Ahhh … I’ll bet you’re wondering about the Christmas Tree Salad, especially since I’m posting in April, right? Well, frankly, I love salads all year around. The owner of the recipe thought the salad looked like a Christmas tree so that’s why she named it Christmas Tree Salad.
The salad has many healthy ingredients like oranges, pecans, cranberries … well, you get the idea.
Christmas Tree Salad
We had Salmon Provencal with this wonderful salad which made it a perfect Paleo dinner.
Salmon Provencal
The topping on the salmon was really delicious and is included in the Salmon Provencal recipe.
This was the first time I had tasted pomegranates. Isn’t that odd? I’ve lived over 50 years and never tasted pomegranate.
If you’ve ever rented a car then you know the rental car routine when you go to pick it up.
Check in at the rental car company, sign your contract, get a key for the car, walk around the car to make sure nothing is damaged, sign a form stating whether you found any damage to the car, then start your journey.
Simple enough, right? Well, not exactly. A lot depends on where you are picking your car up at.
Recently when I rented an economy car, they upgraded me to a red Ford convertible Mustang. I looked at the guy and said “you realize I’m an old person right?” Â (laughing)
He said it would be okay so I walked around the car, checked for damage, gave him the form and started to drive off. But the car felt “too fast” for me. I’m sure it was psychological but I had visions of getting in an accident and my insurance company having to pay an arm and a leg.
So, I did what any paranoid person would do — I drove it back the few feet I had driven it.
There was a woman at the counter now and I explained my hesitancy to her and said “I wish they wouldn’t have upgraded me to something I didn’t ask for.” She then pointed to another car and said “How about that one?” Well, this one was better but it was also large — a compact instead of an economy.
Not wanting to cause more disturbance in the rental company’s force, I agreed to rent the Chevy Impala. This one had recently been washed. It was then that I noticed that the lighting was not great in this indoor garage. I considered noting on the inspection form “lighting too dim and car wet so unable to determine damage” but I thought “you’re getting paranoid again.”
It’s amazing how many times we don’t listen to what our gut tells us, isn’t it?
So, I drove off into the rainy city of Seattle and arrived at my destination 45 minutes later.
All was going well on this trip until … the sun came out. Now, normally in Seattle, the sun coming out would be a good thing and I certainly felt glad when it did. I visited the people I’d come to see and at the end of the day drove back to my friends house for the evening.
For some reason, I had parked the car closer to the garage than I had earlier so I walked around the back of the car to get to the house. Then I saw “it.” Â Can you see it?
Rental Car
Let’s take a closer look … see it now?
Rental Car
Now, I absolutely, positively, knew that I had not been in a car accident and that no one had hit me since I was going from garage driveway to garage driveway most of the time. There was one exception — a mall that I went to but that was after I discovered the problem.
I know what some of you might be thinking — oh, you probably parked it somewhere and someone side swiped you and you just didn’t notice. Well, that is possible but not probable.
Take a look at this …
Rental Car
That is what the other side of the car looked like in the rain and it’s very similar to when I picked it up and it was wet from the car wash they had given it.
In addition, If you look very closely, the damage to the side shows that a small bit of the paint is chipped and a little bit of rust can be seen so this was not a recent occurrence.
Rental Car
Did I miss this damage when I took possession of the car? Yes, absolutely.
I should have followed my gut and written on the form they gave me “unable to determine if there is any damage due to lighting and wetness.” But I didn’t.
So, what happened? I was anxious for the next few days and when I took the car back, I knew exactly what was going to happen. I pulled into the car rental drive, got out and waited while they inspected the car for damage.
Then the most interesting thing happened. Side note: If you ever watched Star Wars, you probably remember when Yoda would put his hand out and the person he was trying to distract away from him would suddenly turn the other way. (This was because the “force” was with him). Anyone remember that scene?
Anyway, as I stood there watching this guy walk around the car to inspect it, he suddenly stopped at the very spot where the damage was. Then he leaned in to take a closer look. He touched the spot and spent a few moments looking at it. Then he straightened up, walked over to me and had me sign that everything was okay.
What?!!! I couldn’t believe it. I was ready to fight for my dignity and — nothing. My inner fight was deflated.
I had prayed all the way to the car rental location reminding God that I was 99.9% sure I was not responsible for this (as if He didn’t know). I asked Him to be my Judge and to please show me grace and mercy so that I wouldn’t have to fight this. Â And that’s exactly what He did.
So — all you car renters — make sure you check and double check the cars you rent. And if you can’t inspect the car very well because of lighting or the car is wet, note that on the form they give you to sign.
Oh — and don’t forget to pray if something should go wrong (you can pray when it goes right also). God cares about the little things that affect us in life whether we’re right or wrong.
There really haven’t been too many paleo recipes that we’ve tried that haven’t been good, very good or excellent.
This Breaded Mustard Chicken did not taste like “regular” breaded meat but it was close. The almond flour that’s used as the breading doesn’t stay as “attached” to the chicken though. This is something we’ll need to work on — unless anyone out there knows of any tricks that could be helpful in using the almond meal as breading?
Breaded Mustard Chicken
The chicken was complemented with a Holiday Salad with a Cranberry Apple Orange Vinaigrette. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, it was! Â This is going to sound “old” to those who have been following my food posts but I have to say it again — make sure you serve the vinaigrette on the side so that everyone can add as much or as little as they like. There — I said it!
Don’t add too much maple syrup though or it will be too sweet. Yes, there is such a thing as something being too sweet, especially if you’re following a paleo diet. We use Kirkland’s Maple Syrup that we purchase at Costco.
We’ve been on the hunt for dried berries to use in salads and have found that the ones they sell at the store either have added sugar in them or they are as expensive as a trip to the moon.
So — we decided to get a dehydrator and checked on Amazon to see what we could find and settled on a Nesco American Dehydrator.
Nesco American Dehydrator
I was a little concerned when it arrived because the top of the box was only half sealed with tape but all the contents were inside so we lucked out. Whew!
We bought some strawberries that were on sale at our local grocery store and proceeded to slice them so they could be dehydrated.
The dehydrator is very easy to use. Slice your fruit, lay it on the trays, reassemble the trays and turn on the power. It is a little loud though so we put it in a spare room while it was running.
Nesco American Dehydrator
Clean-up was a breeze. I just used a soapy sponge to rinse it off.
Many times, while walking through the produce section, I’ve looked at acorn squashes  and wondered what to do with them. Recently my son made us brunch that included this Stuffed Acorn Squash. It looks quite interesting, don’t you think?
Paleo Stuffed Acorn Squash
The original recipe does include the sausage which gives it a lot more flavor.
The squash tasted very similar to a yam or sweet potato and was quite filling.
I recently came across a video called Describing Colors To Blind People. It made me think about my childhood and how I used to pretend that I was blind by closing my eyes to “see” if I could find my way around. I never tried it for very long and always bumped into something.
Balloons (Courtesy of Microsoft Free Images)
But — how would you describe a color to a blind person? This video was made by a man whose blind. It’s an interesting video.
The video also reminded me of a story in the Bible …
“They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?â€
He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.â€
Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying,“Don’t even go into the village.†Luke 8:22-26
I look forward to the day when both physical and spiritual blindness are lifted from our eyes.
Now, if you want to talk about strange combinations of food (at least in my mind) then let’s talk about a Tuna Egg Salad. I wouldn’t have put these two ingredients together as it just wouldn’t have entered my mind.
Tuna Egg Salad
The salad tasted quite bland to me and I’m not one who likes spicy food. It needed something and it could be the Cajun seasoning that we did not use (mainly because of my aversion to spicy food).
So — I’ll take the blame for the blandness of this recipe. Next time we make it, I can add the Cajun seasoning a little at a time to see if it tastes better than it did this first time.
Or — if you happen to try it, let me know how you make it and if you follow the recipe to a T.
Yes, it’s happening. Slowly but surely, spring is coming to Minnesota — and not just because the calendar says so.
The ponds and lakes still have quite a bit of snow on them but I expect that by next week everything (unless it snows again) should be thawed.
Minnesota Pond
As I was standing in front of this pond, I heard pecking. A red headed woodpecker was close by. Soon, I spotted him in a group of nearby trees. I walked quietly until I was almost beneath him then snapped this picture.
Hidden Woodpecker
Do you see him? Neither do I. Â (laughing)Â Just as I snapped the picture he hopped around the tree. I must’ve taken ten pictures and each time he would hop around the other side of the tree. Bummer.
There is still other wild life to be seen though. This morning I looked out the window and spotted this turkey and did he ever have a surprise for me. He is fatter than most of the ones that walk around here. Actually, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one as fat as this one.
Wild Minnesota Turkey
As he kept walking, all of a sudden, his wings spread ever so wide. I mean WIDE! I’ve never seen anything like it before. What does it mean? Could he, uh, she be pregnant?
Wild Minnesota Turkey
Normally the wild turkeys are in groups but I only saw one other one in the vicinity. Could it be a mating call action? Â If you know, please do tell.
Looking to my right, I saw two deer walking up the street. They’ve been around all winter and recently we saw a herd of 12 deer.
This afternoon, as I was sitting quietly on the sofa, out of the corner of my eye, a huge white gray bird flew by. I got up right away to see what it was but I was a tad too slow for this quick bird.
From the colors of the wings, it looked like a bird I saw in July 2011 — a bird whose identity still is a mystery. It could be a hawk or a falcon. Click here to see that picture.
Our bird feeder still has not received any real visitors unfortunately. But I know the birds are coming as I can hear the soft chirps in the air.
Did you think I’d be talking about cows grazing? Â You’d be wrong. Â (laughing)
Since we’ve been on the paleo diet, we try to find healthy snacks that we can eat and my son came upon Graze.com. The company is based out of the United Kingdom and was started by 7 friends who wanted to make healthy snacks.
Here is what a recyclable Graze snack box looks like:
Graze Snack Box
Each box comes with four healthy snacks and you can choose the types of snacks that are sent to you. Yes, they are mailed directly to your home weekly at a cost of $5 U.S. a week. There is no contract and you can stop the service any time (make sure you read the terms of service to be sure you know what they are). But, if you’re like me, you’ll look forward to your next box.
Here’s a closer look at the Oatbakes that you see above:
Graze Oat Bakes
And here’s a picture of an actual item once I removed the plastic:
Graze Oats
There are two different boxes to choose from — a light box or a snack box. The light box has lower calorie snacks.
Once a week, we get a box in the mail. I always look forward to what’s in the box. After trialling the snack, you go online and let them know what you think about it. Here’s the statement from the website.
“The food in your box is selected based on your own preferences. For each of our foods, you tell us whether you like, love, or would like to try them. We put together your box based on these ratings ensuring you always receive the food you like.”
Eventually, the snacks are tailored to exactly what you like. This is an easy way to try different things like, say, peppered pistachio nuts. (I didn’t like them but my husband did.)
The idea is so simple and makes snacking a snap! Leave them in your car for a healthy snack while you’re running to and fro. No more McDonald’s french fries or shakes!
In order to try Graze, you need to be “invited” by a current member until the company “launches.” Members are given one “code” to give out.
Unfortunately, we’ve used up our one code. Â Awwww ….
It’s always refreshing to have a casserole for brunch, isn’t it? Recently we had this Tex Mex Hash Casserole that was quite tasty. Admitted, it doesn’t look very good in the photograph but don’t let that fool you. The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” rings true with this casserole.
Tex Mex Hash CasseroleTex Mex Hash Casserole
The combination of sweet potatoes and ground beef make this perfect for a paleo breakfast/brunch.
So far, we’ve had an interesting variety of foods — no boredom here.
![Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519zeaE0I5L._SL75_.jpg)
[/amazon_link]
[/amazon_link]
[/amazon_link]
[/amazon_link]
