The air yesterday and today was hot, muggy and oppressive. I had to force myself to do a treadmill session yesterday morning, because I felt so weighted down. I feel sure that atmospheric changes caused by approaching Hurricane Ike were having an effect on me, as they were on Shih Tzu, who whined and darted here and there most of the day. Even though we do not live in the immediate landfall area of the hurricane, the storm is predicted to spawn flooding rain and maybe even tornadoes in our state over the next couple of days.
We spent the day yesterday doing household chores, particularly the week's laundry, in case there is a power outage. And Hubbie made sure that both the van and truck are filled with fuel, in case prices go up after the storm.
After supper last night, Hubbie and I went downtown for a "Second Friday" event, sponsored by the downtown association. Our first stop was the art gallery to deliver a tray of cheese and crackers for the artist reception. We visited with several people we know and then moved on to tour the downtown district, where musicians and other entertainers were performing in the pocket park, in front of the courthouse, and at other places along the street.
Many of the businesses were open, so we stopped in at an antique store, where I found two small wooden turkeys that I can use in an autumn display on my mantle. From there, we stopped at a popular restaurant, where one of the musicians was performing. We really enjoy this musician, but our real reason for stopping was to see a photography exhibit by someone we know. However, the restaurant was so packed that we couldn't get to the exhibit. Later, we learned that the restaurant had run out of food before the downtown event was scheduled to end at 9 p.m.
At 7 p.m., we dropped by the dance studio, where folks were invited to participate in ballroom dancing. There were only a handful of us there, but Hubbie and I enjoyed dancing for an hour to waltzes, rumbas, and foxtrots.
After that, we stopped back by the gallery to pick up our tray, since the reception was scheduled to end at 8 p.m. We were back home before 8:30, and settled in to watch a one-hour show on TV, plus the 10 p.m. news, before hitting the sack.
For some reason, we had trouble falling asleep though...maybe due to the weather...and we didn't get up until 7:30 this morning. After breakfast, we, including Mother, went downtown for an annual city-wide yard sale.
Folks were set up all along Main Street, in business and church parking lots, or in their own front yards. We didn't find a lot that we wanted, but I did buy three sandwich bags of elements that we can use in scrapbooking and greeting card making, plus a long-sleeve cotton shirt in fall colors, a book titled "The Loop," by Nicholas Evans, author of "The Horse Whisperer," a basket, three picture frames, and a decorative hummingbird plate. Mother bought three small frames to use for making pressed flower pictures, and some plastic loops to use in making crocheted potholders.
Otherwise, we kept a close watch on TV reports of the inland advance of Hurricane Ike, which, as expected, threatened our state with winds, heavy rain, and even tornado warnings during the afternoon and evening.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A Varied Day
In commemoration of the seventh anniversary of 9-11, the first thing Hubbie did this morning was display the flag on the well house. He hoped it wouldn't rain while it was out, because he was scheduled to go to a Master Gardener meeting this morning, and I would be at Cardiac Rehab, so neither of us could bring it in. Fortunately, it did not rain while we were gone.
For the first time since I began Rehab, there were more women than men in the session...five women and one man. For the longest time, I was the only woman among four or five men.
One of the women attending for the first time today is a lady who attends water aerobics with me. One day as we were swimming, she questioned me extensively about what my symptoms were before I had my heart episode. I related my experience and told her to see her doctor if she had any pains that were different from what she'd experienced before. So two weeks ago, when she had what she thought might be a very bad case of indigestion in her upper chest, she remembered what I said and went to see about it. Sure enough, she had an 85% blocked artery and underwent a procedure to have a stent implant.
One of the other new patients said she had a pain between her shoulders that sent her to her doctor. Another said she had pain in her chest with exertion. Mine, of course, felt like an ice cream headache in my left arm, between my wrist and my elbow. So symptoms vary, particularly among women, and we need to be alert to unusual pains in our upper bodies.
Interesting news this morning: one of the Rehab nurses who was pregnant went into labor just after our 9 a.m. workout session last Tuesday. She was three weeks early, but apparently her water broke and there was a scurrying bustle as everyone present came to her aid until she could be wheeled to delivery. She has a healthy 6 lb. baby boy.
Today was my day for visiting the hospital...this morning for Cardic Rehab, and this afternoon for my annual mammograms. The technician commented that lots of women refuse to have this simple screening, because they say it hurts. The test is a bit "squeezie," but I don't find it intolerable at all. As the tech pointed out, these tests are very brief, and don't hurt nearly as much as cancer.
As she said, one in eight women will have breast cancer sometime in her lifetime, and it is best to catch it early and increase chances of survival. "There are around 35 women working in this wing of the hospital," she said, "so probably about four of us will have cancer at some point." I know at least five women with breast cancer...a couple of them have been survivors for several years, one has had two bouts with it but is doing well, one has just recently been diagnosed, and one is terminal.
When I got home from the hospital, I found there was a strange van in the driveway. Presently, my husband and a young woman came walking across the yard. The woman had found a Pomeranian dog lying dead in the road and thought it might be ours. It was not, of course. Our dog is a Shih Tzu that we never allow outdoors without a leash.
After a couple of minutes, another young woman drove into the driveway, asking if the dog might be ours. Hubbie went down the road and got the dog and lovingly laid it alongside our driveway, while one of the young women went across the street to find out if the dog belonged there. It did, and the young woman owner came across the street, picked up the little dog, hugged it and cried as she carried it back to her house. I choked up, too, as I watched her.
After that, Hubbie returned to mowing the lawn, while I prepared a supper of chicken fajitas, served with leftover macaroni and cheese...both recipes are low salt and low fat.
This evening, Hubbie and I went to the community theater building to deliver four glass decanters and several Victorian looking brooches to be used as props in an upcoming production of "Jekyll and Hyde." The play director sent a request for several prop items to the community theater board meeting last Tuesday, and decanters and brooches were two of the things she asked for. Hopefully, someone else has a Victorian looking mantle clock and other items on the list.
On our way home from delivering the props, we stopped by the WDCS to pick up snack crackers and cheese tidbits to take as our contribution to the refreshment table at an artist reception tomorrow evening.
A pleasant thing happened today: we received an unsolicited CD of Mozart music. Inside the CD case is a very nice booklet that contains a biography, a section about Mozart's life and times, and a listener's guide, among other topics. The company who sent the CD hopes that those who receive it will want to subscribe to classical music and booklets monthly. We do not, though we'll certainly enjoy listening to this free one.
For the first time since I began Rehab, there were more women than men in the session...five women and one man. For the longest time, I was the only woman among four or five men.
One of the women attending for the first time today is a lady who attends water aerobics with me. One day as we were swimming, she questioned me extensively about what my symptoms were before I had my heart episode. I related my experience and told her to see her doctor if she had any pains that were different from what she'd experienced before. So two weeks ago, when she had what she thought might be a very bad case of indigestion in her upper chest, she remembered what I said and went to see about it. Sure enough, she had an 85% blocked artery and underwent a procedure to have a stent implant.
One of the other new patients said she had a pain between her shoulders that sent her to her doctor. Another said she had pain in her chest with exertion. Mine, of course, felt like an ice cream headache in my left arm, between my wrist and my elbow. So symptoms vary, particularly among women, and we need to be alert to unusual pains in our upper bodies.
Interesting news this morning: one of the Rehab nurses who was pregnant went into labor just after our 9 a.m. workout session last Tuesday. She was three weeks early, but apparently her water broke and there was a scurrying bustle as everyone present came to her aid until she could be wheeled to delivery. She has a healthy 6 lb. baby boy.
Today was my day for visiting the hospital...this morning for Cardic Rehab, and this afternoon for my annual mammograms. The technician commented that lots of women refuse to have this simple screening, because they say it hurts. The test is a bit "squeezie," but I don't find it intolerable at all. As the tech pointed out, these tests are very brief, and don't hurt nearly as much as cancer.
As she said, one in eight women will have breast cancer sometime in her lifetime, and it is best to catch it early and increase chances of survival. "There are around 35 women working in this wing of the hospital," she said, "so probably about four of us will have cancer at some point." I know at least five women with breast cancer...a couple of them have been survivors for several years, one has had two bouts with it but is doing well, one has just recently been diagnosed, and one is terminal.
When I got home from the hospital, I found there was a strange van in the driveway. Presently, my husband and a young woman came walking across the yard. The woman had found a Pomeranian dog lying dead in the road and thought it might be ours. It was not, of course. Our dog is a Shih Tzu that we never allow outdoors without a leash.
After a couple of minutes, another young woman drove into the driveway, asking if the dog might be ours. Hubbie went down the road and got the dog and lovingly laid it alongside our driveway, while one of the young women went across the street to find out if the dog belonged there. It did, and the young woman owner came across the street, picked up the little dog, hugged it and cried as she carried it back to her house. I choked up, too, as I watched her.
After that, Hubbie returned to mowing the lawn, while I prepared a supper of chicken fajitas, served with leftover macaroni and cheese...both recipes are low salt and low fat.
This evening, Hubbie and I went to the community theater building to deliver four glass decanters and several Victorian looking brooches to be used as props in an upcoming production of "Jekyll and Hyde." The play director sent a request for several prop items to the community theater board meeting last Tuesday, and decanters and brooches were two of the things she asked for. Hopefully, someone else has a Victorian looking mantle clock and other items on the list.
On our way home from delivering the props, we stopped by the WDCS to pick up snack crackers and cheese tidbits to take as our contribution to the refreshment table at an artist reception tomorrow evening.
A pleasant thing happened today: we received an unsolicited CD of Mozart music. Inside the CD case is a very nice booklet that contains a biography, a section about Mozart's life and times, and a listener's guide, among other topics. The company who sent the CD hopes that those who receive it will want to subscribe to classical music and booklets monthly. We do not, though we'll certainly enjoy listening to this free one.
Facts About Our Bodies
At the museum website that describes the "Our Body" exhibit, there are many interesting facts (taken from Deepak Chopra's book, "Magical Mind, Magical Body,") such as:
*When you sneeze, you can produce wind speeds as great as a hurricane or tornado (over 100 mph.).
*Over half the bones in your body are located in your hands and feet.
*The surface area of the lungs is about the same size as a tennis court.
*50,000 of the cells in your body will die and be replaced with new cells, all while you have been reading this sentence!
*In one square inch of skin there lies 4 yards of nerve fibers, 1300 nerve cells, 100 sweat glands, 3 million cells, and 3 yards of blood vessels.
*Every two thousand frowns creates one wrinkle.
*Every person has a unique tongue print.
*Your ears and nose continue to grow throughout your entire life.
*Our bodies are recreating themselves constantly - we make a skeleton every 3 months, new skin every month.
*When you sneeze, you can produce wind speeds as great as a hurricane or tornado (over 100 mph.).
*Over half the bones in your body are located in your hands and feet.
*The surface area of the lungs is about the same size as a tennis court.
*50,000 of the cells in your body will die and be replaced with new cells, all while you have been reading this sentence!
*In one square inch of skin there lies 4 yards of nerve fibers, 1300 nerve cells, 100 sweat glands, 3 million cells, and 3 yards of blood vessels.
*Every two thousand frowns creates one wrinkle.
*Every person has a unique tongue print.
*Your ears and nose continue to grow throughout your entire life.
*Our bodies are recreating themselves constantly - we make a skeleton every 3 months, new skin every month.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
"Our Body" Exhibit
We got up very early this morning, in order to be ready to get on the road south to visit an "Our Body" exhibit. We wanted to be at the museum by the time it opened at 10 a.m., and we were. This despite the fact that Hubbie decided to choose a new route that he was convinced would shave off time, bypass the city, and take us directly to the museum. It didn't quite work out that way, because somehow we missed a turn or an exit or something, and ended up going through the city after all.
We got to the museum about the same time a couple of school buses arrived, disgorging noisy, pushing and shoving, groups of children of junior high and high school age. Fortunately, the kids pleasantly greeted Mother, and gave her a wide berth when they saw she used a cane and held my hand for support.
However, we had to wait a few minutes to get into the exhibit area until the school group went in, so we wouldn't be stumbling over each other at the individual displays. I overheard some students remark upon entering that they thought the exhibit would be "gross," because it uses actual human bodies. Later, I heard one student remark, "It's amazing how all of our body parts work together."
The exhibit does use actual human bodies (from China), dissected to show skin, muscles, tendons, networks of nerves, blood vessels, and even reproductive organs. But all of this is done very respectfully, and with a reverence for the dignity of the human subjects. There are whole bodies, posed to show how muscles, etc., work, as well as display cases of individual body parts, like hands, feet, brains, and internal organs. Some specimens include teeth, eyelashes, and toenails. The bodies are specially preserved through a process called "plastination," so that they are odorless and very durable.
When I first mentioned going to see the exhibit, Mother and Hubbie were uncertain that they wanted to go. But after we got there, all three of us became absorbed in the wonder of how our bodies function...how delicate and fragile, yet amazingly resilient our systems are. Especially amazing are the displays of networks of nerves and blood vessels. We are truly a wonder of creation.
We chose a great day to go to the exhibit, because it was overcast and relatively cool, so Shih Tzu was comfortable in the van. It was also a nice day to enjoy our lunch at one of the picnic tables on the museum grounds.
The trip down and back was pleasant. We avoided morning traffic using a bypass around the capital city on our way to the museum city, and we were on the way back home before after-work traffic set in.
During our trip, we listened to a book on CD titled "Total Recall," a suspense novel by Sara Paretsky.
We got to the museum about the same time a couple of school buses arrived, disgorging noisy, pushing and shoving, groups of children of junior high and high school age. Fortunately, the kids pleasantly greeted Mother, and gave her a wide berth when they saw she used a cane and held my hand for support.
However, we had to wait a few minutes to get into the exhibit area until the school group went in, so we wouldn't be stumbling over each other at the individual displays. I overheard some students remark upon entering that they thought the exhibit would be "gross," because it uses actual human bodies. Later, I heard one student remark, "It's amazing how all of our body parts work together."
The exhibit does use actual human bodies (from China), dissected to show skin, muscles, tendons, networks of nerves, blood vessels, and even reproductive organs. But all of this is done very respectfully, and with a reverence for the dignity of the human subjects. There are whole bodies, posed to show how muscles, etc., work, as well as display cases of individual body parts, like hands, feet, brains, and internal organs. Some specimens include teeth, eyelashes, and toenails. The bodies are specially preserved through a process called "plastination," so that they are odorless and very durable.
When I first mentioned going to see the exhibit, Mother and Hubbie were uncertain that they wanted to go. But after we got there, all three of us became absorbed in the wonder of how our bodies function...how delicate and fragile, yet amazingly resilient our systems are. Especially amazing are the displays of networks of nerves and blood vessels. We are truly a wonder of creation.
We chose a great day to go to the exhibit, because it was overcast and relatively cool, so Shih Tzu was comfortable in the van. It was also a nice day to enjoy our lunch at one of the picnic tables on the museum grounds.
The trip down and back was pleasant. We avoided morning traffic using a bypass around the capital city on our way to the museum city, and we were on the way back home before after-work traffic set in.
During our trip, we listened to a book on CD titled "Total Recall," a suspense novel by Sara Paretsky.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Meetings and a Recipe
I went back to Cardiac Rehab today, after missing my session last Thursday. Today was education day, but since I'm in Phase III of the program, I wasn't required to attend the meeting in the back room, and could get on with my exercises about fifteen minutes ahead of my scheduled hour.
The weather was fall-like today, with temps in the 70s. If tomorrow is predicted to be as cool as today, we plan to make a road trip south to see a museum exhibit about the human body. We want the day to be cool, so Shih Tzu will be comfortable in the car while we are touring the exhibit.
Since it was so cool today, I got a hankering for soup for lunch, but none was made, and of course I can no longer eat the canned ones because of the salt content. So I settled for a slice of bread with a little peanut butter, a glass of cranberry juice, and a bowl of fresh fruit.
After lunch, I decided it would be a good idea to try a new veggie soup recipe to have during the rest of the week. Naturally, though, I didn't have quite all the ingredients I needed, so Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to get the required items.
By the time I put all the veggies, the split peas, the lentils, the rice, the barley, and the whole- wheat macaroni into the soup, along with a can of no-salt tomatoes and various spices, the big Dutch oven was filled nearly to capacity. I hope the soup tastes as good as it smelled while simmering.
I won't get a chance to find out tomorrow, though, if we travel south, since we'll carry a lunch of sandwiches, etc., for the trip.
Later this afternoon, I attended an arts council meeting, and then a community theater board meeting at 7:30 p.m., which dragged on until 9:30 p.m.
Between meetings, we had a supper of chicken fixed with onions, bell peppers, and red potatoes, along with English peas and carrots. The chicken was prepared using a new no-salt recipe, obtained from Weight Watchers, and it is really good. Here it is:
Easy Baked Chicken and Potato Dinner
4 frozen chicken breasts without skin
4 medium potatoes unpeeled, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium bell pepper, cut in 1.5" cubes
1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 15x10x1-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place 1 frozen chicken breast half in each corner of sprayed pan. Place potatoes, bell pepper and onion in center of pan. Spray cooking spray over chicken an vegetables; sprinkle evenly with cheese, garlic powder and paprika.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, stirring vegetables once halfway through cooking.
Note: the changes we made to this recipe are that we thawed the chicken breasts (we used large ones), covered the dish with foil, and cooked at 350 degrees for about one and a half hours.
The weather was fall-like today, with temps in the 70s. If tomorrow is predicted to be as cool as today, we plan to make a road trip south to see a museum exhibit about the human body. We want the day to be cool, so Shih Tzu will be comfortable in the car while we are touring the exhibit.
Since it was so cool today, I got a hankering for soup for lunch, but none was made, and of course I can no longer eat the canned ones because of the salt content. So I settled for a slice of bread with a little peanut butter, a glass of cranberry juice, and a bowl of fresh fruit.
After lunch, I decided it would be a good idea to try a new veggie soup recipe to have during the rest of the week. Naturally, though, I didn't have quite all the ingredients I needed, so Hubbie and I went to the WDCS to get the required items.
By the time I put all the veggies, the split peas, the lentils, the rice, the barley, and the whole- wheat macaroni into the soup, along with a can of no-salt tomatoes and various spices, the big Dutch oven was filled nearly to capacity. I hope the soup tastes as good as it smelled while simmering.
I won't get a chance to find out tomorrow, though, if we travel south, since we'll carry a lunch of sandwiches, etc., for the trip.
Later this afternoon, I attended an arts council meeting, and then a community theater board meeting at 7:30 p.m., which dragged on until 9:30 p.m.
Between meetings, we had a supper of chicken fixed with onions, bell peppers, and red potatoes, along with English peas and carrots. The chicken was prepared using a new no-salt recipe, obtained from Weight Watchers, and it is really good. Here it is:
Easy Baked Chicken and Potato Dinner
4 frozen chicken breasts without skin
4 medium potatoes unpeeled, cut into 1" pieces
1 medium bell pepper, cut in 1.5" cubes
1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 15x10x1-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place 1 frozen chicken breast half in each corner of sprayed pan. Place potatoes, bell pepper and onion in center of pan. Spray cooking spray over chicken an vegetables; sprinkle evenly with cheese, garlic powder and paprika.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear, stirring vegetables once halfway through cooking.
Note: the changes we made to this recipe are that we thawed the chicken breasts (we used large ones), covered the dish with foil, and cooked at 350 degrees for about one and a half hours.
Monday, September 8, 2008
No Water Aerobics Today
Since I couldn't go to water aerobics this morning, I did a 40-minute workout on the treadmill.
After that, Mother came over and we did this and that, including getting a gallon jar of friendship cake starter going. It'll take 14 days for the starter to ferment enough to begin adding fruits. Then it will be about a month before we can make cakes with it. The starter juice that is left after draining the fruit for the cakes will be stored in the freezer until we need to start another batch of fruit. This starter juice keeps very well in the freezer. Each new batch makes more starter juice, but finally it does exhaust, which is why we needed to start from scratch again. I don't make friendship cakes for us...I make them to give to Younger Son on his birthday. He happily anticipates getting these cakes each year, and I've been making them for him a long, long time.
After lunch, Hubbie and I did our usual errand-running...to the post office to mail the triglycerides info to Daughter-in-law; to the card shop, where I spent a $5 bonus points coupon due to go out of date soon; to the health store for multi-vitamins and salt-free seasoning, as well as an 8-grain cereal I want to try; to the cable company and the insurance company; to a shoe store to spend a $5 coupon (as it happens this store is having a buy-one-get-one, or BOGO, sale, and they had nice pairs of black socks I was looking for at two pairs for a dollar, so I was able to get a stack of them for my coupon).
Actually, Mother mentioned recently that she'll soon need black socks, so these will become part of my 12-days-of Christmas gifts to her (see one of my blogs from last winter for a description of this tradition at our house). From the shoe store we went, of course, to the WDCS for grocery items that we failed to get Saturday. It was mid-afternoon before we got back home.
We tried a new dish for supper tonight...Couscous Primavera, from a recipe I found online at http://www.recipelink.com/. Here's how it's made:
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed and minced (we used the equivalent from a jar)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups grated carrots
1/4 teaspoon salt (we left this out, because of my low-salt diet)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
3 cups fat free or low fat milk (we used fat free)
1 cup couscous
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves (optional, for garnish)
Combine olive oil and garlic in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle.
Add onion, mushrooms, carrots, salt, pepper, and oregano, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft and translucent.
Add tomatoes and milk and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat and cover tightly. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Uncover and stir in Parmesan cheese. Top each serving with a tablespoon of chopped basil, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. Delicious!
After that, Mother came over and we did this and that, including getting a gallon jar of friendship cake starter going. It'll take 14 days for the starter to ferment enough to begin adding fruits. Then it will be about a month before we can make cakes with it. The starter juice that is left after draining the fruit for the cakes will be stored in the freezer until we need to start another batch of fruit. This starter juice keeps very well in the freezer. Each new batch makes more starter juice, but finally it does exhaust, which is why we needed to start from scratch again. I don't make friendship cakes for us...I make them to give to Younger Son on his birthday. He happily anticipates getting these cakes each year, and I've been making them for him a long, long time.
After lunch, Hubbie and I did our usual errand-running...to the post office to mail the triglycerides info to Daughter-in-law; to the card shop, where I spent a $5 bonus points coupon due to go out of date soon; to the health store for multi-vitamins and salt-free seasoning, as well as an 8-grain cereal I want to try; to the cable company and the insurance company; to a shoe store to spend a $5 coupon (as it happens this store is having a buy-one-get-one, or BOGO, sale, and they had nice pairs of black socks I was looking for at two pairs for a dollar, so I was able to get a stack of them for my coupon).
Actually, Mother mentioned recently that she'll soon need black socks, so these will become part of my 12-days-of Christmas gifts to her (see one of my blogs from last winter for a description of this tradition at our house). From the shoe store we went, of course, to the WDCS for grocery items that we failed to get Saturday. It was mid-afternoon before we got back home.
We tried a new dish for supper tonight...Couscous Primavera, from a recipe I found online at http://www.recipelink.com/. Here's how it's made:
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed and minced (we used the equivalent from a jar)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups grated carrots
1/4 teaspoon salt (we left this out, because of my low-salt diet)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
3 cups fat free or low fat milk (we used fat free)
1 cup couscous
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves (optional, for garnish)
Combine olive oil and garlic in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the garlic starts to sizzle.
Add onion, mushrooms, carrots, salt, pepper, and oregano, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft and translucent.
Add tomatoes and milk and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat and cover tightly. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Uncover and stir in Parmesan cheese. Top each serving with a tablespoon of chopped basil, if desired. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. Delicious!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Fall Blooming Crocus
Just as spring blooming crocus heralds oncoming warm weather, fall blooming crocus announces that cooler weather is on the way. Last week, fall crocus began breaking the ground along the edge of our driveway, and today, the delicate lavender flowers are in full bloom.
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