Unusual Birthday Celebrations

January is the biggest birthday month in our family.  My granddaughter Elsa, daughter-in-law Deborah, sister Madeleine, and son Brian all have birthdays in January.  We were talking at the dog park a while ago about how everyone celebrates their birthday and some of the unusual things we have done.  I had to share what my son Phil did for his 30th birthday.

He wanted to have an old fashioned roast pig, so here's what he did.  He bought the pig the day before the party (already dead and ready to be roasted), and put it in the bathtub in cold water overnight.  The next day, he got his fire going, and roasted that pig.  With it he served delicious baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread.  The pork was the best I've ever tasted.  Ron and I were happy to be there to celebrate his birthday in this most unusual way.  He had about 20 friends there, and we devoured that pig.  I thought this was "so Phil."  Most of us would cringe at the thought of having a pig roast, but that's just the kind of thing I would expect from him.  A great time was had by all.  Have you got any unusual birthdays to tell us about?

Cook's Country Recipes

When I've got nothing to do on a Saturday I turn on Cook's Country.  It really is one of the best cooking shows on TV.  Not only does it show you step by step how to make a particular dish, but it also gives you cooking tips.  I also love the feature that tests cooking equipment.  The show I saw today determined that Kitchen Aid slow cooker is the best on the market.  Good to know.

Today's show was about Chinese chow mein.  The finished product looked so good I wanted to go out for  Chinese right away.  No, I'll wait until next week and make it at home.   Here are two cooking tips I came away with from today's show.  First, in order to keep chicken in the stir fry from becoming dry and tough, marinate it for 15 minutes before cooking in a little baking soda and water.  Then rinse, and pat dry before cooking.  Also, instead of just coating the chicken in corn starch to thicken the mixture, mix the corn starch with a little water and then coat the chicken pieces.  This will give you enough corn starch to thicken the sauce, but it won't become clumpy.   Below is a modification of the Chicken chow mein recipe from Cook's Country.

                                         Chicken Chow Mein

2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

2 stalks celery, cut on the bias

1/2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

3 shitake mushrooms, sliced

2 scallions, cut thin and divided into green and white

2 cups bean sprouts

3 T. minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

2 T. rice wine vinegar

4c. fresh Chinese egg noodles (available in supermarkets)

                                        Sauce

rice wine vinegar, about 1/4 cup

3 T. hoison sauce

3 T. soy sauce

Prepare fresh Chinese egg noodles by cooking 2-4 minutes in boiling water, drain and rinse, then mix with 2T. sesame oil to prevent sticking.  Set aside

Prep veggies and chicken, which should be soaked in baking soda and water mixture for 15 minutes, then rinsed and dried, then coated with mixture of corn starch and water.  In a non stick pan or wok, heat 2 T. vegetable oil until almost smoking.  Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add veggies except for bean sprouts and green onions, the thickest ones first.  Next, add ginger, garlic and rice vinegar.  Add bean sprouts, then sauce mixture.  Cook everything together for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.  Finally, add egg noodles and toss to coat mixture.

You can vary this recipe by using any veggies you have on hand.  Zucchini and broccoli also work well.  Enjoy this authentic Chinese chow mein in the comfort of your own home.

Who Are The "Ladies In White?"

The Ladies in White are an activist group in Cuba.  They were formed in 2003 to protest their friends and family members being held as political prisoners.  They go to Mass every Sunday, dressed in white, and then walk the streets of Havana protesting.  White symbolizes peace.  Government officials in Havana think they are supported by the U.S. government, but there is no real evidence of this.

President Obama recently visited Cuba, the first president in almost 90 years to do so.  There was much debate over whether that was a good thing or not, and I am not prepared to discuss  that.  I do, however, feel that if we are going to have diplomatic and trade relations with the island of Cuba, we must go there and meet and talk.  That was the mission of President Obama.  He also used the visit to speak directly to the people of Cuba, without any censorship.  That's a first.  He also was able to talk to several activists.  It doesn't think that the Castro regime was at all bothered by the U.S. delegation coming to visit.  A few days before the visit, numerous activists were rounded up and imprisoned.  Their failure to allow protest will take time to reverse.  It is not our place to force a country to comply to our way of doing things.  However, when human rights are abused, and there are international laws about this, we, and the world, must speak up.

Hopefully the Ladies in White will continue their protests until all political prisoners are released.  Obama's trip to Cuba is a step forward, but real change will take time.  The Castros have been in power for well over 50 years.  We can't expect things to change overnight.

A Tour of Old Vista

I had never been to Vista until we moved to Ocean Hills.  Main Street, in old Vista, is just 10 minutes away from where we live now, and there's more to see and do there than you can possibly imagine.  My first introduction to Vista was when Regina took me to lunch at Curbside, probably the best breakfast and lunch place in the area.  Next, someone told me about Urbn Coal Fired Pizza, which has been my go to restaurant when I need a pizza fix.  Ron and I love the thin, crispy crust, and the fantastic salad.  I decided I needed to explore Vista a little more, and maybe take my Newcomers there one day.  That's exactly what I did.

Vista was incorporated in 1963.  Before that it consisted of 19 square miles of land divided into three areas that were originally land grants.  It became the "Avocado capital of the world " in the 1950's, and David Brinkley named it one of the top 30 places to live in America.  That really surprised me.

More recently Vista has attracted artists and beer brewers.  On Main Street there are now three breweries, and I suspect another is being built.  Art and artists abound in Vista.  There are many art studios, dance studios and theatre groups in Vista, but it was the art that got my attention.  There are murals everywhere.  The most interesting mural is a 561 foot mural done on the back of numerous buildings on Main Street.  The mural depicts the history of Vista, since the time it was inhabited by the Luisiano Indians, to the 1950's when they hosted the Vistacado Parade.  It shows all the businesses that flourished in Vista in the 1950's.   Most buildings have murals built on the side or back of them, and on most streets you will find many sculptures done by local artists, and many kites.  The kite program started several years ago to promote local artists.  Each year local artists compete in the kite contest to win a spot on the streets of Vista.  It's a great way for the city to promote art and to recognize some of the great artists living there.

I took a group of Newcomers there, 25 in all, in early March, and most were surprised and delighted to learn more about Vista.  Our lunch at Urbn was delicious, and I'm now looking for a new adventure to take this group of interesting, enthusiastic women to explore.

Natural Food Expo Part 11

More food finds from the natural food show included Theo, a chocolate company.  They make a salted almond bar, lemon chocolate bar, and raspberry coconut bar, just to name a few.  I'm not a chocolate lover, but I tried the salted almond bar, and it was delicious.  They have bars in milk and dark chocolate.  Perfect Sense, which I mentioned in my last blog, also makes side dishes using kamut with chia and lentils.  Sadly, there were no samples available.  Everyone knows and loves Stacey's, who make delicious pita chips.  Now add bagel chips and pretzel thins to their line of products.  I loved the bagel chips.  They're great to eat right out of the bag, or with a dip.  Light Life is another company making plant based meat.  They were sampling sausage.  It looked like the real thing, and if I hadn't know it wasn't sausage, I never would have guessed.

We were getting tired at this point, so we went back to the Boulder Brands booth, where they had chairs and even a couch to relax on.  We spent 5 minutes with Phil before he dashed off to a meeting, and then took a short rest.  Our bags were full, so we left them at the booth, and started anew with empty bags.  We stopped at Food Should Taste Good, a company making chips.  Multigrain, guacamole, jalapeno and sweet potato were just some of the varieties, all excellent.  Kind, my favorite energy bar, is now making breakfast bars and more varieties of energy bars.  Pineapple coconut, cherry apple, apricot pear and banana pineapple with kale and spinach are some of their new products.  Crofters makes organic spreads like jam, that are so tasty.  Cherry mango and blackberry strawberry are just two of their delicious flavors.

Tates cookies have developed several new cookies.  Look for them in your supermarket.  They are sooo good.  Grecian Delights is a Greek food companies making swirls in apple and cinnamon and cheese and spinach.  they little straws that are flavored and swirled.  They make a great appetizer.  Additionally, they make tzadaki and Greek yogurt dip.  A new drink called BLK, is like a black lemonade.  Something in the process turns it black, and it looks very strange.  It tastes like lemonade, but it's black.  They say it is loaded with anti oxidants.  Stoneyfield yogurt was sampling some new flavors.  I tried a whole milk plain with honey.  It was fantastic.  We all agreed this was the best yogurt we had eaten all day.  The last product I want to tell you about is from a company called Pitaya +.  The base of the product is dragon fruit mixed with other ingredients.  It's in a powdered form, and is mixed with other ingredients to make a smoothie.  It was delicious and the most beautiful bright pink color imaginable.  It is used by companies like Jamba Juice as the base of their smoothies, but is also available to the public.

I saw many pickle companies this year, and other companies making pickled or fermented vegetables.  One was fermenting beets, kim chi and cabbage.  This is an acquired taste, but pickling and fermenting are getting popular.  Coconut continues to be popular in water, tea and lemonade drinks.  Unusual grains like kamut and spelt are also popular.  Seaweed seems to have waned.  I don't think I saw any seaweed products.  Bacon also seemed to be absent from anything I saw.  Snack crackers and energy bars are very popular, and yogurt, with different flavors and additions is more popular than ever.  Natural foods are here to stay.  Buzz words like GMO and locally sourced abound.  People are willing to pay a little more to know what they're eating.  Until next year, that's all from the Natural Food Expo.




The picture on this blog is of the number of plastic bags ONE person uses over the course of a year.  I thought this display made quite a statement.

Hooping In Solana Beach

Fran and I walk whenever  we can on Saturday mornings, and we've seen some interesting things on our walks.  Several years ago we saw a woman who had organized a Meet Up, for those interested in hooping. They met on the grass next to the Self Realization Temple in Encinitas.   What is hooping, you ask?  It's a variation on the old hula hoop.  These hoops are weighted, and of varying sizes.  You twirl them around your waist (the easiest thing to do),  then as you progress your upper body, arms and legs get into the act, and you are doing a full body workout.  It's not easy, but with the music going and people around encouraging you, the time goes by quickly.  Two years later, the same Meet Up group has moved to Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach.  They meet there on Sundays, from 10-12.  The group leader provides hoops and instruction, or she has hoops available for purchase.

I always figure that any activity that you do that doesn't feel like exercise is great to include in your  repetoire of activities.  Hooping is one of those activities.  You just turn on the music, spin the hoop, and away you go.  Stop by Fletcher Cove one Sunday morning and have some fun.  Men, women and children can all do it.  Last time I was there, there was a 5 year old twirling three hoops at once, and looked like she'd been doing it all her life.  If she can do it, we can do it! 

An Afternoon In Temecula

For my sister's birthday in January, I decided to call her and invite her to meet me in Temecula for lunch.  We hadn't seen each other in quite a while, and with her living in Lake Elsinore, Temecula seemed like the perfect place to meet.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time together.  I had been to the wineries several years ago, and to an olive farm, but had never really explored old Temecula.  It's a cute little town with lots of souvenir shops, dress shops, olive oil shops, and restaurants.  There are so many wonderful restaurants that I can't wait to go there again.

Madeleine and I  settled on Havana Kitchen.  We both like ethnic food, and since leaving Los Angeles, I haven't had too many opportunities to eat Cuban food, and I imagine she hasn't either.  I don't think Lake Elsinore has many (any) Cuban restaurants.  Havana Kitchen is a restaurant, bakery, and coffee house.  All of it is delicious.  Here's some of what we ate.

Havana Kitchen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's casual dining, you order at the register, get a number, and the server brings the food to your table.  Madeleine ordered breakfast, a kind of Cuban sandwich with chicken and cheese and topped with a fried egg.  It was delicious, but so big she could only eat half.  I ordered a traditional Cuban sandwich, with pork, cheese, pickles, on grilled bread.  Just wonderful, served with a side of black beans.  The restaurant also served some good looking salads, and some bowls.  They would take a serving of rice and top it with things like steak and onions, or brisket and veggies.  Perhaps the star of the restaurant is dessert.  They make a coconut flan and a traditional flan.  Additionally, they make some individual tarts, like lemon and pecan, that were delicious.  No, I didn't eat them all, but knew from the look how delicious they were.  Havana Kitchen also offers Cuban espresso, many mixed coffee drinks and cold fruit drinks.

The old town of Temecula looks similar to an old western town, with lots of wood structures.  There are lots of fun shops to browse in, selling jewelry, scarves, men and women's clothing, olive oil, housewares and other fun stuff.  I felt lucky to get out of town without buying a single thing.

Next time you have a free day, try old Temecula.  You'll enjoy a day of browsing and fine dining.  Madeleine and I enjoyed the day and our time together, and plan to  do it again soon.

Natural Food Expo Part 1

Every March I attend the Natural Food Expo in Anaheim.  It's row upon row of food, beauty and  health products.  It's important to have stamina when attending the food show.  I went this year with my mom and my friend Regina.  Good walking shoes, comfortable clothing, and a pen and paper and we were off  for a few hours of sampling new products and learning about new trends in food.

We first stopped by the Boulder Brands booth to visit with Phil.  He was not there, but we sampled the most delicious corned beef and egg breakfast sandwich, on toasted Udi's gluten free bread.  I've never had a gluten free product that I really liked, but I can't say that anymore.  The bread, at least toasted, was absolutely delicious.  We took off to explore the show, and stopped first to sample Bottoms Up ginger ale.  This is nothing like ginger ale as we know it.  This had a real ginger kick, and was so refreshing.  Right next door was a company called Arjuna, which makes a dynamite ginger bar.  It was delicious, not too sweet.  I guess I could say that ginger is a product that has become quite popular.  Over the course of the day I also saw chewy candies in a ginger flavor, and some lemonade and water drinks flavored with ginger.  Walkers, the cookie company, now makes a gluten free shortbread cookie.  It is delicious, and they've kept the buttery flavor of the cookie, which I liked so much.  The cookie is made with rice, corn and potato flour instead of wheat.

Silver Palate is a company that sells Grain Berry cereals and pasta sauce.  The cereals are delicious and include shredded wheat and cheerios.  The pasta sauce, which we did not sample, is made with special tomatoes (I can't remember the name), and are the only company making pasta sauce from these special, expensive tomatoes.  The sauce is carried at Gelson's.  Regina, who knows Italian food, said she can't wait to try the sauce made with these expensive tomatoes.  I will try to buy some too, and see if I can tell the difference.  Wildwood is another company making what they call "Plant based meat."  What that means is they make meat substitutes from soy.  I tasted the taco crumble and it was delicious.  They also make salsa, pesto and hummus.  Finally, Perfect Sense makes ruby red rice and sprouted rice dishes.  Of course they are gluten free.

I'm not even half way through all the wonderful products I saw and sampled, but this is enough for now.  Ginger was found in many products, and many, many products were gluten free.  I can say with confidence that gluten free is NOT a fad, as some thought it might be.  So many people feel better not eating gluten, and the processing and growing of our wheat today is not what it used to be.  Gluten free should continue to grow.  That's all for now, but I'll  be back with more products and trends that I noticed in the show, in a week or so. 

The Best Mushroom Soup Ever

My cruise in October on Crystal Cruises was filled with one delicious meal after another.  The one recipe that diners wanted more than any other was for their Cream of Forest Mushroom Soup.  It is served in the main dining room at least once on each cruise (more if you ask for it) and anytime in the specialty restaurant, Prego.  Prego is their Italian restaurant that you can reserve, as a change from eating in the main dining room.  At Prego the soup is served in a bread bowl, a beautiful presentation.  This soup is a treat, an although I haven't made this recipe, I have eaten it and would say it is one of the best  mushroom soups I have ever eaten.  Try it for a real treat.

Crystal Cruises’ Cream of Forest Mushroom Soup

Ingredients
1 oz. dried morel mushrooms, or 2 oz. fresh morels
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup portobello mushrooms, finely sliced
2 oz. white mushrooms
3 oz. fresh porcini mushrooms, finely sliced
3 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
½ cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. minced fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Leaves from 1 fresh thyme sprig, minced
Leaves from 1 fresh oregano sprig, minced
2 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
(4) 6-inch round bread loaves
Fresh rosemary sprigs, optional
Sliced mushrooms, optional
scallions, options

Directions
If using dried morel mushrooms, wash the caps and soak them in warm water to cover for 10 minutes. Remove the stems and discard them. Cut small morels in half and large ones into three or four pieces.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté all of the mushrooms for about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the wine and cook to reduce the liquid by half.
Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer the soup for about 25 minutes. In a blender or food processor, purée half of the soup until the consistency is very smooth. Pour into bread bowls and garnish with fresh rosemary, sliced mushrooms, and scallions.

Another Successful Dessert

Ron's third attempt at baking was another big success.  He wanted to make napoleons, but the way he likes them.  Traditional napoleons are filled with pastry cream and topped with a sweet frosting.  Ron doesn't like the pastry cream or the frosting, so we made our own recipe. Ron LOVES whipped cream, so we made napoleons filled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.  So easy, so delicious.  Make in small batches, as napoleons should be eaten the same day they're made.  I don't think that will be much of a problem.  They're so delicious.


                                         Whipped Cream Napoleons

1 sheet puffed pastry, cut in six rectangles
1 cup whipping cream
12 large strawberries, hulled and sliced in fourths
powdered sugar

Cut puffed pastry in six rectangles, and place on parchment on baking sheet.  Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or  until golden brown.  Remove from oven, and let cool.  When cool, split each rectangle in half (like a loaf of bread).  While the puff pastry is baking, clean and slice strawberries, and whip cream, adding a little powdered sugar at the end.  When the puff pastry is cool, assemble the napoleons.  Place flat rectangle on the bottom, then add whipped cream and a few strawberries.  Add a second rectangle, repeat the whipped cream and strawberries, then top  with another rectangle.  Sprinkle powdered sugar on top, and voila, you have an absolutely wonderful, decadent dessert.  Enjoy.

Sublime Tavern and Ale House= Sublime

The hottest trend in dining, at least in North County San Diego, is the gastropub.  What is a gastropub, you ask?  It's not a bar and it's not fine dining.  It's a casual tavern with craft beers and wine, and incredible food.  Just as pub food in England is often delicious, so too is the food at the gastropub.  At Sublime Ale House the food is just as important as the drink.  Not being a beer drinker, I can't vouch for their great beer, but most of the local craft beers are served, and people I talked to loved what they were drinking.  Ron and I went for the food, and were not disappointed.

Sublime Ale House has three locations:  North Park, Del Mar, and San Marcos.  We were at the San Marcos tavern, located on restaurant row on San Marcos Blvd.  We liked it the minute we walked in.  A big bar dominated the center of the restaurant, surrounded by tables, big and small, and several large tables for singles who don't want to eat or drink alone.  It's industrial looking, with an open ceiling and exposed pipes, and a little noisy, but that adds to the great buzz you feel as you enter the restaurant.

Much of the food is prepared from scratch in their large kitchen.  All the bread is made in house, and meat for the burgers is butchered and ground in house.  There are lots of comfort food items on the menu, like macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Ron had the grilled cheese sandwich, with slices of pork and pieces of dried apricot inside.  It was delicious.  I enjoyed the beer mussels, with onions and bacon.  The broth was delicious, and the mussels, although small, were very tasty.  Burgers looked amazing, served on buns made in their on site bakery.  A bowl of meat balls in marinara sauce, served with slices of crispy toast was delicious too.  Many salads are listed on the menu, from Caesar, to Asian Chicken, to Cobb.  Lots of appetizers, including homemade garlic breadsticks, cheese platter and lumpia were available, as well as sandwiches and burgers, with crispy fries, all with a little twist.

Sublime Ale House is a great  choice for a group, as you can order lots of small plates and appetizers and share everything.  The food is delicious, and the drink is too.  I wished I liked beer as I watched the bartender fill pitchers with golden and dark beer.  It looked so good.  I settled for a nice red wine blend, and enjoyed the food.

The Importance of Not Falling For Seniors

Take a look at the statistics for seniors regarding falling, and you'll see just how important it is to prevent yourself or someone you love from doing so.  The National Safety Council estimates that persons over the age of 65 have the highest mortality rate from injuries.  Among older adults, injuries cause more deaths than either pneumonia or diabetes.  Falls account for about one-half of the deaths due to injury in the elderly.  Among 65 year old women, nearly one in three will fall.  After the age of 85, over half of women will suffer a fall.  For men in the 65-69 age group, 13% will fall.  In the 80-84 year age group, 31% will fall.  The complications of falls are numerous and significant, and often lead to death.

Falls may be caused by a yet undetected underlying disease or a new drug may be the cause.  Poor vision from cataracts or macular degeneration, abnormally low blood pressure, or osteoarthritis are other common causes of falls.  Drug interactions should be discussed with your doctor, as dizziness can occur from certain drugs commonly taken by the elderly.

So we know that seniors fall more often than younger people.  We also know some of the reasons why.  Now the challenge is to prevent falls.  There are several easy things we can all do to reduce the risk of falling:

1.  Improve outside lighting around your home, and inside lighting in hallways, near stairs and bathrooms.

2.  Remove throw rugs and replace with wall to wall carpeting.

3.  Be especially careful when starting a new medication to be certain that it doesn't cause dizziness.

4.  Keep telephone cords and other wires out of the way.

5.  Keep areas where you walk clear of papers, books, clothes and shoes, or anything that might cause you to trip.

6.  Make sure all stairways have handrails and sufficient lighting

7.  Have grab bars installed next to the toilet and in the tub and shower.

8.  If you are a senior with a disability, it's best to wear shoes that give good support and have non-slip soles.

9.  Don't even think about getting on a ladder or step stool.

Always remember, no one ever fell going UP stairs.  Falls always take place down stairs.  Hold on, and take baby steps down stairs if necessary.  A fall down stairs will likely prove fatal.  Finally, if you're like me, take a few seconds before walking when you've been sitting for a long time.  It always takes me some time to get  my balance and make sure my feet are ready to move, one in front of the other.  Falling is a great danger for seniors, and should not be taken lightly.  Ron's doctor told him that his job for the rest of his life was "NOT TO FALL."

What Is Processed Food?

We've all heard a lot about processed food in recent years, and that we should stay away from it, and focus our diet on whole foods to get the most nutrition and maximize your health.  Processed foods are generally found in the center aisles of the supermarket.  The whole foods, fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, are on the perimeter of the market.  Processed foods are any foods that are not in their natural state.  This includes almost everything that comes in a bag, can or carton.  Processed foods contain ingredients that you probably can't even pronounce, let alone know what they mean.  Processed foods go through many complex processing steps, and generally contain additives, artificial flavornings and other chemical ingredients, which in recent years have been found to be one of the causes of many diseases, including ADHD.

Processed foods are also more likely to add calories, leading to weight gain.  Low fat foods which have been all the rage for the last 20 years are not necessarily low calorie.  They contain additional chemicals that add flavor and insure a long shelf life.  Unprocessed, natural foods, are what we should all strive to eat.

There are several processed foods that we should all try to avoid.  Bacon, filled with nitrates, should only be eaten occasionally.  Granola bars and energy bars, are thought to be healthy and nutritious.  Yes, they have lots of nutritious ingredients, but they are loaded with sugar.  They will give you energy, but they will also pack on the calories.  Instant ramen is probably one of the worst processed foods you can eat.  An average serving of ramen contains 2,000 mg of sodium, more than the total recommended for the entire day.  Dried fruits and flavored nuts are also processed.  They have chemicals added to increase shelf life.  Fruit snacks, which young children love, are also loaded with sugar.  Margarine is processed food.  Just read the list of ingredients.  Microwave popcorn is also a poor choice for those staying away from processed foods.  The reason is that the bag contains a chemical called perfluoroalkyls.  Finally, frozen foods in general are loaded with salt, sugar and additives.

Years ago I attended a program in Santa Monica at the Pritikin Center.  Nathan Pritikin was one of the first advocates for eating a natural diet to reduce diabetes and heart disease.  It worked then and it works now.  We learned to avoid the center aisles of the supermarket.  Shop the periphery of the market for fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, milk and eggs.  Occasional crackers and bread are good, along with grains.  This diet will keep us all healthy and fit.  We all need the occasional splurge, which is fine, if done in moderation.  That's the key to everything.  Moderation.

Homemade Rugulah

Several weeks ago Ron announced that he wanted to learn how to bake.  His first effort was Tarte Tatin, with excellent results.  His tart was beautiful to look at and delicious tasting.  Now he has made rugulah, a little more complicated process.

The following recipe is Ina Garten, with some minor variations.  Working with a cream cheese dough was difficult, but Ron did a very good job for his first effort.  Here's the recipe for a delicious rugulah that won't last long in anyone's house.

                  >p

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 pound butter, room temperature
>p<1 9="" cup="" granulated="" p="" plus="" sugar="" tablespoons="">
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 c. raisins
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash

Cream cheese and butter until light, then add 1/4 white sugar, salt and vanilla.  Add flour and mix until just combined.  Roll on floured board into a ball.  Cut ball in fourths, and wrap each piece in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for one hour or more.  While waiting, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and nuts in a bowl.  This will be the filling.  When the dough has hardened, roll into a circle, and cut dough into 12 pieces (triangles).  Place a little apricot preserves on the dough to act as glue, then put filling on each piece, press to hold in place.  Starting at the wide end, roll the dough like crescent rolls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Put egg wash on each pastry, then sprinkle with mixture of white sugar and cinnamon.  Return to  refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up, then cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.   Other fillings may be used, such as chocolate chips and nuts, strawberry preserves, or kumquat preserves.  I had made some home made kumquat preserves, but Ron didn't like the tartness, so we just used the traditional filling.  It sounds like a lot of work, which it isn't, but it does take some time.  The result, however, is much better than anything you buy in a bakery.  It was a fun way to spend an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon.