Important article at Dr. Mike Eades Protein Power blog. It's a review of a book called The Vitamin D Solution by Dr. Michael Holick, but it contains a great deal of useful information about vitamin D.

It's 90 degrees here in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana. And though that's cooler than predicted, plus we're not getting quite the killer humidity we were expecting, it's definitely the sort of day for a long, cool drink. Over at ... Dana Carpender's Hold the Toast Facebook page, the talk had turned to summer libations, and I had to come here and post this recipe:

Margarita Fizz

1 shot tequila
1 shot lime juice

Here's the recipe for the salad I made for last night's Toastmasters Bash at the Lake. Super-yummy, very pretty, serves a crowd, and the leftovers are even better the next day -- and I'm betting the day after that.

Potluck "Rice" Salad

1 cauliflower, head
1 small red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch scallions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper

I'm a long-time member of Toastmasters, an international public speaking education club that I recommend unreservedly to all. Last night, my club (Good Evening Toastmasters, Club 2471) had its annual Bash at the Lake, where we cook out at the Bloomington Yacht Club, go sailing on the lake, drink a bit, roast the outgoing officers, and install the new ones. It's one of the highlights of my year, and I had a great time, though as a result I'm facing a Steak Day today.

As is so often the case when I'm in recipe development mode, I ate leftovers for breakfast this morning. Had some avocado-egg salad, which was just as good the next day, if a tad discolored. I also had some artichoke salad left, but no hard-boiled eggs. So I fried a couple, and ate them with the artichoke salad instead, and very nice it was, too.

Promised to tell y'all how I make my yogurt, but some of the posts about how other people make theirs make me a trifle sheepish. Why?

Yogurt is popular stuff, with a quasi-mystical reputation. When I was a kid, yogurt was unfamiliar to most Americans. Dannon opened up the market with ads showing ancient-but-healthy-looking Russian folks, stating that they ate yogurt, and implying that it was the secret of their longevity. I doubt those Russians were eating sweetened, flavored yogurt little different from pudding, but it sure did work for the Dannon company.

Well, it took long enough, but it finally happened: There's finally a medical study regarding the effect of sugar on heart disease risk factors. In the April 20th, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. And surprise, surprise, they've concluded that eating sugar worsens cardiovascular risk factors, including raising triglycerides, lowering HDL, and worsening the all-important HDL/triglyceride ratio.

So Andrew from CarbSmart was here for the weekend; we were talking a bunch of new business ventures, and particularly starting a radio show for me. Exciting stuff! Yesterday morning I made jalapeno jack and avocado omelets, and Andrew posted a photo of his on Twitter. He promised his followers that he'd tweet a picture of this morning's breakfast, too. So I felt it was incumbent upon me to come up with something different, and reasonably photogenic. I decided to make waffles.

I've entered the second decade of the Twenty First Century: I just created a Twitter account. I'm still a newbie, and haven't quite acclimated yet, but it shouldn't take me long. Go follow me @danacarpender!

I have company this weekend -- Andrew DiMino from CarbSmart. We're talking various new ventures, starting with a radio show for me, something I'm very excited about. I'm pretty busy, as you can imagine. So here's a reprint from my now-defunct column, Live Well, Eat Well:

Hooray! The summer fruit season has begun! The stores and farmers markets are overflowing with a dazzling array of sweet juicy treats that just happen to be good for you, too.

Just talked to Fair Winds Press this morning, and I have a new deal to update an old book: We're going to reissue 15 Minute Low-Carbohydrate Recipes with 100 new recipes. That will expand the book by about 50%! Due out next spring.

So if there are any sorts of quick recipes you've been wishing you could find, tell me now! I'll get to work right away.

Laura Dolson, who writes the low carb blog for About.com, has a great article today about Geneen Roth's book Women, Food, and God. She makes a point I absolutely agree with: That much of what has been labeled "compulsive eating" and assumed to be emotionally-based is actually the result of a physical addiction to carbohydrate.

I swear, I entered all of Chris's soda reviews, but somewhere in the editing, and trying to get my italics tags to work right, three reviews got deleted. So I will now dutifully re-transcribe the remaining reviews. Remember, Chris uses a 1-5 scale for his ratings.

Zevia Orange: Tastes like Orange Crush and... wait for it... club soda! Yes! When I was aboy I insisted on orange soda after baseball (Little League) practice I'd have drunk this then and not complained about the sweetener taste. Rating: Another solid 4

Okay, I've figured out what sort of contest we should have for the great Zevia giveaway. Here's what I'm thinking:

The Tuesday after Labor Day is officially my 15 year anniversary of low carbing, so that seems an auspicious occasion for which to give out prizes. So if you wish to compete for the free mixed case of Zevia (or one of the runner up prizes of a six-pack of Zevia), you'll need to send a recipe. Or two. Or three! Heck, you may enter as many times as you like. The rules will be (this is rough, and is subject to possible change):