Tag Archives: it’s the economy

>Pocket Change or a Living Wage

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>Living Wage: a salary or wages sufficient for paying basic expenses such as rent or mortgage, food, utilities, transportation, and the like.

Pocket change: small amounts of money brought in to supplement a wage; not enough to be a living or a second job, but enough to help buy extras.
Second job: supplements a main job in an attempt to bring total income up into the range of a living wage.
Dear So-called Governor Walker;
When you consider job-related legislation, please keep in mind the differences between the three defined above. In order to keep citizens in Wisconsin and discourage them from moving away, people need to earn a living, not just work. It seems you’ve grown out of touch with the people who actually pay bills regularly. Maybe those speaking engagements (out of state, raising big bucks from PACs and wealthy donors) are giving you the wrong impression: the impression that anyone and everyone has bucks to spare. To tell you the truth, most of us everyday citizens are grasping tightly every cent.
So Gov. Walker, next time your entourage passes a yard sale, remember that the people there may really need the money to buy groceries. When you see a second-hand bookstore, consider that a struggling worker may have sold a stack of books to put a few gallons of gas in the car. Do you see the family cleaning closets and preparing clothing for a consignment store? They may be doing more than de-cluttering; they might be bringing in the cash to buy a workplace wardrobe for someone who hasn’t yet received a paycheck. And if that paycheck isn’t a living wage, well, can you really take credit for job creation in our state? No, I don’t think so.
My ramblings could move yet to the need for an educated workforce, but I know you don’t understand that, either. Maybe if you’d taken the time to actually graduate from college, finish that degree, you could better understand the dedication and motivation it takes to accomplish a goal. A positive goal, that is: a goal that betters the individual and all those around him.
In closing, Governor, if you really want Wisconsin to remain a great state, think outside the box — your isolated, security-protected box. Make yourself aware that the living wage is an essential part of living, and a quality education is essential to get there.
Sincerely,
Daisy
Did you notice I made my points without blowing my cover as a public school teacher? Clever, eh?

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>BBQ Beans and Salsa

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>Simple, meatless, inexpensive, and delicious – I made this with cans, but I think it might be even better with dried beans soaked overnight and cooked in the crock pot. The original, on Dr. Oz’ website, was lacking a few details such as amount of barbecue sauce. I was generous with mine. The original recipe also called for enchilada sauce or salsa. I stuck with the BBQ theme in my flavors. It worked.

1/2 lb. pasta – I used spaghetti.
1 can yellow corn – of course, I used frozen corn from last summer’s Farmers’ Market.
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
BBQ sauce to taste
Cook pasta. Add beans and corn. Stir in BBQ Sauce of your choice. Serve warm.
Now the fun part:
You know me. I’m not going to let a simple recipe stay simple. I added peppers in three colors, all from the freezer. A little onion, diced, made it tastier still. Then there’s garlic – or did I add garlic? I was playing by ear by this time. Maybe I left the garlic out and stuck to the barbecue theme.
This was delicious. I had some left over for lunch the next day, too. I love a recipe that leaves room to improvise, and this one qualifies.

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>The Opposite of a Boycott

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What’s the opposite of a boycott? In the 1970s and 1980s, Ms. magazine might have called it a Girl-cott or a Woman-cott. The premise is simple; instead of boycotting, or refusing to buy from certain companies, make a commitment to spend money where it counts. Support the companies that support the causes that you support.
Confused? Here’s an example.
Since our state legislature became fiercely divided along partisan lines, voices are emerging on the side of public workers. These voices are not necessary anti-Gov. Walker, but they sing the praises of those who earn their living by working in the public sector.
Penzey’s Spices, a Milwaukee-based company, has been outspoken in their support of teachers. Bill Penzey said, “To be pro-business is to be pro-education.” He understands that an educated workforce doesn’t cost, it pays. With that in mind, he set out to recognize teachers in the state.
He began by dedicating a spice to the kindness and dedication that teachers show – a spice named for the Wisconsin State Motto, Forward. Then he created a gift box including a bottle of the new spice, a small bottle of cinnamon, a book of teacher-supplied recipes, a teacher pin and a bumper sticker stating, “Teachers Care.” He gave a box to each and every teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools.
This is more than a token appreciation gift. By donating a valuable product to a large number of public employees, he reminds the citizens and voters and yes, business owners, that public employees are not public enemies, but dedicated public servants.
Now – the opposite of a boycott. Whether this strategy has a name or not, the process is simple. Buy from companies like Penzey’s Spices. Whenever you get a chance, let them know why you chose to buy from their company as opposed to others. Speak with your dollars and with your words.
ow if you’ll excuse me, I need move forward and experiment with my new spice – right after I set out my red Teacher pin to wear to work tomorrow.

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>And more Granola

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>In our home, I’m the one who most likes granola.

In our home, I’m also the only one who enjoys coconut.
Here’s another granola recipe, this one including coconut. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks good. Maybe I could take out the coconut so Chuck could enjoy it, too. My current granola is delicious on yogurt and makes a good breakfast cereal, too. It’s certainly less expensive than the granola-type cereals in the store.
Ingredients
3 cups old fashioned oats, uncooked
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup wheat germ (What about flaxseed?)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (Do you think olive oil would work?)
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup coconut (I hope this is optional. I’d think so.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins (plump by adding water, microwaving for 1 minute; let stand and drain)
Directions
In a glass dish, heat oats for 3 minutes on high in microwave.
Add brown sugar, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, oil, honey, coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir well to coat dry mixture evenly. Microwave 4 to 5 minutes on high, stirring twice. Add raisins. Microwave 2 minutes on high, stirring midway through cooking.
Cool. Store in airtight container.
Well, readers, what do you think? How does this compare to my other granola recipe? And my other question: would this work in the oven like my other granola recipe? I’ll try it as is first, and then play with it a little. Maybe. If I can resist making changes the first time… I hear you. Yeah, right.

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>State politics? Felonies? Say it isn’t so, Wisconsin!

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>One Wisconsin Now felt compelled to raise money for the recall cause – but not to fund a candidate or circulate petitions. This progressive organization raised $10,000 to create a reward fund: a reward for information about recall petition destruction.

Wisconsin progressives noticed conservative leaders boasting about their plans to circulate bogus petitions or circulate real petitions and then destroy them. Some posted their boasts on Facebook, declaring their intentions to burn enough petitions to heat their homes for the winter.
Hyperbole aside, destroying recall petitions is a felony. Whether they really mean to interfere with the recall election process or just wanted to thump their three-piece-suited chests, Governor Walker’s cronies are looking rather ridiculous right now. Publicly bragging about the possibility has attracted people who may have been neutral, and those people are donating money to organizations like One Wisconsin Now to fund the recall and offer rewards to those who report interference.
It’s so sad, so disappointing, to see my state reach record lows that have nothing to do with winter temperatures. I applaud One Wisconsin Now for its creative PR efforts and its willingness to raise money for a reward fund that should be unnecessary.
When the disagreements interfere with the Democratic process, that’s going too far.

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>Prepping the Corn for Winter

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Instead of a recipe, here’s a seasonal how-to post. This is exactly how I prepped the corn to freeze for winter. We’ll keep buying sweet corn at the market as long as it’s in season and it’ll be the theme ingredient for meals. Meanwhile, I approached the guys in the worn-out brown van and asked for five dozen ears of corn. Here’s the bag, sitting outside on the deck making friends with the potted herbs.

Then we went to Milwaukee to visit La Petite on Sunday. On Monday, Amigo and I got up early for an appointment and the day just flew by. Tuesday, I had training all morning and an appointment in the afternoon. Wednesday, I had another appointment, one that dilated my pupils for the remainder of the morning. All this time, the big burlap bag sat on the deck. I really should have prepped it immediately, but it just didn’t happen. Thursday it rained. Friday afternoon I finally got the corn out of the bag, let it dry in the sun, and then husked the entire batch.


Below you’ll see about half of the result.


Then I used my nifty gadget to cut the corn kernels off the cob. This is potentially a messy job, but I learned a trick from Kristin at Blackrock. Standing up the corncob in the center of a Bundt pan keeps the corn steady and directs the kernels to an awaiting bowl.

Next step: blanch. A few minutes in hot water followed by a few minutes in cold water stops the ripening process so the corn will taste fresh when I pull it from the freezer in January. I spread the kernels as evenly as possible on a wax-paper lined pan and insert the pans in the freezer. What you see beside the sink is about one third of the entire batch.

I was too worn out to take pictures of the final bags. Rest assured, there are plenty of freezer bags full of corn (the vacuum kind with the air pumped out) in the freezer along with the beans, peas, and asparagus.

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>Strategies: Building consensus or conflict

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>I’m a mediator by nature. I keep plugging on, working for solutions. I’d rather look for commonalities than differences, and I’d rather build consensus than conflict.

That’s why I’m so frustrated by my current state leadership. Wisconsin’s state senate and assembly are not just dominated by one party, they’re ruled and controlled by the majority. Amendments suggested by the minority party are automatically rejected, discussion ignored, and the constituents of those districts end up unrepresented. Demonstrators are taking to the streets because they’re feeling unrepresented and they’re not feeling heard.
I’m a problem-solver. I want to see issues resolved and compromises reached. I know budget cuts are inevitable; we teachers have been working under budget cuts for years. We, like the teachers on Jeopardy, are fiscally as conservative as we can be.
Chuck and I noticed that the teachers on Jeopardy’s Teacher Tournament always bet conservatively in Final Jeopardy. Chuck suggested it’s because teachers are so accustomed to not spending money that given a chance, they’ll keep what little they have. In a Jeopardy tournament, that is a losing strategy.
If I keep teaching, I’ll continue doing more and more with less and less. I’ll keep writing grants, I’ll keep getting as much as I can for as little as possible. It gets harder and harder to educate children well while doing more with less while our schools are funded by people who believe in conflict, not consensus. And that, good people, is a losing strategy, too.

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>Planned overs and Pantry Raids – Soup with Ham

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>We made a large ham for Easter. Half of it served the family (our basic family of four and our parents) on Sunday night. The rest of this delicious smoked ham became leftovers – or planned overs, since we planned it that way. Chuck sliced some of the meat in sandwich- sized slices and cut up the rest, the awkward pieces, in smaller chunks for soup or stew. He left quite a bit on the bone.

That’s where Monday’s soup originated: the ham bone. Most of my soups are more raid than recipe; I have the basic broth and meat and then whatever vegetables are in the house at the time. If you’re a precise recipe person, this one is not for you. If you’re willing to play with the ingredients a bit, raid your pantry if needed, then it’s right up your alley.
I added the following to my four-quart slow cooker.
Ham bone with meat scraps still on (smoked on the grill the previous night, yum)
3-4 cups water (vegetable or pork soup stock would work, too)
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
leftover bean mix from red beans and rice, served last Thursday
handful of fresh spinach, washed and torn into smaller pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
Simmer on low most of the day – 5 to 6 hours will do. Remove ham bone. Using a fork, remove ham from bone and shred into smaller, soup-worthy pieces. Return meat to pot.
Serve with fresh bread or rolls.
I had some extra fun (I’m such a science geek) with the bone. It was actually two bones, including a rotator joint. “Gee, honey, what part of the pig was this? The joint looked like a shoulder.” But anyway, back to the topic. I didn’t add spices or herbs; thyme might have been good. The beans were already spiced, so they added a little flavor of their own.
Soups and stews don’t have to be a precise recipe. My process often starts with thawing a container of soup stock from the freezer, adding onion and celery, and then searching the vegetable drawer for ingredients. Even though my last blood test showed that I’m no longer anemic, I’m still cooking iron-rich dishes. This soup had spinach and beans, both good sources of iron that are easily absorbed.
Like it? I named my experimental post-holiday soup Minestrone with Ham. We had generous portions last night, and a batch will go in the freezer for later – my next planned-overs.

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>The Wild Asparagus Economy

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>Long ago, but not so far away, I worked with a single mom of four grown children. We were sitting down to a lunch which included fresh vegetables when she told me this story.

When Joan (not her real name) was newly divorced and on her own with the young children, she was worried about paying the bills. A creative thinker, she walked to a nearby area that looked like all weeds – but it wasn’t. Joan noticed wild asparagus in the ditch alongside the dandelions and other spring greens. She picked a large batch of asparagus to take home. Joan washed the delicious vegetable, tied it up in nice, presentable bunches, and sent her children door to door to sell it.
As she put it, “Honest to God, it held us over until payday.”
The downside: her children, now young adults, haven’t eaten asparagus since.
Is there a moral to this story? No, not a morel – that’s another kind of foraging altogether. No, I don’t have a lesson or motivational saying, sorry. As the asparagus begins to peek out of the ground, a sure sign of spring, it’s also a sign that we moms are often creative in feeding and supporting our families.

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