Accuchef Recipe Program

I use Accuchef recipe program to keep my recipes organized.  I was tired of different size index cards, newspaper and magazine clippings and recipes on notepad paper.  I wanted them all organized in one place. The most important thing I was wanted in a recipe software: that it be easy to use.  I was able to download the program and use immediately without reading any instruction manual or help file.  There is a nice help file f needed.

Although the program is only $19.95, they give the option to download a free, sixty-use trial copy before purchasing.  All future upgrades are free.

Click above to order

This program allows printing of cookbooks with headers and footers and on index cards.  It's possible to import recipes from a website and comes with over 150 recipes.  Each cookbook file can contain over 2 billion recipes!!!  It's possible to list available ingredients and Accuchef can suggest recipes.  The nutrition analyzer can analyze over 6,300 items. There are many, many more great features.

I love this program!

Julien Bakery Paleo Wraps

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried these Julien Bakery Paleo Wraps.  The folks at my local health-food store have not yet steered me wrong and they were certainly right about these Paleo Wraps.  Made from coconut meat and coconut water, they are not only delicious, but they actually stay together when eating.

My first wrap consisted of shrimp, lettuce and cocktail sauce.  The slight taste of coconut added to the taste.  I'm not certain these coconut wraps would go with everything, but it could not have been better for shrimp.  My husband tried roast beef, Swiss cheese and mustard - just as good!  Although these are a little pricey, as is any specialty food, I think they are well worth it!

Julien Bakery items are available at THE GLUTEN-FREE MALL:

Tomatoes are a Fruit

There is no question - tomatoes are a fruit.  Period.  It's easy to tell a fruit from a vegetable; there are two different ways:

1.  The seeds are INSIDE a fruit or OUTSIDE a vegetable
2.  The flower has a fruit attached, while vegetable flowers are above or separate from the edible portion. 

So yes, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, green peppers, avocado and cantaloup - all fruits.  Just because we put something into a garden or tossed salad, does not mean it is a vegetable.

And speaking of summer squash, zucchini is not only a fruit, it's a summer squash.  I know the signs at the supermarket say "summer squash" on the yellow and "zucchini" on the green, but they are both summer squash.  The yellow is usually either a crook neck or a straight neck.  Winter squash, which are also fruit, are the ones that become ready in the fall usually after a frost - hubbard, butternut, acorn, etc.

This brings me to corn.  Corn on the cob is one of my summertime favorites and I've been known to buy four dozen at a time.  I cook them, cut the kernels off the cob with a knife, place in an inexpensive plastic bag, then into a vacuum-seal bag.  I lay the bags out in my freezer, flatten and let freeze; I then vacuum seal.  I've also been known to eat only corn on the cob for dinner.  Is there anything better than fresh corn-on-the-cob with organic butter in the summer?  There just might be - freshly frozen corn off the cob in January!  It's always great to take a bag out of the freezer and enjoy on a cold wintery day!  I have not bought insecticide-laden corn from the supermarket in several years.  It is a lot of extra work to freeze my own corn, but well worth it!

Corn - is it a fruit, vegetable or grain?  I personally think the jury is still out on that subject.  The Whole Grains Council defines corn as a grain if it is dried and a vegetable if it is cooked.  I think I may be wrong, but I have to disagree.  Since we eat the kernels, which are the 'seeds,' and the seeds are INSIDE the husk, I would have to take vegetable completely out of the equation - seed, fruit or grain.  But honestly, I vote for grain.

Nigella Sativa - Black Cumin

For the last couple months I'm seeing, over and over, articles on the Internet about a black seed that is said to have many health benefits - Nigella Sativa.  This morning I came across an article by Green Med Info that contained lots of interesting information.  Also known as Black Cumin, this tiny black seed is believed by many to be a powerful herb with numerous health benefits.

While black seed is said to be anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory, what I find most interesting is that it is believed to be antibacterial and said to not only kill MRSA (Methicillin-resistand Staphylococcus Aureus) but also believed to kill h.pylori.  According to Russ Bianchi, h.pylori is the most common cause of heartburn and can be eradicated with cayenne pepper.  I am interested to know if this tiny black seed can contribute to killing borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease bacteria, since it is believed to be anti-bacterial.


I buy my black seeds from Amazon, but I've read I might be able to find them in my local, Indian spice store. Black Cumin tastes a bit like lemony pepper. I grind the seeds in my Melitta coffee grinder, put the powder in a small bowl and my husband uses it like pepper.  I've used a pepper-type shaker, but since it is a bit oily, it sticks together; a bowl/spoon seems to work better.  I'm not a big fan of pepper, so I would probably need to encapsulate it, if I were to take large amounts.

It's Tick Time!

Natural (and Toxic) Tick Repellents

Tick season is officially upon us here in New Hampshire.  Aside from planning to use food-grade diatomaceus earth (DE) on my lawn in the areas we tend to walk the most, I have an arsenal of tick repellents.  I specifically use three: 

1.  I use the most toxic, tick-killing spray I can find that contains permethrin to put on my shoes (especially white sneakers - they love white) and pants from the knees down.  Most experts who taut using natural products, admit that the toxic products we are exposed to can NEVER compare to having chronic Lyme Disease.  Those of us who have chronic Lyme Disease know we need to protect ourselves and our families at any cost from this debilitating, financially crippling disease. 

2.  As the weather warms and I switch from pants to shorts, I spray myself from the waist down with Buzz Away Extreme.   It's active ingredients are: castor oil, soybean oil, cedarwood oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil and lemongrass oil.  Inert ingredients are: purified water, coconut oil, glycerin, lecithin, sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, sodium benzoate, and wintergreen oil.  Although I don't know what sodium benzoate is, the remaining ingredients look like excellent, natural ingredients.  It is a little strong smelling, and since I'm sensitive in that department, I use another product from the waist up.                                  
                                                 (Affiliate Link):

3.  Since the smell of Ticks Away Natural Spray is a little milder than Buzz Away Extreme, I use this product from the waist up.  It is a New Hampshire product, sold by Cardigan Mountain Soap Works, and works well.  This company also has a "bugs away" soap that I use during tick season.  Ticks Away ingredients are: distilled water, pure essential oils, emulsifier, sorbitol. Looks like they use good, natural ingredients.

Aside from using sprays on our bodies and food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) for the lawn, we've found another great tick-removing tool - CHICKENS!  We just picked up our babies last night.  They are 21 days old - born March 15, 2013- three Barred Rock, three Australorps, and three Barred Rock/Rhode Island Red cross.  The bad news is: they won't be big enough this year to eat the spring ticks.

 

What Type of Oil Should I Use in My Recipes?

                                                               

Here's a question I wondered for years and didn't know the right answer until recently:  What type of oil should I use in my recipes?


Certainly it depends on what type of food and how it's going to be cooked.

Pan-frying: My choices for pan-frying are coconut oil and peanut oil, but real peanut oil that isn't mixed with other oils is hard to find. Coconut oil is almost always the best choice, as it can withstand high-heat temperatures and is also known for its many health benefits.  Olive oil should not be used on high-heat temperatures.

Baking:  My first choice for baking is freshly-ground flax seed; next would be coconut oil and then olive oil.  Coconut oil and olive oil might add a different, possibly unwanted flavor to the recipe where I can not tell when flax seed is used.  I keep my flax seeds in the freezer and use a small coffee grinder to freshly grind when needed.  All three of these options have wonderful health benefits.  Although I've always been told, never use olive oil in baking, I've used it for years and have never tasted a difference.  I've read that olive oil is the number one adulterated food and that might be why I've always had good luck - maybe it wasn't really olive oil!  I've just started to buy the smaller bottles of olive oil in a dark jar rather than in a large tin.  When it comes to olive oil, what comes to mind is, 'you get what you pay for.'


Canola:  I remember specifically when canola was 'invented.'  I use the word 'invented' for lack of being able to find a more suitable word.  It was in the 1980's and everyone was saying, "Why aren't you using canola - it's the best, healthiest oil?  Don't you know it's heart healthy?"  I was young, never questioned it, and I guess I thought that everyone else was smarter.  When I recently started questioning food in general, I wondered: What is a canola?  I know what the peanut in peanut oil is, what the olive in olive oil is and I even know what the coconut in coconut oil is.  What the heck is a 'canola'?????

I decided to research this conundrum and found that canola stands for Canadian Oil Low Acid and canola oil is made from the genetically modified rapeseed plant.  The rapeseed plant, on its own is toxic and birds will not eat the seeds.  By genetically modifying the plant, it is supposed to be okay for human consumption. You won't find any canola oil in my pantry!

Vegetable Oil: I will only buy vegetable oil if I am familiar with which 'vegetable' the oil came from and that it is not genetically modified.  So really, I don't buy this anymore.

Here is a report of an Indian study that found we should be eating oils our grandmothers ate:  Times of India Article  Who would have ever thought (*being fastidious*) we should be eating foods that were around 100 years ago rather than man-made, food-like products???