Feb 17th – Feb 23rd we enjoyed a warm vacation in Cancun, Mexico. We stayed at the Terracaribe Hotel, it was nice, basic hotel in an interesting neighborhood. We were not in the hotel zone, nor were we downtown, we were just north of the downtown, and about a mile from the ferry to Isla Mujers.

From the StarTribune:

The Animal Humane Society is offering 2-for-1 cat adoptions as it tries to reduce a growing population of homeless cats. During the summer, the organization sees an average of 70 cats a day brought to its five sites in the Twin Cities area. That amounts to nearly 500 cats a week, or about 10,000 unwanted cats expected this summer.

70 cats a day! That is crazy. And sad. Go get your 2-for-1 deal today!

Listening to Podcasts from Leigh Peele and this point she made really caught my attention:

The only people who really hate to count calories are the people who don’t want to admit how many of them that they are actually eating.

Something I wish more people would understand: food manufacturers don’t care about you, they care about making money. A great quote from an article I read today:

When you rely on processed foods for pleasure and nutriment, you are effectively throwing yourself on the mercy of manufacturers… They are interested in healthy profits, and they know they can make them by selling lots of unhealthy sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

Go, read the entire article: Process of elimination

Video of Cookie Monster being interviewed by NPR. Very funny.

My newest favorite “kitchen gadget” actually comes from GNC – you know the vitamin place. I went into my local GNC looking for a protein powder shaker – something smaller and simpler than a blender that I could use for protein powder and milk at work. The sales guy directed me to these: Mini Blender Bottle and informed me that they were on sale – buy one, get one half off. So I had to have 2 – 1 for at work and 1 for at home. Its really rather simple – just a bottle with a round whisk insides.

Fast forward to Wednesday night when I was making a salad to go with the tasty fish and chicken we were cooking up on the grill. I had used one of the shakers at work for milk and protein powder – it worked great. So I guessed it would work great for salad dressing, and it did! This is the dressing I made (based on this recipe):

Vietnamese-Style Dressing

Ingredients

• 3-4 drops hot sauce (I used Tapatio)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic puree or minced garlic
• 1-2 T Splenda or sugar (start will less, add more to taste)
• 2 T rice vinegar (not sweetened)
• 3 T fresh lime juice
• 2 T fish sauce

Put it on top of a bag of broccoli slaw, diced red pepper, edemame, sliced green onion, and chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper and you have a perfect side dish! Best made an hour or 2 in advance so flavors can mingle. Next time I will take a photo!

Watch for more dressing recipes using the Blender Bottle – I have a feeling I am going to use it a lot more this summer.

I have been wanting to do this for a long time – Google has rented a herd of goats to replace the lawnmowers that normally cut the grass in the fields around its headquarters. This is Google’s “low-carbon” approach to maintaining its property. I think its a great idea!