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Are you getting ready for Father’s Day on June 15? Onething that won’t change is that grilling out is the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day. Not only will it be smack dab in the middle of prime grilling season, it is also a tried and true fact that most Father’s are pretty skilled at outdoor cooking.
So, I have a couple of recipes for you. One comes from generations back in my father’s wife’s family in Southern Georgia. It’s a thin sauce called Hot Moppin’ that you spoon over pulled pork or beef. Holy cow, it’s good!
Hot Moppin
• 1-teaspoon Black Pepper
• ½-teaspoon Salt
• 1-teaspoon Chipped Red Pepper
• 1-teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 1-teaspoon Yellow Prepared Mustard
• ½-teaspoon Sugar
• ½-cup vinegar
• ½-stick Margarine
Can add more red pepper to taste if desired.
Stir continually until a rolling boil. Use on Pork or beef as a vinegar based barbecue sauce.
This second recipe is something I love to whip up to use on the grill. It is also great spooned over pulled meats, but keep in mind that ketchup and the molasses is going to caramelize on the grill, and that’s half the divinity of BBQ.
Tangy Sweet Balsamic Barbeque Sauce
• In a 2-quart pan, combine
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Best warm or at room temperature. Makes 2 cups.
I have been pondering on and writing about the alarming rise in grocery prices for months now. My grocery bill and my gasoline costs are taking over my budget.
So, when I saw a headline proclaiming that sales of Spam are up due to consumers looking for less expensive ways to fill out their cupboards, I was…well, I’m not sure what I was, but I stopped to read the story.
When I was a child, in the 70s, Spam was around quite a bit. We did not actually eat it all that often in my household, but when I would spend the night at my friend Carol’s house, one of the biggest treats was when her mom would make us slices of friend spam along with buttered noodles for dinner. For me, Spam was right up there with Vienna Sausages as those mysterious foods I only got on what seemed like special occasion. Little did I know my parents just did not share my love for processed meats and served them seldom to avoid having to eat them.
Spam has been around since 1937 and due to amazing increase in sales this year; Hormel is planning the first national advertising campaign for Spam in years. They are even going to roll out new Spam products, like individually wrapped slices.
Overall food prices are up 4% since last year. White bread is up 13%, bacon is up 7%, and peanut butter is up %. And, if food prices keep going up like they are right now, it will mean that 2008 will see an overall increase of 6.1%.
My mother is a child of WW2 and her parents grew up in the Great Depression. I admit that my daily household habits are much more wasteful than what I have been taught by my family and I need to take a step back and implement what I have been taught. Meals can indeed be made for just a couple of dollars. I can put in a bigger garden, can fruits an veggies, save more cans and jars and bags, re-use foil, eat is restaurants a lot less often, and hundreds of other things.
It all startds with Spam, but it marches onward from there.
I have written a lot about what can happen when an underage driver gets behind the wheel of a car. In this first paragraph alone you will find five links to some of the another articles I have written about this tragic topic in the past. I feel passionately about raising the minimum driving age in Florida and in the rest of the United States.
This next story does not take place on our highways or even on the streets of a neighborhood. In fact, the car did not travel very far at all. And still, it still involves unspeakable tragedy.
Last night in St. Petersburg, Florida a 13-year-old girl told her mother she was going out to the family’s Volkswagen Cabrio to retriever her schoolbooks. She took the keys and headed out to the parking lot. Instead of just getting in the car, getting her books, and getting back out – she and a friend took a joyride around the parking lot that ended with the death of a five-year-old boy.
First, the girl lurched the car forward, where it struck a wall and knocked out some concrete blocks. The, she put the car in reverse and the struck the five-year-old, who had been sitting on a planter.
He was hit in the torso and pinned against a wall with his feet dangling off the ground. Instead of pushing the break, the eighth-grader put her foot on the gas and rendered the boy unable to breath. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses say the girl and her friend were playing loud music and dancing as they drove around the parking lot. After she struck the boy, the driver ran from the car and was not found by police until an hour later.
A lot of the comments made by readers of this story on a local news website blasted the girl’s parents as being irresponsible in letting her have the car keys. Tell me, though, how many parents of a young teen have handed their child car keys so they can go retrieve something from the car? I do not find anything at all negligent about that action. This is clearly a case of a teen’s bad judgment and I think the teen alone should be prosecuted.
I do, however, still think it is a good illustration of our current problems with underage drivers in general.
Our whole family loves this recipe. We picked it up during a visit to Williamsburg, Virginia when we ate in the Tavern one night. I have made it often for us.
1 1/3 cup boiling water
1 1/3 cups fresh milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons butter
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon baking powder.
Preheat oven to 350û.
Grease two-quart, shallow baking dish.
Mix sugar, salt, and cornmeal. Pour boiling water over mixture, stirring constantly. Add butter and let stand until cool. Beat eggs with the baking powder until light and add to mixture. Add milk and stir.
Pour into prepared dish. Place dish in a shallow pan of hot water and bake at 350û for 35 minutes. The texture should be soft and custard-like. Serve with a spoon.
Most people who have not been living under a rock this past year know the story of Hulk Hogan’s son Nick Bollea and the horrific accident he had last August here in Clearwater, Florida. His passenger, John Graziano, suffered brain damage and still needs 24-hour care.
Yesterday, Nick’s sister Brooke Bollea was involved in a car accident, also here in Pinellas County. Another driver, Ronald Gallmon (19), lost control of his 1997 Toyota while changing lanes going north on the Bayside Bridge, spun into Bollea’s lane, and struck her 2008 Mercedes.
Nobody was injured, which is fortunate. Witnesses told highway patrol troopers that Gallmon was speeding. Sadly, seeing a young boy speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, and generally endangering other drivers is a common sight in Pinellas County, especially on our bridges and on US 19.
I’ve written in the past about how I think the age for receiving a driver’s license should be raised in Florida. I’ve lived in many states throughout my life and I have not seen as much reckless driving by teens as I do here in the Tampa area.
The point of my headline was not that the entire Bollea family are terrible drivers, but that their track record for car-related issues is pretty crappy. Maybe they would be safer just taking the bus. ?
Memorial Day is a special time for me and my family. Both of my grandfathers and my step-grandfather fought in WW2. My dad’s father died in Italy and is buried in Enzio. I have never seen his grave, but a couple of years ago my father visited and saw his own father’s grave for the first time in his life. My dad was two when his father died, so the moment was particularly poignant.
My maternal grandfather and my paternal step-grandfather both came back from WW2 and went on to fight in Korea. My dad did not fight in Viet Nam, because he was the only child of a father who was killed in action.
My family has always been sensitive to the importance of honoring those who fight for our nation. This extends to the men and women who are fighting for our nation as I write this. I do not have any relatives overseas right now, but I have lots of friends who have been there over and over.
As I mentioned, my one grandfather is buried in Italy. The other two are in WV. So, it is not possible for me to physically visit their graves this weekend. However, my maternal step-father was also a vet and he is buried in the Florida National Cemetery, so we make it a habit to visit him.
I have tears in my eyes. I have had tears in my eyes several times since the earthquakes in China hit. The world has been watching this tragedy and mourned along with the people of China.
The tears I am shedding now are from happiness, pride, and soft-heartedness, though. The story of policewoman Jiang Xiaojuan is just amazing.
She is the mother of a 6-month-old son, who she breastfeeds. After the quake, she took it upon herself to breastfeed some of the orphaned infants. At one point she was feeding nine babies.
She modestly chalks it up to a mother’s instinct and her duty as a police officer. She is actually embarrassed by all of the worldwide attention she is getting and says, “This was a small thing, not worth mentioning.”
I love this woman. I nursed my own daughter for an extended amount of time and I understand the emotional side of the process. I can see how it felt very natural for her to step and in and help the motherless babies. Her body also probably stepped up to the task, naturally producing enough supply. Still, she does deserve recognition. She is selfless and loving and it our modern world this is rare.
We all know that the basic grocery bill for an American family is rising steadily. We have seen it when we go to the market simply to pick up eggs, milk, and bread. It is astonishing when you shop for a week’s worth of food and the overall rise in food costs hits you in a more concrete way.
Additionally, news headlines have talked about how restaurants are facing the rise of food costs just like the rest of us, which is resulting is higher prices for dining out.
How much thought have you given, though, to the food served in schools?
The Hillsborough County School Board (which includes the schools in Tampa, Florida) voted yesterday for a 50 cent increase in the price of school lunches. Elementary school lunches will go from $1.75 to $2.25. Middle and high school lunches will go from $2.25 to $2.75.
District administrators said their schools spent $1.6 million more on milk and this year, which is a 33 percent increase from last year. Bread cost the district $100,000 more this year than last and most sources say that bread prices are actually going to quadruple in the near future.
Despite moving from serving fresh fruit five days a week to only two days a week (canned and frozen fruits and vegetables fill in one the other days), government subsidies have not kept up with the actual price of food these days. Hillsborough County says it costs about $3 to produce a hot lunch and the federal government only kicks in around 23 cents for each student paying full price for lunch.
In honor of the apples that are finally getting ripe in the back yard, I want to give you my mother’s apple pie recipe. I know it seems like a funny time of year to have ripe apples, but here in the sub-tropical region of Florida, the only apples that grow are a couple of varieties of Israeli apples and they are finally coming into their own this month.
We have five trees planted in massive pots out back and each tree is positively loaded with apples. So, what better than a decadent apple pie?
My mom prefers to use Ida Reds or Winesaps, at least three pounds. There need to be enough apples to slice and make a heaping 9-inch pie plate full.
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cup sugar
3 – 4 Tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt
2-3 tablespoons butter, in small pieces
Combine all ingredients, except butter, well with sliced apples. Put apples onto bottom crust in a 9-inch pie plate and top with the butter pieces. Place top crust, crimp edges, cut air vents and bake at 375º for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the juices are beginning to peek out of the slits. Juice should begin to look thick.
If you have a microwave, you can put the pie in and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Rotate a quarter-turn and cook 2 1/2 minutes, etc. until you have turned the pie three times and cooked about 10 minutes.
Then, put the pie into a preheated 375º oven and bake 20-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the juices are thick. I really like this method, as the apples are tender and the crust is crisp without overbaking.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I grew up just outside of Washington, DC and my family fully took advantage of the Smithsonian museums. All my life I wandered the National art galleries in particular. I was taught at a very early age how to appreciate works of art for their own unique attributes, inspirations, and messages.
When I moved away from the DC area, I began to really see that there was indeed the presence of amazing art outside of the National galleries. As soon as I went away for college, I began to seek out and explore any and all art galleries I could find. I continued that practice as I moved from state to state.
One thing that particularly struck me is that more often than not, galleries and art museums reflect the regional art styles of their own surroundings. Take, for example, the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas. True to its regional roots, their exhibitions tend to feature the inspiration of the American West, including Native American art.
I’m particularly taken by the museum’s interest in rare books and manuscripts (a passion of mine). They have an upcoming exhibit called “Pictured Prayers: Medieval Books of Hours”, which will feature illuminated manuscripts. They have other exhibits in the past that showcased other illuminated manuscripts as well. And, they own some of the folios that belonged to John James Audubon.
Since my favorite style of painting comes from the Hudson River School, I was beyond enthusiastic to find out they own pieces by one of my all-time favorite artists, Albert Bierstadt. The American West was brought back to the people in the East in all its glory by the Hudson River painters. They shaped the way people saw the frontier and facilitated our nation’s move to fulfill the concept of Manifest Destiny.
I grew up just outside of Washington, DC. I was absolutely spoiled with the free Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo and other amazing attractions in the District. Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo holds its own against the bigger zoos, though. It is worth the price of admission any day.
With the 20th Anniversary of the zoo happening this year, you can get the best deal I have seen so far for admission. On the 20th of select months the admission fee is only $20 for two tickets (ages 3 and older). Plus, there are $2 ride and food specials. If you consider that the full price of an adult admission is $18.95, you will have to admit this is a super deal.
Check the zoo’s website out for more information: lowryparkzoo.com.
My daughter has pretty much always had eczema. We have battled that off and on her whole life. Due to her itchy skin and tendency toward drier skin, she has also had a couple of battles with MRSA. I think what happened is those cases was she scratched a couple of little open sores and picked up the virus at school.
So, now there is something new happening with her skin and I was just without a clue when I first saw it. I think it was about three weeks ago that she developed some little hard bumps all over her arms and legs, mostly around the areas where she would generally get eczema patches. Also, on one of he knees she got a patch of skin that did not feel rough, but looked rather like elephant skin. It was unsightly and looked a little like something her dad gets on his own knees. Additionally, she had two three larger red spots on her lower back that looked like hives, but without the white raised parting the center.
I kept her moisturized and put her Betamethasone on the bad spots, but after a weekend at her dad’s, she came home even worse. I suspected the trip to the beach they made as well as the cat he has at his house. Gigi is allergic to cats and being around a cat would have taxed her immune system and not left any fight in her for her skin issues.
So, I got her in with my dermatologist. The derm changed her antihistamine and her skin creams. We were on an entirely new regiment and each of the medications had a $45 co-pay, so it was quite an investment. Also, we went back to the skin care products we used when Gigi was a baby: Aveeno lotion, sunscreen and bath wash for babies – not the adult version, but the baby variety.
She was with her dad again this weekend and I brought her home early since tonight was her pre-school graduation presentation. Her skin is even worse! It has been 10 days on the new antihistamine and the new creams. I should see SOME improvement, but instead her entire back is just covered with the splotchy, red, raised spots. It’s horrific, really.
So, my next call is to her allergist. He is very difficult to get in with, but I am going to beg, because my next step will be to find a specialist that can see if this is something systemic. I don’t know – maybe an endocrinologist or an immunologist.
When things get difficult, people often turn even more to God and the security of religion. The local Tampa Bay area all-news TV station Bay News 9 reported that many Bay area churches are seeing an increase in contributions.
First Baptist Church in St. Petersburg says they have seen a 14 percent increase in offerings compared to last year. They attribute it to new members tithing, existing members tithing more and an overall up rise in people actually giving 10% or more of their income.
I think this pattern stands to reason. People do turn to God and church when they are going through rough spots. With the rising price of food, housing, and gas more and more people are seeing their monthly financial budgets having to stretch further than ever before. There is an age old adage that says that the more you give, the more you will receive. When your focus turns away from self and back to God, blessings tend to enter your life on a bigger scale. I’ve seen it in my own life. It takes a tremendous leap of faith to take a tight budget and actually give more in contributions. That faith leads to amazing blessings in the end.
I went to Epcot for the first time ever this past February. Once I got there, I wondered why I had put it off all these years, favoring other Orlando parks over this one. Now, Epcot is my favorite place in Mouseville.
I’m therefore truly excited about their new attraction “StormStruck: The Tale of Two Homes”. 2004’s Hurricane Charley, one of the worst storms to strike the United States, is the start of a new exhibit that opens in August. The exhibit will be in Epcot Innoventions pavilion and will use 3-D technology to put your right in the middle of a Category 4 hurricane.
The overall purpose of the presentation is to show the visitor the difference in outcomes in two different homes – one that survived Charley and one that didn’t. It’s all about how you fortify your home, the roof, the walls, the floors even.
I still remember all the homes in our neighborhood back in Gainesville with the roofs covered in tarps after they had been destroyed by Hurricane Charley. We got though fine, save for the power being out for days.
My mother and I have spent years trying to recreate my great-grandmother’s recipes for Chicken and Dumplings. The problem is that my great grandma never used a recipe and when questioned on her techniques, she would say cryptic things like use two fo the blue scoops full of flour. She was a country cook from the coal mine fields of southern West Virginia. She was a cook to end all debates – hands down one of the best cooks I have ever met. But, most of her techniques have been lost to time.
I have also spent untold hours trying to recreate my former mother in law’s chicken curry. She learned from her mother in law, back in India. The order and quality of spices is important, as are how you still and the heat of your pan. It’s something I was never able to prefect, even after taking meticulous notes. My daughter and I had dinner with my ex mother in law the other night and it was like a slice of Heaven to sit down to some of her curry – that curry I cannot seem to replicate.
Some of the very best cooks and their very best dishes shall forever remain unique, simply because the recipes only seem to work if handed down orally and by example.
