An Unreal Recipe for Western Spaghetti

This is a fun and clever short film. It is brought to you by the folks at PES Films. Man, do I wish I could cook like that!

If you visit their website, you will discover even more funky, short videos.

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May is National Salad Month

I have learned that the month of May is the official National Salad Month. I am not exactly sure who made this declaration, but I have heard that it was started by the official Association for Dressings and Sauces in 1992. However, as someone who is striving to eat more healthful, nutritious fare I have decided to pay homage to this month-long holiday. I resolve to eat at least one serving of salad or other type of leafy green vegetable each and every day for the month of May. That is not a small feat for this gal, as I generally choose meats, breads & grains, and sweets over a typical salad. It may be a tad easier now that we are getting close to summer, when I know I will have the occasional craving for a tasty, but cold salad or fruit.

Things I am keeping in mind for National Salad Month:

• Not all salads are low-fat, low-calorie, or healthy. Typically, many salads available at your favorite restaurants are over-sized and “over-caloried.” Be sure to check out nutritional information online before you head out to eat, or ask for the information at the restaurant. You might be surprised!
• I always ask for a non-fat dressing first, or at the very least, a low-fat dressing. And I always insist the dressing be served on the side.
• I never pour the dressing over my salad. Instead, I dip my fork in the dressing between each bite. I then pick up a piece of the lettuce salad. The dressing goes much further, and the amount of fat and calories that I take in goes down. Yet, I still have the taste of dressing in each bite.
• Sometimes, when I am at home, I will experiment by making my own “dressings.” For example, last night, I mixed some red wine vinegar and couple of seasonings to use as dressing for my salad. Be creative, but do pay attention to the amount of fat and calories of the ingredients you are using.

For more tips and ideas on healthy eating and restaurant food, check out Hungry-Girl.com

Take the Salad Dressing Personality Quiz

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Make a Trailer Park Ginger Bread House

I received this photo of a trailer park ginger bread house in an email. It looks like it might be fairly easy to make, although I have not tried it myself. I am sure anyone who is creative and good with cake decorating and baking could do this.

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Earthworm Pie– Is This for Real???

Today, I was browsing through some of my grandmother’s old cookbooks. I have been wanting to find some great, but easy recipes for Halloween and fall. I was perusing the Community Cookbook (1978) from the tiny town of Doland, South Dakota. I don’t know what the population of Doland was in 1978, but in July of 2006, it was an estimated 269 residents. WOW!!! That is small! Actually, I love cookbooks from small communities, churches, etc. They have recipes from real folks like you and me. They are not “expert” level recipes from Emeril or Julia Child.

Today, as I was looking through this particular cookbook, I came across this recipe called Earthworm Pie. At first glance, I thought it was something like Grasshopper Pie which is a legitimate pie made with Oreo Cookies, lime Jello, and evaporated milk among other ingredients. To my surprise, Earthworm Pie was not the same. Here is the recipe, taken straight from the Doland Community Cookbook in 1978:

1 egg
1 pie crust bottom
1 C evaporated milk
1 C Swiss cheese, grated
earthworms
bacon bits
chopped onion

To prepare earthworms: Boil 3 times in clean water each time then bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, to crisp. Then crumble. Sprinkle onions in pie crust. Cover with egg, evaporated milk and cheese mixed together. Add bacon bits and top all with earthworms.

This is a joke, right? Or is this for real???

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