Omega 3s and My Favorite Salmon Recipe

Omega 3s are essential for a healthy body. They reduce inflammation in our body and so far I have heard inflammation is a culprit for many of our health issues from heart to cancer to the brain.

The problem is that our bodies do not make Omega 3s -- we have to eat them.

Basically, there are three parts to this essential fat -- EPA, DHA, and ALA

You find most of the EPA and DHA in fish:

Anchovies           Bluefish          Herring          Sardines          Sturgeon          Lake Trout
Tuna                   Salmon (wild is best)            Mackeral (but this has higher levels of mercury)

The ALA is found in:

Walnuts               Canola Oil       Soybean Oil   Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil

Some people I know take fish oil supplements, but then you may belch the supplement for the major part of the day. The more I learn about food vs. supplements, I am leaning toward getting the vitamin, mineral, fat, etc. from the source. Since I am doing this, I have come to love salmon -- actually crave it at times.

Wild is the best salmon you can get. Here, it is hard to come by (usually it is farm raised, which is not the best choice), but I have gone online and know that you can order it from Alaska and the company will freeze ship it to you after it has been flash frozen. So, even though I have not ordered this yet, I am after I get back from Alaska (which is coming soon). While there, I will eat all I can and pick up all sorts of recipes.

Preparing salmon is easy. Super easy. When you shop for a cut of salmon, choose the center cut because it has the most fat.

When you are preparing to cook the fish, heat the pan at 475 degrees by putting some butter in the bottom of the pan. While the pan is heating and the butter is melting, season the salmon on the flesh side with your favorite seasoning (dill, basil, tarragon, what you like). Then, when the pan is ready, place the salmon in the pan skin side up. Bake it for 4-5 minutes (salmon is only baked for 10 minutes per inch of thickness). Pull it out of the oven, and with a sharp knife, pull the skin from the flesh. If it does not come off easily, put the piece of salmon back in the oven for about 2 minutes and try again. Once the skin easily comes off, flip the piece over and season the other side. Bake it for another 3-4 minutes.

That's it. Salmon continues to bake after you pull it out of the oven, and it is best not to overbake it. You will know it is done when it is firm to the touch.



My favorite salmon recipe is:
I spray a pan with olive oil, then I do things a little different. I put the skin side down on a rack covered with tin foil. Using very little, I take a butter knife and very thinly spread Dijon mustard on the flesh part. After this, I even more sparingly spread sugar free syrup on top of the mustard. (Once I used too much syrup and I ruined the piece, so use sparingly.) Still use the 475 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. It should look like the picture to the left, which is actually one of my favorite meals, salmon and green beans. The skin peels off once it is finished baking.


I cook salmon many different ways. I love garlic, so when using the above recipe with the favorite seasonings, you can bet I have added garlic to other seasonings.

On another note, Omega 6s are also essential to our body's health, and I will go into that next Monday. Here, Omega 6s  promote inflammation in our body and according to many researches, we have plenty of this fat in our diets already, so stay tuned for next Monday.

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

Writers, Actors, what do they really want?

I've thought a lot about yesterday's post -- people in the movie industry selling themselves as a product vs. the ones who are not selling themselves as a product. I then wonder about writers.

Writers work in solitude, sometimes fretting for hours or days or weeks about the next sentence, the next scene. Long ago, in Johnny Carson days, writers did come on the show and they interacted with the other guests. I do remember seeing Jacqueline Susann ("Valley of the Dolls"), Truman Capote ("In Cold Blood"), and Irving Wallace ("The Prize") to name a few. Once again, the audience was able to see the personality instead of the product (although I am sure that there was some sort of pitch for the best-seller of the day). I do not recall recent talk shows, especially day time talk shows, introducing writers, even best selling writers. The hosts may mention a book, but how many authors have you seen on television?

Community actors, professional stage actors, writers do not produce for fame (well, maybe some do), they act or write because they need to -- they need to express themselves in one way or another. Actually, most writers do not like to give interviews unless they need to. Very few want to be seen on national tv., they want a private life (I am thinking of Harper Lee and Stephen King here) I am sure the same holds true for community actors and professional actors. We want someone (our audience) to see our work, to read our work, to react to our work. That is our fame. That is our glory. Not the 15 minutes of fame.

Have you ever read a book that was so good you told everyone about it and passed around your copy? Have you ever seen a play that was so good you told everyone to go see it?

That is our glory. At least, I can say that.

Thinking back to Matthew McConaughey on The Talk, most of his work, his acting is a cut above. I wonder how he feels to have to go out there and plug a movie for a minute then be cut off. I know if I had to plug a book, I would want people to ask me about my story, where did it come from, how much of it is real, is it a part of me, what was my purpose? The questions are endless. I would want to give my audience substance.

Simple thoughts to ponder.

Until Monday...have a great weekend.

Epiphany!

When I was younger, Johnny Carson was THE person to watch at night. Then, before I knew anything and mostly about how the world really works, I wanted to be on Johnny Carson. It was a goal. Didn't know how the world really worked, and I was especially sad the day he retired. I knew then I would never achieve that goal.

Then, in those younger days, Carson would introduce movie and tv stars and they would sit around and talk and then talk some more with other entertainers Carson introduced. You, the audience, would get to know these people by their actions, reactions, talents, feelings, emotions -- in other words, I felt a connection to these people. Not like I really knew them, but I knew if I would feel comfortable sitting next to them. It's like I knew that I could never sit next to Hemingway although I love his writing. I knew his presence would intimidate me. I also knew that Jerry Lewis was a good guy and he valued his privacy. So, when I stood next to him at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas at the valet service, I never said a word. But I did ask the valet if that was indeed Jerry Lewis, and he did confirm it. I respected his value of privacy.

Now, jump forward a few years today. I may have mentioned before that I like to watch The Talk when I am home. Watching it yesterday, Matthew McConaughey was on promoting his new shows. It made me think of all the people they bring on for just a few minutes, that the only thing they do is promote their business, whatever it is, and leave. Epiphany! Talk shows do no more than promote a creative person's business. It's one business promoting another business.

Gone are the days when I will feel intimidated by someone's presence just because that person is so talented it takes my breath away; gone are the days when I find that someone values his privacy and I respect that value.

How can I feel anything for these talents? There is no connection to the person, only a product.

Stars no longer stick around and talk with others on the show. It's a simple 5 or 10 minutes plugging their product, and adios amigo. They, the stars, are nothing but a brand selling a product. Maybe this is why the paparazzi follow them. Haunt them. They -- the entertainers -- are nothing but a product. And in our throw away society, you know what we do with our products.

Interesting, though, that there are some entertainers who seldom do the circuit -- thinking of Meryl Streep. There's another line of thinking here. Meryl is not selling a product, she not only is a household name, but she is respected for her roles, her acting ability.

What do you think? Am I way off in my thinking or does this make sense?

Until tomorrow...have a great day.

Humans Needed

I have seen it all.

On Facebook's ads to the right of the page there was an ad where we could have

Experiences with Humans

Experiences with Humans! -- the last time I looked I was human! The people I know and talk to and with are human (or at least I think so), I feel human. I have human hands, human feet, human feelings, human thoughts -- so exactly what was the ad referring to if we can experiences with humans?

Are there beings around us that are not human? Does the creator of the ad feel that she or he is not human and wants an experience with a human? I think the creator of the ad has been watching too much "Ancient Aliens", 

True, there are many unexplainable occurrences in the world, and maybe we do originate from another planet -- who knows -- but, unless I am blinded by my humanness, most people (humans) I know look the same. We all have two eyes, two ears, one mouth, and well, we all look the same. Sure, you might be able to identify a person coming from an Asian country or African or Moorish or Indian  or...but we all look the same. Earth is our planet, and as we study how we have evolved, there are explanations on how and why we look different depending on our locale. We (most of us anyway) probably want the same -- to be safe with a roof over our head and food on the table, to feel that we are cared for by at least one other person (human) and we care back.

Or...is our world becoming so computer driven that people do not interact with other people (humans) and they feel a need to interact with other people. Maybe, then, it is time to turn off all electronics and step outside and say hello. A simple Hi should gather at least a smile, and possibly a Hi back.

I am on the computer a lot, but I also interact with humans a lot. May we never forget our humanness.

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

It's 11 p.m. and Life Just Went By

I would like to know how I am retired and I am so busy that all of a sudden it is 11 p.m. and the day is done?

It seems that my time flies by. I get up at 8 a.m., get ready for the day and be out the door by 10. Then, before I know it, it is time to eat and only because I am hungry. That is usually around 8 p.m. If that small thing like food did not come into the equation, I doubt if  I would notice the time until midnight. This just baffles me.

I thought retirement was for leisure and I would have all the time in the world. That is not true. At least, for me. There is so much to do and I barely get done what I want to do for the day or week. Most of my friends who are retired experience the same.

The other friends who are still working are experiencing the feeling that they can not keep up with work and their daily life styles.

When I was in my prime, I edited a magazine during the day, was adjunct faculty in the evening, and still had time for a social life. Plus, I maintained a home and everything that goes along with that. As I aged, I do remember giving up the evening work. But I had time for everything else my entire life. Then, I retired, and today I don't know where I would fit in an 8-hour day job. Just don't know how I could do it. And for those who are working, it is the exact opposite, they fit their job in, but many of the other life styles go by the wayside. I just think this is a phenomenon that I am trying to make sense of.

So, my day is done, and I am in question, Where has my day gone?

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

It's the 4th

Today is tradition of cook-outs and fireworks. It is also the most important day in America's history. After fighting with Great Britain about taxation and general treatment from the mother country, in April of 1775 Britain decided they were going to take our guns and ammunition away. That was the catalyst needed. Hostilities ensued and the Revolutionary War began with fighting in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. Our fight for freedom began.

Our founding fathers, such as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Franklin to name a few, were working on a declaration to Great Britain for our separation. Actually, Jefferson was the writer of this document (but other members did have a hand by tidying up the document) named the Declaration of Independence and it was voted to declare independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. On July 4, 1776 the declaration was signed. Thus, the day we celebrate.

In honor of Thomas Jefferson and his words, I would like to reiterate the first paragraph and the most famous line from the Declaration of Independence:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."...



We in America have many different views and opinions. We continue to fight over guns and ammunition, and to fight over life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but we persevere to celebrate one more Independence Day. May we never feel the need to separate from each other.

Until tomorrow...have a great day...

Three Different Types of Publishers

In my quest to publish my book, I am looking at all the angles. The first to be excluded is the traditional publisher. It's just too hard that way. First you have to have an agent, and usually an agent does not want to talk to you unless you are published, so it's a catch-22. And you lose! Also, I went to a writer's conference a few years ago and what I observed about the agents was not good. I always learn a lot in public bathrooms (figure that one out!) and at this conference women were coming into the restroom and crying. Crying. They had to pay for the agent to speak to them and then the agent didn't really want to be bothered with their pitch. Not fair. To reinforce this behavior, I was staying at the same hotel as the agents and during breakfast, the agents huddled together and were definitely unapproachable. Another negative with agents was that after I saw this I was in a workshop when I mentioned to an agent that I was simply going to self-publish. I got a very stern tongue lashing!

That was a few years ago, and times are changing. I haven't been to another conference but I plan to attend again next year, and I think agents will have rethought their tune. I hope so, anyway.

So, traditional publishing is out. For now anyway.

Then there is the vanity presses. These are basically the same as self-publishing, but they cost a ton of money, and the ones I have looked at do not support ebooks. First, I do not have a ton of money, and secondly, I want my books to also be ebooks. Stories I have heard about vanity presses make my wallet faint. One story from a long time ago is this doctor in town wrote a children's book and he spent about $50,000 to have it published. Needless to say, he did not even recoop a portion of his outlay. Another is more recent where I know a woman who published a cookbook, and she has not seen a minute fraction of what she put out.

So, vanity presses are out. More than likely, always will be.

Then there is self-publishing. Here, I can have both an ebook and a paperbook-on-demand. I don't have the final figures yet, but I am expecting to spend a couple of thousands to get the book published. Since I knew I was going to pursue this, I have been saving for this project. I have to do most of the work to get it published, and the only part that I do not know anything about is the reformatting of the manuscript for the publisher's specifications. I have a friend who self-published a book for Amazon, and I believe he said he spent under $1000.

I have looked at the different publishers that publish ebooks, and I believe Createspace is winning hands down. Createspace.com is owned by Amazon, and I have not heard anything negative about the process or the outcome. I have a lot to learn, but slowly I am learning.

So, self-publishing is for me. And more than likely will be forever more.

The difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing is with traditional they do the work; self-publishing the writer (or who the writer hires) does the work. There are two other big parts that separate the two. The first is with traditional, they have an in-house public relations/marketing team to help promote your book; with self-publishing, that public relations/marketing rests on the writer. And from what I understand, if the writer is to hire a PR person, it is very expensive. The second is with royalties. Usually, with traditional the writer gets about 10-15% of the price -- let's say it equals to about $1.00/per copy sold. With self-publishing, not the ebook, but any paperback books sold equals about 30% of the price, so we will say $3.00/per copy sold. But remember, the author is also paying to have the book printed. With the traditional publisher, they are investing in the writer as a commodity. Interesting, huh!

So, in my quest to be published, it appears that Createspace has won.

Until next week....have a great weekend...