First, I just have to say a little bit about the farmers market. I went to one down the street on Saturday, and of course there were some things that were ridiculously expensive, but there were also a lot of fruit and vegetables that were comparably priced to the grocery store, but they tasted SO SO GOOD. I bought some romaine lettuce and some mixed greens that were so fresh and flavorful you could eat them plain. (The previous week I had bought some at Costco. It is like they were completely different products.) I did splurge on a couple things, like the blueberries were almost $5 for a small little clamshell, but then I had a free sample. So worth it.
Tonight for dinner I made the sweet potato hash again, but this time I made the sausage from ground turkey. I'm not sure which way I prefer it, but it is nice to have options, so here is the recipe for turkey sausage.
1 1/4 lb. ground turkey
1 t salt
1 1/2 t ground pepper
1/2 t dried sage
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 1/2 t orange zest (I used lemon only because I didn't have an orange. But orange tastes better.)
dash Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients well. Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Form into sausage links and cook for about 4-5 minutes until browned.
I have never formed them into links, I always just break it up and brown it. I've also used this recipe for pizza or a bread pudding recipe that I have. It doesn't taste exactly like regular sausage, but you'll notice when you cook it up you also don't have to drain off pools of grease, so I often opt for this instead.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Pan-fried Pizza
*I posted this awhile ago, but I just tried this on the grill instead of the stove-top. I read some recipes online that said you need to brush the dough with olive oil before putting it on the grill, but that wasn't really necessary. It solved the heating-up-the-kitchen problem, besides the fact that you can cook two at a time and get dinner cooked twice as fast.
I didn't think I'd end up posting tonight since I've already posted a pizza recipe, but I got surprisingly good reactions from everyone. I made my pizza dough like I usually do (but I'll include the recipe here again), but cooked it on the stovetop. I thought it would help the heat in my kitchen to not turn on the oven (it has been in the 90's the last few days and we have no a/c). Unfortunately, it still got really warm, but everyone liked the pizza and it was fun to have a change. The crust turned out thin and crispy instead of thick and puffy, a little more authentic Italian I suppose. I doubled the recipe and then froze 3 (of the 8) balls--one recipe wasn't enough and two recipes was too much!
1/2 T. yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
1/2 t. salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the warm (not hot) water. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead them for a few minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and oil the outside with olive oil. Cover and let rise for one hour. Punch it down and divide into 4 balls. Let rest for a few minutes. Preheat a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. Roll one ball into a 12 inch circle. Cook in the skillet for about 5 minutes until slightly browned. Flip and add toppings. Cover (I just used a piece of aluminum foil loosely placed on top) and cook for a few more minutes, until cheese is melted. Repeat with other balls of dough. Makes 4 pizzas.
Ratings:
Me: Since we made individual pizzas, I got to make my veggie version. I put garlic, mozzarella, thinly sliced yellow squash, tomato slices, roasted peppers, spinach, and fresh basil. YUM. Everyone else had the usual boring plain sauce and cheese.
Hubby: He repeated about three times how good it was. And he is the hardest to please.
5YO: Ate an entire pizza on his own.
4YO: Ate about half a pizza and then went to town on carrots.
1YO: Ate about half a pizza.
I didn't think I'd end up posting tonight since I've already posted a pizza recipe, but I got surprisingly good reactions from everyone. I made my pizza dough like I usually do (but I'll include the recipe here again), but cooked it on the stovetop. I thought it would help the heat in my kitchen to not turn on the oven (it has been in the 90's the last few days and we have no a/c). Unfortunately, it still got really warm, but everyone liked the pizza and it was fun to have a change. The crust turned out thin and crispy instead of thick and puffy, a little more authentic Italian I suppose. I doubled the recipe and then froze 3 (of the 8) balls--one recipe wasn't enough and two recipes was too much!
1/2 T. yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
1/2 t. salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. flour
Let the yeast dissolve in the warm (not hot) water. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead them for a few minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and oil the outside with olive oil. Cover and let rise for one hour. Punch it down and divide into 4 balls. Let rest for a few minutes. Preheat a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. Roll one ball into a 12 inch circle. Cook in the skillet for about 5 minutes until slightly browned. Flip and add toppings. Cover (I just used a piece of aluminum foil loosely placed on top) and cook for a few more minutes, until cheese is melted. Repeat with other balls of dough. Makes 4 pizzas.
Ratings:
Me: Since we made individual pizzas, I got to make my veggie version. I put garlic, mozzarella, thinly sliced yellow squash, tomato slices, roasted peppers, spinach, and fresh basil. YUM. Everyone else had the usual boring plain sauce and cheese.
Hubby: He repeated about three times how good it was. And he is the hardest to please.
5YO: Ate an entire pizza on his own.
4YO: Ate about half a pizza and then went to town on carrots.
1YO: Ate about half a pizza.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Artichokes
I didn't quite finish making dinner tonight. The kids asked for spaghetti, and I had some artichokes, but I never got to the sauce or anything else. (One of those days...) So we had plain spaghetti and artichokes. Pretty pathetic. Not really worth posting, except my kids ate SO much that I figured I wanted to remember this.
Artichokes are not difficult to cook or eat, but they are definitely unique to both cook and eat. To cook them, cut off the top half inch or so, and the bottom stem. Then snip off the top of each leaf. (You don't have to, but there is a little pokey barb on the tip of the leaf, so it is just a little friendlier to eat if they have been snipped.) Steam for about 30 minutes, until the leaves come off easily. (Once recipe I read said steam them stem side down, another said stem side up. I did it stem side down.) I put mine in the rice cooker with a steaming rack in the bottom and about an inch of water.
To eat, pull off each leaf, dip in melted butter, then scrape off the bottom "meaty" part of the leaf with your teeth. When all the leaves are gone, scrape out the middle "choke" part and discard--you'll recognize it when you see it, you won't want to eat it-- then eat the rest of the heart.
The artichokes came with a label that said "loaded with antioxidants." With a word so scientific and specific as "loaded," I don't really know how they measure up nutritionally, but they are a vegetable and my kids did eat them. If someone can school me about artichoke nutrition, let me know.
Ratings:
Me: So obviously major holes in this dinner, but I love artichokes so I just enjoyed them.
Hubby: He found something else for dinner, can I blame him? (I should also mention that he was late coming home from work so it was not in front of the kids. Thanks honey.)
5YO: He ate an artichoke and a half. Except for the heart, but I'm not complaining since he gave it to me. I had to remind him to chew while he ate his spaghetti he was inhaling it so fast.
4YO: She enjoyed the idea of dipping in butter, so she tried a few leaves, and then realized she preferred spaghetti dipped in butter. Lots of spaghetti dipped in butter. She ended up with butter all over her arms, face, and hair.
1YO: He ate some spaghetti, but this shape of pasta is a little challenging for him. Rotini or penne is much easier to pick up and keep from getting stuck in his throat. He also ate my artichoke heart, so good thing his brother shared his with me.
Artichokes are not difficult to cook or eat, but they are definitely unique to both cook and eat. To cook them, cut off the top half inch or so, and the bottom stem. Then snip off the top of each leaf. (You don't have to, but there is a little pokey barb on the tip of the leaf, so it is just a little friendlier to eat if they have been snipped.) Steam for about 30 minutes, until the leaves come off easily. (Once recipe I read said steam them stem side down, another said stem side up. I did it stem side down.) I put mine in the rice cooker with a steaming rack in the bottom and about an inch of water.
To eat, pull off each leaf, dip in melted butter, then scrape off the bottom "meaty" part of the leaf with your teeth. When all the leaves are gone, scrape out the middle "choke" part and discard--you'll recognize it when you see it, you won't want to eat it-- then eat the rest of the heart.
The artichokes came with a label that said "loaded with antioxidants." With a word so scientific and specific as "loaded," I don't really know how they measure up nutritionally, but they are a vegetable and my kids did eat them. If someone can school me about artichoke nutrition, let me know.
Ratings:
Me: So obviously major holes in this dinner, but I love artichokes so I just enjoyed them.
Hubby: He found something else for dinner, can I blame him? (I should also mention that he was late coming home from work so it was not in front of the kids. Thanks honey.)
5YO: He ate an artichoke and a half. Except for the heart, but I'm not complaining since he gave it to me. I had to remind him to chew while he ate his spaghetti he was inhaling it so fast.
4YO: She enjoyed the idea of dipping in butter, so she tried a few leaves, and then realized she preferred spaghetti dipped in butter. Lots of spaghetti dipped in butter. She ended up with butter all over her arms, face, and hair.
1YO: He ate some spaghetti, but this shape of pasta is a little challenging for him. Rotini or penne is much easier to pick up and keep from getting stuck in his throat. He also ate my artichoke heart, so good thing his brother shared his with me.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Chicken Soup With Lemon and Lentils
I needed something to make to go along with my husband's hamburgers, and I've been craving this soup. It is from a book I have called Quick Chicken by Rose Murray, but of course I don't follow the recipe exactly. Am I breaking copyright laws by putting it here? If I am, someone warn me.
First off, I didn't put chicken in tonight. I ran out of time. And the recipe calls for canned lentils added in the last five minutes, but I use dried and start them first. I also just realized the recipe calls for lemon zest, which I overlooked. Oops. I'll have to add it to the leftovers.
5 c chicken broth
2 c lentils
6 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t lemon zest
salt and pepper
1 c cilantro, chopped (original recipe calls for parsley, also good)
1/2 c lemon juice
2 t cumin
cooked brown rice
Rinse lentils. In a large stockpot, add lentils and broth, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer 10-15 minutes (while you chop). Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, lemon zest (and chicken if you want--4 breasts, once it is cooked, remove and dice and return to soup). Simmer 15 minutes more (adding water if it gets too dry) or until lentils are soft and vegetables are tender. Add cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
Place a large spoonful of rice in each soup bowl and pour soup over top.
Ratings:
(I already mentioned in the hamburger post that only the baby and I ate it...)
Me: It was so delicious and refreshing. I'm a big fan of lentils, and the lemon in this makes it so flavorful. (Even though I forgot the zest!)
1YO: He left the carrots, but loved the rice. He always loves rice.
Li'l Sis: She stopped by after dinner and said it smelled good, so I sent her home with some to try. Comment with your (honest!) rating when you taste it.
First off, I didn't put chicken in tonight. I ran out of time. And the recipe calls for canned lentils added in the last five minutes, but I use dried and start them first. I also just realized the recipe calls for lemon zest, which I overlooked. Oops. I'll have to add it to the leftovers.
5 c chicken broth
2 c lentils
6 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t lemon zest
salt and pepper
1 c cilantro, chopped (original recipe calls for parsley, also good)
1/2 c lemon juice
2 t cumin
cooked brown rice
Rinse lentils. In a large stockpot, add lentils and broth, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer 10-15 minutes (while you chop). Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, lemon zest (and chicken if you want--4 breasts, once it is cooked, remove and dice and return to soup). Simmer 15 minutes more (adding water if it gets too dry) or until lentils are soft and vegetables are tender. Add cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.
Place a large spoonful of rice in each soup bowl and pour soup over top.
Ratings:
(I already mentioned in the hamburger post that only the baby and I ate it...)
Me: It was so delicious and refreshing. I'm a big fan of lentils, and the lemon in this makes it so flavorful. (Even though I forgot the zest!)
1YO: He left the carrots, but loved the rice. He always loves rice.
Li'l Sis: She stopped by after dinner and said it smelled good, so I sent her home with some to try. Comment with your (honest!) rating when you taste it.
Hamburgers
My husband loves hamburgers and french fries. When we go out to eat at a fancy restaurant to celebrate a special occasion, he orders hamburgers and french fries. I certainly will never be able to change him. But since it is not so healthy, when I make it at home I try to help out the meal a little bit without ruining it for him. So far what works is to buy the extra lean ground beef, mix it with an egg, some lemon pepper, and worcestershire sauce, and then form the patties. I make turkey burgers for myself, I just slap a frozen one on the grill. I don't love turkey burgers, but one day I looked at the nutrition information on a package of frozen hamburgers and compared it to the package of turkey burgers. I don't remember the exact numbers, but there was almost FIVE times as much fat in the hamburgers, of course a lot of it saturated. I definitely don't like hamburgers five times as much as turkey burgers, so I always opt for the turkey burger. I like them better than gardenburgers, but I'll eat gardenburgers before hamburgers.
So here's my conundrum. Since I don't do the frozen packaged hamburgers anymore, my version is somewhat healthier. Turkey burgers are processed, gardenburgers are processed, so if I make my own extra lean hamburgers, which is the healthiest? I'm getting less and less happy about meat, because unless you get grass-finished, free-range meat ("organic" is no guarantee) even unprocessed meat does not have the nutrients it should. I'm trying to figure out how to explain this briefly, but basically most meat you find at your neighborhood grocery store is from animals that do not have a healthy lifestyle, so their meat has more fat and less vitamins and minerals than animals that eat healthy and exercise normally. But it is extremely expensive to buy good meat, so not really an option in our family budget. Gardenburgers obviously don't have meat, but vegetables that are smooshed up into a perfect circle aren't exactly fresh picked, and of course need stuff added to keep their shape. My husband will never give up hamburgers, so I'll make his extra lean, but what should I eat? Maybe the answer is none of the above?
We didn't have fries tonight, but I'll just mention that I usually do the frozen kind. I at least make sure they're not made with hydrogenated oils, but there is not much healthy about fries. When I do make them, I like to make sweet potato fries for myself. You can buy sweet potatoes cut into fries (with nothing else added), but you can also just slice a sweet potato into coins and cook on a baking sheet at 400 for about 20 min, turning once halfway through the cooking time. You can also make your own oven-baked fries out of regular potatoes, but to my husband that is like a turkey burger--not the same thing.
Ratings:
Me: I did eat a turkey burger tonight. But I also ate some soup which I will post the recipe. I started to do it in this same post but it got too long when I started going off on the meat tangent...
Hubby: He ate THREE. I try to make them smallish for portion control, but what good is that when he eats three?
5YO: He is also a fan of hamburgers. He asked for one in his lunch tomorrow, too.
4YO: She asked for "a hamburger with just bread and ketchup." Maybe she and I should go vegetarian.
1YO: He ate some soup. When I offered him a bite of hamburger he just stared at it. He can go vegetarian with us.
So here's my conundrum. Since I don't do the frozen packaged hamburgers anymore, my version is somewhat healthier. Turkey burgers are processed, gardenburgers are processed, so if I make my own extra lean hamburgers, which is the healthiest? I'm getting less and less happy about meat, because unless you get grass-finished, free-range meat ("organic" is no guarantee) even unprocessed meat does not have the nutrients it should. I'm trying to figure out how to explain this briefly, but basically most meat you find at your neighborhood grocery store is from animals that do not have a healthy lifestyle, so their meat has more fat and less vitamins and minerals than animals that eat healthy and exercise normally. But it is extremely expensive to buy good meat, so not really an option in our family budget. Gardenburgers obviously don't have meat, but vegetables that are smooshed up into a perfect circle aren't exactly fresh picked, and of course need stuff added to keep their shape. My husband will never give up hamburgers, so I'll make his extra lean, but what should I eat? Maybe the answer is none of the above?
We didn't have fries tonight, but I'll just mention that I usually do the frozen kind. I at least make sure they're not made with hydrogenated oils, but there is not much healthy about fries. When I do make them, I like to make sweet potato fries for myself. You can buy sweet potatoes cut into fries (with nothing else added), but you can also just slice a sweet potato into coins and cook on a baking sheet at 400 for about 20 min, turning once halfway through the cooking time. You can also make your own oven-baked fries out of regular potatoes, but to my husband that is like a turkey burger--not the same thing.
Ratings:
Me: I did eat a turkey burger tonight. But I also ate some soup which I will post the recipe. I started to do it in this same post but it got too long when I started going off on the meat tangent...
Hubby: He ate THREE. I try to make them smallish for portion control, but what good is that when he eats three?
5YO: He is also a fan of hamburgers. He asked for one in his lunch tomorrow, too.
4YO: She asked for "a hamburger with just bread and ketchup." Maybe she and I should go vegetarian.
1YO: He ate some soup. When I offered him a bite of hamburger he just stared at it. He can go vegetarian with us.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Lemon Chicken with Artichokes
I have only told two people about this blog. My friend, Emily, and my sister, Valary. Valary and I live in the same city, see each other at least a few times a week, and talk and email even more. Almost every time I talk to her I ask her what she is cooking for dinner hoping for a good idea, so we often exchange recipes and meal ideas. So there is really no need to post this for her sake--we would have just talked about it tomorrow. And I got this recipe from Emily, so there is no need to post it for her. So I guess I'm posting it for myself, since I can never remember what I've cooked recently and sometimes I forget about even my favorite recipes, even when they are as great as this one.
6-8 frozen chicken breast halves
1/4 c flour
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms
1 9-oz bottle artichoke hearts (I use frozen or just plain bottled, not marinated)
juice of one lemon (2 1/2 T)
2 t parsley
1/2 c chicken broth
Rinse chicken and coat with flour. Heat butter and oil on medium high. Brown chicken about 5 minutes on each side. Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts and broth. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Remove chicken and vegetables to serving platter. Skim fat from remaining broth, add lemon juice and parsley. Cook over medium heat until desired consistency. Pour over chicken and vegetables.
Emily says about this recipe, "so easy...so yummy," and that about sums it up. I like using more vegetables than is called for, sometimes I throw in extra ones like broccoli or spinach, too. Today was the first time I've used fresh parsley in this recipe (usually I just use dried because I don't have fresh on hand) and it was even better.
Ok, what is wrong with me that I can never get my meat to brown properly? Not just this recipe, but any recipe. I use boneless skinless, is that why? I sometimes skip the flour step, but even with the flour it won't brown for like 15 minutes and by then the chicken is practically cooked through. So I usually just do the 5 minutes like the recipe says, and then it isn't browned but the chicken stays tender instead of being overcooked and dried out. Still yummy, but I wish I could figure out how to brown it. Any pointers?
Tonight I made it with brown rice and a salad. The kids didn't eat the chicken, no big surprise, but it turned out delicious even if it wasn't browned.
6-8 frozen chicken breast halves
1/4 c flour
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms
1 9-oz bottle artichoke hearts (I use frozen or just plain bottled, not marinated)
juice of one lemon (2 1/2 T)
2 t parsley
1/2 c chicken broth
Rinse chicken and coat with flour. Heat butter and oil on medium high. Brown chicken about 5 minutes on each side. Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts and broth. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook 20 minutes. Remove chicken and vegetables to serving platter. Skim fat from remaining broth, add lemon juice and parsley. Cook over medium heat until desired consistency. Pour over chicken and vegetables.
Emily says about this recipe, "so easy...so yummy," and that about sums it up. I like using more vegetables than is called for, sometimes I throw in extra ones like broccoli or spinach, too. Today was the first time I've used fresh parsley in this recipe (usually I just use dried because I don't have fresh on hand) and it was even better.
Ok, what is wrong with me that I can never get my meat to brown properly? Not just this recipe, but any recipe. I use boneless skinless, is that why? I sometimes skip the flour step, but even with the flour it won't brown for like 15 minutes and by then the chicken is practically cooked through. So I usually just do the 5 minutes like the recipe says, and then it isn't browned but the chicken stays tender instead of being overcooked and dried out. Still yummy, but I wish I could figure out how to brown it. Any pointers?
Tonight I made it with brown rice and a salad. The kids didn't eat the chicken, no big surprise, but it turned out delicious even if it wasn't browned.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Scrambled Omelette
First an update on the frozen roasted peppers. A few days ago I made a veggie pizza and pulled a few out of the freezer, defrosted them, and put them on the pizza. Delicious. Then tonight, I did the same for my scrambled omelette, and they were perfect. So as far as I can tell, roasted peppers freeze and defrost without any issues.
I am not a morning person, so I save my breakfast recipes for dinner. My husband LOVES bacon, eggs, and hash browns, so I keep bacon and hash browns in the freezer for when I need a quick meal (for dinner of course. If it is breakfast pour yourself a bowl of cereal.) I don't like this meal much at all, except the eggs don't bother me. My favorite breakfast meal is omelettes, which I can usually make along with this meal without too much added work. Except that it is too tricky to make a whole perfect unbroken omelette, so I finally gave up trying since just stirring it all together tastes just the same. I think that maybe the way I make it is called a fritatta, but since I'm not sure exactly what makes a fritatta a fritatta I decided I better not call it a fritatta. So I call it scrambled omelette. Tonight it turned out fabulous, because of the roasted peppers (I'm so glad I made those!).
1/4 onion, diced
5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup roasted peppers, chopped
2 or 3 eggs, beaten (I used one whole egg and about 1/3 c eggbeaters)
grated reduced-fat sharp cheddar
In a small skillet over medium heat, saute onion for a few minutes, then add mushrooms for a few minutes, then peppers just until heated through. Pour eggs over the vegetables and let cook for a few minutes. Give them a stir and let them cook for a few more minutes. Once it is mostly cooked through, put cheese on top and place skillet in the oven (doesn't matter what temperature, just warm for a few minutes) until eggs are completely cooked and cheese is melted.
I loved my omelette, and everyone else loved their bacon, eggs, and hash browns.
Ok, while I'm talking about this meal, maybe I should mention what I like to drink with it, but maybe then everyone will think I'm crazy. But if you like the flavor of orange julius, you should give it a try. When we have orange juice, like we did tonight, I fill my cup a third of the way with milk, a splash of vanilla, and the rest of the cup with orange juice. (Sometimes I don't get the combination quite right and it isn't sweet enough so I just sprinkle a little sugar in.) I really like it, but I'm the only one.
I am not a morning person, so I save my breakfast recipes for dinner. My husband LOVES bacon, eggs, and hash browns, so I keep bacon and hash browns in the freezer for when I need a quick meal (for dinner of course. If it is breakfast pour yourself a bowl of cereal.) I don't like this meal much at all, except the eggs don't bother me. My favorite breakfast meal is omelettes, which I can usually make along with this meal without too much added work. Except that it is too tricky to make a whole perfect unbroken omelette, so I finally gave up trying since just stirring it all together tastes just the same. I think that maybe the way I make it is called a fritatta, but since I'm not sure exactly what makes a fritatta a fritatta I decided I better not call it a fritatta. So I call it scrambled omelette. Tonight it turned out fabulous, because of the roasted peppers (I'm so glad I made those!).
1/4 onion, diced
5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup roasted peppers, chopped
2 or 3 eggs, beaten (I used one whole egg and about 1/3 c eggbeaters)
grated reduced-fat sharp cheddar
In a small skillet over medium heat, saute onion for a few minutes, then add mushrooms for a few minutes, then peppers just until heated through. Pour eggs over the vegetables and let cook for a few minutes. Give them a stir and let them cook for a few more minutes. Once it is mostly cooked through, put cheese on top and place skillet in the oven (doesn't matter what temperature, just warm for a few minutes) until eggs are completely cooked and cheese is melted.
I loved my omelette, and everyone else loved their bacon, eggs, and hash browns.
Ok, while I'm talking about this meal, maybe I should mention what I like to drink with it, but maybe then everyone will think I'm crazy. But if you like the flavor of orange julius, you should give it a try. When we have orange juice, like we did tonight, I fill my cup a third of the way with milk, a splash of vanilla, and the rest of the cup with orange juice. (Sometimes I don't get the combination quite right and it isn't sweet enough so I just sprinkle a little sugar in.) I really like it, but I'm the only one.
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