Cucumber Water @ The Blue Rose Kitchen

There's a new restaurant in town. It's called Blue Rose Kitchen and it's located @ 204 Orange Ave in Long Beach, Ca( Between Broadway & 2nd St.) . I've only eaten there once and the food was good. I was impressed when I was offered a complimentary glass of cucumber water. Usually restaurants serve a glass of water with a slice of lemon but Blue Rose offers cucumber water ! How cool is that ? Not only is it cool but it's extremely healthy. Here's some health benefits of cucumbers:

Health Benefits
The flesh of cucumbers is primarily composed of water but also contains ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and caffeic acid, both of which help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. Cucumbers'hard skin is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial minerals including silica, potassium and magnesium.

A Radiant Complexion

The silica in cucumber is an essential component of healthy connective tissue, which includes muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone. Cucumber juice is often recommended as a source of silica to improve the complexion and health of the skin, plus cucumber's high water content makes it naturally hydrating—a must for glowing skin. Cucumbers are also used topically for various types of skin problems, including swelling under the eyes and sunburn. Two compounds in cucumbers, ascorbic acid and caffeic acid, prevent water retention, which may explain why cucumbers applied topically are often helpful for swollen eyes, burns and dermatitis.

An Easy Way to Increase Your Consumption of Both Fiber and Water

Trying to get adequate dietary fiber on a daily basis is a challenge for many Americans. Adding a crunchy cool cucumber to your salads is an especially good way to increase your fiber intake because cucumber comes naturally prepackaged with the extra fluid you need when consuming more fiber. Plus, you get the added bonus of vitamin C, silica, potassium and magnesium.

High Blood Pressure? Cucumber Can Help You Cool Down

When people who participated in the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Study added foods high in potassium, magnesium and fiber, their blood pressure dropped to healthier levels. Those people in the study who ate a diet rich in these compounds in addition to the other foods on this diet (low fat dairy foods, seafood, lean meat and poultry) lowered their blood pressure by 5.5 points (systolic) over 3.0 points (diastolic).

Blue Rose Kitchen is open Tues thru Sunday 11:30am to 8:00pm. Enjoy fine cuisine, from Sandwiches to Lasagna. Prices are reasonable and the customer service was acceptable for The Culinary Coquette. (wink )Try the owner's specialty ; Smoked Macoroni & Cheese.

Homemade Peach Cobbler

On Labor Day weekend I was in Hanford and Selma, CA for my paternal family reunion. I stayed with one of my coolest cousin's named Shari in Hanford. I watched her as she made homemade peach cobbler from scratch. There are some steps missing because I had to head off to Selma for my family reunion activities. Check out these peaches. The end result was absolutely scrumptious ! Unfortunately, at the time I had to lay off the sugar. Anyway, Hanford and Selma are located in Central California. Oh yeah and Shari has a parakeet named J.R (Jackie Robinson) a female parakeet

Too Much For Togos!

Earlier this month I had lunch at a Togos( in the Long Beach area) with my mom. I ordered my usual, a regular sized albacore tuna sandwich on honeywheat. Cheddar cheese and light lettuce. My mother ordered soup. The employees were pleasant. Well, I didn't finish my entire sandwich and this is where it gets WEIRD. I take the second half of my sandwich to the front and place it on the counter with a warm and fuzzy smile. Suddenly, the employees backed up as if I had a bomb disguised as an albacore tuna sandwich ! "Oh no, we can't wrap that" In bewilderment, I ask "why?" "Sorry, we just can't do it." One of the employees behind the counter handed me a piece of wrapping paper. I stated that the employees at the Togos near 7th and Bellflower wrap my sandwich all the time. "Sorry, we can't wrap it". So I sheepishly take my half eaten albacore tuna sandwich on honeywheat with cheddar cheese and light lettuce and ball it up into the wrapping tissue. I couldn't wrap it as neatly as they do. That's what I wanted .Why wouldn't they wrap it ? I was the only one at the counter. I thought to myself maybe it's some kind of weird health department issue...then I thought THEY HAVE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC GLOVES !! What the heck ??? I DUMPED SUBWAY FOR TOGOS AND THIS IS HOW THE CULINARY COQUETTE GETS TREATED ??? If anyone knows me well I am a loyal customer and something really drastic has to occur for me to stop patronizing a business. I exited the Togos calmly without incident and headed home .When I arrived home I looked on the internet for a Togos website customer feed back form. There wasn't one...but there was a customer service number. I connected with this nice lady who listened to my CRISIS. According to the customer service agent they were supposed to wrap my sandwich. So she takes my address down to send out a formal letter thanking me for providing feedback. LOL ! I also received a $5.00 gift certificate towards any purchase @ Togos. Thanks Togos ! I still love ya !

Hmmm...Neiman- Marcus Cookies

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp . baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter
and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal,
salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts.
Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.

Breaking News !

The Poetic Coffee and Sotelo's Cafe made the top 6 best coffee/coffeehouses in Long Beach printed in today's Long Beach Press Telegram ! Thanks for all your votes !