And, the winner is ..... not us!

Again, today, I was sitting just inside our local Kroger store, a large supermarket, waiting for my wife. Obesity is not only a problem in this country, it is an epidemic. Any foreign power could take over this country, why, because they could outrun us. Say BOO, and take off running, and in no time at all, we would be falling back. Not all, but many, way too many.

This week, for example, this little blog was read by people in many countries. Turkey, Polandwas, Ukraine, France, Brazil, Germany, Russia, China and the Netherlands. I know little to nothing about the economies in those countries, but there must me many who would be in awe of our Krogers and the abundance of food items in the store. 

They would sit with me and look at the people coming in and going out. Many obese, some overly obese, obese husbands and wives, some, so obese they have to ride around in an electric cart, often, a cart filled with, cases of Coke and Pepsi, pies and cakes, many sugary products, and to maintain good health, bottled water, cases of bottled water, jugs of water, some, 5-gallon jugs of water.

And now, tattoos, so many tats, arms full, legs full, neck and backs full of tats. Conclusion, the sugar is causing normal people to acquire tattoos, it must be the sugar. Why else, would a normal appearing young woman, get her arms, her  legs, her neck, he shoulders .... and only she and the tattoo guy know what else might be covered with  sub - dural ink. "I have fat arms and fat legs, and I want you to see them, so I turned them in to works of art." And, the same goes for men. I don't know who started the fad, they even had their own TV shows. I have seen people, paying for their groceries with food stamps, which is fine, and they are covered from head to toe, with tats. Can one trade food stamps for tats. 

Someday, a foreign country, comprised of lean healthy citizens, will come to our border, thumb their nose and start running ..... at a distance, not too far away, we will drop to the ground, exhausted, panting, out of breath, just drop, and the lean healthy country will just take over. And, when we finally get our second wind, we rise, ready to defend out country, and they will bombard us, with Big Mac's and fries, cokes and shakes, and we will eat, and drop to the ground, again. No guns, no bombs, just Big Macs.

The Pasty - A culinary legend

    A pasty sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a baked pastry associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge to form a seal. After baking, the result is a raised semicircular end-product.
     The traditional Cornish pasty, which has Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in Europe, is filled with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede (also known as a yellow turnip or rutabaga - referred to in Cornwall as turnip) and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and is baked. 
    The origins of the pasty are unclear, though there are many references to them throughout historical documents and fiction. The pasty is now popular world-wide due to the spread of  Cornish miners, and variations can be found in Australia, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere. 
    I was introduced to them in Michigan. They are a favorite with tourists and even more so with hunters who head North grab a pasty or two and head to the woods. There are many little independent stores, gas stations and restaurants that have their own favorite, guarded, recipe. Here is a basic one, easy to fix and easier to eat .............

Original Pasty

     3 c. flour
     1 1/2 sticks butter (cold and cut into bits)
     1 1/2 tsp. salt
     6 tbsp. water

In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and salt.  Blend ingredients until well combined and add water, one tablespoon at a time to form a dough.  Toss mixture until it forms a ball.  Kneed dough lightly against a smooth surface with heel of the hand to distribute fat evenly.  Form into a ball, dust with flour, wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes.

Filling

     1 lb. round steak, coarsely ground
     1 lb. boneless pork loin, coarsely ground
     5 carrots, chopped
     2 lg. onions, chopped
     2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
     1/2 c. rutabaga, chopped (can substitute turnip)
     2 tsp. salt
     1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Divide the dough into 6 pieces, and roll one of the pieces into a 10-inch round on a lightly floured surface.  Put 1 1/2 cups of filling on half of the round.  Moisten the edges and fold the unfilled half over the filling to enclose it.  Pinch the edges together to seal them and crimp them decoratively with a fork.  Transfer pasty to lightly buttered baking sheet and cut several slits in the top.  Roll out and fill the remaining dough in the same manner.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Put 1 tsp. butter through a slit in each pasty and continue baking for 30 minutes more.  Remove from oven, cover with a damp tea towel, cool for 15 minutes.

That's odd, I didn't win - well, I did win $4

DES MOINES, Iowa - Lottery officials say nobody has won the Powerball jackpot and the top prize will now increase to about $425 million for the next drawing, the largest jackpot ever for the game.

Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said sales were strong over the holiday week for Saturday's drawing, which was estimated at $325 million before the numbers were picked. That was the fourth-largest jackpot in the game's history.

Neubauer says the jackpot for Wednesday's drawing could go even higher than the estimated $425 million because sales pick up in the days before record drawings.

The previous top Powerball prize was $365 million, won in 2006 by a ConAgra Foods Workers in Lincoln, Neb.

The Powerball numbers for Saturday were 22-32-37-44-50, and the Powerball was 34.

Egg and Capsicum Salad

Egg and Capsicum Salad

Ingredients

2 boiled eggs, diced

2 bacon eyes, diced

1 tbs oil

½ green capsicum, diced

¼ cup parsley, chopped

1 tbs mayonnaise

1 cup mixed salad leaves

Instructions

Place oil and bacon in a frying pan on medium heat and cook until bacon has started to crisp. 

Remove excess oil and place bacon into a mixing bowl along with boiled eggs, capsicum, parsley

and mayonnaise. Combine well.

To serve, place salad leaves on a plate and top with egg and capsicum mixture.

FOR MORE DELICIOUS, HEALTHY RECIPES

Government in Chicago regulating what we eat???

CHICAGO (WLS) - Junk food junkies may soon have a tough time getting their daily fix at vending machines located at 90 buildings owned and leased by the city of Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to limit their offerings to healthy snacks and lower-calorie beverages, starting in January, when a new vending machine contract takes effect.

No longer would the company determine the line-up of products sold at 157 snack machines and 198 beverage machines located at government buildings.

The city would establish strict and first-ever guidelines for fat, sugar and calorie content.

Beverage machines would require that: only 25 percent of cold beverages sold be "high-calorie;" the remaining 75 percent of cold beverages contain 25 calories or less-per-eight ounces; hot beverages be limited to 25 calories and that all types of beverages except water and seltzer be limited to 12 ounces.

Regulations governing the 157 snack machines would be equally stringent. They would require that at least 75 percent of the food options sold in each machine contain 250 calories or less. At least five of the items sold in each machine would be required to contain 250 mg or less of sodium-per-serving. And at least one item in each machine would have to be gluten-free and without nuts.

The prices for healthier food and drink items could not exceed the prices charged for less healthy food and beverage items, under the ordinance that Emanuel plans to introduce at Thursday's City Council meeting.