Sunday, March 27, 2011

Cheap and Super Healthy Soup

These days, everyone is looking for ways to stretch the dollar. It's not as difficult as you may think. Make your own homemade soup to last a few days for a fraction of the cost of commercially-prepared soups. Here's a well-tested recipe for split pea soup..It may not smell that good when being cooked, but the taste is well worth it!

Split Pea Soup
6 cups water
2 cups split peas
1/4 cup broccoli, diced
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning spices (oregano, rosemary, thyme and parsley)
2 Bay leaves, if desired

Place the water into a crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly. Set the temperature to high. Cook for 5-6 hours.

Adding the vegetables from the beginning will allow them to "melt" into the peas, making a wonderful puree. If you want to bite into veggies, add the veggies during the last two hours of cooking.

Serve with bread, crackers and a salad for a complete meal.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge.

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Japan Relief

Here's some information on how to become involved...

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=556029

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Natural Egg Substitutes

If you're concerned about cholesterol content, or just want to find an alternative to the commercially-prepared egg substitutes..there are natural alternatives.

Here are some I hope you enjoy...

In place of one whole egg, use any of the following:

* 2 egg whites
* 1 T tahini plus 3T water
* 1 T garbanzo flour plus 1T oil
* 1 T lecithin granules plus 3T liquid
* 1 T arrowroot powder plus 3 T liquid

I originally saw these alternatives in the 'Uprisings: Whole Grain Cookbook'. I've used these combinations, but prefer the egg whites. You may have other favorites.

Enjoy!

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Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Throwing a Cheese Tasting Party

Ever gone to the grocery store and been mesmerized by all the varieties of cheese? I know I have. And, I'm not a big cheese eater. So, the thought of buying a slab of cheese just didn't appeal to me. I started checking with some friends about my dilemma of wanting to experiment with cheeses, but not buy so much. And, the idea came up...

A cheese tasting party! It was a small gathering of six of us. Each one brought some cheese they were unfamiliar with. I also asked each friend to bring some background info about the cheese such as its origin to make it more interesting.

What a blast! With only six of us there, there were a total of 10 cheeses. Some stores offer cheese platters with chunks of cheeses from various regions of the world. One friend brought a platter full of French cheeses. How nice.

I supplied hot tea and water, plus some white wine was available for those so desiring. Crackers and bread also made the serving buffet.

The next day, and three days later...I am cheesed out. :) The party was a blast and I'm confident if others decided to have one, the same results would be achieved.

Go for it! You may be surprised how palatable and versatile cheese can be. :)
Plus, it's easy on the budget. :)


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