This Is KerrisKitchen.com
'Cause I'm Always Cooking Up Something! : )
Personal Journeys
0June 18, 2011
Personally, I think that one of the most appealing aspects of the internet has been its ability to allow people everywhere to share their stories.
Stories of inspiration, hope, challenges, joys, hobbies, interests, and more.
I’m somewhat saddened to watch the internet morph into a corporate salesplace, as it slowly loses the human touch that made the early internet a pioneering space filled with real stories about real people.
I hate to be the one to tell you, but Facebook really isn’t the center of the universe and you really don’t have 10,000 “friends” this week.
So, as I have the time to do it, I’m going to share with you some of the “other internet.” The Old School Internet that was composed of people with a burning desire to communicate something of importance to their fellow human beings (not just that they “like” Britney).
We’ll start here:
Here’s the story of Sandy Beardsley, who chose to share her journey as she fought to overcome the effects of a brain tumor. Sandy died in 2006, but her husband, Dan, has left her website in place to help inspire and help others. As she said in the first chapter of her site, “I hope that my words can in some way help anyone that is facing such a challenge. You are not alone.”
Thank you, Dan and Sandy, for sharing your story and helping others find their way through what can be a very confusing and scary process.
Here are more of Sandy’s words, from the genesis of her site in the Summer of 1999:
This is an ongoing written account of my journey through living with a brain tumor. I have kept a journal and continue to write about my experience. At first I kept the journal to express my emotions in a positive way. I began to think I might share these words with others when my journey was finished. Now I realize that that day may never come. Life is a journey and the process is what’s important, not the ending. My husband came up with the idea to share my words on a website.
Please visit the site here and experience for yourself Sandy’s wonderful, giving spirit, filled with strength and hope. And remember this: Life is what’s happening NOW, today. Make the most of it while you have it!
30 Minute Vegetable Soup
0June 14, 2011
by Kerri
in Soups & Stews
Some days, you want some good, homecooked food FAST. And I know you know how important a wide selection of spices is to keep on hand in a well-stocked kitchen.
Here’s a quick recipe I just “threw together” from items in the pantry that turned out even better than expected and it takes just about a half hour to make, from start to delicious finish (thanks to the “cheat” of canned veggies).
Just blogging about it here so I can make it again myself.
Enjoy with some freshly baked corn bread!
2 tablespoons Peanut Oil
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 large Onion, diced
2-3 stalks Celery, sliced (optional)
1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
2 32-oz containers Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth (preferably MSG-free)
1 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes (undrained)
1 15 oz can Corn, drained
1 15 oz can Green Beans, drained
1 16 oz bag Frozen Yellow Squash
2 Bay Leaves
1 tablespoon Parsley
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce (omit if you’re a vegetarian!)
1/2 teaspoon Basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon Rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon Thyme, crushed
1/8 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Crazy Mixed Up Pepper (or just plain Black Pepper, if you don’t have this great seasoning on hand)
Salt to taste (usually best to add this at table)
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3 15 oz cans New Potatoes, drained, rinsed, and cut in quarters
1 15 oz can Green Peas, drained
1. Heat peanut oil, olive oil, and butter over medium heat and saute onions, celery, and garlic until onions are almost transparent (about 5 minutes).
2. Add chicken broth and all ingredients EXCEPT potatoes and peas.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in cut up potatoes. Continue to simmer 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Gently stir in green peas. Turn off heat and allow soup to rest until serving.
6. Remove bay leaves; taste & correct seasonings; salt to taste. Enjoy!
Recipe: Picnic Potato Salad
1
Potatoes!
Get ready to picnic with a great grilling & picnicking partner: Old-Fashioned Potato Salad.
This recipe is from our cookbook, The American Gourmet Collection Cookbook (shameless plug: available at Amazon!)
This is one of those old-fashioned recipes that benefits from overnight “ripening” in the refrigerator. Fix it the day before to enjoy a terrific grilling accompaniment; it’s especially delicious when paired with barbecued ribs, barbecued chicken, or a perfectly grilled steak.
Enjoy!
PICNIC POTATO SALAD
2 pounds Potatoes
1 cup thinly sliced Celery
1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
1/3 cup chopped Sweet Pickles
2 teaspoons Sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Celery Seed
2 teaspoons White Vinegar
2 teaspoons Prepared Mustard
1-1/4 cup Mayonnaise
3 Hard-Cooked Eggs, diced
1. Boil potatoes in a covered saucepan for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender (but not overdone). Drain and cool. Peel potatoes. Dice potatoes and place in a large glass mixing bowl.
2. Add celery, onion, and pickle, stirring well.
3. In a small bowl, mix sugar, salt, celery seed, vinegar, and mustard. Blend in mayonnaise. Stir dressing into potatoes, mixing well. Fold in eggs and cover. Chill several hours, and keep cold.
Serves 8.
In The American Gourmet Collection Cookbook?
YES!
Photo Credit: Thanks to Suat Eman at FreeDigitalPhotos.net!
Awesome Energy in a Bottle: A Special B-Complex
4May 2, 2011
Country Life Coenzyme B Complex
Here’s a quick post about an awesome supplement for anyone who needs an energy boost (and who in 21st century America doesn’t?).
Add the extra benefits of boosted mood, better memory/mental clarity, and improved immunity, and you’ve got a winning combination.
We’ve all heard of the importance of taking a good B-complex vitamin and I’ve tried many, many different brands over the years. Unfortunately, almost all of them caused me to feel nauseated, no matter what kind of food I tried to couple with them.
So, I dedicated some time last year to find some alternatives. I started with Source Naturals Coenzymate B Complex
These worked GREAT and because they were sublingual (dissolved under the tongue), they bypassed the liver, allowing the B Complex to move directly into the bloodstream. This meant no more nausea! The downside was that since they had to be dissolved under the tongue, I found (to my dismay) that they stained my teeth. Even though they gave me more energy, it came at the cost of temporarily yellowed teeth. No go!
Then I found Country Life’s Coenzyme B-Complex Caps, thanks to the help of the generous reviewers at IHerb.com and Amazon.com
They worked GREAT for me. I took them for a good 6 months or so before it dawned on me that they might just help my husband with his longstanding fatigue problem. He took his first two on April 22 and has been feeling great ever since (it’s now May 2).
We shared some with some neighbors in their 70′s who were having some fatigue issues, and to our amazement, within a few hours of their first dose, they were feeling energized. SERIOUSLY energized. They spent the whole first day out in their backyard, doing yard work.
I can’t recommend this particular supplement highly enough. My husband has tried countless other forms of B-Complex vitamins that never, ever worked anything like these. The effects were potent and immediate.
One important point: unlike any other B Complex I’ve ever used, this one is DESIGNED TO BE TAKEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. We take 2, first thing in the morning, with a full glass of water, about an hour before eating.
Depending on your energy needs, you may need multiple doses a day or just a single capsule in the morning. The great thing about B vitamins is that they’re water soluble, so you really can’t easily overdose on them–your body will eliminate what it doesn’t need. Fat soluble vitamins, on the other hand (like A, D, and E) are stored in the body and it’s important that you exercise more caution.
What seems to make this particular form of B Complex so effective are the additional coenzymes that make the B Vitamins more bioavailable (absorbable by the body’s tissues).
Here’s the ingredient list, FYI, direct from the manufacturer–just click on the “View Product Label” link on this page.
Good luck; hope this helps you as much as it’s helped us; let me know how it works for you!
If you’ve never ordered from IHerb before, you can click on the green banner on the right side of the page and you’ll save $5 off your first order. Amazon
also has a great Subscribe & Save price on this supplement. Sign up for regular delivery (every month, 3 months, or 6 months) and it ships FREE.
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More Info about the value of taking a high quality B Complex:
Study shows B Vitamins reduce incidence of macular degeneration in women by 1/3
Study finds Vitamin B supplementation may delay onset of Alzheimers
B Vitamins crucial in helping alleviate depression and anxiety
[--Be sure to scroll down about 1/3 of the page; top of page of this particular blog post is FULL of Google ads]
Consumer Reports: Supplements to Avoid
0April 24, 2011
by Kerri
in Supplements
Here’s a link to a useful chart from Consumer Reports, detailing twelve supplements to avoid, including several that have been proven to cause liver damage.
Shop For Groceries Online, Pick Up in <4 Hours
0April 11, 2011
by Kerri
in Money Saving Tips
According to CNN Business News, Walmart is unveiling a new service next month, nationwide, that will allow shoppers to order items directly from the local store’s inventory for pickup in four hours.
Place your order online and Walmart employees will pick your items from the shelves, bag them for you, and (I’m assuming this from my previous Site-To-Store experience) send you an email to let you know your order’s ready for pickup. Best of all, the service is completely FREE.
I think this is a terrific idea that may help Walmart get business professionals back through its doors. Many of us are simply too busy to spend an hour or more walking through a huge, crowded Walmart store just to buy groceries and other items.
This new service is also one way for Walmart to leverage itself in a highly competitive market.
Although Walmart (stock quote) has had seven consecutive losing quarters, it has built incredible efficiencies into its distribution systems that it can easily *exploit* with a service like this. Walmart also has “the power of presence” (stores are EVERYWHERE), so they have the enviable power to synthesize the online world with their brick and mortar stores, getting items into the hands of consumers even faster than online Titan Amazon.
Will it be a success? Are enough customers interested in a service like this? Only time will tell.
I’ll be interested to see how customer-friendly the experience will be.
Will my order really be ready to go when I am? Will I be able to prepay with my credit card or debit card (when placing my order) OR will I be expected to go through the conventional checkout line (if so, it’s absolutely a no-go for me). Will my cold items still be COLD? Will an employee escort me through the store after I’ve picked up my order? Will the Greeter at the front door understand how to handle customers with online orders?
We shall see–I’ll try it & let you all know how it goes. Personally, I prefer to do all my business online and I’m very hopeful this will be a service Walmart will provide for quite some time.
[Artwork Credit: Thanks to digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]
Online Groceries from Walmart?
0April 2, 2011
Walmart may be planning to “test drive” online grocery ordering (with HOME delivery) in the San Jose, California area.
Here’s a link to the full story, courtesy of Bloomberg News.
These stories of great “innovation” always make me remember the “good old days;” when I was a child (in the late ’60′s), my grandmother received home delivery of her groceries every week and the family doctor ALWAYS made house calls. You know what they say: “everything old is new again.”
Downsizing Food Values
0March 30, 2011
Perhaps you’ve noticed (but food companies are hoping you haven’t) that you’re getting less value for your food dollar lately. Prices are staying the same, but the quantity of food you’re actually getting for that expense is decreasing.
Have you noticed that cans of corn are now just 11 ounces, instead of the 15 they used to be? Or that the package of chips you bought last week are the same physical size, but full of air?
National manufacturers are sneaking price increases into your grocery cart, hoping you won’t notice. But some of us do…
Here’s an in-depth exploration of the realities of the new economy, courtesy of the New York Times.
And now you know why you need to be shopping at Aldi, if you’re lucky enough to have one in your area!
Update 9:10 AM: Coincidentally, the New York Times just happens to have a profile of Aldi’s business model in today’s online edition: click here.
FYI, it’s privately held–we can’t invest : (
[Photo Credit: Thanks to worramadu at FreeDigitalPhotos.net]