Diet Bento

Who would have guessed that the chicken pot stickers have half the calories of the vegetarian Pad Thai ones that I love so much? Only 33 calories each!  I love the chicken ones too, of course. A few savory dumplings really perk up a healthy lunch. And everything looks better in a pretty bento box.

Diet Lunch (400 calories) - July 23, 2010 Entree: 3 chicken gyoza potstickers from Trader Joe, nestled in a bed of leftover stir-fry (carrots, onions, raisins, apples, and a few slices of low-cal chicken bratwurst). Snack tier: mixed fruit with an ounce of nuts.

Stranger than fiction

Or, to put it another way - another example of God as a hack writer. Those of you who do not read the local paper may have missed  This story  from yesterday's front page.

Why would the federal government fly a Navy officer, his Samoan wife and her unemployed sister from Hawaii to Minnesota to appear in a small St. Paul, Minn. courtroom?

Would you believe an alleged extortion plot involving the Samoan mafia, an exotic dancer from Guam, her love child, a fearful farm family from Granite Falls, Minn., Mexican hit men purportedly hired by Walmart, and the dreaded Los Burritos gang?

That's the reason. Really.