Archive for June, 2008
June 30th, 2008
for the fourth of july week, it’s a good time to think about skeeter avoidance. while i was on vacation last week, my kids and i got bit up at some point but we don’t even know when. and try as we could, we couldn’t stop itching.
our go site has a story about “green” ways to beat bugs. it’s not very upbeat, i have to say. but a cbs story offers alternatives, including one by burt’s bees. i love that brand. have to try it.
anyone have any other suggestions?
June 27th, 2008
this weekend, i took the kids to see “wall-e,” the pixar movie about robots left to clean up earth after humans trashed the whole place.
i was leery when i saw the trailer ages ago, but the reviews are pretty positive. that’s what the movie man told me. but does wally haas think of a movie that shares his name? i’ll have to ask him. he’d probably rather go fishing…
personally, i liked it. it truly is a love story. and a wake-up call for lazy humans: they turn into blobs in floating chairs, basically.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/fCcCZOSAtxA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
June 27th, 2008
back when i said i wasn’t going to eat cow, pig or bird, i wanted to try a rachael ray recipe for fish tacos. i made it this week.
let’s just say i’m the only one in the family who liked it, and i probably won’t make it again. the coleslaw and the bean mash overpower the fish. plus, i wasn’t even sure if i was supposed to put the onion sautee mix in the bean mash or what. it doesn’t say.
My Oh Mahi, That’s a Good Fish Taco
From Every Day with Rachael Ray
June-July 2008
SERVES 4
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1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped |
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1 small red onion, one-quarter finely chopped, the remainder thinly sliced |
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1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped |
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One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed |
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1 teaspoon ground cumin |
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Salt and pepper |
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3 tablespoons honey |
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2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce |
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Juice of 2 limes, plus 2 teaspoons grated peel |
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1/2 head red cabbage, shredded |
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1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro (a generous handful) |
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Four 6-ounce mahi mahi fillets |
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8 corn taco shells |
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8 flour tortillas |
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1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream |
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1. In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeño, chopped red onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. In a small bowl, mash the black beans with the cumin and season with salt and pepper; cover.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil with the honey, hot sauce and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Add the sliced onion, cabbage and cilantro; toss.
3. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Coat the fish with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the lime peel. Cover and grill the fish, turning once, for 8 minutes.
4. Warm the taco shells and tortillas on the grill. Spread a few spoonfuls of mashed beans (stir 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water into the beans if too thick) on the outside of the tacos, and wrap a tortilla around each one, pressing to adhere.
5. Flake half a piece of fish into each taco shell and top with some cabbage slaw. Serve 2 tacos per person, with the crème fraîche and extra slaw on the side.
June 26th, 2008
have you ever seen the show “take home chef” and thought, dang, i would look soooo bad at the grocery store on the day i would just happen to get surprised by host curtis stone?
well, i got a press release this month about a local woman who won a national recipe contest (green & black’s chocolate challenge), and alison brantley of dixon got to met the guy in nyc. see our people story and her recipe for chocolate basil shrimp here. i might have to try that one!
June 25th, 2008
i had already heard of a movable feast, the rockford eatery/caterer. but lately, karen king of choices natural market tipped me off to ”moveable feast” by james mcwilliams (not papa h.).
she says it’s about eating local and having a connection w/your food: reaping environmental and economic benefits. appears the author also wrote “a revolution in eating” available at amazon.com.
this eat-local thing is something i’m still thinking about for a weeklong experiment… could be the hardest yet (though i’ve considered following the speed limit strictly as another one).
June 24th, 2008
… i never expected someone to say “green” unless they were talking about how much money it costs to put in hardwood flooring.
that prospect is something i’m considering, so i was surprised to learn that shaw floors makes flooring that uses as much of the wood as possible by compressing it in between a top layer and a bottom layer. looks like the company has other initiatives, too.
(shout-out to ron at lonnie’s for the tip. and if anyone wants to contribute to my flooring fund…. just kidding.)
June 23rd, 2008
a friend of mine said, ala “seinfeld” style: what’s the deal with everything being doubled bagged these days? bread for one. greeting cards. shampoo. avoid this practice if you can…
or just use a “festivus” bag.
June 20th, 2008
on thursday, i attended the rockford chamber of commerce’s women’s expo, where i laughed my way through jerri nielsen’s amazing story about treating her own breast cancer at the south pole. she had quite the sense of humor while telling us about how she trained the welder to operate on her. that’s just one example…
the reason i’m writing about her on “go green” is that she said the station was one of the most “green” places on earth. not because it’s a giant sheet of ice. because it’s a pack-it-in, pack-it-out place. meaning you put your pee in a u-bottle, then put it in a barrel with a funnel, to be hauled away later. and if you can have a bottle as wide as a peanut butter jar, apparently for women, it’s worth crying over. wow. makes you appreciate a toilet (and 80-degree summer weather!).
June 19th, 2008
funny enough: last week, when i banned chicken from my diet, i got a press release touting the new “boca in a bun chik’n & swiss sandwiches.”
pop that puppy in the microwave for less than two minutes and voila, lunch! and 20 grams of protein!
i won’t eat it because it has cheese, but i found a review here (that’s where the pic is from).
June 18th, 2008
when i was a kid, one of the highlights of going to grandma’s house was drinking ting soda out of bottles with paper straws. the straws would get all soggy from the liquid and the bad-habit chewing.
but did you know they still make paper straws? there’s a company called aardvark. cool, eh?
p.s. ting is now known more as a different jamaican brand soda. reports of the original ting’s death are mixed. nevertheless, returnable bottles are a part of wisconsin nostalgia.
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