FISH GOTTA SWIM, RUBBER CHICKENS GOTTA FLY

­­­

Chickens are incapable of flying let alone ones made of rubber which is why two airline pilots placed the chickens behind the steering wheels for hours of lessons.  This resulted in Esther and Eunice, from the Rubber Chicken Forest in Vallecito, California, able to co-author their first travel book, Whirl With Merle, It’s a Rubber Chickens’ Travels. 

Over 50 destinations are the focus of this humorous travel classic based upon a blog, “EstherandEuniceadventures.”  that span for more than a decade.  What is special about this work is their target of cities in both the United States and Canada, that are less traveled and deserve a getaway.  

In “Meggsachusetts”, as they renamed it, the cities of Quincy, and Provincetown are visited for their important history.  Most people do not know that Provincetown was where the first landing of the Mayflower took place and will be celebrating the 400^th Anniversary of the Pilgrim Monument, the tallest granite structure in the US. as a replica of the Mayflower II sails into Provincetown Landing.

Napa Valley may be known for their wineries, but travel the northern area of “Califowlnia” to towns such as Murphys and Grass Valley.  You may head to Folsom for the Johnny Cash legend but did you know that a sake company, Gekkeikan and soy sauce producer Kikkoman, have taken up some major space due to their ability to access the fresh water from the Sierra Mountains?

A slew of wineries are situated in the Finger Lakes of upstate “New Yolk, “ One nearby town of Seneca Falls is not only the setting for the classic movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and Women’s Rights National Park are located there as well. 

Enjoy the true photography of the front and back covers meeting Esther, Eunice, and their entire family as the forest is actually the location of the Twisted Oak Winery.  Esther encountered Eunice while viewing her “long lost sister” on the side of an egg carton.  They, then decided to adopt a baby (Ethel Mae) at “Chicks ‘R’Us.”  Meeting another two sisters, Marilyn (a kleptomaniac) and Minerva when one trip brought them to a B&B where a couple, who rescues rubber chickens gave a healthier Mildred a better life. 

Readers will delve into places such as Bellingham, Washington vs Seattle; Mardi Gras in Shreveport, vs New Orleans; a trek along North Dakota where you can retrace parts of the Lewis & Clark Expedition or loseyour balls golfing from mountain tops ; as well as exprieinceing some lesser known East Coast towns in Maine. 

How about an alpaca farm in “New Jeggsey,” and oyster farm in East Dennis?  What is it like to ride in a hot air balloon over wineries?  Go off to Canada for a deep “Da Vinci Code” mystery in Winnipegg and learn the connection between the province of New Brunswick and New Orleans. .  

“Written quite tastefully, having read it on a Fry-Day”… Colonel Slanders.  Co-author and journalist Merle Exit is a former comedian-singer-actress (with a list of several other careers). Her first book, “Whirl With Merle – It’s a Humorous Life” published in 2006 has been the number one best seller in her home.

Priced at the most popular amount of $19.99 (less thatn $20), Exit sees this as “mere chickenfeed.” And signed by both Esther and Exit.  You can purchase it through CT Publishing Corp., ATT: Merle Exit, 11-20 154^th St. Whitestone, NY 11357

BEN AND TEENA MAKE A SMART MOOOOVE

Small businesses have opened to an eventual expansion of being able to sell franchises.  Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream is one such creamery that was founded in Kansas City, Kansas in 1989.  Now, there are over 400 franchised stores in the US where the ice cream is freshly made.  Ben and Teena Katz purchased a franchise located at 39-33 Bell Blvd, in Bayside but found it to be more profitable and easier to operate by buying the location and renaming it Ben and Teena’s Ice Cream promising the same quality or better. 

 

Ice cream’s richness varies on the amount of butterfat used.  It provides a creamy texture and mouth-feel, adds its own flavor, absorbs and delivers other flavors, makes the ice cream firmer, and slows melting by stabilizing the air bubbles.  

On any one day you can choose from over a dozen flavors, keeping in mind that although 24 are listed the flavor may not be available due to the time of year, particularly when it comes to fruit or holiday.  

Ben and Teena’s is certainly a mecca for the kids, who love flavors such as: cake batter, cotton candy, ginger bread, marshmallow, and pink bubblegum.  Party, party, party as they are brought to the store for a school trip or birthday celebration.  Ben tells me that the response from the children is what has been bringing them in. There is seating for 24 plus a ledge in the back that seats four. 

What can be better than to have unlimited toppings on your ice cream. It’s as if you were in a candy store. We are not just talking Oreo cook crumbs, Reese’s Pieces, gummy bears, Kit Kats and waffle cone pieces. Think of it as buying the ice cream and creating your own sundae with items such as: bananas, marshmallow sauce, apple pie filling, fudge brownies, raspberries, caramel, and chocolate sauce.  

Darian Gonzales, an employee, talked with me about the “101” on purchasing. “For instance,” he said, “a large size has four scoops and can be four flavors.  Toppings are limitless and have the option of placing them all atop, doing mix-ins, or we can give you a 6 oz cup on the side.  This means you have the opportunity to place the wet and fruit ingredients on the top, dry ingredients in the cup at a cost of $9.24 including tax. A pint of ice cream sells for $6.99 with as many flavors that will fit. You can mix in whatever you want or take home the cup of mix- ins.” 

Sweet Cream ice cream is the perfect flavor for adding the unlimited mix-ins as it is the base for the other flavors.  Thus, if you are going for a sugar rush, that’s another reason to add the mix-ins as I personally didn’t find the ice creams to be overly sweet. In fact they were sweetened enough so that the flavors stood out even more.  

I did get to sample eight of the flavors. Espresso – definite coffee but not strong enough to get a caffeine “high.”  Cookies and cream – with this one I had the sweet cream flavor with added “oreo” pieces.  Pistachio – no doubt on the flavor although I was happy to not have the actual pistachios added. I sampled both the chocolate and dark chocolate which basically depended upon the use of either dark or regular cocoa.  I’m a chocoholic so both were just fine.  

Fruit flavors are strong when it comes to their sorbet as I sampled mango and raspberry.  The small amount of cream gives it the texture without the full fat content.  

Ben and Teena’s Ice Cream is open every day from 11am to 10 pm (718-229-0229).  How great can that be to skip your dessert and “scream” your way there. 

CHICKEN SOUP PROVED AS “JEWISH PENICILLIN

Is the myth about chicken soup being a cure and known as “Jewish Penicillin” not a myth at all?  At the 4^th Annual Chicken Soup Cook-off, Harpell Pharmacy was declared the number one winner amongst the four judges.  Therefore if a pharmacy is willing to submit their chicken soup I guess it is a cure-all after all. The question is…would you need a prescription?

 

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Barry Packer shaped  the fundraiser event to an even larger success this year at Temple Beth Sholom located at 171-39 Northern Blvd. Crowds were the largest than any of the prior years knowing that each person would get a sampling of 14 different chicken soups along with bagels, ice cream, soft drinks and cake for less than $20.  The bakery that provided the cake, placed a photo imprint of the flyer listing the names of the judges, vendors of restaurants or caterers and donators for the raffle. 

Packer later said, “As far as the money that was taken in,…. We had the most people in the four years of the event. There were 17 tables that were originally set up, with 10 people at each, and all were filled. Then they had to set up another two tables; which also does not include the people who were standing, my volunteers who were also in attendance So there were more than 200.”

Judging this year was: Gregg P. Sullivan (Bayside tv); Chef Brett Reihchler; Adam Gandelman and journalist Merle Exit.  To no surprise, Chef Albert of Tropical Revival Catering and Elvis, both with their Caribbean style soup, took 2^nd and 3^rd place.  Attendees had the opportunity to judge as well, the only difference being that Ben’s Kosher Deli took first place.  

What appears to be the feature of Ben’s, Chef Elvis and Tropical Revival is that Ben’s bring in matzo balls and cooks up potato latkas;  Chef Elvis has spicy soup loaded with vegetables along with an accompanying sample of his macaroni and cheese; and Chef Albert with his spicy delight tantalizing your taste buds with his pudding-like corn bread that is more than delicious.  

So, what was so special about the chicken soup from Harpell?  Nicholas Aragonesi, owner of CBD Super Store prepared the soup for Harpell owner George Isaakidis.  Nick said that he got the recipe from his grandmother and no, there wasn’t any added CBD oil. However, I don’t think that his grandma went out of her way to use only organic contents.  Harpell is not your average pharmacy and more on that for another story in regards to their market. 

All of the donations were in the form of gift certificates except four framed and signed copies of Marlene Yu’s paintings, all of which depicted nature and global warming. They are valued at $200 each. Other donors included: Crossbay Seashell Fish Market with a $40 gift certificate; a “Corona package” of gift certificate to Lemon Ice King and a pizza from across the way; and Thai Rock forked over a $25 certificate to dine there. 

RICE IS LIFE WITH LOTUS FOODS

Lotus Foods has become famous for their "Rice is life".  It is not just your average white rice as the production of this staple has been taught in many parts of the world to produce the most healthy grains. 

 

Caryl Levine and Ken Lee are the owners of this amazing company that started when they tasted a black rice in China now referred to as Forbidden Rice.  That was back in 1995.  “Water smart and women strong way of growing rice” is their goal.  “Almost 4 billion people eat rice daily to survive,” Caryl said.  “Yet, growing rice uses more fresh water than any human activity. If we’re going to grow and eat that much rice around the world, we’re going to have to grow it more sustainably. We have been teaching farmers how to grow using 50% less water, 50% less seed and without chemicals. The result is that they are getting double and triple the yield.” 

In 2005 Cornell University contacted both Caryl and Ken and introduced them to farmers who use the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).  SRI versus the conventional ort. "In conventional farming the fields are flooded and the seeds are 30-40 days old,” Caryl tells us. “While in SRI farming the fields are kept moist like watering a garden and taking water on and off. The seeds in comparison are only about 8-10 days old. These younger seeds are very small and they are planted farther apart from each other. This allows the plant to produce more photosynthesis allowing stronger root growth. When roots grow stronger there is more organic matter in the soil allowing plenty of rice kernels to grow. Lotus Foods wants to support farmers who use the SRI and there is a chance we can change the world by the way we do business. How many companies can do that?”

They then began marketing a variety of organic rice that includes the following: Brown Jasmine Rice is a long aromatic, whole grain rice grown on small farms in Cambodia whose family members belong to organic rice cooperatives and use SRI farming practices (what we call More Crop per Drop™). While many people associate brown rice with tough and chewy grains, our Brown Jasmine Rice is exceptionally soft, making it an ideal replacement for white rice in any dish

.

Jade Pearl Rice is an organically grown sushi-style rice infused with wild-crafted bamboo extract. Lotus Foods has been purchasing this short grain rice from certified organic family farms in northeast China for 15 years. These organic farming methods eliminate synthetic fertilizers and pesticides from the environment and help preserve the region’s fertile soils. When cooked, Jade Pearl Rice produces the aroma of a bamboo forest, a light vanilla taste and a perfectly sticky yet fluffy texture.

Red Rice - This long grain Red Rice retains its entire bran layer where all of the grain’s nutrients are stored. It cooks in only 30 minutes, producing a slightly nutty flavor and a toothsome yet tender grain. Our Organic Red Rice is sourced from the Koloharena Cooperative in Madagascar 

Volcano Rice is a colorful blend of prized traditional brown and red heirloom rice grown on West Java’s mineral-rich volcanic soil. Fragrant and nutrient-dense, Volcano Rice cooks in only 30 minutes producing moist and tender grains with an aromatic hint of vanilla. It’s an excellent choice for any dish where you would use a wild rice or whole grain blend

Ramen noodles being so popular, Lotus Foods came up with ones made from a variety of their rice and other healthy grains. You can choose to purchase them in the form of simply “cakes” or with seasoning packages such as miso soup and vegetable broth.

Next came the rice bowls. Heat it up and add whatever you desire as the rice is already cooked.  It’s a large portion.   Add eggs for a breakfast dish or a side dish to a meal.  

Instant soups in a cup. These new rice ramen noodle soup cups made with whole grain brown rice ramen noodles and are ready-to-eat in just 3 minutes with hot water. Never any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It’s also Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan and certified gluten-free.

There are five choices that come with the seasoning packets:  I am including the ingredients as well. Garlicky veggie rice with freeze dried chunky veggies (Organic brown rice flour, spinach, mushrooms, carrots, salt, garlic slices, yeast extract, sugar, guar gum, garlic powder, pepper powder, Vitamin E as antioxidant); Hot and sour with freeze dried chunky veggies (Organic brown rice flour, mushrooms, vinegar (rice, wheat bran, wheat, barley, peas) day lily, dried tofu, bamboo shoot, salt, guar gum, chili, yeast extract, sugar, citric acid, spices, Vitamin E as antioxidant. Contains soy and wheat); Masala Curry (Organic Brown rice flour, dried vegetables (tomato, green bell pepper, carrot, scallion), salt, tamari powder (soybeans, sea salt), onion powder, sugar, turmeric powder, yeast extract, spices, garlic powder, ginger powder); Red miso (Organic brown rice flour, red miso powder (cultured soybeans, rice, salt), tamari powder (soybeans, sea salt), salt, onion powder, wakame, garlic powder, ginger powder, sugar, dried parsley, chili flakes, chili powder: and Tom Yom (Organic brown rice flour, lime powder, salt, onion powder, mushroom powder, dried carrot, lemongrass powder, ginger powder, chili powder, garlic powder, sugar, dried mushroom, yeast extract, citric acid, scallion flakes, dried tomato, cilantro flakes).

For extra protein, I like to stir in an egg since the water reaches a boiling point.  Leftover chicken is a great added ingredient or ground beef first cooked to eliminate the far.  Crab meat is an easy topper as well.  It also depends upon which soup you are choosing. 

Looking to prepare Pad Thai?  How about ones made from brown rice, added moringa powder, forbidden or simply traditional?

Snacking is great with their rice crackers that are made from organic rice, baked rather than fried. No artificial flavors or colors.  Three kinds: Shoyu Arari, the least “spicy”; Sweet and Savory Thai Arari, still not spicy; and Sriracha Arara, just the name tells you!  These are all great to add to a salad as croutons, make a trail mix, or even use as soup crackers. I ground down a bunch and added it to a tuna fish salad for both the flavor and crunch.   

Where can you buy Lotus Foods?  I would imagine that for the best and freshest…go to their website of www.lotusfoods.com