Loaded Acorn Squash

Product	Servings	Fat grams per serving	Protein grams per serving	Carb grams per serving
Butter	3.5	10	0	0
Sausage	2.5	10	8	0
Cheese	3.0	7	7	1
Acorn Squash	2.9	0.14	1.12	14.58
Onion	0.7	0.1	1.1	9.34

Total Calories	1,123
% fat Calories	65%
Ketogenic ratio	108%

Cut acorn squash in half, scoop out seeds, fill hollow with butter, chopped onion, and crumbled sausage, microwave until squash is soft (about 5 minutes).  Add cheese, microwave briefly to melt cheese.

The butter, sausage, and cheese provide more than enough calories without the vegetables, but the extra fat is needed to balance out all the carbs in the squash. (And it's just tasty.) The calorie count is a little lower if I subtract out the fiber from the carb component, but it is still a very large meal.  On the upside, all that fiber and fat is very filling, so I won't need to eat again soon after this.

Cheeseburger Cake

Hubby asked for a "Cheeseburger Cake" for his birthday.  I made 2 1.5 lb hamburgers baked in the oven in cake pans.  I layered up the cake with cheese and his favorite cheeseburger toppings.  Then I laid out a pinwheel of giant cheese slices and left it in a warm oven just long enough for the cheese to melt into a "frosting" like shape.  I think this would have been better done with a blowtorch (targeted and controlled heat.)

I used 3 lbs hamburg and 1.5 lbs of cheese, and generous quantities of relish, mustard, and ketchup.  We served lettuce and tomatoes on the side, but most guests ignored them.

Review: Not too hard to make, tasty, looks vaguely like cake, holds candles just fine.  Might look more cake like with a third layer.  Leftovers served well as quick meals, although the cheese melted all over the plate upon microwaving.

Felt Boots, Version 2, Session 1

I've started a new pair of boots!

My template (blue) is made from craft foam sheets.  Much more durable than cardboard!  I tore some wool felt in a pattern large enough to cover both sides of the template. (Mistake 1: seams come out better if you do this as two pieces.)

Wet down the wool with hot soapy water where the template will go.

Bend the seams over the template and wet down.

Now bring over the other half of the wool and wet it down.

Flip over and do the seams again as above.

Repeat entire process with a second layer of batting that has the fibers running the opposite direction.

Now it's time for serious felting!  Cover with bubble wrap.   Put a little soapy water on top of the bubble wrap and gently massage all over for 10 minutes.  Flip it over and massage again for 10 minutes.

You can see all the little soapy impressions of my bubble wrap.

Hopefully now you've got more of a fabric and less of a pile of fiber.  Pinch to test.

Second side...

I ran out of fragrence free shampoo and switchted to Kiss My Face olive oil soap.  It turned out to be much gentler on my skin, I think I'll stick with it.

This part is not as well done, you can see some loose fibers in the pinch.

Sorry, couldn't get pictures of cutting it open and flipping it inside out.  It was hard enough without juggling a camera!  Be careful not to stretch or tear the mouth of the boot or disturb the looser fiber inside while turning.  

After turning, repeat the 10 minutes per side of pre-felting as above.  After the inside passes pinch test, time to step up the aggressive outlet.  (Mistake #2, might be good to turn back right side out now, it was like velcro inside later.)  Lay bubble wrap above and below, and roll around a pool noodle.  Roll around for 10 minutes.

Fold it differently and Roll again

Getting much tighter...

Rolling yet another way...

Next come my 3-D shaping helpers.  The smaller tube is a bit larger than my foot, the larger tube is a bit larger than my calf.

You can see how much shrinking we have to do.

The felt is tight enough now that we don't need bubble wrap to protect the surface.  Rolling more with the forms inside.

The felt is very stiff now.

Starting to look like a boot!

Girl Talk

Ok, time for the men to step out a bit if they're squeamish about lady things.

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Coast clear?

Ok, so PMS...  During the years I suffered from fibromyalgia, I always had trouble remembering if the P was for Pre or Post, because I never seemed to get PMS.  I just felt worse than that all the time.  Now that my health is improving, I notice.  My major symptom is emotional, I get anxious, and as a result find it very hard to concentrate on difficult tasks (AKA the stuff I'm paid to do every day.)  I think I may have a minor magnesium deficiency.  

Wikipedia on the symptoms of Magnesium Deficiency: "Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include: hyperexcitability, dizziness, muscle cramps, muscle weakness and fatigue."

Boy, that sounds familiar.  That pretty much described me to a T during the fibromyalgia years.  I'm getting better on most of those fronts, weakness takes time to work out, and I'm not sure I'll ever know how to change the emotional patterns I have when encountered with a surprise.  

Wikipedia on biological roles of Magnesium: "The symptoms of people with fibromyalgia, migraines, and premenstrual syndrome are less severe, and magnesium can shorten the length of the migraine symptoms."

Hrm...  Fibromyalgia...

Studies show that oral Magnesium helps PMS symptoms:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2067759
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17177579

So what am I doing about it?  First, I have a supply of calcium, magnesium and zinc pills.  I'm supposed to take them three times a day all the time, as my lady doctor is concerned about calcium levels (based on my gender and statistics, not any testing) but I've never managed to make a habit of it.  During PMS though, when I start to feel anxious, I do remember them.  I'm not really sure if they help in the short term, I'm going to try to take them more regularly.  Secondly, I eat dark chocolate.  Yes, it's a stereotype, but Chocolate is a good source of Magnesium, and I accept it as wisdom of the generations of women before me.  I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but I'm definitely more interested during PMS than other times.  I don't know if my increased interest is really strong enough to call it craving, but between episodes I can leave good chocolate in my cupboard untouched and not care, and suddenly remember it and consider it a worthy snack during PMS.  Thirdly, I'm eating more fruit during this time.  The carbohydrates help elevate Serotonin levels, and fruit has a lot of micro-nutrients in it, unlike the potato, rice, grain carb alternatives.