A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

My First Roasted Duck

 

Up until now I've always been a little intimidated by roasting a duck. On the one hand, it seems like it shouldn't be harder than a chicken or turkey but on the other hand I've seen in article after article how fatty duck is and how hard it is to home roast one and still make it edible. After researching the internet with a host of opinions ranging from simply roasting it as one would a chicken to not even attenpting it at all, according to another article, because supposedly the Long Island ducks available in the supermarket are a waste of money compared to the Muscovy ducks available to restauranteurs, I decided to pick and choose my methods according to what made sense to me and my experience and was very pleased with the outcome.

What's for Dinner? Ground up Pink Old Chicken Parts Paste Anyone?

 

Photo from this morning's Springfield News-Leader.

This is yet another good reason why I'm doing everything in my power to never need to eat fast food again if I can help it.  Cooking all our meals at home can be a pain sometimes, in the least it's not very convenient, but the alternatives are disgusting and terrible for our bodies.

After all the people who left out McDonald's Happy Meals and photographed them day after day with virturally no changes in appearance (translated: didn't decompose) (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20019427-10391704.html)  here's another reason to stop eating at fast food restaurants: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110509/LIFE04/105090314/-1/NLETTER01/What-s-really-in-a-chicken-nugget?&source=nletter-news  The chicken nuggets are only approximately HALF chicken meat, the rest is bones, cartilage, skin, and fat, all ground up into a pretty pink paste that has to be colored with food dye to even approach appearing like chicken meat.

I'm not picking on just McDonald's.  All of the fast food chicken nuggets are like this. All of the fast food buns and commerical breads are teeming with preservatives.  All of the sodas and juices high fructose corn syrups or chemical sweeteners.  These items may all be edible by the definition that they don't poison us right away but they are certainly not not food nor nutrition. It's amazing that we wonder why the cancer and obesity rates are so high in this country. We're a nation of obese but nutritionally starved people.  Including me. It's sad that I/you/we have to work so hard and pay so much more at the grocery store for actual food that is nutritious for our bodies.  Do the CEO's, marketers, and food scientists of these companies not have families?  How can they produce this crap that their own families consume with a clear conscience? The even sadder thing is that even with knowing what I know, I still eat it when it's convenient and a lot of it still tastes good to me, but I am phasing it out. I'm hoping the day will come when the taste and smell of burgers and fries nauseates me.

 

Happy Mother's Day....to me too!

 

My wonderful niece Jordan surprised me this year with both this gift of a ladybug planter (a favorite of both of ours since she was a little girl) with a peach miniature rose in it.  Along with this Facebook status update:

MY mom knows she is my mom and I love her for having me. HOWEVER, My Aunt has had a hand in raising me as well and should be honored for it so give up to all those "OTHER MOMS" who don't have kids of their own but help raise kids. Thank you Aunt Gonnie!!! Love you!

You have no idea how much both of those meant to me Jordan. I know we were all in a hurry because I had to go to work but I smiled all night long thinking of how sweet that was of you to gift me with both of those things. I love you too, Baby Girl! You will always be my Sunshine!

Good & Good For You: Blood Orange & Lavender Olive Oil Muffins

 

My sweet tooth has been acting up a bit lately. No matter how much I try to feed it broccoli, it screams for sugar. I hate it when it gets cranky, but I will persevere. I'm a firm believer that I can eat healthy AND still satisfy my sugar cravings. My sweet tooth demanded orange: Orange martinis?  Orange jelly candies?  Orange Cake?  What we compromised on, my sweet tooth and I, was a batch of these delicious and good-for-you blood orange and lavender olive oil muffins.  Sweet, but not too sweet, and a treat without being empty calories.  With the addition of the whole wheat pastry flour, these muffins are a little heavier, a little more toothsome than so-called muffins that are really fluffly cupcakes masquerading as breakfast food.  More than breakfast, these are a fruity, flower-scented snack, that also contain a serving of good daily fat, for tea time or any time of the day I need a pretty little pick-me-up. 

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