All information copied and pasted directly for the candidates' own websites,
rickscottforflorida.com and alexsink2010.com
Rick Scott
"We need a businessman who knows how to create jobs and has a record of balancing budgets and getting results.
* Rick will institute Accountability Budgeting. He will make each state agency set annual goals for every dollar they spend, then measure their performance against those goals and hold them accountable for their outcomes.
* Rick will force the bureaucrats to justify the way they spend our tax dollars. Holding them accountable will help eliminate waste, increase efficiencies and eliminate ineffective programs."
Alex Sink
"* Alex Sink will fight to stop the irresponsible Tallahassee budgeting gimmick of using one-time dollars to pay for multi-year expenses. Although the Florida Constitution allows this type of budgeting with limitations, Alex believes the practice has been abused and is tantamount to deficit spending. She also will oppose the use of trust funds that are designated for specific spending purposes - such as transportation projects - to cover general state budget operating expenses.
* Requiring all top state agency officials to sign performance contracts with benchmarks tailored to their department. As Governor, Alex Sink will create performance contracts for all her top appointees throughout state government. These "executive agreements" will provide a clear and measurable way to communicate citizen priorities and expectations to agency heads. Alex will personally evaluate each manager and each agency, holding her direct reports accountable for meeting specific goals and objectives.
* Creating an independent, nonpartisan accountability office on state spending. Alex will propose the creation of a non-partisan watchdog office - similar to the federal Government Accountability Office - that will advise the Governor, Cabinet and Legislature on how to make state government more efficient, effective, ethical, fair and responsive to citizens. The office also will work with local and federal agencies - including cities, counties and school boards -- to better leverage and coordinate the use of local, state and federal dollars for public programs and services."
Rick Scott
"Our government has failed to keep its promise to the American people to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration. By definition anyone who is here illegally has broken our laws and mocked our laws. As a nation that is based on the rule of law we must reject amnesty, send those who are here illegally home and secure our borders.
* Rick believes border security is an economic and national security issue.
* Rick is opposed to amnesty and will fight amnesty for lawbreakers.
* Rick supports measures like the Arizona law that allow enforcement of already existing law. It is commonsense; if you are breaking the law then law enforcement should be able to ask for identification that shows you are in the United States legally. The only people who have reason to fear the law are people who are here illegally. States like Arizona are in a crisis situation because the career politicians and the federal government have FAILED to secure our border.
* Rick believes those who immigrate to America must come here legally, play by the rules and respect our laws.
* Rick will require all Florida employers to use the free E-Verify system to ensure that their workers are legal."
Alex Sink
"States are passing tougher immigration laws because the Federal government has failed to secure our borders and crack down on illegal immigration. While it is the responsibility of our Federal Government to enforce immigration laws, it is clear that Washington has dropped the ball for decades. And in recent years, many states, like Arizona, have taken matters into their own hands to address a serious and growing problem. One thing, however, is clear: illegal immigrants that break our state's laws should be held accountable both by the state of Florida and by the federal government for being in this country illegally by being deported.
In Florida, we must crack down on those things that make it easy for illegal immigrants to break the rules in the first place: the fact that companies suffer little consequence for hiring illegal immigrants.
We should not be hamstrung by the federal government when it comes to shutting down the practice of employing illegal immigrants. It undermines our workers here at home, and it strains our public resources. And we certainly don't need permission from anyone to go after illegal immigrants who are involved in violent criminal elements and endanger our communities.
We all know Washington has failed to control illegal immigration, fix the system and secure our borders. So, as Governor of Florida, here's my plan::
1. Impose stiff state fines on private companies that knowingly hire undocumented workers. Businesses should not profit from knowingly employing illegal workers who are taking jobs away from citizens or legally established residents who are playing by the rules.
2. Require business owners to validate a worker's legal status. Businesses should not profit from deliberately and systematically breaking the law.
3. Require all state agencies to verify the legal status when hiring state employees. State government should lead by example and live by the same rules as private businesses when it comes to verifying the legal status of employees.
4. Require all companies doing business with the State of Florida to certify that the legal status of their employees has been verified before they can get any work from Florida. And if any company is found to have hired illegal workers after getting a state contract, they will immediately lose it, and repeat offenders will be barred from future State business. We should ensure that Florida taxpayers' dollars don't support companies that hire illegal workers.
5. Require state agencies to verify the legal status of any applicant for taxpayer-funded public assistance programs who claims to be a legal immigrant. This includes requiring agencies to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) program to verify eligibility for public assistance benefits of anyone claiming to be a legal resident of Florida. I will fight to change any federal laws and policies that hamstring states from verifying if applicants for taxpayer-funded state services are in this country legally."
Rick Scott
"# Rick will create jobs by keeping taxes low and limiting job killing regulations.
# Rick will ensure that Florida has an educated workforce that will allow Florida to attract new business and good paying jobs."
Alex Sink
"Florida Should Do Everything Possible to Support our Businesses: Florida should be seen as a great place not just to vacation or retire but also to start and grow a business. Alex will work to maintain Florida’s position as a low tax state for businesses, and create an environment that is consistent and helpful, while removing unnecessary barriers to growth. It’s time for the politicians to take a back seat to some real business know-how. This will require a unique partnership with a Governor who works with business to grow our economy. Alex knows that economic growth doesn’t really come from government – it comes from business. But good government can help the private sector drive growth.
Streamlining, Expediting, and Cutting the Red Tape. Florida should be doing everything we can to keep jobs here and grow jobs quickly. That means bringing greater speed and certainty to permitting decisions without gutting environmental and public safety protections; accelerating the launch of already-approved economic development projects through the Florida Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development; streamlining regulations and the regulatory process; and creating an easier interface with state government."
Rick Scott
"Florida’s education system must prepare our children to get good paying jobs, so that they are able to support their families and fuel the economy. Each student who is not going to college must be equipped with the skills necessary to compete in the 21st century economy. Rick understands this well as he went to community college before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, then upon returning he finished the education that was the foundation of a successful career in business.
* Rick believes in accountability in education.
* Rick believes in school choice, including vouchers and charter schools.
* Rick supports merit pay.
* Rick supports eliminating teacher tenure for new teachers.
* Rick supports homeschooling for parents who feel this is the best option for their children.
* Rick supports a constitutional amendment to modify the state’s class-size law.
* Rick would have signed SB-6."
Alex Sink
"BUILDING A HIGH-QUALITY & ACCOUNTABLE EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR TOMORROW’S WORKFORCE
As a proven business leader and the first Governor in 12 years whose own children graduated from Florida public schools, Alex Sink understands the vital link between a vibrant economy, high-paying jobs and a quality education system. Alex will implement a comprehensive education plan during her administration focused on child readiness for school, quality instruction, accountability that measures student performance, investment in our teachers and principals, and getting parents and communities more engaged in our schools. Florida needs a Governor who will lead on statewide education reform -- by inspiring more local innovation and supporting the spread of best practices to all school districts.
Support Career and Technical Academies in High Schools. Alex Sink will support specialized high school diplomas for students with technical skills and certifications for careers. Potential drop-out students must be encouraged to stay in school through alternative learning opportunities that will lead them to jobs after graduation. Alex will work with Florida's school districts, colleges and the industries within their communities to identify the specific programs needed to gain employment and advance in their careers.
Reform Teacher Compensation Around a Fair, Performance-based System. To attract and retain the best minds to the classroom, we must pay teachers like valued professionals. Higher salaries must come with increased expectations through a performance-based system that rewards excellence and recognizes additional demands placed on participating teachers. Alex Sink will support a fair compensation system built on local collaboration. She will require comprehensive accountability measures to ensure that teachers are fairly rated and that student performance outcomes are being achieved."
Monday, September 6, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Party recipes
This weekend I planned and cooked for my mom's surprise 60th birthday and helped plan and cook for my little brother's going-away-to-college party. Several people asked for various recipes, so here they are. Please keep in mind all measurements are approximate because I fling, mix, taste, and fling some more until I like it.
SPICY ASIAN BEEF
This was for close to 10 lbs. of steak, so if you're preparing for just your family, adjust accordingly.
1 bottle soy sauce
1 bottle burgundy cooking wine (I'm almost always opposed to using cooking wine instead of real wine as an ingredient, but for marinades it's ok to fudge. This would be great with a cup or so of a substantial red, like your favorite cab.)
1 small jar Thai chili sauce or 1/3 or half of a larger jar (I used about 3 and a half ounces in this recipe).
1/4 cup loosely scooped brown sugar
3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
(I think I used a splash of sesame oil as well but I can't remember.)
Pour everything into a bowl and stir well. I really like bold spice, so if you don't, go easy on the Thai chili sauce, or just use a sprinkle of red pepper flake or a dash of siracha instead. Taste a bit to see if you like it, keeping in mind that as the meat marinates, the flavors will mellow. If it's slightly over the top in the bowl, it will be perfect for the final product. If it's too salty or bitter for your taste, add another tablespoon of brown sugar, stir, and re-taste. If it's too spicy, you can dilute it with more of any of the wet ingredients or a neutral oil. Put meat in a flat baking dish or a ziploc bag, pour marinade over the top, refrigerate for as long as you can (all day or overnight, preferably.) Bring meat to room temperature before grilling or you can cook it in a fry pan to the desired doneness. Slice thinly across the grain and enjoy.
CHICKEN SATAY
Again, this was for almost 10 pounds of chicken tenderloins. Take the concept and apply it to your cooking needs.
Marinade:
4 cans coconut milk
1 jar green curry paste (Thai Kitchens makes a great paste.)
Whisk paste into milk in a large bowl until well-mixed. Pour over chicken in ziploc bags or a baking dish, refrigerate for as long as you can.
Peanut-cilantro glaze/dipping sauce:
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
scant 1/4 lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 TB+ fish sauce
1 TB+ toasted sesame oil (the secret to amazing homemade Asian food)
1 TB+ brown sugar
Put all ingredients into a bowl, stir with a fork til smooth, taste to see if you like it. If the fish sauce is overpowering, add a little more PB and brown sugar. Just a word of warning, fish sauce smells awful in the bottle but it will make the food taste incredible. Cover finished peanut sauce or put in container with a lid, refrigerate until ready to cook the chicken. Bring chicken to room temperature before grilling (set out on counter while you're heating the coals; that's about enough time.) Set out the sauce as well and give it another stir.
Grill chicken until it's cooked through, remove from heat, then generously slather on the peanut sauce, or serve separately for dipping.
SPICY VEGETARIAN TACO FILLING
This was also made for the masses. I tried to shrink this recipe down, since for the others, the sauce can be saved for later use. This doesn't keep very well for very long.
2 cans black beans, or an equivalent made from dried beans.
(I always drain and rinse my canned beans.)
2 portabella mushroom caps (large), cut into small pieces
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
cumin
smoked paprika (the secret ingredient)
cocoa chili powder
regular chili powder
smattering of cilantro (optional)
sploosh of lime juice
Oil for cooking (I prefer olive oil.)
Pour oil in a pan over medium-high heat til bottom is just covered. Add minced garlic. As the oil and garlic heat together, the garlic flavor will permeate the oil. Once the oil and garlic starts to sizzle, toss in mushroom pieces and saute til browned. You may need to keep drizzling oil. Once the mushrooms start to brown, give a light sprinkling of cumin, a heavier sprinkling of smoked paprika (mushrooms should be coated), and a dusting of cocoa chili powder and regular chili powder. This recipe is fine with just regular chili powder, but the cocoa chili powder enhances the earthy flavor of the mushrooms. Stir it all together well, add black beans, stir, add sploosh of lime juice and cilantro if using, stir, turn to low heat and leave it alone. Every several minutes, give it a stir. The mushrooms will cook down a lot. The longer this sits over low heat, the better it gets. Taste occasionally and adjust spices as needed.
BBQ PORTABELLA SLIDERS
Baby portabella mushrooms
2 large cloves garlic minced.
1 large sweet onion, sliced as thin as possible.
Oil for cooking
mini-rolls (such as King's Hawaiian)
Bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is my favorite and is what I used on these.)
Allow 1 to 2 baby bellas and an equal amount of miniature rolls per person. I made 60 of these for the birthday party.
Brush dirt off mushrooms and trim stems so the bellas will sit flat on the rolls.
Halve and brush inside of each roll with bbq sauce.
In a large enough pan so that mushrooms will be in one layer, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add garlic, saute, add onions, saute til onions soften. Add a little more oil, add the baby bellas. Keep it all moving until mushrooms begin to brown/soften a little. With tongs, carefully place a bed of onion on the roll. Top with a bella, squeeze roll closed so the bella doesn't escape. Repeat til done.
SPICY ASIAN BEEF
This was for close to 10 lbs. of steak, so if you're preparing for just your family, adjust accordingly.
1 bottle soy sauce
1 bottle burgundy cooking wine (I'm almost always opposed to using cooking wine instead of real wine as an ingredient, but for marinades it's ok to fudge. This would be great with a cup or so of a substantial red, like your favorite cab.)
1 small jar Thai chili sauce or 1/3 or half of a larger jar (I used about 3 and a half ounces in this recipe).
1/4 cup loosely scooped brown sugar
3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
(I think I used a splash of sesame oil as well but I can't remember.)
Pour everything into a bowl and stir well. I really like bold spice, so if you don't, go easy on the Thai chili sauce, or just use a sprinkle of red pepper flake or a dash of siracha instead. Taste a bit to see if you like it, keeping in mind that as the meat marinates, the flavors will mellow. If it's slightly over the top in the bowl, it will be perfect for the final product. If it's too salty or bitter for your taste, add another tablespoon of brown sugar, stir, and re-taste. If it's too spicy, you can dilute it with more of any of the wet ingredients or a neutral oil. Put meat in a flat baking dish or a ziploc bag, pour marinade over the top, refrigerate for as long as you can (all day or overnight, preferably.) Bring meat to room temperature before grilling or you can cook it in a fry pan to the desired doneness. Slice thinly across the grain and enjoy.
CHICKEN SATAY
Again, this was for almost 10 pounds of chicken tenderloins. Take the concept and apply it to your cooking needs.
Marinade:
4 cans coconut milk
1 jar green curry paste (Thai Kitchens makes a great paste.)
Whisk paste into milk in a large bowl until well-mixed. Pour over chicken in ziploc bags or a baking dish, refrigerate for as long as you can.
Peanut-cilantro glaze/dipping sauce:
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
scant 1/4 lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 TB+ fish sauce
1 TB+ toasted sesame oil (the secret to amazing homemade Asian food)
1 TB+ brown sugar
Put all ingredients into a bowl, stir with a fork til smooth, taste to see if you like it. If the fish sauce is overpowering, add a little more PB and brown sugar. Just a word of warning, fish sauce smells awful in the bottle but it will make the food taste incredible. Cover finished peanut sauce or put in container with a lid, refrigerate until ready to cook the chicken. Bring chicken to room temperature before grilling (set out on counter while you're heating the coals; that's about enough time.) Set out the sauce as well and give it another stir.
Grill chicken until it's cooked through, remove from heat, then generously slather on the peanut sauce, or serve separately for dipping.
SPICY VEGETARIAN TACO FILLING
This was also made for the masses. I tried to shrink this recipe down, since for the others, the sauce can be saved for later use. This doesn't keep very well for very long.
2 cans black beans, or an equivalent made from dried beans.
(I always drain and rinse my canned beans.)
2 portabella mushroom caps (large), cut into small pieces
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
cumin
smoked paprika (the secret ingredient)
cocoa chili powder
regular chili powder
smattering of cilantro (optional)
sploosh of lime juice
Oil for cooking (I prefer olive oil.)
Pour oil in a pan over medium-high heat til bottom is just covered. Add minced garlic. As the oil and garlic heat together, the garlic flavor will permeate the oil. Once the oil and garlic starts to sizzle, toss in mushroom pieces and saute til browned. You may need to keep drizzling oil. Once the mushrooms start to brown, give a light sprinkling of cumin, a heavier sprinkling of smoked paprika (mushrooms should be coated), and a dusting of cocoa chili powder and regular chili powder. This recipe is fine with just regular chili powder, but the cocoa chili powder enhances the earthy flavor of the mushrooms. Stir it all together well, add black beans, stir, add sploosh of lime juice and cilantro if using, stir, turn to low heat and leave it alone. Every several minutes, give it a stir. The mushrooms will cook down a lot. The longer this sits over low heat, the better it gets. Taste occasionally and adjust spices as needed.
BBQ PORTABELLA SLIDERS
Baby portabella mushrooms
2 large cloves garlic minced.
1 large sweet onion, sliced as thin as possible.
Oil for cooking
mini-rolls (such as King's Hawaiian)
Bbq sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is my favorite and is what I used on these.)
Allow 1 to 2 baby bellas and an equal amount of miniature rolls per person. I made 60 of these for the birthday party.
Brush dirt off mushrooms and trim stems so the bellas will sit flat on the rolls.
Halve and brush inside of each roll with bbq sauce.
In a large enough pan so that mushrooms will be in one layer, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add garlic, saute, add onions, saute til onions soften. Add a little more oil, add the baby bellas. Keep it all moving until mushrooms begin to brown/soften a little. With tongs, carefully place a bed of onion on the roll. Top with a bella, squeeze roll closed so the bella doesn't escape. Repeat til done.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
story of the car: a mini diary
July 8: William called me to tell me he was on his way home from work. 10 minutes later he called me to come get him because his car had broken down in the outside turn lane on Maitland Blvd and Maitland Ave. After a few minutes of getting screamed and cursed at (because, you know, he broke down on purpose to inconvenience people) a nice man stopped and helped him push the car through the rest of the turn and into a parking lot. Edward and I rescued William and drove home, leaving the car overnight. We returned in the morning, hoping that it would miraculously turn on. It did not. The sad old Honda was towed to our trusty mechanic.
July 12: Diagnosis day. The timing belt went and took some things with it. Cost of repairs? $1800. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. The car wasn't worth that. It stressed us both out. It would have been doable to go to being a one car family, but we would have been filling up my tank every 2 days with all the places we need to go separately. The search for a new car begins, leading to a cheap Volvo that the owner planned on charging US to repair... yeah no.
July 13: First day of having to be different places, but fortunately they were on the same side of town. The car hunt continues...
July 14: More Volvos. Craigslist. Ugh. William sells the Honda to one of those "we buy your junk car!!!" places, and our mechanic is surprised how much we got for it.
July 15: An unexpected financial gift, for which we are immensely grateful. The car search is widened from "clunker" to "functioning, with ac!"
July 16: More Volvos. Craigslist. Yay!
July 17-18: More Volvos. Decisions. Ugh/Yay!
July 19: We own a Volvo! It's in super-great condition, mechanically and aesthetically, and is quite literally the nicest car William has ever owned.
I am humbled by how quickly God provided in unexpected ways, and how much had to happen at just the right time for us to have found our new car. I am too quick to pray that God will provide and then act like I don't think He will. Next time I'm stressing out, maybe I will peek out the window at our pretty red Volvo and remember that God is bigger than me.
July 12: Diagnosis day. The timing belt went and took some things with it. Cost of repairs? $1800. Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. The car wasn't worth that. It stressed us both out. It would have been doable to go to being a one car family, but we would have been filling up my tank every 2 days with all the places we need to go separately. The search for a new car begins, leading to a cheap Volvo that the owner planned on charging US to repair... yeah no.
July 13: First day of having to be different places, but fortunately they were on the same side of town. The car hunt continues...
July 14: More Volvos. Craigslist. Ugh. William sells the Honda to one of those "we buy your junk car!!!" places, and our mechanic is surprised how much we got for it.
July 15: An unexpected financial gift, for which we are immensely grateful. The car search is widened from "clunker" to "functioning, with ac!"
July 16: More Volvos. Craigslist. Yay!
July 17-18: More Volvos. Decisions. Ugh/Yay!
July 19: We own a Volvo! It's in super-great condition, mechanically and aesthetically, and is quite literally the nicest car William has ever owned.
I am humbled by how quickly God provided in unexpected ways, and how much had to happen at just the right time for us to have found our new car. I am too quick to pray that God will provide and then act like I don't think He will. Next time I'm stressing out, maybe I will peek out the window at our pretty red Volvo and remember that God is bigger than me.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Books for people who love books
Over the past couple months, I’ve been making my way through the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. Although these are marketed as children’s books, I would venture to say they aren’t for children, but they are excellent. I haven’t finished the last book yet, entitled Inkdeath, but so far it’s the same quality as the others. The premise is that there are people in the world who can literally bring the written word to life with their voices. The catch is that when something or someone is brought into this world from a book, something or someone from this world becomes trapped in that book as a trade-off. The nightmarish turn bringing a book to life takes reminds me of a scene from another great book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where Caspian and crew come across one of the lost Lords on the island where dreams come true. Initially the crew thinks that’s awesome, but quickly realize the true horror of it.
An overarching theme of the series is the power of words to change lives, individually and across nations. There is also just the plot of the story, which I’d say is later Harry Potter novels levels of dark, but with American mild cursing and implied sex. There’s death, violence, and hurt, which mostly stems from the use and misuse of the power of words.
Something I think is brilliant stylistically is that the author uses quotes from literature and poetry at the opening of every chapter, which communicates her own respect for the power words can have. She’s also German, which doesn’t surprise me because these fairy tales are much more in the style of the Brothers Grimm than of Disney.
One of the most tragic scenes in the story involves book-burning. If you’ve never been friends with a book, you won’t understand why, but if books come alive when you read them, I guarantee this scene will haunt you. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter I think you will like these as well. If you love books, you will get even more out of these than if you just love an adventure story.
The movie version, btw, was terrible.
An overarching theme of the series is the power of words to change lives, individually and across nations. There is also just the plot of the story, which I’d say is later Harry Potter novels levels of dark, but with American mild cursing and implied sex. There’s death, violence, and hurt, which mostly stems from the use and misuse of the power of words.
Something I think is brilliant stylistically is that the author uses quotes from literature and poetry at the opening of every chapter, which communicates her own respect for the power words can have. She’s also German, which doesn’t surprise me because these fairy tales are much more in the style of the Brothers Grimm than of Disney.
One of the most tragic scenes in the story involves book-burning. If you’ve never been friends with a book, you won’t understand why, but if books come alive when you read them, I guarantee this scene will haunt you. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter I think you will like these as well. If you love books, you will get even more out of these than if you just love an adventure story.
The movie version, btw, was terrible.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
summer time, and the livin' is... easy?
Even though I've been technically done with school for 3 weeks, this past week has felt like the first real week of summer, mainly because I haven't had any meetings, evaluations to do, or appointments other than play dates and Edward's one year check-up. That means now I have time to blog (yay), clean, (boo!) and catch up on Doctor Who reruns (double yay!)
Yesterday felt downright decadent because I got to spend pretty much the entire day with my friend Benita, a fellow blogger (check her out at http://fashioncheese.blogspot.com/) and her baby girl. I got to BROWSE makeup aisles, rather than make a snap decision and run because I had to get to the next thing. I also got to bounce my mommy concerns off of another mom. At Edward's appointment, the doctor showed a little concern because he isn't addressing me and William as mama and dada yet. If he's not doing this by 15 months then there might be something wrong. No parent likes to hear their might be something wrong with their child, even in potentia. I'd say I'm not worried because otherwise he's perfectly healthy and developed, but that would be an outright lie. With the downtime of summer comes time for me to start second guessing myself and my parenting decisions. Have I not read to him enough? Have I not spent enough time repeating different words to him? Did I warp my child for life because I haven't been playing kiddie CD's for him in the car? Is this because I worked part time?
Having someone to talk me though this right away was so needed, especially someone who has dealt with much more serious issues than a possible speech delay. A little perspective goes a long way...
With summer comes a lot of silence, which people tend to say is where you meet God. I tend to meet my self-doubt. I would like to kick that squatter out but I don't always know how.
On a completely different and humorous note, at Benita's house I was flipping through a fashion magazine (if you know me or have read my posts, you know about my love/hate relationship with fashion mags.) This issue was devoted to hair and had "real life" tips for growing out a short hairstyle. Their tips boil down to the following: be Heidi Klum or get a weave. Going out on a crazy limb here but I don't think those are practical. It gave me something to chuckle about at least. I wonder what people who are rich enough for that to actually be practical advice worry about.
Yesterday felt downright decadent because I got to spend pretty much the entire day with my friend Benita, a fellow blogger (check her out at http://fashioncheese.blogspot.com/) and her baby girl. I got to BROWSE makeup aisles, rather than make a snap decision and run because I had to get to the next thing. I also got to bounce my mommy concerns off of another mom. At Edward's appointment, the doctor showed a little concern because he isn't addressing me and William as mama and dada yet. If he's not doing this by 15 months then there might be something wrong. No parent likes to hear their might be something wrong with their child, even in potentia. I'd say I'm not worried because otherwise he's perfectly healthy and developed, but that would be an outright lie. With the downtime of summer comes time for me to start second guessing myself and my parenting decisions. Have I not read to him enough? Have I not spent enough time repeating different words to him? Did I warp my child for life because I haven't been playing kiddie CD's for him in the car? Is this because I worked part time?
Having someone to talk me though this right away was so needed, especially someone who has dealt with much more serious issues than a possible speech delay. A little perspective goes a long way...
With summer comes a lot of silence, which people tend to say is where you meet God. I tend to meet my self-doubt. I would like to kick that squatter out but I don't always know how.
On a completely different and humorous note, at Benita's house I was flipping through a fashion magazine (if you know me or have read my posts, you know about my love/hate relationship with fashion mags.) This issue was devoted to hair and had "real life" tips for growing out a short hairstyle. Their tips boil down to the following: be Heidi Klum or get a weave. Going out on a crazy limb here but I don't think those are practical. It gave me something to chuckle about at least. I wonder what people who are rich enough for that to actually be practical advice worry about.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Cookin'
I'm planning on giving a cooking class this summer, (even if it is just you and me, Shelly!) and I am having trouble narrowing down what to do. A few of you out there have asked me before if I've ever thought about giving classes... and now I am. So what would you want to learn (even if you don't come to my class?)
My current plan is to offer single sessions one day a week, so anyone can come to any of them and learn a self-contained lesson on cooking methodology, like one day will be The Art of Eyeballing, one would be focused on learning how to anticipate how spices go together so you can make just about any culture's flavor profile, with application on some proteins, I could do a vegetarian-only day, etc.
Participants would need to bring a cutting board and chef's knife. I would provide everything else.
My current plan is to offer single sessions one day a week, so anyone can come to any of them and learn a self-contained lesson on cooking methodology, like one day will be The Art of Eyeballing, one would be focused on learning how to anticipate how spices go together so you can make just about any culture's flavor profile, with application on some proteins, I could do a vegetarian-only day, etc.
Participants would need to bring a cutting board and chef's knife. I would provide everything else.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Pita bread recipe
Ingredients:
Scant 4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 TB salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar (you can buy castor sugar, or just put regular sugar in the blender and pulse.)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup water
Put all ingredients in bowl and mix with hands. When dough has formed, tip onto lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Put back in bowl and let dough rest for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Put a lined baking sheet in oven to warm up. Tip dough out and divide into 3.5 ounce pieces. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Let rest for 5 minutes, then place on hot baking sheet in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. They will balloon up, but when brought out of the oven they will collapse, which is what forms the pockets.
(Note: not all ours turn out, but it's still good as a flatbread.)
This recipe is from 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood, Fall River Press, 2004.
Scant 4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 TB salt
1/4 cup superfine sugar (you can buy castor sugar, or just put regular sugar in the blender and pulse.)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup water
Put all ingredients in bowl and mix with hands. When dough has formed, tip onto lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Put back in bowl and let dough rest for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Put a lined baking sheet in oven to warm up. Tip dough out and divide into 3.5 ounce pieces. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Let rest for 5 minutes, then place on hot baking sheet in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. They will balloon up, but when brought out of the oven they will collapse, which is what forms the pockets.
(Note: not all ours turn out, but it's still good as a flatbread.)
This recipe is from 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood, Fall River Press, 2004.
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