Kathryn Wicker
Bio
I write, I read, I cook, I preserve, I strive to be my best at them all. But, writing, cooking and preserving are all works in progress - just like life. I've got the reading down pat except for the lack of time.
Achievements (1)
Stories (15/0)
For the Love of Chickpeas
I love chickpeas. I mean, I LOVE CHICKPEAS! Yes, I was yelling that from the mountaintop or at least from my second floor bedroom. Tori Avey gives lots of information about the chickpea, chick pea or as we called it in Spain: garbanzo bean. And Spain was the first place I had ever had a chickpea! I lived there starting in 1985 through June of 1986, before that my family in Ohio had never exposed me to their incredible flavors! My family ate adventurously for the area and time period, but never had any type of beans.
By Kathryn Wickerabout a year ago in Feast
The last 4 weeks: 7, 8,9 and 10 of my Plant Based Journey
It has been days and weeks since I last got on and posted an update on my plant based journey. So today I’m posting about weeks 7, 8, 9 and 10 - I know - I haven’t gotten on in forever. Life has been hectic and I have piles of excuses. Please know that I am staying plant based and working on losing weight. Yesterday I even made homemade fat-free, plant based ramen with traditional Japanese ramen noodles (WHICH ARE NOT FRIED and horrible for you)! How could we ruin a meal that is so healthy and fantastic? Seriously - I love ramen because it just tastes like noodle soup that has ginger and garlic throughout. And I added shredded bok choy as my greens. I slightly used the following recipe as my base but my tofu was air fried so it would be crunchier.
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
How to Find a Favorite Farm Stand Near You
I admit it - I live in Farm Stand Land. I live in Central Pennsylvania, nestled between Adams County and their fruit orchards, Lancaster County and their corn and vegetable fields and in the middle of York County which has both fruit orchards and vegetable fields. I do not do well in cities or with traffic or loud noises polluting my world. I used to think I would be a city dweller, but I tried it and I didn’t really like it. My commute is all rural - no highways at all and the only thing slowing me down is if my timing is off and I fall behind a school bus. Since I’m a teacher, I have to have my timing perfect to avoid the one bus that seems to catch me going north. Anyway, I digress - I’m a canner without a garden so I depend on my farm stands.
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
Plant Based Week #5 - Plant Stock
Weight 294.5 (only ½ a pound down) Blood Pressure 132/85 Jane, Rip and Ann Esselstyn from the Plantstock website - the conference was incredible! Log on and see if they are going to do another virtual Plantstock! Or if you can buy the recordings from this one!
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
Two Weeks Plant Based and 7.6 pounds gone
Weight: 297.6 (7.6 pounds from start at 305.2) Blood Pressure: 139/93 So, in my first two weeks I have lost 7.6 pounds by going plant based. I need to celebrate that as I am trying to wither my lipid-filled water balloons to nothing! D. Thea Baldrick, otherwise known as Denise to me, wrote in her “Fat-Cell 1: What is a Fat Cell” article that we are suffering from the medical condition known as Metabolic syndrome (being too fat for your own good as she says). I need Denise to keep explaining the science to help me move forward.
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
Plant Based Week 1 is done
Plant Based Diet Week 1 is behind me…. Weight: 301.4 Blood Pressure: 130/95 So this week I’ve been reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s The End of Dieting (published 2014). He talks about the Standard American Diet being like an addiction (so does Dr. Neal Bernard). Dr. Fuhrman states that if you are overweight - you are a food addict. And I’ve heard that before. I am sure that I am a food addict and when depressed, stressed or upset - I medicate with horrible foods. I want to quit cold turkey (and that is what I’m trying to do this year), but as he says on page 26, “But it doesn’t work that way. It’s not about will power. There are no shortcuts. Addictions don’t respond to easy answers. You can’t “just say no””. You still have to eat each day.
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
One Year Trying a Plant Based Diet - the start
I have to be honest to myself. I have eaten myself to illness again. I’m one of those people that have lost and gained weight since I was 11. A few years ago - before COVID, before my sister died, I watched “What the Health” on Netflix. Ironically I was sitting there watching it as I ate fried chicken and french fries. I never finished that fried chicken. And then I watched Forks Over Knives which is on Amazon now but at the time was on Netflix. I started reading piles of books:
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
- Top Story - August 2022
Oodles of Blueberries.... Part 1 Make a Pie
I always buy blueberries from the Kiwanis Club here in Central PA. Always. I usually buy two or three 10-lb boxes each year because I freeze so many of them and I make jam. This year I swear I only ordered one box in May - only one 10-pound box! I swear that is what I did because I still have last year’s blueberries in the freezer and a row of blueberry jam on the shelves. I know I love to preserve my fruits and vegetables, but both shelf and freezer space is limited.
By Kathryn Wicker2 years ago in Feast
