Musings

Our Day At C2E2

Oh so much fun. The Little Guy and I dressed up for it. The Little Guy was Foxy the Pirate Fox from Five Nights at Freddy’s – a video game. He was recognized all over the con. Lots of kids wanted to take their pictures with him.2015-04-26_11.05.39 2015-04-26_11.05.49 Continue reading

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Nine Years Smoke Free

Nine years ago I quite smoking. I went to have laser acupuncture done and it was like a miracle. Halfway through the treatment I tossed the few cigarettes I had left in a pack and the lighter in the trash. And I’ve never gone back. That was a very worthwhile investment. Today cartons are costing almost what I paid for three cartons when I was smoking.

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Rice Krispie Treats When Allergic to Eggs and Butter

Passover starts Friday (on Good Friday) 3 April, 2015. Over on Facebook a friend a asked (for a friend) if Rice Krispie treats were Kosher.

They can be, if you use vegan marshmallows and use a butter substitute so you don’t have to worry about a butter and beef issue.

For me, with my egg, milk, and wheat allergies, if I use coconut oil and the vegan marshmallows, I can eat Rice Krispie Treats!

The vegan marshmallows are available at Whole Foods and can also be ordered online from Chicago Vegan Foods. They’re Dandies Vegan Marshmallows. They make mini marshmallows too.

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Allergic to Cake!

I recently had some blood tests done to see what I might be allergic to. The tests came back with moderate allergies to egg whites, milk, and wheat. So, cake. And cream, butter, half & half, milk, Carnation Instant Breakfast, yogurt, sour cream, CHEESE, mayo, marshmallows, meringue, soy sauce (has wheat!), bread, crackers, pancakes, biscuits, croissants, doughnuts!, and lots more including whiskey, vodka, and beer.

I got the test results on March 15th and stopped the wheat and egg that day. I stayed with the milk because I can’t drink coffee without cream and I wanted butter on my cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. By Saturday the 21st I had my last Starbucks Tiramisu Latte with milk. I’ll have to switch to a non-dairy option. Their website says they have soy and coconut. I much prefer the coconut to the soy.

We went shopping on Sunday for some alternatives for me. I found Kikkoman wheat free soy sauce and I bought some oatmeal and potato chips and Fritos. We also bought a half gallon of coconut milk and a half coconut half almond milk to try in coffee. The coconut almond milk doesn’t fit the bill for me for coffee, so I’ll use it in smoothies instead. I mixed cream of coconut with some coconut milk and that makes a passable creamer. Tuesday I found some soy creamer and a coconut creamer. The soy one said it was now creamier, but I found the coconut one much creamier. I also found some coconut yogurts that I’m going to try.

I also bought some wheat, dairy, and egg free pretzels, and some brown rice flour, potato flour, and tapioca flour. I have a little masa, but I’ll get some more. I will have to do a LOT of reading of labels. I won’t be getting rid of everything in the house because my husband and son can eat them and I am not so allergic that I can’t be around them.

I eat real food and make most of what we eat from scratch so I know what’s gone into my ingredients. But I’ll have to check what’s gone into other ingredients. I had a Swanson flavor packets box (mushroom marsala) that I had to give away because it contained butter and buttermilk.

I’ll find out if I feel any different after cutting these things out of my diet and keep notes of how I work around the loss of these in my cooking. I have decided that I can’t try for a competition cooking show because the items are too ubiquitous in cooking. They’re used in appetizers, entrees, and desserts. It’s not like, say, a shrimp allergy. That’s something that can more easily be avoided.

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International Eat A Tasty Animal for PETA Day

International Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day started in 2003 (12 years already!)

Here’s Meryl Yourish’s original post:

If you haven’t heard by now, PETA has started yet another offensive ad campaign. This one really reaches bottom—they are using Holocaust terminology, quotes, and pictures to liken the “slaughter” of animals to the slaughter of the Jews by the Nazis.

I’ve already received a letter from a child of Holocaust survivors who is, of course, extraordinarily offended. But here’s the thing: PETA is known for this kind of outrageous publicity stunt—and that’s what it is, an outrageous publicity stunt—and while I am also offended and outraged, there is absolutely nothing we can do that will make PETA change their ad campaign. I’m sure they knew exactly what they were doing, have a plan in mind, and, if they withdraw the campaign, will do it according to their deadlines and their decisions.

So let’s make up our own outrageous publicity stunt. Let’s designate Saturday, March 15th, as International Eat an Animal for PETA Day. Everybody set the date on your calendar, and either go out and enjoy a great steak, or cook one at home. Or cook up some chicken or fish or anything else that PETA wouldn’t want you to eat. And let’s let PETA know how their ad campaign has affected us.

And the post for the 3rd Annual IEATAPETA Day:

Some people are mentioning IEAPD, and linking to the original post, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to update you all on this year’s festivities. Yes, we are continuing our annual Mocking of the PETA People, because they always have something for us to laugh at (rather than get angry over). Their latest offense to things Jewish was their attempt to accuse a kosher slaughterhouse of cruelty to animals. Their charges were debunked. Yes, I know you’re as surprised as I was to hear that PETA lied once again, which would be not at all.

Yummy cowIn honor PETA’s continuing prevarications, and constant annoyance, we once again urge our readers to do what pisses them off the most: Eat meat on International Eat an Animal for PETA Day, March 15th (chosen because it was a Saturday, a convenient day to meet other webloggers, and come to think of it, if I could relive that day, well, I wouldn’t. Bill Cimino is a scary guy with alcohol in him. Come to think of it, Wind Rider is scary with or without the booze.

March 15th is a Tuesday night here. There’s a steakhouse in Richmond that I like very much that I could be convinced to go to for dinner. Or I’ll just have some kind of beef or chicken at home. How many Richmonders read this blog, anyway?

Remember, nothing says “Eff you, PETA” like a yummy cow dinner. Mm. Cow.

And here we are for the 12th annual International Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA Day!

You should check out our Facebook page – we have a year’s worth of delicious recipes posted there and we’ll continue to post recipes.

The snow’s finally melted off the grill and the ground around it is clear so I’ll be grilling some ribeyes for my dinner. Yum. Cow.
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Another celebrating IEATAPETA Day is Lost in the Cheese.

 

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Time to Spring Ahead

Set your clocks an hour ahead tonight before you go to bed. Check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors too. Change the batteries.

springahead2015

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Our Real Journey

Quote posted on my cousin’s Facebook page by a friend of hers. I made a meme for it.

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed.” ~ Wendell Berry
itmaybe

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This and That

Tech Republic has an article about why remote working makes sense. It really does, but it also depends on the worker. My husband manages a global computer network from a closet in one of our rooms. Well, the desk is in the closet, his chair is out in the room. Both my husband and I earned our degrees and graduate degrees remotely. We are both capable of, and comfortable with, working unsupervised. Of course, not all positions are conducive to working remotely. You can’t cut hair remotely, but lots of work can be done remotely perhaps freeing up hours in commuting time a day.

Comment at Althouse post on the President’s comments about US versus European Muslim assimilation:

Churchill had a noteworthy assessment of Islam in 1899:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_War

Harsh, but history shows that peoples, and generations, ascribe to certain inculcated behaviors. Assimilation is a consequence—or not assimilating or being accepted.

Paddington Cake Pops at Bakerella!

paddington

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Cool Idea to Implement Locally

And a great story that used it…

Lenore Skenazy at Free-Range Kids brings us a cool idea to maybe change grumpy people we live around.

In Windsor, Ontario an anonymous Canadian started a website and Facebook page called Spotted in Windsor for people to be able to thank and comment to each other via a public message board. It was modeled on one from a local university.

The story that a woman posted is very moving.
Read the whole thing.

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