Master Cleanse Day 2

Today is my second day of the cleanse. It did not start off well, but is ending amazingly!

I drank the tea last night and all night long, my stomach was churning and I made many a trip to the bathroom. I really had a hard time sleeping. I wasn't going to do the salt bath today, but I really want to do this right, so I opted to do it. One thing I did differently was to split up the salt bath into two servings. I just cannot drink 32 ozs of anything down and once especially warm salty water. I was worried I was going to regret drinking the salt water, but for some reason it kind of made me feel better. I am not saying I didn't go go go go go. I really did. That is one thing everyone must be aware of - you cannot be a travelin' for about two hours after you have the salt bath. At least that is the case for me. It really did clear me out and I felt pretty good.

I only had 60 ozs of the lemonade today and I was very satisfied. I also didn't really obsess much about food, but I was really busy with work - which was good! I have to keep myself as busy as possible. The only time I had a hunger pang was when I was about to get off the phone with Joey. That is usually when I would eat dinner. That passed though.

I have to say I really feel pretty good. I am not craving really anything - even wine! That's a biggie! Now that I have done this for two days I don't see not going the full ten. This is really a committment and there is no way I am going to go through this and not complete it!

Oh, I found a great blog today about the cleanse:

http://blog.q-taro.com/health/the-master-cleanse-journal/

I can totally relate to this guy. One, he's a guy and two he's living in Japan. Mostly though, I really like his writing style and the way he is so honest about the cleanse. Check it out if you need a resource!

Master Cleanse Day 1

Well, look at me go!  I made it through the first day.  I pretty much did everything by the book.  I drank the Smooth Move tea last night.  This morning I did the internal salt water bathing and honesty, drinking 32 oz of salty water was just not possible.  I probably drank about 24.  It sure does clean you out!  There is not way I could do that salt bathing and leave the house for at least two hours.

The lemonade does not taste bad at all.  I actually like it.  I had planned on only having six 10 oz glasses, but I was starving by about 7 and needed another.  I think you really have to drink the lemonade every time you are hungry or you will go crazy!  I am pleased that I got through today and hope I can do this for ten whole days!

Master Cleanse Preparation

So, tomorrow I start the Master Cleanse. I read the book "The Master Cleanser" by Stanley Burroughs and I feel ready to do it. I have had my Smooth Move tea and we will see if that's a treat. I really am a little bit scared of this, but excited. This really is just a pre-step. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

I know this blog maybe be a strange place to post about this, but you know what? It's my blog and I am cooking! And this should really lead to some interesting cooking in the future! So, here we are on my cleansing journey! YEE HAW! I am ready for a new day! I really want to accomplish this. It means a lot to me. Thanks for the prayers, Brenda!

Best Way To Cook Corn on the Cob

I know summer is almost over, but there is still time to enjoy delicious, fresh corn. Corn on the Cob is one of my favorite summer treats, however I never really knew the best method of cooking it until last week. I did a Google search and found the best method for cooking corn on the cob ever from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I have often been disappointed by different methods of cooking this "easy" dish, but this one made the perfect corn on the cob, not once but twice! Every family has their own way of doing this, but from now on this is the Sean & Joey way! Enjoy!!!

Instructions

Just before cooking, husk the corn, pull off the silky threads, and cut out any blemishes with a pointed knife. Drop the corn into a large pot filled with boiling salted water. Cover the pot and let the water return to a boil again, then turn off the heat and keep the pot covered. After about 5 minutes, remove enough ears for a first serving. You can keep the remaining corn warm in the water for another 10 minutes without its becoming tough. Serve with lots of butter and salt.

Delicious Library

How many times have you ordered a cookbook on Amazon only to get home to find you already have it? If you are like me, more than I care to remember. I didn't even know how many cookbooks I really had. That is until today! I found an amazing way not only to organize your cookbooks but your entire library of books, CDs, movies and much much more! Delicious Library.

This is an amazing tool is so many ways. Delicious Library allows you to scan the bar codes of your books, cds and movies using your built-in iSight camera. (Sorry, folks Mac only.) Once scanned it pulls all the cover art and information about your library right into the application! I scanned my entire cookbook collection today in about 30 minutes! Amazing! What's more you can publish your collection using your MobileMe account! You can check out the start of my library right here. This is just a start of what this amazing program can do! Honestly, this is probably the smartest piece of software I have bought in years! If you have a Mac (and you really should. PCs are so 90s!) check out this software and download the trial. You will be hooked!

Blueberry Peacan Crumble

One must really take advantage of the fresh fruit that's in season during the summer. Now Max, Joey and I LOVE blueberries. (Well, Max likes his one at a time, so I guess we should say, "Max loves a blueberry." See the video below.) Blueberries are truly at their best during the summer and they are much cheaper than other times of the year!

I have tried so many crisp and crumble recipes and always failed. I finally found one courtesy of one of my favorite Food Network stars, Dave Lieberman. Let me tell you, Dave makes some awesome desserts. This is one of my new favorites. It's just delicious. Heat it up and serve with vanilla ice cream or fat free whipped topping!

Ingredients

For the topping:

• 4 ounces pecan pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A couple pinches salt
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butte,r cut into small pieces

For the berries:

• 2 pints fresh blueberries
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. For the topping: Put all topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your hands until mixture sticks together in small clumps.
3. Pour the blueberries into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the berries, sprinkle the sugar and flour over them and toss until the berries are coated with sugar.
4. Scatter the topping over the berries in an even layer. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the berry juice is bubbling up through the topping, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Now for a special treat, here is a video of Max's first blueberry.

Zucchini Bread

My friends Tom and John have this amazing garden in Sonoma. The other day Tom came into work with a zucchini for me that was the biggest zucchini I have ever seen. If you worked with us you can imagine the jokes about it. :-)

Since I didn't know what to do with this thing the obvious choice was Zucchini Bread. I searched my cookbooks and couldn't find anything that inspired me so I turned to the net. I found this recipe on Recipezaar, one of my very favorite cooking sites. It was submitted by MizzNezz. I made four loaves today and they are amazing! Just thought I would share it with you!

The bread has this crunchy top that I think is from the orange juice and the apple sauce. It's moist, not too sweet and very flavorful. This certainly deserves one big, YUMMO!!!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped walnut

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In large bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
3. Beat until well blended.
4. Add zucchini, applesauce and orange juice; stir well.
5. Combine flour with next 5 ingredients.
6. Add to zucchini mixture; stir well.
7. Add nuts; stir gently to combine.
8. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9in loaf pans.
9. Bake for 60-70 minutes; till toothpick comes out clean.
10. Let cool in pans 10 minutes.
11. Remove from pans and let cool completely.