Food, Inc.

Has anyone seen the documentary called Food, Inc? Taylor and I just watched it this morning for the first time and it was fascinating. It went into detail about the Food Industry and the "veil" that is pulled over our eyes to keep us from knowing what really goes on to bring food to the grocery stores, fast food chains, etc. All I can say is GROSS. Please find it and watch it, I think it is so important that we know what bad things we are putting into our bodies without even knowing it. If you have Netflix you can watch it online. It's some serious stuff.

Happy Meal?

So a little while ago I posted about the experiment we were going to do with Happy Meals. We started it a few weeks late but it seems to be producing the same results as others have gotten. Nothing's happening to it, it's just drying out and getting stale-looking. I've come up with a few thoughts on it though. The problem with leaving it out where air can get to it is that it just dries it out. And isn't moisture the key to producing mold, etc? Well at some point we're going to try this test again but put it in a sealed container and see what happens with the highly processed food, compared to say a home-made hamburger. We'll try to keep you posted.

Not-so-Happy Meals

This is for everyone out there who eats, see's others eat and/or who's heard of McDonald's. So, basically everyone. Taylor found this on Yahoo news and he called me and had me read it. It is fascinating. Now I don't want to sound like a hypocrite, I eat fast food every once in a while and may even enjoy the occasional hamburger from one of the main fast food chains but in the end do I ever feel well after? I won't feel like going for a three mile run, that's for sure. And even if I don't feel too bad physically I don't feel like giving myself a pat on the back. Most of us already know what fast food does to our bodies and this article gives a perfect example of why the stuff really should be avoided. Sally Davies conducted an experiment by leaving out a Happy Meal to see how long it would hold up before molding, decomposing, etc. Here are two photos taken, one back in April when she first laid out the food, and the second 6 months later.
I don't know if I would have been able to identify which is which.

Here is a link for the whole article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101012/bs_yblog_upshot/mcdonalds-happy-meal-resists-decomposition-for-six-months

Taylor and I will be conducting our own Happy Meal test beginning today so if you want updates just check out this blog.

If you want any more motivation to stay away from fast food, try watching Super Size Me. It's a documentary written and directed by Morgan Spurlock who takes on the challenge to eat only McDonald's food for one whole month. It made me never want a fast food meal ever again.

I feel quite passionate about this topic and I think it is because I feel so strongly that the happiness and peace of Americans are crumbling because of such bad health. I could go into so much more BUT I will spare whoever is reading this. If you do feel like listening to more of my thoughts on this topic, I'm sure there will be more in future posts. I hope you find the info as fascinating and motivating as I did. :)

Let them eat cake!

I've always always wanted to make actual fancy cakes with the fondant, different tiers, etc. but never had the guts to give it a try. Well after watching lots of cake shows on T.V. over time and then watching tutorials online and reading over recipes I decided to give it a try and make a cake for my sister-in-law Hannah for her 20th birthday.



Her birthday was yesterday (Sunday) and so last Monday I went shopping and got all the ingredients and supplies I needed. Tuesday I made the fondant and then stored that away. Friday I went on to make the chocolate buttercream frosting to go beneath the fondant and in between the cake layers. Saturday morning I began the baking. I baked the cakes and then frosted the layers and then chilled them.

In the afternoon when Taylor was home to watch the baby I went to work kneading and coloring and rolling out the fondant. This picture above is the lower tier just after covering it with fondant.

The bottom tier covered and the top tier before being covered with fondant.

Now covering the top tier.

I trimmed the excess off the edges.

Here is the cake before getting decorated.

Next I rolled more fondant and started with the stripes on the bottom.

Here I added fondant balls.

Then with chocolate frosting I pipped squiggley designs on the top tier.

After adding edible glitter, more fondant balls on the top, and some ribbon it was almost done.

Ta-da! Here is the finished product. (Notice the glossy look? It's not supposed to have that but it happened nontheless because of being covered and stored in the fridge over night). I had a BLAST and learned a lot and I will definitely do more in the future. Thanks for listening!

Green apple and Mozarella Crepes

Alright guys this is something I made a month ago and I'm finally getting the chance to post it. It was DELICIOUS. If you like the flavor of mozarella cheese with sweet and tangy, this is just for you. Let's see if I can remember the basics... I don't think I wrote it down! I first saute'd some white onion and green apple in butter and brown sugar. I might have added some cream as well.

The green apple began to cook too fast so I removed them and let the onions get a little more transluscent before I added the apples back into the pan.

I sliced some Mozarella cheese.

I then whipped together some crepe batter and added some cinnamon and grated soaked almonds.

I added the apples back into the pan to begin to carmelize.

After the crepes were made and I removed the pan from the stove, I put some slices of mozarella cheeze, the carmelized green apple and onion and maybe even a little more brown sugar onto a crepe and folded it over.

Here is the finished product. It was SO yummy it could probably qualify as a dessert. I highly recommend it. Again, I didn't write anything down while I was making it and didn't take any measurements so you'd have to wing it. If you ever decide to try it, good luck!

New delicious discoveries

A week or so ago I got the idea for these yummy tomato and fried cheese crumpets I made up. What I did was take our basic pizza crust recipe, add fresh grated parmesean and dried basil to the dough and formed them into patties, brushed melted butter over them and stuck them in the oven for 12-15 minutes. While they baked I sliced up mozarella and stuck it on the grill until they were melted and golden brown. I put the mozarella on the baked crumpets, placed a slice of tomato on top with some salt and pepper and there you have it. Delicious! This next meal I would highly recommend to anyone who likes savory chicken breast. It's a chicken marinated in a mustard and lime mixture. For the marinade, juice a half a cup of lime and mix with a tablespoon of mustard. Then whisk in a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add two teaspoons of sugar and a dash of salt and pepper. Mix it all together and poar half of the marinade over two chicken breasts and set them in the refrigerator to marinade for a few hours of over night. When you're ready to bake, set the oven temp to 375, slice up bell peppers, preferrably red, yellow and orange and add them to the pan of raw chicken. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. When it is done take it out of the oven, poar the rest of the marinade over the chicken and let it sit for 10 minutes.

I made it last night, and here was the final product.

Served with some brown rice, it was so amazing! If I had more chicken breasts I would make it again tonight.

Vegetable Chowder

Yesterday I sampled a new recipe and then made it for dinner because it was YUMMY. It's called Vegetable Chowder. It's delicious and a lot like soup you would get in a restaurant. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup broccoli, chopped

3 cups vegetable broth

1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups low fat milk

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

In a pot, saute the pepper and onions in olive oil until tender. Add remaining vegetables, broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. In a small bowl or cup, combine flour and milk and mix with a whisk until smooth; stir slowly into soup. Bring soup to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes to allow to thicken. Just before serving, mix in the parsley and cheese until melted. Serve with whole wheat toast. Serves 6

I actually used Colby jack cheese instead of sharp cheddar because that's what I had but I would recommend using sharp cheddar if you have any, it will leave the soup with more flavor. Because I was missing a few other ingredients I used dried parsley instead of fresh, a cup of potatoes instead of a half a cup of celery and a half a cup of cauliflower. Here's how it turned out!

On a different note, my herbs are growing!!

DAGOBA Organic Chocolate.

For all you chocolate lovers out there, here's a yummy treat. Those of you who don't know, I LOVE chocolate and can't seem to get enough of it. Because of my intense love for chocolate I am trying to be more conscious about other aspects besides how amazingly wonderful it tastes. For example, I mostly love milk chocolate and haven't really cared much for dark. Dark chocolate however, has a higher percentage of cacao.

According to Wikipedia, "Chocolate and cocoa contain a high level of flavonoids, specifically epicatechin, which may have beneficial cardiovascular effects on health."

"Prolonged intake of flavonol-rich cocoa has been linked to cardiovascular health benefits, though it should be noted that this refers to raw cocoa and to a lesser extent, dark chocolate, since flavonoids degrade during cooking and alkalizing processes. Studies have found short term benefits in LDL cholesterol levels from dark chocolate consumption. The addition of whole milk to milk chocolate reduces the overall cocoa content per ounce while increasing saturated fat levels, possibly negating some of cocoa's heart-healthy potential benefits."

My mom loves dark chocolate and I remember how she would sometimes carry a dark chocolate Dagoba bar in her purse and pull it out whenever time called for it. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was heading to the health food store and decided I would like to follow in her steps and keep a bar of dark chocolate in my purse. I've had a few pieces and I'm starting to appreciate the flavor.

For more information on DAGOBA organic chocolate, check out their website! http://www.dagobachocolate.com/

And here's a little artwork I did to show my appreciation for chocolate. (There's a bit of a glare on the paint). They're hanging above our kitchen. :)

Thanks mom, for giving me a love for CHOCOLATE. :)

Delicious dinner and some gardening

Earlier this week I discovered something DELICIOUS. It's not exactly the healthiest thing but it is sure YUM. I actually got the idea from the movie Julie and Julia when Julie was making dinner for her husband near the beginning of the movie. I sliced some french bread, sizzled it on both sides in a pan with butter and then used diced tomato, Mozarella cheese, Italian dressing and some salt, pepper and dried basil to go on top. It was SO good we ate it again the next night.

Last night Taylor and I planted our first garden! When I say garden I mean two box plots here at the apartment community garden. We are a little late getting it started but we're hoping we still have some growing success. We planted corn, squash, some flowers and we will also be planting tomatoes. I'm also planning to grow some herbs indoors by a windowsill. Super excited!