I came across these quinoa noodles and thought I would try them. I like quinoa, so in a noodle form they should be good, right. I made a mistake though. I didn’t read the cooking instructions. Thinking they were like normal pasta, I let them cook for over 6 minutes.
BIG MISTAKE! They went from al dente to super inflated and mushy. I looked at directions – 4 minutes for al dente. WOW – that’s fast cooking time, but it made sense, because normal quinoa cooks in 5 minutes. I would not have known they were quinoa noodles, very good.
They are really healthy, free of eggs, nuts, gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and GMO. The GoGo Quinoa brand is Canadian. On their website they have other quinoa products.
On a side note, I also found Banza chickpea pasta. Have not tried them yet. One new pasta at a time. If my Italian grandmother was alive, I wonder if she would embrace these new pastas.
Recently, I was doing a search for mug cakes. I found this site by Irish Chef & Baker Gemma Stafford, Bigger Bolder Baking, that had a pizza in a mug recipe. I watched the video of her making the mug pizza, it sure was quick and easy. I admit, I would never have thought of that. In fact, she has 100 different mug recipes. So many creative ideas.
She had one video where she was making pancakes with her husband. He was doing the video taping. She’s definitely a perfectionist and was bossing him around, that was funny. The pancakes looked yummy too.
So, if you are still stuck at home and need some fresh cooking/baking ideas, mosey on over to Bigger Bolder Baking. Chef Gemma will dazzle you with healthy exciting spins on old recipes. Also, she just started a Knead to Know podcast. When I go walking, I’ll listen to that.
Happy cooking! (Isn’t that what Chef Pepin says. He has good videos too.)
Yesterday, I read an article in CNN’s Travel section, Italy has a new way to combat overtourism, by Julia Buckley. My mother was born and raised in Florence, so I immediately stopped what I was doing to read the latest news. This article is specific to Florence and The Uffizi Gallery.
Before COVID, anyone who had traveled to Italy experienced first hand overtourism. In Florence, it was impossible to walk on the streets. So many tourists, we were elbow to elbow with them. It was not an enjoyable, add to that making sure you were not pick pocketed, due to the crowds.
This article talks about a new project, Uffizi Diffusi, which means “scattered Uffizi.” Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi, came up with the idea of multiple (100) exhibition spaces for art from the Uffizi to be displayed all over Tuscany. This does two things, it shares the tourism burden and also allows locals to visit exhibits in their area.
COVID has allowed Florence to take a breath from the fast paced tourism. To think, plan and re-invent tourism for the future. My mother’s relatives are out in the country, it’s nice, no tourists. Selfishly, I hope it stays that way.
If you have been to Florence or have planned to go, you can read the article for more details.
I don’t know about you, but I‘ve definitely got Spring fever. I’d really like to travel somewhere. While that is not possible with COVID right now, we can research and plan.
Look what came to my inbox, information on walking/hiking tours. This Country Walkers site looks interesting. They have tours all over the world. They’ve been around for 40 years, located out of Vermont. I was happy to see they offer different types of tours, i.e. guided, self-guided and partially guided. Do you opt for flight in package or not, lots of things to consider price-wise.
It’s never too early to start planning. One day soon, we will have the green light to travel Internationally, I’ll be ready!
We had a record 18 inches of snow. After shoveling for 2 hours, all I could think about was being out on the water. Spring is coming, isn’t it? I found these two great magazines.
Paddle World had spectacular photography featuring trips around the world for paddle boarding, kayaking and/or fly fishing in a kayak. Personally, I think fly fishing would be more relaxing standing in the water. However, we’ve got to try new things, right.
Paddling Magazine had interesting articles too. Their focus was more on latest equipment, etc. So, you need both magazines. One for dreaming of that International destination and the other for the basics.
I kept seeing the abbreviation of SUP in different articles. I was annoyed, what did it stand for?
GUESS WHAT – so easy, SUP stands for Stand Up Paddling. I could hear my brother saying, “Use your head, you ding-a-ling.” I laugh when he acts superior, secretly knowing that he probably didn’t know what SUP stood for either. Brothers have to irritate their sisters in some way, so they can laugh when they know it worked.
I haven’t tried SUP yet, but I did canoe on a Dragon Boat Racing team in Seattle. That was fun. About 12 people to a canoe. Great exercise. So, why kayaking and paddle boarding now. I like going out on my own timetable.
In case you were curious, here was an article from the Paddle World magazine. This article talked about paddle boarding in Hamburg. They suggested bringing your own blow up SUP. I looked up the cost. Paddle boards are expensive, prices range from $900 to $2,000, so you need to be serious about this sport.
I still have a lot to learn, but I do have my life vest already. That’s a start! LOL – and it’s not the orange ones we had as a kid, so at least I won’t stick out as a real beginner — there is hope for me!
Spring is almost here. What outdoor fitness challenge are YOU thinking about?
Look how beautiful. Now, it looks like this is an elephant sculpture with snow on it. Could it be a man made snow sculpture? How would they get the trunk to stay up?
On to my next adventure. Oh, I did see that someone still had their Christmas decorations up. A 5 foot Nutcraker in their yard. It’s time to put that one in the attic.
The birds have gone back into hibernation. No more chirping.
More snow this weekend.
I’m sharpening my writing pencils. Let the creativity continue!
I saw this picture and I got the biggest chuckle. It’s exactly how my brain works. I like to see everything I need to do at once in bright beautiful colors all over the place. If it is in a notebook, for me, information is lost. Move one Post-It Note and I WILL KNOW – no joke!
Interesting how our individual brains work/process information.
I’ve been reading about Evernote, but there is a monthly charge – don’t want that. Still need Netflix. Hum…
This is the first time I’ve seen Phil in action. Actually, it seems his full name is “Punxsutawney Phil.” I feel bad saying this, but it is a silly ceremony. It was snowing while they put Phil on the podium. Phil sat there, while they all looked at him. One of the guys stared him down, face to face, and before Phil could get antsy — it was determined that Phil had seen his shadow.
6 more weeks of winter…
Keep those shovel handy.
Good news for Phil. He’s got a job for life. I wonder if someone in his family takes over in the future.
WHAT? I’m just wondering. How does that all work?
Oh, when the ceremony was over they played the “Pennsylvania Polka” song. That was nice. Made me think of Oktoberfest in Munich.
I can’t get the song out of my mind, still waltzing around!
Brilliant Viewpoint 