Eat– for Good Health

The Zesty Vegetarian Wrap has ingredients for two servings, 200 calories each.

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (fat free is not noticeable, honest)
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 to 4 drops Louisiana-style hot sauce
• 2 spinach tortillas or flour tortillas of your choice (8 inches)
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 1/2 medium green pepper, julienned
• 2 slices pepper Jack cheese
• Directions: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and hot sauce. Spread over tortillas. Top with lettuce, green pepper and cheese; roll up tightly.

Places– of Charm

Newport Harbor is my favorite place on weekends. Usually my husband and I go there to sail, but this Saturday, my sister and her husband are visiting from Vegas. Both have bad backs and sailing wouldn’t help with the movements required. The Shields (racing sailboat although we don’t race anymore) has a small cockpit in relation to its size. Still wanting to take them out on the pristine water, we will rent a Duffy boat. The Duffy is a darling electric boat with a canopy and seats that go around a table. The cost to rent a Duffy is $75/hour.  Rather romantic, watching the sunset and dining in a Duffy.  Harbor lights are magnificent in the evening.

Exercise– for Body and Spirit

When you’re getting ready for your first Olympics, you would think that would be the most important thing going on in your life. But that’s not the case for U.S. Olympic Swimmer Eric Shanteau. A week before the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Eric got a call from his doctors telling him that a lump they thought might be a benign cyst was, in fact, testicular cancer.

Swimmer Eric Shanteau, you are an inspiration.

Had he not made the Olympics, Eric would immediately have gone home and had surgery. But when he qualified for the Beijing Olympics in the 200-meter breaststroke, he faced a difficult decision. Fight on for his Olympic dreams or start the fight of his life. After doctors cleared him to compete as long as he is frequently checked to make sure the cancer hasn’t spread, Eric chose to continue his preparations for Beijing.

We wish Eric best wishes in his quest for the gold and with his health.

Places– of Charm

San Francisco’s Balmy Alley murals are living history of diversity. Murals tells stories. Precita Eyes is a non-profit organization that coordinates many of the seventy paintings on Mission District buildings.

Sirron Norris painted the newest mural below.

Places– of Charm

Ile de Re, off the coast of France, is a paradise that only the French, and a certain type of French at that, used to know about. According to some, this little scrap of tranquility is meant for the chic who like to ride rusty bikes and dig for crabs. These “bon chic bon genre” are a kind of French preppy who blend easily with the locals. Of late there are complaints about a British invasion (half joking) because of a recently constructed bridge.

Île de Ré

The population of the Île de Ré increases twelve times in August when families with young children, teenagers and twenty-somethings come here in droves to take advantage of the beaches and safe, shallow waters. The sun is usually shining but not harsh at a horse latitude.

Buildings are typically white with green shutters.

Eat– for Good Health

Mixed Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette and crisp Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) Chicken is very low calorie and delicious at 242 calories per serving.

Ingredients

Chicken:
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray

Salad:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 (8-ounce) package field greens salad mix

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.To prepare chicken, combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until chicken is done and lightly browned, stirring once.

To prepare salad, combine vinegar and next 7 ingredients (through minced garlic) in a food processor; process until well combined.

Combine tomatoes, green onions, and salad mix in a large bowl; add vinegar mixture, tossing to coat. Place about 1 cup salad mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 1 cup chicken.

Yield

4 servings

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Nutritional Information

CALORIES 242(27% from fat); FAT 7.2g (sat 1.3g,mono 3g,poly 2g); IRON 1.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 73mg; CALCIUM 29mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.4g; SODIUM 622mg; PROTEIN 28.8g; FIBER 2.8g

People– appreciation

Artist D.J. Hall reflects her take on the Southern California lifestyle. The Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Culver City, California has a wonderful collection of D.J. Hall original sketches and paintings.

Eat– for Good Health

This Ice Cream Sundae is 150 calories. The “whipped cream” is non fat low sugar Redi-whip. Ingredients:

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup light vanilla or strawberry ice cream

Fan wafer and a sprinkle of almonds

To make it, saute vinegar, honey and strawberries for 3 minutes. Garnish with a squirt of Redi-whip, a couple of whole strawberries, almonds, and a thin little wafer.

Wordsmith– I also write books

In a fiction writing seminar I taught recently, an aspiring author said she liked to write about the happy side of life. That’s fine, I told her, but her lead character still needed a problem. When you begin your story, introduce your character, the setting, and problem in the first few paragraphs. Your reader wants to know what’s going on as soon as possible. Starting in the middle of action is important.

In my paranormal thriller MINING EVERMORE, criminal attorney Tara Delacruz has once again managed to get an unpopular client exonerated. Her problem is that the townspeople believe she knows something about the fiend who’s leaving a nasty bit of work along the coast. He buries his victims at neck level during low tide. When the tide rises, they don’t drown. The spooked town is going after her in a modern day witch hunt.

Places– of charm

Los Angeles architect Everett Babcock (1874-192 left a legacy with his Spanish Colonial Revival designs. Celebrities and society couples sought his fashionable away-from-it-all homes. Presently the home below is owned by architect Michael Burch and his wife Diane Wilk, also an architect. They are restoring their Babcock home in fine style, staying true to type.