Confessions of a Foodie

Being close to family

confessionsofafoodie77 — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:52:10 +0000

The Author of this post is Velma Baird

My husband and I just moved to Texas in order to be closer to family. They say that moving is one of the most stressful things a family can do, and I can se why. We had lived in Tennessee for ten years, but my whole family lives in Texas. I have been longing to be close to my family. My husband is not as close to his family as I am to mine, so he did not mind being far from his family. It has been pretty stressful unpacking boxes and trying to set up our new life here. My husband started his new job about three weeks ago, and I have been busy unpacking. We set up fixed-rate energy in our home by looking into Shop electricity rates Texas. We also have a pool in the backyard, which we have never had before. Our kids are so excited about trying out the pool when it gets a little warmer. They have both adjusted well to their new school, although they miss their friends back in Tennessee. Moving is always an adjustment, but it is made easier being close to family.

Junk food seems to be the choice at public schools

confessionsofafoodie77 — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:19:04 +0000

Junk food remains in control of the menus at most of the elementary schools in the USA despite widespread efforts to curb childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

Between 2006 and 2010, nearly half of public and private schools surveyed sold sweet or salty snack foods in vending machines or other places, the study found. Of course, gas stations sell alot more junk food than these places. What kind of example are we setting for the kids anyway?

We set a bad example as adults - that's why kids are fat.

There was little change over the four years, a surprising finding given vocal advocacy campaigns to improve kids’ diets. The study focused on snacks not sold during mealtimes, which until recently weren’t subject to government nutrition standards.

Schools most likely to sell chips, cookies or similar foods were in the South, where obesity rates are the highest; these foods were scarcest at schools in the West.

The results are concerning, Turner said, because they show that many schools have not heeded messages from health advocates including the Institute of Medicine, which in a 2007 report urged limiting availability of food in schools outside of mealtimes, and said these items should not be sugary, salty or fatty snack foods.

USDA change announced last month focuses on making school lunches healthier, with changes including less sodium and more whole grains. Is this enough, is it to late?

My Own Business

confessionsofafoodie77 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:18:26 +0000

Guest written by our friend Katie Callahan

Starting my own business was tough but I’ve never looked back. I have a really hard time being organized but that was a skill I had to learn, and fast. It’s not something you can do without when you’re running your very own store! But anyway, I spend a great deal of time with a small business counselor going over things like bank card processing and taxes and HR rules and regulations and at the end of the day I sort of feel like I got a college education in about 3 weeks. I’m really excited to call myself a small business owner and I’m proud, too, but it’s a lot more work than you would think and it’s been a tough road – the financial instability of doing something for yourself is harder than you would think it’d be and for me it’s a long way from here to distance my personal life from work. I have a really hard time separating myself but you know, I think that’s part of why I’m so effective.

My New House

confessionsofafoodie77 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:56:02 +0000

Thanks for the post from Sylvester Campbell

I love my new house and my favorite part has got to be the garden. There’s something magical about it back there and it’s just so fragrant and begging for my love and attention. I’ve started growing some of my favorite herbs and though it’s about to get cold I’ve planted some root vegetables that I can’t wait to harvest – I’m going to turn into a real Martha Stewart if you don’t watch out! I’ve made some improvements to the inside of the house, too, like getting allhomesecurity and adding crown molding to all the rooms. But other than that I really just like to spend all my time outside while it’s still nice and the weather’s permitting since I came from a family of gardeners. Growing up in the Southwest meant you couldn’t grow much green without a lot of work but that’s why I’m so good at gardening now that I’m an adult. I’m able to tend to even the most difficult garden and I can’t wait until all my hard work really starts to show!

Remember pretending to cook when you were a kid?

confessionsofafoodie77 — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:16:26 +0000

Do you remember having a kitchen set as a child and pretending to make meals for the family. It’s fun looking now watching my 4 yr old girl do the same thing. I’ve always thought is extremely important for children of all ages to participate in in “pretend”. It probably stems from the joy I had engaging in it as a child and my background as a former elementary school teacher. When I was a child, I was always pretending something. Whether it was as simple as pretending I was an ‘adult’ (a.k.a. dressing up in my mother’s clothing) or as elaborate as planning and carrying out a meal with all my furry friends (a.k.a. my stuffed animals) and my mother’s cheap dinnerware.

Kids playing with dinnerware at a play kitchen set

I try to let my daughter get involved in the nightly ritual of cooking. Even if it’s something as simple as grabbing a plastic bowl from our pantry cabinets, I want her to feel like she is doing her part. The day I let her do the entire dinner I will most likely buy some corelle dinnerware clearance so if anything gets broken it won’t hurt my pocketbook to much.

My favorite childhood memory of baking with my mom was the annual tradition of making homemade fudge at Christmas. I would always help stir the fudge in the pan to prevent it from burning while it achieved the perfect temperature. My mother knew that when it hit that temperature we only had a window of 15 seconds to get it out and on the plate. If we waited to long, it would be to hard. If we did it to early, it would never get hard enough. Funny thing is, we never did time it right and it always ended up one way or the other. I still loved doing it.

What are some of your favorite childhood memories of helping your mom cook or bake?

When it comes to hot sauces, I keep it simple

confessionsofafoodie77 — Tue, 25 May 2010 16:41:50 +0000

The other day when I was shopping I noticed a ridiculous amount of hot sauces on sale at my local grocery store. And it got me thinking, how many different hot sauces do you really need? There are hundreds, no probably THOUSANDS, of different hot sauces on the market. It just seems a bit much to me.

Personally, I keep 2 types of hot sauce in my house. My go-to hot sauce is Tabasco. I prefer it on soups, gumbos, beans, greens, eggs, pretty much anything that needs a little kick. My second choice is a generic brand similar to Krystal hot sauce. I use it for one thing, and one thing only….hot wings. I know it sounds crazy, but that generic sauce, with equal parts butter and a dash of garlic powder cooked up in a pot, makes the BEST wing sauce. I get countless compliments on my wings. So I just stick with my little generic friend.

And that’s it. Nothing crazy, like “Hotter ‘n Hell”, “Sudden Death”, “Crazy Mother Puckers”, or my son’s favorite “Satan’s Crotch”. Not really the type that’s going to look for the next hottest thing on the scoville scale. I guess I’m just a simple girl, and I don’t feel like spending my hard earned money on an outrageous bottle of a funny hot sauce that will probably just sit in my pantry for years.

Hot Sauce, Mouth on Fire

*Here’s a great recipe to make to top with some good, ol’ tobasco*

Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients:
1 pound dry pinto beans
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 bay leaves
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 Tbs chicken bouillon
6 cups of water

Directions:
1. Rinse beans, and then soak in a large pot of water overnight.
2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and celery in olive oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Rinse beans, then add them to the cooked vegetables along with the sausage. Season with bay leaves and Cajun seasoning.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the rice according to the package instructions. Serve beans over steamed white rice and sprinkle with
hot sauce!

Florida swine flu warning in effect

confessionsofafoodie77 — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:46:12 +0000

Subject: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH MEDIA UPDATE H1N1 SWINE FLU FLORIDA

May 7, 2009 9:00 a.m.

Florida has five confirmed cases of swine flu in the following counties: two in Lee, one in Broward, one in Orange , and one in Pinellas.

Alachua, Flagler, Lee, Indian River, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Seminole, and Clay have one probable case each. Broward has three , Miami-Dade has four, and Hillsborough has six probable cases.

CDC no longer recommends that communities with a laboratory confirmed case of influenza A H1N1 consider adopting school dismissal or childcare closure measures.

A public health emergency was declared by the State Surgeon General.

A toll free information line has been established to address an increasing number of calls from the public requesting Swine Flu information. The number is 1-800-342-3557 and it is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Samples are being received by Florida Department of Health Laboratories for analysis from physicians and hospitals across the state.

The Department of Health continues enhanced surveillance and outreach to physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals. The surveillance system, consisting of sentinel physicians reporting influenza activity, DOH laboratories receiving specimens from physicians and hospitals and our ability to monitor emergency room cases and over- the-counter drug sales is fully operational. We have activated our response plan and are ready to respond to any cases of swine flu if it should occur.

Department of Health continues its enhanced surveillance with a network of Sentinel Physician Providers. These providers send selected samples of laboratory specimens to state laboratories for testing if they have patients with influenza like illness (ILI). These physicians also continue to report weekly ILI cases to the Department of Health.

Anti-virals have been pre-positioned to areas of potential need. We have over one half million individual courses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 642 confirmed cases of novel influenza in the United States, with one death in a twenty-three month old.

The World Health Organization (WHO) alert level remains at Phase 5. The declaration of a Phase 5 is a strong signal that the pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.

Participation in Centers for Disease Control and other national conference calls will continue.

The State Surgeon General provided these recommendations:

People with respiratory illness should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community.

Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.

People experiencing cough, fever and fatigue, possibly along with diarrhea and vomiting, should contact their physician.

If you think you have influenza, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office, emergency department or stay home.

Additional resources -
* Florida Department of Health Swine Flu page information
* FAQ about Swine Flu for the Florida area

A great recipe to use for leftover veggies….Frittatas!

confessionsofafoodie77 — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:05:46 +0000

I don’t often have a lot of leftovers to use up in a different way. This is mostly because David loves eating leftovers for breakfast! But the one thing he doesn’t tend to eat again is leftover vegetables. Many times these end up growing and interesting layer of fur in the refrigerator. But earlier this week I made some delicious green beans with crimini mushrooms, and I didn’t want them to go to waste. So the next morning I decided to make a green been and crimini mushroom frittata, the result was DELICIOUS! Any leftover veggie can be substituted, so I hope you’ll give this a try the next time you’re trying to figure out what to do with your leftover green beans or brocolli or spinach…well you get the idea.

Ingredients *This recipe is for 1-2 servings. You can always make it for more by adding additional eggs.
3 eggs
1 T milk or half & half
2-3 squirts Tabasco
2 T olive oil
1 c leftover veggies
1/4 c shredded mozzerella cheese
1 T parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste