Last Night I had the Strangest Dream

This one was really weird. In my dream I'm in the parking lot of a shopping mall, and all of a sudden, water is everywhere. I look over to my right and I see this wall of water, like a tidal wave, about 7 or 8 feet high, coming towards me. Now, I cannot swim, so I start looking for something that will put me as high up as I can get. I look around and notice a huge, black hummer or pick-up truck nearby, and I climb up on top of it, just as the wall of water reaches my location.

Inside the vehicle is it's owner, Thom Bierdz II, a Facebook friend of mine, who invites me to sit inside the vehicle with him and his partner. I wonder out loud what could have happened to cause this phenomenon and Thom tells me that something crashed into a nearby lake. I speculate that it was a meteorite or something, but he tells me it was an airplane.

Anyway, the water starts rising some more, so Thom, his partner, and I start driving out o the parking lot towards higher ground which we can see nearby. I'm worried that the water will sweep us all away, but they both assure me that we're safe in their Hummer or whatever it is (seriously, in the dream it was like this HUGE monster truck), which apparently has a watertight engine compartment, because it didn't get flooded and we all made it to safety.

Please believe me, that as much as I would like to meet Thom in person (he played one of my grandmother's favorite characters on her favorite daytime drama), this is one dream I definitely hope DOESN'T come true.

Friendly Brownies

I have been away from my Tao for a long time, but I'm back, and hope you like this new recipe. I thought about posting it for some time now, and it's for all my friends who are Type I or Type II diabetics. I cannot claim credit for creating it of course, but I did do the research all by myself and found it, and shouldn't that count for something? :)

 

 

NO-GUILT BROWNIES

 

 

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup 1% cottage cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled
• 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

1. Place the egg whites, cottage cheese and vanilla in a blender, cover and process until smooth.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt; add to cottage cheese mixture. Cover and process for 30 seconds.
3. Add the chocolate; cover and process just until blended (about 15 seconds).
4. Spread into an 8" square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
5. Bake at 350*F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Do not over bake)
6. Cool on a wire rack.
7. Dust with confectiners' sugar.
8. Cut into bars.

And as always, eat and enjoy.

 



 

Tea Party Cowards

First, let me just say how sorry I am for not posting more frequently. I guess that since I started with Facebook, my blog just fell by the wayside, but I'm hoping to change all that. I was just thinking, after reading a Facebook post by my friend Michael Tattersall, and a comment from one Luis H, that the so called republican 'Tea Party' are basically celebrating men who were not so much heroes as cowards. Now, before some start getting all hater on me, please hear me out.

While the Boston Tea Party was an act of resistance and defiance against the Tea Act of 1773, I see it as somewhat of a cowardly act for the men who dumped all that tea into Boston harbor donning costumes and wearing make-up to look like Mohawk Indians. True, they were committing an illegal act and they didn't want they or their families to be arrested and/or executed for the crime, but why not just wear masks? Why try to offer up a scapegoat in the Native Americans.

Some will say that it was a symbolic choice and showed the participants rejecting traditional European symbolism, but I see it as something more sinister. I see it as a way for them to kill two birds with one stone; 'We get to defy the British, and the British will punish the Indians'.

Crockpot Spinach Casserole

I've come to the realization that ever since I joined Facebook, I just don't post here in my blog all that much anymore, and I don't know if that makes me sad, glad, or indifferent.

However it makes me feel, I'll still come here as often as I can to post a new recipe, or whenever whatever I have to say is just too much for a Facebook post.

Such is the case today.

I came across this recipe recently while thumbing through an old 'Taste of Home' magazine my grandmother once had and thought I would give it a try. Since so much of my time these days is taken up with work, the gym, or the theatre, I found it to be a real time saver, and quite tasty as well. I hope you enjoy it at much as I did, and please, feel free to add your own 'ala (insert your name here)' touches and let me know how it came out.

CROCKPOT SPINACH CASSEROLE

• 2 boxes frozen spinache, thawed and drained


• 2 1/2 cups cottage cheese


• 1/3 cup margarine


• 3 eggs, beaten


• 1/4 cup flour


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp pepper

1. Lightly grease your crockpot slowcooker (I used an olive oil non-stick spray from Western Family)


2. Mix together all ingredients and spoon into your crockpot


3. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours

It's just that simple, and as always, eat and enjoy.

Norwegian Stuffed Cabbage Stew

I knew I hadn't posted a 'Recipe of the Month' for a long time, but didn't really realize how long till I was getting ready to post this one. I hope all of my readers can forgive me.

This dish was inspired by my involvment in the Stockton Civic Theatre production of 'I Remember Mama', when the Hansen family of early 20th century San Francisco had to eat a LOT of it to save money. I therefore tried to make it not only economical, but as tasty and nutritious as I could.

You will need a 5 quart crockpot for this dish.

Norwegian Stuffed Cabbage Stew

1 head of cabbage. Quarter your cabbage to remove the tough spine, then roughly chop.

1 large white onion

1 - 2 yellow bell peppers

1 lb lean ground beef

2 cloves minced garlic

1 cup uncooked, intant rice

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp peper

1/4 tsp ground thyme

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 can (6 0z) tomato paste

32 oz low sodium chicken stock

Finely chop the onion and bell pepper and place them in your crockpot.

Brown your ground beef with the two cloves of garlic, then strain through a collander and discard the greasy hamburger fat.

Add the browned ground beef to the onions and bell peppers.

Sprinkle over the mixture in the crockpot the salt, pepper, ground thyme, nutmet and cinnamon.

Add your one cup of uncooked instant rice

Add your roughly chopped cabbage

Combine the tomato paste and chicken stock. Whisk till throroughly blended then pour over the cabbage.

Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.

You'll find it filling and tasty, and it won't break the bank, not even 'The Little Bank'.

As always, eat and enjoy.

Crock Pot Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I haven't posted a recipe on my blog in long time. Not in fact since I posted my recipe for Polenta Style Corn Casserole back on April 26th, 2011, and for that I'm sorry. Not for the recipe, but for not posting any new ones for such a long time.

Anyway, my good friend Mike Moon was talking about how he made blueberry muffins on his BBQ because he didn't want to heat up his kitchen (In this weather I can sooooo understand that), and that got me to thinking of another baking recipe in my collection that won't heat up your kitchen.

CROCK POT PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

• 1 package of your favorite poundcake mix


• 1/4 cup butter


• 1/2 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)


• 15 oz canned pineapple chunks (reserve the juices)


• 8 maraschino cherries, halved

1. Mix the cake according to the mix directions, using some of the juice as part of the liquid


2. Melt the butter or margarine in a lightly greased (ie Pam) baking tin that is small enough to fit into your crockpot


3. Stir in the brown sugar and spread evenly over the bottom of the baking tin


4. Add the pineapple chunks and cherry halves (and if you want to get creative, try making a happy little face with them)


5. Poor in the cake batter and place the tin in your crockpot. Cover and set on high for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours


6. Before removing, insert a knife in the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done (that is assuming of course you used a clean knife to begin with)


7. When the cake is done, remove the tin from the crockpot and emediately invert onto a plate


8. "TAH-DAH". You've just made a pineapple upside down cake in something most people think can only make soups and stews.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. I just wish Nutrisystem had this as a menu option.

Bye-bye for now, and remember as always, 'Eat and Enjoy'.

My Minor Little Coup

I haven't talked about my investments in a long time, and there is a very good reason. Like most of the people who had money in "The Market", the last few years were a disaster, but I think I've rounded that corner, beginning my long, slow climb back up.

A few months ago, when it became clear to me that the politicians were starting to play a serious game of "I've Got Bigger Balls Than You" (aka "Chicken") with the United States' AAA credit rating, I slowly started selling off the bulk of my investments and got into a 100% cash position. Then I began to slowly take small bites out of the investment pie for lack of a better term. In a phrase, I did my research.

I wanted more diversification than I could get at the moment by buying my own stocks, I wanted to keep the expenses down, and I wanted the ability to get into and out of a position quickly if I had to. That meant ETFs, or Exchange Traded Funds.

Keeping my eyes and ears open (Thank you CNBC TV and 740 AM radio), I started taking $100 bites out of 4 different stock ETFs and one bond ETF that concentrates on TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities).

Since I had built up my cash position to 100% of my portfolio, every time the market took a dive, I would set a limit order to buy a small number of shares in the 5 ETFs I chose, and then, after I bought, I set new limit orders to buy into each fund again when the price fell 1% or more below the previous price. This is called "Dollar Cost Averaging". That and keeping calm has served me well so far.

My total gains for the year, 16.4%.

I wonder if anyone would be interested in starting an investment club.