SIMPLE TILL SIX

SIMPLE TILL SIX - JANUARY 3, 2009

Greetings, and Happy New Year to all the faithful fans of *Rosalie

Serving Italian* and hopefully this year, *Rosalie Serving Country*

Cookbooks.  Having all my family in for the holidays gave me great

opportunity to try some of the new country recipes I am testing for

the Country Cookbook.

One of these recipes was the *Mustard Greens Supreme,* which is just a

big pot of greens cooked up in pork such as bacon, ham hocks, or salt

pork.  Our community market, *Sugar Grove Growers,* right here in

Troy, MO, has a green house and happens to raise their own mustard

greens.   Seeing them, I quickly thought "what a great country dish,"

and promptly brought them home.

Cooked with thick sliced bacon, onion and garlic, and simmered in a

chicken stock with cider vinegar added for the "bite", they were so

delicious!  My oldest grandchild, Taylor, almost ate the whole pot, so

I had to repeat the dish again in order for everyone to have a taste.

After the cookies, candy, pies and cheesecakes, one's palate gets

tired of all the sugar and welcomes some down-earth soups, salads and

stews.  The five pounds we all gained are starting to manifest and the

words "diet and exercise" strongly come to mind.

In all, my well meanings for a new diet gig, I always seem to fall off

the wagon two weeks into the New Year.  But I must say the *The Simple

Till Six

* did catch my eye that the famous Mark Bittman, (How to Cook

Everything), wrote about in this month's Readers Digest.  He really

wasn't meaning to diet, but at 59 years of age he somehow woke up with

high cholesterol, high blood sugars, and sleep apnea.

The doctor said these three could be remedied by taking cholesterol-

lowing drugs or eat less meat, drugs for the blood sugar, or eat fewer

sweets, and for the apnea, lose 15 percent of his body weight.

Mark chose to do a very simple thing.  Until dinner at six, he ate

almost no animal products and no simple carbs which included no white-

flour products, no junk food or sugar-heavy snacks.  For breakfast he

began eating oatmeal or cracked wheat, fruit salad or vegetables.

For lunch: beans, grilled or roasted vegetables, salad, fruit or

nuts.  In between snacks: Fresh fruits, nuts or grains.  For dinner at

six: a sizeable meal including most anything he wanted; meat,

vegetables, bread, soup, dessert or even pasta.

For exercise he went on long walks each week, but was limited because

of his bad knees.  Just trying to lower his cholesterol and blood

sugars, Mark lost 15 pounds a month later.  His cholesterol went from

240 to 180 and his blood sugars were down.  No more sleep apnea, he

was sleeping through the night. Within four months he lost more than

35 pounds.

So, there you have it folks.  Cook up the Mustard Greens and eat them

at six with the Cornbread and savor the Chopped Steak with Gravy.

Just a thought!  See you at the Rendezvous Café Cooking Class in

O'Fallon, MO.  on January 12, 6:00 to 8:30PM.   Call for reservation:

636- 272-8687. Our Menu:  Italian Soups, Salads, and Sweets.

Have a blessed and happy New Year,

Rosalie