Category Food

Coincidences… The Universe KNOWS what we want!

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The other day, I had to run errands. Get my new crown put in. My gosh, it’s so expensive, I do feel it’s like a piece of jewelry in my mouth, I need to treat it with care. Then the DMV sent me a notice, go for Emissions Check on the car. That’s always stressful. If the car doesn’t pass, go to repair shop. Luckily, my car passed.

I was so busy that it was 3 pm and I had not eaten anything. It was a hot day, in the high 80s, so I wasn’t hungry, but I was really really thirsty. I had a vision of a Starbuck’s Mocha Frappuccino. That’s what I wanted. However, no Starbucks close by.

I decided to stop at Barnes & Noble. I always enjoy browsing the books, puzzles, journals, and magazines. I must have been there about an hour, time flies when we look at books. Suddenly, a lady came by with drink samples from the cafe. GUESS WHAT – she said they were Mocha Frappuccino samples.

I’m still laughing at the coincidence of this encounter. I was lost in a book, minding my business when the cafe lady approached. Of course, I took a sample. Then I smiled and thought, how nice of my Guardian Angel to surprise me like this. Team work. Sometimes a small sample is all we need.

The authors from the book, “The Secret,” would say I perfectly manifested my drink.

You know what, I would agree with them. Now, if I could just manifest winning the lottery.

Salmon… Do I need to eat it?

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Recently, I had my annual check up. I heard the dreaded words, “Your cholesterol is high.” I’ve had this situation in the past, so I started researching online how to change my diet.

Salmon always comes up, so beneficial for our health in so many ways. BUT, I don’t like the fishy taste.

So, feeling like a little kid, I thought about how I could change the flavor. I decided to cut the salmon up in cubes, then marinated it in Teriyaki sauce. I’ve always cooked salmon with a little bit of garlic salt on it. Why not try something different. The result is in the photo.

Is the flavor better? Ah, a little, but still very fishy tasting, but more tolerable.

I always find it interesting when going out for dinner with people and they BRAG that salmon is on the menu as if it is the greatest thing to man kind. I tend to prefer white fish or shell fish. I feel like an outsider when they all order salmon and I say, “I don’t really like it.” You should see the horror on their faces!

Then, I remember years ago when I was used to eating white bread. That’s all we had as children. Slowly, I moved to eating healthier breads. First wheat bread, then multi-grain bread, etc. Now, I couldn’t even eat white bread unless it is sourdough bread.

So, won’t the same thing happen with salmon if I keep eating it? I’ll grow to like it???

Have a restful holiday weekend!!

Chicago’s BEST bagels – Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli

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This weekend after canoeing, I was hungry. I was thinking, “What do I want to eat?” Then I spotted this van marketing bagels. I have to say, the advertising worked, suddenly I wanted a bagel.

Imagine my happy surprise, when I went to their website, to find out they are Chicago based. Corey’s NYC Bagel Deli was established by Corey & Laurie Kaplan (husband/wife team) in 2000.

From their site, I see they make great bagel sandwiches.

Looks like Marcus Lemonis from “The Profit” visited Corey/Laurie to see their business and offer advice/a deal for moving forward. Here’s a clip from the show.

Recently, they lost business as a few stores they supplied bagels/cream cheese to closed down. So, after canoeing I have a new place to visit. They need community support.

By the way, fellow Blogger, “Yeah, Another Blogger,” wrote a post about art on wheels. He found some interesting companies advertising in Philadelphia, PA. I loved the “Tea Around Town” bus.

So, when you walk, don’t look down/text on your phone, you might miss a great advertising van!

Brownie Recipe – the “healthy” way…

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Lately, so many social media posts feature “healthy” alternatives to our beloved favorites, ie brownies! As I watched the videos, the recipes looked easy, few ingredients and final product looked delicious. I felt compelled to give it a try. We’re all trying to find healthier alternatives to old recipes, right?!

Drum roll please…

Have you ever thought of making brownies with three ingredients, ie no eggs, no flour, no oil or butter, just bananas, almond or peanut butter and cocoa powder? I would never have thought this possible. You can see from the end result, they “look” delicious and like normal brownies. So, visually, they are appealing.

Now, for the taste. HUM…

No question about it, they were definitely extremely chocolatey. I liked that.

However, the texture was a bit strange. As there is no flour, they were a bit gooey. I know, you can argue that there are normal brownies with a gooey texture, but these just seemed different.

I needed some outside food critics. My daughters were happy to be taste testers. The brownies looked good, why wouldn’t they try them! You KNOW it’s not perfect, when they say, “ W E L L… they have a very strong banana taste and the texture is different.”

Of course, at first I defended my brownies as perfect, selling them on how chocolatey they were. At some point, I had to concede. YES, they had a strong banana taste, nothing wrong with that if you like bananas. However, we were expecting the old fashioned “brownie” taste in a healthy form.

So, would I make them again? I don’t think so. I’d rather make the real deal and plan for those extra calories.

A brownie should be ENJOYED, not re-invented! Laughing…

Breakfast – What would you do? Pigeons versus Gull…

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I was in Chicago last week for an appointment. As I was walking down the street, I heard so much noice, bird noise. I’ve always seen pigeons around town on the streets, but never by a dumpster. I was curious.

I quickly pulled out my camera and took these shots. Here’s what I saw:

  • #1 Gull watching pigeons.
  • #2 Closeup, we see there is a bakery item there.
  • #3 Gull makes his move…
  • #4 Gull is triumphant! He now has breakfast.

Sometimes we get the FINAL photo just right!! The Gull was determined.

Enjoy your breakfast, while watching out for the Gull!

Chicago… Hot dogs… Heinz Ketchup

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Did you hear this in the news recently? Chicago and Heinz ketchup at war. Well, not really, but here is what is funny. I live in Chicago and I did not know that Chicagoans look down on people who put ketchup on their hot dogs. Yes, once you turn 18, no more ketchup. You are an adult now (so funny).

Recently, Heinz was in town. They put up a ketchup dispensing billboard outside the Weiner stand, allowing people to get ketchup packets for their hot dogs. I “think” people would be too embarrassed to use ketchup on the hot dog, but would use them on the fries. A funny marketing idea and it gets us thinking about Heinz ketchup – Brilliant!

I started to investigate further. Did you know there is site for “Hot Dog Etiquette,” from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. They teach the Dos/Don’ts of hot dog eating. It’s very amusing. Here are a few to make you chuckle, common sense, you’ll enjoy the video.

Don’t eat hot dog on china, always on paper plate. No wine with a hot dog, only beer. No cloth napkin, only paper one. Only 5 bites to eat your hot dog…. WATCH the video for more tips BEFORE coming to Chicago.

So, the BIG question to ALL of you is this…

Do YOU use ketchup on your hot dog? Shhhh… I do, if there are no other condiments around.

Gummi Bears… Haribo is everywhere!

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Lately, the Haribo gummi bears keep coming in my path. Why?

When I was in Munich in December, I saw the store. Then I was downtown Chicago standing in the check out line and I saw the Haribo bear display. Such a great marketing idea.

My daughter really likes the Happy Cola sour gummies. They are hard to find, so when we were in Germany and happened to walk by the store, of course, we went in. They didn’t have the sour ones. However, a friend was in Copenhagen, he found the sour ones and brought them back to Chicago. A good man!

Finally, I was at the Goodman Theatre to see a show, we walked out at Intermission and what do we see… HARIBO gummies again. At the theatre??

I haven’t eaten Haribo gummies in years.

What SIGN is this???

P.S. I should have used Canva to make illustration look fancy. Still learning, PIC COLLAGE was faster…

Happy Easter!

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Easter is early this year. The cookies in the photo are from “An Italian in my Kitchen.” I’ve been following Rosemary Molley, a Canadian, who married an Italian and has been living in Italy for over 25 years. On her website, she shares so many wonderful recipes she learned from her mother/n/law and just living in Italy.

Here’s a screen shot from her website: www.anitalianinmykitchen.com

She has great cookbooks too.

For Easter, she has a variety of breads, cakes, cookies that you can try out. If you are looking for a good Italian recipe, you’ll find so many great ideas. I like her soups, stews, pasta, pizza and dessert dishes. In fact, there is a lemon mousse I want to try.

Wishing those of you who celebrate this holiday a “HAPPY EASTER!”

Pop-Tarts Inventor… William “Bill” Post, passes at 96

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Did you know that Pop-Tarts were created in 1963? They were originally called, “Fruit Scones.” This name didn’t seem to fit, so they were renamed, “Pop-Tarts” after the Pop culture at the time. However, I had a funny thought, “POP-out-of-the-toaster” might have played into the name too.

William “Bill” Post, who invented Pop-Tarts 60 years ago, passed away at 96 in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 10, 2024. Here’s where it gets tricky. News articles say that Post invented Pop-Tarts, but when I went to the Pop-Tarts website, it doesn’t mention his name at all. That’s sad, right.

Well, Netflix is coming out with a film on May 3rd, “Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story” directed by and starring comedian Jerry Seinfeld. This has to be good with Seinfeld. I look forward to the film to better understand “who” invented the Pop-Tart!