food for thought GMOs explained

log Challenge #7: A Controversial post

Greetings all this is the last day of the Challenge and today we are talking about what we eat.

What is in our foods? Most people  just go to the  food market and purchase what they need with out thinking. Do you realize you don't  know what your eating? 

 Are you more worried about price and how much time it takes to microwave your find then what the manufactures are putting into your food. Wake up! 

You are being used as a lab rat!  Large food manufactures rake in your hard earned money, and they are given free rain to change their recipes or add gmo's without telling us the consumers. gmo's are added to extend the life of the food. which means the food industry is not taking so many losses due to insects eating the crops or the crops going bad.  My question  is what does it do to us? We are part of a food chain if that one bug becomes extinct what will it cost our world or our children? The food industry doesn't even know what will happen to use in the next 20 years from adding gmo's.

http://youtu.be/-LAKFhDguuw

   Here are a couple of YouTube links to some other interesting  videos with more to say about our food supply.  


http://youtu.be/UhhnHA8c_Y0

 If you don't eat what is being offered at the local store make sure  your food is certified  organic.  "While researchers have yet to provide a definitive answer about whether more costly and harder-to-find organic food, such as produce, milk, and meat, is healthier than conventional foods, “It only makes sense that food free of pesticides and chemicals is safer and better for us than food containing those substances, even at trace levels.” Lu wrote.   (as quoted from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), in a Wall Street Journal article on June 16, 2013.) When I was researching this topic I came across one large company Monstanto which seems to be  the  front runner  in gmos', but Monstanto is not the only company using pesticides or gmos'. The FDA does not mandate all the ingredients have to be on the label, or that we the consumer even have to be notified of a new or different additives.

 Here is the link to gmo awareness site.  http://gmo-awareness.co/

Gmo's scare me and they  should scare you too. Not knowing what is in  the food I buy scares me and it should scare you too. We are not able to protect our children against allergens. you know that is strange if our food supply isn't being tampered with then why do our dogs and cats have diabetics, food allergies. While growing up we had a dog who lived  til he as 15 forever and all he was fed was table scrapes in his food. He was healthy till the day he passed on.

 The example that scares me is what if all of a sudden a company started to add peanuts to  your food and your allergic to peanuts? this could mean your life or the life of someone you love.  I believe I have a right to know what is in my food at all times. I believe that my granddaughter has a right to expect safe food.  I have listened to those who say don't worry it's all safe and then I see more  children with cancer, more mother's with breast cancer and more grandfather's dying of cancer and I wonder....

Blog Challenge #6: A Vulnerable Post Looking after mom

Blog Challenge #6: A Vulnerable Post

 Looking after mom

  This blog begins with me telling you a little history about the players involved. First, my mother was very young when she had a daughter, a mere 16. The young women today are more sophisticated than young women were in the 60’s. By the time, I was 5 my mother’s marriage was over and I was sent to live with my grandmother, who I would lived with off and on until her death. When my grandmother died it was 1975. My world was in a tail spin. I had to live with my mother and brother all the time. The most important person in my life was gone. I was 12 years old. By this time my mother was older and I had a new little brother.  There was a rift, between us I felt abandoned, alone and there were trust issues.

  Who knew, after I had gotten married to a sailor and moved to Virginia I would have a high risk pregnancy and my mother would come to care for my boys and live with me.  I had lost one of my twins and had to be on bed rest until my due date. My spouse was out to sea and we had 2 small children and my brother to care for.

 In the early years we bumped heads, we are 2 different women, with 2 different ideas on how to care for children and a household. It took time years but, we found our norm. My mother never went back to Portland. She helped me through my separation from my husband and raising the boys. She was and still is their rock. She will listen, where I might yell. She was the one who always worked on homework with all the children.

She is also the person who would read every school book I had when I was in school. While I was who the children came to for art projects and cookies. We made a great team. Looking back on it I don’t know how I would have raised the boys without her.

 My brother and my boys are all grown up. I have found and married my soul mate and best friend. The three of us live together only the roles have changed.

Looking after mom is who I am and who I have been for the last 10 years.  I don’t allow her to over work herself. Since she doesn't drive my husband and I take her to the doctor and fuss over her when she doesn't buy the things she needs. I monitor her weight and fuss over her as you would for any older parent.

 Oh, the great grandchildren still lay on her lap and still sleep on her lap. But I never thought I would I be in the role for caregiver. It can be a complex place to be on one hand I just want to be a wife to my new husband and I want to travel with my husband, on the other hand who will take care of her if I don’t.  With travel I am uncomfortable leaving her in the house by herself. Since there is no one reliable to check on her in the area I am uncomfortable to book a cruise or to leave for an extended time. I also want to be a good sister and daughter, I find I resent my brother who doesn’t call, visit or send her gifts. Normally, I call him to tell him about her milestones. I also understand my brother is just living his life and the same goes for a lot of my family.  I am afraid my brother will have regrets about not spending time with her when the time comes and then there is the fact he doesn’t consider my husband and I need a break. My brother is single with teen kids.

I will say eldest son does call to check on us regularly. I told you it is a complex place to be.  A few good friends have shared their own stories with me with regard to caring for a parent and they too have been in this place where they need to do their best for their parent without treating their parent like a 2 year old. Some moments, I don’t know what I am doing or why I am doing it.  While other moments, I worry, can we care for her as her health declines?  And there are still other moments, I know I don’t want a moment of her days to be wasted. Will she be ok at home alone? Can someone else take care of her as good or better than we can? She has surgery coming up and what will I do if the unthinkable happens? 

Over the years mom and I have overcome many trails, today we trust each other and she is still my rock. There is an ease in our daily life. For certain there is only one truth, I only have one mom, and I want to do my best for her as she gets older. There is no position more vulnerable than that of a child who is in the role of caregiver to a parent. The place where you are trying not to hate the people you love without question, your own family. The place where you are lost and empowered. The place called looking after mom. 

T Portlock

Blog Challenge #5: Helpful links

Today, I am sharing a great web site. Check out Martha Stewart’s video collection, you will find how to videos on a wide variety of topics. http://www.marthastewart.com/972518/video-collections

  Check out this site for videos on everything from kitchen basics, to gardening.

 And here is my Pinterest site: http://www.pinterest.com/tportlock/

Here you can find lots of foodie recipes as well as boards with art, books, crafts and even get to know some of the people I admire.

 I posted  Something Yummy this Way Comes, some of my favorite sites for  recipes that  work. I hope you got a chance to check them out.

http://youtu.be/dEBDTyOqh_Y

 this one is on the easiest way to peel a pomegranate.

I hope both sites I am posting today will inspire you, to grow, to cook and to laugh.  If you have some great sights  please share them with me.

Blog Challenge #4: A Personal Post

10 things most people don’t know about me:

1.       I pray daily. If someone tells me their problem, I pray for them. If I see a car accident, I pray everyone is ok.

2. I am a published Poet. Years ago there was this contest/con where everyone who wrote in got their works published 1991. Thank you, World of Poetry Anthology.

3.  When I was in high school, our children’s theater class performed Jack and the Beanstalk. I played Drusilla the cow.  As Drusilla the dancing, singing cow, I received my very first standing ovations. 

4.       Yes, I believe in miracles.I have seen over 30 babies born.

5.        My very first best friend was my first cousin Ann, both my daughter and granddaughter are named for her.  Ann lives among the angels, she never got to meet the two amazing ladies named for her, she would have been proud. Both ladies  have the same middle name Elizabeth.

6.       I love to share cooking recipes and techniques. I have 300+ recipes and techniques I keep tucked away just for my family including the one recipe I‘m known for my grandmother’s seafood gumbo.

7.       I never read just one book at a time. Books are like chocolate to me. I love to review and discuss books. Even when I am not reading I keep books near me.

8.       I am a dog person. I love animals. I enjoy dogs.

9.       My favorite nickname is Tiger. The nickname I use most often in honor of the grandmother who raised me.

10.I will never stop learning. Never stop trying new things. Never. 

My how to day 3 CEO for weight loss

Day3-The how to

My how to on weight lose …. I lost  75lbs and have kept it off for the last 3 years. People ask me how?

 First, I am the CEO of my households kitchen and  I put myself in charge of my stomach no matter where I am or what day of the week it is.  I have to tell  the truth.

As the main food shopper is it my responsibility to know what I’m buying. If  I am  overweight and I am buying and creating the meals aren’t I the one responsible for the household being overweight? I am responsible.  I buy the cookies and the pasta  and I portion the meals and the snacks and the sugary desserts. Ok, what the family buys for themselves or eat when they are out of the house I can’t control.  

I am the CEO of my households’ kitchen. As the CEO I had to figure out what I needed, so next, I began to read up on nutrition and found articles for people who have food allergies, limited the sodas, and  tighten my portion control.  I spoke to a nutirtionist.

I made a plan. We limited fast foods chains to include Red lobster and Olive Garden and when I say stopped  doing hamburgers and fries. I just made the hamburgers from scratch and stopped using the premade patties.

So I am going to  stop here just for a moment, just to say a lot of people say they don’t have time to make your own burgers. It takes me 15 minutes to make patties 12 to 15 burger patties and that includes chopping the onions and peppers and shaping the burgers.  Again, the key is not to lie to yourself. If it is truly  important to your household to change  how you eat.  I recommend  reviewing your diet, and make small changes. The  words” I don’t have time,” are cop out words, the is truth is your saying” I don’t want to have to make the effort make the burger. Instead,  you just gave yourself permission to go to  what ever fast food restaurant and  get a burger with too many calories and over priced.”

My family loves it  when I make the burgers hot and spicy.  I know what is in it and how long it has been frozen.

 I use a peanut oil  to fry chicken in  or I oven fry it.  And I limit how often we have fried chicken. When we started taking lunches, which saved us a lot of $$$$. I added fruit cups more fresh vegetables and greek yogurt for snacks. When the chips are gone we don’t replace them. I made trail mixes  for snack time and I found I went to the health food stores I saved money and got better quality dried fruits. I also limited my dried fruits to no more than 2 kinds for the trail mixes. Dried fruit has a lot of sugar

My mother lost 50 lbs +.  and is still losing. I adjust our diet every so often.

 As CEO of this household I balanced the gluten, added  more veggie options and have limited the the use of prefabricated processed foods. Processed foods have higher contents of salt and sugar and less ingredients are real and  nutritionally good for you.

 This year I added a small garden. I bought more fresh produce and learned to can.

 I have to read labels everytime I go to the store. Even on the  brands I buy on a regular basis. I know  food manufactures  change their recipes for their  products at will. I also know  labels  have more fiction than a fiction novel.  So why do I read the labels if I know there is misinformation? I have educated myself on the  words that mean; sugar, salt, food color, and meat. I am the CEO of my households kitchen. I research food like some people hunt for coupons.

 I put myself in charge of my stomach no matter  at work and everywhere  I was. It means just because  everyone was having birthday cake at work I don’t have birthday cake every time it was offered. No. means no. It means I don’t eat  6 donuts cause it’s Sunday. I try to balance what I eat with my activities. Example, If I am going to  have a really long day and I want a snack, I eat it , if I am going to be on my feet walking and talking all evening, I am less worried than if I just ate something heavy, or if I was just going home to sit in front of the TV.

 Notice, I never said I cut anything out of my diet. If I want it I  might try a smaller portion. I limit process items in our diet  and not cut out anything. If I want a piece of pie I eat it. I just don’t eat pie everyday.  I make small changes to our diet and I keep changing it  because I keep learning new information. Smaller changes are also easier on the budget and on the family. I am the CEO of the household and I want my family to be healthy. If you are the CEO of  your home.  Make a plan, decide what you can limit or modify( cook a new way), read the labels and understand what is and is not in the food before you buy.

Portion control, more fresh fruit, and limiting sweets in the house all help to decrease the waist line.  We  have been doing this over the last 3 years. The key in the end  is telling the truth. Trusting myself to decide what is going into the bodies of the  members of my household. I’m the CEO.

T Portlock

A Passionate Post— Blog Challenge #2

Blog Challenge #2: A Passionate Post—

 First, I am nowhere near where I want to be currently. I still have a full time and 2 part time jobs.  Ok, I love my part time jobs, but neither are fulfilling my current income needs.  And of course, the full time job while good at taking care of my income needs, can never make me happy.

It took me a long time to figure out what would make me happy. I am an extremely creative soul. Like so many people I am a product of a single mother, born in a time when people stayed married because it was the right thing to do socially. When my mother divorced she sent me to live with my grandmother for a while. I was 5 years old, and an only child.

 I was a social outcast, with no parents, or no older siblings, my days were often filled with my family elders and classmates picking on me.  As I grew older, I grew a tougher skin.  I found my acceptance in 3 areas, the first was my  family; my cousin Ann  who was my first best friend, my cousin Tony Sr. was my first protector and my cousins’ Tami, Eric and Cassandra who just accepted me  for me. 

Next, crafting  for example,  little girls in the 1970’s  were expected to have homemaker skills so, I would watch my Grandmother, and Great grandmother  who would sew by hand or  be creating  something and I would practice  sometimes just for the acceptance of the family elders. I have always been a crafter; embroidery, tatting, cross stitch, needlepoint, crocheted, knitting, sewing, card making and then at 25, suddenly I began to paint. I picked up a paintbrush and started painting on my boys stained sweatshirts. The paint was less expensive than replacing the children’s’ clothing. My boys received lots of compliments on the hand painted shirts.When I told my mother about being able to paint she  said without ever missing a beat, " your father was an artist."  I worked really hard as a single mother to raise and care for my children and to give my family all I could. 

Over the years I have made every effort to ends met by learning and improving my creative skills. I sold items or made things  for the personal touch or to help feed my family. At  one point I hand sewed beads on wedding dresses to pay bills.

  Lastly, comes my cooking abilities.  It never occurred to me making bread and pasta from scratch was a talent and not the norm. My  elder Great aunts and uncles all cooked, well except for 1, I can think of. We will talk about her another day.  My favorite uncle, Uncle Right grew the best gardens.  My grandmother was a cook at the Veterans’ Hospital, my Aunt J.  was always an outstanding cook. She had 5 kids so we were always cooking for something. Aunt J would assign tasks to each of us, it wasn’t work it was just about getting it done.   To this day I don’t blink when it comes to cleaning fish. Poor  in Portland families were often given buckets of smelts or whiting by fisherman or friends. We would fry the smelt crispy hmmm... they were good. I didn't  know we  were poor, till someone told me. 

My Mother, used to make candy and pies to raise money at bake sales. Growing up, I along with my first cousins would go picking or after school there would often be a bushel of something fresh waiting to be washed, and cut.   My cousins Ann and Tami and I would work together, sometimes we would make up games to see who could snap beans the fastest. It was fun.  Aunt J and grandma would can or freeze those foods. My favorite story is when we went strawberry picking and I hide some strawberries in my back pockets.  OH, I forgot to mention my jeans were white!

I forgot the berries were back there until I got out of the car when we got home and my cousin told me I had made butt jam! They teased me for a while about that one.

My son and daughter are both chef’s.  My mother and brother and my nephews’ all cook.  When we get together we all cook together. When I was raising my children to educate about having respect for other cultures we would learn to cook different dishes to be part of our thanksgivings.  Over the years, the practice has become our norm.  Cooking is love and acceptance.

 By the time I was in my 30’s. I studied Art, and History. In college I met a beautiful man who would be my mentor, friend and father figure.

My art teacher the late Barclay Sheaks, helped to build my confidence as an artist. Barclay taught me to laugh at myself and he was the first person who summed me up in a nut shell, he told me my soul was creative.  Creating crafts makes me happy and so does cooking. My places of acceptance.

Japanese style Chicken and Vegetable soup---
adapted recipe


1 package of  skinless chicken legs
2 onions  2 cloves of  garlic 
1 bunch scallions or leeks
 2 celery stocks
about a half of bag of carrots
3  to 4 cups of broth
 3 small  baby bok Choy
can of bamboo shots
can of chestnuts
 ginger to taste
roasted  black sesame seeds
optional --chop 2 serrano give it a nice kick!

 I grated some ginger about a table spoon, to  make the chicken broth.
**  you will need about 3 cups of  broth. you  can also  use canned chicken broth. Just be careful of the salt. First I boiled the  chicken with out the skin for about 30 minutes on a medium heat. Then I 
deboned  the chicken and then cut chopped them up. ( you could  use any chicken parts.)  For this clear broth soup I used skinless chicken to keep down on the fat and oil. Once the chicken is  chopped I return it back to the pot  and then I add all the other vegetables,

  with  deboning the chicken it  took me an  hour.  Cut up everything  bring to a boil and then let it simmer on low about 20 minutes.  A bit less if you like your vegetables with some crunch in your soup. It is a simple soup with lots of vegetables and can be made meatless.

It freezes, and  warms up really well. We ate 8 quarts. in  2 days. I took the very last bowl to my  female friend at work she likes vegetables and loves me enough to try anything  of  my cooking. She loved it.....

Just a few notes:

When I use leeks I like to  slice the leeks into coins and then let them soak in  cold water. The leeks  grow in  sandy soil so  I wash them a few times .

   The  bok choy is best  cut in  bite size pieces. I just washed it and rough chopped mine. 

I spiced  it with  salt, pepper to taste, and  topped with some roasted sesame seeds

 

***You  can use sugar snap peas, broccoli, 

 

photo by T Portlock

feeling good blogging challenge day 1

Greetings my name is Toyonnia Portlock, but you can call me T.C for short.   I was born and raised in Portland Oregon, but I have not been back there for a very long time. Currently, we live Virginia.

Fun facts about me, Hmm…. I love to read, I still play video games even without a house full of grandchildren. My favorite thing about myself, my creativity, and my ability to learn new things and to try different things.  One example is 5 years ago I started a book club. 3 yrs. ago I began a small business selling my handmade, upcycled crafts, and this year I taught myself to can and we relearned to garden.

I starting Edible Opulence originally to just share my recipes, to let others know everything in cooking doesn’t always turn out like you think it should, but sometimes the oops, is really good!  I had been attempting to write a cook book for a long time, but the book was always missing the stories and when I attempted to do the reverse, the book needed the food.   I also wanted to thank and remember those who keep my tummy full along the way and took time to teach me the beginnings of cooking.  I got frustrated and stopped blogging really before I got started.

This year has been a challenge, my family along with me have endured my 4 surgeries.  My recovery has been slow, over a long period of time. I have been doing some self-reflection and rediscovery of my journey through healing an recovery.  The Surgeries did not stop me from attempting new things like canning or attempting to find the positives in all situations.  Oh, by the way I just needed to trade in some old worn out parts for some new ones.

    I think wealth is edible. It is the like the knowledge we internalize. It is the food for thought we share; for me cooking is how I say I love you.  Food represents life’s riches, hence “Opulence". The one thing I would want to be remembered for food is edible Opulence!