To Thine Own Self, Be Food

If there's one thing I've learned during the writing of this blog, it's that I've lived a very sheltered life, culinarily and nutritionally speaking. Kale is another vegetable I never had growing up.  It's the weird, really curly stuff I'd see in the vicinity of the cabbage and spinach (vegetables I didn't have very often as a child, either).  I never really knew if it was a stiff kind of parsley or romaine lettuce. And for years (even into my thirties, I freely and ashamedly admit), I confused kale and kelp.  That's an ignorant landlubber for ya.  At any rate, I was never impelled to pick up a bunch of kale for any reason...which is too bad, because it's REALLY good for you and versatile and stuff. Until now (not being impelled to pick up kale, that is).  First, though, let me explain how it came about: 1.  Husband receives an iPad for his birthday (this last February). 2.  Tech-savvy husband uploads a bunch of free, fun apps onto iPad (inc...

Now, I know you read this entry's title, and you wonder what you've stumbled onto.  A food-turned-exercise-blog??  What craziness is that? Rest assured, I am still me and you are still you.  This is still a blog about food. A few days ago, I used one avocado and one tomato for those California Chicken sandwiches.  Today, I decided to make guacamole with the remaining avocadoes and tomato.  It's a pretty easy process, actually: Two avocadoes, One tomato, Chopped onion, Lime juice, Salt and pepper and Hot sauce (optional...well, not for me, but for you). Now, here's what I did: I processed everything in my food processor, until it all looked like this... I think the final product is too runny, and so next time I will cut back on the lime juice, and I will also hand mash the avocadoes and hand-mince the tomatoes and onions. As if this wasn't bad enough, one of my avocadoes was extremely underripe.  If I knew then what I know now, I would have chuc...

This is Fish.  He is a mahi-mahi. + Asparagus + Olive Oil + Salt & Pepper + Grill = Happy families and happy stomachs!

So, here's a fun thing.  Go to google.com and type in 'avocados' - you'll get 37 million hits.  It's got its own wikipedia entry (although, who doesn't, besides me?), .org website, festival, not to mention millions of recipes. So, yeah, avocados are a pretty big deal. Well, put me on the list of recent admirers! There were no avocados in my house as a youngster.  I don't remember trying one in college.  I might have had two or three children before the urge to do so took over.  In fact, the general opinion about avocados seemed negative because of the fat content.  But that was before the discovery of the benefits (or neutrality, at the very least) of the high percentage of monounsaturated fats, the fact that it contains more potassium than a banana, and a high fiber content. Thus, avocados should be enjoyed...but like everything else, in moderation. For example, at my house tonight.  My plan was to have plain ol' precooked grilled chicken brea...

Here's a tip for any of you thinking about visiting The Last Frontier: Do not underestimate driving times.  There is no such thing as a fifteen-minute drive from town to town.  That distance is measured in hours. Some of you good folks out there have the intestinal fortitude to go a good four or five hours without a stop of any kind.  Not true for yours truly.  I have a small bladder and a penchant for Diet Coke.  Also, I was traveling with five kids.  It stands to reason that we were going to stop quite a bit. Mistake #1: Consuming either Diet Coke or coffee most of the time I was in AK.  It's been proven that caffeine stimulates appetite...so I would drink, then I would want to eat.  Bad. Mistake #2: Relying on gas station food more often than I should have.  Because I was imbibing ridiculous amounts of caffeine, I was eating...I've already said that.  But...what I was eating?  Crap.  Junk.  High-carb stuff....

I have been a visitor of the state of Alaska for about four days now, and I have not sampled the local cuisine yet. I'm not sure Alaska has a local cuisine, actually.  So far, it's been pizza, grilled chicken, chicken patties, Wendy's, red velvet cake... Tomorrow, though, tomorrow, I think will be different.  We will be attending an Alaskan Salmon Bake!  More details then.

Even though I had three weeks, I did not fulfill my freezer-cleaning-out Challenge.  However, that is in the past.  Today brings a new challenge. I have one day to clear out a significant portion of my refrigerator, which contains these items: Dozen eggs Four cups spaghetti sauce Oranges Head (and a bag of prewashed) lettuce Six cups thawed chili One bag unpeeled carrots Half of a loaf of bread Half container cottage cheese Five hot dogs Leftover Tater Tot casserole A gallon of milk Half a package of hamburger buns A partially-used package of diced ham Lunchmeat The menu today stands as thus: Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and ham Lunch: Leftover TT casserole for kids, chili and salad for us Dinner: Hot dogs, spaghetti Snacks: Cottage cheese My primary concerns are the spaghetti sauce and the milk.  Looks like it's calcium overload today! We are very likely doing a big breakfast before we get on the road tomorrow, so I've decided to pack the follo...