Results matching “years” from Jeanette Hada's Wellness and Happiness Blog
For dinner we had yummy tempura zucchini with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce, and braised portabello mushrooms that were marinated to perfection. As our main course, we had tofu steaks that had pretty little heaps of mashed potato, crisp greens, and grilled sweet onions. Served on the side was a garden fresh mix of salad with juicy citrus and crisp pears. A deep purple, sticky sweet rice was also served. Everything was absolutely tasty and you could tell cooked with care.
We moved to the sitting area for a cup of light flavored chamomile tea from Korea and special treats prepared by my girlfriend. More crisp Asian pears and sweet oranges served with tiny whale toothpicks added just the right sweetness, and to make it even more perfect, she prepared a cake that wasn't too sweet and had bits of pistachios that added crunch and a complimenting flavor. See recipe below...
2 cups of sweetrice cake powder
----------------
I hadn't seen my friend in two years, so this get-together was a very special one. It was our first time meeting her absolutely charming, talented and interesting husband. It was a blessing to meet a couple that pair together so well. Both are musically inclined, share a passion for traveling and fine food, as well as seem to be very in love with each other (after being together for 10 years).
~ pictures to follow at http://jeanette.hada.us
I wish all of you a very healthy, happy, and prosperous 2008!
On New Year's Day we celebrated 2008 by visiting our good friend who has prepared the traditional Japanese New Years dishes for us for the past couple years. It was a little challenging as Naoki is vegetarian and I basically eat fish (ok, sometimes I'll have chicken, but it's rare these days).
She made my favorite dessert made from fresh Fuji apples and agar. It makes for a lovely, gelatin-free, refreshing jello. Everything was lovely and neatly sorted in a lacquered box. My favorite is the soup she makes flavored with kelp and filled with savory bits of dark leafy greens, daikon, and mochi (which she first toasted in the oven). The black beans that she prepared were soft and chewy in texture and slightly sweet. The chestnut/sweet potato was hearty and a beautiful golden color. Her anago rolled omelet was absolutely delicious and small rounds of seasoned taro were just a few of the items there. What a wonderful and special treat to experience every year! Pictures to follow at http://jeanette.hada.us
Ok, obviously I'm a little obsessed with food and would love to share a few of my favorite foodie sites. Some of these most people already know, but here they are just in case...
http://www.yelp.com
- This is an excellent site, where people can critique (rant or rave) about their experiences with different places they've visited.
http://www.opensourcefood.com
- By far my favorite recipe site with pictures that will have those late night hunger pangs kick in.
http://www.annamariavolpi.com/foodmovies.html
- Another food lovers list of food-related movies
Since our business meeting was rescheduled for Saturday, we set out to visit some local shrines in Ise, which is approximately an hour and a half away. All together we went to three different places and walked through lush green gardens that have over a thousand years of history. The crown prince of Japan was set to visit the following day so the shrines were exceptionally clean and in order.
The first place was hidden within the city and appeared to be well kept. Naoki informed me that they move and rebuild the shrines at the particular place every 20 years as the gods tend to get bored of staying in one place. To me, I guess any change after two decades in one place would be good.
The second location we went to next was my favorite. It was so vast and had a river running through it. To enter, a long wide wooden bridge needs to be crossed and lengthy pebbled walkways surrounded by trees and foliage of various hues of green shaded lead you to each god's shrine. When you approach, you make an offering (a coin or paper money will do), bow two times, clap twice, then give your thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. Every entrance to a shrine has a well or fountain with ladles to cleanse your hands (some people also use the water to rinse their mouths) before entering. Aside from the amazing scenery, I loved that this place was next to a shopping area. We had a delicious lunch (see photo) of marinated tuna over rice, a smoky flavored miso, cold noodle w/ half cooked egg (somen), pickled daikon, and a tiny seasoned tofu patty, scallop, and what appeared to be a small purse of tofu stuffed with mushrooms and vegetables. Yes, all of it was super delicious!
Our third place to visit was a shrine for a moon god. I'm not sure what that exactly means, but this was a very hidden location. Due to the overcast weather conditions, it was really dark and difficult to see. Four shrines in a row were set up. After Naoki and my in-laws attended each one, we left for home.
The following information has been circulating for a few years. It's copied from an email I received awhile ago. If you have any interest in learning more about genetically-modified food, please watch the documentary "The Future of Food" and visit EWG.org.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately this is only for North America!
--------------------------
VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION
I didn't know until I read it that the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables have valuable information on them! According to a letter from 'a scientist knowledgeable in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)' in the October 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine:
"A useful tip to the consumer [would be] a primer on how to read the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables. Besides providing the store's cash registers and computers with product identification and price information, these stickers can tell you a lot about the food you are buying. A label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food. Labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified. Labels with 5 digits starting with a 9 indicate that the food is organically grown."
Well as soon as I read this I looked at all my little stickers and it's true! All my organic food had stickers with 5 digits beginning with 9 and all the conventional food had stickers with four digits. There were no five digits beginning with 8, nor do I plan for there to be, but what a great thing to know! Am I the last one to know this?
For the past few months there have been numerous (but not new) reports on the benefits of drinking tea, especially the green kind! Naoki's family has a beautiful green tea farm in Mie, Japan and they are ready to ship 2007 spring leaves. The cut off date to order will be this Thursday, May 10.
This green tea tastes different and has a sweeter and fresher flavor than what is available in most stores here. It can be cold brewed as well as served hot. Please allow boiled water to cool for a few minutes before adding the delicate tea leaves to prevent burning, which can alter the taste. Hadaseicha's tea is dark green in color, has a bold taste and was carefully harvested by Naoki's parents. Orders are available only once a year and large orders can be stored in the freezer to preserve freshness. My mother likes to order the teabags in bulk and repackage them to give as gifts to her health-conscious clients.
This is "omurice" (Japanese-style omelette rice topped with demiglace sauce) from Clover Bakery in San Jose.
Last night I found two teabags of my favorite organic mulberry tea and enjoyed it alongside my pastries filled with spicy fish roe (mentaiko) this afternoon. The flavors brought back memories of our travels to Taiwan and Japan two years ago. Taipei is where I purchased this wonderful tea. Naoki and I often ate Japanese style pastries/bread while we were running around Japan hosting presentations and promoting our business.
This weird, but interesting looking citron is called a "Buddha's Hand" and was purchased at today's farmers market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It's scent is similar to a Meyers lemon, but more intense and slightly sweeter. I brought one home to show Naoki, since he has an interest in photographing strange things (you'll probably see it on his blog later)
Along with my buddha's hand lemon, I picked up one "pain epi" wheat bread (it's shaped like a stalk of wheat) at Acme Bread Company, and two organic oranges to make cranberry/orange relish. While walking back to the office, I broke my bread in half to share with someone on the street and stashed the other half in my bag containing the buddha's hand. The aroma of the fresh baked bread and citrus together created a wonderful smell!
The best part of eating that bread this evening was the light lemon taste it took on from the oils in the citron. It was perfect alone, though I did eat it with a small piece of pepper jack.
Everybody is beautiful in one way or another.
This is news to celebrate! Send me an email from now until the end of the year and I'll send you great health information and a free piece of my favorite dark chocolate :) jeanette337 at gmail dot com or visit my site and complete a contact form for two pieces of dark chocolate!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science EditorTue Nov 14, 6:38 PM ET
They were so addicted, they just could not give up their favorite daily snack -- not even in the interest of science.
But chocolate lovers who flunked out of a Johns Hopkins University study on aspirin and heart disease helped researchers stumble on an explanation of why a little chocolate a day can cut the risk of heart attack.
This is Lucky, formerly Rupert, and he is a 3 month young Green Cheek Conure. This little guy has the best personality and is really energetic! I almost couldn't leave PetCo earlier today, but we had to return home to place our new purchased guppies into the fish tank before they ran out of oxygen. (yeah yeah, they're sort of cute too.). As soon as we arrived home, both Naoki and I jumped online to check the lifespan, care and noise-level of this breed of bird.
The Green Cheek Conure (which doesn't have green cheeks, go figure) has a lifespan of 25 - 30+ years with proper care, is the smallest of the Conure breeds, and makes the least amount of noise. That's not to say they don't scream or squawk - it's just not as loud.
So far, he has walked around the condo, shared a pluot, pear, and apple with Naoki, gotten familiar with his huge cage, and is now relaxing in the office. I will purchase a few toys for him tomorrow. A few sites mention that they love baths, so I might look for a large bird bath for him as well. Melanie, the one that did a wonderful job of raising him at Petco for the last month, told us not to overstock his cage with play items or let him ride on our shoulders, as he might develop dominance issues. The last thing I'd want is a spoiled and bossy bird, so we'll probably follow her advice.
Wish us luck on taking care of this sweet tiny bird!
Beautiful white peaches from Kashiwase Farms (Organic, specializing in stone fruit, almonds, and Asian pears (yum!))
Today we headed to the Farmers Market at Santana Row. Thankfully the crowd was light, as I believe most people were swarming around downtown San Jose for the Grand Prix racing event. There were quite a few certified farmers there and a handful of organic vendors as well. We left with decent sized bags of delicious white peaches, white nectarines, shiney red plums, juicy strawberries, and one crisp, j-shaped Armenian cucumber - all organic of course!
Afterwards we made a quick stop over at the Great Mall in Milpitas for something to eat and to get a bit of exercise in. Window shopping at a mall that's the size of four football fields definitely counts as exercise.
This particular mall has a mix of really cool and some seriously junkie stores. I usually have a lot of fun visiting the accessory shops that sell all types of sparkley stuff. It's a bad case of "Magpie Syndrome", being attracted by things that glitter and catch the light. Maybe it was from being full or from shopping the day before at the Gilroy Outlets, but I couldn't find anything to purchase even though there were some excellent sales going on.
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/mad_cow_di3.cfm
For over 30 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture have been flirting with a mad cow disease epidemic. The public has largely been kept in the dark about regulatory decisions leading toward this potential public health catastrophe and even about the dangers associated with eating contaminated meat and meat products. Recently, some of the glaring deficiencies in the regulation of the U.S. meat production system were revealed when a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in Washington.
Mad cow disease, or BSE, belongs to a group of related brain-wasting diseases known as "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies" (TSEs). While TSEs are known to occur spontaneously, they also are spread through cattle herds by feeding infected nervous system tissue to other animals. Beginning in the 1970s, the meat rendering industry began processing dead, dying, disabled, and diseased animals for use in livestock feed--and pet feed--as a way to increase the protein consumption of cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry (cattle can get the disease by eating less than one gram of diseased meat and bone meal fed to them as a protein source). Consequently, these quasi-cannibalistic feeding practices quickly spread the fatal TSE diseases, resulting in hundreds of thousands of diseased animals, some of which ended up in the food supply in Britain and Europe. Over 140 people in Britain have been infected with vCJD from contaminated beef.
Humans who eat contaminated beef products are at risk of contracting the human version of mad cow disease known as new variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (vCJD). The disease slowly eats holes in the brain over a matter of years, turning it sponge-like, and invariably results in death. There is no known cure, treatment, or vaccine for TSE diseases.
Tissue from infected cows' central nervous systems (including brain or spinal cord) is the most infectious part of a cow. Such tissue may be found in hot dogs, taco fillings, bologna and other products containing gelatin, and ground or chopped meat. The process of stripping every last piece of meat from a cow carcass, including connective tissue from bone, can contaminate this meat with infected nervous system tissue. Transmission of vCJD between people has also occurred in over two-dozen cases as a result of transplants or injections of body tissue from infected people.
Despite the adoption of additional safeguards following the discovery of mad cow in the United States, the FDA still allows the risky practice of recycling animal offal into feed: ruminant animals (cattle, sheep, goats, deer) are fed to non-ruminants (pigs and poultry), and these non-ruminants are rendered and fed back to ruminants. Such practices are banned in Britain and Europe. Also, in spite of the wake-up call the FDA and the USDA recently received, only a small percentage of slaughtered or soon-to-be slaughtered cows are tested for BSE in the U.S. By contrast, Britain tests 70 percent of its beef cattle and Japan tests 100 percent.
So far, none of the vCJD cases diagnosed in the U.S. have been linked to domestically-produced beef, but this fact may have little bearing on the reality of the situation: the disease has a long incubation period and few dementia-related deaths in the U.S. are investigated. Creutzfeld-Jakob disease is not yet a reportable disease with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CFS seeks to make CJD a reportable disease so occurrences can be tracked, and to plug the loopholes that still exist in FDA and USDA regulations, i.e., require testing of all cattle over 20 months of age and ban all animal products from feed.
