The connection...sunlight..which leads to having better levels of vitamin D. OK feeling utterly peaceful doesn't hurt either...
Welcome
Who says we have to suffer...to live a healthy happy vibrant life?
Red wine and dark chocolate... might seem decadent...but these guilty pleasures also might help us live longer...and healthier lives. Red wine and dark chocolate definitely improve an evening..but they also contain resveratrol..which lowers blood sugar. Red wine is a great source of catechins..which boost protective HDL cholesterol. Green tea? Protects your brain..helps you live longer..and soothes your spirit.
Red Wine, Green Tea and Dark Chocolate, the blog, is about living the good life...a life we create with our thoughts and our choices...and having fun the whole while!
I say lets make the thoughts good ones..and let the choices be healthy...exciting...and delicious! Bon Appetit!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Sunshine Vitamin and Heart Risk..The Framingham and Physicians Health Studies
The connection...sunlight..which leads to having better levels of vitamin D. OK feeling utterly peaceful doesn't hurt either...
There Is No Such Thing As Too Big...
There is absolutely no such thing as thinking too big...
That would be like thinking too rich, too happy, too healthy, or too yummy...
so go ahead....be limitless....how big are your dreams?
Preserved Lemons...that take a really long time to cure..but WOW!
I know...30 days seems like forever..but it really isn't..consider the blinding speed with which that car payment comes due again... but as you'll see in another "preserved lemon" post if you scroll down...I am just fascinated with the whole idea of these little jewels...bottled sunshine..waiting to make my rice..or couscous..or chicken or fish dishes just stand out...to make my friends say...hey...what's in this? I cannot quit thinking about making these....
So today's the day...I'm making the ones that I can use tonight..courtesy of Ina Garten..see below...and I'm making the 30 day ones...just to see which is best...
there will be pictures later today...and below are a couple of ideas for what to do with them...
Preserved Lemons...the 30 day method.... "Patience Grasshopper...."
- 6 medium-size lemons
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup lemon juice, or more if needed.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound fettuccine
- 1/2 pound asparagus cut into 2 inch diagonal pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 preserved lemon, pulp and rind, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper.
- Fresh lemon zest
More Preserved Lemons...and some thoughts on Ina Garten's Garden

I saw them first in Ina Garten's kitchen..(no I wasn't really there) I was watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. She is living a fine life that woman...that barn..that garden? I have serious envy of her garden in summer. I'm hoping for a fine temperate climate one day so that I can garden for more than 12 weeks. She has huge organized sections of herbs for cooking and flowers for cutting including an incredible row of Hydrangeas...but I digress...
Ina and a friend were making a Moroccan Chicken dish in a Tangine Baker and the dish called for preserved lemons WOW I perked right up...I grabbed the iPad and started taking notes and resolved that I must keep preserved lemons on hand henceforth. That was about eight weeks ago...sigh....ok I do live a busy life...so here is the relatively quick Barefoot Contessa method..from my notes:
(You're putting everything in a glass baking dish)
3 lemons, sliced into sixths lengthwise, sprinkled with 2-3 tablespoons kosher salt
(don't you HATE recipes that are not specific? I know...here's why this one isn't..she didn't measure, she grabbed what appeared to be a healthy handful of salt and tossed it over the lemons...)
Cover the lemons and salt with water, bake for three hours at 250F allow to cool and then store in a jar in the refrigerator...for up to six months!
And if it all just sounds like too too much..you can buy them from Williams Sonoma, $10
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/les-moulins-mahjoub-preserved-lemons/?pkey=e|les%2Bmoulins%2Bmahjoub%2Bpreserved%2Blemons|1|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

Here is the ingredient list for the chicken dish they made...the link to the recipe is below if it sounds yummy to you...oh..and here is a Tangine, quite a lovely one from Emile Henry (Oh God Emile Henry ceramics..don't get me started..) which you can get via Amazon, but any good heavy baking dish will do quite nicely...
Moroccan Chicken Tangine
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large Spanish onion, grated (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons canola, grapeseed or olive oil (not a heavy olive oil)
- 1 to 2 preserved lemons, depending on size
- 8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
- Stems from the parsley and cilantro, tied with twine
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron or 1/4 teaspoon powdered turmeric and 4 strands saffron
- 1 cup pitted green Moroccan or Greek olives
- 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, about 1/4 cup chopped
And one more recipe that promises even more flavor...yes I'm making them all....
- 6 lemons, preferably organic, washed and scrubbed
- ¼ cup kosher or sea salt, more as needed
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 whole cloves,
- 3-4 black peppercorns
- 3-4 whole coriander seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice..maybe 4 more lemons
Italy's Amalfi Coast..it's on my list

Italy's Amalfi Coast: Eat, Pray, Awesome Along Italy's Amalfi Coast
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/../../gregory-curley/amalfi-coast-italy-travel_b_824881.html
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Garlic and Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Dark Chocolate~Orange Martini


Take your Fish Oils..Your Heart Will Thank You

Fish is an excellent source of protein and, unlike fatty meat products, it’s not high in saturated fat. Quite the opposite..fish provide the lifesaving long chain unsaturated fats that most people aren't getting. Yes, fish is a rich source of the most important omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of, think family history...or who already have cardiovascular disease.
Research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids decrease risk of arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), which can lead to sudden death. An Italian study ( GISSI) showed that in men who had already had a heart attack fish oil supplements (840 mg EPA/DHA daily) reduced sudden cardiac death rates by 45%. Omega-3 fatty acids also decrease triglyceride levels, slow growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque, protect against inflammation and lower blood pressure (slightly).
What you need to know...
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish) at least two times (two servings) a week. Each serving is 3.5 ounce cooked, or about ¾ cup of flaked fish. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
The American Heart Association recommends that anyone who has heart disease get 1000 mg combined EPA and DHA (the Omega 3's in fish oils or fish) daily.
The American Heart Association recommends that anyone who needs to lower their triglycerides get 2000-4000 mg combined EPA and DHA daily.
Source: AHA Scientific Statement
Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Cardiovascular Disease
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/106/21/2747#TBL1
GISSI Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell’Infarto miocardico. Lancet.1999; 354: 447–455
NIH Funded Research Shows How Fish Oils Protect Against Cardiovascular Disease


Fish Oil and Neurovascular Control in Humans (2008-2011) | ||
The major goal of this project is to examine the effects of fish oil on blood pressure and muscle sympathetic nerve activity in normotensive and hypertensive individuals. |
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Expecting? Eat Fish! The Benefits Outweigh the Risks..
12% of women reported eating no fish or seafood during pregnancy; 65% consumed up to 12 ounces (340 g) of fish per week; 23% consumed more than 12 ounces of fish per week.
Higher seafood consumption during pregnancy was associated with lower risk of suboptimal verbal IQ.
Aaron's Savory Chicken Hash
This is definitely not your mothers chicken hash.....