Welcoming June

Apologies for just now writing my first June post.  Last week I clicked on a Facebook story about a devastating fire that supposedly claimed the life of a high-profile person.  It turned out to be a scam that immediately seized my computer.  A message popped up saying my computer had been infected with a trojan virus and I needed to contat Microsoft immediately.  I knew enough not to call the phone number posted on my screen, and tried turning my computer off and re-starting, but it still remained seized.  So I had to take my computer to an IT guy who thankfully was able to restore it.  I won't be clicking on bogus Facebook stories anymore!

June is designated as National Iced Tea Month and today is National Iced Tea Day.  It's only 58 degrees with partially overcast skies in southeastern Michigan, so hot tea is more comforting than iced tea, but I'll share a photo I took of iced tea for a magazine article I wrote back in 2010.

Lately, I've been occupying myself on Sunday afternoons [and some weekday evenings] going through my library of cookbooks.  The photo below is old, so more cookbooks have been added to my collection since that photo was taken.  I can't resist cookbooks!

I've always enjoyed cooking and eating healthy, and lately foods high in fiber have piqued my interest after reading most adults [myself included] don't get their daily requirement.  Fiber is a nutritional superstar.  It benefits our health in so many ways - promotes a healthy gut [microbiome], prevents constipation, promotes heart health and lowers bad cholestrol.  Fiber is found in a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.  One article I read said we should strive to eat at least 20 different fiber foods every day.  Wow!  That's a lot, but I'm working on achieving it.

Variety is the key, hence my recent interest in going through my cookbooks looking for good recipes for vegetables and other sources of fiber.  As I've aged, I've learned to like almost all vegetables and fruits so that's a plus in reaching my goal.

Yesterday afternoon I began going through The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking.  I had written in the cover that it was a Christmas gift from my son and daughter-in-law in 1998.  I only got as far as Figs on page 394 and there's 928 pages in the book, but as the saying goes, 'Rome wasn't built in a day' so I will eventually get through it.

I've been toying with the idea of posting some recipes along with pictures here on the blog and wondered if that's something you'd be interested in.  If so, please let me know in a comment.

While grocery shopping recently, I came across P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps Cooking Sauce.  My hubby and I enjoy their Chicken Wraps, so I purchased it.  The only downside, it's high in sodium.

Maybe my recent purchase is why P.F. Chang's sounded good to me yesterday after church.  We don't normally go out to eat on Sunday's, but yesterday was an exception.

We ordered a pot of their Peach/Apricot Oolong tea by Revolution Tea.  It was delicious.

And, of course, their Chicken Wraps.  It's been awhile since we've been there and they've changed from Iceberg Lettuce to artisan Romaine Lettuce - a more nutritious choice.  I had fun looking up how to make their crispy Asian Vermicelli Noodles [white noodles in the photo below] when I got home.

Our main entree was Sesame Chicken.  I forgot to take a picture until after I had sprinkled brown rice on top of it.  Sorry!  The brown rice, red bell peppers, onions, and broccoli provided five different fiber foods.

It was a good day!