Basil-Tomato Salad

Happy Summer to everyone from Good Living Products. I wanted to share a very good summer receipt I found the other day. It is great to have with your lunch or dinner or at a family BBQ. We have been having alot of those lately and its so fun with.

Basil-Tomato Salad Ingredients

1  recipe Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe below
1  small baguette or French roll
2  Tbsp. olive oil
2  cloves garlic, minced
1  small head green leaf lettuce, torn (6 cups)
3  cups fresh basil, torn
2  cups grape tomatoes, halved, or chopped plum tomatoes
1/2  cup pine nuts, toasted
2  oz. Parmesan cheese, shaved
Directions
1. Prepare Lemon Vinaigrette; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Split baguette in half horizontally. In small bowl combine olive oil and garlic. Brush onto cut sides of baguette. Cut each bread piece lengthwise into 3 or 4 breadsticks. Place on baking sheet. Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until toasted. Transfer to wire rack; cool.
3. In large bowl combine lettuce and basil. In 3- to 4-quart glass canister or desired container layer greens, tomatoes, pine nuts, and cheese . Serve with breadsticks and Lemon Vinaigrette. Makes 6 servings.
Lemon Vinaigrette: In small screw-top jar combine 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel, 1/3 cup lemon juice (1 large lemon), 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper. Cover; shake well.

Hope you enjoy and stay cool. Remember to stay hydrated during these hot summer days & nights. Please check out our Special Summer Savings @ goodlivingproducts.com

Be Well,

Roger & Lisa Booth

Good Living Products

 

May 5th - Cinco de Mayo

 Lisa and I have spent a great deal of time in Mexico.  In fact we lived there for 2 weeks of every month from 2006 through 2008!  We loved it there and loved the people and culture.  We thought we'd give the real reason that Mexico celebrates Cinco de Mayo.  It's actually celebrated more in the US than in Mexico and my opinion is that it's really just an excuse to drink.........a lot!!!! 

Cinco de Mayo is a date of great importance for the Mexican and Chicano communities. It marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. Althought the Mexican army was eventually defeated, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism. With this victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves of any foreign intervention. Especially those from imperialist states bent on world conquest.

Cinco de Mayo's history has its roots in the French Occupation of Mexico. The French occupation took shape in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. With this war, Mexico entered a period of national crisis during the 1850's. Years of not only fighting the Americans but also a Civil War, had left Mexico devastated and bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, President Benito Juarez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for a brief period of two years, with the promise that after this period, payments would resume.

The English, Spanish and French refused to allow president Juarez to do this, and instead decided to invade Mexico and get payments by whatever means necessary. The Spanish and English eventually withdrew, but the French refused to leave. Their intention was to create an Empire in Mexico under Napoleon III. Some have argued that the true French occupation was a response to growing American power and to the Monroe Doctrine (America for the Americans). Napoleon III believed that if the United States was allowed to prosper indescriminantly, it would eventually become a power in and of itself.

In 1862, the French army began its advance. Under General Ignacio Zaragoza, 5,000 ill-equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated the French army in what came to be known as the "Batalla de Puebla" on the fifth of May.

In the United States, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to be known as simply "5 de Mayo" and unfortunately, many people wrongly equate it with Mexican Independence which was on September 16, 1810, nearly a fifty year difference.

 Over, the years Cinco de Mayo has become very commercialized and many people see this holiday as a time for fun and dance. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo has become more of Chicano holiday than a Mexican one. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale here in the United States than it is in Mexico. People of Mexican descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive activities.

Hope you enjoyed educating yourself about Cinco de Mayo.  Salud!!!  Roger and Lisa Booth of Good Living Products, LLC

Who Says Long Distance Love Can't Work?

We thought you would enjoy this story

By Monique Jessen, Tonic

No distance is too far for Rodan, the lovesick stork.

Making the trip from South Africa to Croatia every spring, the male bird travels 13,000 km to see his beloved female partner, Malena, who is disabled and unable to fly, reports Britain’s Metro

The loving storks cozy up, mating and raising their new chicks (they have produced 32 offspring so far) and teaching them how to fly. Rodan then departs to spend the winter months in South Africa and returns on exactly the same day, the following spring.

Locals in the small village of Slavonski Brod in Croatia thought crippled Malena would almost certainly die when she was shot by a hunter in 1993, but thanks to the Vokic family, whose roof she lives on and her ever faithful partner, Rodan, she has survived for over 17 years.

Reunited again last week, Rodan was more eager than ever to see his love, arriving two hours earlier than usual. “It was clear they were pleased to see each other,” said one local to the Romanian Times. Stjepan Vokic added, “He knows he needs to return home because Malena is waiting for him.”

The storks have become so famous in the village that it’s not only Malena that waits anxiously for her partner to return, local residents and reporters gather round to welcome the tired bird home, every March.

Lets hope the couple’s little chicks will be just as loyal and faithful as their Papa!

Didn't that just make you smile!

Be well,

Roger & Lisa Booth of Good Living Products, LLC