Eat UP: Quickie Crustless Quiche

As part of our effort to eat real food and to blog about it...recipe number one.

We have chickens, which equals delicious eggs that I am always trying to use up. Plus I love quiche. This is the best one we have ever made. Like I remember my mom making. So good! And easy...

Ingredients

4 slices bacon (preservative free is easy to find now...hooray)
Shredded Swiss cheese
4 eggs
Chopped onion
Sliced mushrooms
Chopped spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream

I chopped and then sautéed the bacon until almost crisp then threw in the onion, mushrooms and spinach until they were soft and the bacon was crispy. That was put in the bottom of a greased quiche pan with the shredded cheese. Everything else was mixed together then poured over top of the veggies and cheese and baked at 350 for 25 minutes.

The kids actually asked how I got it so creamy! Even the picky eater who does not like eggs or veggies ate it. Succeeeeesss!

Quote of the day: "Eating rice cakes is like chewing on a foam coffee cup, only less filling." -Dave Barry

EatUp: What is Food?

A couple of weeks ago while meandering the aisles of the grocery store, trying to decide what to bring home since I almost never make a list, I was struck by and odd notion that I am sure is not new. There was SO much food. I mean like SO. MUCH. As in quite literally a 100,000 square feet of it. From the floor to over my head. Aisle after aisle, shelf after shelf, and yet for all of these items, very little food. And by food I mean, you know, food. Stuff that grows. From the ground, and isn't in a package, or has very little packaging anyway. It made me sad and a little bit sick to my stomach. How are Kool-aid and Cheeze-its food? I saw a grocery store clerk taking what I can assume was her break as she walked toward the employee lounge with a bag of Cheetos and a bottle of iced coffee drink. That is lunch? For real?

Now, don't get me wrong. We all like the taste of junk food. I love, and I do mean LOVE, ice cream. Oh and Snickers. We bake cookies around here quite often. An occasional donut has crossed these lips, although I must admit that I never feel very good after one does. I do not want to get on a high horse and pretend that I am so amazing that I never succumb to temptation and convenience. I do. I have children. Sometimes convenience just takes priority. But I am really feeling the need to get away from that. Honestly. Just look around your own grocery and do some quick mental math on how much of what is for sale is actually food. One quarter? An eighth? It is sickening really. And sad, since I am well aware of the inextricable connection between diet and health.

So what to do? I don't know. I am hoping others have figured it out already, and I can just hop on the bandwagon. Until then, I am going to make an effort to eat food. I guess that means different things to different people. Vegetarians, vegans, raw foodies, 100 milers, whole fooders, and the list goes on...
School starts in another week and we will be back to the semblance of scheduled, organized lives. It seems like a good time to recommit ourselves to better living and to food. I think I will bloggity blog a bit more as to what I think "food" is, but for now, I am leaving it open to discussion. How do you feel about this. Is it possible to stay away from the processed food-like substances that surround us and feed our kids things that are both convenient (school lunch in particular) and real food? Go ahead...talk amongst yourselves, but comment afterward please, I want ideas!

Also, I am talking veggies over at TheRenegadeFarmer today...stop by.

Quote of the Day: "“The American poultry industry had made it possible to grow a fine-looking fryer in record time and sell it at a reasonable price, but no one mentioned that the result usually tasted like the stuffing inside of a teddy bear.”~ Julia Child, My Life in France

What Is UP? Needing To Live More Mindfully

I do not know where to start with this. I do not want to offend, and I do not want to treat lightly a rather grave subject. I also know full well that I am not a perfect parent. Just ask my kids! You will get the mostly honest truth with perhaps slight exaggeration as to the degree of my cruelty and incompetence. 

So, the trouble? The U.S. government is launching a new awareness campaign through the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services called, "Where's Baby? Look before you Lock." The initiative is intended to keep kids safe and make parents aware of the danger of leaving kids in a hot car. I honestly think that most parents are aware of the danger, but I also think the majority of the 23 child deaths this year, due to being left in hot cars, were accidental. This campaign is targeted at preventing those accidental deaths. 

Again, I do not want to make light of this. Twenty-three children gone is heartbreaking. No one would wish this on anyone, and I honestly hope it never happens to another family. I first became aware of this new campaign a few weeks ago when I saw an app designed to remind parents that they have a child in the back seat. I was a little annoyed because I assume that if you can remember to bring your phone with you from the car, you should be able to remember your child. On the other hand, if it prevents the senseless death of a baby, then please, get the app. 

I am not necessarily against this ad campaign either. (Although it is not really a governmental issue, but that is a post for another day.) People need to be aware of potential danger, although, as I have said, I think we all know it is dangerous, but we are so harried and hurried, that we are not living with our brains turned on or tuned in. The part that I think I am annoyed or irritated or cross with is the statement that the governmental agencies have released. I don't even know what I think. I am confused. And saddened and irritated I guess. They stated that they would like to involve the "departments of Head Start and also day care units across the country to distribute safety tips -- like when you leave your car, make sure you have something important in the backseat like your keys, cellphone or purse so you can't forget them or your child."

Read that carefully. Put something IMPORTANT, like your cell phone, in the backseat so that you do not forget your child. I am sorry if this offends, but the child IS the important thing that you put in the backseat. 

Now, I know myself well enough to know that if I continue discussing this, that it will escalate into a full blown rant, therefore, I will rest my case here. Confused and sad. I think there is a cure for this tragedy and a way to prevent it from happening again, but I do not think that it lies in governmental action, or cell phone apps. Any ideas?

Quote of the Day: "Slow down and enjoy life.  It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." Eddie Cantor actor, comedian