Here’s just a brief update in our life…
Dinner tonight: Coconut Fish Soup. yes, it was actually good, and very easy! Yum! A great way to use that fish stock we made a few months ago (also, not as hard as you would think!) I bought a pound of US farmed catfish pieces for only $2.99/lb (apparently, any fish can be used), cut it up in to bite size pieces add this to a pot that also had:
· 1 ½ qt. Fish stock
· 1 ½ c. coconut milk/creamed coconut
· 2-4 T. lime juice
· 1 T. grated ginger
· 1-3 minced jalapeños/chili peppers
· 5-6 chopped basil leaves
· salt to taste
· parsley/cilantro to garnish
And then bring to a simmer for about ten minutes. EASY. The flavor was unlike any other soup I’d ever had, but after about 3 spoonfuls, I really thought it tasted really good – kind of a buttery, creamy flavor. Great with some sweet potato casserole and a green salad.
Summer is officially here because I bought the first jar of pickles: Bubbies of course. Wow… are they amazing! Don’t throw away that brine either… that is good stuff. Also, Kombucha was on sale at Earthfare so I bought a few bottle! A fabulous alternative to alcohol…. In fact, Kombucha can have trace amount of alcohol due to the fermentation process giving people like me (ultra-lightweights) just the right amount of “buzz” to feel good but not too good!
I also made my first bulk order of sorts last week and it arrived a couple days ago. The big finds were raw organic nuts (especially pine nuts!) and maple syrup which are difficult to find at a half-way reasonable price. Although the cost of shipping added to the lower prices did not end up saving me LOTS of money, I feel it was worthwhile to be able to find many of these products in one location. If I am happy with them, it will be good anyway! Since I am not part of a co-op for bulk orders or anything like that, this was my next best option. The retailer is www.naturalgrocers.com. The items arrived in just under a week – not bad. The other nice thing about this place is they also sell vitamins and body care products. They have a huge selection of bulk items such as nuts, grains, flours, etc. I ordered a couple types of rice to try, some organic steel cut oats, some spelt flour, and several other items.
You may not want to hear about this, but I will share anyway, because I think it’s pretty amazing…. I am experimenting with a natural cure for a UTI (urinary tract infection) that I’ve been fighting for a while now in an effort to avoid antibiotics. It finally got quite bad and I did go to the doctor this past week. (Turns out I wasn’t exactly “fighting” it with enough of a strategy to do much good prior to Thursday). With prescription in hand as insurance, I went ahead with my new “natural” remedy which I read about on the www.earthclinic.com site. So I took my apple cider vinegar tonic and took a nap on Thursday thinking “this will never work” as I tried to ignore the uncomfortable burning sensation. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I suddenly became aware that the burning feeling was gone. Completely gone. Wow! Now I was hooked and I did not want to give up on my plan. To make a long story (that is not over yet) shorter, I will just say that it has definitely improved … urgency has decreased and burning is completely gone although the burning has since returned and subsided again. One interesting symptom, however, is slight kidney ache that came on yesterday and has since subsided almost entirely. Overall, I am much better which leaves me a bit confused (less tired, less burning, etc.). However, the kidney thing worried me enough to go to the pharmacy today. After which, of course, I really had no symptoms except for moderate frequency. I keep putting it off…”I”ll just see how I feel after lunch…. After dinner…. Tomorrow…” So, we’ll see how long I continue with this, but it is improving and I am eating a restricted diet: NO sugar whatsoever (not even most fruit except for berries), and I’m eating a lot of raw parsley, cranberry juice (the real stuff w/o added other juices), as much raw food as possible (mostly via smoothies) and some other things like plenty of yogurt, garlic, good oils and some good fiber as well which are supposed to help along with my apple cider vinegar tonic about three times a day. We shall see… I am just really impressed the apple cider vinegar did anything whatsoever. As a side benefit, my eczema problem is also improving considerably since I began this “diet.” Interesting. (OK, ok: I did cave in big time (for me) and ordered a small, decaf iced coffee with whipped cream while we were at the bookstore today… boy, was I craving it… It was stupid, but I do get weak sometimes!)
While we were at the bookstore, I began to read The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach by Annemarie Colbin. This book had some really interesting insights to this. I want to order a copy as well as one for my mom and sister… as with most websites, books, diets, etc. I can’t usually buy into all the author is saying , but from what little I read, probably the majority of it I agree with. Worth the read anyway.
So, that’s the quick and dirty update… cheers!
