Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Eat a Peach!

I'm pretty excited!  I canned peaches last night for the first time ever.  Since I still have half a box of fresh peaches left I don't really want to tear into a can and see how they taste but they look pretty.

It was a lot of work!  Not hard but very time consuming.  Peeling and cutting all those peaches up... man!  Then dragging out the water bath canner and heating up the water, lids, jars.  I had almost talked myself out of doing it again.  But it was very awesome to see the finished product sitting there on the counter.  I'm sure I will be very happy when I open a can in January too :) I love peaches!  And the peaches you get in the store are just crap!  I've given up ever buying them at Safeway.  They always look nice but have no taste at all!  Anyway... doing it for the first time... seemed like I cut peaches forever and I didn't have a good idea of how many jars it would make so I quit when I thought I had seven quarts but I miscalculated.  It only made 5 but now I know for next time, which will be tonight. I searched and searched for a low sugar recipe and finally found a link from some university nutrition site that said there is no "rule" for how much sugar you have to use.  I dumped about a cup in the bottom of the bowl I was slicing them into and added a little lemon juice on top from time to time.  I also added a little no sugar added orange/mango juice we had in the fridge.  More to prevent browning than anything else.  If I need to add sugar or Splenda or something when I'm using them I'll just do that.  I'll let you know how they turn out.

I spent so much time canning last night that I didn't have any time to snack.  :)  I did eat about half a peach one slice at a time while I was peeling them.  Who can resist?  I wondered what that would do to my blood sugar so late at night but my reading was 92 this morning so that's good and the fatometer read 150.4.  Still looking forward to getting under the 150 mark!

Well... I bought a new little "netbook" at Costco last time I was in Woodinville.  I thought it would be great for leaving on my side table by the couch or for traveling - and it will be but at this moment in time as I type it keeps skipping back and inserting the typing seemingly randomly anywhere.  I may throw it against the wall!  Or I suppose I could call support and find out what weired setting I need to change before I destroy it.  Anyone know the cure???  If so please tell me!  I really have to quit!  Can't take it anymore!!! 

Ciao!


Monday, August 30, 2010

Meatloaf Monday :)

It's somewhat comforting to start the day knowing what the end result will be.  Today that means meatloaf for dinner.  Yesterday I made an enormous pot of chili and used up about 5 lbs of ground beef.  Amberlyn (daughter) and her boyfriend Ty came to visit so fortunately we had some help eating that.  Still I had to freeze enough to provide us with a quick dinner or lunch for probably most of the fall.    I've been working on clearing out room in the freezer to make room for the fall supply of beef.  It's just really sad that my fall beef has a name - Panda!  :(  I may have to convert and become a vegetarian.  It's really difficult to be on a first name basis with my beef!  (Insert big sigh here)  Anyway... we were discussing the contents of the freezer which is at this point mostly ground beef and Dave said "You really should make meatloaf more often.  I don't get enough meatloaf."  That's easy!  I can do meatloaf for sure.  I have plenty of eggs, onions, garlic, herbs and all the things that make meatloaf tasty.  If I made a two pound meatloaf once a week (Meatloaf Monday) it would take me probably 6 months to use up the rest of the ground beef in the freezer.  I think there is a whole lot more chili, tacos, spaghetti sauce and... anything else I can think of to use ground beef in my immediate future.  Maybe I'll start a new plan... all visitors take home ground beef.  So where was I going with all that?  I don't know.  Why start worrying about having a point now?  :)  Bummer for you!  Ha ha!  So... Oh yeah I recall... I was aiming at explaining my elevated glucose reading this morning which was 115.  I blame it on the very tasty Texas toast that accompanied the chili yesterday.  Thick grilled bread slathered with garlic butter and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.  :)  Yummy!  I only had half a piece but I've discovered that white bread makes my blood sugar shoot up more than anything else!  I also had a peach.  I need to go back and check to see where they fall on the glycemic index.  I guess I should have done that before I bought a whole box of them at the fruit stand in Ellensburg on Friday.  Anyway... back to the chili... I made it all from scratch and loaded it with good things from the garden.  It contained several zucchinis, onions and the first of my bell peppers.  I also picked and canned some more beans yesterday and dehydrated more zucchini.  I will have to decide today what to do with the rest of that box of peaches. 

I was a little bummed by the 115 glucose reading but pleased by 150.1 weight.  Well... really I'll be pleased when I reach 140.  Still it's ever so much better than 170 which was my beginning weight in May.  I have to work on the blood glucose this week though!  It was elevated slightly all last week.  No more Texas toast for awhile.  I should have known I couldn't get away with that! 

It seems like this post has been mostly a tribute to beef so I'll end with this little bit.  When my granddaughter Aubrey comes over she loves to feed the animals.  She knows just where all the feed is for the chickens and cows.  She knows them all by name.  She accompanies me often when I drive back and forth to Woodinville to go visit her daddy and Nana and other family members.  Along the way we sing and say hi to the horses and cows and birds we see out the window.  She likes to name off the chicks and cows and so we say, "Hi Ginger, hi Panda, hi Mumbo, hi T-bone!"  On down the list we go.  A couple of weeks ago I sent this little text/pic to Nicole for Aubrey...

HI AUBREY!!!
from Ginger
(who Dave has promised will never end up in the freezer - because she's his personal pet)

Have a great Monday!  
Ciao!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Home Again!

Well...magically upon waking up this morning my blood glucose read 93.  It must just like to be home :)  and the fatometer read 150.3.  I actually went on a big fat binge last night.  :(  I know! I'm just horrible.  A whole bag of popcorn, a few handfuls of cashews, a small bowl of peanuts in the shell, another small bowl of pistachios,   several pieces of sugar free chocolate... was that all?  Yep, I think that about covers it :)   Each snack in itself would have been ok but all of them?  Oh boy.  Well... that's how to NOT lose weight!  Really I'm surprised my glucose level wasn't higher.  I may see a rise and fall  over then next few datys.  I had phad thai and cashew chicken for lunch out with my friend Johnna yesterday before driving home which means noodles and rice.  Oh well!  I really enjoyed it and over all I've done really well and I think 150.3 is a new low.  By a couple of ounces anyway.  I was really hoping to have weighed in under 150 this morning but I know it will come soon.

I've already been out to the garden and seen that I need to pick and can more green beans.  There are onions that need to be picked.  A few more ripe tomatoes.  A ginormous spaghetti squash that is still somewhat white looking.  I don't even know what to think abouit that!  I picked cucumber and an acorn squash today.  I'm getting a little nervous.  The temp is getting pretty cold at night and my tomatoes are still mostly green.  Some are turning but not soon enough for me!  The big fat pumpkin is way bigger than last week.  I can't wait to see how big it gets!

One thing that I really miss about being home is the Friday Farmer's Market here in Chewelah.  I was unable to go yesterday since I was on the road.  I meant to write about the market last week but I was so busy  prepping my little garden for my absence that I missed it so I will write about it now.  Our farmer's market is just a small gathering of local farmers who bring their fabulous fresh produce and hand made crafts to sell.  It's located in Chewelah just off 395 in the parking lot of one of our local churches and situated along the creek.  It's a beautiful little setting.  I absolutely love going!  I always stop there before going on to our little Safeway store.  Why wouldn't I buy peaches from eastern WA instead of grapes from California?  Not that I don't enjoy my California produce.  I do... but if I can purchase food straight from our local farms how much healthier is that?  I want high quality food and also to support our local economy.  I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into raising premium produce without hormones and pesticides.  I'm thankful we have local farmers who still care enough to provide this service to our community.   I've gone off on a little tangent though.  :)  This time of year my garden produces a lot of what we eat but I always find something tasty to buy.  Last week Charlie and Betsy Kessler of Kessler's Pinetree Produce located in Valley, WA (just down the road from my home) were kind enough to let me take a couple of pictures of their market stall.  It's alway so pretty.  They have wonderful flowers and a great assortment of vegetables.  I love the wooden produce display baskets that their son makes.  Before my basil was ready to pick I alway's bought a little bunch from Betsy.  This year due to working really hard on keeping my glucose level down I did not plant potatoes.  I love them though and so just as a special treat I bought a small bag of beautiful little fingerling potatoes from the Kessler's.   Locally grown produce is so wonderful.  You know you are enjoying the very best of food that God's green earth has to offer.  If you happen to be in Chewelah on a Friday afternoon I invite you to come by and visit the Kessler's and the other awesome farmers and craftsmen.  If you can't come see us then please where ever you are... support your local farmers - and grow your own.  Your body will thank you for it :)  Here are  the pics... thanks Charlie and Betsy!  I love your market stall!

Well... as much fun as I've had amusing myself with my meanderings this morning it's not getting those beans picked so I better get my basket and my garden gloves and get out there!

Have a great weekend - Ciao!

Friday, August 27, 2010

It's Fabulous Friday!

For starters... I did avoid the lasagna AND the birthday cake at Aubrey's birthday party last night.  I'm pretty proud of myself since I wanted some of both in the worst way!  I did eat a salad before going to the party.  I wasn't hungry - just wanted the goodies.  For my heroic efforts to control my blood sugar yesterday I was rewarded with a small reduction from the day prior.  The number this morning is 114.  Still high.  I'm beginning to suspect that the lack of exercise is a big factor while I'm over here.  Must change that.  On Wednesday I almost went out and bougt a new pair of sneakers so I could go for a walk and then I talked myself out of it based on the fact that I have 4 pairs of sneakers at home and since I spent the evening birthday shopping and Thursday was the party... what would be the chances of actually taking a walk this week here?   ZERO.  So I just need to remember to bring some with me next time... and use them!

I'm having a debate with Lorie over her scale.  I think it's off by about three pounds so we'll see in the morning.  When I get home and weigh in.  I hope it's what I thnk it is.  If I'm right I lost some weight over here.  If I'm wrong... what a big fat drag!

I get to go home today :)  Always a happy thing!  And ... the weatherman is predicting the winds to die down so my little car won't get blown to Kansas.  Yay!  I understand that I may be going home to lots of smoke due to fires very close by.  :( I have a short day at work so gotta roll! 

Ciao!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Happy Birthday Little Grand Daughter

It's Aubrey's 2nd birthday today.  When I look at my wee little ones I remember why I'm putting in the effort to be healthy.  I'd like to be around and watch them grow up.  I'd prefer to not be watching on the sidelines either so happy birthday Aubrey!  Mumsey will skip out on the cake :) 

This mornign my glucose was 119.  Still high.  Not terrible but not normal.  Better than 130 though.  I ate as healthily as possible yesterday.  The tricky part though was a late dinner... I was famished by the time I got around to meeting my friends at... of all places Famous Dave's!  :)  We sat in the bar (iced tea for me-with Splena) and I explained to the waiter that I was looking really hard for something pretty healthy to eat.  He very good naturedly laughed and said... "You're in the wrong place!"  I did come up with a salad and a cup of chili though.  The salad was awesome.  The dressing was great... honey BBQ.  So yeah... I only drizzled a little bit of it and the chili was probably the best chili I have ever eaten in a reasturant.  I gave my cornbread away immediately!  So... it is possible to have a "reasonable" dinner out.  Of course I wanted to woof down on the rib tips they were eating but I limited myself to one little piece.  Tonight we are having lasagna for Aubrey's birthday party dinner.  The best plan for me is just to grab a salad before I even go.  I love lasagna so much that eating a tiny piece would be way more torture than just not having any at all.  I did have the last of my fabulous farmers market peaches today.  I'll have to take a hit there but oh so worth it!  Since I have been getting no exercise I decided to skip around the whole building and distract everyone and make them think I'm a crazy loon.  They are right, I am and it was fun.  So was having the conversation with one of my delinquent customers that I would consider taking his Harley in trade for the debt owed.  Of course we'd have to sell it to pay off the debt but can you just see a nice shiny Harley sitting in the front of our store with a sign... pay your bill or your bike is next?  Ha ha!  Fun!  Well... it's a crappy job so I have to make it fun somehow.  :) 

I'll let you know if I was able to resist the cake and lasagna...

Ciao!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hump Day Once Again

It's Wednesday of my week in Woodinville.  I've been working so hard on eating good-mostly.  :)  On Monday morning I was in a rush to get on the road and I forgot to eat breakfast but I packed up as much of my fresh fruit, veggies & cheese as I could bring with me so I munched out on a cheese stick and then had another one later.  I had a few grapes too but gave most of them to little Aubrey who was riding along with me to see Nana and Daddy and Aunty(s).  Tomorrow is her birthday and she will  be two years old.  This is Aubrey with her daddy (Daniel).



Anyway when I arrived at work I had a big lovely bowl of steamed broccoli and some zucchini sticks dipped in a little honey mustard dressing.  After work Daniel and I picked up Aubrey and took her to the park.  I was starving so I stopped by Burger King - I know... my intentions were good though.  I bought a grilled chicken salad and brought it to the park to eat.  I discovered once I was there that they had forgotten to include a fork.  REALLY???  Major fail!  I just ate it with my fingers and decided that salad dressing would be too messy so I saved those calories.  When we took Aubrey back to Nana's house she gave me a lovely peach as she had just come home from Wenatchee.  I was really glad to have that peach when I finally arrived at Lorie's house (my home away from home).  There was an evil peach cobbler on the counter and I resisted temptation by eating my fresh from the orchard Wenatchee peach.  Yum!

Yesterday I attended a work related seminar down at Southcenter.  I knew there would be breakfast but didn't know what they might be serving so I ate a little baby bell cheese wheel on the way.  I was delighted to discover scrambled eggs with ham amidst the big pile to pastrys.  I had just the eggs and ham.  I also had to resist beautiful brownies and cookies at break time so by the time 1 pm rolled around when the seminar ended I was starved and bolted from the room.  I drove immediately to the nearest McDonalds and bought a Southwest grilled chicken salad and WOOFED it down... tiny taco chips and all.  I only used about a third of the dressing though.  After a very frustrating remainder of the day at the office I went to console myself on my friend Dee's deck.  We munched out of tomatoes and sugar peas from her garden and then decided to drift on down to have a little mexican food in Snohomish.  She lives up on the ridge looking at the Snohomish valley and has a beautiful view!  It is the place to be in the summer!   I was so content that I considered not going to mexican but... yeah... twist my arm and twist it hard!  :)  We shared fajitas.  I had two tortillas though and while waiting for the fajitas I had an unknown but guess high number of chips with oh so yummy salsa.  And because we had her small fry Cyara with us we ordered chuuros for dessert.  I only had the smallest piece but apparently all the above tipped the glose monitor and I got a reading of 1 freakin 30 this morning.  That's right... 130!  It hasn't been that high in a long time!  It's a darn good thing I once again resisted the evil peach cobbler still on the counter!  The other factor is that I'm not getting any exercize while I'm here.  I need to change that!

Hoping for a better number tomorrow and have eaten accordingly today. 

Ciao!


Sunday, August 22, 2010

A Weekend In the Garden!



In the morning I'm heading to Woodinville and will have to stay until Friday.  I knew my garden would be completely out of control if I didn't give it some serious attention so that's what I did most of the weekend.  I had to pull out the peas that were shot.  I pulled out a spent broccoli plant, cut back a lot of zucchini leaves that were shading other plants.  I picked green beans again and pulled out a few bean plants.  They were just too crowded!    I pruned the tomato plants too.  I've been impatiently waiting for some tomatoes to ripen and finally had my very first ripe tomato today.  Yay!  They were hidden down low.  I found them while I was cutting back the zucchini.  I also cut back the spaghetti and acorn squash.  It was like a jungle in there :)  The cows ate everything I pulled out of there.  They were happy cows today!  Here are a few pics I took today in the garden:


First up... Anaheim chilies that still need to ripen - but aren't they pretty?

 
  
A lone Walla Walla sweet and below are the very first of my tomatoes to ripen.




I just love my pumpkins.  They are the color of butter right now.  I'm amazed how fast they are growing!  That pumpkin blossom (with the bee inside) is about three inches in diameter.  It looks tiny next to the pumpkin.  Just a few days ago the pumpkin was the size of a soccer ball.  I showed Dave today.  He's amazed too.  All I can say is our cows have some pretty amazing poop :) 

This is the pick of the day.  Basil, broccoli and of course zucchini.  I also picked green beans.  I wrapped them well and will store them in the fridge until I get back.  Dave promised to pick beans twice while I'm gone and I'll can them all when I come home.





And finally... here's the first sunflower to bloom.  This one just surprised me this year.  It's growing right in the middle of the garden and looks pretty silly.  We had a big wind a couple of weeks ago and it was partially uprooted.   I didn't think it would make it but here it is!  I just love sunflowers.  Can you think of a happier looking flower?


Well... all good things (the weekend) must come to an end.  I'm not sure who made up that rule - but when I find them they are fired for sure!  Anyway... I't getting late so I must go to bed.  I'm a little nervous that Dave will neglect my crops while I'm gone.  He's been very preoccupied with his latest building project - the new carport.  I usually don't mind the trips to Woodinville but I really hate to go when the garden is in full swing :)  I'm imagining coming home and finding zucchini the size of baseball bats.  

Oh!  I guess I better report the stats... 150.7 and glucose 99.  I have to say I'm surprised.  I was expecting bad numbers because Saturday we went out for breakfast and even though we split breakfast... biscuits and gravy with hash browns is not exactly diet food!  Then Saturday night we went to a party at the home of one of Dave's rail road work buddies.  The food was great :)  And oh!  The desserts :)  I was bad.  Very very bad!  

So good bye weekend, good bye garden, good bye animals, good bye Dave!  I miss home already and I'm not even gone yet :)

Ciao!








Friday, August 20, 2010

Dilly Beans...

I made pickled green beans last night... dilly beans.  I got the recipe from a link my cousins posted on facebook... Allrecipes.com.  It's a great website.  I have a link to it here in my blog.  I hope the pickled beans are good.  I was thinking they would be a pretty tasty garnish sticking out of a nice spicy glass of tomato juice which I plan to can once the tomatoes finally ripen.  Man!  What a lot of work.  There is an incredible investment in time and energy in each jar of home preserved food when you take it all the way back to tilling the garden.  I'm just a newby.  I love canned green beans and I've already canned one batch but I wanted to be brave and experiment.  I used dill and jalepeno pepper from my garden along with the beans and other spices.  I came really close to screwing them up though :)  I had just placed the lids and bands on the jars and dropped them down in the water bath when I realized I had forgotten to add the alum to the jars.  Since I've never made pickles of any kind I don't know what the result would have been.  I assumed it was a very important ingredient so I took the jars out, opened them up and added the alum and dunked them back in to process.  I was nervous that I messed up the lids but they all sealed perfectly and here they are...


I'm supposed to let them sit for at least two weeks before opening.  I'll let you know how it worked out.

The stats:  151.3 and glucose 99.  I think the weight is a new low by just a couple of ounces... but heck... every ounce counts right?  :)  I'll take it!

Lets see... well I guess I'll report on the event of the day yesterday... other than the dilly beans.  I already mentioned this on facebook so all you so called facebook friends will already have seen this but here is the full account - whether or not you want to read about it.  :)  Yesterday around noon I went outside for some reason which was probably critical but has now slipped my memory.  I looked over at the barn and there was one of our mama cows, Mumbo just standing at the corner of the barn. WRONG side of the barn!  I immediately started toward her to begin the process of rounding her up when I remembered that I really ought to take a picture. :)  Really I just wanted to send it to Dave's phone to jump start his heart :)  I know... mean.  It worked too...




He got the message and called immediately!  Anyway... after taking the picture I headed toward the cow shed behind the barn to get out a loaf of bread we usually have on hand just for this sort of emergency.  They love bread!  When I got back there all the other cows including Mumbo were standing there looking expectantly at me and thinking ooo yummy-bread!  Wait... including Mumbo!  Well... if Mumbo is in the fence then WHO is that in front of the barn???  I ran back around to make sure I wasn't going crazy and there she was.  Could have been Mumbo's twin... ear tag and all.  Of course most of the other cows around here have ear tags like that... (later Shannon - at work - suggested that we could get our cows pretty collars to identify them - but somehow I knew the other "ranchers" would laugh at us :) so I dismissed that idea).  Next thing to do was call Carol.  Since this rogue cow looked just like Mumbo I figured it must be hers.  We bought Mumbo from her and I figured she must have the twin.  By that time fake Mumbo had trotted down the fence line and across the creek and was heading toward our neighbor Jean's place so I called her.  She said it wasn't hers.  I didn't think it was.  I couldn't remember seeing any Mumbo look alikes over there and she said usually when they have strange cow visitors they call Randy Miller - whoever that is.  Granny (Carol's mommy) came our direction and determined that it wasn't theirs or the Oman's cows.  Later Carol filled me in on who Randy Miller is. You know the saying you learn something new every day?  Well here it is.  Apparently we live in open range country which means if you don't want rouge cows on your place you fence them out since any and all cows are welcome to meander about and eat all your hay, grass, trample your garden or what ever seems good to them.  I guess this Randy Miller buys cows at auction, turns them out to fatten them up and sells them.  Dave thought this was a great idea until I explained that the neighbors don't like it much :)  Dave was then very proud to say that once he installed the cattle guard in the driveway that had been delivered the day before that we wouldn't be getting any more rogue cows (if they chose to visit us via the driveway!  I think he was having a blue cheese brain fart).  And that's the end of that little moment of excitement.   

And now for the REALLY exciting announcement... IT'S FRIDAY!!!!  Have a great weekend!  :)

Ciao!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Strange Dreams...

Somewhere recently Dave heard that if you eat cheese before bed... especially blue cheese you will have vivid dreams.  He is usually not one to fall for stupid stuff but he has been experimenting with this theory.  :)  I don't know how true it is with the dreams... not enough evidence yet... but I can tell you for sure that if you eat blue cheese before bed you will definitely have less sex!  Nasty!  I was never a big blue cheese fan.  Still not!  Anyway this morning Dave announced that he had some really strange dreams last night.  One of them was jumping in a boat 200 feet into a little pond :)  Yeah... he made it.  And the other was that I had completely filled my kitchen up with canning jars.  They were everywhere!  Wonder where THAT came from.  It's not like we ate dinner last night completely surrounded by canning jars!  Oh yeah... IT IS!  Now that I have them I don't know where I'm going to put them.  Oh well... great problem to have.  I don't think I'm going to fill them all up this year though... but once the baby fruit trees are bearing fruit... oh yeah!  Well... all I know is that I need to can some green bean pickles tonight and that Dave is not getting a boat for Christmas!  And...  a thief came in and stole the blue cheese last night!  Really weird thing to steal!  :)  

The stats... 152.8 and glucose 99.  Sort of holding steady.  Mehhhh!  Seems like slow going... but over all I have  done really well.  I will be SO happy to get under that 150 mark!  Course it wasn't too long ago that I was stuck on 157 for weeks.  Well... I have chickens to feed, dogs to walk and jars to empty out of the dishwasher before work so I'm outta here!

Oh... a special congrats to my son in law who is not only having a birthday today (so congrats for being born - ha ha) but he also just made staff sargent in the US Air Force.  Way to go Ish!  Not that he will read this - but the three of you who do read it can be proud with me :)

Ciao!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Ask And You Shall Receive :)

Grandpa and Grandma Weishaar came over today and brought me the water bath canner I needed and a zillion jars.  Yay!  They were going to bring it yesterday but I was SO ILL that I called and told them not to come over.  I'm feeling better today and now I'm so excited cause I can make the "dilly beans" pickled green beans that I found a recipe for.  I'll have to go out and snoop through the bush beans again.  I hope I have enough.  I also have to sterilize the jars and canner... they have been stored in the root cellar for quite awhile.  Bob and Earlene (my kids grandparents) live in Athol, ID (just miles from Silverwood)  out in the woods in a very quaint cabin.  When I first started going there in the early 80's it was very rural.  Silverwood had not even been dreamed up as far as I know and there was nothing but primitive homes and woods for miles around.  Since that time the surrounding land has been developed and there are now housing developments just on the other side of the trees but their place looks very much the same.  There is always some new invention and they even have a computer now but the spirit of the place has not changed much.  They live very close to Lake Pend Oreille and we used to go fishing and catch scad of the little Kokanee trout.  Earlene had so much fish on her hands that she used to can it and send jars and jars home with us.  She doesn't do much canning anymore and so I am thrilled to have her old equipment.  Hopefully I can put it to good use :)



The stats... 153.0 and glucose 94.  I'm actually surprised.  I thought my blood sugar would be higher.  Yesterday all I wanted to eat was like noodles and crackers and stuff when I was sick.  Most of the day I didn't eat much but by evening I was feeling better.  I ate two pieces of dark break wrapped around two hot dogs and finished off the evening with a whole bag of pop corn.  What a pig!  Oh well!

Still looking for things to do with all the zucchini in the garden so this morning I cut a slice off of one of the larger zucchini and fried it in the pan along side a piece of Canadian bacon and an egg and topped it with Parmesan cheese.  Tasty.  I may have to make zucchini pickles or something too.  We'll see how long it lasts.



I have two monster squash plants in the garden taking over everything.  Just this morning I figured out which was the acorn squash and which was the spaghetti squash.  I found a spaghetti squash this is enormous.  And it's still white so not really ripe yet.  I want to eat it!

Ok... gotta get some real work done :)  Ciao!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Canning Begins!

We had such a great weekend!  It was the first weekend we had all alone since.... well May something.  Oh... we do enjoy visitors but it is also nice to just chill out.  We can't really just do nothing.  Too many plants to water and animals to feed and then of course there is the garden to consider.  Saturday afternoon I picked green beans.  Next year it's pole beans for sure!!!  Sunday after church I snapped and canned them.  It's a lot of work!  But very satisfying to see a big pile of beans go from this:

to this:

 I added a garlic clove, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and two sage leaves to each jar along with a tiny bit of pickling salt when I filled them up.  I hope that will be tasty.  This is all experimental.  Last year was my first year of canning.  I lost the instruction book for my canner but I found a copy online and upon review found that I had not forgotten much... it's not that hard  - just time consuming.  I really want to make pickled beans too and found a recipe I want to use... but alas... I don't have a water bath canner yet :(  Dave is off today and going into town to get some fittings to repair a leaky irrigation head.  Perhaps he can be persuaded to pick one up for me.  :)  Maybe if I promise to make banana bread. Grandma Weishaar told me I could have hers... but she is in Athol ID... about two hours away.  Hmm... perhaps I'll call her.  She also promised me lots of jars which I will need really soon based on the look of those tomato plants in the garden.  It is a beautiful day for a drive over the mountains :)

Also I decided this year to do dehydrate some zucchini rather than freeze all the excess.  Usually I shred and freeze it in two cup sizes.  Just right for zucchini bread (yum) but I had a lot extra last year and it really does take up a lot of room.  I also use it in spaghetti sauce and soups.  I figured I could just throw the dehydrated stuff into sauce and stews and it should make them thicker since it will absorb the liquid.  I took six really large zucchini and cut it into chunks and filled up six dehydrator trays.  This is what it turned into:


That is a sandwich bag about 3/4 full.  :)  They are quite tasty too.  I soaked them quickly in a bath of lemon juice (to prevent discoloration) and a bit of salt.  I also salted them lightly in the drying trays.  Can you say... shrinkage?  :)  Dave loves to hike and camp so I thought I might play around with making some simple dehydrated meals.  Those you can buy in the store are SO expensive.  I'll see what I can come up with.  Maybe an easy soup.  I could use a packet of top ramen and add the zucchini and a few of my dried herbs, some dehydrated tomatoes and I could make beef jerky and just cut up the chunks... hmm... interesting.  Anyway.  I don't trust dehydrated food long term just sitting around on the shelf so I always store it in the freezer.  It doesn't get any ice crystals on it since there is very little moisture in it and it doesn't take up much room at all.  It also retains its color really well.  I will still shred some for zucchini bread.  But I don't want to be making too much of that!  It is nice to have on hand though when the kids come home or when we have visitors.  Speaking of bread... some of those "giant pumpkins" are getting larger... I wonder what they will bake up like?  Pumpkin bread... yum... all this canning and preserving makes me think of fall... which I hate to see come because I love summer... but I love fall too... and actually winter on this side of the mountains is oh so much more tolerable than soggy Seattle... and in January we are planning on a trip to Fiji for my sister in laws 50th birthday and by the time we get back from that I can start pouring through seed catalogs and dream of spring when we will have new baby cows and new chicks... so bring it on!

Ok the stats.  :(  153.7 and glucose 97.  My blood sugar is really a lot better than I expected.  It may show up later... we shall see.  I had a total diet failure last night binging on trail mix.  I actually feel toxic this morning.  I don't even know how much I ate.  What an addict!  Maybe I need shock therapy!  Sometimes I wish I had one of those studded whips so I could flog myself!  :)  Oh well... today is a new day and a new opportunity to behave.  Besides... I ate so much of it yesterday that it doesn't even sound good.  That's one way to cure the craving.  Not advisable though!  Have a great week!

Ciao baby!  :)

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Starry Starry Night!

Coming home is so great!  It's always such a treat to descend into our beautiful little valley and to be greeted by our oh so lovable labs.  They always let me know just how much they missed me.  Dave and I both got home later last night.  I arrived about 8pm and started on dinner.  I made some red pepper fettuccine with zucchini ribbons, onions, garlic and goat cheese.  It was quick, light and tasty.  Just as I finished the dishes Dave lead me outside where he had prepared a cushy observation station under the stars.  We spread out a blanket on the dark side of the barn and accompanied by our happy happy dogs we spent about an hour and a half watching shooting stars.  They were amazing!  Ranging from faint and barely visible to stunning streaks across the sky leaving a five second light trail, they dazzled us.  We talked and laughed and had a wonderful time... until the sprinklers came on :)  We may do it again tonight... if so we will shut down the irrigation system until we are done.  Ha ha... amazing how fast two old people can move.

This morning I found that I lost weight while in Woodinville but my blood sugar was still elevated a bit.  I weighed 151.5.  A new low!  :)  Blood glucose was 112.  I ate pretty well yesterday.  No bread, fries.  I did have three Fritos on the way home.  I bought Aubrey some chips and couldn't resist so I had one.  And you know... nobody can eat just one :)  I did have the fettuchine too... and pretty late but it probably only amounted to a quarter of a cup of noodles with all the zucchini in there.  The sweet onions though... or perhaps the lack of exercise over on the west side... or maybe those cinnamon capsules are working?  Well anyway... I'm home for about 10 days so I'm sure I can get it back down and I'll bring cinnamon capsules with me next time.  And hopefully fit some time in to walk with Lorie or something.

Poor ole Dave is very unhappy right now.  He was looking forward to a day of work on his carport and he turned wrong and pulled his back.  Now he can't even pick up his saw.  Bummer!!!  I believe he has now decided to paint instead.  For him doing nothing is not an option.  I should be so driven.  For me today it's picking and processing stuff in the garden.  I think the green beans are calling me.  I need to find a recipe for pickled green beans.  :)  Yummy.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with food or diet but check out the adorable little baby quilt I got from my sister in law Sue.  She made it and was about to sell it in a garage sale!  I had to bring it home with me :)


Ciao!

Friday, August 13, 2010

There's No Place Like Home!

I'm SO happy to be heading home today.  My garden may or may not have had any attention since I left.  Dave has his own little projects to work on.  He wants to head over to our other little property on the Pend Oreille river but I told him he has to help me process my veggies first :)  I do enjoy coming here though.  Last night I had dinner with my bff Brenda (aka Buzzby) and we split an appetizer called the Prime Rib Boat.  I'm not kidding... we couldn't finish it!  There was more prime rib strips in there than in a whole steak.  Yum!  Had we known it was so large we would not have ordered prawn skuers too :)  But shirmp is not too bad for the ole blood sugar or the waistline... as long as you go easy on the dipping butter.  I did have a tortilla though to wrap the prime rib and onions/peppers in.  My glucose level was 106 this morning.  Still slightly elevated.  And I feel just a hair bloated.  But it was worth it.  I'll have to reign myself in pdq though or I'll be looking like Mrs. Santa very soon :(  I'm a little scared to go home and step on the scales!

Better get crackin!  I'm leaving work early to head east and this is not getting any money collected :)

Ciao!  Have a great weekend.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Those Damn Cookies!

First... no weight since I'm away from home.  Glucose level was still elevated... not quite as much but 112.  Still a little high.  Since I still have another 3 month check up I really want to keep it at 100 or below.  That's just really hard to do with M & M cookies sitting on the counter!  When I'm in Woodinville I stay at my sister in law Lorie's house and she (like me) has quite a sweet tooth.  She pulled out the bag of big M & M cookies and I resisted them all the way up until I was in bed reading and then someone turned on the tractor beam and that was all she wrote!  Dang it dang it!  I need to go home :)

Speaking of home...  I brought a big ole purple cabbage over to give to my friend Dee from my garden.  I had washed it really well and wrapped it in damp paper towels and then inside a plastic bag and stashed it in the cooler in my car for the trip on Tuesday.  Wednesday at lunch time I dropped it off at her house.  When she opened it up there was one tiny baby slug and about 15 tiny baby earth worms crawling on it.  EEWWWWW!  Her daughter Cyara who is 6 was delighted and took all the earthworms out and delivered them to their garden patch.  I was shocked and dismayed!  I had not even seen any slugs in my garden.  I didn't even think we had them over in E WA but apparently we do!  I knew we had awesome earth worms but I had not intended to export them to W WA!  I'll be very happy to keep them in the garden.  I wonder how they reproduce?  Is it a larve thing?  If so there must have been some ready to hatch larve going on there.  Sooo... SORRY!  :)  Reminds me of the song... the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinocle on your snout...
At least Shannons broccoli was worm free :)

Ciao!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Travelling is Hard on the Diet! :)

Yesterday on the way to Woodinville I had my son and granddaughter with me in the car.  I let Daniel choose where we should go have lunch when we stopped for gas and he decided on Arby's.  They had NO salads!  ???  Well... ok, they did have a side salad and I should have ordered that but instead I chose the chicken salad sandwich.  It is very tasty but is served on big thick soft bread.  I ate half and tried to get my son to eat the other half but he wouldn't so... I ate it.  I did take the top slice off the second half.  I also stole some of my granddaughters curly fries and a chicken nugget.  That was very good... but not without consequences.  My glucose level was 119 this morning.  While that is not horrible it is elevated.  I brought almost all the fruit from home with me so it wouldn't go to waste.  I think I'll have to give some of it away cause if I eat it that's gonna be a problem too :(  Oh well.  I'm meeting some friends for dinner... let's see if I can make good choices :)  For breakfast I munched on a Kashi granola bar, a piece of cheese and a small tomato.  I should have stuck to the cheese and tomato.  I miss my yogurt parfait... I miss my own bed and my home... I wanna go home.  Wahhhhh!  :)  What a baby!   I'm at work now and I am about to roam around and find a coffee pot to cure my lack of caffine headache.   Hmm... I sound grumpy.  I'm not though... but I better go find coffee NOW! 

Ciao!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Arrrrggghhhh!

Oh man!  This morning 153.8 and glucose 112.  I really like to keep it under 100.  Yesterday for lunch I went with my folks to town and I split a sandwich and salad with my mom.  It was a grilled chicken salad sandwich.  It was seriously good... grilled in butter with cheese.  Reminded me of the best grilled cheese sandwich :)  So I wonder why my blood sugar was elevated... anyone?  :)

On Sunday after church Dave and I stopped by the little Chinese restaurant in town and split the special of the day.  It was pretty tasty.  When we got home I realized that my parents were on the way back from Bothell and would be stopping at my house for a "rest stop" before continuing home to TN.  I asked if they were going to be hungry and my dad replied in classic Wally fashion... "does a cat have an ass?"  That mean yes.  So I raided my fridge and veg bin and decided to make salmon salad from the left over salmon Dave and I had for dinner the night before and also got out the two avocados I had stashed away and thawed out some shrimp and came up with Salmon Salad with Grilled Avocado and Shrimp.  You've seen this before... but not on the same plate.  It looks like this and it was very good...

The salmon salad had bacon and pistachios on top.  Granny raved, Dave savored each bite and Pa proclaimed it fruffy food and was ready for real dinner in about 2 hours.  Since I was all out of ideas for the day we went into town to Sporty's and had some MAN food!  Dave and I split a burger and fries.  Pa did not think that was very manly of Dave... but he redeemed himself by having a beer.  The burger and fries were great but not the best thing for the blood sugar.  Yesterday after a good ole breakfast of grits, fried eggs, bacon and toast (I had no toast and only a very small serving of grits) we went to the Grubstake and had the lunch I described with the grilled sandwich.  For dinner I made a sirloin tip roast with gravy, brown rice and lots of garden veg.  Steamed peas with diced zucchini, green beans with sun-dried tomatoes and bacon & onions.  I'm sure it would have been grits, eggs, bacon and toast again this morning except that they decided to pull their sneaky trick of departing in the middle of the night.  Grrr... well the upside is that it does avoid a very painful good bye.  The down side is that I didn't get to say good bye.  So here's prayers for a safe journey Pa and Granny.  Now I'm off to Woodinville for the rest of the week and hope that Dave will take care of the garden while I'm gone.  Carol and Donna please come over and pick it for me :)  There will be lots of zucchini and the green beans should be in full swing in a couple of days.  Unfortunately they are bush beans which means they have to be hunted for as they were planted too close together.  Please watch out for my tiny cilantro and fennel plants.  They are smaller than some of the weeds in there :)

Ciao!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

A Sunday Quickie

153.2 and glucose 95.  Had a great day working in the garden yesterday.  I ripped out lots of dill and spent broccoli which leaves more room for my pepper plants and red onions to grow.  Moved some cilantro to a better location.  The spaghetti squash had taken it over.  Lots of green tomatoes on.  Just waiting for them to ripen :)

No more haze!  We had a little rain last night apparently.  Unfortunately we left the motor home vent open.  Again :(  Well... I'm off heading out for a walk to enjoy the clear air before getting ready for church.  This afternoon the peas will get my full attention.  The cows are so happy I am "pruning" the garden.  They love the cabbage leaves and other things.  Ginger the big fat cow was making sure she got her "fair share" of the cabbage yesterday... which means all of it.  She butted poor Panda and knocked her into the feed trailer.  How rude!  I'll have to remember to stay out of her way!  Yikes!

Ciao!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Saturday Morning, Ahh... Life is Good!

I love watching the sun come up on a Saturday morning!  The possibilities seem endless when I have the whole weekend stretched before me.  I enjoy imagining all the things I could do... but won't since I will spend most of the weekend in my garden trying to think up stuff to do with all the produce that is ripe for the picking right now!  Terrible problem to have!  I didn't even go to the farmers market yesterday.  What would I buy?  I have more than we can possibly eat right here.

We need rain!  The air quality is so bad right now I can hardly see the mountains that surround my house.  Here... check out this very bad pic of the sun going down last night.  You can tell how much haze is in the air.  Every year it get's hazy like this.  Usually it's wild fires... but I haven't really heard them talking about fires the last few days.  I'm going to have to take some allergy medicine. :(

My eyes are burning!  I'm not sure if its the air or if I just didn't get enough sleep.  I should have stayed in bed a little longer but I do love getting up early on Saturday :)  Why waste the best part of the day?

Ok... so the daily stats are 153.7 and glucose 98.  My glucose level is quite a bit different than yesterday.  Maybe eating so late had something to do with it.  Or maybe it was the pasta :)  although I really didn't have much.  I was stewing about what to do for dinner bout the time I got off work yesterday but nothing was coming to me so I decided to just bag it... and we took our little kayaks to Waits Lake instead.  That was fun.  By the time I got back I had it figured out.  I cooked chicken breasts marinated in soy sauce and peach marmalade and made a side of zucchini ribbons with fresh peas tossed with the chipotle pepper fettuccine  I brought home from Pike Place Market last month.  I stir fried the veg and made a sauce of the soy/marmalade marinade with a little peanut butter.  It had sort of a Thai taste.  It was quite good.  I also used jalapeño peppers from my garden.  Of course the zucchini and peas came from the garden.  And the Walla Walla onion too!  Love those onions.  I was so afraid I wouldn't have any.  I had to keep replanting them in the spring because the stupid chickens kept scratching them up.  They finally "took" though and now I am enjoying them.  Anyway... here are some of the ingredients for the dish...

and here is the real deal...


Only... I forgot to put the peanuts in for the pic but I remembered them during the eating.

I also want to show you the curry chicken salad I made for lunch.  That was killer!  That's the thing about those rotisere chickens you can but at the store for $5.99 each... I can get like three meals out of one plus home made chicken stock.  It's the best deal in town.  If you buy a couple of quarts of good quality chicken stock you've just about paid for the whole price of the chicken.  Anyway... I always eat the rotisere breasts and set aside the rest of the meat for something like chicken salad.  This time I went sort of Indian with it.  I use a combination of yogurt and light sour cream to make the basic dressing and added a little curry powder and about a half teaspoon or so of garam masala.  You know... it's that spice you bought for that Indian dish you saw on the food network and only used once... yeah... get it out.  It's awesome.  It's a blend of corriander, pepper cumin, cardamom and cinamon.  You don't need much but it adds that distinctly Indian flavor.  I also added pistacois and topped with grape tomatoes and red grape halves.  Oh so good... check it out...

How's that for in your face chicken salad :)  Well, I've taken up enough of your time and mine with my silly little post so... I'm going to go fill my coffee cup up and soak in the tub while I wait for the sprinkler on the garden to shut off so I can go in with a machete :)

Ciao!

Friday, August 6, 2010

The Results Are In!

First the daily stats:  153.1 and glucose 83.  A new low :)  Yesterday at the doc we looked at the results of my repeat blood work compared to the tests from April and found that my A1C had gone from 6.7 which indicates diabetes down to 5.8 which is at the very lowest range for "risk" for diabetes.  So that is a significant drop.  My total cholesterol dropped from 247 down to 177.  How's that?  :)  The HDL went from 166 down to 108.  That is still slightly elevated.  The low normal range is under 100.  and my weight went from 170 to 153.1.  Dr. Zugec checked carefully to make sure she had my test results.  She was impressed and asked me who was supporting me in this effort.  I told her that I did all the cooking which made it easier.  I am fortunate that Dave will and does like and eat everything I make and is happy to be along for the ride :)   I also told her about my little blog which helps keep me honest since I don't like to have to report naughty behavior.  Even if it is only to like... three people :)  Anyway... yay!  It was a fabulous end to "phase one".  So that means I get to not take medication for diabetes and I get to come back in three month for a retest to make sure I maintain these results.  Now the challenge begins!  I knew I could control my blood sugar with diet only... I had the same results about 18 months ago but then I went right back to my old tricks and ended up puffy, fat with toxic blood chemistry.  Right now I feel like I'm on a roll!  I've worked too hard and hidden away all my fat jeans to stop now.  About a month ago I bought a couple pair of shorts since I had shrunken out of my last years shorts.  One was a size 8 (last year I wore a size 12) and the other was a size 6.  I was being optimistic  :)  Well now I can pull the size 8 down without unbuttoning them and the size 6 fits just about right.  Yippy!  Of course my rear end never was my problem area  but my waist line is shrinking too.  Also I can now just detect a collar bone :)  So... who'se with me?  If I can do it anyone can!  Really!  Now on to phase two... where I will hopefully reach my goal weight of 140 by Nov... let's call it 10th.  That's just about three months from now when I have to retest.  I don't know if that is realistic.  That's uncharted waters - but I'm going to give it a shot!  We are planning a tropical vacation to celebrate my sister in law Lorie's 50th birthday this coming January.  A new swim suit is in my future!

Speaking of eating like someone who is getting ready to buy a new swim suit...here's a question... What do you do when there is just too much cauliflower in the garden?  Eat it of course.  Last night I made more cauliflower soup and I really didn't like the way it turned out... but Tank and Lucy did :)  One of my favorite ways to eat a bunch of cauliflower or broccoli is like this:


Steamed with sundried tomatoes and then sprinkled with goat cheese and pine nuts.  No butter needed.  Why add extra calories?  The trick I found though is to have a little snack later because there really is not a lot of calories in that bowl... as near as I can figure it's a lunch of... 202 calories.  That's a lot for a bowl of cauliflower but not a lot for lunch.  That's for about three cups of cauliflower.  Bet you never thought you'd eat 3 cups of cauliflower at a sitting.  Me either... but what else am I supposed to do with it.  Last year I froze some but I really didn't like the way it turned out so this year it's either eat it or feed it to the cows  :)

I am thinking more about exercising too.  Of course I still do my walking.  I have two labs to wear out.  But I am just starting to run for small bits of the way.  I HATE running so I'm not pushing myself very hard but I have found over the last week that I can run for a little longer each time.  Who knows... perhaps by the end of summer I can run all the way down to the mailbox and back.  Any of you who do run would laugh your tails off at that since it is nothing but would be a nice little accomplishment for me.  I am babying my knees a little though.  When I was weighing in at 170 they were starting to bother me.  They are breathing a little easier now but I don't want to blow them out.  Also you will be happy to know that I did replace the batteries in my Wii controllers and balance board and used it again last night... and again... no snacking.  What a concept!

Ok... time for my walk before work.   And... it's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!  Just saying Friday puts a smile on my face. Have a great weekend everyone!

Ciao!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Today is the Day for Blood Test Results!

First, 153.8 and glucose 95.  This afternoon I have an apt to meet with the doc and see if my blood chemistry is good enough to avoid the diabetes meds.  I think so... I'm almost always in the normal range :)  I knew I could get it there with a little self discipline.  Now comes the tricky part... making the changes permanent so that I don't slide backwards like I did before!  I sure would like to loose another 14 lbs!  I'm afraid I'll have to give up my evening snacking though.  :(  I did pretty good yesterday until evening.  It's always evening that kicks my butt.  When we finally came inside for the night I sat down and ate two bowls of peanuts.  The kind in the shell, then a granola bar.  It was Kashi so the best kind out there... still... and a sugar free mint patty.  You would think those are supposed to be diet but each little piece is 60 calories!  I was going to go downstairs and do Wii Fit but the controllers batteries have died and we have no replacements.  The night before I borrowed the batteries out of my wireless mouse but I got lazy and didn't want to go get them again.  How lame!  :)  Well... today after my appointment at the docs I will go get some new batteries at the store.  And probably more pistachios too :)

Gotta roll... lots to do, animals to feed, plants to water before work.  My cows are screaming at me to come feed them.  :)  What a bunch of pigs!  Ciao!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Happy Humpday!

153.6 and glucose 96.  Not bad!  Yesterday I harvested two heads of cauliflower (and turned them into soup), some broccoli, trimmed the out of control spaghetti squash and zucchini leaves and found one small English cuke.  I thought we might get some rain.  Maybe it was just wishful thinking.  It's so hazy the last few days I can barely see the mountains.  The forecast today is 50% chance of thunder storms and a high of 90.  So far there is not a cloud in sight.  Just lots of haze.  Yesterday I got pretty stuffed up from the air.  :(  Must be fires somewhere!

I did my Wii Fit game last night.  It was fun.  It's been awhile.  I had lost 12 lbs since last time I got on so my Wii character shrunk.  Nice!  It told me that my BMI was now in the normal range.  The upper end of normal but still... progress!  The best thing about doing Wii Fit was going downstairs into the cool basement AND when I got done it was time for bed... NO SNACKING!  Sweet!  I'm going to trade off between Wii Fit and Zumba.  Both were expensive toys so I really need to make use of them.  Not to mention the exercise benefit :)

Last night for dinner I made a meatloaf again for Dave.  Apparently it was pretty good.  The funny thing about it was that as it was coming out of the oven Dave wanted to know if I was going to take a picture of it :)   Obviously he likes meatloaf.  But no... no meatloaf pics.  I served a nice little salad with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil.

The best news of all is that today (or maybe in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow) my dear KT Bug arrives back in the good ole USA.  She's been stationed in England for two years and she will now be home with baby Charlotte and joining her husband who has very recently returned from Korea.  I'm very excited to have them back and together.  Yay!  God bless our military families!

Ciao!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Blood Draw Day

153.4 and glucose 99.  It's a good day!  Went and had my blood drawn for tests and I go back again on Thursday for the results.  Other than that I got a big fat nothin to report so... I'm out!

Ciao!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Love that Carbonated Water!

Well... it's been fun having the folks here.  My diet has been just a hair off but not too bad.  They are headed toward Seattle this morning.  Last night for dinner I grilled a big piece of halibut and a couple of ahi tuna steaks along with some cabbage (thanks Carol) drizzled in olive oil and soy sauce.  It was pretty tasty.  I made a zucchini lasagna a couple of days before and we had some left over so I heated that up too.  That was over kill :)    I didn't take a pic of the fish and I guess I should have.  I did take a pic of the big pan of lasagna and here it is.

for the lasagna - because this turned out really good... I layered all the usual suspects but used sliced (lengthwise) zucchini that I cooked just a bit in a grill pan rather than lasagna noodles.  Last time I made lasagna I sliced (lengthwise) some left over noodles into ribbons about a half an inch wide and wound them up into sort of birds nests - about two noodles at a time and put them in a plastic bag in the freezer.  I took a package out and on top of the zucchini layers I made a large lattice design with the noodle ribbons.  I used two noodles in the entire 9 X 13 pan and it was just enough to give it the noodle flavor and texture but saved a heck of a lot of carbs!  It also helps to make sure the top of the lasagna gets really crisp and chewy.  I think that's the part everyone loves most.  I did eat both kinds of fish and some cabbage.  The cabbage was crisp tender and I made up a quick wasabi sauce with the prepared wasabi paste and soy sauce and dipped the cabbage in it.  I also had a small piece of lasagna.  My blood sugar was 101 this morning and 154.3 for the gross tonnage measurement.  Not really going down much last week or so but I'm ok with that right now.  I am happy to have stayed in the range considering all the cashews I have eaten lately.  Those things are as addictive as any drug out there!

Now for the carbonated water part... I love to make drinks using carbonated water.  Usually something easy like maybe a couple of sliced strawberries and a lime wedge, a little splenda.  Just makes it more fun to drink a lot of water - which helps me not feel as hungry.   I buy lots of it every week at the store.  Last week I got an email from Williams Sonoma - one of my favorite stores and they were advertising water carbonators.  I've been thinking about buying one - it seems like I'm always out of seltzer water so when I saw that I got really interested and checked it out.  I noticed the brand "SodaStream" and wondered if they had a website - if maybe I get one cheaper through the manufacturer and sure enough they sold them online directly as well as in cooking stores like William Sonoma.  It was a bit less expensive too so I had to have one and ordered it.  It arrived on Friday afternoon.  I left it in the box that night as we had a lot going on with the folks and Daniel and Aubrey here visiting.  By Saturday I just couldn't stand it any more... even though I had two bottles of seltzer water in the pantry... and still do.  I opened it up and was excited to see the fun little syrup samples they included to make your own soda if you are into that.  I scanned the instructions and it seemed pretty simple... fill the bottle with tap water.  We have the chilled water in the fridge door so I was excited for instant seltzer water... screw it onto the machine - which was red :)  like many of my other small appliances and press the button about three times rapidly - until you hear a "buzz" three times then you are done.  So I did all that and I could tell it was all sparkly in the bottle so with great anticipation and joy I unscrewed the bottle and the entire contents of the bottle fizzed out - more like exploded all over me and the kitchen.  It was a hot day and after I recovered from the shock I decided I had just purchased a wonderful cooling gadget.  Very refreshing!  Just imaging...chilled sparkling water all over my body!  I decided I better clean it up and pretty darn quick before Dave came in and gave me the smirk which would so clearly say... I told you so.  That was a stupid idea... I'm going to have to kill you now. Alright... that would actually have been my reaction to something stupid he did but all he needs to do is "the smirk".  That says it all!  The only audience I had was Daniel so I figured I was safe... except that just at that moment Carol drove up to bring me cabbage plants and a beautiful head of green cabbage and wanted to know why there was water and towels all over the floor.  I'm glad I could provide so much enjoyment for her!  I thought she was going to pass out from laughing.  Eventually I figured out that where I went wrong was way back at the beginning when I "scanned" the directions.  See... there's a little built in pressure release function that I somehow missed...  Oh brother!  I have since figured it out though and now I'm doing all sorts of experimenting.  I discovered just this morning if you add sugar free French vanilla syrup (like the stuff they use at coffee stands) to the seltzer water it tastes very much like cream soda.  To quote the Barefoot Contessa... "how bad could that be?"  Right now I have a 16 oz sippy bottle full of ice, seltzer water with blueberries and satsuma orange sections chilling on my desk.  I have drank substantially more water since Saturday and will slow down only when the co2 cartridge needs to be replaced (or when I get tired of peeing every 10 minutes).  I'll have to order more co2 but one canister will carbonate 60 liters of water so I'm good for just a while.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for blood work to see how successful this little diet experiment has been and how improved my average blood sugar and cholesterol levels (and other things) are.  The review apt is Thursday.  Wish me luck.  I really don't want to have to take the meds for diabetes if I don't have to or until it's no longer able to be controlled by diet.  This morning I was discussing that with my mom and she said, "well you're doing so well with your diet that you probably won't have to worry about that until you are in your 50's."  !!!  Come on Mama I think I'm there now!  :)  

Enjoy your Monday... even if it's Monday that's better than... being in the box!  Ciao!