Lentils & Brown Rice in Sloppy Joe Sauce

In a state of lunacy, I bought 4 pounds of brown lentils. I do not know why. We made lentil soup a couple of times, but we’re tired of soup. There are recipes on the internet for lentil hummus. I didn’t like it as well as chickpea hummus, so scratch that dish. 

I found this recipe for lentil sloppy joes that looks delicious, but it requires too many ingredients I don’t buy. Still, I took the fresh mushrooms idea from it, and I looked at my own Sloppy Joe recipe and came up with a new dish below. We spooned our lentil sloppy Joe sauce over a bed of brown rice instead of sandwich buns to make it easy to eat, so it wasn’t very sloppy.:) My sauce has a hint of heat, which we liked a lot: 

Lentil Sloppy Joe’s Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lentils

1 medium onion, diced

3 ribs of celery, sliced

2 mini bell peppers, any color - I had red and yellow

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 3/4 cups water

1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

A sprinkle of dried red pepper

4 ounces of tomato sauce (Use any type of tomato sauce. I always keep an 8-oz can in my pantry for impromptu recipes.)

2 tablespoons mustard

Always keep a can for recipes.

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

A sprinkle of hot sauce

A sprinkle of Worcestershire sauce

Separately, I cooked 1 dry cup of brown rice.

Directions for the Sauce:

1) Into a 12-inch skillet, I combined 3/4 cup of lentils with 2 cups of water and let it simmer for 15 minutes before tossing in the onions, celery, bell peppers, and mushrooms. It takes about 25 minutes for the lentils to tenderize.

2) Next, I tossed in the dry seasonings followed by the wet ingredients, simmering and stirring them occasionally until the lentils finished cooking. I also added 1/4 cup of water when the mixture started to become dry.

We dipped out the brown rice and topped it with our spicy lentil sloppy joe sauce. Surprisenly filling and tasty, it makes a winning side dish or a light and complete protein dinner. Right now I’m liking this dish better than soup! Unlike soup, you can make a little or a lot of it, so don’t have to eat leftovers!

Only 3 pounds of dried lentils to go! Help me, I need more recipes!

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Tools For the Elderly To Keep Clean

For 4 years, I’ve been my mom's caregiver. She has old age dementia, a condition that takes many forms. However, unlike Alzheimer’s patients, she recognizes faces and remains mentally sharp in some areas. Lucky me, my mother can still walk using a walker indoors, and I can bring her to my apartment, so I can attend to my own affairs.

Yet, I notice she has declined mentally and physically with each year. When we began, she walked unassisted on her walker, but now I take her to the bathroom and tend to walk beside her if she rises from her chair because if she loses her balance, she cannot catch herself and sometimes falls. Four years ago, she got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom alone, which is now too dangerous. She can drink hot coffee from a mug, but has more spills. She can feed herself, yet is messier and won’t always finish her meals without help.

This brings me to today’s blog. I find myself ordering more and more tools to make our lives run more smoothly. I’ll list a few items that help us stay tidy:

1) Qancesed Adult Sippy Cup (↑top of blog image) - A 12 oz size for cold drinks. If dropped, nothing spills through the straw. The lid will come off if thrown across the room, but not if the cup falls off a chair onto the floor. Yes, she tossed her cup across the room once, but after a lecture about taking care of her special cup, she hasn’t since.

2) Aloufea 12 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Coffee Mug With Handle and Lid - For hot drinks, its lightweight and sturdy, and she likes handles. She can’t consistently remember to line her lips up with the lid hole (I don’t see that one coming!), which lets a bit of the coffee run out over the top and down onto her clothing, so we don’t use the lid.

3) Helishy Gel Cushion for Long Sitting - I selected an extra-thick cushion to support her back in her living room chair or in the seat of her transport wheelchair. Placing the cushion behind her back in her chair helps her not to slouch but to have good posture for a stronger back. Nothing good comes from slouching except a bad back and accidents.

Next, let’s discuss my mom's staying in bed during the night instead of getting up to go to the bathroom. Her legs are strong, but her balance is unsteady, and I can’t stay awake all night to walk her to the bathroom. So I put a safety rail + barrier on the side of the bed she’s accustomed to rising from, so she doesn’t get up groggy to fall and hurt herself. And over my 4 years of caregiving, I’ve added 4 incontinence products to our repertoire: washable bed pads, adult pull-ups, adult nylon plastic pants, and booster pads. The booster pads, I didn’t know existed one year ago. The nylon plastic-coated pants look just like pajama bottoms. They make no noise, and paired with a t-shirt, she looks cute!

The idea is to keep my mom safe, clean, healthy, and as independent as possible, which also makes my job easier!

Usually, I’ll help my mom eat her dinner, but I've come up with 2 breakfast bowls she can eat by herself --

1) An omelette, diced: 2 scrambled eggs, 2 - 4 slices of smoked ham or smoked turkey, cheese, and a slice of whole grain bread (whole wheat or rye). Usually, I add a little bit of milk to soak the bread to make it easier to chew. A dash of garlic, nutmeg and pepper.

2) Oatmeal - 1/4 cup oatmeal flakes, milk, a handful of walnuts, chopped fruit (alternate: apple, banana, strawberries, blueberries, a peach, a pear, etc.), a tablespoon of peanut butter, sometimes a sprinkle of brown sugar or a drizzle of honey. A dash of nutmeg and cinnamon. My mother taught me that spices had health benefits. Sometimes I toss in a handful of Chex cereal for a crunchy texture.

She has one or the other nearly every morning, and I can make the beds, take a shower, and get dressed while she eats her breakfast.

I got her an adult bib, but she doesn’t like it, so we simply use a tea towel.

Caregiving for an elderly parent is very similar to caring for young children. You can’t lift an adult like a toddler, yet you can leave them alone to grocery shop and run errands. Caring for the very young or very old each has its unique challenges and ease, and stepping up for family is sometimes by trial and error. We learn as we go along and do the best we can with what we know at the time. Friends say my mom is looking good, and I know she’s happier living with me than in a nursing home. But what if my mother didn’t have a daughter? After 75+ years of paying taxes, our country should provide meaningful benefits for the elderly. Meals and visiting nurse practitioners could keep many seniors in their own homes. One day that elderly person will be you, so vote wisely!

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Michael Gabriels Lab Created Diamond Jewelry

Photo: Alyssa Figgins - Michael Gabriels lab-grown diamond ring

Diamonds over 2 carats increase in price exponentially, not linearly, because eye-clean, bigger diamonds are rarer and in demand. The jewelry industry uses the term magic sizes to describe the price jump at round numbers that occur at .05, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 carats and up. If you buy a natural diamond ring slightly below the round numbers, for example, at 2.95 carats, you’ll pay less but get the same effect as a 3.00 carat diamond ring.

Nowadays, people who desire bigger carats are considering lab-grown diamonds for at least 50% less than the cost of natural diamonds of the same size and quality. Lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds. Just like natural-grown diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are pure carbon arranged in a crystal lattice. They have the exact same chemical, physical, and optical properties as natural diamonds. The difference between the two is their origins. Natural diamonds are created over billions of years in the earth, while lab-grown diamonds are created in weeks in a laboratory using advanced technology that mimics the natural geological process of diamond formation. 

Do you want to know how lab diamonds are created? Two methods are used: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT), which mimics the Earth’s mantle, and Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), which uses carbon-rich gas to grow diamond crystals atom by atom. Both methods produce 100% real diamonds. HPHT produces high-quality, often larger crystals and intensely colored diamonds with strong, consistent crystals, while CVD offers greater control, producing exceptional clarity and larger, high-quality, colorless stones such as pure type 2a (IIa) diamonds (i.e. diamonds without metallic inclusions, which are very, very rare in natural diamonds). Only an expert with a spectroscopy in a laboratory can tell a natural diamond and a lab diamond apart. Natural diamonds usually contain small amounts of nitrogen gas that become incorporated into the diamond structure. UV light (fluorescence) can highlight the growth structure of the diamond being tested. Lab-grown diamonds can also be identified by the types of inclusions they might show. CVD, HPHT, and natural diamonds will all have their own distinctive inclusions. Type 2a diamonds produced by the CVD method are the most chemically pure type of diamond, containing no measurable nitrogen, boron, or metallic impurities. They have exceptional transparency and brilliance, comprising less than 2% of gem-quality diamonds. Of course, that would add to their expense.

Often, you pay 50%-70% less for lab-grown diamonds, which usually have better color (D-F) and clarity (VS1) than natural diamonds. In other words, customers get a bigger, cleaner stone for less money. More sparkle! Natural diamonds fetch a higher resale value. But jewelry isn’t an investment, and you should only think of it as a luxury buy, since you’ll usually lose money by selling your jewelry.

Lab-grown diamonds are lowering the price of both natural and lab diamonds as more retailers enter the market and more people buy them.

Michael Gabriels, a 3rd-generation New York jeweler at 46 Howard Street in Soho specializes in lab-grown diamond jewelry with stellar craftsmanship, beautiful design, and good reviews for attentive customer service. Good craftsmanship is vital. You want to buy excellent cut diamonds. In a tennis bracelet or necklace, you want all the diamonds to have matching color and clarity. With regular promotions, you can also score a deal.

Lab-grown diamond jewelry isn’t cheap, but it’s sustainable and considered a better value because you can get more carats and better color and clarity for a lot less moola! No longer must customers spend 5-figures to buy a bigger or cleaner carat diamond ring, bracelet, or pair of earrings!

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Lean Ground Beef With Potatoes Dinner + A Salmon recipe for Summer Fridays

Photos: Debra Turner (left) and Food & Wine (right)

I won't lie. My favorite dinner is beef and potatoes in all scrumptious forms. Steak and potatoes. Pot roast and potatoes. Beef stew with potatoes and vegetables. Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, a burger and fries, sauerbraten and kartoffelklöße, etc, etc. I never ever get tired of beef and potatoes!

Still, we limit how often we eat red meat for a myriad of health and environmental reasons. Listening to the science is wise. Cutting back is not cutting out completely. 

Recently I had a pound of 93% lean ground beef I used to grill a one-skillet meal. Easy, fast, spicy, and with little cleanup. The recipe I created below is just a guide. The ground beef I bought was on sale the day I went to the supermarket. Use 80%, 85%, 90% ground beef as they all work. Also, you can toss in or omit vegetables and/or spices to satisfy your tastes. You don't have to make ground beef and potatoes exactly the same way every time.

Ground Beef and Potatoes Skillet Dinner

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

2 medium potatoes, diced small to cook faster

1 medium onion, diced small

2 celery ribs, sliced thin

2 mini bell peppers, diced small

2 large fresh mushrooms, cut up

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon mustard

4 tablespoons ketchup 

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried garlic (or chopped fresh garlic)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

a good sprinkle of Worchestershire sauce

a good sprinkle of soy sauce

3 cut slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese, or your favorite cheese

Directions:

1) I started by breaking up and grilling the ground beef over medium heat.

2) When about medium done, I tossed in the diced potatoes, celery and onion. Smaller diced potatoes and vegetables will tenderize faster than larger chunks.

3) I tossed in the bell peppers and mushrooms and let the ground beef, potatoes, and vegetables cook covered on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes longer.

4) Next, while the vegetables were still tenderizing, I added the water, mustard, ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, and spices. At low-medium heat, simmer until the potatoes are soft. I may not always use mustard and ketchup as flavors, or next time I may toss in fresh spinach leaves, who knows?

5) Finally, I plated the dish and topped it with cheddar cheese, microwaving it for 1 minute to melt the cheese. Alternatively, you could sprinkle it with dried Parmesan cheese to avoid slicing cheese. Mozzarella cheese works. Chopped onions instead of cheese works. Hot sauce works. Leftovers can be eaten with different mixed vegetables to seem like a new entrée instead of leftovers. You do you!

A fast, healthy, no-fuss meal. Bon Appétit!

🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟🐠🐟

In the summer, I’ll make a salmon salad or sandwiches once a week. Cans of wild Alaskan salmon sold in the USA make a healthy, convenient dinner.

Salmon, Avocado and Chickpea - Dip, Salad, or Sandwich

Ingredients

1 15 oz can of salmon, remove skin and drain

1 avocado, mashed

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped

2 tablespoons vinegar of your choice

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1/4 red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1) Mash the avocado and chickpeas. Leaving some chunks is
fine.

2) Mix in the salmon, diced vegetables, vinegar, olive oil, and spices.

Use the salmon mixture as a dip for crackers, on 2 slices of whole-grain bread, or mixed into a green salad.

This will make an easy summer dinner and a great alternative to making salmon patties, my usual salmon dinner. I like stocking my pantry with cans of wild Alaskan salmon to make a fast meal without having to run to the supermarket. On summer nights, you could start with a cheese platter as an appetiser, a glass of wine, and finish up with fresh fruit as dessert. There's very little cleanup.🍓🫐🍷🍇

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Summer Dresses At Uniqlo and Old Navy

Uniqlo

I buy all my summer dresses at Uniqlo or Old Navy. One of the two retailers always comes through for me with color and cuteness. I prefer cotton or linen, and with a tad of spandex is ok. Each merchant's dress collection can always be dressed up or down and can be machine-washed and dried, although I tend to hang-dry my dresses.  

Let’s do a quick round-up to see what they’ve launched this year.

First Up is Uniqlo:

Followed by Old Navy:

I’m featuring what I like. There are a few other styles at both retailers. Each of the dresses comes in several more colors and/or patterns, and between the 2 retailers, why shop anywhere else? Mini, midi, or maxi, sleeves or sleeveless, every summer, they’ve got us covered! No pun intended, hardy, har, har.😉😎

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Sometimes All We Need To Spend is 29¢

Years ago, we had a great store in Manhattan called Odd-Job-Lot Trading with several locations throughout the city. It followed the model of dollar stores, but the merchandise was of higher quality. Once I bought a 2' by 3' kitchen rug for $4 that cost $17 elsewhere. I got nice pots and pans before T.J. Maxx came onto the scene. Durable kitchen tools sold for under $2, so when I was furnishing my apartment, I bought an apple corker and bread knife before I knew what they were, as my cooking skills were more limited back in the day. One afternoon, a neighbor came into my kitchen and unwittingly told me what the knife I bought was by referring to it as um, a bread knife. 🎆Ohhhh!🎆 Fantastic quality, and now all these years later, I use both repeatedly.

Such closeout stores are fun because the inventory is always changing, and you never know what bargains you’ll find on your next shopping trip.

A couple of decades in, I’m still using my 29¢ pencil sharpener from Odd-Job-Lot Trading. Still looks new, and it’s very sharp to sharpen a pencil in seconds. If I ever had 50 pencils to sharpen at once, I might've considered upgrading, but this simple manual one does everything I need it to do! I don’t need space, batteries, or a plug to use it.

Now my mother needs a pencil sharpener, and I’m considering buying her this 84¢ one from Walmart (↙on the left). Since my cheapee has worked for me, does she really need a more complicated or costly one? Like me, she doesn’t sharpen more than one pencil at a time every once in a while.

Honestly, I’m surprised by how much value I get from my 29¢ purchase. The lesson learned: Don't spend more if a 29¢ pencil sharpener is all we really need! We’ll then have an emergency fund to spend more on goods or services, where you should not go for the lowest price. 

You’ll have the money when it really counts to pay for reliability, proximity, or greater expertise to avoid hassles down the road. A mechanic who fixes your car should give you peace of mind when you call, because you get trusted, reliable service you won’t have to wait more than a day to receive, plus you won’t have to haul your car to the next town to be fixed.

Is it just me, or do you empty the shavings every time you sharpen a pencil?✐✎✏ 

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Spicy Shrimp With Artichoke

Our leftovers for dinner tonight. A light yet filling meal.

I made shrimp at home for the very first time. A one-skillet dinner, it was easy and delicious, so perhaps we’ll eat it again. I made up the recipe as I cooked it; therefore, I'm posting it below to remember how to make it again:

Spicy Shrimp with Artichoke

Ingredients

16 oz shrimp, frozen (Any size of shrimp works, but small is bite-sized without being too small.)

12 oz artichokes, frozen, quartered

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 of an onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped (I eyeballed it.)

red bell pepper, about 1/2 cup, chopped

 1/2 cup carrots, sliced

A handful of nuts - I used almonds and walnuts, chopped

My homemade Hoisin Sauce --

4 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons peanut butter

A squirt so about a tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon hot sauce

A sprinkle of cumin

A sprinkle of salt

Directions:

1) I defrosted the frozen shrimp by tossing it into a bowl with water, vinegar, and lemon juice a few hours before cooking it.

2) Into a 12-inch skillet, I melted the butter and tossed in the diced onions, celery, carrot, and bell peppers. I let it cook covered on medium heat for about 8 minutes before tossing in the bag of frozen artichoke quarters to simmer for another 4 - 5 minutes. 

3) Chop and toss in the nuts. Lift the lid and stir occasionally.

4) Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. If the mixture gets dry, pour in 1/4 cup of water.

5) Next, I used the ingredients of my homemade Hoisin Sauce, tossing them into the pan: 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon hot sauce.

6) I added a dash of salt and cumin near the end, but before the dish finished cooking. Do so to taste.

Hours before cooking my shrimp dish, I separately tenderized 2 cups of dried brown rice in a rice cooker. It takes about 30 minutes but can sit for a while. Brown rice has slightly more fiber than white rice, yet I think people can eat the rice they prefer. I like the chewiness of brown.

We don’t have a Walmart in Manhattan, and I wish we did. Its house brand, Great Value, is excellent and lives up to its name!

On plates, spoon the spicy shrimp with artichoke and sauce over the brown rice. Bon Appétite!🍤🦐

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Celebrities In Diamond Stud Earrings

Click to enlarge photos you want to see.

A luxury item I covet but will never buy is a relatively huge 4+ carat pair of diamond stud earrings. 4-carat diamond studs can cost anywhere from $30,000 - $50,000+ for natural diamonds. Prices are determined by cut, carat, color, and clarity. Customers might consider G-H/SI or F-G/VS, which are of decent quality.

Well, that’s a lot of moola for a single piece of jewelry, isn’t it? Obviously, I was born into the wrong class in society! But, you know what? I will still indulge my love of diamond stud earrings on this blog!

Let’s do a roundup of celebrities who are lucky enough to either work in lucrative fields, or are born into families of wealth, or can borrow their jewelry from famous designers. I’d be fine and dandy with borrowing jewelry! Wearing diamonds without having to buy them is a fabulous deal!

Not all these famous ladies are wearing the biggest diamond studs. Some may even be lab-grown diamonds or not diamonds at all. Only they know.

I wonder if Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie borrowed their diamond studs to attend an awards show? Kelly Clarkson may have treated herself for all the shows and TV spots she does.

Michelle Williams, Michelle Obama, Judge Judy, and Simone Biles likely own the diamond studs they're wearing. All have had enough success to buy them.

Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber

Diamond studs of all sizes look great on everyone of all ages in all professions. What’s more, lab-grown diamonds are making diamond stud earrings more accessible to average wage earners, and the technology is improving all the time. Still not cheap, but diamond prices, both natural and lab-grown, are falling! Since 1st on the market, lab-grown diamonds have decreased by as much as 75%! Lab-grown diamonds are physically, chemically, and optically identical to gemstones formed over billions of years in the Earth. The only difference is their origin ... they are created in a laboratory, and only a jeweler using a special loupe can tell the difference.

Diamonds over 2 carats increase exponentially in price. Lab-grown white sapphires in 925 silver are a winning substitute for diamonds if you covet bigger stones without breaking the bank.

It’s all beautiful eye candy to us glitter-lovers!

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