Tuesday Tidbits

I'm sure you are all awaiting with bated breath for Part II of my Academy Awards story. Well, I haven't written it yet, so you'll have to wait a little longer.

Surprise!
Today I received a surprise in the mail: The April issue of Saveur food magazine. It appears I've been given a subscription, according to the dates printed on the label. I don't think I'd even heard of this magazine before today, but after my initial reading this afternoon, curled up on the couch after lunch, I can tell I'm going to really enjoy it. The magazine seems to focus on food from around the world, with pictures and cultural stories that go along with the recipes. Right up my alley. Thank you, anonymous giver! Please let me know who you are so I can thank you properly.

Sauna
It seems like I spoke too soon about the sauna. I used it three times and by the third time I found that I was running into the same old problem. I didn't sweat very much and for the next couple of days I experienced short moments of vertigo. I decided that the sauna was still a "no go" and wondered why. Right about that time, a friend had accidentally returned somebody else's health book to me amongst a pile of my gluten-free cookbooks. As I was taking a look at the book, I stumbled across a small paragraph about using saunas. It said, "The dry heat of a sauna can reduce the fat in oil- or fat-based organs such as the liver and gallbladder." Bingo! That is exactly the problem we've been trying to address. Those organs are already on the very scary short side of fat because of our lack of absorption. So until we've made greater improvements in that area, we'll need to hold off on the sauna. I am so happy to have learned that tiny, but important piece of information.

Asparagus
I'm considering purchasing an asparagus steamer. As we enjoyed Easter Sunday dinner at a friend's house, my family proved me wrong. I had told my friend, when she inquired, that I would be the only one who would eat asparagus. Well, they all tried it and a couple of them even asked for seconds! But here's the thing, it was really fresh and it was steamed "just right." Today I learned on A Veggie Venture blog that because the asparagus spears stand upright (in an asparagus steamer) while steaming, the denser ends are closer to the heat source, the tender tips are further away." That makes it easy to get perfectly steamed asparagus every time. It would be worth the purchase to have another vegetable option around here.