What makes you think mine will?
It never ceases to amaze me what people will donate to a food pantry! In hard times like these, a lot of us depend on food pantries to survive. Don't get me wrong, I am EXTREMELY grateful. It makes the difference between one sustaining meal a day and none. But I must confess to receiving food I have never heard of and have no clue how to use them. Some foods are a regional thing. I mean, Ralph lived in Florida for 8 years growing up. He knew about black beans, red beans & rice, and turnip greens. I however thought you ate the turnip and threw the greens away. Silly me!
I, to this day, have no idea how to prepare some of these foods and am not sure i am brave enough to try. I have had kale as decorative edible greens raw in a salad. I haven't a clue how to use a can of kale. I can only guess, since it resembles spinach, that it might be good hot with a little vinegar or butter. I am not sure. I am guessing the same solution would apply for turnip greens.
I have eaten asparagus, fresh, creamed asparagus, and found it delicious. I have never had it canned. I thought the flavor of the fresh was similar to green beans, but the texture more like that of broccoli stems and pieces (poorman's broccoli, since we can't afford the crowns) I have a can of asparagus spears and a can of tips, both of which are sitting in my cupboard, waiting for me to discover their purpose.
I had fresh broccoli from my sister's garden. It was wonderful except for cleaning it. I remember the days of soaking it in salt water and seeking out the little worms that like to hide in the crowns. That sounds so royal, so rich, broccoli crowns. Almost as if we aren't worthy of eating them. We stretched them to three meals Two meals had cooked, buttered broccoli as a side dish, and the stems served as ingredient for a yummy hamburger and veggie soup.
I mentioned turnips earlier, which I have never had cooked in my life. The few times we had them, Mom had sliced them raw as a snack for me. I also have always been a big fan of raw potatoes. It made peeling and preparing them more bearable. To me, zucchini was always floured and fried in shortening similar to the method for fried green tomatoes. Juli love those, though the appeal escapes me, other than the book and movie of the same name.
When Ralph and I first started dating, he brought venison burger and steaks and cooked out on the grill for my whole family. I had NEVER had any kind of game before. I (gamely! pun intended) tried it. I only ate it a few times more. I stopped when I got violently ill when I was pregnant with Juli after eating deer meat. His family are big aficianados of venison. They hunt it too! To me, it will always be eating "Bambi"! Since then, I avoid anything resembling beef at family get togethers. It's just safer with a family that ENJOYS hunting!
When I was growing up, as a daughter of two people whose families survived the depression eating game, we had 'store bought' meat. My parents both preferred meat that wasn't hunted. We rarely had fish, though Dad & MIke both loved to fish (a sport I LOATHE!!). I know logically that by and large, eating fish is supposed to be healthy for you, but the only fish I ever developed a taste for was McD's fish sandwich on rare occasions, and Gropp's Famous Fish of Stroh, a regional chain of restaurants that had an amazing beer battered fish, that I think was cod, but I am not sure.
I have in recent times, discovered you can eat Hamburger Helper, without the hamburger. You have to make minor adjustments, but it can be quite good. It will also work with just a few ounces of meat too. We found out that you can stretch a pound of ground beef to four meals, or one time even six, if you have to. Some foods don't work well together, but when you are desparate enough, you will try anything. Such times as these, bring out the inner creative cook in you. For example, we had a casserole recipe that called for corn tortillas. It mada a great macaroni dish too.
Anyway, if you aren't the unfortunate ones needing a food pantry, when you donate, remember, if your kid won't eat it what makes you think mine will? (although, she may have been the only two year old to cry for salad at McDonald's)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A Taste for Something Sweet...
What ever happened to Licorice allsorts? I did a search and found them available online in bulk. There is the classic allsorts that apparently are a British novelty. The closest thing I have found in stores around here are the boxed movie treats, Mike and Ike. Those however don't include the beaded looking allsorts, or the ribbon style. With the Mike and Ike's you just get two color choices in one shape, pink and white capsule shape.
Candy and gum go through trends like anything else. Some candies have real staying power as do so chewing gum products. Wrigley's doublemint and juicy fruit have been around forever. When it comes to chocolate, for more than a hundred years the hershey bar has been a classic. It has been a dry spell for me sweet-wise, so I decided to weigh in on what my cravings have been of late. I miss allsorts, ribbon candy (which resurfaces around Christmas), Beeman's gum, and the lately resurfacing pop rocks.
As I was reminescing about sweets from my childhood, I remember Momma telling me once that she had worked for a chocolate manufacturer as a young woman. The company had made the "Bun" bars (line has since been bought by another company). I remember her telling me that the assorted chocolates that come in boxes, had a unique swirl or design on top depending on the filling inside. She could no longer recall which was which, but one with a milk chocolate coating might have a clockwise swirl. Another, might have two squiggly lines. I had previously thought the swirls, etc, were just random and had no meaning.
Anyway, I remember those little wax "soda" bottles with a juice inside. I remember the bit o' honey that was so chewy, you'd swear it was pulling fillings. I know we enjoyed BlackJack and Clove gum. Before there was certs, there was sensen for breath freshening. And it seems like Snickers bars have been around forever. But I think one of my fondest memories is the boxes of Reese's Peanut butter cups miniatures before they were individually wrapped. We always had them chilled in the fridge. On a hot day, there was nothing like an ice cold Reese's mini! And what ever happened to "penny" candy? Remember the root beer striped sticks of hard candy? Or one of maybe 20 or more flavors?
You know, around Ralph's family, we don't mention Saf-t-pops. It seems that they were UNsafe for Ralph, he nearly choked to death on one of the ropelike paper twist handles. I still hold that there is NO substitute for parental supervision. I mean, Juli never choke on a handle! (although, she might have welcomed a little less supervision)
Anyway, there is once again sweets in the house, and I am about to enjoy a single serving, as per package. I know, what fun is that, but as I am diabetic, I have to include in my diet and behave. What a bummer. Comment back and let me know your "sweet" memories AND what is your current favorite!
Candy and gum go through trends like anything else. Some candies have real staying power as do so chewing gum products. Wrigley's doublemint and juicy fruit have been around forever. When it comes to chocolate, for more than a hundred years the hershey bar has been a classic. It has been a dry spell for me sweet-wise, so I decided to weigh in on what my cravings have been of late. I miss allsorts, ribbon candy (which resurfaces around Christmas), Beeman's gum, and the lately resurfacing pop rocks.
As I was reminescing about sweets from my childhood, I remember Momma telling me once that she had worked for a chocolate manufacturer as a young woman. The company had made the "Bun" bars (line has since been bought by another company). I remember her telling me that the assorted chocolates that come in boxes, had a unique swirl or design on top depending on the filling inside. She could no longer recall which was which, but one with a milk chocolate coating might have a clockwise swirl. Another, might have two squiggly lines. I had previously thought the swirls, etc, were just random and had no meaning.
Anyway, I remember those little wax "soda" bottles with a juice inside. I remember the bit o' honey that was so chewy, you'd swear it was pulling fillings. I know we enjoyed BlackJack and Clove gum. Before there was certs, there was sensen for breath freshening. And it seems like Snickers bars have been around forever. But I think one of my fondest memories is the boxes of Reese's Peanut butter cups miniatures before they were individually wrapped. We always had them chilled in the fridge. On a hot day, there was nothing like an ice cold Reese's mini! And what ever happened to "penny" candy? Remember the root beer striped sticks of hard candy? Or one of maybe 20 or more flavors?
You know, around Ralph's family, we don't mention Saf-t-pops. It seems that they were UNsafe for Ralph, he nearly choked to death on one of the ropelike paper twist handles. I still hold that there is NO substitute for parental supervision. I mean, Juli never choke on a handle! (although, she might have welcomed a little less supervision)
Anyway, there is once again sweets in the house, and I am about to enjoy a single serving, as per package. I know, what fun is that, but as I am diabetic, I have to include in my diet and behave. What a bummer. Comment back and let me know your "sweet" memories AND what is your current favorite!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
(Mala)Props to her!
My late mother was the queen of malapropisms. The most memorable, perhaps, was at my ninth (and only) birthday party. We had the games, and I had blown out the candles and it was time to cut the cake. I know Laurie remembers this, Momma said, "I'll take the cake out of the candles..." I don't know how many laughs we shared over the years about that one. There were many other malapropisms over the years with Momma. Those years went by too fast and were far too few.
Moments like this just make me realize how fast time slips away. Momma's gone 11 years now. Juli only got to enjoy her for such a short time, but what an impact her love had on my baby girl. I am so glad my baby got to know the truly unconditional love of a grandma. Heaven knows, her other grandmother was jaded by having so many grandchildren, she never really shared the bond with Juli. More so perhaps, due to the fact that they never expected Ralph to parent any children, and never gave him credit as a father. His family seemed to assume they had to parent her for him, which only damaged his and Juli's bond more.
Juli clings to memories of the grandma that truly loved no matter what. I want Juli to know that kind of love her whole life long. Whether it be from me, or friends, or who ever turns out to be "Mr. Right". (I have suspicions that God has made His plans somewhat known about that.) My little writer is wise beyond her years about what love is and should be. She is the brightest amalgam of strength and frailty, joy and sorrow, love and life. She has an old soul, with the strength that kept her Grandma "Creepie" alive for twenty two years longer than her Spiritualist Minister grandfather predicted.
Juli loved her Grandma with the same passion that Grandma loved her. Whether she was Grandma Streby, "Creepie", "Stumpy" (after her leg was amputated), or Grandma Conehead, she was most importantly, Juli''s Grandma!
In memory of Martha Jessamine Fosnaugh Hile Streby,
4/30/1926 to 5/6/1998.
4/30/1926 to 5/6/1998.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Oops, I goofed!
Yesterday I posted my first entry here, a copy of a letter to the governor of my state. I was so excited to start using our new site that I tweeted on twitter.com/julismom AND put it in my status on Facebook, not realizing it's only in caps in the page header! Needless to say, nobody was able to access it. Thanks to a lifelong friend who's on Facebook, I found out and now the address is pasted on both from the address bar here. Hopefully this will let people find it. Yesterday was a blurry-eyed day for me thanks to the retinopathy. When my blood sugar values fluctuate, sometimes it increases the swelling in the retina and blurs things up for me. I hope to have all the entries from the old blog up and posted here soon. My little techie is sick. Her hydendritis has flared up in her right axilla again. For those of you who aren't familiar with med-speak, she has a couple cysts under her right arm. Yes, she just had the left side excised on June 26th. The right was excised in October 2006. Doc Chamberlain said that sometimes it comes back and he's had to do 2 or 3 surgeries to eliminate it. Apparently it runs in both families. I know my cousin, Jackie had the full-on skin graft surgeries on both at the same time when she was a girl. I mean a young girl, not that she's old, Oh I give up! I just keep typing myself into a corner! Anyway, soon as Juli's able, she'll import the old entries into the archive if possible. Expect more entries soon. Come back often as my mind is QUITE unpredictable. You know, whichever way the wind blows! Going to go now, my neuropathy is making me think I have something crawling just above my elbow but there's nothing there. That's usually a sign I need to take a break from using the computer! Bye
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
An Open Letter to Governor Mitch Daniels
Dear Governor Daniels,
I thought you could use an update on how well the outsourcing is going on fssa. I FINALLY have an appeal hearing date on my turndown for medicaid for disabled workers. It is August 24, amazingly enough, that's this August! I got my initial turndown for last July (2008) application in late spring. I was turned down because, get this, they think I might still be able to do some kind of work. I am a brittle diabetic that has diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, bipolar II disorder, asthma, hypertension and have been hearing disabled since age four. Do you have a job for someone that can barely walk, stand or sit for any length of time, that is also, hard of hearing and possibly going blind (if the retinopathy doesn't get treated), has difficulty breathing and may experience severe mood changes? If you know of anyone that would hire me, I would love to know.
In the meantime, I have to reuse my insulin needles until they're so dull they leave little scars. I rely on medications from assistance programs. These are not always the most effective medications because, not all are available thru a program. So my diabetes remains poorly controlled at the mercy of the state AND pharmaceutical companies that receive incentives from our state!
In the interim, my daughter, who will soon be 18 had her hoosier healthwise(?) canceled a second time, as did my husband's that covers his medicare premiums/copays. We successfully got them reinstated, having been through it before. On another note, our foodstamps have been reduced from $95/mo to $94/mo starting september. Our fixed income, which is just that, fixed, has not changed.
I work just 4 hours a week doing light housekeeping, cooking for a single client through the local council on aging, that I am employed by. When I started in 2003, I worked 21 hours per week. Now, it's all I can do to handle the two hours I go cook, wash the few dishes, help with paperwork, and light odds and ends I do for this gentleman. I don't know how much longer I will be able to do this. My eyes are rapidly approaching the point where I'll have to give up driving. Do I seriously have to go completely blind before I will get help?
Or is the plan like Survivor, outwit, outplay, OUTLAST? Is the system now designed to keep people in limbo until they give up or DIE?!
If the problems aren't fixed in time for me, I hope that in the future, they do get fixed. Indiana is rapidly becoming a geriatric state like Florida because all of our young people can't wait to get away. They watch Indiana's response to these problems, and are disappointed. Unlike Florida, we don't have the tourism industry to save us with tax dollars. It's in your hands, Governor Daniels, as am I.
Sincerely, one of your loyal (at least in the last election) constituents,
Marcia L.Carter
I thought you could use an update on how well the outsourcing is going on fssa. I FINALLY have an appeal hearing date on my turndown for medicaid for disabled workers. It is August 24, amazingly enough, that's this August! I got my initial turndown for last July (2008) application in late spring. I was turned down because, get this, they think I might still be able to do some kind of work. I am a brittle diabetic that has diabetic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, bipolar II disorder, asthma, hypertension and have been hearing disabled since age four. Do you have a job for someone that can barely walk, stand or sit for any length of time, that is also, hard of hearing and possibly going blind (if the retinopathy doesn't get treated), has difficulty breathing and may experience severe mood changes? If you know of anyone that would hire me, I would love to know.
In the meantime, I have to reuse my insulin needles until they're so dull they leave little scars. I rely on medications from assistance programs. These are not always the most effective medications because, not all are available thru a program. So my diabetes remains poorly controlled at the mercy of the state AND pharmaceutical companies that receive incentives from our state!
In the interim, my daughter, who will soon be 18 had her hoosier healthwise(?) canceled a second time, as did my husband's that covers his medicare premiums/copays. We successfully got them reinstated, having been through it before. On another note, our foodstamps have been reduced from $95/mo to $94/mo starting september. Our fixed income, which is just that, fixed, has not changed.
I work just 4 hours a week doing light housekeeping, cooking for a single client through the local council on aging, that I am employed by. When I started in 2003, I worked 21 hours per week. Now, it's all I can do to handle the two hours I go cook, wash the few dishes, help with paperwork, and light odds and ends I do for this gentleman. I don't know how much longer I will be able to do this. My eyes are rapidly approaching the point where I'll have to give up driving. Do I seriously have to go completely blind before I will get help?
Or is the plan like Survivor, outwit, outplay, OUTLAST? Is the system now designed to keep people in limbo until they give up or DIE?!
If the problems aren't fixed in time for me, I hope that in the future, they do get fixed. Indiana is rapidly becoming a geriatric state like Florida because all of our young people can't wait to get away. They watch Indiana's response to these problems, and are disappointed. Unlike Florida, we don't have the tourism industry to save us with tax dollars. It's in your hands, Governor Daniels, as am I.
Sincerely, one of your loyal (at least in the last election) constituents,
Marcia L.Carter
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