (11.3g of fiber and 3.0 grams of sugar) and 14.6 grams of protein.  Amy's makes a decent canned vegetarian chili with 190 calories, 6 grams of fat, 29 grams of carbs (7.9 fiber and 6.0 sugar) and 7.1 grams of protein per cup.  This chili has 182 calories, 5.7 grams of fat, 26.3 grams of carbs (9.1 grams of fiber and 5.3 grams of sugar) and 7.5 grams of protein.

So, the chili is slightly better for you than your average chili.  It gets good reviews on the Food Network site and to be fair, it tasted fine.  It just had a weird texture.  I normally make my vegetarian chili with morningstar farms "meat" or rice.  I think I'll take the extra calories and stick with that.  Morningstar Farms "meat" doesn't add much.  It's pretty healthy number wise, but I use it sparingly because I don't like to use Frankenfoods much, and I consider fake meat to be a kind of Frankenfood.  On the other hand, there are clearly Fritos on my plate, and there's no excuse for that.  Nobody's perfect.

Why Paula Deen Has Diabetes

The Lady's Brunch Burger (also known as a Luther)

I do have some healthy eating posts waiting to be written.  For now, I want to talk about Paula Deen.  She's trending on Twitter right now because she's announced she has diabetes.  I for one am shocked!  I mean she created such dishes as these:

Ham Fried Rice, Pineapple and Fried Egg

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Bread Pudding

Sausage Pancake Egg Sandwich

Twinkie Pie

Cheese Fudge (this fudge actually has Velveeta in it)

How can the woman that created Twinkie Pie have diabetes? Ok, seriously, the bigger shock to me is that people didn't think she already had diabetes.

I do believe her when she says that she doesn't eat this way everyday. She has always said on her shows that people should eat her dishes in moderation (and yes, I watch.  I point to that Krispy Kreme Bread pudding every time someone mentions Paula Deen).   Obviously, "moderation" isn't working.  That being said, I don't think the problem is that she literally shovels butter into her face 24/7 and is literally always chomping down on sugar coated pancakes topped in fried eggs.  I think the problem, as it is with most of us, is those sinister sneaky calories that we tell ourselves don't count or don't even think about.

I know it's hard for southerners, like myself, to eat healthy foods even when we try.  My mom is vegetarian and she has never eaten large portion sizes, but she still has coronary artery disease.  It's because we eat bread with every meal here.  We like our sweet tea, and we like our desserts with every meal.  We add a few extra dashes of oil here and there. Even individual portion sizes add up, especially as we age.  We loose some of our basal metabolic rate every year.  As we continue to eat the same (and often move less), those extra 200 calories a day add up (and some southern women drink way more than 200 calories of sweet tea every day).

The dirty little secret about moderation is that most of us, apparently Deen included, don't understand what moderation is.  Moderation isn't having fried chicken once a week, having dessert with just one meal or having Krispy Kreme bread pudding, well, ever.  Those once a weeks add up.  They don't add much if they are just 100 or 200 calories above what you normally eat, but I know most people's "only in moderation" meals are more like 1000 or 2000 calories above what they normally eat.  Eating out one meal a week can easily add 1000-2000 calories to your weekly calorie intake.   I've heard dietitians say just 100 extra calories a day will add 10 lbs of weight to most people in one year.  So, 1000 calories a week?  You're looking at bad news, and most of us who get diabetes won't be sponsored by Novo Nordisk.

Computer Viruses and Real Viruses Spread by Chocolate

My computer hard drive crashed last week. I was going to write about some home made Christmas gifts I've made in the past and what I'm planning on doing this year, but I have been so busy messing with my computer that I never got around to writing about it.  I did get all my Christmas gifts done since I haven't had to mess with email or blogging, so I'll post some photos as soon as my new hard drive comes in.

For my "professional blog," I recently wrote about restaurants in my area that are serving on Thanksgiving day.  It's a popular topic because a lot of people don't want to cook for the holidays.  I wandered upon Golden Corral's buffet and they are bragging about having a "Chocolate Wonderfall" (which is a chocolate fountain).  According to a friend, they've been advertising the heck out of it on TV too.  I've never seen the ad, but I believe him.

Am I the only one disgusted by this?

I have a chocolate fountain. I've used it at a few parties and brought it a dessert function once with some friends at school. I'm not really against chocolate fountains and they can actually be quite healthful.  A serving of chocolate covered fruit is better for you than a big old piece of chocolate cake or a cream puff. 

I have been to a Golden Corral once.  I'm not really a fan of buffets.  For one thing, I don't eat that much and I don't eat meat, so I never eat my "money's worth."  The more disgusting issue with buffet service is that I always think of who went to pee and didn't wash their hands before serving themselves,  or who just picked their nose.  I'm constantly scanning for someone putting out fresh food or a station that isn't self-serve.  Most of the time, hands don't touch the actual food.  That's good.   I just bring hand sanitizer and wash  my hands after touching the utensils. 

I know I'm paranoid, but virus shedding kids (admit it, kids are viral vectors this time of year) and their probably equally sick parents serving themselves is bad enough.  I can't imagine what kind of viral load that chocolate fountain has at the end of the night (hopefully they clean it everyday).  I can see kids taking a bite and dipping their berry in again, even though it says you're not supposed to.  Maybe licking their finger multiple times and putting it back in.  Worse case: putting their mouth under it.  Kids don't know any better, but yuck.

I've never seen the actual fountain, so maybe it's back far enough so kids can't get to it and you'd have to scoop out a bowl for your kids.  It looks like you'd have to dip it with a long skewer, so maybe you couldn't put your head under it or lick your finger and put it under the flow.  I don't see how they could prevent double dipping.    The thought of it doesn't make me want to visit Golden Corral...ever.  It actually made me gag just thinking about it.

Sharing viruses.   What a lovely way to spend a lovely holiday in the middle of cold and flu season.

Thanksgiving Done Healthy: Apricot Brussels Sprouts

A bushel of Brussels Sprouts

I've talked about Brussels sprouts before.  I bring them up again, because they are something we have at Thanksgiving, even though they're normally the slimy fish head ones and nobody really eats them.  It reminds me of my Thanksgiving as a kid.

I was, surprise, a picky eater.  We went to my aunt's house for Thanksgiving every year, and I loved it. She lived on a "farm" with turkeys, chickens and goats.  I think she had a cow at one point.  I loved playing with the chickens and the turkeys.   One year, some of my out of state family came a few weeks before Thanksgiving.  We went to visit my aunt early so we could see them.  I chased the turkeys around and played with their softball (they thought it was an egg, I remember my aunt remarking how incredibly stupid they were for sitting on it like it was an egg).  Then we went home.

A few weeks later, on Thanksgiving, I noticed that one of the turkeys was missing.  I normally only played with the animals on Thanksgiving, so I never remembered from year to year how many turkeys there were. I asked and was told, in a nice way, that he was in the oven.  Once I realized what this meant, I cried.  My aunt apologized and said that was just the way things were on a farm.  Where did I think turkey came from?  To be honest, I had never really thought about it.  We got ours from Kroger.  They weren't fun to chase at Kroger.

That Thanksgiving, and for a long time after, I would barely eat anything my aunt cooked.  I didn't care if it was a vegetable tray.  I assumed my aunt had murdered whatever it was on the plate.  I never liked to play with her animals again.  I assumed they were just there to be lunch.  I remember asking, "Did this come from a store or from your yard?" before I ate anything (for some reason, I still thought food from a store was different than food from her lawn). 

We started bringing a dish to Thanksgiving and I'd eat that.  My mom was no murderer.  That's a tradition I carry out today whenever I go to someone's house for a big dinner party.  Even though I'm no longer a strict vegetarian or a vegan, I know I'm still picky.  I always mention my diet to people, but they normally make something I don't like anyway.  It's not their fault.  Besides, I don't expect non-vegetarians to think of things like beans, broth or gelatin being non-vegetarian.  They just don't.  It's not being hateful to serve me pan gravy or mashed potatoes cooked with chicken stock, because they didn't think about it being non-vegetarian. So, I always ask if I can bring a dish (if appropriate), or just shut up eat what I can.  I can always eat something else later.  There's no sense in making a scene and ruining their dinner.  My diet is not really their problem.  Especially on Thanksgiving.  People have Thanksgiving traditions that are bigger than my dietary constraints.

If I were bringing a dish to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I think I'd bring these Brussels sprouts.  We sometimes make a dish with green beans and apricot sauce for Thanksgiving.  It's divine, but I love green beans.  I decided to try the sauce on Brussels sprouts, something most that people don't give a fair shot.  It's delicious and I think the apricot bits would be tempting to even Brussels sprouts haters.

The crunchy roasted Brussels sprouts and the bits of apricot are divine.

Apricot Brussels Sprouts
4 ounces dried apricots
1 cup orange juice
1 bushel of Brussels sprouts

1. Roast Brussels sprouts (here is how).
2. While they are roasting, place the apricots and orange juice in a sauce pan and simmer until the apricots are tender.
3. Puree the orange juice and apricots until smooth.  If you want chunky sauce, as pictured, remove 3-4 apricots and chop them.
4. Remove the Brussels sprouts to a serving bowl and toss with the apricot sauce. 

Easy! Great tasting too.  These would be a much bigger hit than those slimy ones.  Since I roasted them first, they still have that roasted flavor, with a hint of sweetness from the apricots/orange juice.

I think I'm kind of obsessed with Brussels sprouts.  I found a stalk of Brussels sprouts at the store the other day for just $3.79.  The stalk keeps the sprouts fresher, so they store longer.  They're easy to remove from the stalk.  You just twist them and pop them off. 

Another recipe for Brussel sprouts that I've tried recently is cheesy Brussels sprouts.  I subbed them in a green bean dish my mom makes for Thanksgiving.  She puts a can or two of french cut green beans in a casserole dish and pours heavy cream in the casserole dish until it covers the bottom.  She sprinkles it with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, mixes it all together and bakes until it's brown.  I used Brussels sprouts instead of green beans, and it was heavenly. It would be a Thanksgiving hit for sure.

Yup, I'm having Brussels sprouts this year.

Cold Weather Comfort: Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

Lasagna in a bowl and a cheese crisp

I've went off my whole foods diet a little with Halloween. I ate more than my fair share of candy and cupcakes.  However, I'm sworn off unhealthy foods until Thanksgiving.  I think I should eat whatever I want to on the day of a holiday, so all bets are off on Thanksgiving day.  I'll write more about that later.  Now that the weather is getting cooler and fresh, local produce is harder to find I think it's soup season.

I saw a recipe for a soup that was supposed to taste like lasagna in a bowl.  Yum!  However, the soup was made for meat eaters (it was mostly meat, pasta and tomatoes).  I modified it and made it vegetarian and cut back a bit on the pasta.

I think modifying recipes is one of the things you need to learn to do when you're trying to eat healthier.  You can't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen, and soup is an easy thing to experiment with.  A lot of people still act shocked when I tell them I didn't use a recipe or that I modified a recipe.  A friend said, "You might as well just throw some crap in a bowl if you're not going to go by the recipe exactly."  Well, I agree with her.  You might as well throw some crap in a bowl.  What's the worst thing that is going to happen? You'll waste a few ingredients? The best thing?  You might end up with an awesome dish.

My problem is that since starting this blog, I've had to write down what I do.  Which is good, I guess. It means if I make something good I can repeat it.   For this soup, I just made a soup of what I normally put in my lasagna.

Instead of the goupy cheese the original recipe had on top, I made a crispy cheese "cracker."  I like a crunch in my soup.  I love goldfish crackers in soup, but they don't fit a healthy diet.  When I was a junk food vegetarian, I lived on goldfish.  I always had a bag around.  Straight Parmesan cheese "crackers" satisfy that goldfish craving nicely.  It's not the wheat I loved, but the crunchy, cheesy, saltiness.

My onions are big because I pick them out, but I like the flavor. I'm weird.

The first time I made this soup, I made it without the pasta.  I found adding just a little bit of pasta gave it more body (it mostly disintegrated and just made the broth more substantial). You could leave the pasta out entirely if you wanted to be gluten free, and it would still taste good.  I cooked my soup in a crockpot.  I love crockpots for soups.  The pasta would hold up better in a regular pot.


Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

2 tsp olive oil
3 cup chopped onions
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 chopped bell pepper
1 cup of chopped broccoli florets
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (try to find one without sugar added, they do exist)
2 bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 handful of crushed lasagna noodles
2 cups of spinach

1.  Add everything except the noodles and the spinach to your pot or crockpot.  It's that easy to make soup. Really.
2. In a crockpot, cook on low for 3-4 hours.  In a regular pot, you probably only need to cook it for an hour or so.
3. Throw the noodles and spinach into the pot in the last 30 minutes for the crockpot or the last 15 minutes in a regular pot.  
4. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
5. Top with a cheese cracker (below).  You can also toss in a tablespoon full of cottage cheese before serving if you want even more cheese.  Ricotta will work too, but cottage cheese is a little healthier and much better at satiating you.  For the amount here, it won't matter much. 

Cheese "Crackers"
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Flat mounds

1. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Mound the cheese in 4 separate areas. Flatten the tops so the piles look even.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until starting to brown.  
4. Because of the mozzarella, these won't get "hard" like crackers, but I like them for soup.  If you want a harder cracker, straight Parmesan will crisp up. (just use a whole cup of Parmesan). 

This is how brown they should be.

It really does hit the lasagna spot, and look how healthy it is.  As with everything, these nutrtional values depend on the products you use.  I read the labels on a bunch of broth and canned tomatoes when I was at the store last.  The carb and calorie content varies widely between them.  Some of the canned tomato brands are loaded with corn syrup or other sugars.  I used my own stock (vegetable stock is easy to make), but canned tomatoes are one thing I buy.  There's no sense in making your own if tomatoes aren't in season, and not all canned tomatoes are loaded with junk.  You just really need to read the labels.

Nutrition Facts for Vegetarian Lasagna Soup

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Amount Per Serving (serves 6)

Calories:  192

Total fat: 10.7 g

Protein: 9.3 g

Total carbohydrate:  17.5 g

• Dietary Fiber: 3.3 g
• Sugar: 3.9 g

Nutrition Facts for Cheese Crackers

---

Amount Per Serving (serves 4)

Calories:  105

Total fat: 8 g

Protein: 8 g

Total carbohydrate:  1 g

Crochet Adorableness

Owl iPhone Case - My third recent project

This is not food related, but this is my blog so I'll post it if I want to.  

I started to learn to crochet last year, but I got bored because all I knew how to do was make scarves (I only made 2).  I really want to do animiguri, but someone told me you shouldn't attempt that until you become really good at scarves.  Boring.

Me and my elephant hat, this is the second hat that I've made.

Since the weather has been cold, I decided to try make myself a hat last week.  How hard can that be? It's actually way easier than a scarf to me.  Working in the round is more intuitive to me than working in rows and I can finish a hat in an hour or two.  I did a few projects and I thought I'd share some photos (I have a half-finished Angry Birds hat too, I'll add it later).

Besides, it's hard to make a scarf look dorky.  I love rocking dorky things.  I volunteer at a zoo, so these goofy hats are awesome for the cold weather.

This was the first hat I made.  It was supposed to be an owl, but I think it looks more giraffe like.

I didn't use a pattern for any of these, but I did look at photos on pinterest.  I'm not even sure I would know how to read a pattern if I tried.  I looked up a few hats, but got lost so I just went for it.  I'm going to try again, so maybe I can write some of my own.  I think the cell phone case (though, it needs some modifications - it's a bit too wide) is quite adorable and I couldn't find a pattern for anything like it.  I saw a photo of one on Pinterest (here it is), but I didn't really like the style.  I liked the concept.  I'll work on it, but since I'm new to crochet I'm not sure I'm even qualified to write a pattern.