Karen enjoying the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam
My daughters are at the stage in their lives when they have seen a bit of the world and continue to enjoy visiting new places and making new friends. However, there is a problem… they enjoy sending me little pictures of some of the delicious things they have experienced. I call this ‘foodie torture!’
If the truth be known, some of the things they have found fall in the category of ‘I bet you won’t eat this.’ Kristin’s ‘fruit bat pie’ in Palau falls into this category, however, most of what they send is scrumptious!
Karen went today to ‘the Heineken Experience’ in Amsterdam and although this picture wasn’t exactly about food…. it still was torture! Thanks Karen.
Okay, I am not big on many high fiber foods. It reminds me too much of chewing on a cereal box! Also, as a child, it also reminds me of those really old people ( over 30) who talked about their operations and how great an effect they had that morning from eating some Brillo pad tasting thing the night before.
Well, good things for you don’t have to taste bad.
I am not going to give a sales pitch on high fiber, just to say that it is helpful to folks who have diabetes, want to lose weight and help remove the various and sundry toxins from their bodies. Let’s just say, it is a good thing. However, if it is such a good thing, why is it that so many high fiber products taste so bad? Well, the reason is rather simple: instead of just adding high fiber ingredients to various recipes, “they” try to make it a ‘health food’… and we know how that tastes! yuck
So, I dabbled with my own muffin. Start off with a basic recipe and begin to tweak it a bit. Add Bulghur Wheat to whole wheat flour ( provides a nice crunch), apple and blueberries and a nice collection of spices. The right spices make all the difference. Remember, it does take a few eggs to make a quality muffin… but be careful with using nuts as they are a bit caloric and make the muffin a little brittle. These little muffins are just over 100 calories a piece… but you’d never know by tasting them!
California has 3 growing seasons for much of what we do and we are entering our second apple producing season here in San Luis Obispo, California and I expect a bumper crop! Now, I have only one producing tree, but it has been shaped to be a mega producer and very unlike the row after row of readily harvested apple trees. In fact, it’s beautiful!
I half expected to find Laura out putting ribbons on the branches she selected as her own… she loves apple sauce and likes to think of the apples as her own … but I suspect that I will be able to make a few pies as well… so it’s going to work out fine this year.
Depending on who you talk to, Laura and Karen obviously both had a wonderful adventure this past weekend at the 2009 Association for Psychological Science convention in San Francisco. Who had a better time, made better connections and saw more things is open to debate.
People who know me, know that I won’t let anyone cook for me. The fact is, I am usually always disappointed. I like my lamb a certain way and , yes, I seldom like anyone else’s Baklava. Laura ordered a little dessert of cookies to start and I inspected the Baklava… and it was excellent. ( maybe not as good as mine, but then no one could afford to make and sell it … so what does it matter? )
Although it may have been the seduction in great service, atmosphere or wonderful company, but I do believe the food helped make a truly wonderful evening and an experience to remember.
My hardest choices were in the choice of lamb… ribblets or chops? The Arnisia Pleurakla or Paidakia? As for desserts the creative and distinctive Baklava ice cream was a smooth sweet perfection!
Karen is now well prepared to go to Athens to meet family, friends and do a little business!
Roger Freberg
Special thanks to former classmate Cathy Morley Foster for confirming that this is the place for me!
