CINNAMON: Have you ever eaten cinnamon? Don't say "yes" too quickly; you may be wrong. Cinnamon-snobs (and yes there are such people) say that only Ceylon cinnamon is"true cinnamon." In the U.S. most of what is sold as "cinnamon" is of the Cassia or Saigon variety, NOT Ceylon. Both Cassia and Saigon are hard and have high levels of coumarin (a substance known to cause liver damage). Ceylon cinnamon is soft and brittle, with ultra low coumarin levels, making it healthier. Most people find Ceylon smells and tastes better too. Soooo, what's in your spice jar? More info is available at cinnamonvogue.com.
GRAVY FOR MEATLOAF: Do you like gravy on your meatloaf?I do, but meatloaf drippings are not the stuff from which good gravy is made, so what to do? There's always brown gravy mix, but it is so dark and strong. I have a better solution. I discovered that using beef broth (instead of water) with a packet of turkey gravy mix makes a great beefy gravy with a better flavor than the brown gravy mix. Personally I use Publix gravy mix but this would probably work with other brands as well. Give it a try; I think you will like it.
FLOUR: We all know that whole-wheat flour and bread are brown because they contain all of the wheat berry, not just the endosperm. Well guess what; there is such a thing as white whole-wheat, and it did not get that way by being bleached. Most flour is made from red wheat berries, but there are also white wheat berries, so whole-wheat flour made from those berries is white. Who knew? I learned this from joythebaker.
Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you learned something of interest. Happy Eating!
Six-plus years ago I was regularly blogging. I lived in Israel and I maintained several blog sites - dedicated to helping olim (immigrants to Israel) learn more about communities along the north coast. I occasionally posted personal bits on the 28N82W blog (this one), but that was not my focus. My focus was providing information to meet the needs of the north coast olim. I had guest posters, who lived in the various north coast communities, so I wasn't going it alone. If I get back into blogging I will, of course, have a different focus, but what will that be?
My friends and family are staunch conservatives, except for the ones who are flaming liberals, so if I don't want to offend; politics is out. And speaking of taboo topics, religion is right up there with politics, so scratch the idea of a Jewish Life blog. I love cats, and judging by all the internet sites extolling feline virtues and showing really cute kitty cat pics, so does most of the world. Great - a topic that won't offend anyone! On the other hand, this field seems drastically overcrowded, so again I have identified a no-go topic. I have a friend who has a blog dedicated to giving a run-down of what he does each day, including photos taken both at home, and while he is out and about. I could do the same, but I don't think that is quite my style.
I need a theme, a purpose, a goal. And I don't want to write everyday. I think I have it figured out. My friend's blog shares how he spent his time each day. I spend most of my time researching topics of interest to me. In doing so, I learn lots of new things. So, instead of recounting what I do, as my friend does, I could share what I learn - the most interesting things I learn each week. Maybe you will read, and maybe you won't, but either way I will have a goal of really thinking about what I learned and identifying those things I think may interest or benefit others. And maybe, I will throw in a personal update as well.
