Paula & Al on Today Show (source: The Atlantic)

The big news this morning is Southern food maven Paula Deen’s announcement on the Today Show that she has type 2 diabetes. She’s had it for a while, apparently, and now she’s also come out as a spokesperson for a diabetes drug.

The media and everywhere online have been giving her a lot of flack about it. Some even go as far as to insinuate that she somehow deserves it given all the “un-healthy” food she promotes.

I feel bad for her. Truthfully, I enjoy watching her show! Some of her recipes, especially the extreme ones like the cheesburger on Krispy Kreme donut leave that queasy, sick feeling in my throat just watching it, but hey, it’s amusing in a morbid kind of way. That’s why I watch it. It’s like all you rubber neckers who clog up the highways whenever there’s a wreck. We all slow down to take a look even if it makes us cringe. Admit it.

I liked watching Paula Deen because she seemed to genuinely love food. Relished it! You can see it in her body. At least she’s not matchstick skinny and pretending to enjoy all the rich, calorie laden food she cooks. You can tell the woman eats what she cooks! No crime in that.

I do, however, don’t agree with this new venture she’s going into as a paid spokesperson for the diabetes drug company. She will also be promoting ways to manage diabetes through healthier diet and exercise on a website sponsored by the drug company. It’s all and good, I suppose. Maybe someone will see it, take heed and make a difference in their lifestyle.

Personally though, I would probably have had more respect for Paula if she had just told everyone to “Kiss my grits!”
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We haven’t had a food blog update lately so to catch up, here’s a few more recipes from our food blog, Cooked from the Heart (click on the recipe titles below for the recipes):

Rice Noodles with Beef & Mint

This recipe is one of our latest favorites. We’ve made it a few times more since we realized how good it is with fresh mint! The first time I made it, I served it with rice noodles as noted in the recipe but as we found out on subsequent versions, this is just as good over steamed rice. If you’re not too much into beef, pork and chicken works quite well with the spices and the addition of mint too. You’ll probably agree that this dish is all about the mint!

Pan Fried Tilapia with Miso Curry Sauce

If you love fish, here is an easy and delicious weekday meal. If you don’t have Miso just your favorite curry sauce or sweet and sour sauce will also work nicely with this recipe.

My daughter who does not eat fish only had the vegetables in the sauce over rice and she deemed it delicious! If you’re like her and don’t like fish either, this sauce will probably work over some pan fried chicken too.

Chinese Braised Ribs

I just love ribs cut this way (so much easier to eat) and I love them braised Chinese style like you get at dim sum restaurants. We haven’t been to dim sum lately and I was having a craving so I thought I would make them myself.

Little did I know how much my husband would love them too! He usually does not like messing with dishes that have a small meat to bone ratio. He just doesn’t think the effort to be worth it. lol! But surprisingly, he really loved this dish.

Corn & Egg Drop Soup

This is the accompanying soup when I made with the Chinese braised. Since my daughter eats very little meat and was also feeling under the weather, I knew she would not want any of the braised ribs. She does love soups though and what better for a sore throat than soup, right? So I made her this egg drop soup with corn and this was all she had for dinner. She had a couple of bowls of it, so she was good

It’s the height of summer and most kids are home, probably sleeping in most days or involved in one kind of summer activity or another. Here’s one treat that most of them will love; I know my girls love having this ‘puffy pancake’ as they call it.

I usually reserve this for our weekend breakfast but it can easily be a weekday treat too especially when everyone is home during the summer.

With the dog days of summer upon us with a vengeance, I try not to fire up the oven in the middle of the day but early in the morning, this is a delicious exception to that rule!

The great thing about this pancake, not only is it gorgeous as it puffs up over your skillet majestically, it is also so easy to put together that you can have an amazing breakfast ready in less than an hour.
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We do a good job at eating home as much as possible; but when you have a full time job and three busy teenagers you just can’t help but eat out every once in a while. Well, more like at least once a week in our case. I try to plan meals so that when I cook, we would have enough leftover for the next day. Even with some planning, I get caught without a meal ready somedays. Often these times come when I’ve worked late or the kids had some after school activity that takes us past dinner time.

These are the times when we either pick up something to take home and eat or just eat out and save ourselves some clean up chores before bedtime.

More often than not though, I depend on quick and simple meals that can be prepared in less than an hour. Here are a few of our favorites.

Easy Carbonara, Easy Wonton Soup & Chicken with Basil & String Beans

Baked Tilapia with Teriyaki Sauce & Onions, Fried Tilapia with Pasta and Asparagus & Pork Loin and Fried Rice

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All these dishes really can be prepared under one hour. What is your favorite quick meal (bought or home cooked)?

If you’re like me and hoard coupons to eating places for just in case moments, you may be interested in winning a $5 gift certificate to Wendy’s. Just click on the link and tell them what your favorite meal on the run is. Good luck!