Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Archive for April, 2014

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Dinner Of Herbs Eggplant Bruschetta

Posted by terrepruitt on April 29, 2014

I love eggplant.  I read a blog called Dinner of Herbs and she posted a recipe for Eggplant Bruschetta.  Yum.  I used to not like bruschetta because I didn’t like tomatoes.  But I like it now . . . well it depends.Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga  I like some bruschetta and since I love eggplant I thought I would like this.  As I was making it I laughed because she only listed amounts for two of the ingredients and it turns out I didn’t use the amounts for those that she stated.  Also, I had to laugh–yeah, right!–because I went to the grocery store on Thursday right after my Nia class.  I like to do my shopping while I am already out, so on my way home I stopped by the store.  My WHOLE reason for going was to get the ingredients for the bruschetta!  I even wrote them down.  But while I was there I thought of a few other things and completely overlooked one KEY item on my list.  I forgot the bread.  DUH!  Can’t really make bruschetta without the bread.  I used to think bruschetta WAS the bread.  Then I came to think bruschetta was the tomato mixture.  But bruschetta is the bread topped with the tomato mixture.  Eggplant bruschetta just has eggplant added to the mixture.

Since I like to run all my errands while I am already out I decided to wait to get the bread on Sunday after my rotation of teaching Nia at the YMCA.  HOLY MOLY!  My husband is under strict instructions to remind me never to go to the grocery store on a Sunday.  Geez louise.  I was there over an hour.  It was so crowded.  But I got the bread!  I got two different kind since my husband doesn’t really like bread and he really doesn’t like hard sourdough.  So you can imagine he doesn’t like TOASTED sourdough.  So I got him some wimpy soft bread and I didn’t even toast it.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaAnyway . . . for Dinner of Herb’s recipe I used a very large eggplant and I cut it up into tiny cubes.  Way smaller than she shows on her site.   I put garlic salt on it.  I roasted it for 45 minutes.  I only used three tomatoes for roasting.  I also roasted them with garlic salt.   Then I added a half of a raw tomato along with about two tablespoons of raw chopped onion to the mix of roasted eggplant and tomato.  I actually always thought that bruschetta was raw tomatoes so that is why I added some raw tomato.

So I loved it.  My hubby ate it.  As I said he is not a bread fan so he was not at all excited about it as I was.  I thought it was delicious.  I think it is so delicious I am going to make it again, but just the eggplant-tomato mixture and put it over pasta.

I am excited about this because – as I just said – it is something else to do for pasta, or heck . . . .anything.  To me it is that good that I would just make it as a “salsa” to put on chicken or pork.

I have to say that I did not take good pictures.  I was kinda in a hurry.  And if you take pictures of food, you know you can’t do it when you are rushed.  So . . . .sorry the pictures are not very appetizing, but if you like eggplant and if you like bruschetta you will love this!

Do you like bruschetta?  Do you like eggplant?  What other type of bruschetta do you make?

 

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Baking Paper

Posted by terrepruitt on April 26, 2014

One of the best things for me — besides the potatoes — that came out of the Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes recipe was the use of parchment paper.  I have always heard about parchment paper.  A lot of recipes call for it and a lot of people use it, but I never had.  I always thought it was a waste.  Why buy paper you are going to put in the oven just to use once?  I didn’t really understand it.  And I probably still don’t understand all of the benefits of it, but the benefits I do understand make it worth it — to me — to use it.  I love using parchment paper to roast/bake on!

One thing I love about it is easy clean up — of course, right?  I mean you just put the paper down on the pan and roast/bake/cook on it and then when your food is done you just take it off the pan and throw it away.  As I mentioned I used to think that was a waste, but it saves me a few other things.  It saves me time . . . . I am not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan.  It saves water . . . . again, not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan.  Not even really having to wash the pan most of the time.  Some times I can just wipe the pan clean.  Sometimes I wash it, but it is so quick it is not even comparable.  Along the lines of washing, I am saving soap, if you want to go so far as to say that — it would be true.  So the clean up alone is GREAT.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaAlso the food tends to cook differently.  I say differently as opposed to better because not everyone might like the way it cooks.  It tends to help allow the food’s moisture to evaporate better.  Perhaps the paper helps soak it up then it dries.  Not sure of the science behind it, but I know that using foil does not allow the food to dry as much so the food does not get as crispy.  That is why I broke down and bought some when I was going to make the potatoes.  Actually I had bought some a long time ago I just never saw the real point in using (read “WASTING”) it.  So the food seems to get “crispier” than without the paper.  I like that!

One thing I do when I use parchment paper is I wet the pan a little.  The parchment paper I have comes on a roll so it tends to have that curved shape.  It also seems really slippery.  The paper always wants to move around the pan.  So I put a little water on the pan so the paper stays in place.  Then usually once the food is on it, it doesn’t slide around.

I usually use it for roasting veggies.  Tonight I am roasting sweet potatoes.

I always thought that parchment paper was good up to 450° F so that is what I roast/cook/bake at, but the box says 420° F, which I just noticed as I was taking a picture of it for this post.  Oh!

I know there are other uses for parchment paper.  I can think of a few, but what about you?  Do you use parchment paper?  What do you use it for?  Don’t you love it?

 

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Some Benefits Of Doing Back Bends

Posted by terrepruitt on April 24, 2014

In one of the sessions I taught for the City of San Jose at the Willow Glen Community Center I taught a progression of back bends over the course of the sessions.  We started with a very gentle standing back bend, Upward Salute.  Then in our next meeting our next step in the back bend lesson plan was a back bend on our bellies, it was a Locusts Pose.  With this one it can be a very gentle progression as it can be done in mini forward steps.  It is an easy pose to modify.  It can be broken down into three separate components all which can be modified.  Then we moved onto the Sphinx Pose, which is more of a bend.  Then the next pose we moved on to was the Cobra Pose.  This is a bigger back bend and while it can be modified it is not as obvious in its modifications as the Locusts Pose.  The last one we did in the series was Upward Facing Dog, which is a hanging pose which allows for a big bend in the back.  In my posts regarding each pose I talked about how to do them, but I didn’t really explain the benefits of them.

Here are some of the benefits of each pose:


Upward Salute (Urdhva Hastasana)

Good for relief from symptoms of:
Fatigue, asthma, congestion, indigestion.  Also, like all of the back bends, it helps relieve back ache.
It helps Improves digestion, relieve mild anxiety and create space in the chest and lungs.


Locust Pose (Salabhasana)      (11/17/21: Click Gate, Locust – Pictures May Help for a picture.)

Is an invigorating pose so it can help alleviate fatigue.  It also helps with relieving flatulence and constipation.  It can assist in relieving indigestion.

Sphinx Pose  (Salamba Bhujangasana)      (11/17/21: Click Picture The Great Sphinx for a picture.)

Helps calms nerves and relieve fatigue and stimulates abdominal organs. It also helps relieve stress.

Some say Traditional texts say that Bhujangasana increases body heat, destroys disease, and awakens kundalini.  (According to the Yoga Journal’s website.)

Cobra (Bhujangasana)      (11/17/21: Click Picturing Cobra And Updog for a picture.)

This pose also helps relieve stress.

Soothes sciatica along with the same as the sphinx (some believe that Bhujangasana increases body heat, destroys disease, and awakens kundalini.)

Upward dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)      (11/17/21: Click Picturing Cobra And Updog for a picture.)

Is similar to the other back bends as it stimulates abdominal organs, and helps relieve fatigue and sciatica. It is also therapeutic for asthma. It also helps with mild depression.

 

Many yoga poses separately boast stress relief.  I believe, however that yoga in general helps relieve stress.  I understand though that some poses target stress specifically.  All the back bends open up the chest and bend the back so ailments associated with those areas are often made better by doing back bends.  The benefits stated here are benefits that can be found after engaging in a yoga practice and doing the poses properly.  This page is not to be used to diagnose or treat any issue you may be having.  Please make sure you are seeing a medical professional for your serious health issues.

In addition to know how to do the pose, I always think it is nice to know how poses can help you.  Back bends are a good way to reduce stress.  Please take caution in doing them.

Do you include back bends in your practice?

Posted in Yoga/PiYo/Pilates | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

I Could Use To Get “Smarter Every Day”

Posted by terrepruitt on April 22, 2014

I am not a science person, although I love the science of cooking and understand that you do certain things and use certain ingredients to get a specific outcome. I don’t know a lot about science. I don’t even claim to KNOW about the science of cooking, I just like it. I think some science is interesting. When I say I don’t know a lot about science I am admitting to not knowing what some might think of as basics. So this video that my friend posted on her Facebook page not only entertained me, but educated me. I thought it was really cool. I thought it was a great way to explain it to kids and people. I really loved the liquid in the jar. I also laughed because, if what he said is true, now it makes sense why my mom was always so “stuffy” in the front seat and I was always so cold and felt like I was being wind blown in the back seat.

With the way Facebook is working lately the a picture of the video is on her wall, but there was a link to another person’s blog post. Below is the video of Destin showing his kids some “Fluid Mechanics”. I put that in quotes because that is what he calls it, and again, that is not something I know. Listen to the end so you can hear his speel about a free audio book.

 


Also click over to his site Smarter Every Day where you can read stuff to help make you smarter every day.

In the blog post Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown by a Balloon and a Minivan Robert T. Gonzalez explains in detail what is going on in the van. I didn’t read his entire post because I was satisfied with Destin’s explanation. This link is actually what my friend had posted on Facebook.

I did click over from Destin’s Youtube page to read his post regarding Re: People confused by children who say “Yes Sir” which I enjoyed and I thought was well written.

So the funny thing about this is as I mentioned I learned a lot and I learned why my mom was always stuffy while I was freezing whenever we went somewhere in the car with my parents. As I was watching the video I thought, “Dang! I can’t tell her. But this makes sense”. When my hubby and I would go places with my mom and dad we usually would all pile into their vehicle with my hubby and I in the back seat. My mom would always claim to be “stuffy”. Ya know a little more than hot as if there is not enough air around you . . . it seems a little difficult to breathe? We call that “stuffy”. We say, “I feel stuffy. Or, “the air is stuffy.” Well, now I know why.  When the car is moving the air goes to the back.

Whether you know this stuff or not I hope you watch the video because it is entertaining.  I think I have seen Destin’s stuff before, but I forget about it.  I could watch it and read it and I am sure I would get a little smarter every day.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.  Thanks, Destin!

Well, what did you think?  Did you know this?  Don’t you think this is a great teaching tool (the experiment)?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Still Dealing With Death

Posted by terrepruitt on April 19, 2014

Truth. This is not from Trainer Terre or Nia Teacher Terre, this is from The-Daughter-Who-Spent-All-Day-Cleaning-Out-Her-Mothers-Closets. Note: this is the second time I’ve type this as my laptop shut down on me. So now all I can say is that I was ok until we watched 47 Ronin which ends in everyone dying — even those in love – and it was more than I wanted to deal with after having gone through a couple of closets and drawers of my mother’s. It was obvious that my mom loved a bargin. Yet she was very fashion conscious. That she cared for her bargins was evident from how she washed her clothes on the delicate wash cycle and how so many of her things were hung up inside out. It was obvious how much she cared for the clothes no matter how much they cost. It was obvious – to me – that she thought she would be around a lot longer to enjoy said wardrobe.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaAs I went through each item, so obviously and lovingly cared for, I thought of how much she would have been happy to pass these clothes on to someone who would love them and get use out of them. But we all have our own feelings and ideas of wearing clothes from a dead person’s wardrobe. Many people I contacted were very hesitant. I don’t fault them that, as I said, we all have our own feelings and ideas.

But one person’s response brought tears to my eyes. I told her that I might have shoes for her (depending on her size) and that there were earrings that had her name on them. I asked her if she was she interested. She said, “I’d be honored.” After having seen how well my mom took care of her clothes and stuff. And after seeing all the cute shoes she had that I can’t wear because she had such a small foot. After experiencing that weird feeling of, “this person was keeping things for a life yet to be lived”. It was so wonderful to hear that someone would be grateful to receive stuff from her. It made me so happy to think that my mom’s stuff would be enjoyed. Those three simple words made me humbled to be related to such a woman that would speak them. Those words also made me determined to wear stuff from my mom’s closet and fashion jewerly stash to the family’s Easter celebration tomorrow. I pictured myself standing tall in one of my mom’s color coordinated top ensembles with the dangly fashion gold earrings sparkling as I swished my proud-to-be-my-mamas-daughter-head about! —All this from my cousin’s exclamation.

Thank you, Cousin for helping me though this. Thank you for helping me feel like my mom and the way she lovingly took care of the stuff that mattered to her matters to someone else too. It is very difficult to get rid of things that a loved one had and cared for. When such items can be passed on to someone that will get use of of them, it makes it seem less of a loss–to me.

How do you feel? So you think it is great to pass stuff on? Do you want to just throw stuff away? Do you pass it on to Goodwill? Do you keep it forever? What do you think?

 

Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Memorial Page

Posted by terrepruitt on April 17, 2014

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Diane Bacho, Memorial page, Beautiful momA gathering for my mom is not going to be held until way later, at least four months from now. My father wants it to be after summer and I am not sure why, but at this time that is his present idea. We will see. Things are in flux right now. The “plans” we think we have get changed along with the ideas, so we will see. But regardless of exactly when we have it, it will be, as I said, months from now. I don’t know if it will be big or small . . . I imagine when something is held so many months after a death less people will attend . . . I don’t know. Anyway . . . . since I don’t know what will be happening, I thought I would put a page on my blog for her. I have had a few people share some stories or memories of my mom and they brought a smile to my face. It is nice to hear nice stories.

She was my mom, but as with anyone, you never know everything about them. Plus people have different perspectives so it is always nice to hear how a loved one touched someone’s life. So if you would like to share a story or a memory of my mom, that would be really nice. Share it as a comment on the Memorial Page “Diane Bacho – 1948 – April 11, 2014“. I will be moderating the comments, just because there are spammers and scammers. If you don’t have a blog you might be surprised to know some of the things that people comment. I am sure that just because this is about sharing memories of a deceased person that will not stop the spammy comments. So, once you type it, it will not show until I approve it. Again . . . I am requiring the comments be moderated just to keep the spam out, so please feel free to share whatever you like – just understand it won’t show up right away. IF for some reason you don’t want me to make your memory/story public that is ok too, but make sure that you type that in the comment and I won’t “approve it” for publication, I can just read it myself. Or share it with family accordingly. If you have already sent me a note, via FaceBook, or e-mail, would you do it again on the page? Please.

Also, I am thinking I will probably end up sharing a few of the stories (I am hoping there will be at least a few) at whatever type of gathering we end up having . . . whenever that will be. If you think of something after you share one comment, please feel free to comment again. The more the better. My father is not on Facebook and who knows if he ever will be. That requires him to sign up and blah, blah, blah, but my blog he can just look at. He does not have to sign up to see it, so if he chooses to check it out he will be able to read the stories and the memories. Not sure he will want to, but . . . it will be here for him if he does. So . . . please . . . share something.

Thank you.

And again, I want to thank you all for all of your support, it has been a God-send and has helped me more than you will ever know.

Share comments on the
Diane Bacho – 1948 to April 11, 2014 page.

 

Click here to go to the page or click on the page name above (Diane Bacho – 1948 to April 11, 2014)

Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

11:00 PM, Friday, April 11, 2014

Posted by terrepruitt on April 12, 2014

I posted some information on Facebook, but there are Nia students that are not on Facebook, but who read my blog. There are also yoga students who I am not friends with on FB who read my blog . . . and there are many of you who have sent love and support while my mom was dying. I am very grateful for all of the love, support, stories . . . and just everything that has been sent to my family and me. It has helped me more than you know. I will probably go back and tell the story of my mom’s last two years (or so) just because I really feel like sharing the story of the brave woman that she was. Also, it will serve as therapy for me and as a log. I will probably share more about my feelings on this whole “process of dying” that so many people just accept as the way it has to be. I do not agree nor do I feel it is an acceptable way for someone to spend their last days on this earth. The purpose of this post, though is to share with you that my mom died around 11:00 pm on Friday, April 11, 2014.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaThe hospital called me at a few minutes before 1:00 am on Saturday, April 12, 2014. So I keep thinking date of death is today, but I was told it was about 11:00 pm on Friday. I don’t know the exact time, but that is not all that important. What is important is that she is done with the twelve days of the “process”.

She went to the hospital on Saturday, March 22, 2014 because she could not breathe. They placed a tube in her throat to open the airway because they thought that they would be able to do more for her on the Monday. But her team of doctors decided that there really was nothing more they could do. One of her doctors was willing to perform a very risky surgery if my mom elected to go that route, but she did not. So she was told that she needed to pick a day to die . . . the conclusion reached by her medical team was that once the tube was removed her damaged trachea would collapse shortly there after and death would be relatively quick.

It was a common occurrence though, for my mother to not do anything according to what the doctors have previously experienced or think would happen. That is just how it has always been. She reacted badly to drugs that no one EVER had reactions to. She was always surprising her doctors and teaching them things by way of her body responding to treatments/procedures/etc differently than they had ever seen. This always served as a reminder to them, over and over, that each body is different.

The tube that was in her throat was thought to be keeping her throat open. As I said, the medical professionals thought once it was removed her throat would collapse. While the tube was hooked up to a ventilator it was rarely breathing for her. She was breathing on her own. Only once in a while — when she was tired — did the machine take over. And most often it was only for a few breaths. So she was able to breathe on her own, it was just an airway issue. Because trachea’s can’t be fixed or transplanted she was told she would die and that she needed to decide when that would be.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaShe sat in bed for 10 days contemplating death. All the while she worried about us — did we eat, we should go sleep, etc. She joked with us and allowed us to talk while she listened. The day for the scheduled extubation was stressful and nothing went as planned. In fact it was twelve days after the tube was removed that she died.

I want to emphasize that the hospital staff and my mom’s medical team was very kind and caring and they did all they could to make the dying process “comfortable”. My issue with the process is not with them nor the hospital. As I said, that is another post altogether, but I wanted to explain that she received good care.

We are now able to enter into the grieving stages of “after a loved one dies” . . . because up until now it was a horrific place of limbo. So, if you are able, please keep up all the wonderful stuff you have been doing. Please keep sending positive thoughts and prayers. Throw over that glitter, sparkle, and shine. I have really been lapping it up and I appreciate it so, so, so, so, so, so much.

Make a toast, take a bite, relish the breath . . . . .

Thank you.

Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

Rolled Out My Back Pain

Posted by terrepruitt on April 10, 2014

If you have read almost any of my posts you have heard me say that I use my blog as a recipe book and my reminder for things. So today I am writing myself a post about the foam roller. I know I have talked before about using tennis balls to roll out a muscle issue in my back. I actually used a different type of ball – like a huge super ball – because I don’t have any tennis balls, but it helped a lot.  This time it was not a muscle issue. And I am not necessarily recommending this as something you should do. I was a little nervous doing it myself, but I really was getting to the point where I couldn’t tolerate the pain any longer. I couldn’t move my head. Driving to teach my Nia class this morning I was doing the full torso twist as I changed lanes . . . I had to lift away from the seat and turn my whole torso because I could not comfortably turn my head. So I used my foam roller to roll out my back.

I believe sometimes stress is held in the body. I think that there is a little stress going on right now.  Ya think?  And I believe I am holding my stress of late in my back.  Normally, as I somewhat alluded too above, I might have stress held in the muscles, but this time it was more in my spine. I am more brave when it comes to muscles or connective tissue issues, but a little leery of trying to adjust my spine, but as I said, it was needed. So I laid down on the foam roller so that I could roll it down the length of my spine.

Now I want you to know that if you have back pain you should see a professional. A professional as in a doctor, a chiropractor, an osteopathic physician , etc. Someone that can treat you and your back. If you are familiar with your back issues and you feel comfortable doing this, that is up to you.

So I used it on my back as I did on my hamstrings in my post Roll Out The Hamstring.  But on my back I gingerly rolled on the roller. I started about mid-back,then rolled up, then down. I used my arms to support my weight a bit. Ahhhh, it was fantastic. I moved freely the rest of the day, which was great because I had a Gentle Yoga class to teach tonight.  I also did the vertical stretch shown in my first post about foam rollers, Foam Rollers are COOL!

Well, this might be something that might help you, again, I caution you.  But I know it will help me, but now I just have to remember and that is why I am posting it.  I definitely need a reminder for something occurring during this period of time.

Have you ever used a foam roller?  What do you use them for?  Do they help with massaging your muscles?

Posted in Foam Rollers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Dwight’s Delicious Dinner

Posted by terrepruitt on April 8, 2014

In a recent post I asked for help with the items I received in my produce box. I received some great ideas. One of them was from a Chef, he is the owner of Burke’s Grill in Douglasville, Georgia. He came up with a great idea to use EVERYTHING in the box in one dish. I never would have thought to do that so I just had to try it. I hope I didn’t ruin his recipe by not having sweet basil. I used marjoram instead. Not the same, but I love it. Also, the wild rice he recommended would have added another layer of flavor but I just used the white rice that I had. His comment of the original idea/recipe is on my post Can’t Come Up With Ideas. Below I have arranged it in more of a recipe format and documented it as I did it.

In his comment he said, “First,this is advice from a chef’s view point. Organize your items from the ground up. Onions, radishes, carrots together.  Then chard alone (it’s special). Then kiwis,grapefruit and apples. Now we are cooking.” Oh yeah, now we are cooking. Here is what I did.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaIngredients for Dwight’s Delicious Dinner:

2 white spring onions
2 pippin apples
4 carrots
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 grapefruit
2 radishes
salt
pepper
1/2 – 1 teaspoon marjoram
balsamic vinegar
1 lb (or so) ground turkey
4 HUGE leaves of rainbow chard
white rice (enough to make a “bed”)
two kiwis

Chop the onion. Cut the apples and carrots into bite size pieces and saute in 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil until warm. (You don’t want to cook them too much because they are going to be used as a salsa and as an addition to the meat mixture.) After you are done, split the mixture in half. Half will be the salsa used a a topping. The other half will get added to the meat.

While the above is cooking/warming . . . squeeze the grapefruit for the juice.

I used the same pan to cook the turkey, since the mixture is set aside.   Cook the turkey in 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil until almost done. While it is cooking chop the rainbow chard. When the turkey is almost done add the chard. Salt the chard and stir. Cook this until the turkey is fully cooked and the chard is how you want it to be done.  Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaAdd the half of the onion, apple carrot mixture you are not using as salsa. Then, add a sprinkle of grapefruit juice. Only cook for a few minutes.

WHILE the turkey is cooking, mix half of the onion, apple carrot mixture with the two thinly sliced radishes, salt, pepper, and 1/2-1 teaspoon marjoram, and sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. Let that set. Add the grapefruit juice after it has set for a bit. Using as much as you want to get the right bite you would like. I probably just used a tablespoon.

At some point in all of this you need to cook the rice. We have a rice maker so I usually put it on when there is 20 minutes left of cooking. This time I forgot and my hubby came to the rescue.

Also, peel and slice the kiwis.

Once the rice is done and all is done cooking. Put the rice on your plate, spoon the turkey, chard, onion, apple carrot mixture on top of the rice. Then the onion, apple carrot salsa on top of that. Garnish the dish with the kiwis. But be sure to eat the kiwis WITH the turkey/rice/mixture, the flavors blend perfectly. This was a very happy dish.

Something I really needed. So brilliant. I never would have thought to do this. I never would have thought to add all these flavors together. I love that Dwight came up with something that used EVERYTHING in the box that I received.

Thank you so much, Dwight!!!!!!!

So . . . even if you don’t receive a box with all of these items in it . . . I will tell you it is worth it to get to the store and actually purchase these ingredients and make this dish for yourself. It is like a party for dinner.

Well, what do you think?Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle Yoga

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Can’t Come Up With Ideas

Posted by terrepruitt on April 5, 2014

As you may know, I have some things on my mind. The longer it goes on the more difficult it is to function normally. We still receive a small box of organic produce every other week.  Here is what we received in our box this week. I looked at it and thought, “Oh nice.” But not my normal “Ooooooo, what can I do with this and that?  I can do this . . . . . I can do that . . . . ” So I was thinking that perhaps you can help me. I know many of you are good cooks so I was thinking you could give me some ideas on what to with all these lovely fruits and veggies.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaRainbow chard
radishes
grapefruit
carrots
kiwis
white spring onions
apples

There is some rainbow chard. What do you do with that? I usually saute it with a little olive oil, garlic, and onions.  More like than not I add it to some ground turkey and then we eat it like that or it can be put on top of rice or put inside a tortilla. Can chard be roasted/baked like kale? Making chard chips?

What about radishes? Are there anything to do with them, but put them in salads? That is what I do with them, put them in salads.

What about grapefruit? Doesn’t seem like my husband or I like them? What do you do with it?

The asparagus is gone. I roasted it.  It was really thick so I peeled the bottom.  I was actually cooking four other things in the oven so I had to use a smaller pan than normal to cook the asparagus so I cut it in half.  The bottom portion I also sliced in half.  It was yummy.  I love asparagus.  I am certain I will receive more, so maybe I should get your ideas on how to cook that now.

What about carrots? Again I put them in salads, raw. What about you?  I don’t like them candied, so that is a recipe I can skip.

How about kiwis? Do you just eat them?  My husband just eat them. They are another thing I would put on salads. Do you have others ideas on how to use them?

Ooooooo and the new-to-me white spring onions. Should they be cooked whole and eaten that way or used as I would a regular onion?

What about apples? Seems as if we get them in every box? Sometimes they just stack up. I like really CRISP sweet apples and some times the apples we get are not crisp – they are the mushy kind – so I don’t like to just eat them. Last night I used one I had from the last box to make my hubby a “Porky-Pork Chop”. What do you do with hem? I guess I could just bake ’em, huh?

I also know that I can use the carrot greens in a smoothie but I have never done that.  Can the radish greens be used too?

So help me out.  Think for me because with this whole process dragging on I am starting to get a little worn out and the everyday things are not so everyday.

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

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