Race for the Cure, The Badlands

Once again I am reminding you about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Mother's Day. My friend's website is here so if you haven't had a chance to donate, I urge you to do so. Even if you don't live in the States, the discovery of the cure will benefit every woman in the world. Could be a wife, a mother, a daughter of someone reading this blog.

I was going to mention, I heard a frightening statistic yesterday, 16 young drivers a day are killed on the roads in the summer due to distractions; cell phones, ipods, friends in the back seat, food and drink, so if you have young drivers in your family, urge them to be more careful. There was a report just this morning about a bad accident where the car was cut in half, the female passenger killed and the young driver in critical condition, this time, not distraction but drag racing. Our youth are precious to us, please make your best efforts to see they drive carefully.

This morning, the Seven Wonders of America took us to the Badlands in South Dakota. There are several designated parks in this region and the scenery is absolutely fantastic. It is also a wonderful source for fossils many of which have been found; things like sabre tooth tigers. However, tourists are urged to leave any fossils where they are found. If you go to the GMA website you can see all the photos they have today click here. The area is also famous for Mt. Rushmore and its presidential carvings, pictures of which have been shown all over the world. There is another carving being created in the area, the head of Crazy Horse. It will, apparently, be a much bigger carving than the presidential heads at Mt. Rushmore. I have copied a picture of the model of how it will look when finished, but if you want to see the progress as shown on the website click here although the latest picture is not that recent, 2002. It really is a most ambitious project and the Rushmore figures would fit inside Crazy Horse's head they say. According to what I read this morning, the badlands buttes are eroding at about 1" a year so it would seem that these statues won't be around for ever. Or maybe its only certain areas which are eroding so quickly and not where the statues are.

This is another recipe we have enjoyed on several occasions.

Cool Chicken Salad Shells
Serves: 4

Source: Cooking Light - May 1995

12 uncooked jumbo macaroni shells
5 artichoke hearts from can
3 tbs reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tbs non fat Italian dressing
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 cup cooked chopped chicken breast, about 6 oz skinned and boned
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tbs chopped ripe olives
6 fresh basil leaves.
Instructions: Cook macaroni in boiling water for about 10 mins until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water, set aside.

Line each shell with basil leaf. Mix remaining ingredients and spoon evenly into shells.

Have a great day.