Happy New Year!

 Amanda Gorman's New Year's Poem 'New Day's Lyric' 

May this be the day

We come together.

Mourning, we come to mend,

Withered, we come to weather,

Torn, we come to tend,

Battered, we come to better.

Tethered by this year of yearning,

We are learning

That though we weren't ready for this,

We have been readied by it.

We steadily vow that no matter

How we are weighed down,

We must always pave a way forward.

This hope is our door, our portal.

Even if we never get back to normal,

Someday we can venture beyond it,

To leave the known and take the first steps.

So let us not return to what was normal,

But reach toward what is next.

What was cursed, we will cure.

What was plagued, we will prove pure.

Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,

Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,

Where we weren't aware, we're now awake;

Those moments we missed

Are now these moments we make,

The moments we meet,

And our hearts, once all together beaten,

Now all together beat.

Come, look up with kindness yet,

For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.

We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,

But to take on tomorrow.

We heed this old spirit,

In a new day's lyric,

In our hearts, we hear it:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne.

Be bold, sang Time this year,

Be bold, sang Time,

For when you honor yesterday,

Tomorrow ye will find.

Know what we've fought

Need not be forgotten nor for none.

It defines us, binds us as one,

Come over, join this day just begun.

For wherever we come together,

We will forever overcome.

Merry Christmas 2021! More Words of Wisdom from C.S.Lewis

 

"The Nativity" by C.S. Lewis

The Nativity    by C. S. Lewis

Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow)

I see a glory in the stable grow

Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length

Give me an ox’s strength.

Among the asses (stubborn I as they)

I see my Savior where I looked for hay;

So may my beast like folly learn at least

The patience of a beast.

Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)

I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;

Oh that my baaing nature would win thence

Some woolly innocence!

The Truth about Vegetable Oils

From The Medium:

There are many foods that are labeled “unhealthy”, and what these are depends largely on the nutrition paradigm you follow.

However, there is one food that is universally not good for you, that should be avoided as much as possible. And that food is vegetable oil.

Avoiding vegetable oil may be quite a challenge, as there is vegetable oil in so many pre-packaged and processed foods, as well as takeout and restaurant food. It’s everywhere.

However, as you will soon see, it’s so important to avoid as it’s likely impacting your health more than you realize.

Importance

There are various reasons why vegetable oils are so bad for us:

• Vegetable oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids. While these acids, like omega-3s fatty acids, are important for our health and must be obtained by the diet, we are consuming way too many of them. These omega-6s throw out the balance of omega 6:omega 3, and drive inflammation.
• Vegetable oils are a relatively new addition to our diet — oils like butter, lard, and coconut oil have been around a whole lot longer — creating what is known as an “evolutionary mismatch”
• These oils are incredibly unstable — meaning they can easily oxidize and produce harmful byproducts.
• This oxidation leads to the production of free radicals, which are molecules that can damage our cells as well as cause inflammation and disease. This is dangerous for the brain, as the brain is especially vulnerable to free radicals.
• Chris Kresser highlights the terrifying process of how vegetable oils are produced:

“First, seeds are gathered from the soy, corn, cotton, safflower, and rapeseed plants. Next, the seeds are heated to extremely high temperatures; this causes the unsaturated fatty acids in the seeds to oxidize, creating byproducts that are harmful to human and animal health. The seeds are then processed with a petroleum-based solvent, such as hexane, to maximize the amount of oil extracted from them. Next, industrial seed oil manufacturers use chemicals to deodorize the oils, which have a very off-putting smell once extracted. The deodorization process produces trans fats, which are well known to be quite harmful to human health. Finally, more chemicals are added to improve the color of the industrial seed oils.”

As you can see by this process, these oils have numerous chemical additives and contain various toxic byproducts created by this process.

• The consumption of these oils leads to chronic inflammation and has been linked to almost every health condition, from asthma and diabetes to autoimmune conditions and depression.

Action Steps

Oils to avoid:

• Canola
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Soybean
• Sunflower
• Safflower
• Peanut oils

You’re going to have to start looking at ingredient lists, and avoiding takeout food as much as possible. Also be aware of foods that may be cooked in these oils when at restaurants, and opt for foods that haven’t been cooked in oil. Restaurants use vegetable oils because they’re so cheap, so if something is oily, it’s almost always vegetable oil.

Avoid packaged foods such as cookies and crackers. Avoid margarine and shortening. Opt for healthier sources of omega-6s such as nuts, avocados, and meat.

Cook with these oils:

• Olive oil
• Butter
• Coconut oil
• Lard

While it would be incredibly challenging to avoid vegetable oils completely, the idea here is to limit your consumption as much as possible. Simply having an awareness of foods likely to contain these oils is a huge step in the right direction. Consuming these every now and then is okay (though still not ideal), but having these oils every day will undoubtedly wreak havoc on your body and your brain.

First Things First - WHITE SAUCE

Bechamel - White Sauce - The Beginning

THE MOST IMPORTANT SAUCE RECIPE YOU'LL EVER NEED!

I can't be too assertive about this.  It is my opinion that there are some basics every single American cook needs to learn and perfect.  I'm not trying to say that you cannot cook without learning these; but I am saying that you'll become a well-rounded, great cook of just about any ethnicity's recipes and any type of dish.

First of all, I'm going to teach you how to make a 'White Sauce.'

"White sauce?" you ask.  "What does 'white sauce' have to do with making fried chicken, Mimi's stew, etc?  White sauce, correct name is Bechamel because it originated in France, probably in the Dark Ages(!), is THE BASIC OF ALL BASICS.  Remember, cooking is Chemistry.  You're combining various foods together to make a "dish."

Here's the very simple recipe:

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt:
2 Tablespoons butter or fat

Add:

2 Tablespoons of flour
      and stir constantly to work out any lumps (very important - you don't want a lumpy sauce).
      This also 'cooks' out any raw flour taste (also important to the success of your sauce).  It
      takes only about one minute - stir constantly - don't let it brown.

While stirring constantly, slowly add:

1 cup of milk
    It's nice if you have a whisk; if not, use a spoon or a fork and really stir it to make sure your
    sauce will be smooth - with no tell-tale lumps, the sign of a rank amateur!
    Keep stirring as the sauce thickens to a medium thickness - like gravy.

Okay, so now that you've practiced making this sauce once, you're ready to make perfect roast beef gravy, perfect consistency stew gravy, perfect tuna casserole, perfectly wonderful macaroni and cheese,  etc.  The list goes on and on.  This one simple sauce will immediately turn you into a professional-like cook, instead of a hacker!


 

Mimi's Miracles in the Kitchen

First of all - who's Mimi?

The word "mimi" is the French diminutive for 'grandmother.'  When Quinn, who is now 25,  was born I was very interested in all things French - even considering myself a 'francophile.'  I studied the language of my mother (a Québecoise) in high school, then at Berlitz in San Francisco and finally in southern France.  In my family of origin it was de riguer (the rule) to speak English.  Dad, who spoke German (but wasn't admitting it) and some Gaelic, insisted that, "We are Americans.  We speak English."  So, brother Jim and I lost out on the opportunity to learn any German, Gaelic or French.  How I would have liked having those languages 'under my belt!'  Well, that's history.  I did learn to speak a passable French - and now speak Spanish as well.


Why am I writing this blog?

Here I am again, starting another blog.  Over the years, Jeff, Kari, Spencer, family and lots of friends have asked me for information related to cooking, baking and entertaining.  Now it's coming time to share lots of gourmet and gourmand experiences with my grandchildren as they go out into the world on their own.


Potential topics:

I will be organizing as I go along with the blog - here's a first go at topics:

General Information re:  Cooking and Baking
Tried and True Recipes - "Mary-Pat Specials"
Menu Planning
New Additions to favorites
Lots of Baking - my real passion these days
Cooking and Baking Equipment and Supplies
Staples - to keep in the house
Types of Parties
Ethnic Entertaining - Mexican Fiesta, French Bistro, Italian Country, etc.
Personal Journal - Entertaining Activities, Menus

Entertaining:

1)   decision to entertain

2)   reason for party

3)   decision - date and time

4)   decision - guests - who and how many?

5)   decision - menu

6)   prioritization of preparation activities

7)   invitations and replies - email, snail mail, telephone

8)   plan - preparation

9)   recipe search

10) shopping list - foods, linen and tableware, cookware, decorations

11) preparation of foods, house cleaning, decor

12) alterations due to circumstances

13) prioritization of party day preparations