Queen Nancy's Congress might not have accomplished much last year.....

... and now as Speaker, she had reduced the work week to three days (except for those weeks with Holidays which will be shorter) so they will be working even less! But by golly, she's making sure they eat healthy those few days that they are there.... Hey, it's hard to find folks willing to work three days a week for $188,000 plus perks per year! According to Politico;

Pelosi pushes gourmet menu

By: Josephine Hearn January 15, 2008
The processed cheese has been replaced with brie. The Jell-O has made way for raspberry kiwi tarts and mini-lemon blueberry trifles. Meatloaf has moved over for mahi mahi and buns have been shunted aside in favor of baguettes. A revolution is afoot at the deli counters, grills and salad bars of the U.S. House of Representatives. Newly ascendant Democrats may have hit roadblocks on Iraq and fiscal issues, but they have revamped congressional menus, replacing fatty, pre-made foods with healthier, gourmet alternatives.

The once dreary congressional cafeterias now abound with haute cuisine. The menu transformation is part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Greening the Capitol” plan to make the House campus more environmentally friendly and socially progressive. But there can be a downside to delicious. Not everyone is happy with the enhanced offerings. Many congressional employees have complained that as the food quality has increased, so have the prices. “It’s a big jump from high school cafeteria to fancy-pants gourmet. I just wish my pay improved,” said Caryn Schenewerk, a staffer for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). A fruit and cheese side dish with two small wedges of brie and cheddar, six grapes, two saltines and one strawberry cost $4.95, for example.

House officials explained that the fresher and more varied foods were indeed more expensive but that they had tried to preserve low-cost alternatives such as pizza, sandwiches and prepared salads, which remain around the same price. Higher prices weren’t the only complaints. Perhaps it was inevitable that any major change orchestrated by the Democrats, be it legislation or legumes, would draw Republican fire. One House Republican aide lobbed attacks at the Democrats over e-mail. “I really don’t like Nanny Nancy telling me what I can and cannot eat for lunch. If I want to eat unhealthy, I should have that choice!” the aide fumed.

Grumbling aside, the menu choices now available present a whole new world of congressional culinary adventures.

There is pan-roasted Chesapeake rockfish with sweet potato fennel hash and yellow pepper relish. Pears with Stilton cheese and watercress. Cumin-scented leg of lamb with almond couscous. There are vegetables with funny names, like bok choy, arugula and jicama. There are baked goods with Italian names, like biscotti, focaccia and frittati.
There are foods in funny colors, like yellow tomatoes and purple Peruvian potatoes. There are things that are free of other things, like “cage-free shell eggs,” “rBGH-free milk” and “free-range chicken.” And things that we don’t know what they mean, like turkey escabeche (salad), red pepper coulis (sauce) and seared barramundi (fish).

A vending machine sells coffee from famed chef Wolfgang Puck, offering brews such as “Vive la Crème Caramel” and “Tropic of Chocolate.”

Sounds just like the menus in our cafeterias and diners doesn't it? It's tough duty Pilgrims, but fortunately we are able to find 535 patriots willing to fall on their swords for us....... Bless their hearts!