Jamie Oliver

With all the talk about health, good eating, and decreased life expectancy, (Yes, Virginia, your children will probably have a shorter life than you) it's nice to find someone who's working at the grass roots level for change. That person is Jamie Oliver who's started a food revolution.

I initially saw a presentation by Jamie Oliver on TED.com. And now he's bringing his message, ideas, and recipes to the American public via network TV and the Internet. Starting this evening on ABC at 8:00 Central Time, Jamie Oliver will hit the airwaves. If you miss it, you can see the full episode with minimal commercials by going to abc.go.com/shows/jamie-oliver-food-revolution.

I watched the promo for the show this morning and also looked around Jamie's website which is packed with great recipes. I hope you give yourself the gift of this wonderful resource and enjoy the caring compassion brought to this sometimes incomprehensible subject - food.

Beaded Trim

This month I want to teach you how to add beaded trim to your creations. Beaded trim looks great on the edge of a painted flowerpot or along the edge of a decorated box. Other trims, such as tasseled trims, also look great. You only need a small piece so this is a good way to use up what you already have on hand or to shop the remnant bin for small pieces at a bargain price.

The way I'm going to teach you is through a 2 minute video that I posted on Youtube. Just go to the Youtube site and then go to scckits. It's the top entry that comes up, "flower pots".

The secret to attaching trim so easily is the adhesive that's used, which is gloss gel. Even though gloss gel is sold as an additive for acrylic paint in order to get a some wonderful texture in brush strokes, it's actually a great adhesive that I've used for all sorts of applications, many of which will be coming up in other Fun Time Projects.

Enjoy!

Nutty Sandwich Filling

This is one of my favorite sandwich fillings because it's easy to make and tastes delicious. There are all sorts of variations that you could do with this but let's start with the basic recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup finely diced carrot

1 T soy sauce

Juice of 1/2 lemon

S&P to taste

Place the almonds and sunflower seeds in a food processor and process until very finely chopped. You also might be able to accomplish this with a blender.

Put the nuts into a bowl and mix in the onion and carrot. Blend well. Mix in the soy sauce and lemon juice. Add S&P to taste.

Store in a container in the fridge. That's it! You now have a healthy and delicious sandwich filling.

Additional Notes:

Although the recipe specifies almonds and sunflower seeds, the seeds I had on hand when first making this recipe, you could also use walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Once I had some cooked broccoli on hand so diced up the stems and put those in too.

Taste before adding the salt because the soy sauce is already salty and you might not need any additional salt.

I especially like this filling in pita bread or rolled inside a large lettuce leaf. Romaine works well.

Enjoy!

Mister Roger's Neighborhood

I recently had lunch with a business acquaintance who is also a dear friend. It was a time to catch up with each other and talk about what's been going on in our lives. We hadn't visited with each other for about a year.

The best part of visiting with this gentleman is the fact that he lives within a sphere of possibilities and his upbeat attitude is wonderfully contagious. I always leave our meetings in a positive frame of mind. This time when I left the restaurant I also realized that I was but one short block from a used book store. Bonus!

Book stores, especially used book stores, are high on my list of places that I like to visit. I enjoy simply walking through the aisles and looking for something to catch my eye. That day I happened past a cart with a collection of audio books that had just come into the store. There, in the top row, was a slim box that contained the audio book, The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers." It was on sale for $4.95.

For Mr. Rogers' fans or for anyone who needs an uplifting reminder of a man who blessed the earth with his presence and his devotion to children, as well as the child in all of us, this is a great read. I'll admit that disk one had me in tears. Figure that one, Mr. Freud. Later in the book I felt that the author focused a little too heavily on her own experiences while I wanted to hear more about Fred. This will not keep me from listening to this book again in the near future. It was a great boast during the rainy days of spring when it's too easy to forget the sunshine and growing season that are just around the corner.

Two positive encounters in one day. Thanks, gentlemen!

Tempeh

What, you may ask, is tempeh, and why would I want to put it into my body? Great questions! Tempeh is a fermented soy product that's high in protein. And although tempeh is like tofu in that it's made from soybeans, it is a whole soybean product with different characteristics and textural qualities. Tempeh's fermentation process and use of the whole bean gives it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins compared to tofu. It also has a firmer texture and a stronger flavor than tofu. And because of its nutritional value it's sometimes considered a meat analogue. That means that some people consider it a great meat substitute for vegetarians.

So now that you know all about the great nutritional aspect of tempeh and are a rather adventuresome type of person, you probably want to know what to do with a block of the stuff once you get it home.

I once had a recipe that made tempeh into a fake chicken salad, which was actually quite tasty. However, it contained gobs of mayonnaise, which can make most any concoction rather tasty, but doesn't do much for heart health.

What I do with Tempeh -

I simply slice a block of tempeh into strips about a quarter inch thick and place it into a non-stick frying pan on medium heat with a splash of soy sauce or tamari or Bragg liquid amino. I saute it about 3 or 4 minutes then flip it over to get the color and flavor into the other side.

Once browned and flavored I sometimes use it hot in a veggie stir fry. At other times I cut it into pieces and toss it into a cold veggie salad. Tasty and filled with good nutrition. What more could you ask for?

Enjoy!

Happiness

I recently listened to an audio book, Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. As the cover asks, "Think you know what makes you happy? This absolutely fantastic book will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how the mind works."

That it did. However, the author, as he admits, doesn't give any definitive answers about how to be happy, but rather explores how inaccurate most people are when they try to predict what will make them happy or how happy they will become if certain things occur in their lives. The arguments and examples are compelling but, as always, I was looking for easy answers. Sorry, Sparky.

The good news is that Gilbert, while conveying a bunch of good information, writes in a laugh-out-loud style that made listening to his work completely enjoyable along with compelling. I think it's worth a second listen.

Author, Daniel Gilbert, is also a speaker on TED.com if you want a taste of his style before you commit to his book.