Parmigiano-Reggiano is the new Velveeta, prosciutto and pancetta share deli counter space with baloney, and pricey monogrammed kids’ aprons with themes like mermaid, dinosaur and princess are sold on cooking Web sites. If you serve iceberg instead of arugula, don’t be surprised if guests don’t clean their plates.
When did food become so snobby that even people who’ve never cooked a meal know what porcini and paneer are? At least two decades ago, experts say. Now "foodies" - a term coined in 1984 in “The Official Foodie Handbook,” according to Mitchell Davis, VP of the James Beard Foundation - support the Food Network and countless other reality TV shows devoted to food. Chances are, many will be flocking to see Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in “Julie & Julia,” opening Friday, which weaves together the stories of a young food blogger in Queens with the grande dame of French cooking, Julia Child.
Child persuaded Americans to swoon over dishes they hadn’t ever known existed, and she captured the nation’s collective interest in cuisine in her famous TV cooking shows.
As Americans familiarized themselves with exotic ingredients, they became more receptive to buying them. It was a no-brainer that exotic ingredients would fly off the shelves when marketing gurus like Steve Jenkins brought them into the country. Jenkins, Fairway’s cheesemonger and a part owner, introduced Americans to balsamic vinegar in 1978, sundried tomatoes in 1979, and olive oil shortly after that.
“It is really reverse snobbery because these foods are made by generations of peasants for other peasants,” Jenkins says. “Then Americans who are late to the party loot the peasant regions and they espouse peasant simplicity with foods eaten by peasants.”
Now, say some experts, the focus may be shifting from the chefs to the food.
“’Julie & Julia’ would not have happened five years ago,” says food trend watcher Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com. “Julia was a phenomenal person with a great personality but with her, the food came first. Now it’s the chefs who come first, and then the food. But I think we are starting to move away from cute and cleavage back to real food.”
Mitchell Davis says that the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow is finally beginning to blur, and that a “food snob” is very different today than just a few years ago.
“You used to be a food snob if you knew all the different kinds of truffles and foie gras,” Mitchell says. “Now the snob is the person who’s at the taco truck in Queens or the pizza place in the Bronx. This cultural omnivorousness is central among people who want to distinguish themselves through food.”
As proof of the fact that snobbism is going into reverse, he points to Daniel Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen & Bar, the Bowery restaurant that sells more than a dozen kinds of sausages and burgers.
“This never would have happened five years ago,” Davis says. “A chef of his prominence would never have done that. But chefs and diners love it.”
They also love to know a food’s origin these days, says Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder and CEO of the French Culinary Institute. “For years, our food has been manipulated by corporations that treat us like a feed lot,” she says. “It’s all about how to get us the fattest we can be on the cheapest food without any real taste. But now food has the attention of the President of the United States and his wife. It’s getting a lot less snobby.”
Food snobbism originated and pretty much stayed in large urban areas, says Barry Glassner, University of Southern California professor and author of “The Gospel of Food.” “It’s easier to get food in the cities,” he says. “And people will pay extra there for higher status food. Because food can be an indicator of a person’s social standing.”
But some experts say we’re in for some culinary changes.
“We have gotten carried away,” Lempert says. “And I think we’ll see that all these people who’ve been so chi chi about ingredients are in for a reality check.”
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Julia Child's Legacy, Beyond Tools and Techniques
By HOLLY RAMER (AP)
CONCORD, N.H. — From the timesaving tools and French techniques she loved to a famously dropped dinner, Julia Child left a lasting impression on a generation of cooks.
In the forthcoming biographical movie, "Julie & Julia," Meryl Streep channels America's first celebrity chef. As the movie opens, chefs and food magazine editors remember the real Child's vast contributions to American home cooking — a scholarly yet accessible approach to recipes, an enthusiasm for efficiency and above all, a spirited sense of fun.
At the most basic level, Child introduced home cooks to their stoves, knives, pots and pans, said chef Jacques Pepin, Child's longtime friend and collaborator.
"We're in a country where we have to cook very, very fast with the microwave or very, very slow with Crock Pot cooking. Then you have the regular stove that's lost in the middle," he said.
He said he most remembers Child's great love for life and the great pleasure she took in cooking as well as eating.
"You often see people cook and never taste. For her, it was cook, taste, cook, taste, cook, taste. With a little sip of wine on the side," he said.
Chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse said Child emphasized that cooking was important but need not be serious business.
"I think of her sense of humor, her joie de vivre about cooking and really about her interest in gastronomy — her academic insistence on writing the recipe right," said Waters. "It was curiosity and exploration and learning all folded together to make food an art. That's what she did."
And she gave novices the confidence to try, added Art Smith, former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. He made a whole meal out of blanched asparagus for his first girlfriend after watching Child on TV.
"Julia Child was not only an amazing cook but taught America that it could learn to cook," said Smith. "That spirit continues to this day, and this why we have great cooking shows."
Tina Ujlaki, executive food editor at Food & Wine magazine, said she often thinks of Child when she has kitchen mishaps.
"I don't think, 'What would Julia do?' I just do what she would do: Keep on going," she said. "That was a really big part of the Julia liberation. Not only did she teach the techniques ... she said, 'It's OK. Relax. It doesn't have to be perfect."
That said, there are certain processes or gadgets that Ujlaki associates with Child. "I can't cut up a chicken without thinking of her and how lovingly she would cut it up," she said.
And Child did not shy away from modern appliances or tools if they made cooking easier, she said. She put her blender to work on a variety of classic soups and once told Ujlaki that she even used a stand mixer to make mashed potatoes for a crowd instead of the food mill she favored for smaller amounts.
"She probably used more gadgets than they used in typical French cooking," she said. "She was always very quick to embrace anything that made sense, but I don't think she had silly gadgets or gizmos. She didn't like clutter."
Her kitchen tools reflected her utter lack of pretense, said John Willoughby, executive editor of Gourmet magazine.
"If something worked well, for example, she really couldn't care less if it was traditional or not; efficiency in the kitchen was always to be embraced," he said.
The food processor is a perfect example, he said.
"When it was first introduced, I remember thinking that I probably should just ignore it, since chopping things by machine rather than by hand couldn't possibly be right. Then Julia endorsed it, and like hundreds of thousands of other American cooks, that convinced me to give it a try. Think of the millions of hours of chopping that she has saved by her openness to new ideas."
Child had a sure, unpretentious confidence in knowing who she was and what she loved, said Christopher Kimball, publisher of Cook's Illustrated magazine.
"She wasn't hopping around like so many food magazines doing the hot, latest thing," he said, recalling how he joined Child to watch the 2000 election returns on a small TV in an alcove off her kitchen. "It was just about the food and the company," he said.
It's all about the whisk for Lucinda Scala Quinn, editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Quinn cooked her way through Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" as a teenager, discovering the many uses for whipped egg whites and cream, from meringue to Swiss buttercream to butter.
"The alchemy of it all and the magical transformational possibilities of that one tool, the whisk, ... has never ceased to amaze me," she said.
Tanya Steel became a fan of Child's at an even younger age, after declaring at age 8 that she would not spend the rest of her life eating her mother's awful cooking.
"I literally learned every single thing from Julia Child," said Steel, editor-in-chief of epicurious.com, the online home for Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines.
Like others, Steel cites Child's ability to make cooking accessible and fun as her chief contribution to the culinary world. But in terms of technique, she counts roasting as the one that has meant the most to her over the years. She's passed the technique on to her own children, who tackled their first roast in honor of Mother's Day earlier this year.
"The one technique that became my infallible, go-to technique is roasting because the most basic thing turns out the most delicious dinner," she said. "I roasted a chicken about 10 different times based on watching her on the 'French Chef' until I felt like I had gotten it right."
Eve Felder, associate dean for culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America, said Child's legacy lies in taking the mystique out of fine cooking techniques that up until her time were not available to home cooks.
"I can't tell you the number of friends I have who self-taught themselves by going through her books," she said.
Felder, a former chef at Chez Panisse, remembers feeling in awe as Child toured the restaurant's kitchen.
"She just had such a spirit. Not only her physical size, but her emotional size, and the fact that she just embraced life."
CONCORD, N.H. — From the timesaving tools and French techniques she loved to a famously dropped dinner, Julia Child left a lasting impression on a generation of cooks.
In the forthcoming biographical movie, "Julie & Julia," Meryl Streep channels America's first celebrity chef. As the movie opens, chefs and food magazine editors remember the real Child's vast contributions to American home cooking — a scholarly yet accessible approach to recipes, an enthusiasm for efficiency and above all, a spirited sense of fun.
At the most basic level, Child introduced home cooks to their stoves, knives, pots and pans, said chef Jacques Pepin, Child's longtime friend and collaborator.
"We're in a country where we have to cook very, very fast with the microwave or very, very slow with Crock Pot cooking. Then you have the regular stove that's lost in the middle," he said.
He said he most remembers Child's great love for life and the great pleasure she took in cooking as well as eating.
"You often see people cook and never taste. For her, it was cook, taste, cook, taste, cook, taste. With a little sip of wine on the side," he said.
Chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse said Child emphasized that cooking was important but need not be serious business.
"I think of her sense of humor, her joie de vivre about cooking and really about her interest in gastronomy — her academic insistence on writing the recipe right," said Waters. "It was curiosity and exploration and learning all folded together to make food an art. That's what she did."
And she gave novices the confidence to try, added Art Smith, former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. He made a whole meal out of blanched asparagus for his first girlfriend after watching Child on TV.
"Julia Child was not only an amazing cook but taught America that it could learn to cook," said Smith. "That spirit continues to this day, and this why we have great cooking shows."
Tina Ujlaki, executive food editor at Food & Wine magazine, said she often thinks of Child when she has kitchen mishaps.
"I don't think, 'What would Julia do?' I just do what she would do: Keep on going," she said. "That was a really big part of the Julia liberation. Not only did she teach the techniques ... she said, 'It's OK. Relax. It doesn't have to be perfect."
That said, there are certain processes or gadgets that Ujlaki associates with Child. "I can't cut up a chicken without thinking of her and how lovingly she would cut it up," she said.
And Child did not shy away from modern appliances or tools if they made cooking easier, she said. She put her blender to work on a variety of classic soups and once told Ujlaki that she even used a stand mixer to make mashed potatoes for a crowd instead of the food mill she favored for smaller amounts.
"She probably used more gadgets than they used in typical French cooking," she said. "She was always very quick to embrace anything that made sense, but I don't think she had silly gadgets or gizmos. She didn't like clutter."
Her kitchen tools reflected her utter lack of pretense, said John Willoughby, executive editor of Gourmet magazine.
"If something worked well, for example, she really couldn't care less if it was traditional or not; efficiency in the kitchen was always to be embraced," he said.
The food processor is a perfect example, he said.
"When it was first introduced, I remember thinking that I probably should just ignore it, since chopping things by machine rather than by hand couldn't possibly be right. Then Julia endorsed it, and like hundreds of thousands of other American cooks, that convinced me to give it a try. Think of the millions of hours of chopping that she has saved by her openness to new ideas."
Child had a sure, unpretentious confidence in knowing who she was and what she loved, said Christopher Kimball, publisher of Cook's Illustrated magazine.
"She wasn't hopping around like so many food magazines doing the hot, latest thing," he said, recalling how he joined Child to watch the 2000 election returns on a small TV in an alcove off her kitchen. "It was just about the food and the company," he said.
It's all about the whisk for Lucinda Scala Quinn, editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Quinn cooked her way through Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" as a teenager, discovering the many uses for whipped egg whites and cream, from meringue to Swiss buttercream to butter.
"The alchemy of it all and the magical transformational possibilities of that one tool, the whisk, ... has never ceased to amaze me," she said.
Tanya Steel became a fan of Child's at an even younger age, after declaring at age 8 that she would not spend the rest of her life eating her mother's awful cooking.
"I literally learned every single thing from Julia Child," said Steel, editor-in-chief of epicurious.com, the online home for Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines.
Like others, Steel cites Child's ability to make cooking accessible and fun as her chief contribution to the culinary world. But in terms of technique, she counts roasting as the one that has meant the most to her over the years. She's passed the technique on to her own children, who tackled their first roast in honor of Mother's Day earlier this year.
"The one technique that became my infallible, go-to technique is roasting because the most basic thing turns out the most delicious dinner," she said. "I roasted a chicken about 10 different times based on watching her on the 'French Chef' until I felt like I had gotten it right."
Eve Felder, associate dean for culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America, said Child's legacy lies in taking the mystique out of fine cooking techniques that up until her time were not available to home cooks.
"I can't tell you the number of friends I have who self-taught themselves by going through her books," she said.
Felder, a former chef at Chez Panisse, remembers feeling in awe as Child toured the restaurant's kitchen.
"She just had such a spirit. Not only her physical size, but her emotional size, and the fact that she just embraced life."
Monday, July 20, 2009
Documentary Shines Light on Inner City Culinary Program
In 'Pressure Cooker,' a Culinary Arts Teacher Turns Up the Heat
By John Anderson
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Cooking class at Philadelphia's Frankford High School is all about composing salads, sculpting vegetables and weathering teacher Wilma Stephenson, who occasionally boils over. "Get your brain upscale!" Stephenson commands her students, whom she harangues and harasses in the present so they just might have a future.
Stephenson is the irascible star -- there's no way around it -- of "Pressure Cooker," a year-in-the-life documentary about the kids of Frankford's culinary arts class and their teacher, who runs the program the way Rommel ran his desert campaign.
Gordon Ramsay? The abusive TV chef would be reduced to an unhappy puddle of butter by the imperious Stephenson, although in the end she'd probably wipe his nose and buy him a new spatula.
The film, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker, follows Stephenson's class a semester after her students have won more than $750,000 in scholarships -- at a school where 40 percent of students don't make it to their senior year.
Consistently successful in getting her graduates out of the inner city and into such culinary cooking colleges as the Art Institute of Atlanta, the Culinary Institute of America and Monroe College in New Rochelle, N.Y., she is no-nonsense, all business.
Her manner may be brusque, but her students are responsive. And what you see in the course of the movie is what every educational trash-talker in America says schools should be doing, usually without providing any means to do it.
Often enough, Stephenson, 63, provides the means herself, which can range from money for cooking-school applications to a waiter's white dress shirt for Frankford football star and chef-to-be Tyree Dudley. ("What size is Dudley," she asks a teammate. Answer: "Gigantic?")
As good as she is to her kids, Stephenson admits she was "horrible" to her directors. "We stayed away from her as much as possible in the kitchen," Grausman said, laughing. "When I first went to her to make the film, she signed on, but she didn't really understand what we were going to do. We kept trying to explain it to her, but I don't think she ever really got it. She thought we were going to be there for a couple of days of shooting. Not a couple of days a week for a year."
Stephenson described herself as a person who needs to know in what direction she's headed and what she's supposed to be doing. "I kept asking, and they kept saying, 'Oh, we don't want you to do anything at all. We're just here.' It wasn't until I saw the movie that I said, 'Oh, that's what they were doing.' A couple of times I asked them to just get out."
The hardest part of shooting, said Grausman, was not getting locked out of the kitchen. "At one point, we were told not to come back to Philadelphia for a couple of weeks."
Read the rest of the story here.
By John Anderson
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Cooking class at Philadelphia's Frankford High School is all about composing salads, sculpting vegetables and weathering teacher Wilma Stephenson, who occasionally boils over. "Get your brain upscale!" Stephenson commands her students, whom she harangues and harasses in the present so they just might have a future.
Stephenson is the irascible star -- there's no way around it -- of "Pressure Cooker," a year-in-the-life documentary about the kids of Frankford's culinary arts class and their teacher, who runs the program the way Rommel ran his desert campaign.
Gordon Ramsay? The abusive TV chef would be reduced to an unhappy puddle of butter by the imperious Stephenson, although in the end she'd probably wipe his nose and buy him a new spatula.
The film, directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker, follows Stephenson's class a semester after her students have won more than $750,000 in scholarships -- at a school where 40 percent of students don't make it to their senior year.
Consistently successful in getting her graduates out of the inner city and into such culinary cooking colleges as the Art Institute of Atlanta, the Culinary Institute of America and Monroe College in New Rochelle, N.Y., she is no-nonsense, all business.
Her manner may be brusque, but her students are responsive. And what you see in the course of the movie is what every educational trash-talker in America says schools should be doing, usually without providing any means to do it.
Often enough, Stephenson, 63, provides the means herself, which can range from money for cooking-school applications to a waiter's white dress shirt for Frankford football star and chef-to-be Tyree Dudley. ("What size is Dudley," she asks a teammate. Answer: "Gigantic?")
As good as she is to her kids, Stephenson admits she was "horrible" to her directors. "We stayed away from her as much as possible in the kitchen," Grausman said, laughing. "When I first went to her to make the film, she signed on, but she didn't really understand what we were going to do. We kept trying to explain it to her, but I don't think she ever really got it. She thought we were going to be there for a couple of days of shooting. Not a couple of days a week for a year."
Stephenson described herself as a person who needs to know in what direction she's headed and what she's supposed to be doing. "I kept asking, and they kept saying, 'Oh, we don't want you to do anything at all. We're just here.' It wasn't until I saw the movie that I said, 'Oh, that's what they were doing.' A couple of times I asked them to just get out."
The hardest part of shooting, said Grausman, was not getting locked out of the kitchen. "At one point, we were told not to come back to Philadelphia for a couple of weeks."
Read the rest of the story here.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Cooks Serving Others - And Themselves
Volunteers who feed the hungry put their best recipes to the test in a cook-off, and pass out checks to continue the good work.
By Dianna Marder
Inquirer Staff Writer
There's a sophisticated air at the annual chowder cook-off in Newport, R.I., and a down-home feel at the West Texas barbecue cook-off in Lubbock.
But here in the City of Brotherly Love, you'd better stand back when local church ladies compete in the annual Soup Kitchen Cook-Off.
Last week's contest, sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, challenged volunteers from the nearly 100 member soup kitchens and food pantries to compete for bragging rights.
Year-round, these church ladies (and a few gentlemen) prepare large quantities of meat-and-potatoes meals using donated ingredients, or they distribute bags of groceries to families in their communities.
But last week they took time out to put their personal best to the test at Resurrection Baptist in Parkside. From North, South and West Philadelphia they came; from Mount Airy and from Germantown, bearing main dishes, salads and desserts.
Pat Davis of the Open Door Sanctuary Kitchen brought a vegetarian taco salad made with seitan; and Curtis Robinson Sr. of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia brought the shrimp scampi that has made him especially welcome at all sorts of gatherings.
Marlene Harley of Living Water United Church of Christ in North Philadelphia set a new record: In the salads category, her signature chicken salad won first place and her potato salad took second.
Renai Ellison, of the MyPHL17 television program Better Philly, judged the first two categories while chef and cookbook author Delilah Winder, of Delilah's Southern Cuisine, judged the desserts.
After that, the contest entries were served for lunch.
There was sweet potato pie, beef tenderloin, honey-barbecue chicken, raspberry pasta, mango salad, fruit pie, double chocolate cake and Doris Shepard's prize-winning Six Layer Coconut Cake.
No broccoli, no spinach, not even any collards.
As they ate, the volunteers chatted about the way eating together and rejoicing in traditional recipes bound their families together - as the lack of food splits today's families apart.
As a girl, Rose Stephens, 87, cooked while her parents and older siblings worked their North Carolina farm. That's where she perfected her rum cake, her chopped barbecue and her sweet potato jacks.
"Not flapjacks. These were jacks," she says, describing a sort of pancake that was folded over like a stromboli and then deep fried. Not a low-cal/low-carb dish, but . . .
"I didn't feel burdened," Stephens said. "It was an honor to cook for the family."
Marlene Felton's corn pudding took first place in the main dish category and her cream cheese pound cake won second place in desserts.
Felton, 56, and her husband Derek, 58, left their day jobs a few years ago to make serving the hungry the family's full-time occupation. Fresh Start, the nonprofit the Feltons founded in Overbrook, gives groceries to 400 families a month.
But Fresh Start is also a resource center, says Derek Felton, who grew up in poverty and remembers going to school without breakfast. He went on to become a chef for Sheraton Inns.
Each of Fresh Start's monthly hot breakfasts features a self-help workshop directed at matching individual needs with existing resources. That way, Felton says, Fresh Start helps get people off drugs, into safe housing, and prepared for new careers.
Pat Davis of the Open Door Sanctuary said she sees more and more families in need of clothing too. It's sobering, she says.
After lunch, coalition officials distributed $140,000 in checks to 98 member food pantries and soup kitchens - a portion of the $250,000 raised at the Coalition's Walk Against Hunger in April. The $140,000 will be used for food, equipment or supplies at each program. The remainder of the money will expand the capacity of the feeding programs and perhaps bring more of the estimated 500 similar Philadelphia-based programs into the coalition.
Read the rest of the story (along with some tasty recipes) here.
By Dianna Marder
Inquirer Staff Writer
There's a sophisticated air at the annual chowder cook-off in Newport, R.I., and a down-home feel at the West Texas barbecue cook-off in Lubbock.
But here in the City of Brotherly Love, you'd better stand back when local church ladies compete in the annual Soup Kitchen Cook-Off.
Last week's contest, sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, challenged volunteers from the nearly 100 member soup kitchens and food pantries to compete for bragging rights.
Year-round, these church ladies (and a few gentlemen) prepare large quantities of meat-and-potatoes meals using donated ingredients, or they distribute bags of groceries to families in their communities.
But last week they took time out to put their personal best to the test at Resurrection Baptist in Parkside. From North, South and West Philadelphia they came; from Mount Airy and from Germantown, bearing main dishes, salads and desserts.
Pat Davis of the Open Door Sanctuary Kitchen brought a vegetarian taco salad made with seitan; and Curtis Robinson Sr. of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia brought the shrimp scampi that has made him especially welcome at all sorts of gatherings.
Marlene Harley of Living Water United Church of Christ in North Philadelphia set a new record: In the salads category, her signature chicken salad won first place and her potato salad took second.
Renai Ellison, of the MyPHL17 television program Better Philly, judged the first two categories while chef and cookbook author Delilah Winder, of Delilah's Southern Cuisine, judged the desserts.
After that, the contest entries were served for lunch.
There was sweet potato pie, beef tenderloin, honey-barbecue chicken, raspberry pasta, mango salad, fruit pie, double chocolate cake and Doris Shepard's prize-winning Six Layer Coconut Cake.
No broccoli, no spinach, not even any collards.
As they ate, the volunteers chatted about the way eating together and rejoicing in traditional recipes bound their families together - as the lack of food splits today's families apart.
As a girl, Rose Stephens, 87, cooked while her parents and older siblings worked their North Carolina farm. That's where she perfected her rum cake, her chopped barbecue and her sweet potato jacks.
"Not flapjacks. These were jacks," she says, describing a sort of pancake that was folded over like a stromboli and then deep fried. Not a low-cal/low-carb dish, but . . .
"I didn't feel burdened," Stephens said. "It was an honor to cook for the family."
Marlene Felton's corn pudding took first place in the main dish category and her cream cheese pound cake won second place in desserts.
Felton, 56, and her husband Derek, 58, left their day jobs a few years ago to make serving the hungry the family's full-time occupation. Fresh Start, the nonprofit the Feltons founded in Overbrook, gives groceries to 400 families a month.
But Fresh Start is also a resource center, says Derek Felton, who grew up in poverty and remembers going to school without breakfast. He went on to become a chef for Sheraton Inns.
Each of Fresh Start's monthly hot breakfasts features a self-help workshop directed at matching individual needs with existing resources. That way, Felton says, Fresh Start helps get people off drugs, into safe housing, and prepared for new careers.
Pat Davis of the Open Door Sanctuary said she sees more and more families in need of clothing too. It's sobering, she says.
After lunch, coalition officials distributed $140,000 in checks to 98 member food pantries and soup kitchens - a portion of the $250,000 raised at the Coalition's Walk Against Hunger in April. The $140,000 will be used for food, equipment or supplies at each program. The remainder of the money will expand the capacity of the feeding programs and perhaps bring more of the estimated 500 similar Philadelphia-based programs into the coalition.
Read the rest of the story (along with some tasty recipes) here.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Like Father, Like Son
By NANCY CHURNIN / Associated Press
Fathers and sons often have powerful bonds
For Rafael and Ruben Torano, there's an extra sweet quality to that bond. Literally. They are both pastry chefs, a profession Ruben aspired to as a little boy as he watched his father conjure his colossal confections.
"When I was 7, I told my mother, 'I'm going to be like my dad,' " recalls Ruben at Charlie Palmer at the Joule, where he is the executive pastry chef. "When I was 10, he taught me how to temper chocolate and passed on skills that I still use now. Seeing my dad in a chef's hat, he always seemed majestic, someone I could aspire to be like."
Rafael, 54, stands beside his son, smiling and wearing his gleaming chef's whites from the Warwick Melrose Hotel, where he is executive pastry chef.
And gazing admiringly at both is Diego Torano, Ruben's 4-year-old son, who has quite a way around the kitchen himself.
"He's already cooking," his grandfather says proudly.
"It makes me nervous," his father says.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Rafael watched his own father weigh sugar and mix batter for the lavish wedding cakes he whipped up for family and friends as a labor of love. His father, a military man, never baked for a living and Rafael didn't think he would, either. Instead, he joined the Army in 1976 with the intention of becoming a dentist.
Then a man, hearing Rafael talk about how good he was with recipes, challenged him to make a Black Forest cake.
He made it, impressed everyone including himself, and never looked back. He switched his training to become a pastry chef for the Army.
The hours were long in those days — waking up at 3 a.m. and working until 11 p.m. to feed a company of 150. But Rafael loved the work. His father let him know that he was very proud. And he had a saying to get him through that he would later pass on to Ruben: "Face to the wind."
The apprenticeship between father and son did not always go smoothly. There was the time when Rafael was part of a six-man Army team constructing a huge cake with a U.S. flag and all the Army ranks. He was finishing a portion of it at home when Ruben, then 4, got a little too close.
"I was really curious," Ruben recalls. "I stuck my finger right in it. He yelled pretty loudly."
Rafael, grinning now, doesn't deny it. But he just went back to the beginning, working hard as he has always done.
"I fixed it," he says.
And Ruben learned from his mistakes. When he found himself working on an elaborate cake, he made sure his wife kept Diego on the other side of the house.
He made it up to Diego later. He made him a Cars birthday cake. And when he was done, Diego was allowed to crash his Hot Wheels into it.
Diego laughs when his father tells that story.
When Ruben landed his first job working for his father, Rafael promised to teach him how to ice a cake.
"He showed me how to do it really quickly in five minutes," Ruben says. "But I took forever because I wanted it to be perfect. I showed it to him and he wiped off the frosting and told me to do it again. I did it six or seven more times."
Ruben was upset until he understood.
"My father told me anyone can decorate a cake and hide the mistakes. But you need to learn to ice it mistake free. I'm glad he taught me that."
As a pastry chef for the Army and then for fine hotels and restaurants, Rafael's work led to a life of travel for the Torano family — Germany, Georgia, Tennessee. Ruben was born in Fort Hood, Texas. They moved to Dallas when he was 6 and he went to school in Arlington before they were off again to Kansas. But the common threads in their wandering life was always food and music, family and laughter.
When Ruben thinks about what he learned from his father, it is as much about attitude and character as it is about his innumerable baking tricks, he says.
"Sometimes when work is really long and stressful, you take all that life gives you and you roll, but always with integrity. You stick to your word and if you say you'll do something, you do it. Face to the wind."
Father and son talk constantly. Sometimes it is to make sure they don't put the same desserts on the menus at their two establishments. Sometimes it's just because Rafael, who collects cookbooks and incessantly studies recipes on the Internet and the Food Network, has an idea he can't wait to share.
They are both similarly motivated by their work, Ruben says.
"The term my dad tells us is 'instant gratification.' When you give your creation to someone and they love it, it makes you feel good."
And sometimes, if the customer doesn't say the words, they can tell in another way that the dessert was a hit, Rafael says.
"I like when they leave the plate completely clean."
Fathers and sons often have powerful bonds
For Rafael and Ruben Torano, there's an extra sweet quality to that bond. Literally. They are both pastry chefs, a profession Ruben aspired to as a little boy as he watched his father conjure his colossal confections.
"When I was 7, I told my mother, 'I'm going to be like my dad,' " recalls Ruben at Charlie Palmer at the Joule, where he is the executive pastry chef. "When I was 10, he taught me how to temper chocolate and passed on skills that I still use now. Seeing my dad in a chef's hat, he always seemed majestic, someone I could aspire to be like."
Rafael, 54, stands beside his son, smiling and wearing his gleaming chef's whites from the Warwick Melrose Hotel, where he is executive pastry chef.
And gazing admiringly at both is Diego Torano, Ruben's 4-year-old son, who has quite a way around the kitchen himself.
"He's already cooking," his grandfather says proudly.
"It makes me nervous," his father says.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Rafael watched his own father weigh sugar and mix batter for the lavish wedding cakes he whipped up for family and friends as a labor of love. His father, a military man, never baked for a living and Rafael didn't think he would, either. Instead, he joined the Army in 1976 with the intention of becoming a dentist.
Then a man, hearing Rafael talk about how good he was with recipes, challenged him to make a Black Forest cake.
He made it, impressed everyone including himself, and never looked back. He switched his training to become a pastry chef for the Army.
The hours were long in those days — waking up at 3 a.m. and working until 11 p.m. to feed a company of 150. But Rafael loved the work. His father let him know that he was very proud. And he had a saying to get him through that he would later pass on to Ruben: "Face to the wind."
The apprenticeship between father and son did not always go smoothly. There was the time when Rafael was part of a six-man Army team constructing a huge cake with a U.S. flag and all the Army ranks. He was finishing a portion of it at home when Ruben, then 4, got a little too close.
"I was really curious," Ruben recalls. "I stuck my finger right in it. He yelled pretty loudly."
Rafael, grinning now, doesn't deny it. But he just went back to the beginning, working hard as he has always done.
"I fixed it," he says.
And Ruben learned from his mistakes. When he found himself working on an elaborate cake, he made sure his wife kept Diego on the other side of the house.
He made it up to Diego later. He made him a Cars birthday cake. And when he was done, Diego was allowed to crash his Hot Wheels into it.
Diego laughs when his father tells that story.
When Ruben landed his first job working for his father, Rafael promised to teach him how to ice a cake.
"He showed me how to do it really quickly in five minutes," Ruben says. "But I took forever because I wanted it to be perfect. I showed it to him and he wiped off the frosting and told me to do it again. I did it six or seven more times."
Ruben was upset until he understood.
"My father told me anyone can decorate a cake and hide the mistakes. But you need to learn to ice it mistake free. I'm glad he taught me that."
As a pastry chef for the Army and then for fine hotels and restaurants, Rafael's work led to a life of travel for the Torano family — Germany, Georgia, Tennessee. Ruben was born in Fort Hood, Texas. They moved to Dallas when he was 6 and he went to school in Arlington before they were off again to Kansas. But the common threads in their wandering life was always food and music, family and laughter.
When Ruben thinks about what he learned from his father, it is as much about attitude and character as it is about his innumerable baking tricks, he says.
"Sometimes when work is really long and stressful, you take all that life gives you and you roll, but always with integrity. You stick to your word and if you say you'll do something, you do it. Face to the wind."
Father and son talk constantly. Sometimes it is to make sure they don't put the same desserts on the menus at their two establishments. Sometimes it's just because Rafael, who collects cookbooks and incessantly studies recipes on the Internet and the Food Network, has an idea he can't wait to share.
They are both similarly motivated by their work, Ruben says.
"The term my dad tells us is 'instant gratification.' When you give your creation to someone and they love it, it makes you feel good."
And sometimes, if the customer doesn't say the words, they can tell in another way that the dessert was a hit, Rafael says.
"I like when they leave the plate completely clean."
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tavis Smiley To Open Pizza Restaurants in Indy
Hoosier Tavis Smiley plans to open several Marco's Pizza shops
By Nicole Blake
nicole.blake@indystar.com
Kokomo native Tavis Smiley is a household name when it comes to radio and television, but the PBS talk show host is cutting into a savory new challenge.
He plans to open 37 Marco's Pizza franchises in the next five years. Smiley hopes they will create 1,000 jobs in the Indianapolis area.
His goal: to bring economic development to areas that haven't seen much growth and provide work for teens who need the extra cash. There also are entrepreneurial opportunities for those looking to someday open their own franchises. Considering sales and the work this will create for local vendors and other companies, Smiley says this will mean at least $1 billion being pumped into the Indiana economy during the next 20 years.
"Here is an opportunity for me to do something for the community and be able to give some young people some opportunity," said Smiley, who delivered newspapers as a boy.
He is coming to town this weekend to meet with potential investors and promote his documentary film, "Stand."
His first pizzeria, near East 71st Street and Binford Boulevard, has been open since April and employs about 20 people. Smiley hopes the second restaurant will be in full operation before the end of the year. A site hasn't been chosen yet for that one.
He said the city's growth and Marco's positive performance during the past 11 quarters played a part in his decision to take on this business endeavor. As the majority investor, Smiley bought the rights to own and develop a minimum of 37 restaurants, which will operate under the name Circle City Hospitality. Longtime friend and business partner Harold Patrick is managing the investment company and overseeing much of the operation.
Smiley wouldn't say who the potential investors are, just that he has had verbal commitments from three well-known individuals who live in Indianapolis. According to the Marco's Pizza Web site, costs for a new restaurant run from $219,000 to $419,000.
It's an ambitious undertaking, but not impossible, says Mandy Detwiler, managing editor for Pizza Today, an industry magazine.
"With the economy like it is right now, certainly going with a franchise company is going to give you the backing that you might not have had as an independent startup," Detwiler said.
In the past six months, 20 Marco's Pizza stores have opened in California, Florida and Virginia, among other states. Last year Pizza Today ranked the chain 30th out of 100 top pizza companies based on gross sales. In all, according to its Web site, Marco's Pizza has more than 180 franchised and company-managed stores in 17 states. All four Indiana stores are in Indianapolis.
Patrick, who has been in the franchising business more than two decades, said he will consider the number of households and schools in the area before selecting locations. This includes both affluent and less affluent areas, but "pizza is universal," he said. "Everyone deserves good pizza."
As for the risks, Smiley is aware that things might not go as planned, but he has a positive outlook.
"Business is investing money, taking a risk and hoping that it works," he said.
By Nicole Blake
nicole.blake@indystar.com
Kokomo native Tavis Smiley is a household name when it comes to radio and television, but the PBS talk show host is cutting into a savory new challenge.
He plans to open 37 Marco's Pizza franchises in the next five years. Smiley hopes they will create 1,000 jobs in the Indianapolis area.
His goal: to bring economic development to areas that haven't seen much growth and provide work for teens who need the extra cash. There also are entrepreneurial opportunities for those looking to someday open their own franchises. Considering sales and the work this will create for local vendors and other companies, Smiley says this will mean at least $1 billion being pumped into the Indiana economy during the next 20 years.
"Here is an opportunity for me to do something for the community and be able to give some young people some opportunity," said Smiley, who delivered newspapers as a boy.
He is coming to town this weekend to meet with potential investors and promote his documentary film, "Stand."
His first pizzeria, near East 71st Street and Binford Boulevard, has been open since April and employs about 20 people. Smiley hopes the second restaurant will be in full operation before the end of the year. A site hasn't been chosen yet for that one.
He said the city's growth and Marco's positive performance during the past 11 quarters played a part in his decision to take on this business endeavor. As the majority investor, Smiley bought the rights to own and develop a minimum of 37 restaurants, which will operate under the name Circle City Hospitality. Longtime friend and business partner Harold Patrick is managing the investment company and overseeing much of the operation.
Smiley wouldn't say who the potential investors are, just that he has had verbal commitments from three well-known individuals who live in Indianapolis. According to the Marco's Pizza Web site, costs for a new restaurant run from $219,000 to $419,000.
It's an ambitious undertaking, but not impossible, says Mandy Detwiler, managing editor for Pizza Today, an industry magazine.
"With the economy like it is right now, certainly going with a franchise company is going to give you the backing that you might not have had as an independent startup," Detwiler said.
In the past six months, 20 Marco's Pizza stores have opened in California, Florida and Virginia, among other states. Last year Pizza Today ranked the chain 30th out of 100 top pizza companies based on gross sales. In all, according to its Web site, Marco's Pizza has more than 180 franchised and company-managed stores in 17 states. All four Indiana stores are in Indianapolis.
Patrick, who has been in the franchising business more than two decades, said he will consider the number of households and schools in the area before selecting locations. This includes both affluent and less affluent areas, but "pizza is universal," he said. "Everyone deserves good pizza."
As for the risks, Smiley is aware that things might not go as planned, but he has a positive outlook.
"Business is investing money, taking a risk and hoping that it works," he said.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Another Good Reason...
Why I Don't Allow Hot Sauce:
KANSAS CITY, Missouri - A man has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for killing a man during a melee that erupted when someone threw a bottle of hot sauce.
The Kansas City Star reported that 29-year-old Jarvis T. Williams was sentenced Thursday for his convictions on second-degree murder, three counts of assault and four counts of armed criminal action.
Prosecutors claim he fired more than 20 rounds from an assault rifle into a car in October 2005, killing 22-year-old Gary Scott and wounding three others.
Prosecutors said the victim had thrown a bottle of hot sauce at a woman's car, angering Williams.
They had requested a life sentence. Williams' public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri - A man has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for killing a man during a melee that erupted when someone threw a bottle of hot sauce.
The Kansas City Star reported that 29-year-old Jarvis T. Williams was sentenced Thursday for his convictions on second-degree murder, three counts of assault and four counts of armed criminal action.
Prosecutors claim he fired more than 20 rounds from an assault rifle into a car in October 2005, killing 22-year-old Gary Scott and wounding three others.
Prosecutors said the victim had thrown a bottle of hot sauce at a woman's car, angering Williams.
They had requested a life sentence. Williams' public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Dining Destination - The Hospital?
Colorado hospital food gets hip replacement
Bistros emerge where bland reigned, drawing the public and praise
By Nancy Lofholm, The Denver Post
Take a left inside the main entrance of Montrose Memorial Hospital, and you'll run into the grim lines of chairs in the emergency-room waiting area. But follow your nose to the right, and you'll be welcomed by chili-lime crab cakes, grilled polenta, tapas plates and seared tuna with frizzled leeks.
Like a host of other modern hospital cafeterias, Montrose Memorial's Lobby Grille is following a trend that makes it tough to recall those old cramped and dingy institutional eateries with their steam trays of soggy offerings. The basement bastions of gelatin cubes and beef 'n' noodles have been transformed into front-and-center bistros serving haute hospital cuisine.
The tasty fare may have started out for the benefit of patients and expanded as a perk for employees and a comfort for patient visitors. But it has evolved into upscale cuisine good enough to draw in diners who have no other reason to be at a hospital — except that they crave marinated skirt steak or chilled mango soup.
Chef-prepared gourmet fare rather than institutional meals isn't about profit. Most hospital cafeterias aspire to break even at best. And it isn't all about the food. There's a bit of marketing involved too.
Read the complete story here.
Bistros emerge where bland reigned, drawing the public and praise
By Nancy Lofholm, The Denver Post
Take a left inside the main entrance of Montrose Memorial Hospital, and you'll run into the grim lines of chairs in the emergency-room waiting area. But follow your nose to the right, and you'll be welcomed by chili-lime crab cakes, grilled polenta, tapas plates and seared tuna with frizzled leeks.
Like a host of other modern hospital cafeterias, Montrose Memorial's Lobby Grille is following a trend that makes it tough to recall those old cramped and dingy institutional eateries with their steam trays of soggy offerings. The basement bastions of gelatin cubes and beef 'n' noodles have been transformed into front-and-center bistros serving haute hospital cuisine.
The tasty fare may have started out for the benefit of patients and expanded as a perk for employees and a comfort for patient visitors. But it has evolved into upscale cuisine good enough to draw in diners who have no other reason to be at a hospital — except that they crave marinated skirt steak or chilled mango soup.
Chef-prepared gourmet fare rather than institutional meals isn't about profit. Most hospital cafeterias aspire to break even at best. And it isn't all about the food. There's a bit of marketing involved too.
Read the complete story here.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Coffee Crusted Roast Beef Tenderloin
1 4-lb. beef tenderloin roast
¼ cup finely ground coffee
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp rubbed sage
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Trim and tie tenderloin. Combine dry ingredients. Rub half over entire surface of the roast, covering generously. Let meat rest 15 minutes and then rub with remaining mixture. Place meat in roasting pan and roast on center shelf until the internal temperature reaches 135ºF (for medium rare). Remove roast from oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into ¼-inch slices and serve immediately.
¼ cup finely ground coffee
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp rubbed sage
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Trim and tie tenderloin. Combine dry ingredients. Rub half over entire surface of the roast, covering generously. Let meat rest 15 minutes and then rub with remaining mixture. Place meat in roasting pan and roast on center shelf until the internal temperature reaches 135ºF (for medium rare). Remove roast from oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into ¼-inch slices and serve immediately.
Congratulations To Class 54
Congratulations to Class 54 of the Second Helpings Culinary Job Training Program, who graduated on May 29, 2009.
Pictured (Front Row, Left to Right) Sunil Deo, Cynthia Carter, Junia Isaac, Carrie Canter, Wynette Nance, Darcy Staser, Jim Zollner; (Back row) Chef Conway, Craig Wade, Benjamin Camp, Bryant Polk, Brian Felix,Alex Abram, Wayne Brown, Henry Cheeks.
Pictured (Front Row, Left to Right) Sunil Deo, Cynthia Carter, Junia Isaac, Carrie Canter, Wynette Nance, Darcy Staser, Jim Zollner; (Back row) Chef Conway, Craig Wade, Benjamin Camp, Bryant Polk, Brian Felix,Alex Abram, Wayne Brown, Henry Cheeks.
Don't Just Visit Europe, EXPERIENCE It!
By Rick Steves
(Tribune Media Services) -- Many travelers tramp through Europe like they're visiting the cultural zoo. "Ooh, that guy in lederhosen yodeled! Excuse me, could you do that again so I can take a picture?" When I'm in Europe, I become the best German or Spaniard or Italian I can be.
I consume wine in France, beer in Germany, and small breakfasts in Italy. While I never drink tea at home, after a long day of sightseeing in England, "a spot of tea" really does feel right. So on your next trip across the pond, resist the urge to look at Europe through a lens, and find ways to really be there.
One of the best ways to connect to the culture is to play where the locals play. That means choosing destinations busy with local holiday-goers but not on the international tourist map. For instance, while tourists outnumber locals five to one at the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, Bakken, Copenhagen's other amusement park, is enjoyed purely by Danes.
Disneyland Paris is great. But Paris' Parc Asterix amusement park is more French. Hang out in a city's fairgrounds and parks, which are filled with local families, lovers, and old-timers enjoying a cheap afternoon or evening out. Or visit one of Europe's wonderful public swimming pools, called a "leisure center" in Britain.
Once you figure out where the locals hang, check out where they live. Ride a city bus or subway into the suburbs and then wander through some neighborhoods to see how residents live when they're not wearing lederhosen and yodeling. Visit a supermarket. Make friends at the launderette. Or mill around area schools and universities, checking out the announcement boards and eating at the cafeteria.
Be alert and a little bit snoopy. If you stumble onto a grade-school talent show, sit down and watch it. You can even visit a university's English-language department and ask about hiring a student (who's learning English) as a private guide.
Even if you're not a regular churchgoer, consider attending a European worship service. An hour in a small-town church provides an unbeatable peek into the community, especially if you join them for coffee and cookies afterward.
I'll never forget going to a little church on the south coast of Portugal one Easter. A tourist stood at the door videotaping the "colorful natives" (including me) shaking hands with the priest after the service. You can experience St. Peter's by taking photographs, or you can do it by taking a seat at Mass.
Walking is big in Europe. Across the south, in countries such as Italy and Spain, communities have a paseo, or stroll, in the early evening. Stroll along. Join a Volksmarch in Bavaria to spend a day on the trails with people singing, "I love to go a-wandering" in its original language. Visit a hiking center. Many areas have alpine clubs that welcome foreigners and offer organized hikes. Hikers enjoying staying at the many mountain huts and "nature's friends" huts across Europe, which are filled mostly with locals.
Keep indulging your interests and hobbies while you're abroad. If you belong to a service club, bridge club, professional association, or international organization at home, make a point to look up your foreign mates. If you like games or sports, seek out locals for a battle of brawn -- or brains.
Campgrounds are filled with Europeans in the mood to toss a Frisbee with a new American friend (pack along a lightweight nylon version). In Greece or Turkey, drop into a local teahouse or taverna and challenge someone to a game of backgammon. Watch as the gang gathers around, and what starts out as a simple game becomes a fun duel of international significance. You'll instantly become the star of the local cafe or bar scene.
Wherever you go, don't just be a spectator. Join in. When you go to the town market in the morning, don't just browse -- pick up some daily produce for breakfast or lunch. You can stand by and watch the pilgrims drinking the healing water at Lourdes -- or you can volunteer to help wheel the chairs of those who've come in hope of a cure.
If you're traveling through the wine country of France during harvest time, offer to pitch in and become a local grape-picker. Get more than a photo op. Get dirty. That night at the festival, it's just grape-pickers dancing -- and you're one of the gang.
If you're hunting cultural peacocks, remember they spread their tails best for people, not cameras. Once you take Europe out of your viewfinder, you're more likely to find it in your lap.
(Tribune Media Services) -- Many travelers tramp through Europe like they're visiting the cultural zoo. "Ooh, that guy in lederhosen yodeled! Excuse me, could you do that again so I can take a picture?" When I'm in Europe, I become the best German or Spaniard or Italian I can be.
I consume wine in France, beer in Germany, and small breakfasts in Italy. While I never drink tea at home, after a long day of sightseeing in England, "a spot of tea" really does feel right. So on your next trip across the pond, resist the urge to look at Europe through a lens, and find ways to really be there.
One of the best ways to connect to the culture is to play where the locals play. That means choosing destinations busy with local holiday-goers but not on the international tourist map. For instance, while tourists outnumber locals five to one at the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, Bakken, Copenhagen's other amusement park, is enjoyed purely by Danes.
Disneyland Paris is great. But Paris' Parc Asterix amusement park is more French. Hang out in a city's fairgrounds and parks, which are filled with local families, lovers, and old-timers enjoying a cheap afternoon or evening out. Or visit one of Europe's wonderful public swimming pools, called a "leisure center" in Britain.
Once you figure out where the locals hang, check out where they live. Ride a city bus or subway into the suburbs and then wander through some neighborhoods to see how residents live when they're not wearing lederhosen and yodeling. Visit a supermarket. Make friends at the launderette. Or mill around area schools and universities, checking out the announcement boards and eating at the cafeteria.
Be alert and a little bit snoopy. If you stumble onto a grade-school talent show, sit down and watch it. You can even visit a university's English-language department and ask about hiring a student (who's learning English) as a private guide.
Even if you're not a regular churchgoer, consider attending a European worship service. An hour in a small-town church provides an unbeatable peek into the community, especially if you join them for coffee and cookies afterward.
I'll never forget going to a little church on the south coast of Portugal one Easter. A tourist stood at the door videotaping the "colorful natives" (including me) shaking hands with the priest after the service. You can experience St. Peter's by taking photographs, or you can do it by taking a seat at Mass.
Walking is big in Europe. Across the south, in countries such as Italy and Spain, communities have a paseo, or stroll, in the early evening. Stroll along. Join a Volksmarch in Bavaria to spend a day on the trails with people singing, "I love to go a-wandering" in its original language. Visit a hiking center. Many areas have alpine clubs that welcome foreigners and offer organized hikes. Hikers enjoying staying at the many mountain huts and "nature's friends" huts across Europe, which are filled mostly with locals.
Keep indulging your interests and hobbies while you're abroad. If you belong to a service club, bridge club, professional association, or international organization at home, make a point to look up your foreign mates. If you like games or sports, seek out locals for a battle of brawn -- or brains.
Campgrounds are filled with Europeans in the mood to toss a Frisbee with a new American friend (pack along a lightweight nylon version). In Greece or Turkey, drop into a local teahouse or taverna and challenge someone to a game of backgammon. Watch as the gang gathers around, and what starts out as a simple game becomes a fun duel of international significance. You'll instantly become the star of the local cafe or bar scene.
Wherever you go, don't just be a spectator. Join in. When you go to the town market in the morning, don't just browse -- pick up some daily produce for breakfast or lunch. You can stand by and watch the pilgrims drinking the healing water at Lourdes -- or you can volunteer to help wheel the chairs of those who've come in hope of a cure.
If you're traveling through the wine country of France during harvest time, offer to pitch in and become a local grape-picker. Get more than a photo op. Get dirty. That night at the festival, it's just grape-pickers dancing -- and you're one of the gang.
If you're hunting cultural peacocks, remember they spread their tails best for people, not cameras. Once you take Europe out of your viewfinder, you're more likely to find it in your lap.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Children, Meet Your Vegetables
Baltimore chefs donate their time to program that introduces kids to the joys of healthful eating
By Jacques Kelly
May 26, 2009 - The third-graders at a Catonsville elementary school recently took a break from the usual cafeteria fare of corn dogs and pizza to sample organic, field-grown salad greens mixed with black olives, apple cider vinegar and oil, Maryland strawberries and honey.
And they became chefs for a day, mixing their own salads and making their own dressing.
Their experience last week was a culmination of a three-morning seminar, called "Days of Taste," which teaches children about what's produced on Maryland farms, tells them about non-processed foods and encourages them to grow a little more adventurous at mealtime.
The program is offered at 17 Baltimore city and county schools, and the instructors who donate their time are some of Baltimore's best-known chefs, including John Shields of Gertrude's, Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, Galen Sampson and Christian DeLutis of Dogwood restaurant and local chef and baker Ned Atwater.
"You can really see the light bulbs go off when some of the city children have never eaten a fresh, raw vegetable and they taste it in a salad," said Atwater, who has been teaching the classes for nearly a decade.
"Over the years, we've probably been to half the public schools in Baltimore," he said.
Last week, he took his aluminum salad bowls and non-iceberg lettuce to the Westowne Elementary School on Harlem Lane in Catonsville.
"Our program is different because we have real professional chefs and professional farmers," said Riva Kahn, a cell biologist who lives in Timonium and helped develop the program. "It opens the eyes of these kids to different career possibilities. Our angle is to let them discover that healthy food and good food are not mutually exclusive."
While not every plate at Westowne was completely clean at the end of the lesson, most were fairly empty.
"I like olives," said Samuel Cushman, 9, who explained his grandmother likes to put them in salads.
JanayaWilson, who said she likes to cook - and makes her own salad dressing - is not a fan of red peppers. "I've never liked them," she said, leaving an unconsumed section of them of her paper plate.
As part of the experience, the students boarded buses for One Straw Farm in White Hall in northern Baltimore County. They saw lettuce being started in the greenhouse and the growing fields. (Other suppliers include Brad's Produce in Churchville and Calvert's Gift Farm in Sparks.)
"I learned that compost is banana peels and leftover foods," said Kye McMath, who also said he now knows what part of the tongue are associated with sweet and sour.
Atwater led a post-salad discussion on whether the foods tasted salty, sweet, bitter, sour or "umami" - a Japanese word meaning savory.
"We put in things you wouldn't think would go in a salad - like strawberries - and they tasted really good," said Vivian Montgomery-Walsh, a 9-year-old. "Going to the farm was really cool because we learned how a seed turns into veggies and fruit."
The Westowne food and cooking class attracted a number of parents as helpers and faculty members as observers.
"The math and the science are great, then you can ... look at it as a health class," said Westowne's principal, Patricia Vogel.
"Days of Taste" is a project of the American Institute of Wine and Food, a nonprofit educational organization founded by television chef Julia Child, wine maker Robert Mondavi and others.
"It was a program that originated in French schools," said Atwater, who worked with Kahn and food writer Cynthia Glover to tweak the mini-seminar for local school children.
Members of the Baltimore AIWF chapter gave $14,000 for the school events last year.
All the chefs donate their time to teach the students.
Other chefs in the program include Nona Nielson-Parker of Atwater's, Michael Marx of Rub Barbecue, Barry Fleischmann of Innovative Gourmet, Vicky Barkley from The Classic Catering People, John Walsh of Chef's Expressions and Marc Dixon of Bistro Blanc in Glenelg.
"Over the years, I've seen food become more and more processed commercially," Atwater said. "I want to teach kids about a balanced diet and where the food they eat comes from."
By Jacques Kelly
May 26, 2009 - The third-graders at a Catonsville elementary school recently took a break from the usual cafeteria fare of corn dogs and pizza to sample organic, field-grown salad greens mixed with black olives, apple cider vinegar and oil, Maryland strawberries and honey.
And they became chefs for a day, mixing their own salads and making their own dressing.
Their experience last week was a culmination of a three-morning seminar, called "Days of Taste," which teaches children about what's produced on Maryland farms, tells them about non-processed foods and encourages them to grow a little more adventurous at mealtime.
The program is offered at 17 Baltimore city and county schools, and the instructors who donate their time are some of Baltimore's best-known chefs, including John Shields of Gertrude's, Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, Galen Sampson and Christian DeLutis of Dogwood restaurant and local chef and baker Ned Atwater.
"You can really see the light bulbs go off when some of the city children have never eaten a fresh, raw vegetable and they taste it in a salad," said Atwater, who has been teaching the classes for nearly a decade.
"Over the years, we've probably been to half the public schools in Baltimore," he said.
Last week, he took his aluminum salad bowls and non-iceberg lettuce to the Westowne Elementary School on Harlem Lane in Catonsville.
"Our program is different because we have real professional chefs and professional farmers," said Riva Kahn, a cell biologist who lives in Timonium and helped develop the program. "It opens the eyes of these kids to different career possibilities. Our angle is to let them discover that healthy food and good food are not mutually exclusive."
While not every plate at Westowne was completely clean at the end of the lesson, most were fairly empty.
"I like olives," said Samuel Cushman, 9, who explained his grandmother likes to put them in salads.
JanayaWilson, who said she likes to cook - and makes her own salad dressing - is not a fan of red peppers. "I've never liked them," she said, leaving an unconsumed section of them of her paper plate.
As part of the experience, the students boarded buses for One Straw Farm in White Hall in northern Baltimore County. They saw lettuce being started in the greenhouse and the growing fields. (Other suppliers include Brad's Produce in Churchville and Calvert's Gift Farm in Sparks.)
"I learned that compost is banana peels and leftover foods," said Kye McMath, who also said he now knows what part of the tongue are associated with sweet and sour.
Atwater led a post-salad discussion on whether the foods tasted salty, sweet, bitter, sour or "umami" - a Japanese word meaning savory.
"We put in things you wouldn't think would go in a salad - like strawberries - and they tasted really good," said Vivian Montgomery-Walsh, a 9-year-old. "Going to the farm was really cool because we learned how a seed turns into veggies and fruit."
The Westowne food and cooking class attracted a number of parents as helpers and faculty members as observers.
"The math and the science are great, then you can ... look at it as a health class," said Westowne's principal, Patricia Vogel.
"Days of Taste" is a project of the American Institute of Wine and Food, a nonprofit educational organization founded by television chef Julia Child, wine maker Robert Mondavi and others.
"It was a program that originated in French schools," said Atwater, who worked with Kahn and food writer Cynthia Glover to tweak the mini-seminar for local school children.
Members of the Baltimore AIWF chapter gave $14,000 for the school events last year.
All the chefs donate their time to teach the students.
Other chefs in the program include Nona Nielson-Parker of Atwater's, Michael Marx of Rub Barbecue, Barry Fleischmann of Innovative Gourmet, Vicky Barkley from The Classic Catering People, John Walsh of Chef's Expressions and Marc Dixon of Bistro Blanc in Glenelg.
"Over the years, I've seen food become more and more processed commercially," Atwater said. "I want to teach kids about a balanced diet and where the food they eat comes from."
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Daniels Urges Graduates to "Live for Others, Not Just Yourselves."
INDIANAPOLIS (May 10, 2008) - Governor Mitch Daniels today challenged the graduating class of Butler University not to stand on the shoulders of the Baby Boom generation but to instead follow "The Butler Way" and lead lives of humility, unity and thankfulness.
Daniels encouraged graduates to, "live for others, not just yourselves. For fulfillment, not just pleasure and material gain. For tomorrow, and the Americans who will reside there."
The full text of the governor's speech is included below:
Butler University Commencement
Remarks by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
May 9, 2009
Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
In a job in which public speaking is an occupational hazard, there are two categories I try my best to evade: eulogies and commencements. The thoughts of the audience are likely to be elsewhere, and the chances of saying anything remotely original or memorable are, well, remote.
But, now and then, an invitation proves irresistible and, for me, Butler's was one of those. I have long felt as strongly about this school as a non-alumnus can, for many reasons. I had so many good friends who went here. The first love of my life went here. And then there is Butler basketball.
As a 10-year-old, new to Indiana, Butler basketball was about the only entertainment our family was able, or at least willing, to purchase for me. On countless frigid evenings, someone's dad would drop us off in the Fieldhouse parking lot, and someone else's dad would pick us up, after watching the Bulldogs either beat or scare the pants off some big-name larger school. I might stumble over my own college's fight song, but I still know yours by heart.
And I'm still an avid Butler fan. I love the style of play, the homegrown teams, and, of course, the incomparable venue that is Hinkle. But most of all, I love the soul of Butler basketball, the ethos, the philosophy espoused by Coach Hinkle so long ago, but still alive. It comprises simple and timeless principles: humility, unity, thankfulness. There's not a word about athletics in it. We can bet that, if Tony Hinkle had been the Dean of Business or the Chair of the Pharmacy Department, he'd have laid down the same guidelines. Rightly, you call it "The Butler Way."
If you're like I was, and most college graduates I've known, you will soon look back and say "Wow, I got out of there just in time." It's a very human tendency to conclude that one's high school or college went straight to hell right after they left. It's typical to recall these years with increasing fondness and nostalgia, to think of them as special, and to imagine your class as the greatest the school has seen.
On the record so far, you are. Your entering SAT scores, and the difficulty of many of the courses you've just taken, surpass any in Butler history. But the record of your class has only a first chapter; what counts is what you will do with your education, and your lives, starting - that is, commencing, tomorrow. Years from now, when you are addressing commencements or attending them as parents, people will review that collective record, and pronounce you either a good, an ordinary, or, who knows, maybe a great class. Of course, what really matters is what you do or don't achieve individually, but prepare to be lumped together in various ways and assessed as a group.
Among the grossest and most arbitrary of such lumpings is the idea of a generation, a generalization at war with the obvious reality that any age cohort is widely diverse, containing heroes and villains, angels and devils, geniuses and fools. The parents here today are wonderful people, who have loved you, sacrificed for you, and taught you well. Neither you nor they would be here, if that were not so. But many of their peers made very different choices.
Even though the whole notion of a "generation" must be discounted as the loosest of concepts, within limits it is possible to spot the defining characteristics of an age and the human beings who create it. Along with most of your faculty and parents, I belong to the most discussed, debated and analyzed generation of all time, the so-called Baby Boomers. By the accepted definition, the youngest of us is now forty-five, so the record is pretty much on the books, and the time for verdicts can begin.
Which leads me to congratulate you in advance. As a generation, you are off to an excellent start. You have taken the first savvy step on the road to distinction, which is to follow a weak act. I wish I could claim otherwise, but we Baby Boomers are likely to be remembered by history for our numbers, and little else, at least little else that is admirable.
We Boomers were the children that the Second World War was fought for. Parents who had endured both war and the Great Depression devoted themselves sacrificially to ensuring us a better life than they had. We were pampered in ways no children in human history would recognize. With minor exceptions, we have lived in blissfully fortunate times. The numbers of us who perished in plagues, in famine, or in combat were tiny in comparison to previous generations of Americans, to say nothing of humanity elsewhere.
All our lives, it's been all about us. We were the "Me Generation." We wore t-shirts that said "If it feels good, do it." The year of my high school commencement, a hit song featured the immortal lyric "Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today." As a group, we have been self-centered, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and all too often just plain selfish. Our current Baby Boomer President has written two eloquent, erudite books, both about..himself.
As a generation, we did tend to live for today. We have spent more and saved less than any previous Americans. Year after year, regardless which party we picked to lead the country, we ran up deficits that have multiplied the debt you and your children will be paying off your entire working lives. Far more burdensome to you mathematically, we voted ourselves increasing levels of Social Security pensions and Medicare health care benefits, but never summoned the political maturity to put those programs on anything resembling a sound actuarial footing.
In sum, our parents scrimped and saved to provide us a better living standard than theirs; we borrowed and splurged and will leave you a staggering pile of bills to pay. It's been a blast; good luck cleaning up after us.
In Christopher Buckley's recent satiric novel Boomsday, the young heroine launches a national grassroots movement around the proposal that Boomers should be paid to "transition", a euphemism for suicide, at age 75, to alleviate this burden. That struck me as a little extreme; surely 85 would do the trick. Buckley meant his book for laughs, of course, but you'll find nothing funny about the tab when it comes due.
Our irresponsibility went well beyond the financial realm. Our parents formed families and kept them intact even through difficulty "for the sake of the kids." To us, parental happiness came first; we often divorced at the first unpleasantness, and increasingly just gave birth to children without the nuisance of marriage. "Commitment" cramps one's style, don't you know. Total bummer.
A defining book of our generation was Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which chronicled the exploits of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, practitioners of the drug-taking '60s counterculture in its purest form. On the last page of the book, in a pseudo-intellectual, LSD-induced haze, Kesey chants over and over the phrase "We blew it."
In that statement, if in no other way, Kesey and his kind were prophetic.
As time runs out on our leadership years, it's clear there is no chance that anyone will ever refer to us, as histories now do our parents, as "The Greatest Generation." There is no disgrace in this; very few generations are thought of as "great." And history is not linear. Many generations fail miserably at the challenges they confront, and their societies take steps backwards as a consequence. Consider Japan before World War II, or Americans in the decades before the Civil War.
And yet in both those instances and many others, the people who followed did great things, not only redeemed all the failings but built better, fairer societies than their nations had seen before. In fact, true greatness can only be revealed by large challenges, by tough circumstances. And your opportunities for greatness will be large.
Among the reasons I usually duck commencements is the danger of lapsing into clichés, and I'd bet that no cliché is more worn out on these occasions than the phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants." Like all such phrases, it was inventive and interesting when Sir Isaac Newton coined it, but centuries later it's overdue for retirement. In one commencement speech I read about, our current Secretary of State managed to use it twice in a single paragraph.
Today, if you are thinking about standing on the shoulders of the past generation, I'd say "Please don't." Of course, I don't mean for a moment that you should not appreciate profoundly the health, wealth, comfort, the great innovations, and the general absence of world conflict which make this age in this nation the luckiest that ever was. After all, "thankfulness" is a pillar of "The Butler Way."
What I mean to suggest is that you take into the world the values written on the locker room wall at Hinkle, which are not much at all like those associated with the Baby Boom. That you live for others, not just yourselves. For fulfillment, not just pleasure and material gain. For tomorrow, and the Americans who will reside there, not just for today. That song I mentioned ends with the refrain, "And don't worry 'bout tomorrow, hey, hey, hey." When it comes on oldies radio, please, tune it out. Do worry 'bout tomorrow, in a way your elders often failed to do.
And please, just to revise another current practice, be judgmental. Whatever they claim, people always are, anyway - consider the healthy stigmatization of racist comments or sexist attitudes or cigarette smoking. It's just a matter of which behaviors enough of us agree to judge as unacceptable.
As free people, we agree to tolerate any conduct that does no harm to others, but we should not be coerced into condoning it. Selfishness and irresponsibility in business, personal finances, or in family life, are deserving of your disapproval. Go ahead and stigmatize them. Too much such behavior will hurt our nation and the future for you and the families you will create.
Honesty about shortcomings is not handwringing. Again, this is a blessed land, in every way. Amidst the worst recession in a long time, we still are wealthier than any society in history. We are safer, from injury, disease, and each other than any humans that ever lived. Best of all, we are free. The problems you now inherit are not those of 1776, or 1861, or 1929, or 1941. But they are large enough, and left unattended, they will devour the wealth and, ultimately, the freedom and safety we cherish, at least in our thankful moments. So you have a chance to be a great Butler class, part of a great generation.
You're thinking, "Don't lay all that on me. My one life's plenty to take care of," and that's true. But if enough of you choose to live responsibly, for others, for tomorrow, the future will remember you that way, when it assesses you as a lump.
You are in fact off to a great start, provided, that is, that you absorbed a bit of the tradition around here. Here's a real, if apocryphal, story we were told at your age. It was said then that Butler recruiters would travel to high schools on the East Coast promising parents "Send your child to Butler and we will send them back the same person you raised."
Surely, if ever actually stated, that was never true. You are a very different person than you were on arrival, certainly wiser and more knowledgeable, which are two different things. I hope you are also more inclined to unity. To humility. To thankfulness. If so, you leave the lot fully loaded, equipped with all the standard features and the factory options, too. You're ready for the road.
And if enough of you drive carefully, and responsibly, one day on this hallowed wood floor some other soon-to-be-forgotten speaker will look back and say, "Oh, 2009. That was a great class. They were part of a great generation. They did it The Butler Way."
Daniels encouraged graduates to, "live for others, not just yourselves. For fulfillment, not just pleasure and material gain. For tomorrow, and the Americans who will reside there."
The full text of the governor's speech is included below:
Butler University Commencement
Remarks by Governor Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
May 9, 2009
Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
In a job in which public speaking is an occupational hazard, there are two categories I try my best to evade: eulogies and commencements. The thoughts of the audience are likely to be elsewhere, and the chances of saying anything remotely original or memorable are, well, remote.
But, now and then, an invitation proves irresistible and, for me, Butler's was one of those. I have long felt as strongly about this school as a non-alumnus can, for many reasons. I had so many good friends who went here. The first love of my life went here. And then there is Butler basketball.
As a 10-year-old, new to Indiana, Butler basketball was about the only entertainment our family was able, or at least willing, to purchase for me. On countless frigid evenings, someone's dad would drop us off in the Fieldhouse parking lot, and someone else's dad would pick us up, after watching the Bulldogs either beat or scare the pants off some big-name larger school. I might stumble over my own college's fight song, but I still know yours by heart.
And I'm still an avid Butler fan. I love the style of play, the homegrown teams, and, of course, the incomparable venue that is Hinkle. But most of all, I love the soul of Butler basketball, the ethos, the philosophy espoused by Coach Hinkle so long ago, but still alive. It comprises simple and timeless principles: humility, unity, thankfulness. There's not a word about athletics in it. We can bet that, if Tony Hinkle had been the Dean of Business or the Chair of the Pharmacy Department, he'd have laid down the same guidelines. Rightly, you call it "The Butler Way."
If you're like I was, and most college graduates I've known, you will soon look back and say "Wow, I got out of there just in time." It's a very human tendency to conclude that one's high school or college went straight to hell right after they left. It's typical to recall these years with increasing fondness and nostalgia, to think of them as special, and to imagine your class as the greatest the school has seen.
On the record so far, you are. Your entering SAT scores, and the difficulty of many of the courses you've just taken, surpass any in Butler history. But the record of your class has only a first chapter; what counts is what you will do with your education, and your lives, starting - that is, commencing, tomorrow. Years from now, when you are addressing commencements or attending them as parents, people will review that collective record, and pronounce you either a good, an ordinary, or, who knows, maybe a great class. Of course, what really matters is what you do or don't achieve individually, but prepare to be lumped together in various ways and assessed as a group.
Among the grossest and most arbitrary of such lumpings is the idea of a generation, a generalization at war with the obvious reality that any age cohort is widely diverse, containing heroes and villains, angels and devils, geniuses and fools. The parents here today are wonderful people, who have loved you, sacrificed for you, and taught you well. Neither you nor they would be here, if that were not so. But many of their peers made very different choices.
Even though the whole notion of a "generation" must be discounted as the loosest of concepts, within limits it is possible to spot the defining characteristics of an age and the human beings who create it. Along with most of your faculty and parents, I belong to the most discussed, debated and analyzed generation of all time, the so-called Baby Boomers. By the accepted definition, the youngest of us is now forty-five, so the record is pretty much on the books, and the time for verdicts can begin.
Which leads me to congratulate you in advance. As a generation, you are off to an excellent start. You have taken the first savvy step on the road to distinction, which is to follow a weak act. I wish I could claim otherwise, but we Baby Boomers are likely to be remembered by history for our numbers, and little else, at least little else that is admirable.
We Boomers were the children that the Second World War was fought for. Parents who had endured both war and the Great Depression devoted themselves sacrificially to ensuring us a better life than they had. We were pampered in ways no children in human history would recognize. With minor exceptions, we have lived in blissfully fortunate times. The numbers of us who perished in plagues, in famine, or in combat were tiny in comparison to previous generations of Americans, to say nothing of humanity elsewhere.
All our lives, it's been all about us. We were the "Me Generation." We wore t-shirts that said "If it feels good, do it." The year of my high school commencement, a hit song featured the immortal lyric "Sha-la-la-la-la-la, live for today." As a group, we have been self-centered, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and all too often just plain selfish. Our current Baby Boomer President has written two eloquent, erudite books, both about..himself.
As a generation, we did tend to live for today. We have spent more and saved less than any previous Americans. Year after year, regardless which party we picked to lead the country, we ran up deficits that have multiplied the debt you and your children will be paying off your entire working lives. Far more burdensome to you mathematically, we voted ourselves increasing levels of Social Security pensions and Medicare health care benefits, but never summoned the political maturity to put those programs on anything resembling a sound actuarial footing.
In sum, our parents scrimped and saved to provide us a better living standard than theirs; we borrowed and splurged and will leave you a staggering pile of bills to pay. It's been a blast; good luck cleaning up after us.
In Christopher Buckley's recent satiric novel Boomsday, the young heroine launches a national grassroots movement around the proposal that Boomers should be paid to "transition", a euphemism for suicide, at age 75, to alleviate this burden. That struck me as a little extreme; surely 85 would do the trick. Buckley meant his book for laughs, of course, but you'll find nothing funny about the tab when it comes due.
Our irresponsibility went well beyond the financial realm. Our parents formed families and kept them intact even through difficulty "for the sake of the kids." To us, parental happiness came first; we often divorced at the first unpleasantness, and increasingly just gave birth to children without the nuisance of marriage. "Commitment" cramps one's style, don't you know. Total bummer.
A defining book of our generation was Tom Wolfe's The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which chronicled the exploits of Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters, practitioners of the drug-taking '60s counterculture in its purest form. On the last page of the book, in a pseudo-intellectual, LSD-induced haze, Kesey chants over and over the phrase "We blew it."
In that statement, if in no other way, Kesey and his kind were prophetic.
As time runs out on our leadership years, it's clear there is no chance that anyone will ever refer to us, as histories now do our parents, as "The Greatest Generation." There is no disgrace in this; very few generations are thought of as "great." And history is not linear. Many generations fail miserably at the challenges they confront, and their societies take steps backwards as a consequence. Consider Japan before World War II, or Americans in the decades before the Civil War.
And yet in both those instances and many others, the people who followed did great things, not only redeemed all the failings but built better, fairer societies than their nations had seen before. In fact, true greatness can only be revealed by large challenges, by tough circumstances. And your opportunities for greatness will be large.
Among the reasons I usually duck commencements is the danger of lapsing into clichés, and I'd bet that no cliché is more worn out on these occasions than the phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants." Like all such phrases, it was inventive and interesting when Sir Isaac Newton coined it, but centuries later it's overdue for retirement. In one commencement speech I read about, our current Secretary of State managed to use it twice in a single paragraph.
Today, if you are thinking about standing on the shoulders of the past generation, I'd say "Please don't." Of course, I don't mean for a moment that you should not appreciate profoundly the health, wealth, comfort, the great innovations, and the general absence of world conflict which make this age in this nation the luckiest that ever was. After all, "thankfulness" is a pillar of "The Butler Way."
What I mean to suggest is that you take into the world the values written on the locker room wall at Hinkle, which are not much at all like those associated with the Baby Boom. That you live for others, not just yourselves. For fulfillment, not just pleasure and material gain. For tomorrow, and the Americans who will reside there, not just for today. That song I mentioned ends with the refrain, "And don't worry 'bout tomorrow, hey, hey, hey." When it comes on oldies radio, please, tune it out. Do worry 'bout tomorrow, in a way your elders often failed to do.
And please, just to revise another current practice, be judgmental. Whatever they claim, people always are, anyway - consider the healthy stigmatization of racist comments or sexist attitudes or cigarette smoking. It's just a matter of which behaviors enough of us agree to judge as unacceptable.
As free people, we agree to tolerate any conduct that does no harm to others, but we should not be coerced into condoning it. Selfishness and irresponsibility in business, personal finances, or in family life, are deserving of your disapproval. Go ahead and stigmatize them. Too much such behavior will hurt our nation and the future for you and the families you will create.
Honesty about shortcomings is not handwringing. Again, this is a blessed land, in every way. Amidst the worst recession in a long time, we still are wealthier than any society in history. We are safer, from injury, disease, and each other than any humans that ever lived. Best of all, we are free. The problems you now inherit are not those of 1776, or 1861, or 1929, or 1941. But they are large enough, and left unattended, they will devour the wealth and, ultimately, the freedom and safety we cherish, at least in our thankful moments. So you have a chance to be a great Butler class, part of a great generation.
You're thinking, "Don't lay all that on me. My one life's plenty to take care of," and that's true. But if enough of you choose to live responsibly, for others, for tomorrow, the future will remember you that way, when it assesses you as a lump.
You are in fact off to a great start, provided, that is, that you absorbed a bit of the tradition around here. Here's a real, if apocryphal, story we were told at your age. It was said then that Butler recruiters would travel to high schools on the East Coast promising parents "Send your child to Butler and we will send them back the same person you raised."
Surely, if ever actually stated, that was never true. You are a very different person than you were on arrival, certainly wiser and more knowledgeable, which are two different things. I hope you are also more inclined to unity. To humility. To thankfulness. If so, you leave the lot fully loaded, equipped with all the standard features and the factory options, too. You're ready for the road.
And if enough of you drive carefully, and responsibly, one day on this hallowed wood floor some other soon-to-be-forgotten speaker will look back and say, "Oh, 2009. That was a great class. They were part of a great generation. They did it The Butler Way."
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Top 10 Things Celebrity Chefs Won't Tell You
The Cliff Notes version:
1. “I’m a celebrity first and a chef second.”
2. “There’s absolutely no reason to buy my cookbook.”
3. “Just because I have a cooking show doesn’t mean I’m a chef.”
4. “Sex sells, even with foodies.”
5. “I’m addicted to porn—food porn, that is.”
6. “The dishes I make on TV don’t always work so great at home . . .”
7. “. . . and sometimes they’re just plain gross.”
8. “It might be my restaurant, but that doesn’t mean I cook there.”
9. “My show is one long commercial for my cookbooks.”
10. “Bottom line: My celebrity status is great for business.”
All the details here.
1. “I’m a celebrity first and a chef second.”
2. “There’s absolutely no reason to buy my cookbook.”
3. “Just because I have a cooking show doesn’t mean I’m a chef.”
4. “Sex sells, even with foodies.”
5. “I’m addicted to porn—food porn, that is.”
6. “The dishes I make on TV don’t always work so great at home . . .”
7. “. . . and sometimes they’re just plain gross.”
8. “It might be my restaurant, but that doesn’t mean I cook there.”
9. “My show is one long commercial for my cookbooks.”
10. “Bottom line: My celebrity status is great for business.”
All the details here.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Yes, You Can Start a Restaurant in a Down Economy...
But why in the world would you want to?
So you're thinking about opening a restaurant. The allure of fame and fortune seduces you, your love of food drives you, and you want to heat up your life in an exciting industry. That's all fine and well--just as long as you make sure the flame isn't turned up too high. Even in a healthy economy, the restaurant failure rate tells a grim tale, but in a recession, the industry is even more unforgiving. Expensive food spoils, labor costs are high, restaurant-goers are harder to come by, restaurants close and life goes on.
But we also know we're talking to a special breed of people: entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have the drive to go against the grain and the nerve to try their luck in such a ruthless industry. We're not saying don't do it. We're just saying to equip yourself with the right tools or you might just find yourself at the bottom of the food chain. To help you get started, we reached out to a handful of industry experts and food entrepreneurs and compiled the perfect recipe for starting a restaurant or food business in a down economy.
Start with a Dose of Reality
Though you may be anxious to start stirring up business, you can't afford to skip this one step: building a solid foundation. "The biggest thing to avoid is 'Polaroid Syndrome'--here's me in my restaurant, here's me with my chef,'" warns Clark Wolf, founder and president of Clark Wolf Co., a food, restaurant and hospitality consulting firm. "That's not what this is. This is something very different and a lot more work."
Starting a restaurant requires in-depth knowledge about much more than just food. It's also about marketing, financing and people skills. Even if you're not single-handedly equipped with all that know-how, it's not necessarily a deal-breaker. "Take [on] a working partner, someone who's as equally involved in the business as you but brings something different to the table," advises Marilyn Schlossbach, a restaurateur and consultant who has been involved in the industry for more than 20 years.
Possessing the right knowledge is only part of the equation; having sufficient capital comprises the rest. "Historically, people have heard that undercapitalization is the No. 1 cause for failure in business," Wolf says. "It has never been truer. You really need to know not just how much money you need to open the restaurant, but also where the rest of it is coming from." Have enough capital to endure the first six months, Wolf advises, as well as an additional source of capital to get your business through several months after that.
Read the rest of the story here.
So you're thinking about opening a restaurant. The allure of fame and fortune seduces you, your love of food drives you, and you want to heat up your life in an exciting industry. That's all fine and well--just as long as you make sure the flame isn't turned up too high. Even in a healthy economy, the restaurant failure rate tells a grim tale, but in a recession, the industry is even more unforgiving. Expensive food spoils, labor costs are high, restaurant-goers are harder to come by, restaurants close and life goes on.
But we also know we're talking to a special breed of people: entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have the drive to go against the grain and the nerve to try their luck in such a ruthless industry. We're not saying don't do it. We're just saying to equip yourself with the right tools or you might just find yourself at the bottom of the food chain. To help you get started, we reached out to a handful of industry experts and food entrepreneurs and compiled the perfect recipe for starting a restaurant or food business in a down economy.
Start with a Dose of Reality
Though you may be anxious to start stirring up business, you can't afford to skip this one step: building a solid foundation. "The biggest thing to avoid is 'Polaroid Syndrome'--here's me in my restaurant, here's me with my chef,'" warns Clark Wolf, founder and president of Clark Wolf Co., a food, restaurant and hospitality consulting firm. "That's not what this is. This is something very different and a lot more work."
Starting a restaurant requires in-depth knowledge about much more than just food. It's also about marketing, financing and people skills. Even if you're not single-handedly equipped with all that know-how, it's not necessarily a deal-breaker. "Take [on] a working partner, someone who's as equally involved in the business as you but brings something different to the table," advises Marilyn Schlossbach, a restaurateur and consultant who has been involved in the industry for more than 20 years.
Possessing the right knowledge is only part of the equation; having sufficient capital comprises the rest. "Historically, people have heard that undercapitalization is the No. 1 cause for failure in business," Wolf says. "It has never been truer. You really need to know not just how much money you need to open the restaurant, but also where the rest of it is coming from." Have enough capital to endure the first six months, Wolf advises, as well as an additional source of capital to get your business through several months after that.
Read the rest of the story here.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
CARROT SOUFFLÉ
If you have trouble getting your kids to eat their vegetables, try this recipe.
Not only will they eat their carrots, they'll ask for more.
(Serves 8)
2 pounds carrots, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with
1 Tablespoon white sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash. To the carrots add melted butter, white sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature
Not only will they eat their carrots, they'll ask for more.
(Serves 8)
2 pounds carrots, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed with
1 Tablespoon white sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash. To the carrots add melted butter, white sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature
Friday, April 3, 2009
Can You Trust a Skinny Chef?
Chefs Cook up a Weight-loss Solution
By Kelly Carter, Special for USA TODAY
Kristi Ritchey bought into the stereotypical chef image — rotund belly, chin to spare — for a while. She started cooking when she was 16, went to culinary school and nine years later ballooned to 260 pounds and wore a size 26.
"Everyone says 'Don't trust a skinny chef,' " says Ritchey, 27, executive chef at Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop in Beverly Hills. "Well, you know what? I also don't like being a chef people stared at and wondered if I ate their meal. It was becoming very uncomfortable."
And unhealthy: Ritchey's wake-up call came when a prep cook rushed her to the emergency room. Now down to 150 pounds on her 5-foot-7 frame, Ritchey is among a new wave of U.S. chefs proving that size is not indicative of their talent. Not only are some losing significant weight, but their emphasis on healthier living is reflected in their menus — which means their customers reap the benefits as well.
Since losing more than 90 pounds, including 60 on an 800-calorie-a-day liquid diet, Kevin Hickey, executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, has "definitely added on (healthier) dishes," including a frittata made with egg whites, turkey, tofu, asparagus, low-fat mozzarella and tomato sauce.
He uses cream and butter sparingly. Instead of pan-searing his whitefish, Hickey cooks it in a stew with white beans. The liquid diet has helped him in the kitchen, where chefs agree the No. 1 rule is to taste.
"But I don't have to swallow it," Hickey says.
More...
By Kelly Carter, Special for USA TODAY
Kristi Ritchey bought into the stereotypical chef image — rotund belly, chin to spare — for a while. She started cooking when she was 16, went to culinary school and nine years later ballooned to 260 pounds and wore a size 26.
"Everyone says 'Don't trust a skinny chef,' " says Ritchey, 27, executive chef at Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop in Beverly Hills. "Well, you know what? I also don't like being a chef people stared at and wondered if I ate their meal. It was becoming very uncomfortable."
And unhealthy: Ritchey's wake-up call came when a prep cook rushed her to the emergency room. Now down to 150 pounds on her 5-foot-7 frame, Ritchey is among a new wave of U.S. chefs proving that size is not indicative of their talent. Not only are some losing significant weight, but their emphasis on healthier living is reflected in their menus — which means their customers reap the benefits as well.
Since losing more than 90 pounds, including 60 on an 800-calorie-a-day liquid diet, Kevin Hickey, executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, has "definitely added on (healthier) dishes," including a frittata made with egg whites, turkey, tofu, asparagus, low-fat mozzarella and tomato sauce.
He uses cream and butter sparingly. Instead of pan-searing his whitefish, Hickey cooks it in a stew with white beans. The liquid diet has helped him in the kitchen, where chefs agree the No. 1 rule is to taste.
"But I don't have to swallow it," Hickey says.
More...
Friday, March 20, 2009
Bus Driver Delivers Free Home-cooked Meals
JACKSON HEIGHTS, New York (CNN) -- Every day, unemployed men gather under the elevated 7 train in Jackson Heights, Queens. Many of them are homeless. All of them are hungry.
At around 9:30 each night, relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz's white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee and hot chocolate.
The men eagerly accept containers of chicken and rice from Munoz, devouring the food on the spot. Quiet gratitude radiates from the crowd.
For many, this is their only hot meal of the day; for some, it's the first food they've eaten since last night.
"I thank God for touching that man's heart," says Eduardo, one of the regulars.
Watching Munoz, 44, distribute meals and offer extra cups of coffee, it's clear he's passionate about bringing food to hungry people. For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals.
Word of his mobile soup kitchen has spread, and people of all backgrounds and status now join the largely-Hispanic crowd surrounding his truck -- Egyptians, Chinese, Ethiopians, South Asians, white and black Americans and a British man who lost his job.
"I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up," Munoz says.
And at a time when food banks are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand, he's never been needed more. But for Munoz, a school bus driver by day, this work is a labor of love.
"When I see these guys on the street," he says, "it's like seeing me, 20-something years ago when I came to this country."
Munoz was born in Colombia and his father died in an accident when he was young. When his mother found it difficult to support Munoz and his sister, she made her way to New York, finding work in Brooklyn as a nanny. At her urging, Munoz followed in her footsteps, coming to the United States in the 1980s.
"She said this was a better future for us," he says.
Munoz obtained legal residency in 1987 and later became a citizen, along with his mother and sister. He never stood on a street corner to find work, but as an immigrant, he identifies with many of the men he feeds.
Munoz began his unorthodox meal program -- now his nonprofit, An Angel in Queens -- in the summer of 2004. Friends told him about large amounts of food being thrown away at their jobs. At first, he collected leftovers from local businesses and handed out brown bag lunches to underprivileged men three nights a week. Within a few months, Munoz and his mother were preparing 20 home-cooked meals daily.
Numbers gradually increased over the years to 35 per night, then 60. In recent months, that number has jumped to as many as 140 meals a night.
Sustaining this endeavor consumes most of his life. To his mother's dismay, his family's Woodhaven home is bursting with goods related to this work. An oversize freezer takes up most of the dining room, and the porch is lined with canned food and paper products.
Daily operations now run like a well-oiled machine. Munoz gets up around 5:00 a.m. to drive his bus route, and he calls home on his breaks to see how the cooking is going. When he gets home around 5:30 p.m. -- often stopping to pick up food donations -- he helps pack up meals before heading out to "his corner" in Jackson Heights.
"He comes here without fail," says one of the men. "It could be cold, it could be really hot, but he's here." Watch Munoz in action in Queens, New York »
On Saturdays he takes the men breakfast, and on Sundays -- his "day off" -- he brings them ham-and-cheese sandwiches. It's a relentless schedule, but either Munoz or his sister does it every night of the year.
"If I don't go, I'm going to feel bad," he says. "I know they're going to be waiting for me."
With the economic downturn, donations have slowed as the crowds awaiting Munoz's arrival have grown. But he is determined to do all he can to meet their needs.
Munoz estimates that food and gas cost approximately $400 to 450 a week; he and his family are funding the operation through their savings and his weekly $700 paycheck.
Asked why he spends so much time to help people he doesn't know, he answers, "I have a stable job, my mom, my family, a house... everything I want, I have. And these guys [don't]. So I just think, 'OK, I have the food.' At least for today they're going to have a meal to eat."
Want to get involved? Check out An Angel in Queens and see how to help.
At around 9:30 each night, relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz's white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee and hot chocolate.
The men eagerly accept containers of chicken and rice from Munoz, devouring the food on the spot. Quiet gratitude radiates from the crowd.
For many, this is their only hot meal of the day; for some, it's the first food they've eaten since last night.
"I thank God for touching that man's heart," says Eduardo, one of the regulars.
Watching Munoz, 44, distribute meals and offer extra cups of coffee, it's clear he's passionate about bringing food to hungry people. For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals.
Word of his mobile soup kitchen has spread, and people of all backgrounds and status now join the largely-Hispanic crowd surrounding his truck -- Egyptians, Chinese, Ethiopians, South Asians, white and black Americans and a British man who lost his job.
"I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up," Munoz says.
And at a time when food banks are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand, he's never been needed more. But for Munoz, a school bus driver by day, this work is a labor of love.
"When I see these guys on the street," he says, "it's like seeing me, 20-something years ago when I came to this country."
Munoz was born in Colombia and his father died in an accident when he was young. When his mother found it difficult to support Munoz and his sister, she made her way to New York, finding work in Brooklyn as a nanny. At her urging, Munoz followed in her footsteps, coming to the United States in the 1980s.
"She said this was a better future for us," he says.
Munoz obtained legal residency in 1987 and later became a citizen, along with his mother and sister. He never stood on a street corner to find work, but as an immigrant, he identifies with many of the men he feeds.
Munoz began his unorthodox meal program -- now his nonprofit, An Angel in Queens -- in the summer of 2004. Friends told him about large amounts of food being thrown away at their jobs. At first, he collected leftovers from local businesses and handed out brown bag lunches to underprivileged men three nights a week. Within a few months, Munoz and his mother were preparing 20 home-cooked meals daily.
Numbers gradually increased over the years to 35 per night, then 60. In recent months, that number has jumped to as many as 140 meals a night.
Sustaining this endeavor consumes most of his life. To his mother's dismay, his family's Woodhaven home is bursting with goods related to this work. An oversize freezer takes up most of the dining room, and the porch is lined with canned food and paper products.
Daily operations now run like a well-oiled machine. Munoz gets up around 5:00 a.m. to drive his bus route, and he calls home on his breaks to see how the cooking is going. When he gets home around 5:30 p.m. -- often stopping to pick up food donations -- he helps pack up meals before heading out to "his corner" in Jackson Heights.
"He comes here without fail," says one of the men. "It could be cold, it could be really hot, but he's here." Watch Munoz in action in Queens, New York »
On Saturdays he takes the men breakfast, and on Sundays -- his "day off" -- he brings them ham-and-cheese sandwiches. It's a relentless schedule, but either Munoz or his sister does it every night of the year.
"If I don't go, I'm going to feel bad," he says. "I know they're going to be waiting for me."
With the economic downturn, donations have slowed as the crowds awaiting Munoz's arrival have grown. But he is determined to do all he can to meet their needs.
Munoz estimates that food and gas cost approximately $400 to 450 a week; he and his family are funding the operation through their savings and his weekly $700 paycheck.
Asked why he spends so much time to help people he doesn't know, he answers, "I have a stable job, my mom, my family, a house... everything I want, I have. And these guys [don't]. So I just think, 'OK, I have the food.' At least for today they're going to have a meal to eat."
Want to get involved? Check out An Angel in Queens and see how to help.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Alice Waters' Crusade for Better Food
(CBS) When it comes to food, Alice Waters is a legend.
At age 64, she has done more to change how we Americans eat, cook and think about food than anyone since Julia Child. Waters was only 27 years old in 1971 when she opened her French bistro Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., today considered one of the finest restaurants not just in the United States but in the world.
Waters has produced eight cookbooks, but she's more famous as the mother of a movement that preaches about fresh food grown in a way that's good for the environment. The movement, now called "slow food," is a healthy alternative to "fast food." You might think this appeals only to the Prius-driving, latte-sipping upper crust, but Waters' ideas have gone mainstream.
It all started at Waters' culinary temple, Chez Panisse. She still shows up almost every day, as she has for the last 37 years, to oversee the cooking with her exquisite, infallible taste buds. It's not just the cooking that has made her famous: it's the ingredients. She was one of the first to serve antibiotic and hormone free meats and insist on fresh, organic, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
"You started a revolution in food. How we think about food. How we cook food. But do you think of yourself as a revolutionary?" correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Waters. "I guess I do now, but when I started Chez Panisse I wasn't thinking of a philosophy about organic and sustainable. I just was looking for flavor," Waters replied. It's flavor that comes from serving only seasonal food, one of her hallmarks; say "frozen" and Alice Waters shudders.
Because all her food has to be fresh, she buys only from local ranchers, fishermen and farmers. People who meet Waters are struck by how gentle and dreamy she seems to be, and they wonder how someone like that became so successful. Truth is, Alice Waters is a steamroller, relentlessly going after what she wants.
And now she wants everyone to cook the way she does. And that has put her in the spotlight "People have become aware that way that we've been eating is making us sick," she said. She has become the leader of a movement to change how we eat. And she's getting traction. Now you can go to your neighborhood grocery store - even Wal-Mart - and buy organic. But in the process, she's become a target.
"People say Alice Waters is self-righteous and elitist. And these are words I've heard over and over," Stahl pointed out. "I feel that good food should be a right and not a privilege and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides. And everybody deserves this food. And that's not elitist," Waters argued.
Read the complete Lesley Stahl interview with Ms. Waters here.
At age 64, she has done more to change how we Americans eat, cook and think about food than anyone since Julia Child. Waters was only 27 years old in 1971 when she opened her French bistro Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., today considered one of the finest restaurants not just in the United States but in the world.
Waters has produced eight cookbooks, but she's more famous as the mother of a movement that preaches about fresh food grown in a way that's good for the environment. The movement, now called "slow food," is a healthy alternative to "fast food." You might think this appeals only to the Prius-driving, latte-sipping upper crust, but Waters' ideas have gone mainstream.
It all started at Waters' culinary temple, Chez Panisse. She still shows up almost every day, as she has for the last 37 years, to oversee the cooking with her exquisite, infallible taste buds. It's not just the cooking that has made her famous: it's the ingredients. She was one of the first to serve antibiotic and hormone free meats and insist on fresh, organic, locally-grown fruits and vegetables.
"You started a revolution in food. How we think about food. How we cook food. But do you think of yourself as a revolutionary?" correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Waters. "I guess I do now, but when I started Chez Panisse I wasn't thinking of a philosophy about organic and sustainable. I just was looking for flavor," Waters replied. It's flavor that comes from serving only seasonal food, one of her hallmarks; say "frozen" and Alice Waters shudders.
Because all her food has to be fresh, she buys only from local ranchers, fishermen and farmers. People who meet Waters are struck by how gentle and dreamy she seems to be, and they wonder how someone like that became so successful. Truth is, Alice Waters is a steamroller, relentlessly going after what she wants.
And now she wants everyone to cook the way she does. And that has put her in the spotlight "People have become aware that way that we've been eating is making us sick," she said. She has become the leader of a movement to change how we eat. And she's getting traction. Now you can go to your neighborhood grocery store - even Wal-Mart - and buy organic. But in the process, she's become a target.
"People say Alice Waters is self-righteous and elitist. And these are words I've heard over and over," Stahl pointed out. "I feel that good food should be a right and not a privilege and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides. And everybody deserves this food. And that's not elitist," Waters argued.
Read the complete Lesley Stahl interview with Ms. Waters here.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Congratulations to Class 53!
Congratulations to Class 53 of the Second Helpings Culinary Job Training Program, who graduated on March 13, 2009.
(Front Row, Left to Right) Ella Evans, Joycelyn Curley, Keith Rivers (Back Row) Chef Conway, Matthew Ball, Robert Sanders, Larry Stovall, Adam Yarbrough
(Front Row, Left to Right) Ella Evans, Joycelyn Curley, Keith Rivers (Back Row) Chef Conway, Matthew Ball, Robert Sanders, Larry Stovall, Adam Yarbrough
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Too Little Sleep May Raise Diabetes Risk: U.S. Study
NOW they tell me:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - People who get fewer than six hours of sleep at night are prone to abnormal blood sugar levels, possibly putting them at risk for diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
They said people in a study who slept less than six hours were 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings in six years compared with those who slept longer.
"This study supports growing evidence of the association of inadequate sleep with adverse health issues," said Lisa Rafalson of the University at Buffalo in New York, who presented her findings at the Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Several studies have shown negative health consequences related to getting too little sleep. In children, studies showed it raises the risk of obesity, depression and high blood pressure. In older adults, it increases the risk of falls. And in the middle aged, it raises the risk of infections, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Adults typically need between seven and nine hours of nightly sleep, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rafalson and colleagues wanted to see if lack of sleep might be raising the risk for type 2 diabetes, the kind that is being driven by rising rates of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. It develops when the body makes too much insulin and does not efficiently use the insulin it makes, a condition known as insulin resistance.
Using data from a large, six-year study, they identified 91 people whose blood sugar rose during the study period and compared them to 273 people whose glucose levels remained in the normal range.
They found the short sleepers were far more likely to develop impaired fasting glucose -- a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes -- during the study period than those who slept six to eight hours.
That difference held even after adjusting for age, obesity, heart rate, high blood pressure, family history of diabetes and symptoms of depression.
"Our findings will hopefully spur additional research into this very complex area of sleep and illness," Rafalson said in a statement.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - People who get fewer than six hours of sleep at night are prone to abnormal blood sugar levels, possibly putting them at risk for diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
They said people in a study who slept less than six hours were 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings in six years compared with those who slept longer.
"This study supports growing evidence of the association of inadequate sleep with adverse health issues," said Lisa Rafalson of the University at Buffalo in New York, who presented her findings at the Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Several studies have shown negative health consequences related to getting too little sleep. In children, studies showed it raises the risk of obesity, depression and high blood pressure. In older adults, it increases the risk of falls. And in the middle aged, it raises the risk of infections, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Adults typically need between seven and nine hours of nightly sleep, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rafalson and colleagues wanted to see if lack of sleep might be raising the risk for type 2 diabetes, the kind that is being driven by rising rates of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. It develops when the body makes too much insulin and does not efficiently use the insulin it makes, a condition known as insulin resistance.
Using data from a large, six-year study, they identified 91 people whose blood sugar rose during the study period and compared them to 273 people whose glucose levels remained in the normal range.
They found the short sleepers were far more likely to develop impaired fasting glucose -- a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes -- during the study period than those who slept six to eight hours.
That difference held even after adjusting for age, obesity, heart rate, high blood pressure, family history of diabetes and symptoms of depression.
"Our findings will hopefully spur additional research into this very complex area of sleep and illness," Rafalson said in a statement.
Monday, March 9, 2009
A Really Great Recipe!
Yield:
One Happy Person
1. Take a 10 to 30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statements, "My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________"
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.
One Happy Person
1. Take a 10 to 30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statements, "My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________"
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
What's The True Value of Friendship?
The more friends you have, the more you earn, says a study. But modern life can allow little time to maintain meaningful relationships, so what's the optimum number of friends?
It's widely accepted that friendships are invaluable to the soul but few of us were aware that they could also boost the bank account.
A study of 10,000 US students over a period of 35 years suggests the wealthiest people are those that had the most friends at school. Each extra schoolfriend added 2% to the salary.
The researchers said this was because the workplace is a social setting and those with the best social skills prosper in management and teamwork.
Read more about the study here.
It's widely accepted that friendships are invaluable to the soul but few of us were aware that they could also boost the bank account.
A study of 10,000 US students over a period of 35 years suggests the wealthiest people are those that had the most friends at school. Each extra schoolfriend added 2% to the salary.
The researchers said this was because the workplace is a social setting and those with the best social skills prosper in management and teamwork.
Read more about the study here.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Talk About Your Hardened Criminals...
YORBA LINDA – A man who police say could be linked to a Viagra theft in December was arrested this morning – after dropping into the pharmacy through the roof.
At 2:30 a.m. today, a silent alarm went off at B&B Pharmacy on the 18500 block of Yorba Linda Boulevard.
When police arrived, they noticed that a hole was cut in the roof – similar to how they found the roof in December when a large amount of Viagra was taken and the pharmacy flooded during a rainstorm that evening, said Sgt. Bill Smyser of the Brea Police Department.
Read the rest of the story here.
At 2:30 a.m. today, a silent alarm went off at B&B Pharmacy on the 18500 block of Yorba Linda Boulevard.
When police arrived, they noticed that a hole was cut in the roof – similar to how they found the roof in December when a large amount of Viagra was taken and the pharmacy flooded during a rainstorm that evening, said Sgt. Bill Smyser of the Brea Police Department.
Read the rest of the story here.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
NIH Study: Calories, Not Content, Determine Weight Loss
You aren't what you eat. You're how much.
That's the message from a two-year National Institutes of Health-funded study that assigned 811 overweight people to one of four reduced-calorie diets and found that all trimmed pounds just the same. It didn't matter what foods participants ate, but rather how many calories they consumed.
An intense debate has long raged over which dieting regimen is best. Low carb? High protein? Low fat? But the federal study, one of the longest of its kind, "really goes against the idea that certain foods are the key to weight loss," says Frank Sacks, principal investigator and a professor of cardiovascular-disease prevention at Harvard School of Public Health. "This is a pretty positive message. It gives people a lot of choices to find a diet they can stick with."
The study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, put participants on one of four diets: Two were low fat and two were high fat, and each of these included either a high-protein or an average-protein component. Carbohydrate intake ranged from 35% to 65%. All the diets were low in calories and saturated fat, and high in fiber, and participants were asked to exercise a fixed 90 minutes a week.
Patients, who attended counseling sessions, lost an average of 13 pounds after six months. After two years, they had lost nine pounds on average and trimmed two inches off their waists regardless of which diet they followed. The study, which ended December 2007, was conducted in Boston at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and in Baton Rouge, La., at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
In the study, doctors calculated each participant's energy needs, and structured a diet that had 750 fewer calories than would be necessary to fuel his or her activity. Typical diets in the study had between 1,400 and 2,000 calories a day.
Continue reading here.
That's the message from a two-year National Institutes of Health-funded study that assigned 811 overweight people to one of four reduced-calorie diets and found that all trimmed pounds just the same. It didn't matter what foods participants ate, but rather how many calories they consumed.
An intense debate has long raged over which dieting regimen is best. Low carb? High protein? Low fat? But the federal study, one of the longest of its kind, "really goes against the idea that certain foods are the key to weight loss," says Frank Sacks, principal investigator and a professor of cardiovascular-disease prevention at Harvard School of Public Health. "This is a pretty positive message. It gives people a lot of choices to find a diet they can stick with."
The study, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, put participants on one of four diets: Two were low fat and two were high fat, and each of these included either a high-protein or an average-protein component. Carbohydrate intake ranged from 35% to 65%. All the diets were low in calories and saturated fat, and high in fiber, and participants were asked to exercise a fixed 90 minutes a week.
Patients, who attended counseling sessions, lost an average of 13 pounds after six months. After two years, they had lost nine pounds on average and trimmed two inches off their waists regardless of which diet they followed. The study, which ended December 2007, was conducted in Boston at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and in Baton Rouge, La., at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
In the study, doctors calculated each participant's energy needs, and structured a diet that had 750 fewer calories than would be necessary to fuel his or her activity. Typical diets in the study had between 1,400 and 2,000 calories a day.
Continue reading here.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Blueberry Pomegranate Sorbet
A sweet frozen dessert with no fat, no dairy, and no added sugar. Also loaded with antioxidants.
1 cup Splenda sweetener
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup lemon juice
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the Splenda, water, pomegranate juice, and salt. Cook, stirring, until the Splenda and salt have dissolved. Allow to cool completely.
In a blender or food processor, purée the blueberries with the syrup and lemon juice until very smooth. Do this in batches if necessary.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the blueberry pulp for a smoother texture, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.
Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Sorbet will have the consistency of softserve ice cream when it's finished churning.
If stored in the freezer, remove about 15 minutes before serving to allow it to return to proper consistency for serving.
Makes approximately one quart.
1 cup Splenda sweetener
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup lemon juice
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the Splenda, water, pomegranate juice, and salt. Cook, stirring, until the Splenda and salt have dissolved. Allow to cool completely.
In a blender or food processor, purée the blueberries with the syrup and lemon juice until very smooth. Do this in batches if necessary.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the blueberry pulp for a smoother texture, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.
Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Sorbet will have the consistency of softserve ice cream when it's finished churning.
If stored in the freezer, remove about 15 minutes before serving to allow it to return to proper consistency for serving.
Makes approximately one quart.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Way to Look Out for the Sanctity of Marriage...
She has been Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Street and Mrs. Smith. She was also Mrs. Moyer, Mrs. Massie and Mrs. McMillan. But the former Mrs. Berisford, Mrs. Chandler and Mrs. Essex was born Linda Lou Taylor.
She grew up in the Central Indiana town of Alexandria -- a place that lays claim to the largest ball of dried paint in the world. Farther south is Greensburg, where a man once leaped from a plane 640 times in a day. More than a decade ago, the 68-year-old found her own way to bring Indiana a Guinness world record: She got hitched for the 23rd time.
Her first marriage was in 1957, for love. Her most recent wedding was in 1996, for publicity.
Now known as Mrs. Linda Wolfe, she is the most-married woman in history. She is also the most-married person alive. And she is alone.
Wolfe can't list her husbands in order. But she remembers things that matter. The nicest was George Scott, her first and -- at seven years -- her longest marriage. He was 31 and fresh from a stint in the military. She was 16 and just out of eighth grade. "We used to sing that song, 'I'm only 15 and he's 21,' " Wolfe said. "But we'd go around saying, 'I'm only sixteen and he's thirty-one.' "
The best lover was Jack Gourley, who liked skinny dipping and impromptu trysts. She wed him three times. The marriage to Fred Chadwick was the shortest: 36 hours. The love wasn't there.
The strangest exchange of vows took place at the Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton to a one-eyed inmate named Tom Stutzman, whom she said was wrongly convicted of rape. And her last beau . . . well, his history of marriage makes Wolfe seem almost chaste.
Wolfe has been married in front of judges and priests, in grand halls and living rooms. The bride wore a white taffeta gown. The bride wore a yellow, two-piece suit. The bride wore denim. She never wrote her own vows. And she always saw the end coming.
Two of her husbands were gay. Two were homeless. A few stepped out on her. One choked her and turned her lip inside out. Another secured the fridge with padlock and chain. Wolfe had enough bad experiences to rue the whole chaotic sequence. So one day, she squashed all her wedding and engagement rings into her daughter's dirty diapers, bagged them and waited by the curb for the trash collector. "I stood right there and watched, and they were beautiful rings," she said. "Good riddance."
Wolfe wears acid wash jeans and a sweatshirt, and goes heavy on the blush. Her hair used to be blond, but it's gray now. She lives in Anderson's Longfellow Plaza Apartments, a retirement complex that is HUD housing for the elderly. At $195 a month, it's affordable. She's been here three years, long enough to fill her room with trinkets, like her plastic Furby collection. Long enough for dust to gather on a half-dozen fake roses.
Medicine bottles, glass angels and crucifixes sit on the coffee table in front of her like talismans. Between lungfuls of smoke from her second Maverick 100 of the hour, she explains how she passes the time praying, and watching married TV couples like Ray and Debra Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond" every night.
"It's easy to sum up," she said of her life. "When I was younger, I was just a snot-nosed kid, but the neighborhood boys were all in love with me. They all wanted to marry me."
Linda Lou Taylor was born in 1940, the youngest of seven children. Her father died when she was 2. Her mother took in washing and ironing and cleaned houses. "She made it -- took us through school," Wolfe said. "She was a real kind, sweet, loving mother. We grew up all of us Christians, till we got older."
As a young teen, Wolfe started chasing boys. She claims to have run off and unofficially married several of them, until her mother put a stop to it, pulling her indoors in the evening. Wolfe ended up with seven children of her own, born to her first three husbands. There's Ruth, who has three daughters. Becky is on her third marriage. Melody was a lingerie model. Robert died of cancer. Louis is in prison for a drug-related offense. Joe and Dan round out the set of siblings, all of whom endured a cavalcade of stepfathers and suitors.
"They don't come around me," Wolfe said of her brood. "They've got their own lives to live. "
Becky visits Wolfe occasionally. She said the kids try not to discuss their mother's marital odyssey -- not because they're mad, but because they're busy.
"People see it as something different, but it wasn't that way with us kids. It was hard to grow up with," Becky said. "We were made fun of when we were in school."
Her notoriety went way beyond school. By the early 1990s, Wolfe was commanding appearance fees of $5,000 to $20,000 on the talk-show circuit. "I've been on Joan Rivers, Geraldo, Phil Donahue. He got real fresh with me," Wolfe said. "I've been on Maury. I liked Maury. He gave me a real nice spread of flowers." She met Wayne Newton, Chuck Norris, Liberace and Sally Jessy Raphael. She did "Inside Edition" and was in the National Enquirer. "Oprah wanted me," she said, "but they didn't pay anything."
Locally, she did radio and newspapers, and rode in Muncie's St. Patrick's Day parade. But Wolfe laments that people in Anderson treat her as some kind of joke. "I got to thinking that in some of these towns where world record holders live, they have signs outside city limits," Wolfe once said. "I wouldn't mind if Anderson would have a sign like that."
Wolfe walks with a cane now. When she was younger, she said, she used to strut. "I'd flip my hair back -- it was just something I've always done," she said. "The cars would honk. There was a wreck or two because of me. That's just the story of my life. Men ran after me. I've tried to figure it out and I can't."
The many husbands of Linda Wolfe include a convict, a vending machine repairman, barmen and brawlers, electricians and plumbers, musicians and machinists. But her final man was a preacher. Glynn "Scotty" Wolfe was a Baptist minister, and by the time he reached his 80s, he was also the most married man in the world. Linda Wolfe was his 29th bride.
They say Scotty took the holy out of matrimony, that he married so often because he wanted sex without sin, and that he once divorced a woman for eating sunflower seeds in bed.
Scotty and Linda wed in Quartzsite, Ariz., in 1996. A British TV crew filmed the event, but Wolfe has never seen the footage, or the money promised to her for the publicity stunt.
"They carried him out from his nursing bed for the ceremony," she said. "I knew something was fishy." Shortly afterward, she returned to Indiana and he to California, where he died, destitute, 10 days before their one-year anniversary. One of his 19 children came to the funeral -- a son who couldn't afford the cremation fee.
Wolfe fears a similar fate. "I'm left with nothing, except a few old newspaper articles and some photos," she said. "I got a dollar and 33 cents to my name." She has been single now for a dozen years, her longest stint unmarried since childhood. Since her last groom, she hasn't dated and she doesn't kiss. Wolfe has the record, but she would rather have something else, more common and more lasting.
"But I would get married again," she said, "because, you know, it gets lonely."
She grew up in the Central Indiana town of Alexandria -- a place that lays claim to the largest ball of dried paint in the world. Farther south is Greensburg, where a man once leaped from a plane 640 times in a day. More than a decade ago, the 68-year-old found her own way to bring Indiana a Guinness world record: She got hitched for the 23rd time.
Her first marriage was in 1957, for love. Her most recent wedding was in 1996, for publicity.
Now known as Mrs. Linda Wolfe, she is the most-married woman in history. She is also the most-married person alive. And she is alone.
Wolfe can't list her husbands in order. But she remembers things that matter. The nicest was George Scott, her first and -- at seven years -- her longest marriage. He was 31 and fresh from a stint in the military. She was 16 and just out of eighth grade. "We used to sing that song, 'I'm only 15 and he's 21,' " Wolfe said. "But we'd go around saying, 'I'm only sixteen and he's thirty-one.' "
The best lover was Jack Gourley, who liked skinny dipping and impromptu trysts. She wed him three times. The marriage to Fred Chadwick was the shortest: 36 hours. The love wasn't there.
The strangest exchange of vows took place at the Indiana Reformatory at Pendleton to a one-eyed inmate named Tom Stutzman, whom she said was wrongly convicted of rape. And her last beau . . . well, his history of marriage makes Wolfe seem almost chaste.
Wolfe has been married in front of judges and priests, in grand halls and living rooms. The bride wore a white taffeta gown. The bride wore a yellow, two-piece suit. The bride wore denim. She never wrote her own vows. And she always saw the end coming.
Two of her husbands were gay. Two were homeless. A few stepped out on her. One choked her and turned her lip inside out. Another secured the fridge with padlock and chain. Wolfe had enough bad experiences to rue the whole chaotic sequence. So one day, she squashed all her wedding and engagement rings into her daughter's dirty diapers, bagged them and waited by the curb for the trash collector. "I stood right there and watched, and they were beautiful rings," she said. "Good riddance."
Wolfe wears acid wash jeans and a sweatshirt, and goes heavy on the blush. Her hair used to be blond, but it's gray now. She lives in Anderson's Longfellow Plaza Apartments, a retirement complex that is HUD housing for the elderly. At $195 a month, it's affordable. She's been here three years, long enough to fill her room with trinkets, like her plastic Furby collection. Long enough for dust to gather on a half-dozen fake roses.
Medicine bottles, glass angels and crucifixes sit on the coffee table in front of her like talismans. Between lungfuls of smoke from her second Maverick 100 of the hour, she explains how she passes the time praying, and watching married TV couples like Ray and Debra Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond" every night.
"It's easy to sum up," she said of her life. "When I was younger, I was just a snot-nosed kid, but the neighborhood boys were all in love with me. They all wanted to marry me."
Linda Lou Taylor was born in 1940, the youngest of seven children. Her father died when she was 2. Her mother took in washing and ironing and cleaned houses. "She made it -- took us through school," Wolfe said. "She was a real kind, sweet, loving mother. We grew up all of us Christians, till we got older."
As a young teen, Wolfe started chasing boys. She claims to have run off and unofficially married several of them, until her mother put a stop to it, pulling her indoors in the evening. Wolfe ended up with seven children of her own, born to her first three husbands. There's Ruth, who has three daughters. Becky is on her third marriage. Melody was a lingerie model. Robert died of cancer. Louis is in prison for a drug-related offense. Joe and Dan round out the set of siblings, all of whom endured a cavalcade of stepfathers and suitors.
"They don't come around me," Wolfe said of her brood. "They've got their own lives to live. "
Becky visits Wolfe occasionally. She said the kids try not to discuss their mother's marital odyssey -- not because they're mad, but because they're busy.
"People see it as something different, but it wasn't that way with us kids. It was hard to grow up with," Becky said. "We were made fun of when we were in school."
Her notoriety went way beyond school. By the early 1990s, Wolfe was commanding appearance fees of $5,000 to $20,000 on the talk-show circuit. "I've been on Joan Rivers, Geraldo, Phil Donahue. He got real fresh with me," Wolfe said. "I've been on Maury. I liked Maury. He gave me a real nice spread of flowers." She met Wayne Newton, Chuck Norris, Liberace and Sally Jessy Raphael. She did "Inside Edition" and was in the National Enquirer. "Oprah wanted me," she said, "but they didn't pay anything."
Locally, she did radio and newspapers, and rode in Muncie's St. Patrick's Day parade. But Wolfe laments that people in Anderson treat her as some kind of joke. "I got to thinking that in some of these towns where world record holders live, they have signs outside city limits," Wolfe once said. "I wouldn't mind if Anderson would have a sign like that."
Wolfe walks with a cane now. When she was younger, she said, she used to strut. "I'd flip my hair back -- it was just something I've always done," she said. "The cars would honk. There was a wreck or two because of me. That's just the story of my life. Men ran after me. I've tried to figure it out and I can't."
The many husbands of Linda Wolfe include a convict, a vending machine repairman, barmen and brawlers, electricians and plumbers, musicians and machinists. But her final man was a preacher. Glynn "Scotty" Wolfe was a Baptist minister, and by the time he reached his 80s, he was also the most married man in the world. Linda Wolfe was his 29th bride.
They say Scotty took the holy out of matrimony, that he married so often because he wanted sex without sin, and that he once divorced a woman for eating sunflower seeds in bed.
Scotty and Linda wed in Quartzsite, Ariz., in 1996. A British TV crew filmed the event, but Wolfe has never seen the footage, or the money promised to her for the publicity stunt.
"They carried him out from his nursing bed for the ceremony," she said. "I knew something was fishy." Shortly afterward, she returned to Indiana and he to California, where he died, destitute, 10 days before their one-year anniversary. One of his 19 children came to the funeral -- a son who couldn't afford the cremation fee.
Wolfe fears a similar fate. "I'm left with nothing, except a few old newspaper articles and some photos," she said. "I got a dollar and 33 cents to my name." She has been single now for a dozen years, her longest stint unmarried since childhood. Since her last groom, she hasn't dated and she doesn't kiss. Wolfe has the record, but she would rather have something else, more common and more lasting.
"But I would get married again," she said, "because, you know, it gets lonely."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tough Choices for America's Hungry
(CNN) -- As Walter Thomas knows, it's hard to look for a job when your stomach is rumbling.
The 52-year-old from Washington, D.C., started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty.
Thomas at first didn't want to turn to the United States' food safety net, the food stamp program, for help.
But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store, Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid.
"It lets me think, 'OK, well, tomorrow I'll be able to eat. If nothing else, I'll be able to eat,' " he said.
With the national economy in meltdown, more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry. In October, more than one in 10 people -- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More recent numbers are not available, but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then.
Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound, and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts, sometimes when they may not be needed.
But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted, as diverse as the nation itself, especially in these times of economic hardship.
To get a better idea of what it's like to live on a food stamp budget, CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com.
That's a situation many people, Thomas included, can relate to. Thomas, who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old, now receives $175 per month for food. That's about $5.83 per day -- less than $2 per meal.
Not that Thomas is complaining. After getting his first payment, which is added to an inconspicuous debit card to reduce the stigma associated with the program, Thomas went straight to the grocery store. He was hungry and grateful.
"It's definitely been a blessing to me," he said of the food stamp program, which, since October, has gone by the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Advocates for the poor, as well as those on federal assistance, hope President Obama's economic stimulus plan will increase food stamp payments. The average family on food stamps would receive $79 more per month if the stimulus bill passes in the U.S. Senate this week, according to The New York Times. iReport.com: How are you doing in this tough economy?
There is some debate about whether giving people money to spend on groceries is a valid form of economic stimulus.
Few are more hopeful the measure will pass than Crystal Sears, a 30-year-old mother in Germantown, Pennsylvania, who said she has been on food stamps for more than three years.
Sears said she sometimes skips meals so her three children can eat. Even with federal assistance, she said, she sometimes has to make a meal for herself out of crackers or food scraps.
She said she has been out of work for several years because all three of her children have medical conditions: Her 8-year-old son has a seizure disorder that requires frequent hospital visits and constant attention; her 2-year-old daughter was born with heart problems; and her 12-year-old daughter has scoliosis, a back condition that recently required two surgeries, she said.
Without much money, she's forced to make tough choices.
"If the kids needed sneakers and their sneakers are getting too small, or if my water bill is past due, I'd opt not to pay it and risk them sending me a shut-off notice just so my children can eat," she said.
Sometimes she chooses to buy more food instead of paying her gas bill to heat her home. When she does, the family sleeps huddled around their stove or an electric heater, she said.
Her monthly food stamp payment is $489, she said. That's sometimes sufficient. But some months, she said, she doesn't receive full payments because of mix-ups with paperwork. Until recently, she said, she received about $250 per month, which she said was far from enough to feed her family of four.
The SNAP program is meant to supplement a person's food budget, not cover all food expenses, said Jean Daniel, a spokesperson for the USDA, which administers the program.
Taking on part-time work would further complicate the application process, she said. Sears said she worked for seven years at a Salvation Army shelter before becoming unemployed.
"For me, I've always been a helper. And my thing is I don't like to help people to enable them. I like to help people so they can help themselves in the long run," she said.
Sears stretches her food budget by buying cheap and sometimes fatty meals. She said she doesn't like doing that but can't avoid it. With food prices high, she said, grocery shopping is stressful.
"We get like the mac and cheese, which is dehydrated cheese -- basically food that's no good for you health wise," she said. "Everything is high in sodium and trans fats ... and that's all we basically can afford. There's not enough assistance to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight."
Advocates for the hungry say many people on the food stamp program opt to buy less-healthy foods because they can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables on such a tight budget.
Food stamp "benefits aren't really enough for a healthy diet," said Jim Weill, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center.
Sears said she is grateful for the help she does get.
Maribel Diaz, a 36-year-old mother of three boys in Los Angeles, California, said her $319-per-month payment isn't always enough.
But she said she would starve herself before letting her boys go hungry.
"You're bringing home less bags [of food] now, because the milk is almost $5 a gallon and the bread is $3 a loaf. ... A chicken is, like, now $8," Diaz said. "If you're really breaking it down, you're not bringing a lot of groceries home."
All SNAP recipients are eligible for free nutritional counseling to help people stretch their food budgets, said Daniel, of the USDA.
Advocates for the hungry find flaws in the way the program is set up, but they praise it for being a safety net the government can't take away during tough times.
Unlike aid to soup kitchens, the food stamp program receives federal funding in times thick and thin, and has a $6 billion backup fund, Daniel said.
"The money will be found so people are not turned away," Daniel said.
All of the benefits paid to participants come from the federal government. States split the program's administrative costs.
Advocates see some flaws in SNAP but generally give it praise.
"I say about food stamps what Winston Churchill said about democracy: 'It's the worst possible system except all the others,' " said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger.
Berg said the program's benefits are too small and too difficult for people to obtain.
But the food stamp program is somewhat successful, he said.
"The main purpose of the program is to wipe out Third World starvation in America, and it's worked," he said, adding that he's optimistic about improvements that could come as part of the economic stimulus plan.
Thomas, the laid-off furniture worker in Washington, said he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him.
After being let go from his store, he stopped at an employment center before going anywhere else. He said he faxed about 20 résumés to similar companies on that very day.
None has resulted in a job yet, but Thomas said he has been to interviews for other types of work and hopes employment will come soon.
For now, he's just happy to continue the job search without the pain of hunger nagging at his stomach.
The 52-year-old from Washington, D.C., started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty.
Thomas at first didn't want to turn to the United States' food safety net, the food stamp program, for help.
But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store, Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid.
"It lets me think, 'OK, well, tomorrow I'll be able to eat. If nothing else, I'll be able to eat,' " he said.
With the national economy in meltdown, more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry. In October, more than one in 10 people -- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More recent numbers are not available, but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then.
Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound, and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts, sometimes when they may not be needed.
But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted, as diverse as the nation itself, especially in these times of economic hardship.
To get a better idea of what it's like to live on a food stamp budget, CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com.
That's a situation many people, Thomas included, can relate to. Thomas, who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old, now receives $175 per month for food. That's about $5.83 per day -- less than $2 per meal.
Not that Thomas is complaining. After getting his first payment, which is added to an inconspicuous debit card to reduce the stigma associated with the program, Thomas went straight to the grocery store. He was hungry and grateful.
"It's definitely been a blessing to me," he said of the food stamp program, which, since October, has gone by the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Advocates for the poor, as well as those on federal assistance, hope President Obama's economic stimulus plan will increase food stamp payments. The average family on food stamps would receive $79 more per month if the stimulus bill passes in the U.S. Senate this week, according to The New York Times. iReport.com: How are you doing in this tough economy?
There is some debate about whether giving people money to spend on groceries is a valid form of economic stimulus.
Few are more hopeful the measure will pass than Crystal Sears, a 30-year-old mother in Germantown, Pennsylvania, who said she has been on food stamps for more than three years.
Sears said she sometimes skips meals so her three children can eat. Even with federal assistance, she said, she sometimes has to make a meal for herself out of crackers or food scraps.
She said she has been out of work for several years because all three of her children have medical conditions: Her 8-year-old son has a seizure disorder that requires frequent hospital visits and constant attention; her 2-year-old daughter was born with heart problems; and her 12-year-old daughter has scoliosis, a back condition that recently required two surgeries, she said.
Without much money, she's forced to make tough choices.
"If the kids needed sneakers and their sneakers are getting too small, or if my water bill is past due, I'd opt not to pay it and risk them sending me a shut-off notice just so my children can eat," she said.
Sometimes she chooses to buy more food instead of paying her gas bill to heat her home. When she does, the family sleeps huddled around their stove or an electric heater, she said.
Her monthly food stamp payment is $489, she said. That's sometimes sufficient. But some months, she said, she doesn't receive full payments because of mix-ups with paperwork. Until recently, she said, she received about $250 per month, which she said was far from enough to feed her family of four.
The SNAP program is meant to supplement a person's food budget, not cover all food expenses, said Jean Daniel, a spokesperson for the USDA, which administers the program.
Taking on part-time work would further complicate the application process, she said. Sears said she worked for seven years at a Salvation Army shelter before becoming unemployed.
"For me, I've always been a helper. And my thing is I don't like to help people to enable them. I like to help people so they can help themselves in the long run," she said.
Sears stretches her food budget by buying cheap and sometimes fatty meals. She said she doesn't like doing that but can't avoid it. With food prices high, she said, grocery shopping is stressful.
"We get like the mac and cheese, which is dehydrated cheese -- basically food that's no good for you health wise," she said. "Everything is high in sodium and trans fats ... and that's all we basically can afford. There's not enough assistance to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight."
Advocates for the hungry say many people on the food stamp program opt to buy less-healthy foods because they can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables on such a tight budget.
Food stamp "benefits aren't really enough for a healthy diet," said Jim Weill, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center.
Sears said she is grateful for the help she does get.
Maribel Diaz, a 36-year-old mother of three boys in Los Angeles, California, said her $319-per-month payment isn't always enough.
But she said she would starve herself before letting her boys go hungry.
"You're bringing home less bags [of food] now, because the milk is almost $5 a gallon and the bread is $3 a loaf. ... A chicken is, like, now $8," Diaz said. "If you're really breaking it down, you're not bringing a lot of groceries home."
All SNAP recipients are eligible for free nutritional counseling to help people stretch their food budgets, said Daniel, of the USDA.
Advocates for the hungry find flaws in the way the program is set up, but they praise it for being a safety net the government can't take away during tough times.
Unlike aid to soup kitchens, the food stamp program receives federal funding in times thick and thin, and has a $6 billion backup fund, Daniel said.
"The money will be found so people are not turned away," Daniel said.
All of the benefits paid to participants come from the federal government. States split the program's administrative costs.
Advocates see some flaws in SNAP but generally give it praise.
"I say about food stamps what Winston Churchill said about democracy: 'It's the worst possible system except all the others,' " said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger.
Berg said the program's benefits are too small and too difficult for people to obtain.
But the food stamp program is somewhat successful, he said.
"The main purpose of the program is to wipe out Third World starvation in America, and it's worked," he said, adding that he's optimistic about improvements that could come as part of the economic stimulus plan.
Thomas, the laid-off furniture worker in Washington, said he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him.
After being let go from his store, he stopped at an employment center before going anywhere else. He said he faxed about 20 résumés to similar companies on that very day.
None has resulted in a job yet, but Thomas said he has been to interviews for other types of work and hopes employment will come soon.
For now, he's just happy to continue the job search without the pain of hunger nagging at his stomach.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Science Unlocking the Mystery of Truffles
In France, truffles are scarcer than ever, but new research might change that. Scientists in Italy believe the fungus is created when male and female spores meet, and that truffles grow near oaks and certain other trees.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5613938.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5613938.ece
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
JS Reutz Catering
I've been receiving calls from supporters of Second Helpings and former customers of Just 'Cause Catering about catering options close to downtown.
One of my recommendations is Jeff Reuters at the JS Reutz Cafe, located in the Boner Center. I've written about them previously here.
You can check out their catering menu on their website here.
One of my recommendations is Jeff Reuters at the JS Reutz Cafe, located in the Boner Center. I've written about them previously here.
You can check out their catering menu on their website here.
Friday, January 16, 2009
You Want To See A Hero?
(CNN) -- Passengers on the US Airways flight that crash-landed into the Hudson River Thursday afternoon praised the actions and courage of the pilot, a safety consultant with 40 years of experience in the aviation industry.
Sources tell CNN that Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger was piloting US Airways flight 1549 from New York's LaGuardia airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, when at least one of the plane's engines failed.
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay offered "kudos" to Sullenberger for a landing that minimized damage to the aircraft and its 155 passengers and crew.
"All of a sudden the captain came on and he told us to brace ourselves and probably brace ourselves pretty hard. But he did an amazing job -- kudos to him on that landing," said Kolodjay, who was sitting in seat 22A.
Sullenberger's wife told CNN that she was stunned to hear the news from her husband after it was all over.
"I hadn't been watching the news. I've heard Sully say to people, 'It's rare for an airline pilot to have an incident in their career,' " said Lori Sullenberger of Danville, California.
"When he called me he said, 'There's been an accident.' At first I thought it was something minor, but then he told me the circumstances and my body started shaking and I rushed to get our daughters out of school."
US Airways said all 155 passengers and crew are alive and safely off the plane.
The crash-landing has also earned the former fighter pilot and private safety consultant accolades from state and government officials.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg commended the pilot for not leaving the plane without checking to make sure every passenger had been evacuated.
"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Bloomberg said at a press conference Thursday.
"I had a long conversation with the pilot. He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board -- and assures us there was not."
Sullenberger apparently was forced to make an emergency landing after geese were sucked into one or both of the jet's engines. An eyewitness working on the west side of Manhattan said the belly of the plane touched the water first.
An official who heard tape recordings of the radio traffic from Flight 1549 reported the pilot was extraordinarily calm during the event.
"There was no panic, no hysterics," the official said. "It was professional, it was calm, it was methodical. It was everything you hoped it could be."
The pilot and air traffic controller discussed options, including landing at Teterboro airport in New Jersey, the official said. Then there was a "period of time where there was no communications back, and I'm assuming he was concentrating on more important things."
Sullenberger's background in aviation appeared to have prepared him for such a situation.
He has been a pilot with US Airways since 1980, following seven years in the U.S. Air Force.
His resume -- posted on the Web site for his safety consulting firm, Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. -- lists piloting procedures, technical safety strategies, emergency management and operations improvement, as areas of industry expertise.
He served as an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member, according to a biography on the site. He participated in several USAF and National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations, and worked with NASA scientists on a paper on error and aviation, his site says.
For the passengers on flight 1549, Sullenberger's skill and expertise were apparent.
"I've flown in a lot of planes and that was a phenomenal landing," said passenger Fred Berretta said.
Berretta was sitting in seat 16A right over one of the engines when it failed and the pilot turned the plane to align it with the Hudson River. He described silence in the plane as the passengers waited to hear from the crew.
A few moments later, the direction to brace for landing came.
"It was an amazing piece of airmanship," said Peter Goelz, a former NTSB managing director.
Friday, January 2, 2009
'Tis the Season (STILL) - Part 2
With all the controversy surrounding Christmas and other public observances that contain elements of religious symbolism, I'd like to offer the following totally inoffensive expression of goodwill for your use in next year's holiday greeting card:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. That is not meant to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the recipient.
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. That is not meant to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.
Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the recipient.
'Tis the Season (STILL)
An interesting bit of holiday information from today's correspondence:
There is one Christmas carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
This week, I found out.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten Lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
There is one Christmas carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
This week, I found out.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten Lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
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