Nursery-style detox

So I'm detoxing the house.

No, not 'nursery' as in baby's room, but as in 'place where there is an overage of plants' and that is now a potentially accurate description of my house.  But seriously, have you read any of this stuff about the chemicals and toxins in the air and how certain plants can remove them?  You are well aware that i'm a big fan of the magical chelating powers of cilantro -so it shouldn't be a surprise that I have a similar fervor now I have essentially found a cilantro for the house and the air we breathe.  Ahhh...

From another perspective, it might seem that I went a bit overboard on buying plants for the house... but whoever has that view probably has been inhaling too much benzene, formaldehyde or trichloroethylene... (or worse!) ewww.  I will readily admit that the 6 large plants and 3 massive hanging baskets (not to mention an assortment of smaller window sill type plants) drew some attention as I loaded up my car.

One last little heel clicking tidbit: NASA research (more here)which studied air quality as maintained in closed environments (such as space stations or - my home) shows that 87% of air toxins can be removed by plants within 24 hours.  Impressive. 

These little plants are earning their keep.  And I love hard workers.  I'll do my best to make them comfy, too.

Chipotle!!

This was too much fun to not share. www.chipotlefan.com lets you descirbe what you order at Chipotle (I always get the same thing) and it gives you this handy dandy Nutritional label!

Anyway, this was my lunch today.

Clever, huh?

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1000	Cal from Fat 570
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 62g	95%
Saturated Fat 19g 93% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 70mg	23%
Sodium 2550mg	106%
Total Carbs 91g	30%
Dietary Fiber 22g 88% Sugars 25g
Protein 26g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% • Iron 0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
INGREDIENTS: Sour Cream,Guacamole (4oz),Fajita Veggies,Corn Salsa,Tomato Salsa,Rice,Black Beans,Cheese,Chipotle Vinaigrette

Click'>http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?nutritionId=17:18:7:13:12:4:5:16:21:">Click Here to view

Don't know what all that really means, but it's fun to see things add up as you click items.

What it doesn't reflect is the "extra sour cream" I always get. Mmmmmmmmmm.........

Pimp tight in Peking

I admit I was a bit skittish - but you would be, too - had your travel agent hurled a "i've never heard of THIS airline..." as your ticket is booked to fly over the big blue ocean. Hmmm... nothing like a little reassurance.

Turns out, the flight from Seattle to Beijing on Hainan Airlines (China-based International with a new flight to Seattle) was fantastic! Not only were there swarms of sweet attendants catering to my every need (seriously, when I was reclining in my massive chair: someone came over and held her finger on the button so I didn't have to. WHUT?) ... the meals were incredible. Lobster, delicious ravioli with generous fresh cilantro (!) and on from there. Here's the real thing that won my heart: clean bathrooms. The whole way there.

Guess I'm just going to have to start flying in/to China more often now so that I can partake.

Needless to say, this trip is off to a good start. In spite of the fact that I didn't get to sleep until after 4 hours of laying there...mind racing... with the lights out, fluffy satin blanket, a couple pillows, eye pillow and noise cancelling earphones...

So other than not really sleeping (which isn't a huge shocker since I always have trouble sleeping on planes) my trip and arrival as been extremely smooth. Cake walk. I dig it.

Need to get to sleep soon so that I can catch up for the 27 hours of travel - woke up at 3am (Austin time) then arrived Beijing the following day at 5am (Austin time).

Everyone is REALLY helpful, but I get the feeling they may be skeptical of me.

One more comment - don't get me started about how much I LOVE all the gorgeous geometrical print designs on everything. Wait, to do it right, this is gonna need a post all it's own. Tomorrow! Good night (or good morning for my party people back home!)

Hudson's on the Bend & Cilantro

Sunday we went to a cooking class at Hudson's on the Bend. It's the fantastic little restaurant way out of the way (by lake travis) but it continually gets voted the #1 Austin restuarant year after year. Impressive feat for a city that takes eating out so seriously. We've had reservations there a couple times, but have always opted for something a bit closer in. BOY were we missing out.

The class is at the owners' house which overlooks lake travis-- really cool house. You sip wine under a canopy and they go over techniques and tools while teaching you several great recipes (which they give you a printed copy of to take along your merry way). Most noteably was the most incredible lobster ever: they steam it briefly then "cook" it in 3-5 pounds of melted butter in a sauce pan over the stove. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. They they showed us their hot & crunch way of battering -anything- and smoked quail, various sauces, berries flambee, to name a few. Incredible. Smelled divine. And the owner and head chef were awesome- very knowledgeable, down-to-earth and entertaining, too.

Then we all went to the restuarant and enjoyed a full 4 course meal of everything we had just learned to cook. Amazing. FANTASTIC afternoon- I highly recommend it to anyone cooking enthusiast, foodie or restauant junkie for a special occasion, a random weekend or learning. Can't wait to go back. Okay... done gushing~

Here's the kicker: SO.... we learned during the class -among many other handy tidbits- that cilantro is the only natural substance known to actually REMOVE metals from our bodies. Sure enough! Who knew? This little bit of trivia keeps popping up in my head. Can't get it to stop. So I FINALLY have a way to remove all that mercury I've been harboring from eating so much sushi through the years. WHEW~ Don't know about you, but I'll sleep better knowing this!

And it removes aluminum and lead, too. Didn't even realize I could have that in here, too. But now I can happily get rid of it all while consuming a lovely little herb.

I kept thinking about this magical little fact until I decided to Google it to learn more about it... so I found article (among others) to learn more about this history of this brilliant finding. Which lead (no pun intended) me to learn about Chelation which is a fancy word for removing heavy metals from the bloodstream. Anyway, I sure Annie is proud of my research.

I don't know that i'll be making that incredible butter-cooked lobster in the price household anytime soon... but you can guaran-damn-tee that I'll be cookin' up a boat load of cilantro pesto and pico. Let me know if you're interested and I'll share the new cilantro recipes I discover =)