Fried Turkey, It’s what’s for Dinner!

J.C. Wilder

   Let me just say, I loves me some turkey! The moment a big, juicy, perfectly roasted bird is pulled from the oven, I’m the first one to start picking at the crispy skin. Just thinking about turkey hot from the oven is enough to make me swoon.

   Then I tried a deep-fried turkey and I almost passed out with sheer pleasure. I’m shameless, I’ll eat pretty much anything that has been deep fried.

Groovy Love: Woodstock Lives on

Allie Boniface

   Let’s talk Woodstock, 1969.

   The very name conjures up images of mud, crowds, hedonism, great music, and one of the most indulgent parties the country had ever seen. Maybe you’re old enough to remember it.  Maybe you were lucky enough to be there!  Times have changed, of course.  Musical artists, politicians, and protesters have come and gone.  But though nearly forty years have passed since The Who and Joan Baez rocked a New York pasture, that feeling of peaceful, groovy lovin’ is back, in the small town where it all began.

Tommy Turkey Treats

Lorelei James

   Lorelei James here ~ Remember last month when I lamented those crafty folks who have way too much time on their hands to can create fun, cute, edible holiday goodies that wow the masses? Well, I confess…I found this recipe from a few years ago and it fits the bill for a “non-crafty” person. It doesn’t take a ton of time, it’s easy, and kids have a blast making them.

(Bring on the sugar, Sugah!)

Sweet Mystery

Carolan Ivey 

   You may think that the greatest scientific mystery of Polynesia would be something like the Easter Island statues, or the real origin of the Polynesian peoples. But you’d be wrong.

   All domesticated animals and food plants that now exist on the islands can trace their origins to Southeast Asia. The exception? The one plant that no one can figure out how it got there.

   The sweet potato.

   Try as they might, scientists can’t pin down how the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) traveled from South America all the way across the Pacific to the Polynesian islands. Even if it had been purposely carried by wayfaring Polynesians from Peru back home, it’s unlikely, in the vessels they had, that they could have carried enough to both feed them and have any significant amount left over for planting. The mystery lingers to this day.

(Taters anyone?)

Granddad's Country Ham

Gia Dawn

   My Grandfather loved country ham. The kind that was dried to a shrivel and preserved with so much salt it didn’t need refrigeration.  The kind he used to hang on a hook in the basement for months, scraping off the mold to shave off a sliver at a time.

   Yes, mold. The mark of a true country ham. Greenish gray mold covering the entire surface of the meat. Honestly, if you didn’t know it was edible, you would think it had rotted long before. Ah, but for us Southerners, country ham is a delicacy.

   That’s what I tried telling my husband the first time my Granddad took him down to the basement to show him the prize. I can still see the horror on his face when they returned upstairs with several pieces of the dried out, moldy ham on a plate. Torn between his fear of offending my family and his utter repulsion at the sight of the meat,   he stood like a statue at the kitchen door, not brave enough to come inside, not daring enough to walk away.

(Here, piggy, piggy, piggy)

Sexercise: 101 - How Step Class Can Steam Up Your Sheets

Allie Boniface

Fact: Exercise improves your mood.

Exercise stimulates endorphins, those chemicals in the brain that leave you feeling happy and relaxed.

Fact: Exercise combats disease.

Regular exercise can help prevent — or manage — high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

Fact: Exercise helps you manage your weight.

When you exercise, you burn calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control.

Fact:  Exercise strengthens your heart and lungs.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues; actually, it keeps your entire cardiovascular system working efficiently.

Fact: Exercise promotes better sleep.

Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep.  No more tossing and turning at 3 am!

Fact: Exercise can put the spark back into your sex life.

It’s true!  Do you find yourself too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy it very much? Well, exercise can energize you, which in turn can have a positive effect on your sex life. It can get those good-mood endorphins firing.  It can also give you a newfound respect for what your body can do: you’ll start looking at those thighs for their ability to walk three miles or power you through an hour of step class.  That positive body image will in turn contribute to greater self-esteem in the bedroom.  Plus, at its basic levels, exercise improves your circulation, which can lead to more energy, more stamina, and more satisfying sex.