Category Archives: Education

Locavore, loca-date?

Posted on September 4, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

Date local. My favorite prof., a Friar, in my Marriage and Family course, talked about meeting someone who’s nearby, like the boy next door. He called it “propinquity.” Except it was the other way around. They tried to make propinquity into some sociological value to make it scientific.

I didn’t marry the boy next door, or anyone I would have thought of marrying. I married a genius from Texas, a nerd. To all those gals who didn’t look at him in high school or college because he was too smart, boo-hoo for you. We did meet locally, far from where we grew up.

There’s now a site for local dating that I applaud as I do cooking and eating local foods in season. I’m just glad I’m no longer “out there” on the market. Packing for a trip isn’t a really big thing, but I’ve a list for the dog (who is going elsewhere) and for us. And my love has not packed a bag in ten years! But that’s OK. We each have our strengths. He’s in charge of electronics.

So eat local, and date local. Long-distance relationships are a pain anyway. Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Education

Opportunity Knocks

Posted on August 15, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

New colleagues have an eight year-old daughter who would love to sit for our dog while we go on vacation. They came by this afternoon, toured the art fair, tried to see the red foxes at their den and actually saw the cranes (the family) this evening.

We bought sodas et al. Also ground beef, hamburger rolls and chipotle sweet potato fries. Everything else we had on hand. First I made a jicama salad with Meyer lemon and olive oil dressing with parsley and green onion slices.

The menu included cheeseburgers with hand-made patties and slices of havarti and emmenthaler cheeses. Whole wheat rolls, grilled. Grilled radicchio with olive oil s&p, iceberg lettuce wedges with yogurt Thousand Island dressing, and grilled peaches with butter, sugar and cinnamon.

Thank you, Bobby Flay for grilling this morning while my husband was asleep as those peaches were fantastic. Everything else just came naturally and easily to me and there were just a lot of dishes to wash and tea towels but that’s easy.

This lovely girl enjoys our dog enough to take good care of her for a few days when we’re away. Our dog is a very happy and excited dog, also very demanding. Both sides were seen tonight, but Zoe was showing off as she usually does for guests.

I guess I try to show off for guests too, but it’s just something I like to do, prepared things I had on hand quickly and tastily and had time to enjoy our dinner. No great French flair, all simple dishes that just require good ingredients. Now I feel guilty. They went to the art fair while I prepped and for a walk after dinner when I cleaned up. My husband went with them, as did the dog on the evening walk. I hope they don’t think I’m anti-social, as I wanted them to have a pleasant evening and have everything prepared at both ends of the meal.

In the end we are thrilled that our young potential sitter enjoys her charge. She’s a smart gal and will be able to negotiate Zoe’s mind games. Plus, she tried a few things I made tonight and disliked most, but did enjoy the grilled peaches even though she didn’t want to like them at all. Cheers! Keep trying new things for your kids, and make them taste before telling them what’s in it. It will change their world. Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Education, Recipe Ideas, Recipes

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MYOB

Posted on August 6, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

Griswold v Connecticut, 381 US 479, 486 (1965) (“Marriage
is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring,
and intimate to the degree of being sacred.It is an association
that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not
political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social
projects.Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any
involved in our prior decisions.”).

Yes, I’m being politically incorrect on a cooking blog. But we’ve been through more than this. Yet I may turn more than a few off this blog here and for that I apologize and wish you well.

This is part of the ruling that a Federal judge had striking down Prop. 8 in California. Prop. 8 was an initiative passed by 52% of California voters to prohibit gay marriage. Utah-based LDS church raised a lot of money to pass this law and now it has been struck down and stayed (meaning nothing can happen in the meantime) pending appeal. It is thought this issue will go to the Supreme Court.

Much in past law has dealt with prohibiting inter-racial marriage, which was wrong and is a wrong that has been righted, at least on the books. But marriage was created in our laws to make the husband the provider and the wife, who gave her dowry and had no property or voting rights, the duties of housework and child-rearing.

We don’t live in that world anymore. My husband and I have no children (we met and married late). When I call to deal with things to do with work benefits they will not talk to me. Even if I get him on the phone and he OK’s whatever I want to do he must stay on the call the entire time and OK the final result. And we were married in a civil union. I pay the bills but sometimes when there’s a problem and the bill is in his name they still will not talk to me.

Imagine if we weren’t married but together for ten years. Hospital visits, personal papers such as wills and DNR’s… we would have no right to do for one another. Taxes, insurance, buying a home, inheritance. If it’s this tough for us being married for years, imagine how it would be for a gay couple with two kids to figure out.

I know life’s not fair, but if there are people who are going to be good neighbors, raise their kids well and benefit their community I don’t care if they’re straight or gay. That’s how I feel, and I’m currently residing in … Utah, home of the people who funded Prop. 8. If I’ve offended you, sorry.

Tolerance has always been my position, from protecting the kid from getting beat up in grade school (yes, for being gay, though I didn’t know it at the time) to befriending the nerd who is way better for the girl to go out with than the football quarterback (I know that brilliant nerd, as I married him).

What I can say to the people who want to keep Prop. 8. Well, I worked on a totally unrelated issue years ago, for about six years and the most organized people ready to take on an issue were… gays and lesbians. Let’s just say religious right-wingers vs. people who’ve fought the AIDS crisis from medical to legal and beyond, I’ll bet on the gays.

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Bitter Greens

Posted on June 27, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

I know that older generations and folks from different parts of the US and world grew up on bitter greens. How about the younger generations? I don’t know only that I didn’t. We lived in a small town and had farmers markets for 2-3 months in the summer. But if we were to have a salad it would be iceberg lettuce.

As to dressing, I’ve no clue what my mother used before she got the cruet so one could open the packet, put in the mix, add vinegar then oil and shake. That was so cool! And I’m sure she probably had to use cider vinegar at best, and probably vegetable oil. Back then there were not 28 varieties of extra virgin olive oils on supermarket shelves, especially in a small town.

Spinach was always a favorite, especially done in my grandmother’s way, which I’ll have to ask Dad about, if he remembers. Romaine was one of the first to try probably in the 80′s and I loved it. Now I make arugula salads all the time, and learned about cavolo nero (dinosaur kale) and Trevisano (the elongated radicchio of Treviso). I pan-saute the cavolo nero with garlic, and cut the radicchio in halves or quarters, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on the grill.

The next challenge was to get my husband to accept anything other than a lettuce wedge with Thousand Island or mixed greens at a restaurant with Ranch dressing. Mr. Meat and Potato is coming around a bit but still prefers Ranch to my homemade vinaigrettes, so I buy him nonfat!

He does like my interpretation of Chasen’s endive and beet salad with walnuts, which I make on special occasions. In certain restaurants he even orders a salad with candied pecans and dried fruit. But he hates spinach. What can a cook do?

Notice I haven’t given up yet. Just as I weaned him from “sweet tea” both the true variety and the non-southern variety laden with sugar or sugar substitute, to herbal tea, I can do this! The next challenge for me is the really bitter greens, including mature collards, kale, chicory and dandelion. That needs more research and testing. I’ve some of the best teachers around, but they’re in books in storage. Edna Lewis, you are a treasure that is certainly missed in life. Is it OK to miss your book too? Cheers, Dee

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Tony Hayward, Father of the Year?

Posted on June 20, 2010 by tdl1501| 1 Comment

I go into this day with trepidation, as my father undergoes cancer surgery on Monday. Husband Jim’s father is hale and hearty, though farm machinery has severely affected his hearing.

It is another father I think of today, one who “is having some rare private time with his son,” at a yacht race in England two days after he stonewalled a Congressional committee about his company, BP’s, involvement with a giant spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Yachts? Go figure. Get on the beach and clean up some birds. Make it a father/son thing. Your son will respect you more years later when he finds out the corners you careened to make more money instead of making a safe rig that doesn’t kill employees and wildlife and careers.

Yes, a Mr. Tony Hayward, a geologist who knows nothing about geology, or so he says. It seems on this Fathers’ Day eve that he has not only a distant relationship with his son, but with his company, which is floundering under his tutelage. We can only hope he’s a better father than CEO. With concern, Dee

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Adopt a Dog

Posted on May 11, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

I only get pets from shelters. Except my first cat that traveled 3,000 miles to get to me and he was talking to me, getting the last word in, for 13 years.

Four animals in 20 years. My volunteer work has gone to help others. No longer able to have cats because of my husband’s allergies we have one dog and can’t believe she’s over six years old now, and we had to have her hips removed as a pup. The shelter didn’t know she had severe hip dysplasia as she’s a small dog and it doesn’t present symptoms for several months.

I did tons of research and in the end, at six and nine months of age, both her hips were amputated and she grew her own from cartilage. Most people would have returned the dog, humanely killed it or left it by the side of the road.

Today, an infant could reach into Zoe’s food bowl and take something out and she’d just look at me. She is the sweetest dog and we are so lucky that the shelter gave her to us and that we could afford to have an Aggie vet take out her hips. She’s so happy and loves people and other dogs.

After a lifetime of working with somewhat damaged pets and ferals, we wanted one “normal” dog. Zoe’s no way normal, but she’s ours and will continue to be so for many years. My last dog was loved enough in the community that forty neighbors and friends gave a tree to the city in her memory. She’d been abused her first year, in a shelter I volunteered in for her second year and she was my favorite and couldn’t be euthanized so she spent the rest of her life with me.

If you’re looking for a small dog get to know the people at the shelter, these dogs go first. For a larger dog, or one who’s been abused or has behavioral issues get to know the dog by visiting multiple times. If you have enough money to just order a dog from a breeder, get to know that dog. This takes time. You’ll be with this animal for 8-15 years.

Shelter pets are my choice, mixed breed and precious, each and every one. If you and your kids want a pet, please check out the local shelters and don’t pick the first one you see. Interview the dog/cat, and let them interview you. This is a lifetime job for a dog, a lifetime vacation for a cat.

Give one a chance and see your family in a whole new light. This post is dedicated to our hipless wonder, Zoe. Dee

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Posted in Education

Worst Jobs

Posted on May 11, 2010 by tdl1501| 2 Comments

OK, I have three. The first lasted 20 minutes, second two days, and third, six weeks.

My mother got her paralegal degree. I was 18 and had a drivers’ license. She had me act as a process server, at my request, to make $18. Of course she wouldn’t send me somewhere where I’d get beaten or shot. I only had to go to a nursing home. I didn’t know what the papers said, only that I had to deliver them. The family of the old man was there, and apparently I was delivering papers that gave the family legal control over this man, despite his repeated objections. I left, burst into tears and said that despite the money, I was done with process serving forever.

After spending my life savings on cooking school and a culinary expedition via a non-paid apprenticeship when I returned home with pennies in my pocket I took a job at a local hotel. I had to enter through the basement and didn’t even know how to punch a time card (did it wrong and never got paid). They gave me pants and coat of a 300 lb. man who’d been fired in the past week. I pulled the pants up way above my waist and someone gave me a length of rope so the pants wouldn’t fall down around my feet as I worked.

There was one sink in the kitchen area and it was smaller than a household pedestal sink in a very small powder room. It was filled with cans. My job as garde manger was to scrape cheese off French onion soup bowls that had been through the dishwasher. Two days, 16 hours. Done.

My first trip back to my alma mater brought a temp job that corrected applications for college scholarships. Yes, these geniuses couldn’t even fill out an application. As I corrected by school district, I got many poor areas and even my school, in a fairly well-off neighborhood. The numbers frightened me and years later I got to work in education in some of those poor areas. But that’s not the point. The point is the pencil with the name “Ned” on it. Ned was a year-round unionized employee and he labeled all his pencils. We were allowed to use our pencils to edit applications, had scheduled breaks and it was as if we were robots. No time off was allowed.

When I asked for time off for a job interview (this particular job was only six weeks) I was denied. I asked to give up lunch and two breaks was denied. Fifteen minutes before the interview I quit, walked across the street and changed my life. I was offered two jobs that week, each would have sent me in very different directions. In the end I said no to the arts job that would have me as PR person in the summer and secretary in the winter. When I turned down that dream job I told them I had my own secretary.

Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Education

The National Weather Forecast

Posted on May 5, 2010 by tdl1501| 1 Comment

Picture a map of the US of A. OK if you’re under age 30 when geography was no longer taught in school, look at a map of the USA. Most weather comes in off the Pacific, sweeps across the western states with mostly rain, changes to snow in the mountains and if it’s a strong enough storm heads towards the midwest and beyond. This was taken May 2, this year.

Planters May 2, 2010

We hear “danger to the Oregon and California coasts.” Then two days after it blasted us, we hear “it’s threatening Chicago and Indianapolis and the East Coast.” Its as if the left coast is one ear and the east coast is the other and there’s nothing in between, which is a supremely arrogant position to take on what is supposed to be national news.

Is it just that so few people live out here that the weather can’t be reported? We got dumped on with rain or snow or sleet or hail and one requires chains to drive and heavy equipment to even get out of the driveway. But nationally, the only concern is California, Chicago and the East Coast. Texas and Louisiana only get play in hurricanes. Yes, we’ve lived through those, running from them and facing them head on. Still you didn’t get the story right on Ike.

It seems as if we’ve made a life of choosing second cities, which have so much potential and better livability than a 500 sf place in Manhattan with a Coleman stove and frying pan. Please, Mr. Al Roker who I admire so much, give a break to us in the mountain states and know that weather has to hit somewhere between California and Chicago. It hits us.

I must give my own weather report. Temperatures are plummeting from the low 60′s and snow is forecast for tomorrow morning. Yes, this is May. Hope your weather is less volatile and you can plant flowers and herbs. Cheers, Dee

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It’s Been Snowing

Posted on April 23, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

I know, it’s late April, but the latest recorded snowfall here was late June and that was in the valley. I’ve got scarves and gloves and hats and serious coats out until I can wash/dryclean as needed and put them away. That may be July.

Even with the snow and rain (now it’s cloudy but blue skies) I was able to see the many ducks, as always, come in after the severe wind and weather. Also two geese, the two infamous cranes and two glossy ibis I saw for only one hour of one day last year. Yes, birders told me glossy ibis do not come here and I beg to differ after several expert opinions. My only regret is that skies were dark and snowy so their glossiness was not evident. I picked them out because of the color, and shape of the beak. They are a gorgeous bird and it was a pleasure to look out a few times today and see them foraging for food. Sorry I couldn’t get a photo because it was too dark and they were a couple hundred yards out.

Tonight it’s baked chicken breasts in flour, egg and seasoned panko, and the rest is up to me to decide in the next hour. The winter/spring thing is always interesting. Tomorrow I may make a stew. Especially because I got these handmade pappardelle noodles (dried) so I need something delicious to put over them. Cheers! Dee

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Childhood

Posted on March 25, 2010 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

At age eight we moved to a large home on a mountain overlooking a lake. You should have seen me lugging rocks to build a retaining wall, using a miter to cut window moldings, or grabbing the automatic stapler with both hands to put up ceiling tiles in the basement.

When I talk about the Job Jar now it’s a good thing! Whether it was folding diapers, dusting, vacuuming or weeding we each had our things to do. The only thing is that it was never passed down to the younger ones, who got away with anything. But I digress.

Childhood is different these days. When a toddler waves at me from a supermarket cart I can’t say hello. Two tween girls wanted to come over here to play my keyboard last year, with an OK from Mom but Dad would get home from work and retrieve them post haste.

We didn’t have to lock our front door or our car. Yes, in high school several people I knew took drugs but I didn’t. I can’t imagine life as a twelve-year old girl today with Internet access and so many dangers. I wonder if parents are being too protective and creating monsters of their children who crave independence or will remain dependent forever.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go back to the time where we built sand structures or snow forts or sledded down the hill? While I’m past my child-bearing years my husband and I love children, especially our young relatives on which we dote. Some have the luxury of living a country existence and some don’t have that pleasure except on vacation.

We missed Thanksgiving at Nanny’s last year, first time in eight years. I missed the after-supper activities: pushing the little ones on the swings and looking at the horses. It’s a different world out there now, and parents should be extra-vigilant about their child’s safety but also let them learn and grow.

Yeah, I check all the locks every night. It was creepy when our garage door kept opening on its’ own, over the holidays. Husband Jim had to change the frequency to stop other garage door openers from opening ours and having full use of our home! Stay safe, Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Education, Pet, Recipe Ideas