Monday, January 23, 2012

What the....clothing made out of milk proteins?

Seriously.  Is this for real?  My son brought home the Time For Kids magazine from school and it had an article about a German company that is making clothing out of milk.  Yes, milk.  It took me a few minutes to stop staring at the article in disbelief.  Geesh, now something else to worry about.  As if it's not hard enough to read ingredients on every food packaging label and soaps and lotions.  Now we will need to look for food ingredients in the clothing we purchase.

The cost of the clothing ranges from $200 to $270.   Probably not something I will be rushing out to buy.

Kudos to the biologist/fashion designer for coming up with a new invention.  This statement on the company's website is a little ironic, however: "More and more people suffer from sensitive skin.  Mainly from the increase in allergies, the demand for natural fabrics mount."

Guess they don't have milk allergies in Germany?

Friday, January 13, 2012

Rosemary Pork Loin Chops with Tomatoes and Peppers

So I never did finish my post for December.  Where did that month go?  I think I'll start fresh with a new recipe.  It's healthy for all of you with New Year's resolutions to shed a few pounds.  I know I fall in that category.  We had our share of baked goodies this Christmas.

With two boys involved in sports and music and other after school activities, it's always a challenge to come up with quick dinners that everyone likes and qualifies as healthy and doesn't have milk, butter and cheese, of course.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but quite often I decide what we are having for dinner about an hour before we eat.  So that's exactly what happened with the pork loin chops yesterday.  They spent the day thawing in the refrigerator and then around 5:30 I found myself scrounging through the food pantry looking for something to inspire a recipe.  What I came up with only needed a little olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and a can of diced tomatoes with peppers.  This is how I did it and it took me less than a half hour.  And did I mention all of my picky eaters loved it?!  Sorry, I did not have time for photos this time.  It was a quick dinner then off to guitar lessons.

Ingredients:
1-2 pounds pork loin chops (boneless)
kosher salt
pepper
1 fresh rosemary sprig, or about 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves
olive oil
1 8oz can diced tomatoes with peppers

Directions:
1.  Coat pork loins with salt, pepper and rosemary
2.  Heat about one tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
3.  Brown pork chops in skillet about two minutes per side, turning twice.
4.  Add tomatoes and peppers to skillet. (I ran the tomatoes and peppers through the blender, since the kids will not eat whole tomatoes and peppers)
5.  Cover and simmer until cooked, ten to twenty minutes.  I did twenty minutes on a lower temperature.

Serve with rice and sauteed vegetables.