Can you believe we only have one more regular episode of Lost before the season and series finale on May 23rd? Noooooo!!!! Say it isn't so!  I haven't even recovered yet from losing Sayid, Sun, and Jin (and maybe Lapidus?).

I've been watching this show since the very first episode 6 years ago, and these people are my fwends. They can't all go away and leave me! Well, I kinda could handle them all going away if they just left Sawyer to console me. Mwah ha ha ha.

I say we should enjoy every last morsel of Lost before it's gone.  Here are some goodies and funnies I found that tickle me:

Let's start with a goodie, shall we?  You didn't think I could talk about Lost without including a gratuitous Sawyer photo, did you?  😀

Now, how about planning a Lost Finale Party!  Get the details from the theackattack.net.  If you don't know about this site, you have to check it out before Lost is gone!  Rachel does a review of each episode that is dead-on accurate and hilarious.  Here's the recap of last week's The Candidate.

Once Lost is finished, maybe we could get our Lost fix with a Lost cartoon series!  Ion9.com has a gallery of character drawings that's priceless.  I love how the facial expressions capture each character to a T.

I feel like I need a souvenir from the last 6 years.  What do you buy when you visit some place fun?  You buy a t-shirt, of course, and we've definitely been somewhere!  I like the women's Oceanic Airlines t-shirt on ABC's store site.

Who knew there were Lost bobbleheads!  This Benjamin Linus bobblehead from entertainmentearth.com has bloody scrapes on his face and his arm is in a sling!  Ha!  It's sold out right now, but I want it.

You can also choose Hurley, Kate, Richard, Dr. Edgar Halliwax, John Locke, Daniel Farraday, Jacob, Man in Black, or Claire Littleton (OMG, she's holding that creepy monkey-body baby thing!)

But wait!  No Sawyer?  Are you kidding me?  Travesty of a mockery of a sham!  You can't have Lost bobbleheads and not do Sawyer!  He's the bobbliest bobblehead of all!

Before I go, let me remind you to mark your calendars.  The Lost finale event is Sunday, May 23rd.  It starts at 7 pm/6 pm central time.  Til then, let me know if you find any fun Lost stuff!

~BigSis

Posted under This & That

As I mentioned with great enthusiasm and anticipation last the week, our 3rd Annual Bake Sale for the SPCA of Texas is TODAY, Monday, December 13!  100% of the proceeds go directly to the SPCA.

Last year, our sale raised over $4,000 in one day, and we hope to repeat that success this year.  Here are the details:

Location: Dallas, Texas (If you can come, please email me for the address)

Time: 8 am until 6 pm or sell-out, whichever comes first!

If you can't attend but you'd like to support the SPCA of Texas, you can contribute through this web page:  http://www.spca.org/bakesale

Thanks in advance for your support!  Stay tuned for photos and the scoop on the outcome of the day!

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

Just in case you missed the news at the beginning of the month and are wondering about the pink text, we are going Pink for October to show our support for breast cancer awareness.

While out shopping, you will have noticed by now the abundance of pink products being sold at most retail stores. Since the Susan G. Komen for the Cure is an important cause to me, I buy pink products from the companies that are giving their profits to that charity. Not that the other charities aren't completely legitimate, it's just a personal choice. I found this post on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Message Board and felt it was important enough to pass along to our readers.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure suggests consumers use care and consideration before buying pink products.

October 6, 2009

DALLAS–(Business Wire)–From grocery stores to home improvement centers, pink ribbons and labels adorn everything from candy to vacuum cleaners to raise awareness and money during the 25th annual National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But with so many “pink” marketing programs out there, how can you be sure your money (or how much of it) is going where it should?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world`s leader in the fight against breast cancer, suggests people ask a few questions before picking one product over another.

“Selecting the right program is a personal choice based on your interests, your passions and a cause that is important to you,” said Katrina McGhee, vice president of global partnerships for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “You work hard for your money, make sure your purchases have the impact you want.”

Whether a program offers to donate a portion of product sales or requires consumer participation in exchange for a donation, Komen's objective is that all programs that benefit Komen are meaningful, educate women and men about breast cancer and generate funds which Komen devotes to research and community outreach.

In order to determine if a cause-related program, promotion or project is one that you would like to support (or is worthy of your support), Komen suggests consumers ask five key questions.

1. Is this company committed?

Read the product packaging and promotional materials or display and visit the company Web site to make sure the company is credible and committed to the
cause.

2. How is the program structured?

Transparency is key. Is the company clearly stating how the money is raised and how much will be going to charity? For example, if it's a donation per purchase, ask how much of purchase price goes to charity-is it two percent or 10
percent-or some other amount? If there is a minimum contribution guaranteed by the company, what is the amount? Is there a maximum donation that will be made by the company?

3. Who does the program benefit?

Does it support a well-managed, reputable non-profit or fund? Again, we recommend that consumers read Web sites. Komen makes it very clear on our site who we are, how we structure programs and how the monies are used. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance is one resource for information on non-profit organizations if you are unsure (visit www.give.org.

4. How will the organization that benefits use my money?

It should be abundantly clear where the monies go. What organization will they support? Will the dollars generated go to research, education, community programs or all of the above? Komen is very specific about our programs, activities and grants awarded to support our mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. View Komen's most recent Annual Report.

5. Is the program meaningful to me?

Is the program supporting a cause you believe in or have been touched by? Based on the details of the program and the potential for dollars to be raised does the program make sense to you? Selecting the right program is a personal choice based on your interests, your passions and a cause that is important to you.

~LilSis

Posted under Health

Our “little baking team that could” has been baking up a storm the last two weekends, and we have just one more week to get everything baked, packaged and organized!

We're trying to raise another $3000 for the SPCA of Texas here in Dallas.  Last year's sale raised $3055 and we really hope we can do better than that for the animals this year.

It seems like an overwhelming task to prepare $3000 worth of baked goodies, and then sell them all in just one day.  We all agree though that this is some of the biggest fun we have all year long!

So far, I have bunches of these things wrapped up in my freezer:

• Cranberry Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts

• Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts

• Strawberry Bread with Pecans

• Texas Pecan Pie Bars from the Pastry Queen

• Texas Pecan Pie Bars with Chocolate and Bourbon from the Pastry Queen

• Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies

• Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies with Mint Oreos

• Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies with Bittersweet Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

SisMama has made a whole slew of awesome pound cakes in lots of flavors, and K & P have made oodles of breads.

Next weekend, we'll be making all of the candies and other treats that we don't want to freeze.  If you're in the Dallas area, email me or leave a comment if you'd like to come visit us at the sale and I'll send you the details.  If you'd like to donate to the SPCA of Texas but you're too far away to visit us, you can use the web site that's been set up for our donations.  It's http://www.spca.org/goto/bakesale.

Meanwhile, wish us well!  The SPCA of Texas – like lots of animal organizations right now – is in serious need of funds in this economy, and we'd really like to help!

~BigSis

Posted under Animals

Occasionally, all of us girls at the office sneak out for a lunch together, and last Friday, we decided it was time to shake it up a little bit.  Sometimes we go for a posh girlie lunch at a fancy place, like Stephan Pyles or Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton, and other times it's a cheap delicious lunch at Cafe Brazil.  This week, we went raw vegan!  The “we” is me; a 15-year vegetarian/3-week vegan, and 3 open-minded carnivores!

I don't want to say where we went since the restaurant was having a bad day: their chef quit, they were short-handed, and they were having a sewage issue.  Probably not the day to give them a fair review!

All 4 of us got something different so we could share.  Some dishes were more successful than others.  Our favorite was the Coconut Kale Enchiladas.  I never thought I'd say those words!  Marinated kale was wrapped in coconut tortillas with nacho cheeze, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and cashew sour creme.  It was spicy and really tasty, but not sweet at all as you might think it would be from the coconut.  I usually find raw kale to be too tough and chewy, but this was perfect.  I would order this again.

Coconut Kale Enchiladas

Our second choice was the Greek Pizza. Creamy tahini hummus was topped with a Greek salad of cucumbers, avocado, red onion, capers, fresh tomatoes, Greek olives, chopped parsley, and romaine.  The dressing on the salad had a great flavor, and the hummus base was delicious.  You had to dig a bit to get to the “pizza” part, but it was delicious digging!

Greek Pizza

In third place was Raw Tacos. Crisp corn tortillas are topped with chipotle flavored beans, guacamole, nacho cheeze, pico de gallo, and salsa verde.  This is a pretty dish as the previous two are, and had fresh ingredients on top, but we found the “tortilla” and bean topping to have a slightly bitter flavor.

Raw Tacos

And our least favorite by a mile was the Raw Pad Thai.  Kelp noodles are tossed in almond butter and chili sauce, and
garnished with crispy vegetables.  This dish was practically inedible, sorry to say!  It was bland, watery and had a pretty nasty texture.  The kelp noodles were oddly crunchy, and were mixed with slightly slimy zucchini noodles.  None of us could eat this.

Raw Pad Thai

In spite of the challenges of the day, our waitress did her best to take care of us, and it was a pretty fun eclectic experience.  Maybe we'll go back after they've had time to recover from last week!

~BigSis

Posted under Food

Being single and eating my biggest meal of the day before noon, it's really easy for me to skip dinner or to just have a handful of almonds.  I try to eat intentionally though, and skipping dinner doesn't set me up for a very energetic morning.

I have a solution that works for me, even in the summertime when you don't automatically think of something warm.  How about a one-pot stew/soup dish that's inexpensive, nutritious AND super speedy?  I got it for you.  It's so simple, I don't even need to give you an official recipe; I can just tell you how to do it in a few words.

Take 5 cans from your pantry, and don't feel bad that you're using cans!  You need a big can of fire-roasted tomatoes (diced or crushed), a small can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis (similar to Rotel but I think much better!), a can of green beans, a can of red kidney beans and a can of corn.

Open all the cans, and dump both tomatoes into a large saucepan and turn the meat to medium.  Fill the small can with water and add that.  Then add whatever mexican seasonings you like to the tomatoes and simmer for few minutes.  I used garlic powder, cumin, chile powder, dried cilantro, shallot pepper, salt and a touch of dried chipotle.

Bring the tomatoes to a boil, and then add the drained corn and green beans, along with the kidney beans that have been drained and rinsed.  You don't want that nasty bean juice.  Heat until the vegetables are heated through.  Voila!  You're done!

I like to serve my stew with dairy-free cheese (Daiya) and sour cream (Tofutti).  My diced tomatoes with chilis were pretty potent so I didn't even need any Frank's Red Hot Sauce!

In this one bowl, you get nutrients from the veggies, plus protein from the beans that will keep you full for a good long time.  Use whatever veggies you have, and feel free to add other goodies like mushrooms, onions, and chili peppers.  Hatch chilis are almost in season and they would be incredible in this.

I'd say this is a much better dinner than a few sorry nuts!  😀

~BigSis

Posted under Food

For many years, our kids would wait, with much anticipation, for the tin of Grandma's cookies to arrive in the mail right before Christmas. Without fail, every year, until she wasn't able to do it anymore, my mother-in-law would mail a gorgeous tin full of a beautiful assortment of homemade Christmas cookies to each of the grand-kids.

Everyone had their favorite, so if you wanted one in our household, you had to be quick! One year, our beloved, SarahGirl (1/2 Lab & 1/2 Great Dane) decided that she wasn't going to wait for her cookie. The tin arrived as we were dashing out the door one day, so we quickly put it under the tree, not even thinking that the dog could possibly get into it since it was taped shut.

Yet, when we arrived home, we found that SarahGirl had somehow managed to remove the tape, open the tin and devour every single, ding, dang, last cookie!  (Shhhh… we never could bring ourselves to tell Grandma about the incident.)

Her Snowballs were always my favorite!

My Mother-in-law gave me this beautiful Fitz & Floyd Santa Plate about 15 years ago and ever since then, it's been the plate we've used to leave cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve night.

Tonight, I'll be serving the Snowballs on it for a Christmas get-together we're having with a few friends.

Snowballs

1/2 lb. butter, at room temperature
2 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1 t. vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the butter into small pieces, place in a large mixing bowl and gradually add the flour, the pecans, then the vanilla, combining all with your hands.

Form the dough into walnut size balls and place on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes, just until the bottoms are slightly brown.  Let cool for 5  minutes, then roll in the powdered sugar. Once completely cool, dust again with powdered sugar.

(Before I made these, I did a little browsing online and I did find quite a few variations of this recipe. Some have salt, sugar and even eggs in the dough but I decided to stick to my mother-in-law's recipe.)

The good news is that when my hubby tried one, he said they were perfect and tasted just like his Mom's. In my house, that's the best compliment I can receive. 🙂

~LilSis

Posted under Holidays

Aloha! Oh how I wish I had a magic genie right now! I would close my eyes, make a wish and hope to open my eyes and find myself in Maui. In my wish, it would be 5:00 a.m. and we would be starting the day out on our balcony watching the whales play. From there, we would go for a wonderful brunch, then to the beach for the day, then walk to Hula Grill for dinner and music, watch the sunset, and finally, walk back to our room for a good night's sleep.  A girl can dream, right?

BigSis posted some awesome photos from our previous vacations! I know we'll be talking more about Maui in the near future. We both love it so much. I would love to talk about some of our favorite local eating places and my favorite local artists.

I don't know what it is about Maui that is so magical, but it is a place like none other. It's almost as if once you get off the plane there; something says to you “It's time to slow down, enjoy life; enjoy who you're with, and enjoy the stunning scenery.” SirHoney and I talk about retiring there someday. Who knows, some dreams do come true. Unfortunately, it's time for me to get back to reality.

~LilSis

Posted under Travel

I'm so excited every time I open my mailbox to find my new issue of  whole living body+soul, I'm always pleasantly surprised to find so many articles that actually interest me. I am never disappointed! This Martha Stewart Publication is my favorite magazine right now.

I found this recipe for Shiitake Fried Rice in the October, 2008 issue of whole living body+soul and I knew right away that I wanted to try it.  This is also a vegetarian dish so I know that BigSis will enjoy it. I've always loved shiitakes, but never knew of their amazing health benefits. I never knew that they were packed full of antioxidants, potassium, zinc, and lentinan, that stimulates the immune system.  An excellent addition to your meal if you're starting to feel run down or trying to stave off a cold.

So, here we go with the recipe. I have to admit that I made this recipe while my family was lurking over me so I did not get as many photos as I would have liked.  HayHay was more interested in getting the rice in his belly than in watching me take photographs. To start with, here are the ingredients.

Pretty basic ingredients

I cooked the rice first, sliced the mushrooms, and cooked the edamame. I started with the edamame in the pods just because I think they turn out better if you cook them in the pods and then shell them. The bag of edamame in pods makes exactly one cup of shelled edamame!

Perfectly cooked brown rice.

Cleaned and sliced shitakes.

Cooked and shelled edamame

It was so easy from this stage.  I missed getting a photo of the shiitakes sauteing in the oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.  I never measure exactly; (which is why I can't bake) so I ended up adding two teaspoons of butter to the mushrooms because they seemed a little dry. I probably did not start with enough oil when starting out with the garlic and ginger. Oh, and I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil.

From this point, I added the rice, the edamame, the cooked and sliced egg, the lime juice and soy sauce.  I did leave out the scallions, (because I don't like them and I'm the cook); and I was going to use chives, but I forgot to go cut some from my herb pot. I just tossed everything gently and it was done!

Finished Shitake Fried Rice

I don't cook with a lot of ginger, but the combination of ginger, garlic, lime, and red pepper flakes in this rice turned out just amazing!

Now, for myself or for BigSis, this would be a complete meal. But, no! Not for the meat-eating men that live in our house!  Since I learned that a long time ago, I had already planned to make pork tenderloin to go along with the Shiitake Fried Rice.  They went really  well together!  All I do with my pork tenderloin is cover it in a paste of olive oil, garlic, and a lot of fresh ground pepper. I grill on high for five minutes on each side, then turn to medium and another five minutes on each side. Cover and let rest. Turns out perfect every time!

Grilled pork tenderloin

Here's the final plate, missing the side salad and some fresh Kalamata Olive Bread from Trader Joe's. Did you think we could have a meal without bread? Silly!

Shitake Fried Rice and Grilled Pork Tenderloin

I was really happy with the way this Sunday Supper turned out.  I hope you give it a try!

~LilSis

Posted under Food

I wanted to be sure to get this post up today in case anyone is having their St. Patrick's Day celebration on Saturday. If you are hosting a party or just having a couple of friends over, these Reuben Sandwiches are easy and they're a real crowd pleaser.

I mentioned the recipe for these sandwiches a couple of days ago in my St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas post.  These are a little different since you bake them in the oven for a few minutes and serve them open faced.  If cut into smaller pieces, they made for excellent party appetizers.

I really love that you can put these together before the party. Whenever you're ready to serve, you just pop them in the oven for five minutes to melt the cheese.

In hindsight, I wish that I hadn't used Reduced Fat Swiss for this recipe. Full fat cheese probably would have gotten more browned and bubbly. I was trying to cut back a little bit on the fat considering the fat content in the mayo and the corned beef.

I've been thinking about these sandwiches so much that I decided not to wait until St. Patrick's Day to serve them. We're having them for dinner tonight!

~LilSis

Posted under Food