Random thoughts on a rainy day in July!

July 2013 was a bit wacky weather wise!

As the month of July 2013 finally draws to a close, it's been a rather interesting 31 days. What has been billed as one of the two hottest months of the year was not the case this year. As a matter of fact, the last week of the month was both cool and wet with rainfall rates in excess of the historical averages. What's going on with that? I thought we were in a drought!

Perhaps it really is global climate change! I remember one of the concepts I took with me, after reading a book that described the 'Little Ice Age' by Brian Fagan, was the fact that it was not so much the icy winters that killed so many people over the course of 500 years... but rather it was the crazy weather that went from hot to cold to dry to wet, with no one year following the next in like manner. (Sorta of what we are getting this decade, only not as severe....yet). If you haven't read this book, I would encourage you to do so – a very good read.

The Arabs are now getting worried about America's oil reserves!

In an article recently published by Fox News, it seems that some of the Saudi oil elite are becoming concerned with the shitload of oil and gas that is under many American's feet. Apparently some investors, like Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal are writing letters to other oil rich sheiks informing them that America may not need their OPEC oil sometime in the near future. What? Well don't get too excited. To hear Obama and other Progressives talk, that just ain't gonna happen. Still it would be a nice dream to dream. Just imagine America as an oil independent nation of rich, happy people! Naw! Like I said, it ain't gonna happen under his watch.

Weiner may be withdrawing his 'weiner' from the race for Mayor!

OK. I suspect that when this guy was born, the die was cast. And, while I'm sure the Weiner family name is an honorable one, I can only imagine the taunts this man had to endure in grade school. Fast forward to the present and we now have an adult that likes to show women his manhood via the Internet. (In my book that's what's known as a pervert. But, hey that's just me). Still, it will be interesting to see just how many New Yorker's will actually vote for this guy if he stays in the mayoral race. It would put a whole new spin on the word 'tolerant'.

Ad Hoc Bean Soup!

Never being one to have much order in my life, I still break the mold from time to time with efforts like my bean soup. This version was also meatless as I forgot to get some ham when I went to the store. If you were to click on the picture, I think you can just make out the list of ingredients - it's basically a vegetable soup with beans added.

Grilled Ham and Cheese lunch for under 400 calories!

Summer time, grilled sandwiches and garden fresh veggies all seem to go together. I put together this under 400 calorie lunch by using just a single slice of American cheese and thinly sliced ham along with vegetables take from my backyard garden!

Eating pasta and potatoes while on a diet!

Small portions equate to diet success!

The author is currently on a diet and trying his best to lose weight, so what's with the pasta and potatoes?

For years, I was advised to stay away from anything white (breads, sugar, etc) and to shun other high carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes while trying to diet! The reasoning? That carbs quickly get converted into calories and breads and potatoes and pasta are loaded with carbohydrates! My answer

to that is, so what! Just about everything you eat is converted by one metabolic pathway or another into either amino acids or glucose. Both are essential to good health, only maybe not when you consume them in excess.

This meal was balanced and provided all the essential amino acids, while not going overboard on the carbohydrates. At right is a nutritional panel that goes into more detail for this particular meal. Note that the total calories was just over 500 and that fits in nicely with my planned total of 1800 calories per day. The only sour note was the high level of salt. Note: The potato, onions, green beans and tomato were all from my backyard garden!

Beef cubes with onions and peppers!

Here's a great mid summer meal that is light on calories but big on taste!

If you have a garden and you planted some peppers & onions earlier in the year, you'll likely have most of the ingredients for this recipe right at hand. Otherwise, summer is also a time when produce items like onions and peppers can be had relatively cheaply. The most expensive item is the meat, of course. But even with sky high beef prices, you can still often score a cheap cut of meat at reasonable prices. I bought a package of cubed beef for $4.50 for three quarters of a pound of beef. Not bad!

Throwing this meal together is simplicity itself. Here's a list of the ingredients:

¼ pound cubed beef

2 medium banana or bell peppers, cut into small pieces

1 medium white onion, sliced

Dash of oregano and basil

1 tsp Rosemary

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 servings of instant rice (optional)

1 tsp veg oil

Procedure: Add the oil to a small fry pan and heat up to medium high heat. Add the beef which has been cut into ½” to 1” inch cubes. Used a spatula to move the beef around so that all sides are cooked evenly. After a few minutes, push the beef to one side and add the onions and peppers along with the Rosemary, basil and oregano. Then, sprinkle on the Worcestershire sauce over the beef. Saute until the the onions are just becoming translucent and the peppers still have some crunch.

This dish can be served on its own or over a bed of rice! Enjoy! Serves 2.

Steak and eggs at home at a doable cost!

Not pictured was a glass of orange juice to complete this great meal!

Making food stretch is what the current economy is, sadly, all about. One way I've tackled the skyrocking prices of beef, while also serving up a nutritious meal, has been to limit the portions. The steak pictured here cost $11 and change per pound, so I purchased a small steak costing $5 and which weighted about a third of a pound. This was cut in half to make two meals. The 'eggs' were made from Eggbeaters and so had zero cholesterol! This $3 breakfast hit a lot of marks for me; the cost, cholesterol, the price and even the calories were all in the green! Enjoy!

Obama's speech today on energy. Please watch, because you will be paying for it!

China's city of Beijing

'I gotta give it up for the Prez and his retinue of Left Wing crackpots! They either all sport giant testicles or they are so crazy that the rest of the 'sane' population is snake fascinated and seemingly powerless to stop them!'

One Obama insider stated yesterday that the President's speech (later today on Tuesday, June 24), will focus on new 'controls on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.' There is also said to be a plan that would boost energy efficiency of appliances and buildings, plus expand renewable energy. What probably will not be mentioned is the hefty price tag that will also be a part of this deal. Please note that whenever the President uses the word 'investments' in a speech, he is actually referring to increases in taxes that the average American will have to bear. (So if this passes, we all can expect large increases at the pump, for home energy and at the grocery store as a direct result of this series of initiatives).

But wait! There's more! Some Democrats like Rep. Henry Waxman, are calling for the implementation of regulations and their associated taxes, 'without the need to go through Congress' citing that it would take too long to push through otherwise! (Hey, after all, why bother with messy procedures when you can just shove stuff down a person's throat)!

But one has to wonder...is it even worth it to change the climate?

An interesting article in Scientific American, 'The Alarming Cost of Climate Change Hysteria' paints a rather dismal picture on the billions and billions that have already been spent, and questions whether or not any of this effort has really amounted to much of anything. (A poignant point considering the way in which some other countries, notably India and China, are thumbing their noses at the environment with no effective controls whatsoever).

[Ideally, climate change should be a global effort and not the patchwork mess it is today.... but, that will never happen. Not with 196 countries, each with their own objectives and most of whom have a hard time even getting along with their neighbors!]

I would encourage all Americans to watch this speech, or to read the text version that will be posted on the Internet, later in the day. Discuss it among your friends and then call or write your congress person and tell them how you feel. While I'm all for cleaning up the environment, I want to balance that effort with other needed functions like eating, heating my home and getting to work!