Puzzle #50

I did 46 puzzles in 2009, three in 2008. The first puzzle of 2010 is #50! It was also special because I had help from friends.





My helpful friends spent their last night in Ohio with us. They're on their way to FL in the next part of their life's journey. We knew them from when we lived in WI and about four years ago discovered we were all in OH. We got together regularly to visit, to go to Trader Joes, to do lunch, go to plays and to shop for quilting fabric. Our kids enjoyed playing together. We even discussed how the dynamics totally changed when they saw each other. I think their children are normally calm and relatively quiet (could have this wrong) as is Amy, but you get them in one place and all of a sudden there's noise and lots of it. Usually happy sounds. We will miss them and I would absolutely love to head to FL to visit, probably in the middle of winter some year. ;-)

Saturated fat is good for you

Get Saturated: Four Reasons Saturated Fat is Healthy

(NaturalNews) Today we are caught between two philosophies: one says saturated fat is killing us; the other says these fats are necessary for true vitality. There is a heated back-and-forth, a constant tug-of-war scenario, with society caught in the middle like a child caught between two parents in a nasty divorce.

But fortunately, we are adults who can take a step back from the madness and look at the facts - all of the facts - before coming to our own conclusions. The trouble is finding anything but propaganda regarding saturated fats. Corporate food industry and government agencies are quick to demonize these fats, but in traditional cultures saturated fat was revered and even coveted as a source of vital energy.

Mankind has survived for century upon century thanks to saturated fats, depending on these fats to nourish our bodies and support the health of future generations. Only in recent decades have we turned away from natural fats and toward manufactured vegetable oils. And only in recent decades have we seen an explosion of degenerative conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Here are four important reasons saturated fat should have its place at the table:

#1 - Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease and Improve Your Cholesterol Profile

It's the opposite of what the medical industry tells you, but it's true: eating a diet rich in saturated fats protects your heart. Saturated fat reduces Lp(a), which is associated with increased risk for heart disease, and contributes to higher levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, which keeps your heart healthy.

#2 - Prevent Loss of Bone Density and Osteoporosis

We all know we need calcium for strong, healthy bones. We also need saturated fat to transport that calcium to our bones. This is why dairy products naturally contain both calcium and saturated fat. All those calcium supplements won't do much good if saturated fat is lacking in our diet.

#3 - Strengthen Your Immunity and Prevent Illness

Saturated fats contain specialized fatty acids which are naturally antifungal, antimicrobial and antiviral. These important fatty acids include lauric acid, myristic acid and caprylic acid. A diet rich in these beneficial fats provides the body with what it needs to fight pathogenic substances.

#4 - Feed Your Brain, Your Nervous System and Your Hormones

Your brain is fat. And that's a good thing. Your brain consists mainly of fat and cholesterol, and it needs saturated fat more than any other kind. Even the brain-friendly omega-3 fatty acids can't be utilized without ample saturated fat. In addition, saturated fat facilitates nerve signals and hormone production. All of these systems rely on saturated fat to function, and to keep you healthy and ultimately alive.

It's important to choose the right saturated fats, like real butter and virgin coconut oil. Avoid highly processed fats and especially hydrogenated oils, which have been proven to cause heart disease, cancer and a slew of other conditions.

The logic is hard to miss. We are told saturated fats cause heart disease, so we trade butter for vegetable oils: heart disease skyrockets. We are told saturated fats cause bone to lessen, so we drink low-fat milk: osteoporosis is widespread. We are told saturated fat isn't good for our brains, so we stop eating traditional fats like coconut oil: depression, ADHD, dementia and autism are more prevalent than ever before. Are saturated fats really the villain here? In reality they are the victims of misinterpreted studies and commercialized industry, which have no interest in what our ancestors could have told them: saturated fat is the key to good health.

For More Information:

http://www.westonaprice.org/Know-Yo...

http://www.naturalnews.com/026819_l...

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...


About the author
Elizabeth Walling is a freelance writer, specializing in articles about health and family nutrition. She is a strong believer in natural living as a way to improve health and prevent common illnesses. To learn more about nourishing foods, stop by Elizabeth's blog, which explores topics like traditional nutrient-dense foods, lacto-fermentation, cod liver oil, raw and cultured dairy, soaking grains, and much, much more. http://thenourishedlife.blogspot.com/

Two recipes

Here a two recipes I've tried recently(without pictures because I don't think about taking pictures of food until after it's gone or put in the frig.).

Provencal Garlic Soup
4 heads garlic
1 large yellow onion, chopped
42 oz. chicken broth
1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 tbs. olive oil

1. Fill small deep saucepan with water, bring to a boil. Separate garlic into cloves, place in water; blanch exactly one minute. Drain in colander, rinse under cold water. Peel.

2. Combine garlic, onion, broth & tomato paste in a slow cooker, stir. Cover, cook on low 6 to 7 hours.

3. Puree the soup with hand held blender, food processor or regular blender. Before serving add the olive oil. Ladle into bowls.

This one is yummy. It's got a slightly sweet tangy flavor. I think it could use a little salt, but it's fine without. Step one is pretty time consuming. My family did like it.


Fancy Fixins Cauliflower
1 small head cauliflower
1 tbs butter
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs chicken broth or water
1 tbs canned pimientos, drained, chopped
1 tsp sugar (I substituted a dash of stevia)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp black pepper

1. Separate cauliflower into florets. In large saucepan, bring 1/2 inch water to boil. Add cauliflower. Lower heat, simmer, covered 8 - 10 minutes. Drain. Transfer to serving bowl.

2. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add celery, cook 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients. Drizzle over cauliflower. Stir and serve.

This recipe was pretty easy to do. Dh liked it, Amy didn't care for the vinegar flavor.

Goals for 2010

Here are last year's goals:

*The first one is to read the whole Bible this year using Tabletalk's plan.

*The other one is to cook through the pile of recipes I have copied from on-line.

I am happy that I accomplished the first one. I'm amazed at how wrong my attitude was be about Bible reading. At times, it would seem like such a drudgery to read three or four chapters in a day. Sometimes it take a whole 20 minutes! Gasp. Then I would turn around and easily read that many chapters of some fiction or spend way more time than that on the computer. In that sense, I really learned something about myself. I worked to correct my thinking. I came to enjoy doing the reading. Not always, but most of the time. I am glad the intensity (keeping up with it everyday, so as not to get behind) of it is done.

The other goal I didn't exactly accomplish, but instead added more to the pile. I did get through most of the recipes that I wanted to. Some of them just wouldn't work for our family, that is I'm the only one who would want to eat them. So I've still got plenty of recipes to try.

Now for the new year. I actually started thinking and praying about it in November. It started with realizing the Bible reading plan would be finished and what I should study next. I was talking with dh about it on our anniversary and he reminded me that I had want to delve more into Revelation. So, that's my first goal for 2010.

The second one is to catch up on scrapbooking. I usually enjoy doing it, but it takes a back seat to sewing. I want to do our family scrapbook regularly to keep it up to date. I've also got a special project in mind that I can't tell here or it wouldn't be a surprise (and if I don't get to it this year no one will be disappointed.).

Now in order to accomplish goal number two I've got to clean off the desk. ;-)

Our winter project

My grandpa built a dining set sometime in the 50s. The chairs had never been recovered in all that time. This became our winter project. I bought home decor fabric remnants at Joanns well over a year ago. I found a place on-line that custom cut the dense foam for a reasonable price.

Fortunately, we didn't finish all the chairs before I remembered to take pictures. Here's the before, during and after.



I had the foam cut at two inches thick. What was on there before wasn't much, either that or it disintegrated over the years.



The old fabric was perfect for dining chairs. It didn't fade or wear that much at all.



I'm sure the new fabric won't last as long, which makes me feel a bit ashamed at our modern thinking. However, I do like the way it looks with the wood.

Amy's artistic flair

We were at Target last night grabbing a few items from the shopping list when I decided to see if they had any Christmas deals left. I found these sequin-like things, thought they were pretty cute at 75% off. I put them in the cart knowing Amy would come up with something. Then today dh and I went to run a few errands. While we were gone Amy came up with this.



Here it's swathed in tulle.



You can see she put tulle in a vase (from Ikea--a great bargain) then stuffed those two things down in or maybe she wrapped them up first then put them in the vase. (I didn't ask.) She tied a ribbon around the vase and there you have it! It's a perfect decoration for just about any time of year. Use a different color tulle or ribbon to make it appropriate for Valentine's Day, Christmas, a party, etc.





Then, of course, she captured the whole thing with some great pictures. :)

Amy's amazing photography

She put the camera on the tungsten setting (which I did not know existed, but what's new?) and was able to get some gorgeous pictures of a bluejay that was at one of our feeders. Having bird feeders in the winter has brought us many hours of enjoyment and learning. We can praise God for creativity that is awesomely detailed. We've all been able to take incredible photos of many of the birds. We don't necessarily have wonderful talent, although I'm not going to say we don't have any talent, we do have a good camera and some helpful birds to be our subjects. :)











If you click on any of the pictures it'll take you to my Flickr page.