A Kale & Potato Soup Recipe

… courtesy of our dear Mrs. Thistlebottom, a/k/a Joan.  [NOTE: This is not a picture of her soup. This is a random, anonymous, potato kale soup picture I swiped from the Internet.]

I made kale potato soup last night, and it’s so good that I wanted to share the recipe. It’s adapted from a book called Saved by Soup by Judith Barrett. I’m excited because I haven’t been a big fan of kale before, but this soup is terrific. Here’s the quick version:

Dice a medium yellow onion and saute in a little olive oil. Add two two diced Yukon Gold potatoes and 4 c. low-fat chicken broth, bring to boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 min. Add a bunch of kale (washed, stems removed, etc.), simmer for another 20 min. I think I let it simmer for 30 min because I was busy with something else and am easily distracted. [Editor's Note:  Me too, Joan.  Me too.]  Then let it cool and either puree in a blender or with a stick blender. I used my stick blender, which worked very well.

That’s it! Very easy. The cookbook doesn’t say to saute the onion, but I think it makes a big difference in flavor. I added just a wee bit of onion salt with the potato and broth.

I’m going to try this next week. I love kale, and this seems super simple. Kale is chock-a-block full of calcium (as are onions, I believe. And if it’s not calcium, there’s some other bone building mineral in onions that you’re supposed to have.) By the way, I’m not certain but I believe it is the stems that makes the kale so so so bitter. If you get rid of those, it won’t curl your tongue quite as much.

Another actress with osteoporosis

Porti de Rossi has just written a memoir, and in it she says that in 2001 after collapsing on set, she was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with osteoporosis (along with cirrhosis of the liver, Lupus and organ failure). She says that when she was working on Ally McBeal, she was down to 82 pounds, ate roughly 150 calories a day, and used 20 laxatives a day and excessive exercise to maintain her weight.

I tell you. If the lack of vitamin D isn’t bad enough for our bones, the pressure to be thin thin thin will most certainly do us in. Wish I knew then (in my twenties) what I know now. Mangia, ladies. Mangia.

SSP third draft

I think I’m almost done with it. Well… this incarnation of it. I’ve emailed it to the hubby along with the key notes to see if I’ve missed anything. Nola is right. It does get a little bit better with every draft. Someone please remind me to act like an adult when I get my next round of notes?

Also, might I add (yet again) It is astounding how much time I spend procrastinating versus how much time I spend writing.

The plumber is coming by again tomorrow to try to fix the water heater.  They were supposed to come Wednesday, but the part was delayed in shipment, so then they made it Thursday, only to open the box and find they were shipped the wrong part, so now they’re coming tomorrow. Dear Lord, let them be able to fix it before the renter arrives tomorrow night. I already had to cancel on him once. I don’t think he’d forgive a second time.

We’re still waiting to hear about our other projects. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is holding up the release of the funds for our show, and we’ve no idea if they’re ever going to release the money, so we are essentially unemployed right now and burning through cash. Gah. I hate this part of being creative. The not knowing when your next paycheck might arrive.

Other than that, all is well. Doing the yoga; doing my walking; taking my supplements; living my life.

People with sisters are happier.

According to this article.  I wish I had a sister. Or that I’d been a better sister to my brother when I had a brother.

The second of Jane Brody’s articles on living to 100

… can be found here. Interesting to see how much simply walking every day can do for your independence.

K2 versus K, and MK-4 versus MK-7

Over on NOF, people ask a lot of questions about Vitamin K and Vitamin K2, and sometimes about MK-4 and MK-7. I’m sure this is old news to you guys, but I’ll break it down.

Vitamin K (phylloquinone) is found in leafy green vegetables. K2 (MK-4) is found in cheese, meats and organ meats, eggs, butter (mmm… butter, but more so from grass fed cows than from factory cows), fish and shellfish. MK-7 is found in Natto, which from the sound of it doesn’t taste very good. K1 can be converted into K2, but not as effectively as just eating some K2 foods.  Or taking supplements.

The various forms of K2 (menaquinone) are designated as MK1 through MK 14. Each has a slightly different molecular structure. The numbers following the “MK” have to do with the length of the molecular chain — longer the chain, higher the number. I don’t know why it’s “MK” instead of “MQ”. Possibly an abbreviation for menaquinone K as opposed to phylloquinone K? Totally guessing here.

There is debate about which is better:  MK-4 or MK-7. Some people say that MK-7 has a longer shelf life in the body, and is ergo better for you than MK-4. (Or at least I read one person’s comment on NOF that said that.) So I did some looking. And I found this website, wholehealthsource.com that really has some excellent information on Vitamin K2. He had this to say:

I’m always on the lookout for studies that can shed light on the question of whether MK-4 and MK-7 are equivalent. MK-7 is able to activate clotting factors and osteocalcin, so it can clearly function as a cofactor for gamma-carboxylation in some contexts. Osteocalcin is a Gla protein that’s important for bone health. MK-7 supposedly hangs out in the blood for longer than MK-4in humans, which is one of the things MK-7 supplement manufacturers like to mention, but these findings were conducted by MK-7 supplement vendors and the results have not been published. Interestingly, MK-4 and MK-7 have the exact same plasma half-life in rats, so I think the human experiment should be repeated. In any case, a longer plasma half-life is not evidence for superiority of one form over another in my opinion.

Today, I found another difference between MK-4 and MK-7. I was reading a paper about SXR-independent effects of vitamin K2 on gene expression. The investigators found that MK-4 strongly activates transcription of two specific genes in osteoblast cells. Osteoblasts are cells that create bone tissue. The genes are GDF15 and STC2 and they’re involved in bone and cartilage formation. They tested K1 and MK-7, and in contrast to MK-4, they did not activate transcription of the genes in the slightest. This shows that MK-4 has effects on gene expression in bone tissue that MK-7 doesn’t have.

So it seems MK-4 is the better bone builder. I’ve got my bases covered. The K2 I take has K1, and Mk-4 and Mk-7. I wonder sometimes whether I shouldn’t take more MK-4. In Japan, they supplemented with huge amounts of MK-4, and I wonder if I shouldn’t find a separate MK-4 tablet and take more.

But I do love my cheese. So maybe I’ll just eat more of that instead. Dr. Davis on the Heart Scan Blog’s take is this:

“As the data matures, I am going to enjoy my gouda, Emmenthaler, Gruyere, and feta cheeses, along with a few egg yolks. I’m going to be certain to include healthy oils like olive and canola with my vegetables.”

Be sure and click on the two links above to read more about vitamin K1 and K2, and here’s another article on it as well.

The hot water heater

… needs a replacement heat plate, says the plumber. The part runs about $200-$400. (It could be worse, folks. Of course, that isn’t factoring in his hourly fee, is it? I may have spoken too soon.)

He says I can’t blame my puddin-headed renters. He says it’s my own fault for not having yearly maintenance done on the boiler. I’m supposed to have it cleaned every year. Who knew? He says he thinks he can get a replacement part by next Wednesday. The renters who were supposed to arrive today were very understanding about moving it to next weekend. In my opinion, next weekend is a better weekend. It’s halloween. In our town, they close off the main street to all traffic (except the NYC bus) and have a little parade with the kids in their costumes. And then they have another parade for dogs in their costumes. The renters are bringing their two pugs. They can dress them up like Frankenweiner or something. The guy told me his wife will definitely want to dress the dogs if I tell her about the parade. He practically begged me not to tell her. Cute.

So puddin’-headed renters, I take back all the written verbal abuse I hurled at you yesterday.

Well. Sort of.

I still think anyone who turns the heater up while opening the window is a doofus. Now I’m off to the fabric store to find something for a slipcover… to replace the old slipcover on which a different renter decided to draw a picture of a horse head. In blue ink. No, she was not five.

Another success story on NOF

Granny19530 posted the amazing results of her one year DEXA:

“One year ago I was devastated by the news that I had osteoporosis in my spine and ostopenia in my hips. My spine was -3.4 and my hips were -1.4. Just got the results of my latest dexa scan – spine -2.7 and hips -1.2. After joining [Inspire] and getting wonderful support I made the decision not to take the Actonel that had been prescribed and started exercising, along with taking all the relevant supplements. I also started taking Strontium, so I really don’t know what has made the difference – probably my whole lifestyle change. My doctor was very pleased with my bloodwork results also – Vitamin D3 level is 84. Can’t thank you guys [at Inspire NOF] enough for being so inspirational and supportive. I will continue to keep doing what I’m doing with even more enthusiasm, knowing that further improvement is wholly up to me and possible.”

From -3.4 to -2.7 in one year? Amazing! I’ll have what she’s having.

It’s always something.

We decided to splurge and buy a grown-up bed. I have never in my entire life had a queen sized bed. Two reasons: They’re usually about $200 to $400 more than a full-sized bed; and the sheets are about $10-$20 more expensive. Make that three reasons: my bedroom is usually too small for a queen sized bed.

But we’ve been renting our house out (quite successfully), and the mattress was getting a little tired, and Sears was having a 50% off sale. It was Kismet. And I figured as long as I’m buying a new mattress, why not get queen-size? The guests will like having the extra room. I’ll like having the extra room (on the rare occasion I get to sleep in my own bed)(whatever little room is afforded me by my bed-hogging dog and cat.)(Yes, I know. Cesar Milan would say I am not being alpha dog. In truth, even the dog isn’t alpha dog, the cat is.)

Back to the bed. So I order the mattress. And somewhere in the back of my feeble little brain, I have fixated on a measurement I could swear I saw on an Ikea queen-size bed. My brain insists that the queen size frame is only one inch longer than the full-size frame. Six inches wider, but only one inch longer. And this is oh so very key, because length-wise in the bedroom — uh — things are a little tight. But I’m not worried about it. I shell out my non-refundable mattress money (non-refundable because it’s half-off, you see?), confident that the queen size bed frame is 80 inches, and the full sized bed is 79 1/8 inches. And I’m not going to notice the loss of 7/8-inch in space.

Only that is not the length of the Ikea queen size bed. It is not the length of any queen size bed frame I can afford. And I know. Because I have spent the last two weeks (post buying the mattress) scouring the Internet for a queen size bed frame that is no more than 80-inches in length.

They don’t exist.

Correction. They do. At fancy schmancy European furniture stores. One retails for just shy of $7,000 (a bargain compared to the other that retails for $12,000.)

I cannot see paying more for a bed than I have ever spent on a car.

Hm. Maybe we can put the mattress in the back of the pickup truck and sleep there?

No.

I finally find a bed. It’s a mid-century modern jobbie. I love me some mid-mod. It is unfortunately a far sight more than the $199.00 Ikea bed. But infinitely less than the $7,000 for whateverthenameofthatridiculousstore was. And it was on sale ($216.00 off), and the delivery was free (although I cannot for the life of me figure out how we’re going to get it upstairs to the bedroom.  We’ll probably have to rig up a winch of some kind to lift the bed over the balcony railing on the back deck. (Note: originally I typed “wench.”  That would be funny.  Some blowzy broad hoisting our bed up and over the railing. “Put ‘er there, boys!”) And then remove the sliding glass doors and hope the frame will fit at an angle through the opening.

Anyway, it was much more – like five times more – than I intended to spend. But the hubby said we could write it off against the money we made on the rental, and it’s high time we had some nice furniture instead of all the college-style stuff we have. So okay. No regrets.

And then I get up to the house to do the changeover today. And I’m running the hot water. And it isn’t getting hot. Tepid, maybe. But not hot.

Uh. Oh.

Now maybe the coil on the water heater just needs to be cleaned (pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease!), but maybe our idiot renters have broken it.

Deep breath.

Do you want to know what they’ve been doing? (You know you do. Don’t try to deny it.)

It’s what I would call mid-season weather here. Not quite warm, but not quite cold. Our house faces south, and during the day the direct sunlight does a pretty good job of keeping the place heated. It can be 53 outside but 73 inside thanks to the sun. But when the sun sets, it can cool down pretty dang quickly. That’s why we have these incredibly thick, I mean monster thick, curtains. To keep the cold air from all that glass from making the house cold.

But I understand. People come to the country. They want to look at the woods and the stars. So they don’t close the curtains. And the house gets cold.

We have radiant heat. The great thing about radiant heat is it is so quiet and so efficient, you don’t even know it’s on. Once the house reaches the set temperature on the thermostat, it’s very easy for the heater to maintain that temperature.

The bad thing about radiant heat is it takes forever to warm up. Forever. Eight hours minimum.  So say the thermostat is set at 72 degrees, but during the day the sun heats the house up to 73 or 74 degrees, the heat is going to cut off. All day long it will be off.

And then the sun goes down and very rapidly the temperature will fall to around 68 degrees. At which point, I just put on a sweater. But city slickers? Brrrr! That’s cold!!!!  So they turn the heat up. And of course it’s radiant, it is not going to feel warm anytime soon. So they turn it up more. And more. And more. And more. They turn it up to 96 degrees.

And then… sometime around, oh, 4 in the morning, they wake up and they’re sweltering. This house is so hot, they say. And they open the windows. They open all of them. They forget that they cranked the heat up to 96 degrees. They forget that the heat is even on because they can’t hear it. So then for the next — however many days they’re in the house — the heater, the poor beleaguered heater — it’s pumping its guts out trying to heat the house to the demanded 96 degrees, while the idiot renters still have all the windows open, and it’s 48 degrees outside.

I arrive and they tell me how incredibly tight the house is. So warm. They had to open the windows. But they don’t have to tell me that. The minute I hit the vestibule off the laundry room, I can feel the molten hot temperature coming from behind the laundry room door. And I know that the heater has been working overtime.

Now when guests arrive, the first thing I explain to them is how the radiant heat works. That it doesn’t matter how high they set the thermostat, it’s going to take a minimum of eight hours for the house to reach that temperature.  I tell them if they get cold at sunset, the best course of action is to start a fire in the fireplace. The fireplace kicks out 70,000 BTU. It will heat the entire house within about 30 minutes. I tell them there is free firewood in the shed, use as much as they want. Let the fire go out right before they go to bed, and in the morning when they wake, the house will be cozy and warm because the radiant heat will have had time to kick in. I tell them if they can’t start a fire, to call my cell or text me, and my neighbor will come over and start the fire for them. He will do it every evening. They can go to dinner if they don’t want to be there, he’ll stop by while they’re out, and they’ll come home to a roaring, toasty fire (and home.)

But do they listen? No. No, they do not.

Our propane bill is normally about 800 for the entire year. It was $399 for the past month alone because of these ressin fressin puddin’ for brain idiots who rent my house.

So we’re having to have the most expensive plumber on God’s green earth come in here on Wednesday and fix the heater. And he’s installing a thermostat that we can control from our computers in NYC. I bet there’s a way we could find out from the security system (we have a security system) whether a window is open or not.

Even if we can’t, I think I’m going to tell people that I can monitor the windows and the heat from the city. And that if I see the thermostat set above 74, I’m going to charge them extra. Or that if I see the heat is on at all while a window is open, I’m going to charge them an extra $100.  It is insane.

Do they not know what fossil fuels are doing to our environment?!!! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!  You have a brain! Use it for crying out loud!

Okay. Sorry. I know that had nothing to do with bones or health — well — maybe my mental health. Or lack thereof. But I just had to get that off my chest.

My bad math strikes again!

Betsy (my hero) wrote in to help me figure out the math stuff. It’s in the comment section of the HRT article, but if you don’t read comments, here it is again. Also, interesting info on B12 as an alternative to HRT.

“If I’m doing the math correctly, for 42 out of every 100 women on the hormones to have developed cancer, the number would have to be 42%. 0.42% means 42 out of 10,000 women, and 0.34% means 34 out of 10,000 women. [BA Editorial note:  this explains the physician saying one or two more people out of 10,000 developing breast cancer. Much lower odds than my bad math.]

I haven’t read the articles you linked to yet, but I agree that findings on Prempro do not seem that relevant. The people I know of on hormones seem to be doing bio-identical. When will the data be out on those studies? [BA Editorial note: Exactly!]

To change the subject, did you see the data on Vit B12 and Alzheimer’s? the Healthy Librarian did a write-up on B12 and I must have followed a link or seen something there on a possible connection to low B12 levels and increased risk for Alzheimer’s. It’s slightly related to this topic since you were at one point considering HRT to reduce Alzheimer’s risk (and I’ve thought about that for myself too). It would be nice to be able to improve my chances by taking B12 rather than HRT. [BA Editorial note:  Everyone go visit the link above and read about B12.]

Thank you, Betsy!