Going Nutty

I heard recently in the news that nuts are good for you.  They said even peanuts which are actually a legume will help you live longer.  Here's one report I found by ABC news online.

Nuts are supposed to help avoid colon cancer, diabetes, heart disease  and even keep you thinner.  As a matter of fact we do have nuts around so that we won't snack on other things that wouldn't be as good for us.

It is true that I do have a sweet tooth and sweets are not good for me since I am still pre-diabetic.

The one on the right is mine.  I have the lightly salted cashews, almonds, pistachios, hazel and Brazil nuts.

Art's nuts on the left are completely unsalted.

I also make boiled peanuts which we have with our sandwiches instead of chips.  It's filling and satisfying.  Boiled peanuts are very popular in Hawaii.  I understand it's popular in the southern states as well.  I wrote a post about goober peas a while ago.

I got off of eating nuts for a short time, but I guess it's time for me to put in another order with my daughter who buys them from Trader Joe's and sends them to us.

My favorite nuts are cashews and pistachios.  What do you like best?

Helpful Tips

My friend, Jean has sent me more helpful tips.  This time it's about food and I just had to share it with you.

This sounds like fun.  It looks pretty and gosh... does this make your wine even healthier?

OK, you didn't know there was a use for your old CD spindles, right?  Here it is!

I don't make balogna sandwiches much anymore, but here's a way to solve your empty corner problem.

I've never tried this, but I will... if I remember.  Have you done this?

POSTSCRIPT:
I just looked this up on Internet and found that the wooden spoon will stop it from boiling over as quickly, but it can still boil over.  Also, it can warp your spoon so you should use one that you don't much care for.

I really like this idea.  This would be great for outdoor parties, don't you think?

If you have a small cookbook to hold up or a recipe on a sheet, this would be wonderful!

I'm almost tempted to buy a roll or cake to try using some floss to cut it.

Now this is sure a fun way to make some cute little hors d'oeuvres. 

I like this idea, but does this mean I can keep some batter in the fridge to use later?

That would be nice.

And who would have thought to do this?

Granted I don't drink soft drinks with a straw that often anymore, but I know some people who do.

What fun!

And that's it for now... until Jean sends me something else to share.

Trying Vietnamese Food

Art saw a write up in the Star Advertiser recently about a Vietnamese restaurant in our area.  We decided to introduce Mom to this new cuisine that she said she'd never tried before.  We have Vietnamese friends and had a favorite restaurant in Illinois that we went to often so we really enjoy Vietnamese dishes.

Please excuse the poor quality of these photos. 

We ordered a double serving of these fried spring rolls to share between us.  It was much too much.  We should have ordered just one.  It filled us up too much before we had our main Pho dish.

You are supposed to wrap the rolls, mint leaves, cucumber slices, and noodles with the lettuce and dip it in the sauce.

Mom really liked it.  We were OK with it, but the memory of the homemade ones we had were better.

Actually, I was surprised at how willing Mom is to try something different.  We thought she preferred Japanese restaurants but we discovered that she likes Italian food too.  In fact, she's enjoyed all the different kinds of foods we've introduced to her so far.  That's been a surprise.

When the pho arrived, Mom put in a whole lot of the bean sprouts and Thai basil.  Then she proceeded to try the various hot sauces that were offered on the table.

Good gracious!

We saw the owner clearing other tables where the dish of bean sprouts and Thai basil were left untouched.

The pho was just OK again for Art and me, but Mom liked it a lot.

Hmmm... I wonder where we should take her next?

Maybe Mexican?