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Surprise! Two cookbook winners!

I know I say this every single time I do a Cookbook Giveaway, but this time I mean it more than ever: It was so hard to pick a winner this time.

I had entries from folks who had just quit smoking, were on fixed incomes and could not afford the book, wanted to lose weight for retirement, wanted to help their loved ones cook healthier meals for themselves and hoped the book would help them teach their children about a healthier lifestyle. I wanted to give the book to every single person who entered.

Fortunately, I was assisted just a little bit by a surprise phone call that I received this week. The public relations person for the Podleski sisters are sending me…. drum roll, please… an autographed copy of the book! So now I have TWO copies and I will give them out to my top TWO winners.

The winner of the autographed copy is Amanda, who said: I just started graduate school and am currently living at home with my 2 dogs while my husband is away doing military training. It’s so hard to eat healthy when it’s just myself! I’ve been married a little over 2 years and my husband is in the Army. He’s been gone for a little over 3 months. Right now he is doing training for his position. He will be be home in October and deployed next year. This will be a great way to get myself in shape -not only for him but for myself. I’ve started going to the gym, but need help with the nutritional aspect. I have around 40 pounds to go!

Lindsey Nair - August 28, 2008 - 5:19 PM

2 Comments

Exploding restaurants

Okay, I realize I may have gotten a little carried away with the Ruby Tuesday demolition post yesterday. When I stopped to think about it, I realized that with almost 1,000 locations in the United States, they probably aren’t going to decide to blow up one in a fairly prime location like right in the middle of the Valley View development or at the corner of U.S. 419 and Brambleton Avenue.

Still, it might have been fun. I think it still will be fun to watch the show online, so I still plan to tune in at 3 p.m.

The entry has sparked some interesting discussion, though. Some of you say the new decor is kinda boring and has no personality. I didn’t mind the old decor all that much, really. In fact, I loved those Tiffany lamps and I wish I’d had some opportunity to buy one of the old ones because I would have seriously considered hanging it in my dining room. Does that make me stale? Who cares.

What’s stale is these chain restaurants whose menus are all basically the same and who cannot really compete, in either quality or service, with a lot of the independently-owned restaurants in our corner of Virginia. I have nothing against chain restaurants that offer up great service, but every time I went to Ruby Tuesday, the service completely sucked.

One time, when our table was mucky and my dad asked the waitress to wipe it off, she handed him a wet dishrag and walked away. Yeah. It was that good.

I do, however, really like their salad bar because I’ve always been a fan of nice salad bars and they seem to be one of the only places left that still has one. I hope they keep it.

Since it doesn’t look like a Roanoke Ruby Tuesday will go up in a ball of smoke and glass, let’s fantasize that some other restaurant we dislike will be the one to go.

If you could blow up a restaurant (without anyone inside, of course — Sheesh, we aren’t barbarians), which one would it be?

Lindsey Nair - August 5, 2008 - 10:18 AM

25 Comments

First!

Loyal blog reader Dennis sent me this picture of his first ripe tomato of the season. Here’s his comment: “I just sent this pic to some of my family, telling them ‘this is being sent to you w/ the sole intent of making you jealous!’ Picked today, June 28, 2008, is this delicious looking tomato, a supersonic this is the first tomato to ripen from any of our 14 plants.”

I like the way Dennis notes the month, day and year almost with the precision of a new father reporting the birth of his first child. I’m surprised that Dennis didn’t include a weight in there somewhere. Ha!

I have to tease him, but I’m quite familiar with that sense of pride. It was with much excitement this weekend that I discovered tiny green fruits on all four of my tomato plants, which are the first ones I’ve ever grown on my own. Until I saw those tiny gems hidden in the foliage, I wasn’t quite sure that I could make it work. I guess I’d better not count my tomatoes before they’re ripe, though.

All of this reminds me of my grandfather’s rivalry with my dad over who would produce the first ripe tomato of the season. One time, Paw-paw bought a fire-engine red plastic tomato and wired it onto one of his plants just to tease my Dad. Until Dad realized it was fake, he was practically crippled with jealousy.

Ahhh, good times in the country.

Lindsey Nair - June 30, 2008 - 10:16 AM

6 Comments

Beautiful food

Sometimes you just have to feast your eyes on a tantalizing piece of food porn. This is a Smoked Paprika Chicken prepared by one of my dad’s co-workers. He has joined the ranks of the Smoked Paprika Chicken fan club. In case you’ve missed this recipe, check it out here.

Lindsey Nair - February 21, 2008 - 10:26 AM

No Comments

Krispy Kreme punts trans fat

Important news today from the Southern purveyors of good old fried dough: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. says their entire menu is now trans fat-free!

They say you can enjoy an original glazed doughnut for just 200 calories and zero grams of trans fat. Well, let’s all rush out and get a hot dozen!

I’d like to pause for a moment to address the debate over whether Krispy Kreme doughnuts are better than Dunkin’ Donuts: They are.

Lindsey Nair - January 7, 2008 - 10:35 AM

16 Comments

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Weather Journal

Cold AM; blog fill-in hits big time

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:01:28 +0000

About this blog

On the Fridge Magnet blog, food writer Lindsey Nair writes about home cooking, local restaurants, entertaining and more. Here, you will also find links to restaurant reviews and our weekly food column, Front Burner. Please also check out our database of Southwest Virginia restaurants resturant user reviews and our recipe database.

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