VirgysKitchenandGarden

It was the best of crust. It was the worst of crust. It was the best of ingredients. It was the worst of ingredients. It was the longest preparation. It was the shortest preparation. It was the height of drama. It was the lowest of drama. It was the height of health consciousness. It was the height of overindulgence. There ends my parody of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Since I discovered the ubiquitous cauliflower, I continue to be amazed at its versatility. I seem to be replacing all carbs (mashed potato, pizza crust, etc.) with this most incredible vegetable. I cook most of what I eat from scratch, and that includes pizza. After years of preparing “the regular pizza,” I discovered the real regular pizza . It is the one with the best (healthiest) ingredients, the best of time for health consciousness, the best of crust with the lowest drama (fat and calories), the shortest preparation method, and the lightest weight in the stomach that leaves the least residue (fat

Rose Garden:  I have not written about my garden in years. Flitting between Texas and Georgia for years, I have not had the time to give my gardens the time they needed and to enjoy the results. I had rose, gladiolus, and canna lily gardens and nurtured them with utmost care and devotion. Experience shows that when we cut "it" (hair, plants, branches, flowers, etc.) off, it grows back quicker, better, and more luxurious. Last December, and for the first time since shuttling between Georgia and Texas, I had the chance to experience the prolonged pleasure of gardening. I chopped the height of my roses in half and slashed the branches. My daughter, Cassie, helped me to spread bales of pine straw on the garden grounds and under the front steps. My brother, Livinus, helped me to mulch them. I was walking along the path on Easter Sunday, and the beauty of the rose garden stopped me in my tracks. Even as I stood admiring my newly cut and mulched garden, I observed some vacant

Pollen has held me a hostage for years. Not 2018! The shackles have broken off! History: Pollen made me so miserable that I would receive pollen shots several times a week just to survive. Pollen used to make me so sick that I missed 30 days of work, one month in one academic year. Pollen used to immobilize me so much that my doctor suggested creating a unique medicine for me at $2,000 every four months. The worst part of pollen's effect is the fever that enervates me, drains me, makes me so miserable I stay homebound for days. One day in February 2018, I was coming back from an indoor wedding, but going in and out of the car and into buildings filled my nose, eyes, and throat with so much pollen that I was having difficulty driving. I was popping several cough drops every five minutes and jamming my fingers into my ears to relieve the itching and was hacking and sneezing and clicking my tongue to rid my throat of whatever was itching and clogging it. When I got home, some

Protein is the fuel that energizes the body. The older a person gets, the more protein-rich foods the person must eat. Laurie Beebe , a registered dietitian with 25+ years of experience, writes, " Dietary protein is important for lean body mass, cell repair and a healthy immune system. To provide adequate protein..., nutrient-dense foods should be encouraged ahead of empty-calorie choices. Including two or three servings of high-protein foods helps to meet the daily need of 45 to 55 grams per day." I loaded up on protein this morning. Cage-free, low cholesterol brown eggs, red beans, and fresh tuna   Scramble all ingredients. Gluten-free waffles Low-fat mozzarella cheese melts inside other ingredients.  --Frances Ohanenye maintains this unusual site. Click on the "Open Source Cooking" tab for enlightening information. Thanks for visiting. Have a fruitful day!