Trick or Treating and the preschool and playgroup Halloween parties are finally over! :)
Thomas the Train was very excited about his haul, whereas Bob the Builder was a little more reserved :)
Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!
I originally saw this on Very Good Taste and thought it looked like fun!
"Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers."
Here is what you are supposed to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (no, but I have eaten alligator!)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
I subscribe to a number of blog's newsletters and feeds and today I received the Green Parent Daily Tip in my e-mail. In the e-mail she talks of Green Gratitude and one of the things that she lists as being thankful for is Organic, Fair-Trade Chocolate. Of this she says, "Honestly, I don’t know what it is that I have been eating my whole life…but it was not chocolate. It looked like chocolate and sometimes smelled like chocolate, but before I found organic chocolate I had never really tasted chocolate. Real chocolate. The kind of chocolate that could stop traffic. The kind of chocolate that makes your toes curl and your eyes water with sheer joy. Think I’m exaggerating? Then you haven’t tried it. I’m so grateful that the green movement has brough organic, fair-trade (ie guilt-free) chocolate in to my life. It has certainly made my life even sweeter!" (The Green Parent)
I have never had Organic, Fair-Trade Chocolate and this comment totally makes me want to give it a try! Does anyone have any suggestions on specific brands that are good?
I had a package of imitation crab in the freezer that I wanted to use up so I went in search of a recipe online for dinner tonight and here is what I came up with:
I found a recipe for
Pasta Crab Casserole on Recipezaar and modified it a little:
Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked shells pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup butter or margarine
16 ounces imitation crabmeat, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
1 Cook pasta according to package directions.
2 Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute onions, mushrooms, green pepper and garlic in butter until crisp-tender.
3 Remove from heat.
4 Drain the pasta and add to the vegetable mix.
5 Stir in remaining ingredients.
6 Transfer into 13 x 9 inch greased baking dish
7 Sprinkle with cheese
8 Cover and bake at 350ยบ for about 35 minutes or until warm through.
9 Uncover and bake for 5 minutes more.
My husband who doesn't normally like casseroles actually liked it! I thought it was pretty good but I think I would add more green peppers or veggies next time.
I am always looking for ways to cut my electric bill. We turn out lights when not in use, have switched to mainly CFL bulbs, keep our thermostat low in the winter, unplug small appliances when not in use, but the one thing I haven't been actively doing is turning a power strip off on computer and all devices used with computer and the TV, cable box, etc. I know that I should do it but on both my TV and computer ours are extremely hard to get to which just makes leaving it on sometimes easier.
I was looking at Home Construction Improvement and they have a post on Home Energy Saving Tips. One of the things that they recommend is the Smart Strip LCG3 Energy Saving With Autoswitching Technology. 
From Amazon: "Ten outlets work together, autoswitching your devices on/off automatically, to save you money on your electric bills." So basically if you use it on your TV when you turn the TV off it automatically turns off power to all of the other connected devices. It is a little more costly than the standard power strip but the reviews look great!
Another interesting device that I saw while I was looking on Amazon is the Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor. 
From the product description: "... you can cut down on costs and find out which machines are actually worth keeping plugged in. Simply connect your appliances to the Kill-a-Watt electricity usage monitor and it will assess how efficient they really are. The unit's large LCD display counts consumption by the kilowatt-hour, the same as your local utility. You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, or year while also checking the quality of your power by monitoring voltage, line frequency, and power factor. Now you'll know if it's time for a new refrigerator or if that old air conditioner is saving you money."
I think it would be very interesting to plug in certain appliances and electronics in my house to see just how much energy they are using!
On the Reader's Digest site they have an article about how to prevent yourself from getting sick and list 23 things to do to reduce your chance of getting ill. I found it to be a very interesting article!
Some tips are commmon things like washing your hands and using hand sanitizer.
However, there are some more unique ideas (to me anyway) like:
"Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to kill germs that can cause colds and other illnesses. You think it gets your teeth clean -- and it does. But once you're done brushing, your toothbrush is a breeding ground for germs. Sterilize it in the microwave before you use it, or store it in hydrogen peroxide (rinse well before using), or simply replace it every month when you change the page on your calendar and after you've had a cold."
and
"Leave the windows in your house open a crack in winter. Not all of them, but one or two in the rooms in which you spend the most time. This is particularly important if you live in a newer home, where fresh circulating air has been the victim of energy efficiency. A bit of fresh air will do wonders for chasing out germs."
and
"Inhale air from your blow-dryer. It sounds nuts, we know. But one study conducted at Harvard Hospital in England found that people who breathed heated air had half the cold symptoms of people who inhaled air at room temperature. Set the dryer on warm, not hot, and hold it at least 18 inches from your face. Breathe in the air through your nose for as long as you can -- 20 minutes is best."
and
"Take a garlic supplement every day. When 146 volunteers received either one garlic supplement a day or a placebo for 12 weeks between November and February, those taking the garlic were not only less likely to get a cold, but if they did catch one, their symptoms were less intense and they recovered faster."
and
"Eat a container of yogurt every day. A study from the University of California-Davis found that people who ate one cup of yogurt -- whether live culture or pasteurized -- had 25 percent fewer colds than non-yogurt eaters. Start your yogurt eating in the summer to build up your immunity before cold and flu season starts."
and
"Scrub under your fingernails every night. They're a great hiding place for germs. "
For the full article go HERE
Posts
All Comments
