Frozen Bananas tip

Do you use a lot of bananas in your smoothies or other recipes? Make sure to check your local co-op for discounted bananas and stock up! I buy several bunches of discounted organic fair trade bananas for .49-.79c/lb. whenever I can. Just because the skin has black spots does not mean the banana inside is no good. Just peel them, then layer them in zippered freezer bag and freeze. Don't stack them on each other inside the bag or they are harder to separate. I try to put them in whole and not in chunks for the same reason.

Popcorn Recall - Undeclared Allergens

Popcorn Palace Issues Allergy Alert on 1-Gallon Value Bag Products

Popcorn Palace of Schiller Park, IL, is issuing this statement to alert people with allergies to Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Milk, Soy, and Wheat that some of our 1-Gallon Value Bags contain the undeclared in...

Breakfast Smoothie recipe

I threw this smoothie together this morning as an experiment. I get tired of my usual honey/lemon drink as it doesn't really mask the MSM & Vitamin C powders very well. So, I came up with this:

1 organic banana
1 cup frozen organic raspberries
1 cup homemade almond milk (my recipe here: http://quingemsquisine.blogspot.com/2011/10/raw-almond-milk-recipe.html)
1/2 teaspoon powdered Vitamin C (about 2000 mg)
1/4 teaspoon powdered MSM (about 1000 mg)
1/4 teaspoon maca powder
10 drops spearmint-flavored astragalus

Blend until smooth.
Sorry, no picture. But, it is bright pink and yummy!

Ground Beef Recall - E. coli contamination

Deadly Bacteria Prompts Huge Ground Beef Recall | Rodale News

Beef processor Tyson Fresh Meats announced late on Friday afternoon that company officials were recalling 40,948 pounds of ground beef that was shipped to 16

Whipped Topping Recall - undeclared milk allergen

Ohio Processors, Inc. Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk Allergens in “Instantwhip B/C Topping” (Whipped Topping)

Ohio Processors, Inc. of London, Ohio announced a voluntarily recall on Instantwhip B/C Topping because the product contains an undeclared milk ingredient (sodium caseinate). People who have an aller...

Sweet Potato & Apple Dog Biscuit recipe

I found this recipe here: Whole Foods & adapted it.

3/4 cup cooked plain mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup fine cornmeal (masa harina)
1/4 cup finely chopped organic mint
1 organic Gala apple, peeled, cored and grated

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together sweet potatoes and broth. Add flour, cornmeal, mint and apples and stir until combined. Knead the dough a few times until it holds together. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until about 1/4-inch thick. Use (2-inch to 4-inch) cookie cutters to cut out treats. Transfer to baking sheets. Bake until dried and just slightly golden on the bottoms, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn oven down to lowest setting (mine only goes down to 170F) for about 30 minutes if you have gas; or, turn electric oven off, leave oven door ajar and let the treats cool and dry out in the oven for 1 to 2 hours. Can also be dried out in the dehydrator overnight. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week or freeze for longer storage. This recipe made 35 two-inch bone-shaped cookies.
These are also people-friendly treats. ;)

 My mint was getting a bit dry, so had to use it fast! Made extra broth, in case the dough was too dry. Gave the rest to Nikky, mixed in her kibble.

Ready for the oven!

 The finished product!

And, it's a winner!

Celery Seed Recall - possible salmonella

Organic Celery Seed Recall:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm284034.htm

Crockpot Pepper Chicken recipe

I found this recipe on AllRecipes & adapted it.

2 organic whole chicken breasts (WITH skin & bones)
1 organic red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 can organic crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup organic Italian dressing
1 organic heirloom yellow Roma-style tomato, sliced

Place all ingredients in crock-pot. Cook on high for one hour, then set to low for 4 hours.

 My red pepper was previously frozen, so is a bit wrinkly & I forgot to put the yellow tomato in the picture ...

After 1 hour on high, I turned it down to low to cook the rest of the day. Love that bright yellow tomato. I should have saved some seeds ...

~~~~~~~~~~
One hour to go and this is smelling delicious! Can't wait for dinner!

~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was great! Here's the result. This recipe fed 2 humans, 1 large kitten and 1 small dog.

Raw Milk article

homegrown & handmade: What's so bad about raw milk?

What's so bad about raw milk? Maybe it's just coincidence or maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems that since Farmageddon was released, the heat has been turned up against raw milk....

Baked Apple Recipe

I found this recipe on AllRecipes & adapted it a bit.

1 organic Gala apple, cored, sliced, peeled
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons organic flour
1/8 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon organic raisins
1 Tablespoon + 2 3/4 teaspoons chopped organic walnuts
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon organic whole milk
Organic pasture butter or organic coconut oil

Grease small 2 3/4 cup casserole dish with butter or coconut oil. In a small bowl, mix apple, flour, sugar, spices, raisins & nuts. Pour mixture in casserole. Pour milk over all. Bake in 350F oven for 45 minutes.
Served 2.

Beef Heart & Exercise!

I am thrilled to say that I found some beef heart this morning! I asked again at my local co-op & the butcher said he thought there was some in the freezer. He found it, but then he couldn't find a price on it. But, then he said I could have it all! Three beef hearts for free! Fantastic! And, they look really good. Have to partially thaw them to separate, though ...

And, in other news, I got some good exercise in after lunch.
Exercycle:
15.1mph
3.9 miles
15.08 minutes
245 calories burned
1 chapter of Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) read
Trampoline
40 jumps
6 calories burned
Other exercises - 20 reps of each exercise.
Worn out.

Tortillas!

I just bought a tortilla press on eBay! I've wanted one for a while. I get tired of paying so much for tortillas when I learned how to make them when I was 12. I just hate kneading dough. So, I'll knead it in my breadmaker & then press in the tortilla press! I can't wait to get it! I still have the recipe I learned on, but I want to try lots of others. I love flavored tortillas & those with unusual grains (like spelt.) Anyone have links to good tortilla recipes?

Ravioli Recall - undeclared soy allergen

Rising Moon Organics Announces a Voluntary Recall of One Code Date of Mislabeled Mediterranean Garlic & Herb Ravioli Due to Undeclared Soy Allergen

Rising Moon Organics® today issued a voluntary recall of Rising Moon Organics Mediterranean Garlic & Herb Ravioli, a frozen product, because of an incorrect back label on some packages. This misl...

Candy Recall - Metal Contamination

Winn-Dixie Issues Voluntary Recall on Bulk Gummy Bears

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN), is voluntarily recalling Sunrise Assorted Flavor Gummy Bears sold in the self-serve bulk area of select store produce departments between November 14 and Decemb...

Wednesday Exercises

Well, another day, some exercises!
Exercycle:
18mph
4.3 miles
10.41 minutes
209 calories burned
Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) one chapter read


Trampoline:
40 jumps
5 calories burned


I'll be doing my other exercises throughout the day. I had to run to the post office this morning. And, air my car tires up, so didn't get them all done this morning!

Afternoon Exercises!

Got into doing my exercises late today. Usually, I try to do at least the exercycle in the morning, but didn't get to it today. So, I did them all when I got home from work.
Of course, I read another chapter of Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) while riding the exercycle:
19.2 mph
3.3 miles
10.25 minutes
159 calories burned
Then I did all my other exercises. Even burned another 25 calories on the trampoline. (I need to start getting the readings on that meter, too! I usually forget about it ...) And, I doubled up on my other exercises again. I had been doing 5 reps on each thing for the longest time. The other day, I went up to 10; today I did 20 on each! I'm worn out!

Root Cellar article

Root cellars and food preservation | How to Save Money, and Save Vegetables, by Creating a Simple Root Cellar | Rodale News

You can preserve some of this summer's and fall’s tastiest harvest by creating a root cellar in your yard—or even under your bed.

Dog Food Recall - possible Aspergillis contamination

Yes, it's another brand. Same problem!

Advanced Animal Nutrition Recalls Dog Power Dry Dog Food

Advanced Animal Nutrition today announced a voluntary recall of its dry Dog Power Dog Food- due to aflatoxin levels that were detected above the acceptable limit. The affected products were manufactur...

Monday Exercises!

I was in a bit of a rush this morning, so didn't write this down until now. But, I read another chapter of Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) while riding my exercycle:
15.6 mph
5.4 miles
20.18 minutes
259 calories burned
That was a good ride! Now, I'm going to do my other exercises that I didn't get done this morning! Nice to spread them out sometimes. I also did quite a bit of walking in the stores I serviced this morning!

Sunday Exercises!

This morning I did quite a bit of exercising. It's nice having everything in one room! I even doubled up on the reps I usually do & it felt pretty good. I read another chapter of Turn Coat (The Dresden Files, Book 11) while riding the exercycle. I may need to start reading 2 chapters at a time. These seem pretty short.
17.7 mph
2.1 miles
7.11 minutes
105 calories burned