Monthly Archives: March 2011

>The world spins out of control

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>Recovering from depression isn’t easy when the news is bad. It doesn’t help that I’m a news junkie, one who reads the print newspaper from cover to cover before turning on CNN. How can I feel like the glass is half full in a bad news world?

I’m starting week 7 of an 8 week online course. I’m feeling positive. My course work is going well, my grades are good, and I’m keeping up with the interim deadlines for the final work.
Good news: this course will certify me to teach online.
No longer good news: These credits would have been enough to allow me a lane change, a move on the pay scale.
Bad news: As soon as the current contract expires (in June), we no longer have steps and lanes on our salary scale. Spending my money in this way no longer has a financial incentive.
Glass half full philosophy: This opens up a new avenue for me, that of teaching online.
Glass half empty philosophy: what a waste! All this money! All this time! All this work!
Glass half full: At least work-related tuition is tax deductible.
Glass half empty: in 2012. And who knows what kind of changes may take place in the tax code?
Glass half full: I’m passing. Heck, I’m doing a stellar job! My grades are great!
Glass half empty: Who cares? Thanks to our governor, my time, money, and work are worthless.
Well, this is not working. I’ll never finish weeks 7 and 8 if I focus on the negative, the glass half empty ideal.
Maybe it’s as my engineer husband says. It’s not that the glass is half full or half empty; the glass is simply twice as large as it needs to be.
Rats. That didn’t help my spirits at all.

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>Spring (Garden!) Fever

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>Yes, I’m getting restless. In terms of health and well-being, I think it’s a good sign. The problem is, I can’t get out and play in the dirt yet – my garden areas are still covered with snow. Did I mention that yesterday? Uh-huh, I’m a little obsessed. Since I can’t get play in the dirt yet, I spent part of today reading about others and their plots.

Mother Nature Network titled their feature “Save money, reduce stress, and make tastier meals through gardening.” Wow, that’s some pretty high expectations for a patch of soil! My favorite advice from this piece: conserve water with a rain barrel. Mine are still upside down; the weather needs to get a bit warmer and the ground a bit more solid before I set them up to collect rain water.
The Eco Women ask “Do you Grow Your Own?” In the midst of the many choices gardeners make, it’s easy to overdo. Recycla of the Eco-Women reminds beginning gardeners to start small and choose wisely. Do the research: read the books, check the library, read the blogs and the web sites that pertain to your zone.
As long as it’s getting warmer, I think it’s time for me to start putting this together.

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>Spring Kick Off Blog Hop: Easy Rhubarb Cake

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>Spring – yes, I’m a bit obsessed with watching the snow melt. Just like a pot boiling, it doesn’t go any faster with me staring out the window. But since Nina and Sarah at Recipe Lion had a February theme of Winter Warm-ups, they decided to think positive thoughts and celebrate March with this theme: Favorite Spring Recipes.

At the risk of tempting fate or attempting to fool Mother Nature, I pulled the last bucket of rhubarb out of the freezer and tried something new from a Kraft Kitchens newsletter: Rhubarb Dump Cake. It’s not a true dump cake in the sense that this cake does layer the ingredients in order, but it is a very, very simple cake.
Rhubarb Dump Cake
1 lb. fresh or frozen rhubarb, diced (about 4 cups)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, adjusted for sweetness of rhubarb
1 package (3 oz.) strawberry or raspberry jello
1 package (2 layer size) white or yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place rhubarb in bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
Sprinkle sugar and jello mix over rhubarb.
Whisk together cake mix, water, and melted butter until well blended. Spread to completely cover rhubarb.
Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I’m thinking of having it for breakfast with a cup of java.
And then I’ll resume staring out the windows and watching the snow melt. There’s a whole season of fresh rhubarb just waiting to burst free, I just know it.

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>What’s on your mind?

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>Deciding on one blog post wasn’t possible today. It’s not writers’ block, but the opposite; there’s too much going on.

The new laws have a direct effect on me and my job. Our contract is still being reviewed; I’ve got one, I just hope all is well so I can sign it and have a job next fall.
Wisconsin’s politics have moved across the nearby Great Lake to the great state of Michigan. Hang in there, workers!
There’s room and plenty of fodder for another depression post. My recovery goes on, slowly: a marathon, not a sprint. Whether it’s an informational or personal post, I hope that by sharing I can do some good. Depression is widespread. Because it’s a mental illness, people don’t talk about it. I’m taking a deep breath and talking.
La Petite continues her job search. In this economy, I’m happy that she’s looking. It would be easy to give up, but she hasn’t.
Amigo is competing in forensics. He hasn’t told us much about it; I think he’ll be great.
My garden is still snow-covered. The snow is melting! Eventually I’ll see mud, then it’ll dry a bit and I’ll have soil! Real soil-slash-dirt and I can go out and get my hands dirty prepping for planting.
We just replaced our main family computer- not by choice. The previous desktop gave up. Thanks to the local Noon Lions’ Club, we were able to make it accessible for Amigo immediately. They donated the money for his adaptive software. Their generosity makes our lives so much easier, so often. So if you’re looking for a cause, look no farther than the local Lions.
So, readers, that’s a taste of what’s on my mind. What’s on yours?

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>Green Bean Casserole

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>It’s better than you think. This one’s from Alton Brown. I found this make-it-from-scratch recipe for green bean casserole on (are you ready for this?) Swagbucks TV. I was earning a few Swagbucks watching their Food videos and saw this one. I called Chuck over to watch it, too, and we decided to try it. The recipe calls for a large cast iron skillet, but I used my Dutch oven.

Green Bean Casserole
by Alton Brown, courtesy of Swagbucks TV
Ingredients
for the topping:
2 small or 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons panko bread crumbs (regular bread crumbs will work, but not nearly as well)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
non-stick spray
for the casserole:

1 teaspoon salt
1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, trimmed, preferably blanched
1 Tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
Preheat oven to 475 F – yes, 475.
Combine the onions, flour, panko, and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Toss onions 2-3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Mr. Brown suggests blanching them now. I used garden beans that I’d blanched before freezing, so I didn’t take the time to do it again. So…on the with beans.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or Dutch oven) set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for another one minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6-8 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place pan into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

No, this is not a sponsored post, either by Alton Brown or by Swagbucks. If you’d like to sign up for Swagbucks, a fun way of earning something for nothing, there’s a button at the top of my right sidebar. If you sign up through me, I get a few “bucks” for recruiting. Other than that, I just keep having fun searching for random rewards and earning points by watching recipes that I might actually make!

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>In with the good air, out with the bad air

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Last fall MomCentral sent me a Filtrete water pitcher to test and review. We’re still using it. I filter water for my coffee, to make juices from concentrate, and Chuck used some last weekend to mix up a delicious rum punch with fresh nutmeg grated on top. Oops, I’m getting off the subject.
The Filtrete water pitcher is good quality. I replaced the filter on top and kept using it; it’s really working out well for us, providing filtered water for many uses and reducing the amount of bottled water we purchase.
Home air filters should be replaced regularly, too, and Filtrete (a 3M company) makes a high performance filter called the Elite Allergen Reduction Filter. Clean air is just one healthy home tip found on Filtrete’s Clear Advantages site. If you’re like me, you’ll visit a site like this once, gather tips, and then forget to go back. Filtrete makes it easy, though; just subscribe to their eNewsletter. It’s seasonal, so it won’t clutter your inbox. The eNewsletter offers seasonal tips for air quality and even a reminder to change air filters regularly.
I did not get an air filter to test for this review. However, I did have a good introduction to the brand from my water filter experience. The Filtrete web page is full of good information and opportunities to buy their products if you can’t find them locally. I found a Special Offers page, too, offering mail-in rebates and more. Filtrete is also on Twitter as (you guessed it) @Filtrete.
Thinking about allergens is making me sneezy. Just staring at my friendly pet rabbit, that loving and shedding little source of animal dander, and remembering the mold season coming soon (begone, snow!)…. it’s probably time to change the air filter at my house.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Filtrete and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. Now I’m thinking about the allergens to come as the temperatures rise and the snow melts; I’d better put down the computer and get the air filter changed.

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>Depression hurts and confuses.

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Yesterday, my back hurt and my head hurt. My back hurt because I have no energy to stand or walk for any length of time. Making lunch or supper meant pushing my limits, which caused pain. My head hurt from exhaustion; I slept much of the morning, despite sleeping well the previous night.
Rest is hard to come by in this Midwestern work ethic. I feel like I should be constantly accomplishing something. During the playoffs and the Super Bowl, I could allow myself to watch a game or two – but there was usually laundry in the washer and dryer while I was watching. I’m taking an online class right now, and getting that work done helps rationalize another nap.
Depression hurts emotionally. Dredging out the energy to make small talk, even with family, is tough sometimes. I’ve always been a peacemaker – at work and at home. Right now, I just want to walk away. I don’t have the energy to converse, much less mediate.
Some days I have more questions than answers. I’ve had flashback dreams of that November night in the ER, the night with the chest pains that scared the heck out of me. Why the flashbacks? I don’t know. It doesn’t mean I want to be sicker or go to the hospital. This dream may just mean I’m doing too much, too soon, too fast. Maybe it’s a warning that I need to slow down, no matter what my Midwestern work ethic might say.
Lately, recovery consists of two steps forward, one step back. Days exist when I have the energy to cook, but not clean the kitchen. I need to slow down and put myself first. Slow down, rest, and heal.
Now if only our state politics would let up, and I could stop watching news….

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>Concussion: more than a headache

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>There they were, my Green Bay Packers, getting close to the end zone and scaring the New England Patriots because a touchdown would have put the Packers in the lead. Then Matt Flynn’s pass was tipped…

Readers, I hear your questions. “Matt Flynn? Daisy, what are you talking about? Aaron Rodgers was the starting quarterback for the fantastic Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, not Flynn, was the MVP in that incredible Super Bowl win!”
Yes, readers. Aaron Rodgers, starting quarterback, had been hit hard in the helmet the previous week – hard enough to suffer a concussion. He hadn’t recovered sufficiently to be cleared to play, so Matt Flynn, his back-up, started in his place.
Concussion is the term for an injury: an injury to the brain. When the brain is shaken, spun, or suffers a blow (such as a blow to the football helmet), it moves rapidly – too rapidly – inside the skull. Symptoms of concussion vary, but some key signs of a concussion are:
  • appears dazed or confused
  • can’t remember events immediately after or prior to the hit or fall
  • double or blurry vision
  • concentration or memory problems
  • any change in the athlete’s thinking, behavior, or physical functioning
I didn’t list loss of consciousness, although even a momentary loss of consciousness is one of the most common clues that a concussion has occurred, because a concussion doesn’t always result in blacking out. It’s not safe to assume that a young athlete is “fine” because he or she didn’t see stars or pass out. Even a “bell-ringer” or a “ding” to the brain can be serious.
In fact, my caution list is woefully short. Since many young children play under inexperienced or untrained coaches, parents shoulder the burden of watching over their children’s safety.
Aaron Rodgers had the entire Packers’ training staff examining and treating him, including doctors and physical therapists and professionally trained coaches. Young athletes don’t have that advantage. The CDC has several resources aimed at coaches, teachers & school personnel, and parents.
If the Super Bowl MVP can miss a game in order to recover from a concussion, anyone can. It’s better to miss one game than the whole season.
This is not a paid post. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) asked me to help publicize this important topic. If you’d like more information, the CDC’s home page for Concussion is here.

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>Family Travel Tips

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Ten Tips from Daisy for Family Travel
Tip: Know your limits. Budget and plan accordingly.
These tips change as families get older. Chuck and I have traveled by train across the country from East to West, and along the East coast from Miami to Washington, D.C. Had we done this twenty years ago, we could have gone in coach the entire way. Now that we’re both 50 and, well, mature travelers, we prefer beds at night, so we paid a bit more for the Amtrak roomette. It was worth it.
Tip: Acknowledge that each family member has different taste, and respect each other’s tunes.
When our kids were younger, we’d bring our own music and take turns choosing what to play in the vehicle’s CD player. Now each person brings their own headphones, earbuds, and music player – MP3, mainly. Well, that is, each person except the driver.
Tip: Have enough cup holders. Seriously.
Cup holders are awesome. Each traveler should have his/her own. Mine, of course, will hold my morning coffee. Chuck, La Petite, and Amigo? Most likely Mountain Dew. We all have our chosen vices.
Tip: Travel eco-responsibly as much as possible.
Whenever we hit the road, I feel some guilt for not being as green as we are at home. Instead of cloth napkins, we’ll use paper. We’ll pull out disposable wet wipes for convenience. There is room for compromise, though. I often bring my own water bottle or travel coffee mug. Many places make it easy to recycle; go ahead, do it. And when all is said and done, don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect.

Tip: Pack light.
Somehow, dirty clothes seem to take up more space than clean clothes do. Pack with room to spare. And then there are the souvenirs; leave room if you plan to buy anything at your destination or along the way.
Tip: Choose souvenirs wisely.
Did I mention souvenirs? My favorites are those that are useful and fun reminders of the trip. Coffee mugs make great purchases; so do t-shirts and sweatshirts if you wear them. On our last trip, we picked up a lovely hand-made wicker basket. It became an additional carry-on for the trip home, and now it lives next to my recliner with my lumbar pillow and recent magazines in it. This lovely yet simple basket will always remind me of the trip.
Moving on a bit more quickly, here are a few tips for traveling families:
Tip: Bring pillows or blankets. My best travel-related purchase ever was a horseshoe pillow. I use it in the car, on trains, and on airplanes. These supplies are almost always cheaper at home than on the road.
Tip: Bring reading material. Last trip I packed two books, read them both, and left them in the Bed & Breakfast’s bookshelf for future travelers. One of my favorite reading tips? Buy a local paper.
Tip: Plan for the best, but prepare for the worst. If your plane is delayed, what will you do? If the car gets a flat tire, do you know how to change to the spare? If you’re stuck in a traffic jam at lunch time, do you have snacks to prevent starvation and (worse) crabbiness?
Tip: Look for simple pleasures. Scenery. Sounds. Plants. Animals. Regional foods. Time together to talk and simply enjoy each other. The best memories of the trip aren’t always those that cost a lot of money. After all, the key word in Family Vacation is Family.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, with the possibility of earning a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

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>Pan Fried Cod with Peppers

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Chuck created this recipe based on something he found in the book Dining on the Pacific. He changed the recipe enough to be called his own. He’s a great cook; I’d love to see him take over the kitchen, but then who would make sure all the Packers specialty shows were on the air? Never mind.


Here it is!


Pan Fried Cod with Peppers

Topping:

2 tablespoons of Crisco Extra Virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic minced

1 small can of minced clams, drain out and reserve the liquid

1 small yellow onion chopped

1 tablespoon sugar

1 green pepper chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with lime juice & cilantro

Pepper to taste

Preheat oil in a 3 qt saucepan. Add onion and begin to sauté. Sprinkle in sugar and garlic when onion begins to turn opaque. Sauté for another 2 minutes or until onions just begin to carmelize, being careful not to burn garlic. Add peppers and tomatoes. When peppers begin to soften, add clams without the liquor. Stir, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in 2 tablespoons of the clam liquor. (This helps prevent the liquor from curdling and will begin to add some saltiness to the topping.) Add pepper to taste.

Fish

1 ½ to 2 pounds of Cod fillets, washed and dried. (About 6-8 pieces.)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon McCormick’s ground paprika

1/8 teaspoon McCormick’s ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Crisco vegetable oil

Thoroughly combine all dry ingredients in a storage sized Ziploc bag.

Preheat oil and butter in a skillet.

Place two fillets at a time into bag and shake them until well coated.

Place the fillets into the hot skillet and pan fry until golden brown, turning once to do other side.

Continue until all fillets are done.

When removing from skillet, place fillets onto a plate with a paper towel to drain any excess oil.

Serve fish on a bed of rice with a generous portion of topping spooned over it. Serves 4.

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