High Fructose Corn Syrup Yum!

Hi Friends,
I know I don't post often but I know some of my faithful check back here periodically. This is a topic of great interest to me, I feel embracing this concept has made a great difference for me in weight loss and in my addiction to needing to eat/drink sweets.
It's the 'High Fructose Corn Syrup' discussion.... Through the magic of marketing the HFCS lobby tried to get the American public to think "it's really just like sugar" with some insipid commercials challenging people to say what is 'wrong' with HFCS? Well Dr. Mercola does a GREAT job in the following article describing just what IS wrong with HFCS, and why you may not be aware just how much HFCS you are getting in your carbonated beverage drink! HFCS levels in beverages appears to not be regulated,(in terms of exact quantities per serving) and is a highly political and big money topic. If you are skipping the attached article, HFCS is linked to early onset of Diabetes, weight gain, and the super sweeting further causes the craving for more sweet. (my main impetus for cutting it out of my life.)
On another note, but a similar topic: the movie "The Informant," featuring Matt Damon is based on a true story, involving a real company which is involved in the very real politics of HFCS and sugar price fixing, which is all related. (The HFCS, a chemical derived from corn, was never developed because it was a good idea for our health.) The movie focused on the character and his foibles, rather than the politics, product, nor the price-fixing, but it touches on it. The company is Archer Daniels Midland. But I digress, go figure..
Anyway, I hope you'll read the article.. (you will need to copy and paste this address, I was unable to make the link work, but it's worth the effort!)
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/01/03/high-fructose-corn-syrup-even-worse-than-weve-been-told.aspx
Peace and Happy New Year to All
Betsy

It's All About Lunch?

Apparently it just takes a great lunch to entice me to post a new entry. I had just such a lunch today. It looked so great, Dick came home, having already eaten lunch and said "that looks great, I'll have one too, if you have time." I wanted to practice the technique and make sure I could create perfection twice, so I whipped one up for him too. His is photographed here.
Well it all started because my Bosc pear wasn't ripe enough to eat raw. Rather than throw it away, I thought maybe I'd saute it to soften it up a bit. And before I knew it, it was an open face sandwich!
Here is what you'll need to re-create this wonder.
A pear, firm or unripe. Bartlett would probably be too sweet, I haven't been buying those.
Balsamic Vinegar - Did you know some balsamic vinegar, isn't really? Read the label. Some is red wine vinegar with sugar and food color added!! This should be investigated. Only buy real true, balsamic vinegar. Price is the same, unless you are buying the 25 year aged stuff then it is more.
Gruyere cheese -there are others you could use here, but why mess with perfection?
Good bread - whatever you would want to use. I happened to have on hand a French bread baguette, so I cut it open face and treated it like a hoagie bun.
Olive oil, little bit of salt, little bit of butter and a non-stick pan.

When I slice my pears (and apples also) I slice in straight lines, not wedges, I suggest that here. So cut off the top and bottom of your washed pear. Cut in half lengthwise, place cut side down and make lengthwise slices until you get into the core, then cut from the other side until core, now turn it on it's side and cut until core again. Should just have a small rectangle to throw away. (really, if you've ever watched Rachael Ray, then you know how to do this) Repeat with second half.
Slice cheese in a few small strips. How much is a personal taste, I of course, didn't measure anything! My gruyere is a weird shape anyway so if i told you how many slices I made it wouldn't be the same as your slices..
Put a pat of butter in your non stick pan over medium heat, when butter is melted add the pear slices. Let them saute until soft, some will get brown on edges, that is good! Add a little more butter if desired or a drizzle of olive oil but not too much of either. No swimming pear slices, let them have direct contact with the pan. Turn pears as needed. I add a pinch of (Kosher) salt. When slices are sufficiently softened push them to one edge of the pan.
Drizzle the cut side of the bread with olive oil,(or one side if using regular sliced bread.) Put oiled side down in pan. While toasting, put cheese slices on your pile of pear slices and drizzle pear with balsamic vinegar. And let magic occur. Patience....
When you just can't wait anymore remove bread from pan, scoot the pear pile onto the bread.

Now you could be finished, save for the secret ingredient.....I'm serious about this. This is what makes it not just a 'Sauteed Pear' sandwich.
Go get your 'Natural Peanut Butter' (Now come on, I know you stopped using the other stuff with the Hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated or otherwise. And if that 'other kind' is the only kind you have, disregard this last part.)
So get the natural peanut butter and put a little on your knife or spatula and drizzle it over the sandwich, just some, not too much.... and Yum! That's lunch!!! Enjoy!

I've missed you all, maybe I'll write again, now that I've been inspired by my peanut butter pear balsamic creation! If you make it let me know how it turns out. If you want me to make it for you, let me know when you'll be over, I'll make sure I have pears.
Make the most of today!
Betsy

Favorite Lunch

I love summer foods! The photo above demonstrates what has become my favorite lunch lately, and going to my local "Farmers Market" my favorite Saturday morning activity of late. Lest you think the color a little 'off' on these tomatoes, it is an orange tomato. I have not yet met a fresh tomato I didn't like. I'm completely off of grocery store tomatoes right now. I don't quite understand why they don't use local tomatoes when available, but they are still carrying the same flavorless tomatoes they carry all year long... don't get me wrong..come December I'm thrilled they have tomatoes at all and I buy them, but now there are local ones - why aren't they selling them? They really taste better!!

Also, at my Farmers Market is this fantastic bread from a bakery not conveniently located to me. Besides their retail, they sell to local restaurants -those which don't do their own baking, so I've sampled their wares previously. But this summer is my first opportunity to buy their bread by the loaf and have it around the house... dangerous.

Side note about bread if you are following my 'eating plan etc' and my weight loss: I feel about bread the same way I do about brownies... which is - (here lies the official credo, get ready) "If it's not the very best, and fabulous, why bother? It's not worth it!" Or something similar. The wording is a little loose for an official credo, I do admit. So this bread is up there with excellent, but still I only use in small portions and note the sandwich is 'open face' so as to not overdo it. Also, note this is prepared on a salad size plate, not a dinner size plate. If I use a large plate, I'll fill it.

Oh, you want the name of the bakery? Only helps if you are local, but it is 'Shadeau Breads.' They are at 1336 Main St in downtown Cincinnati. On Saturdays they often have a line out the door waiting to get their breads and pastries. During the week things are a little more leisurely and you can enjoy a slice of foccacia or some homemade soup also. They close at 4 pm...

Isn't it cute?

Anyway, back to the favorite lunch which was the impetus of this posting, a slice or two of excellent bread, a drizzle of excellent olive oil and some fresh ground pepper, the tomato slices-fresh tomatoes!, some crumbled goats cheese - I buy the little log of it and then I crumble it- it tastes better, fresh basil (from my garden! I actually grew something!), another drizzle of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, sprinkle of kosher salt, little more pepper. By the way, health tip, the health value of a tomato is increased greatly by the drizzle of olive oil on it, seriously. The lycopene in the tomato is already great for you, but the olive oil increases the antioxidant absorption by your body! Double Bonus, congratulations!

Heaven will surely have lunches like this, right?

Let Them Eat Cake -Texas Sheet Cake

(Photo courtesy of Cathy Dean)

We just came off the terrific Beth Moore simulcast. Beth talked about 'The Desires of Our Heart' from Psalm 37. Desires not being Chocolate cake! But she talked about how much her Grandchild loves her chocolate cake which she is known for within her family. Apparently Texas Sheet Cake is well known in Texas, (Duh!) it is well known to my friend, Debbie Ruehlman, who was up early Saturday morning of the 2nd day of the retreat and whipped up a recipe of it. Debbie was kind enough to share the cake, but also this recipe with her notes in parenthesis!

I regret not getting a photo of the cake before it was devoured, so instead the above is a photo of (most) of my great Team who worked tirelessly to make the event a terrific success at AHUMC. It also went on at 515 other churches in 46 states and in 7 countries! 95,000 women participated in the simulcast in addition to those present at the Live event in Green Bay, WI!

Beth's Texas Sheet Cake (from Beth Moore's internet blog)

Here's the recipe from the simulcast, and also my notes for the cake I brought on Saturday. I've had this recipe since the 1970's, given to me by my best friend's mother, Anna Mae Paul.

Texas Sheet Cake

Grease a 9 x 13 sheet cake pan. (My recipe calls for a jelly roll pan, basically a cookie sheet with sides. More people can sample it too.)

Sift: (I didn't bother to sift)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar

Bring to a boil:
2 sticks butter (real butter please, not margarine)
1 cup water
4 tbsp. cocoa

Pour over dry mixture and mix in: (I did the opposite, added the dry ingred. to the pan of boiled stuff. I don’t like to wash messy pans and one was enough.)
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (who has buttermilk around at 6:30 am?!?! The substitute is 1 Tb vinegar per 1 cup milk)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon (my recipe omits this, but I've had it both ways.)
1 tsp. vanilla (or more, you can never have too much vanilla)

Bake at 400 degrees, 20-25 minutes. (for jelly roll pan, 350 degrees for 20 minutes or less, watch it.)

Make the Icing while the cake bakes.
Icing
Heat: (bring this all to a boil and take off the heat, then add the pwd. sugar)
1 stick butter
4 tbsp. cocoa
6 tbsp. milk

Add anywhere from 1/2 to 1 box of powdered sugar to achieve desired consistency (Beth prefers close to 1 box) (I used 4 cups which is a normal box)

and 1 cup pecans. (all I had were almonds, also good with walnuts. Throw a little coconut in there and it’s heavenly!)

Spread on cake while it's hot.

Debra Chisolm Ruehlman

Since a few of the team were missing in that top photo they are included in this other photo of my Hospitality team below:

Coneflowers

I haven't posted in a while so here is just something for fun.

This is a photo of my new favorite flower. I didn't even know what these were. My sister Sue tells me they are 'Coneflowers.' Now I see them everywhere I turn. I took this photo with my CELL PHONE one day while Dick and I were out on our walk.

This photo has not been edited, except I cropped it slightly. I haven't even adjusted for brightness. I think that's pretty good. I love this pic, so much it's my computer background right now as well as my cell phone screen background....



You may enlarge it by clicking on it. You can make it your desktop by right clicking on it and selecting 'save photo as' or 'set as background.' That's if you have a PC. If you have a MAC, I'm sure you know how to save a photo on a MAC.

I give permission to use my photos for your personal pleasure and enjoyment and any NON-commercial use. Not to be used in any publication. Thanks. BLE

Fine Art Friday

Wow! Truly Remarkable. This is 7 minutes long and you will enjoy all of it. Go get a cup of coffee or BOYC (Beverage of Your Choice) and enjoy!

Asparagus by Request

The Best Rendition of Asparagus I've had in a while!

This is not my recipe. I had this lovely dish on Father's Day at Susan's home. Our son-in-law, Chuck's, beautiful daughter Christy, is a true Italian, and cooks like one! This is just one of her great dishes.

She was kind enough to share this recipe with me. The recipe, as given by Christy, calls for steaming the asparagus prior to prep. But as you already know I prefer all my vegeatables GRILLED when possible. When not possible to grill, let's oven roast them. I'd say a secret to success in this recipe is to not overcook them, however you choose to proceed is up to you!

This photo, and this recipe was prepared by yours truly, for the occasion of the previously documented Lobsterfest. My sister Terry requested this recipe, and so here it is.

Since this photo, I have served this dish other occasions and have put cherry tomatoes around the edge of the platter for an even more festive touch!! I put the cherry tomatoes in a plastic bag with just a touch of olive oil to let them get coated first, then put around the tray. I wanted to save the dressing of this recipe for the asparagus, but didn't want the tomatoes to be dry!

Quantities are also tricky in this recipe. It's all 'eyeballing.' We agreed really big asparagus would not be good. Christy had 4 medium to slim asparagus in each bundle so that is how I did it.

To feed a crowd I purchased three bunches of fresh asparagus, medium toward thinish.
One log of goat cheese, the larger size. I did not quite use all of it, about 3/4 for the two bunches.
Fresh chives. (I had them in my herb garden - thanks again, Marge) If you don't have them on hand, it's almost not worth buying a bunch for, you use such a tiny amount. How about a sprinkling of dried onion flakes?
1 lb of the best Proscuitto Ham available, no substitutes, sliced thinly. I trimmed any excess fat as I went, though from the photo it doesn't look like it.
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar (Christy uses Red Wine vinegar, you choose)
Pepper (fresh ground, always)

Process is simple:
Snap off any tough ends of asparagus and prepare according to your choice, as discussed above. Do not overcook. Allow to cool. I use a small amount of olive oil on them in cooking on the grill. No other seasoning is needed. (Proscuitto and the dressing we make will take care of that)

Mix some chives and some pepper into the slightly softened goat cheese and dab a small amount onto your four, cooled, asparagus which you have laid adjacent to one another like a raft. Lay that dab about mid raft. (Dab=approx 1/2 teaspoon size?)

Take your proscuitto* and carefully wrap your asparagus at the level of the goat cheese all the way around so it is completely covered and wrapped thoroughly. There is NO NEED to secure the proscuitto with a pick or anything. It will adhere to itself, just wrap it securely and tuck in any stray ends. Be sure no cheese is extruding.

If my asparagus are not the same length I trim them with a sharp paring knife at this point to make them look uniform, then lay in serving tray or storage container and move on to next until all asparagus, goat, and ham are used up!!

*A note about the proscuitto, if you haven't worked with it before. Usually the slices are oblong with a thin line of fat running horizonitally across the center. I pull that little piece of fat out and I let that spot be my dividing line, to cut each slice in half. So I have two long slices from each slice of ham. These are perfect size for wrapping around the asparagus rafts.

The only thing left is the dressing. I wait to put the dressing on until right before serving. By the way, serve the asparagus at room temperature. If you've made it ahead of time, pull out of frig at least an hour prior.

The dressing is equal parts vinegar (red wine or balsamic) and good olive oil with a grind of fresh pepper, mixed together, prior to drizzling over the asparagus. I have one of those nifty Pampered Chef salad dresssing mixer containers, but a good old whisk will do the job. Even for a fairly large number of asparagus bundles you probably only need about a half cup, in total, of dressing. A little goes a long way, as they say!

Here's the info on my nifty Pampered Chef thingy:
Kitchenware: Measure, Mix, & Pour™
#2265 $11.50
Helps you quickly prepare homemade salad dressings and beverages. Four salad dressing recipes printed on container



Enjoy! Wrap up and save leftovers! This stuff is even good for breakfast... chop them up and put them in some eggs... seriously.

Bon Appetite!