Cheese of the Week

Not sure who the producer of this cheese is. I need to start carrying a notebook with me to the store so I can write it down. Anyhow it's a smoked Dutch natural Gouda. It's very good with crackers or by itself, but not so good toasted, shredded or otherwise.

Eating With the Dunns

I'm on a different Danny Dunn book now Danny Dunn Time Traveler. In the opening chapter we have Danny coming home and getting a couple of butterscotch-nut cookies from the pantry to eat with a glass of milk. I hopped on Recipezaar and found a recipe. I personally don't care for butterscotch, but I'm hoping to make these this weekend to take into work on Tuesday and get some feedback.

Butterscotch Pecan Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 (11 ounce) package butterscotch chips, finely chopped

1. Cream butter, gradually adding sugar.
2. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
4. Separately, combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt.
5. Add to creamed mixture, mixing well.
6. Batter will be stiff.
7. Stir in nuts and morsels.
8. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2- inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes.
10. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire racks. Store an airtight container.

Got Green Lemonade?

What is Green Lemonade? For the past 7 Winters, I always got bronchitis. Sure, I'm surrounded by dirty germs all day long, I'm a teacher but no matter what I did, I always got bronchitis.
I took vitamins, slept a little extra when I felt a cold coming on, ate the right foods and tried as I might, I always got bronchitis. I'd eventually lose my voice and this is a rotten thing to happen to you when you're a teacher. You try managing 22 six year olds without a voice. (Actually the kids really step up when this would happen- I would delegate one of the kids to be my helper for the day. This worked great especially for the kids who were withdrawn, they LOVED helping out.)
This year I was determined to stay healthy. Somewhere along the way we found out about the raw food diet. I try as best as I can to follow it by eating organic foods, not mixing different kinds of foods and drinking Green Lemonade. We found out all about the raw food diet and how to stay healthy eating organic, all natural foods in this book, The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. It's a really great book that follows you through a change in lifestyle with your eating.
The thing that I changed the most was cutting out soy and not mixing different kinds of foods. I used to get heartburn all the time, now I never get it. I haven't been sick with a cold all year and I've been bronchitis-free.
Here's my basic recipe for Green Lemonade. It's rough at first, but you really get used to it.
4 kale leaves
4 apples
1 lemon
1 head of Romaine Lettuce
1 slice of fresh ginger
You blend all of this in a juicer. I recommend a Breville Juicer.
I have a banana, walk Puppy Dog and then drink Green Lemonade. I have enough energy after this to workout before school. Try it, you might not be hooked at first but you'll feel a lot more energetic.

Caught in the rain

Last weekend, we bought a long sleeved wicking shirt from REI for the triathlon coming up on May 27th. The shirt is a terrific color- clear sky and I needed to test it out before the big day so today I put it to the test.
This morning I went for a quick 3 mile run in the shirt- it was good weather a little crisp so the long sleeves kept me warm. It held up well. The wicking material kept me cool as it got sunnier.
I went out later in the day and did another 3 mile run but this time got caught in the rain. The shirt rocked. When I started out, it was warm and the shirt kept me cool, as I started running about halfway into the run, I got drenched, the shirt kept me warm and wasn't heavy at all.
If you like running, playing outside, or like wearing comfortable clothes, buy this shirt. It's the Women's REI OXT TECH TEE at REI. The tag says superb wicking and dries fast- so true. Whenever I need any new shirts- I'll buy this brand. Go here to see it: terrific shirt

Eating with the Dunns

One of my favorite book series was a juvenile series based around a character named Danny Dunn. There are too many things I enjoy about the books to go into them in this entry, but one of the things I enjoy when reading them now is reading about the food they eat. They are constantly eating in these books.

I was thinking it would be neat to have a Danny Dunn cookbook but I don't know that I'll ever get around to that, so I thought as I read these books when I come across food I would enter them into my blog.

I'm currently reading Danny Dunn Scientific Detective. This is not one of my favorites but like all of the books there's food. So in one chapter two things came up that I wanted to investigate.

I. Mrs. Dunn is in the kitchen making a French stew known as a daube. So I went online and found a recipe at Recipe zaar.

Daube De Boeuf a La Provencale
This is a Julia Child recipe with the instructions rewritten slightly for concision. The preparation time does not include marinating time of at least 6 hours. Julia suggests serving with steamed rice, butter noodles, or boiled potatoes, French bread & Beaujolais, Mountain Red or rose wine.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups dry vermouth
1/4 cup brandy or gin
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme or sage
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 cups thinly sliced onions
3 lbs chuck steaks, cut in 2 ½ x 2 ½ x 1 inch squares
salt and pepper
flour
1 1/2 cups firm ripe tomatoes, peeled,seeded,and chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
beef bouillon, if necessary
cornstarch, if necessary
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons capers
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced fresh basil or fresh parsley

6 servings Change size or US/metric
Change to: servings US Metric
2 hours 45 minutes 30 mins prep


1. Mix olive oil through onions and marinate steak in refrigerator at least 6 hours, basting and turning meat several times.
2. Scrape marinade off meat and reserve.
3. Season meat lightly with salt and pepper; roll in flour and set aside on waxed paper.
4. In a bowl toss marinade with tomatoes and mushrooms.
5. Place 1/3 of mixed vegetables in bottom of 6 quart flame-proof casserole.
6. Alternate layers of meat and vegetables, ending with vegetables.
7. Pour in any left-over marinade.
8. Cover, set over moderate heat and simmer 15 minutes.
9. If vegetables have not rendered enough liquid to almost cover meat, add a little bouillon.
10. Cover and simmer 1½-2 hours until meat is tender when pierced.
11. Tip casserole, trim out fat and taste for seasoning.
12. If liquid has not reduced and thickened, drain out into a saucepan and thicken with 1 Tbs cornstarch mixed with bouillon, boil 2 minutes, then pour into casserole.
13. Chop or puree garlic and mash with capers.
14. Beat in mustard.
15. Gradually beat in olive oil to make a thick sauce.
16. Stir in basil or parsley just before serving.


II. Mr. Ellison comes over to the house and Mrs. Dunn gives him some coffee. He takes a sip and says "It tastes like fresh-ground Blue Mountain, from Jamaica." This got me to wondering if there is such a coffee. Well sure enough there is and you can check it out at the Blue Mountain Coffee web site. Now of course I'll have to order some of this coffee to try it out.

The Web is Just Amazing

I recently bought a Nikon N6006 on Ebay. It's a nice camera but of course it came with no manual and I'm not too camera savvy. So, how do I get a manual for it? I searched around on the web and I found this great web site Orphan Cameras. On the site they had a PDF version of the 6006 instruction manual for download, just fantastic.

Cheese of the Week

This week we've got a real winner. It's a US cheese produced by Two Amigos. We got the American Manchego it's a very mild cheddar style cheese and it is very very good. I love it with crackers and Margaret loves it toasted on rice cakes. This is a definite winner!

Christian Nationalism

Please listen to this from Fresh Air from WHYY, May 11, 2006 · "
Journalist Michelle Goldberg, a senior writer for the online magazine Salon, and covers the Christian Right. In her new book, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, she writes that Christian nationalists believe the Bible is literally true -- and they want to see the nation governed by that truth. "

One of the greatest things about our country is the right to believe. I was very disturbed after hearing this interview, very very disturbed. If you felt moved by this interview, please go see V for Vendetta, a movie about a fascist world where no one has any real civil liberties and where they look to single out groups. This movie made me think about things going on today.

Is Internet Democracy on Its Way Out

I really love Marketplace. Every weekday morning at 5:50am I'm tuned into WUNC for the morning report. This morning Robert Reich was talking about a bill in congress that would potentially force internet content providers to pay internet access providers. You can read the transcript or listen to the show on the so-called net neutrality bill.

Cheese of the Week

We have two cheeses this week, both Spanish and both very similar.

The first is Iberico produced by Queso. It is a hard cheese that is a blend of cow, goat, & sheep cheeses. It was on sale at Earth Fare and in trying a sample I was struck by the nutty taste it has. We used it this week to make cheese quesadillas with whole weat tortillas (Garden of Eatin) and a tomatilla salsa (Desert Pepper Trading Company). It was the best quesadilla I've ever had.

The second cheese is also by Queso it's Manchego Young. The young version is a bit milder because it is aged less. It has a very similar taste to the Iberico only not so rich. I had a slice of it this week on an avocado, tomato, and salsa sandwich and it was fantastic. Margaret really likes it toasted on a lightly salted rice cake.

All in all it was a great week for cheese in our house and I'm very impressed with Spanish cheese.

Mini Tornado on the Run

Last Christmas, Matthew bought me this great book about dogs called, Dogs, The Ultimate Care Guide, and it is just such a terrific book. If you have a concern or question about dogs, this book will answer it. On Saturday, we noticed Puppy Dog limped on our afternoon walk and started licking his paw more often than normal. We gave him a little Benadryl as directed by our vet to help ease his allergies. On Sunday he seemed fine but on Monday, he had a lump on his paw that was irritated and red. Matthew took him right to the vet that morning and the vet said that she thought it was due to his allergies but found a blade of grass had gotten stuck in his paw and caused it to get inflamed. Puppy dog had a lick granuloma. What is that? So we turned to our trusty book and found a chapter called "When to see the vet." This is what we found out about dogs licking and what vets say. Apparently sometimes dogs will lick for so long that they create a large open wound - a condition vets call acral lick dermatitis or lick granuloma. They can be extremely sore but vets don't exactly know why dogs do this and this condition has perplexed vets for years- some believe it is a skin problem, or a behavioral problem or a problem with dogs' nerve endings. In our case with Puppy Dog, it was an irritant in his paw that caused his paw to get inflamed.

Dogs are so interesting and curious to me, anytime there is anything unusual going on with Puppy Dog I search the book and check it out and I check the book out even when everything's a -okay. I just love reading about dogs. I find myself asking questions to Matthew in the style of Trivial Pursuit. Here's a recent conversation sparked from the book: Why do some dogs run around in circles? "To chase their tail." Let's check the book and see what it says." All is peaceful in the living room when all of a sudden your pooch gets up from her favorite spot (Puppy Dog's favorite spot is on top of the love seat looking out the window) and starts charging around and around the room like a mini tornado. Then, spent and happy, she returns to her favorite spot. She's just letting off steam, the same way children do when they run and wrestle. Although most dogs outgrow their fun-running by the time they're about three years old, some in particular terriers, may continue to do this until they are past middle age." I hope Puppy Dog always runs around like a mini tornado, don't you?

The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome

The web is so great because of all the mindless information and free entertainment. Here are a list of pages and sites Margaret and I have either stumbled on lately or are into lately.

1. The Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: This entry on Wikipedia is just a fantastic example of the mindlessly entertaining information available on the web.

2. Go Fug Yourself: One thing that is great about the web is the ability it has given people to write and express their sense of humor. This is a great example.

3. Television Without Pity: Take example two but multiply it by many people.

4. Cyclingnews: I'm a big cycling fan and I love these guys and their sense of humor and serious reporting.

5. People: Margaret loves browsing this site for mindless escapism.

Chevrolet Aveo (The Car Search Update)

This is one of the smallest and cheapest cars on our list, but also has one of the lowest gas ratings 24mpg city, 34mpg highway. How a car can be this small and get such bad gas mileage I'm not sure.

It comes in both a 5 door and 4 door model. Where we went they only had one in stock and it was a 5 door. Margaret isn't too crazy about the look of the 5 door and I can't say I blame her.

The Aveo with automatic transmission, anti-lock breaks, cruise and power locks prices out at $13,665.00. But the car is surprisingly small. It's cramped feeling inside and almost impossible in the back seat. The trunk is so tiny there is really not much point. All in all we weren't very impressed and I guess the salesman could see it because he quickly tried to move us on to look at the Cobalt a car that is basically a size up.

The Aveo is definitely out as an option. It is too small and gets horrible gas mileage for its size. The Cobalt though nice looking is competing with the Civic and Corolla and can't touch their mpg rating and isn't any cheaper, so it's not getting added to the list and so sad to say we are already down to only 1 US made car on the list.

Pontiac Vibe (The Car Search Update)

Margaret saw one of these not long ago in our neighborhood and really liked the look of it. I think we both like it even more after seeing one up close.

We've decided not to do any test driving until we first look at all the cars that meet our criteria and eliminate the ones we have no interest in, so today was just a looking expidition.

The Vibe is what I would call a station wagon. It's built to compete against the Subaru, the Toyota Matrix, etc. You can get it with all wheel drive, but that pulls the price up and the gas mileage down and so that's a feature we won't be looking at. The model we want is front wheel drive with automatic transmission and cruise control, power locks, and anti-lock brakes (anti lock brakes spared me from a very bad crash once and I'm a believer). The car prices at $18,365.00 and is rated at 29mpg city and 34mpg highway. Those are very good numbers for the size of the car.

We both found it to be roomy inside front and back and really liked the roominess of the trunk area. Margaret was very struck by the look of the car and felt it fit her like a glove. I think the car looks good but felt a little crammed in not by the seat but by the design of the dashboard. We were both very happy with the space in the trunk and back seat although I was a bit disappointed there was no privacy cover that we saw for the trunk.

Though it is the priciest of the cars on our list it will definitely be moving onto the next round because of it's looks and space.

The Muppet Show (Season 1)

These discs are fantastic. Of all the things we've gotten recently from Netflix this is the one I wouldn't mind owning. Not only are the episodes just fantastic, but they have an added feature called Muppet Morsels that gives little popups of information for each episode. It's a lot of information and very well put together. I would say these are a definite must for fans of the show. The one thing that I'm really surprised by is how well the show has aged. It is just as good today as it was 30 years ago when it first aired.

Cheese of the Week

This weeks cheese was a Sweedish Farmers Cheese, not sure of the producer. It was very good, Margaret really seemed to take to it. It tasted like a mild colby and is probably the first cheese we've had in a while that I thought tasted better cold than melted.

The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I also think this countdown has too many experimental and art rock albums on it. Well of course they have to be male-centric experimental and art rock albums like this album by The Velvet Underground. Is it interesting, maybe. Is it a good album, I don't think so.

Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Vol. 1 Disc 1

I cannot wait to get the next disc in this series. If you grew up watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings this is the series to get. Some of these were very very good and of course had scenes that were at one point cut by TV sensors. It's a 4 disc set but with disc one I've already seen a few of my favorites like "Rabbit Seasoning" (Bugs matches wits with Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd as the hunter.), "Long-Haired Hare" (where Bugs take on the opera singer), "High Diving Hare" (I like any of them with Yosemite Sam). There are 14 cartoons on each DVD. You can read about the DVDs at Amazon and look up the individual cartoons at the Big Cartoon Database.