COFFEE DRINKERS TAKE HEART
According to a study of 125,000 health professionals, after accounting for smoking, diet and other factors, researchers found that people who drank coffee, regular or decaf, were slightly less likely to die over the course of two decades, mainly because of fewer deaths from heart disease. Coffee has been blamed for everything from hypertension to pancreatic cancer, but in nearly ever instance research has found it not guilty.
Source: University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter, September 2008.
DRUGS AND HERBS
There is a significant risk in mixing drugs and herbs and it's important to tell your doctor if you are taking supplements because of potential interactions. In a study conducted 10 years ago, Bill J. Gurley Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the College of Pharmacy, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said a couple patients rejected their kidney transplants. They were taking St. John's wart along with the anti-rejection drug, cyclosporine. In subsequent research, they found that St. John's wart was a potent inducer of certain enzymes in the liver and intestines that process many medications. So, if more enzymes are produced, the medicine gets processed more quickly and less of it reaches the bloodstream. St. John's wart may render birth-control pills ineffective, as well as cholesterol-lowering drugs, certain chemotherapy drugs, anti-HIV medications, blood thinners and many others.
Source: Consumer Reports on Health, September 2008.
DO NOT REFRIGERATE!
I am surprised at the number of people who store tomatoes in the refrigerator. For best flavor NEVER refrigerate tomatoes whether they're home grown or the rest of the year when we're dealing with hothouse, on- the-vine kind or hydroponics.
Speaking of tomatoes, I'm always surfing the net for interesting recipe ideas and the latest one was using basil leaves instead of lettuce for a BLT sandwich. Since basil is a favorite fresh herb and BLT is my sandwich-of-choice during the homegrown tomato season, I couldn't resist sampling the combination and I liked it! Maybe it should be called a BBT!
ANOTHER ZUCCHINI RECIPE
I also tried a stuffed zucchini recipe from the internet for my dinner recently since I'm still dealing with garden zucchini and had all the ingredients to make it. Like many of the people who reviewed the recipe, I used small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta. I didn't have mozzarella but replaced it with shredded sharp Cheddar. Some reviewers thought it was too peppery and I did, too, and eliminated the additional pepper in the cottage cheese mixture. Otherwise it's very tasty and I'll fix it again.
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STUFFED ZUCCHINI
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
- 2 tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh or frozen lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 450F. Spray a small baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop out the seeds of each zucchini half with a teaspoon. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together cottage cheese, shredded Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, basil and salt. Divide mixture between zucchini halves. Arrange stuffed zucchini on greased baking pan. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Recipe makes 2 servings.
Source: Adapted from recipe provided by www.Allrecipes.com.
APPLE HARVEST UNDERWAY
What better way to celebrate the new apple crop than with an Apple Coffee Cake! I served it at a neighborhood get together many years ago.
APPLE COFFEE CAKE
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups unsifted, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups finely chopped, pared apples
Topping:
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Mix dry ingredients together; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in apples. Spread batter in greased and floured 9x13-inch baking pan. To make topping, combine nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake in preheated 350F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Recipe makes 15 to 18 servings.
JUST A REMINDER:
Check the September 1, 2008, Mary's Memo for meal suggestions for observing the October 6th "Ready, Set, Relax!" |
