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How to Ripen Avacados

Chart by CaliforniaAvocado.com blog site — click for full size

Tip 1: Place unripe avocados in a brown paper bag to ripen. This traps the ethylene gas they produce and helps them to ripen. A firm avocado placed in a paper bag will ripen at room temperature in about three to six days. As the fruit ripens, the skin color will darken.

Tip 2: Place avocados in a brown paper bag with a banana, (an apple or tomato works too), then leave the bag on a sunny windowsill for 18 to 24 hours.

Tip 3: Place 2 peeled, pitted avocados in a blender with 1 cup peas (fresh, or frozen and thawed); pulse until smooth. The peas will help soften the consistency of the unripe avocados but won’t affect the flavor.

Chart by CaliforniaAvocado.com blog site on the Five Stages that an avocado goes through as it is ripening.

What parts of a Scallion do I eat?

Have you ever wondered what parts of a Scallion (aka Green Onion) that you can eat? The green or white parts? Well, the answer is both but they are used differently depending on your recipe.

The white parts are firmer and can be used in a pan sooner but the green parts have a different texture and can get slimy if used too early in a recipe that involves pan frying. Most recipes will tell you which part to use.

Generally though the Green Parts are used for more of a garnish and are diced. The White Parts taste more onion like.

You can freeze Green Onions/Scallions but it will change the texture so its best to use them in stews, sauces or crock pot meals if they were frozen. I like to freeze the Green and White parts separately since some recipes call for only one or the other.

More Information on What Parts of a green onion can you eat by eHow and Healthy Eating.

How to freeze Green Onions by HGTV Gardens.

Heartworm Prevention Cats

Many cat owners do not realize how important heartworm prevention is for cats. Infection with adult heartworms nearly always causes death of the cat. Did you know one mosquito can cause a fatal heartworm infection in cats?

If you have a picky cat like we do then they might not eat the Heartgard pill. There are other options.

Interceptor Flavor Tabs are oral tablets that can be fed to your cat by hand or mixed with food and might be worth trying if your cat doesn’t like the Heartgard. It also can be given as a pill form.

Advantage Multi is a topical solution for application to the cat’s skin once a month.

Revolution is applied to the skin surface once a month. It has minimal absorption into the body but cats tends to lick their skin and this will increase absorption. Selemectin is the main ingredient and it might not be as effective as other products for heartworm prevention.

See your vet first to get a heartworm test before treating. It must be negative before you start any heart worm prevention.

This article by heartworm.com lists the best prevention products for cats along with some valuable information about heartworm prevention.

Foods Heated in Plastic

Studies have shown that heating your foods up in plastic can be toxic to your body.

Plastic leaches chemicals when heated and that they can be dangerous to our health. (source: NPR)
In a recent small study conducted at Stanford University it was found that chances of miscarriage increased to 80% from foods heated in plastic. (source: The Telegraph)
Phthalates and polystyrene (Styrofoam) have consistently made headlines as various studies have emerged solidifying the link between chemicals common in many plastics, and various health problems, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and the attention disorder ADHD. (source: Plastic Free Times)
A study from Harvard University has determined that bisphenol A , a chemical additive found in plastics, may be causing higher instances of birth defects and infertility. (source: Plastic Free Times)
Phthalates — Chemicals Widely Found in Plastics and Processed Food — Linked to Elevated Blood Pressure in Children and Teens (source: Science Daily)

Pledge to stop heating and eating out of plastic. And, to be safe, stop consuming food and drink out of all plastics!

C is for Cilantro & P is for Parsley

Do you have a hard time figuring out whether you have Cilantro or Parsley growing in your Garden?

Memorize this and you’ll never make a mistake again:

P is for Parsley and the leaves are Pointy

C is for Cilantro and the leaves are Curved

That’s easy to remember!

Upgrade your Water Bottle

Dr. Oz says to upgrade your water bottle to a Stainless Steel one. Stainless Steel is strong and doesn’t pose any health risks like BPA plastic bottles do.

LL Bean sells a great Hydro Flask bottle that keeps cold drinks cold and hot ones hot! Unlike some other water bottles there is no straw or sipping top. Some stainless steel bottles from other companies have plastic tops or plastic straws for drinking and they might contain BPA if not otherwise noted so it kind of defeats of the purpose of swtiching your water bottle if you are still getting BPA.

BPA is a chemical that is linked to brain and reproductive issues and is best to stay away from it entirely if possible.

Be aware of aluminum bottles – they might have a coating inside of them that contains BPA. Glass bottles are just as good as Stainless Steel but for obvious reasons most people don’t want glass around them when working out.

National Grilled Cheese Day – April 12th

Click for this Recipe – photo by LA Times

Grilled Cheese is great any day but you gotta make one for National Grilled Cheese Day on April 12th!

My favorite Grilled Cheese Recipe is very simple….

Ingredients:
2 Slices of American Cheese
2 Slices of your favorite Bread
Mayo

Directions:
Slap some butter on one side of 2 slices of bread
Place Cheese between 2 slices of bread (keeping butter sides on the outside)
Grill on a frying pan

If you are camping then use the Coleman Camp Cooker over an open fire.

Sneak some Mayo inside the sandwich after you grill it and enjoy!

Egg Salad Sandwich (Martha Stewart)

If you colored a bunch of eggs for Easter then its time to make Egg Salad Sandwiches out of them! This is one of Martha Stewart’s Recipe that I modified. See her site for her version.

Ingredients:

6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup Homemade Mayonnaise, or prepared mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
3 tablespoons freeze dried celery
Dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 8-inch round bread loaf, cut in half crosswise (or any bread is fine)

Martha Stewart's Recipe — Martha Stewart’s Recipe

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mayonnaise, mustard powder, celery, salt and pepper to taste, and curry powder. Gently mix until combined.

Put egg salad on bread and top with lettuce or arugula if you want. Cut the sandwich into wedges. Serve immediately. (I store leftovers in the fridge up to a few days)

Lewis Bartlett’s Green Fried Tomato Recipe

photo by Jenni Field's Pastry Chef — photo by Jenni Field’s Pastry Chef

Green Fried Tomato Recipe (by Lewis Bartlett)

wash & dry tomatoes
slice toms about 1/4 inch thin
beat up an egg or two with a pinch of salt & pepper to taste
dip each slice of tom into the egg mixture – let the egg drip off of each piece
dregs the egg coated piece into either flour or fine bread crumbs (that can be seasoned to taste with Italian herbs, etc.)
place the pieces after they have been egged and coated onto a dry plate (so they all can go into the flying pan of oil all at once)
heat a pan with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan & a pat of butter (for taste and browning)
when oil gets wrinkly and when you sprinkle a little water in it and it then “spits” then it’s hot enough. Usually I turn the stove dial to = 5-6 o’clock
if the toms need a finial coating of flour or bread do it now and then put them into the hot oil
fry until the bottom side is brown (peek after a minute or two) turn and fly until brown on the other side
to test for doneness – stick a fork into the toms and it should go in & out easily
remove from heat & place on paper towels to absorb excess oil
Bon Apete
any left overs can be heated up the next day in a toaster oven if you have one or the regular oven

Easter Lilies are extremely poisonous to cats

This is a reminder that Easter Lilies are extremely poisonous to cats, and just 1-2 leaves (or even the pollen) can kill a cat! Even small ingestions can result in severe kidney failure.

Sources of poisoning: Many plants of the Lilium and Hemerocallis species are very poisoning. Read more from the Pet Poison Helpline.

Read article posted last year on Betty’s Tips about Peace Lilies

WGN TV article in the news 2 days ago

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