I woke up this morning to another snowy landscape. It is quite pretty before the snow turns brown, so here’s an early morning picture, still with virgin snow:

Since February is a short month, already shorter since it is now February 3rd, and we are going away in the middle of the month for five days (computer diet!), I am not sure how many articles I will post this month. But, I already have some pieces half-baked. Here they are:

February is Heart Healthy Month, so I plan to post some information on legumes, since legumes are good for lowering cholesterol, which is only one indicator of a healthy heart, and I am not sure actually how low cholesterol needs to be to be considered healthy. So much controversy about cholesterol, in general, but legumes are good food, in any case.  Here is a dish I plan to make for a legume class I will be giving at MANNA with nutritionist Cyndi Dinger. I call it Green Soybean Succotash, using delicious edamame beans, which you may like better than lima beans. Recipe will be in the next posting. The picture is just a tease. Besides, I haven’t put it in the computer yet!

Since JOY is my theme for 2010, I thought I would post my interview with Danièle Thomas Easton, who I sat next to when I saw Leslie Caron in person at the Philadelphia Public Library in December. Danièle does volunteer work with a passion, which brings her joy.  And that’s also good for the heart!  Here’s a snapshot I took when we had a delicious lunch/interview at Chez Colette, the restaurant at the French restaurant Sofitel in Center City. Très bon! (That’s the extent of my French, copmpliments of my husband.)

♥ Valentine’s Day, another reason to wear red, is the middle of the month.♥ Since I met my (second) husband Alan the week of Valentine’s Day in 2003, I especially love this day, because there were 13 years of nobody special to share this day.  However, during this time, I began to follow Eve Ensler’s V-Day events, since I had been a narrator for The Vagina Monolgues in 2oo1. I will post some of the information on V-Day later this month. I may also review a book called The Art of Hugging by William Cane, author of The Art of Kissing. (Hmmm, maybe I should read that one, too!)

Oops! I forgot one of the Leftovers from January. When I posted a Spaghetti Squash recipe last month, one of my regular readers sent this in: “I like to keep the seeds from a spaghetti squash; wash them, then coat lightly with a bit of olive oil (or other good oil) and roast at 300 until lightly browned—-add salt or other spice if desired. They are a yummy snack or garnish.”  Mary is an avid gardener, so her advice is worth looking into, especially because I did not bake  my seeds her way and they came out too dry.

For my Special Report, I hope to do some investigating on FATS, since they seem to be discussed a great deal when discussing heart disease. Good fats, bad fats, trans fats, hydrogenated fats, etc. Maybe In will just define them so we know what they are when we read them in an article. ♥

Sorry, there were no photos of a woman’s body! Actually, early tests were done only on men, which is why women and heart disease took so long to show up in research.

Also, since Valentine’s Day usually means sweets, I may also do a Health Flash on the different kinds of sweeteners, since there is a lot of information out there that could be confusing. Maybe I will just confuse you more, or maybe I can provide food for thought. Instead of candy, maybe heart candles will do the trick to light up your month!

♥ Remember, whatever the winter weather, cold or rainy, you can always find warmth with friends and loved ones! ♥

A friend sent this albino peacock picture  to me and said it reminded her of a giant snowflake, so I thought it would make a great January photo.

As the new year and the new decade begin, I have been thinking about adding something to my website to give it more focus. The idea came to me after seeing an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about this past decade being the “Decade of Despair”, citing everything from 2000 until now that went wrong with the world, with 9/11 and the economic downturn leading the pack.  I decided that there are always horror stories and bad times,  and I don’t need to be reminded of them.

So, I have decided that 2010 will focus on JOY, sparked by articles I have been reading in various magazines.  Since I believe joy is a source of happiness, which is often fleeting and fickle, I thought that I would write about the joy of sharing a meal with friends, the joy of doing what you love as a volunteer, the joy of holidays with families and friends, the joy of exercising and the joy of eating.  Since this website is about food, the joy of cooking will be a large part of this joyfulness. I haven’t quite figured out just how I will do this, but by posting it, I am committed to make my best attempt. Your input is welcome!

Another friend sent this photo of an “ice wave.” There is something beautiful in the starkness of snow and ice.

As part of the “regular” posting, I will focus on a diet for a healthy thyroid, since January is Thyroid Awareness Month. My friend Jackie sent me a cookbook online and I plan to share that with you. I also plan to review a book from a series by Jonny Bowden, who I heard speak and found him to be inspirational. He lists Brazil nuts as one of the best foods for a healthy thyroid, so there is a link to Thyroid Awareness Month.

Also, as a follow up to the recent controversy about mammograms, I will relate my experience with another alternative.  The procedure is non-invasive and possibly more extensive than the thermogram article I couple of years ago. Additionally, since this is a new year that reminds us we are all growing older, I may do a piece on the aging process.

Concerning Kitchen Nutrition, I will feature some warming dishes, such as soups and stews. While I am a big believer in the enzyme activity of raw foods, when cold weather hits, as it did this week, I gravitate to warming foods and may  feature some casseroles from my very first cookbook, Beginner’s Guide to Meatless Casseroles.

Because January is often a difficult month after the holidays, Many people go into a slump. Focusing on  JOY may be a perfect antidote. I wrote this jingle to perk you up.

January Jingle

January can be dull and dreary

Following the holidays that make us weary.

So greet the New Year with a brand new face.

Make this year better, tied with ribbons and lace.

Make it so, not now and then–

Be a new you in 2010!

I fully believe that each of us has power we have not unleashed.  Maybe this year you can unleash some positive energy/joy, because like the picture of this iceberg below (again, sent by a friend), what we see of one another other is only the tip of the iceberg! (Below the photo are the comments that came with the email, so I put them in quotes.)

“This is awesome! This came from a Rig Manager for Global Marine Drilling in St. Johns, Newfoundland . They actually have to divert the path of these things away from the rig by towing them with ships! Anyway, in this particular case the water was calm and the sun was almost directly overhead so that the diver was able to get into the water and click this picture. Clear water huh?! ? They estimated the weight at 300,000,000 tons.”