in memory of mother pat's bday84

Dear Faustina,
 

I’m so grateful for your generous contribution of 4,000 points. 

It’s friends like you who make it possible for AARP Foundation to create and advance effective solutions that aim to help older adults secure the essentials they need to thrive.
Thank you for choosing to use your AARP Rewards points to help those in need. 

 

We truly value your support.
 

Warm Regards,
Lisa Marsh Ryerson
President, AARP Foundation

 

---------------

This is in memory of Mother Pat, who would have been 84 today.

This is also in honor of her best friend, Chris Adams, who turned 84 today.

That makes both of them contemporaries of Ringo Starr, who is also that age.

Very nice.

gift to all of my brothers

Finally I had enough in my Kiva account for this gift to my brothers, as well as to those seeking the loan there to enrich their community!

Meet Mary, of Good Hope Sgbl, in Zambia.

She's the third from the right in this photo of the group she works with for loans.

She needs the $2,750 "to buy beers and restaurant dishes" for her customers.

What made her ask so compelling for me?

Today is Friday.

That's the day I get together with my brothers and their friends for the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta at Jalapenos of Sandfly.

Seriously, that's a real thing.

The men quaff beers and the women sip margaritas and we all sit and chat for at least an hour whilst munching chips and salsa.

Then, we order and we're there another hour, still chatting and quaffing.

Hugs all around before we go our separate ways at night's end.

Let me tell you, this time with them is very important to my social life.

I'm sure the people in Zambia who dine at Mary's restaurant feel the same need for a place to eat, drink, and be merry with those important to them.

So, Happy Christmas, Smitty and Dood!

putting in the time for turkey day aid

It all began a week or so ago.

Yvonne had marked on fb that she was interested in an event for charity, and, as it was near me, I checked that I was 'interested' as well.

Not soon after, she contacted me.

Was I definitely going?

If so, she would go, too.

That's how we ended up at the Eichholz Law Firm - where her son-in-law works - late on a Monday afternoon.

We were not alone.

Besides her friend, Toni, there were at least 30 others there to help Blessings In A Bookbag with their 14th annual Operation Thanksgiving Pack Attack.

Founded by Mahogany Bowers, a Savannah native who made her mark as a dancer in New York City, the organization works to give kids here a better environment by providing better food.

Very nice, right?

I don't know how many bags were packed, but it was quite a lot.

Those bags full of food are four-deep on that table, with even more on the side tables.

She and I and Toni were part of the "rice bagging brigade", tasked with filling ziplocs with rice from 25-lb sacks.

With the help of some high school volunteers, we managed to keep up with those who were filling the tote bags with stuffing, green beans, and other foods.

All told, the operation took only about 30 minutes instead of the 90 minutes allocated!

Plus, it was fun to do something that would be meaningful for others.

I look forward to do this again!

buzzing bees a-plenty!

Laugh out loud!
These stickers are fabulous!
Who else would have made a grumpy bee
but Jana Kinsman?
What a grand idea!
I would not have expected
such a thing when I backed this
kickstarter project almost a year ago.

Now, I have her fanciful stickers and my very own bee!
As you can see,
her name is Martha
and she's quite a cheerful
little honey
as she flits from
one hawthorne flower
to another,
making sure those buds
will become red berries
for songbirds!

Faustina,
Thank you for supporting Bike-A-Bee on kickstarter. It meant a lot! It was a long and hot summer in Chicago but the bees fared well. Now let's hope for a reasonable winter! Have a lovely holiday season!
<3 Jana K.
Hip-hip-hooray for bees!
Now, what to do with these sweet rewards?
Well, she did say she had gone to an intensive program on beekeeping at the University of Minnesota Bee Lab - and I have family up in that state - so maybe Nikolas and Lillian will get these! We have a responsibility to the next generation to pass along the education!
Bees forever!

genesis, with okra, of course

Well, I have not yet made the recipe, but I sure do like her writing style! Rachel Strickland, aka Madame Rex, had promised a gumbo recipe to 32 of her 49 kickstarter backers. You know, those of us willing to put up at least $25 buckaroos.
Cool beans!
I don't know for sure that I should be posting the recipe here, but I'm going to. Why? Well, I misplace things all the time. As long as I have it here, it'll be easy for me to find when I want to treat folks to a unique Cajun dish from a dancer.
So, here goes!

Rachel’s Voodoo Gumbo- the Veggie Version (for Abby)

The great thing about gumbo is you can put whatever you want in it and it tastes awesome. That’s kind of the point- to use whatever you have around. So use this ingredient list as a guideline if you like and feel free to go rogue. Making gumbo is an act of fundamental affection- love away and make it your own invention! But please do not leave out the okra. That's just wrong.

You will need:

One big ass pot
Large cast iron skillet
2-3 cartons of vegetable broth- enough to fill the big ass pot
One package of robust vegetarian sausage, whatever you like (but nothing sweet...gross)
Any other kind of protein you want to use, like cubed tofu or tempeh
Okra- one frozen bag will do, or .5 lb to 1 lb of fresh, chopped up
The holy trinity: one onion, one green pepper, some celery (as many as you like, I use four stalks) all chopped up
Garlic, crushed and chopped
Brown rice
Two tomatoes
Any vegetable based shortening, like Crisco
1/2 to 1 whole cup of white vinegar- to taste
Some flour, white or wheat, finely ground.
Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning (or cayenne, black pepper, and salt will do just fabulously)
Gumbo filé if you can get it (a thickening agent of sassafrass leaves, but you won't miss it if you don't have it)


What you do:

Go ahead and prepare the rice and set it aside. It doesn't need to be hot to serve since it will be covered with scalding gumbo.

Empty two cartons of vegetable broth and the vinegar into the big ass pot and coat the surface with seasonings to your own taste, then stir and put on the stove on medium/medium high heat.

Using the cast iron skillet, heat some olive oil on medium heat. Cube the sausage and toss it in. Brown the sausage, and if you like you can brown any other proteins you want to add. Save whatever oil collects in the pan. Once protein is browned, add it to the big ass pot of simmering veggie broth.

After about 5 minutes taste the broth and add seasonings if you need to. You can add spice to make it hotter, or add more veggie broth to calm it down. I like to cover the surface of the gumbo with Tony’s (or whatever I have) twice while cooking. Please note that Tony's is very salty so if you're not a sodiumphile, go with cayenne and black pepper. You can also add some gumbo filé now too.

Now you hafta make a roux. Otherwise known as cajun napalm.

Go back to your big iron skillet and whatever oil you managed to collect in it from the veggie sausages. Add a scoop of shortening, about 1/2 cup, and heat it slowly until it smokes. As soon as it starts to smoke, sprinkle flour over the surface and whisk. You have to babysit a roux, whisking pretty much the whole time, or it will burn and taste gross. Keep adding flour little bit by bit until you have a thin sauce-like consistency. I believe that the roux is the soul of a gumbo so do try to think happy thoughts while doing it. Making roux while you're unhappy is bad mojo.
The color is also important to note here. It will begin at a light caramel and darken the longer it’s heated (stirring all the time with a whisk). The darker the roux, the deeper the voodoo and the more intense the flavor. In my opinion anything lighter than a milk chocolate is unacceptable, but this is your party. For best results keep stirring the roux until it’s almost the color of dark chocolate or a heavy thunderstorm.

Then pour the roux into the big ass pot. NOTE: I’ve just asked you to pour very hot oil into water. USE CAUTION. Pour slowly and stand back, using a lid as a shield if you need to. It will hiss, spit, and spray. I’m sure there is a safer way to do this but the drama of this way appeals to me, so it’s the only way I know how. Please don’t get napalmed by the roux because it will take your skin right off. Take a second to appreciate how the texture and color of the broth immediately becomes more fascinating.

With the skillet still coated in roux, transfer it immediately back to the heat, add the garlic, chopped onions, and a little olive oil. Stir till coated and then cook until it is slightly burnt on the edges. Add to big ass pot.

Now add the chopped peppers, celery, okra, and any other vegetable you wish to include. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to a low boil and you can cover it to prevent evaporation. If you need more liquid, add more vegetable stock or even just water.

To add the tomatoes, dunk them one at a time into the boiling gumbo for about 30 seconds. Then you can peel them easily and squish them into a bowl. Dump it in and watch the red color disperse beautifully.

Taste it after it's cooked for 10 minutes or more, and add spices as you see fit. Let it simmer on low for at least 20 minutes if you can't wait any longer. The longer it's all in the liquid together, the better it tastes. Also you don't want to overboil it so the vegetables turn to mush. But it will taste amazing today and even better tomorrow. Serve over a heap of rice in a bowl, to people you love (or would like to).
--
Rachel Strickland
MadameRex.com

I don't know about the okra, but I'm willing to give it a try.
I already have the gumbo filé.
(No, you don't do your fingernails with it.)
Check your phone messages for an invite!
Meanwhile, the video should be here very soon!
Hopefully in time for my LIV birthday!

bike-a-bee

There is something about Chicago that keeps my interest. Maybe it's because I used to escape there when I was stationed in Great Lakes, Illinois. When I was in Great Lakes, back in 1977, there was nothing there except the base and the business that fed off of it: the fast food joints, the pawn shops, the jewelry stores. So, almost every weekend, I caught the train down to Chicago and would bop around downtown all day. Music festivals, sidewalk art shows, galleries and parks and life.
I know that locale was probably part of the reason for my attraction to "Married With Children". It may have even tied in, subconsciously, to my decision to back a kickstarter project for an art show there.
Who knows? Maybe the Windy City has influenced my choice today, making my eye linger over this particular project. Then again, I haven't yet backed any food projects, so this would satisfy the need for that little pie-wedge of hot pink in my sponsor wheel.
(smile)
What other reasons to put 29 smackeroos toward this endeavor by Jana Kinsman? Well, I do like that she is part of a collective herself - that shows she's a team player. The fact that the collective is for "creatives of the female variety" is certainly interest piqueing, too.
It certainly is creative to transport bees to urban gardens, farms, and even schoolyards. After all, no pollination means no fruits or vegetables. Most folks with gardens want to have a harvest.
She needed places for her hives, but she would take care of the bees' needs. She had already scouted the areas where folks wanted to become part of her beekeeping community, where the people and bees worked together, buzzing along in harmony.
I know, very corny, right? But I can't help myself!
Which is the primary reason I've joined the hive. It sounds like fun and it sounds positive and, what's more, I like bees and know how hard city life has been on them.
Her campaign still has three more weeks, so I'll let you know the buzz as soon as I do.
Bzzz bzzzz bzz!