Happy Anniversary, Jody!

December 5th is the one year anniversary of Jody going to the hospital.

It's been a long year...a couple months in the hospital, major surgery, a life changing illness...but the good news - the really good news - is that Jody came out the other side.

She went to a friend's Christmas party today and took a picture before she went. Her mom said she looked like a teenager :).

Jody - keep up the good hard work on your recovery.

recipe from the National Organic Food Examiner

Natalie from the National Organic Food Examiner sent along a recipe she published using our Natural Value Organic Dijon Mustard. You can see the original recipe here:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-693-Organic-Food-Examiner~y2009m10d13-Plan-a-special-fall-dinner-party-around-CTCA-Chef-Wagoners-recipe-for-Cornish-game-hens

Thanks to Natalie Rotunda for sending this along...

Orange Marmalade Glazed Cornish Hens

5 Cornish game hens trussed, dried and seasoned with salt and pepper
½ cup orange marmalade
1 ½ teaspoons Natural Value Organic Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey (local honey is best!)

Truss hens, place on sheet pan with rack, season with salt and pepper.
In bowl mix remaining ingredients, brush glaze generously on hens and place in 350 degree oven.

Bake hens, glazing occasionally during the process until birds are done. (45-60 minutes). Internal temperature should be 165 degrees.

Allow to rest, remove string, cut in half, line in pan, pour remaining glaze over hens and serve.

Kenny Wagoner, CEC, CCA, is executive chef at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Tulsa. CTCA provides a comprehensive, patient-centered treatment model that fully integrates traditional, state-of-the-art medical treatments with scientifically supported complementary therapies such as nutrition, naturopathic medicine, psychological counseling, physical therapy and spiritual support to meet the special, whole-person needs of patients with advanced and complex cancer.

In St. Cloud, MN, pick up Natural Value's Organic Dijon Mustard at the Good Earth Food Coop, 2010 8th Street North. Non-members are always welcome to shop at the Coop.

Blogging

I have updated all of my posts by adding categories for each one...cats...pumpkin, travel, etc.

Pallets, promotional gifts, Tchochkes, desk toys

Like most people, I have "stuff" on my desk.

In my early days as a magazine editor, I had one of those signs that said, "a clean, uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind."

Actually, these days, between the phone, laptop, paper clip holder, wide screen monitor and lamp, there isn't much room on my desk for "stuff."

But I love my growing collection of post it notes or sticky notes, which are attached to a wooden pallet.



I started out with a 3 1/2" square pallet of notes from PalletPallet Inc.

Then the ULine salesman came one day and brought me a gift - a 2 1/4" mini pallet of ULine sticky notes.

But it was at the grocery show in Chicago that I hit pay dirt!

The folks from IFCO - a pallet company - were giving away the 3 1/2" pallets of notes. I asked if I could have one for my burgeoning collection, and they said yes.

But at the IGPS booth - Intelligent Global Pooling Systems - they had the cubes of sticky notes, but not on a wooden pallet....they had them affixed to a prototype of their Supply Chain Solution special pallet that has the new tracking technology!



Their website is www.igps.net

Do I sound like a geek?

Actually, since I started in the grocery business in the 60s, I have always been fascinated with pallets...go figure.

The Yiddish word Tchotchkes may describe this collection of desk toys...that's ok. I like 'em.

A Chicken in Every Pot...

and a blanket for every cat.

OK, so that's not the original quotation...but...the cats can be territorial at times. Natterz really liked the blanket on the sofabed...but Jake decided he wanted to sleep on Natterz's blanket. Turf war! So Jody solved the problem by putting another blanket on the sofabed...so now Natterz has her blanket and Jake has his...and Sunshine is very happy sleeping on the blanket on the coffee table.

Beki's Pumpkin Pie Recipe

While Beki and I were looking online to find her Pumpkin Pie recipe, we came across a blog post about it...

The link for it is:
http://unschoolme.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-pie.html

Friday, October 23, 2009
Pumpkin Pie

On the way home from the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, we picked up some pumpkin pie making supplies from a local community market called New Leaf. They turned out perfect and Boo and Little Sister had a great time putting the filling together.

Beki's Pumpkin Pie from Natural Value Canned Pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven 425 degrees.
Beat 2 Eggs, then stir in:
15 oz canned pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 can evaporated milk

Pour into pie shell. (We used Maple Lane Bakery Unbleached Pie Crust)
Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.

Got left over filling? Pour it into an oiled pie pan and bake it along with your pie. We doubled this recipe and ended up with two whole pies and one crustless pie -- enough to last us exactly 3 days.

Turkey Noodle Soup

I make the best turkey noodle soup!

Take the turkey, put it in the oven…the secret is putting an inch or two of water in the pan…so the turkey steams instead of overcooks…just under 3 hours usually for about a 12 pounder…then put all of the bones into a pot, cover with water, add a cut up onion, a stalk of celery, 4-5 cut up carrots, salt, 3-5 whole peppercorns and a bay leaf – hopefully, one that hasn’t been sitting in a spice jar in the cupboard for a decade…then simmer for 8-10 hours…refrigerate overnight….then skim off the fat.

Then to make the soup,,,cut up another 10-12 carrots and put them in the broth…simmer for an hour or until the carrots get soft…the carrots add sweetness.

In a separate pot, cook a package of NV Organic Egg Noodles according to package directions – i think about 8 minutes (closer to the low end of the cooking range as they will cook a little more when you add them to the broth)…then drain. Don’t cook the noodles in the broth – the broth gets gummy that way. Add the noodles and leftover cut-up turkey to the broth, simmer for a few more minutes, then enjoy.

There is a Tupperware container in my refrigerator with some of this now. Pearl had some of it for the first time while I was in Chicago and loved it - it’s almost gone now.