Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Fat good, carbs bad

Dr. Andrew Weil is probably a very nice man, but his views on health and medicine tend not to attract me.  Indeed, I tend to veer away from New Agey, Old Hippie kinds of things as much as possible (too much emotionalism, too much "true believer").  A recent Weil blog on the Huffington Post did, however, attract my attention for its discussion of fat versus carbs.  In it Weil draws on recent research and a recent book by Gary Taubes to highlight these points (made by Taubes in his book):
  1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease of civilization.
  2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis -- the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight and well-being.
  3. Sugars -- sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically -- are particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.
  4. Through their direct effects on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other chronic diseases of modern civilization.
Weil does recommend, for environmental reasons, to reduce the amount of meat in the diet, but not to fear to give it its proper place.   As for me, Taubes has a whole chapter on fiber!  I am so getting this book.

Monday, July 5, 2010

When the garbage disposer dies

We haven't always had a garbage disposer.  I can remember moving to this house when I was 9 years old and, not long after, Daddy installing a disposer.  I still remember being told not to put bones or paper in the disposer, the concept was that new to us.  Over the years, I've had to cope with a few hours, maybe even a whole 24 hours, of life without a disposer as we waited until one of our very handy men procured and installed a new one.

Imagine my delight when the garbage disposer here at Mama's house died a very sudden death recently, and there was not a man, handy or otherwise, in sight.   


I did what troubleshooting I could.  Cleared out the disposer, punched the resent button, looked for something strong enough to try to "stir" the turn-plate of blades.  No joy in any of it.


We then entered the stage of having no disposer while we considered whether (a) Next Door Cousin and I could replace the thing, (b) to call a plumber, or (c) to have My Prince make a mad dash to Houston.
  • I seriously considered (a).  NDC is single, tough, and semi-handy.  Between the two of us, we might figure it out.  Our problem was upper body strength.  There are pipes and other screwish things involved in replacing the disposer, and neither one of us have a lot of muscles.  Indeed, I actually have a battery operated jar opener for when pickles get to be too touch. 
  • The thought of (b) was both a matter of cost and skill.  Neither of the important men in my life were ever big on paying for labor when they could do the job themselves.  My late father was always DIY and the go-to guy in the extended family for help or advice.  Ditto for My Prince.  Not that MP always approved of how Daddy did some of his jobs.  (Painting the eaves with a broom for a brush was a late-in-life solution to getting the job done when it was too dangerous for him to be on a ladder.)  And that is the crux of the issue for (b):  can anyone do the job well enough to meet MP's standards?  Prolly not.
  • That left (c), although I put my foot down and said there would be no mad-dashing.  We could survive without a disposer for a while, and MP was instructed to plan his trip to Houston with some consideration given to all the things he was already trying to do.  Eventually he agreed, and decided to come a few days later.
In the meantime, we had to survive without a disposer.

Doing so called to mind all the mishaps that can come from lack of a disposer.  I'm thinking of the fellow who decided to chop up watermelon rinds small enough to flush down the toilet.  (Not a good idea, said the plumber.)  Or the gals in the office above mine who washed coffee grounds down the sink.  (Not a good idea, said the plumber, who cleaned up my flooded office.)

Needless to say, we didn't need anything like those events, so nothing unusual was flushed down the toiler or washed down the sink.  We kept a mesh wire strainer over the disposer opening and dumped whatever landed there into the garbage.  All of this dumping, however, made the garbage a tad more aromatic, so more effort was given to making sure that things were covered.  We also had to worry about greater attraction for flies and, well, cockroaches.

The days without a disposer were less carefree than those Good Old Days of having a disposer.  There was much "food for thought" (no pun intended) regarding composting and all the labor that that might entail.  There was a reminder every day about vermin control and the spread of disease.

We live wasteful lives here in the US.  We consume and trash and deplete natural resources at a phenomenal rate compared to much of the rest of the globe and even to the potential for replenishing most of those resources (slim to none).  I thought, for a while, that perhaps we should make the effort to live without the garbage disposer permanently.  After all, it was an addition to this old house, and there are still some houses in the neighborhood that don't have them.  It is surely possible.  It is, however, not so healthy.  I'm going to emphasize that reason in my thinking about the disposer right now, but I will also give more thought to how we can cut down on the need for using the it. 

In the meantime, yea!  My Prince came to fix it!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Got the food blahs

Sometimes food just doesn't interest me.  Eating it, that is.  Or cooking it.  Or storing it.  Or buying it.  As a topic, it never fails.  I haven't found anything interesting enough to blog about in my morning readings, but I certainly found some interesting things to read about.  Like asparagus.  I started with an article about some food movies, watched a 6 minute documentary on asparagus, wandered over to Wikipedia to read more about asparagus, and gave some thought about how to work 12 stalks of asparagus a day into My Prince's diet. (Hint:  not gonna happen.)

*In a salute to George Orwell, I see that Huffington Post has simply disappeared someone's list of favorite food films, so I can't provide link. Who knew that it would all vanish while I was still thinking about the topic?*  *hmph*

Still, today is just one of those days.  I'm not hungry so there is no drive to cook or eat.  Even if I were hungry, I don't think I'd be much interested in cooking.  There is just no inspiration today.  I need to go to the warehouse store, since we are running out of some essentials that are better purchased in bulk and at discount.  I can also get some nuts for snacking there, which is usually my "reward" for going.  Not even that can pull me out of my doldrums.

What does this mean?  Company is coming tonight, and I don't know what to cook.  It must be time for Mystery Casserole!

Tabasco in chili

Yuck!

My Prince and The Grandson both are heavy users of Tabasco.  They eat it on everything.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, it's the seasoning of choice.

We all like spicy food.  My Prince will, lacking Tabasco, join me in adding red pepper flakes or cayenne to a dish as table seasoning (I under-season most dishes because of the diverse palates at my table).  This assures me that part of what he seeks is the peppery heat of the condiment.  

But Tabasco also has vinegary element to it that is just too pungent for my taste.  The men seem to like it and want that element as well as heat in their dishes. 

Imagine my delight when I recently purchased some cans of chili and spied the "hot" variety on offer alongside the plain.  I picked up several cans, thinking that this would suit all of the spicy-eaters just fine.  Imagine my horror when I actually read the label and saw that these cans of Hormel chili were specially spiced with Tabasco.  Talk about ruining a good can of chili.  The guys will love it, tho. (Yes, I tasted it.  No, I did not like it.)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Top Chef: DC (review)

Eventually my poor brain did figure out the right day, and I did get to watch the premiere of Top Chef: DC.  The opening included a set of challenges that seem to have become standard for the series:  a quickfire of quick chopping and an elimination challenge based on "who you are" or "where you're from."  Nothing outlandish or hard, but serious nonetheless.

The results?  Not so great.  One reviewer called the opening episode "less than tasty."  James Poniewozik criticized the contestants for their failures at "representing" when deciding what dishes to prepare to reflect their home state.  Despite a top-rated dish being a deconstructed borscht, he also makes it clear:  "I no longer want to see any chef 'deconstruct' anything."  I'm leaning toward agreeing with him.

At this stage, it's hard to pick favorites.  Angelo Sosa, who won both the quickfire and the elimination challenges, is portrayed as a braggart.  Not my kind of guy, so he will have to win me with his skills, which appear to be significant, since he's pretty much lost me with his attitude.  (Nah, it's not his bravado and boasting that annoys me; it's his name dropping.  Been-tos can be a pain in the tuchus, y'know).

While she didn't particularly stand out from the pack last night, Tiffany Derry does give Texas a hat in this ring.  Born in Beaumont, trained in Houston, and working in Dallas, she chose to represent "the South" rather than "just Texas."  Her dish--Cajun Shrimp & Crawfish Salad, Chicken Fried Tomatillos & Bacon Sherry Vinaigrette--certainly could have been a Texas dish, especially post-Katrina, but Tiffany's goal is to show that Southern cooking is more than biscuits and gravy.  You go, girl!

Will this season be less than tasty?  Dunno.  But I look forward to seeing how it all plays out.


Fiddling with the background

Yes, I am indeed fiddling around with the background of the blog.  Blogger (Google) now has more options for layout and color, and it is ever so much easier to switch and play than in the past.  I am still looking for the most comfy background--something that seems suitable, not too garish, but bright and inviting.  If you see something you like (or don't like) say so.  In the meantime, we may have a little more fiddling to do, although I do like wooden spoons.

I cook with wooden spoons all the time.  They are essential with any coated pan, but handy for stews and such.  I can lay the spoon across the pot lid and not worry about it getting too hot to handle.

Back in my wild and crazy youth, I collected all sorts of wooden implements.  I didn't know what to do with many of them; I just liked how they looked, and I was always on the lookout for new ones.  At some point, I finally had so many that I had to quit collecting them.  Right now they sit on my kitchen counter in Austin in a Marshall Pottery pitcher.  I should photograph them someday.  My favorite among them and one I use frequently is a paddle-like item that may have been intended as a cutting board but which works a treat for taking pizzas out of the oven.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Top Chef: DC

I spent the longest time yesterday looking for when Top Chef: DC would start.  No joy.  I found it for today, and then spent most of yesterday and today thinking, "How weird!"  I thought it was going to be on Wednesdays, instead of Thursdays, and, I thought, this could conflict with Project Runway:  "I hope they keep the schedules separated."

Mama asked me three times today what day it was.  Every time I told her it was Thursday.  And then I actually checked.  Not Thursday.

And she's the one who's supposed to be having senior moments!

Something in the air?

What is it with the fast food joints on Wallisville Rd.?  Is it so hard to hear an order, repeat the order correctly, and then get the correct food and drink in the bag?  To be fair, it may not just be Wallisville Rd. that has bad air these days.  There seems to be a rash of foul ups that happen between the order window and the delivery window.
  • Serving cole slaw without a fork or spoon.
  • Substituting diet Dr. Pepper for diet Coke.
  • Substituting the wrong kind and amount of chicken pieces.
And the list could go on.  It's not a new or unusual thing at all to get a messed-up order through a fast food window.  Indeed, it's practically the new "normal" that the bag that comes through the window will have something missing or substituted for what was ordered.

In response, I have developed a strategy to deal with it.  If it's not too badly messed up or I'm in too much of a hurry to warrant a return to the restaurant, I check the receipt for a phone number.  Sometimes I'm home already, sometimes I call from wherever I've stopped to dine (Mama and I "picnic" in the car a lot these days), but as soon as possible I call the restaurant and ask to speak to the manager.  I provide the ticket number and explain what I ordered versus what I received.  I comment on the server, praising courtesy, detailing rudeness.  Often the manager wants to "do something" for me--give me a coupon or something.  These are largely useless to me, so I make a big point of saying that I don't want anything extra, I just want the service that I paid for--every time I go to that restaurant.  I ask him/her to please have a word with the staff about the quality of service and what customers are buying when they come to the restaurant.  They usually agree very quickly.

What matters to me in this is that fast food restaurants not be excused from providing a basic level of service:  take the order respectfully, repeat it back to the customer clearly, check to make sure that the order listed on the receipt is the actual order in the bag, check to see if the customer has extra requests for napkins or condiments before closing the window in his/her face.  It's not rocket science, and we pay plenty to get this level of service.  Failure needs to be reported to the person who is ultimately responsible:  the manager.  Repeated failure needs to be proclaimed a little more strongly--in places like this blog and rating sites that allow the community to comment on quality and service.

I'm not trying to cost anyone his/her job here.  I am not trying to put anyone out of business.  I just get fed up with paying for something and getting ripped off, which is exactly what is happening.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Chill the fat to skim it

The Mayo Clinic offers this healthy eating tip:
Cook meat in advance. Make soups, stews and other dishes in which you boil the meat in liquid a day or two in advance and then refrigerate it. As the dish chills, the fat hardens on the top and you can easily remove the fat.

We all knew this, of course.  There's no way, once we've seen that chilled layer of fat on top of yesterday's roast that we want to break off a chunk and eat it.  When it's liquid and blended in with the stew, we enjoy the flavor.  Animal fat is not, however, the healthiest of flavors, so the cook-in-advance strategy may be a good way to cut fat (and fat calories) in our diet.

Food Poison Journal

I'm liking this.  Seems like a good resource to learn more about food safety and disease outbreaks.  I'm reading more about the new report issued by the Institute of Medicine on FDA's role in managing food safety and ran across a link to this site.  I expect to be reading more from these guys to help understand what is happening with food safety in our country.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Next Food Network Star

I follow several reality shows now that I have such easy access to cable television for the time being.  One of theshows is "The Next Food Network Star."  Sunday night's episode was interesting, with the main challenge being to create a savory dish inspired by carnival sweets and junk food.  There were the obvious "lollipop" (salmon roulade with creamy cheese to help make the spiral effect) rolled up on a stick or the "candy apple" meatball on a skewer with a sticky chili sauce coating the outside.  There were also the less obvious "banana split" (three meatballs with sauces with crouton "bananas") and "funnel cake" (some sort of fritter with tandoori chicken on top).  There were also some real failures, some of which were exacerbated by complete obliviousness to the flaws in one's cooking, some of which were just general cluelessness.

Aside from the competitive aspects of the show, the creativity of the challenges and the contestants' responses are what interest me most.  I can't imagine responding to these challenges so creatively, certainly not with the time constraints and pressure that they are facing.  And yet they often come up with utterly fascinating dishes which are well worth revisiting--at least for inspiration if not actual replication.  I'm really thinking about that lollipop as something My Prince will like.  Indeed, I think we he would like all of the dishes that I mentioned here.  (Of course, he would.  They're all meat dishes.  And that makes me wonder how to redo these as vegetable dishes.)

Yes, a challenge to myself.  I can't begin to think of how I might respond to the challenge of using all four of these carnival inspirations in a savory dish, but I will try to meet the challenge for one of them.  Which one, I can't say.  I'll let you know when I figure it out.

RIP Jimmy Dean

Jimmy Dean loomed larger in my life as a singer than as a maker of sausages.  His passing is another one of those sad milestones that seem to be zooming by these days.

When we lost Paul Newman, Big Kid Cousin and I both picked up bottles of Newman's Own salad dressing--our small remembrance of a wonderful actor and fine human being.  Looks like I'll be tasting some of Jimmy Dean's sausage soon and thinking about what he has meant to this country.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Eat your veggies!

Getting my family to eat vegetables is a challenge.  They all seem to have an aversion to anything green.  White is okay, but all other colors vary in their acceptance. 

My mother is famous for her frequent comment:  "I love vegetables!"  The fame comes from the fact that the comment is so ironic.  Take her to the local Cracker Barrel, and she will, yes, order the vegetable plate.  Her choices?  Corn, dumplings, steak fries, and fried apples.

*sigh*

Maria Rodale (Huffington Post) presents "10 Ways To Get Your Kid to Eat More Vegetables."  Here are the suggestions:
  1. Serve them [the vegetables] raw
  2. Let them [the kids] have dip
  3. Plant a garden
  4. Just add butter
  5. Add them [the vegetables] to soup
  6. Make a chopped vegetable salad
  7. Roast them [the vegetables] till they are crispy and golden
  8. Get them [the kids] to help you prepare them [the vegetables]
  9. Covered in cheese
  10. Eat them [the vegetables] yourself!
Interestingly enough (to me), I have tried most of these strategies on the adults in my family.  I haven't really tried Numbers 3 and 7, but they are actively on my list.  Number 8 is not viable right now, but I am mentally filing that one away for future reference.

Of all of the suggestions, Number 6 is my favorite, and the family is starting to love it, too.  We are having fewer lettuce-based salads and more concoctions of fresh vegetables with vinaigrette and assorted flourishes of nuts, dried fruit, or cheese.

Nuts!

The Food Network offers the following Healthy Eating Tip:

Although high in calories, nuts often enable people to maintain or lose weight. 
A small handful eaten between meals or added to salads, grains or vegetables 
gives a sense of satiety and results in less total food intake.

Sounds reasonable enough, and, in truth, it works if you can limit yourself to the one handful.  I tend not to be able to do that.  Nuts are a convenient snack to munch on while I am working at the computer, which means that I am fully capable of eating handful after handful.   

This reminds me, however, of my late father-in-law's assertion that he once lost a significant amount of weight by eating a caramel before a meal.  One caramel.  This took the edge off his appetite and allowed him to eat less and still feel full.  He seemed to maintain a trim weight for the 25 or so years that I knew him, so I'm guessing there was some willpower in the mix also.

Nonetheless it does make the point that "spoiling your appetite" with almost anything is not the worst idea we can come up with for weight loss--or moderating mealtime consumption.  So far I haven't found it to be my solution, but it may work for you.  What I do find with nuts is that their high soluble fiber content has been good for my cholesterol.  In that regard, raw, unsalted almonds seem to be my best friend.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Spinach Hodgepodge Follow-up

LOL!  I was curious to see how my "hodgepodge" recipe stood up against others and did a Google search on the ingredients:  spinach "yellow squash" tomatoHere are the results.  They seem to cluster in the realms of curry (serve with rice) and pasta sauce (serve with pasta) and involve lots of seasoning and/or cream.  Since most of my seasoning came from the pre-seasoned canned tomatoes, perhaps I should try some unseasoned ones and then have some fun with my spice rack.  Unfortunately, I'm out of both spinach and yellow squash, so I'll just have to throw something else together to keep playing with my food.

As for my original "recipe," I'm happy to report that it's even better as a leftover.

Just throwing things together

I cook some pretty tasty food most of the time, but I don't consider myself a chef of any caliber.  I don't particularly like following recipes (although I enjoy reading them for inspiration).  I've had no training to speak of, unless you count watching my late father cook when I was a child.

What I do love is just throwing things together to see what happens.  That's undisciplined, I know, but it makes both cooking and dining an adventure when I'm in the kitchen.  Adventure = fun, so, of course, I love it.

Last night necessity directed my cooking.  Little Sister had brought us some fresh spinach that was not so fresh.  She had bought herself too much and needed to offload some before it passed its expiration date, which was imminent.  I actually didn't get around to the spinach until a day or two after that date, so it was getting rather urgent to do something with it.  Rather than make a salad, I decided to cook it.

First, I chopped some fresh garlic and threw that in the bottom of a casserole dish.  I washed and tore the spinach (picking out a couple of limp leaves) and tossed that into the dish.  I chopped up some green onions and . . . tossed 'em into the dish.  I opened a can of slices tomatoes (Italian seasoning) and poured that in, liquid and all.  Finally, I sliced some yellow summer squash and placed that on top of what was in the casserole dish.  A little salt, a little pepper, a quick toss, and it all went into the oven along with a roast.

I kept an eye on the spinach, pulling it out when the squash was looking soft.  How long that took, I couldn't say (more indiscipline with the clock), but I could guess at 30 minutes.  The idea was to cook the spinach and onions without turning the squash to mush.  I was close enough, I think.

The resulting dish ("Spinach Hodgepodge"???) was quite tasty.  I did add a little salt at the table (I almost always do anyway, since I undersalt most of my dishes when cooking), but otherwise the dish needed nothing.  The squash had just enough crunch, the tomatoes added a touch of acid, and the whole combination complemented the roast beef nicely.

This time I got pretty lucky and "just throwing things together" worked out well.  The low carb count was an added bonus.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The healthful pantry

Over at the Diabetes Self-Management site, Amy Campbell has embarked on a multi-part series that discusses what should be stocked in "the healthful pantry."  Diabetic or not, that's something that puzzles us all, so I think it's worth spending the time to read through her entire discussion.  Here's what she's recommending--so far:
  •  Condiments
    • Olive oil
    • Canola oil
    • Balsamic vinegar
    • Mustard
  • Spices, Herbs, and Canned Foods
    • Garlic
    • Herbs and spices (basil, oregano, rosemary, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, tarragon, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger)
    • Chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
    • Nuts and seeds
  • (More) Canned Foods
    • Canned beans
    • Canned tomatoes
    • Canned tuna (and salmon and sardines)
    • Peanut butter
  • Grains
    • Brown rice
    • Basmati rice
    • Arborio rice
  • (More) Grains
    • Barley
    • Quinoa
    • Bulgar
Dunno whether Campbell has finished her series, but, if not, I am looking forward to the next installment.  In the meantime, I comfort myself that I have all of these items in the pantry now, except for quinoa, bulgar, arborio rice, and tarragon. 

If I were quibbling, I'd add canned chicken to the list.  Her canned fish is listed partly because of nutritional value (despite the risk of mercury contamination) but also because of convenience.  Canned chicken is not, of course, as tasty as chicken that you've cooked at home, but there are times when it's mighty handy to be able to add a bit to salads and soups and Mystery Casserole.

Campbell's thesis--that you have no excuse for not making a healthful meal if you keep your pantry stocked with healthful items--does not eliminate the necessity to shop for the fresh foods that will accompany these basics (shall I call them "staples"?).  I do agree that we can thin our pantries by putting them on a more healthful "diet" that concentrates on these kinds of foods that support our own healthful diet rather than the less healthful/unhealthy sugars and starches and salts that we love to eat.  Indeed, I am working in that direction (again) myself.

Shopping in a cart (2)

Well, while I'm on a rant about shopping with an electric cart, I may as well add a few more little annoyances that make for less than a helpful experience.  Shopping this way can actually be exhausting and stressful.  Were it not for the pain and (greater) exhaustion from the alternative (pushing a regular cart), riding an electric cart in a big store would not be my choice.

Let's start with height.  Collecting groceries from shelves that are higher and lower than your reach means getting out of the cart to get the items.  This is a lot of standing up and sitting down, which can be tiring as well as stressful for inflamed joints.  Using a cane to bat boxes down from a high shelf sometimes works, but that's a definite non-starter for anything liquid, even if it is in a plastic container. 

I don't particularly see a solution to this, since stores have to place items as high as they can to maximize display and storage.  Perhaps I'm just making the point that shopping in a cart is not as easy and relaxing as it looks.  I hate to ask for help and am a little embarrassed when help is offered, but, when I do ask for help, I wish I knew that the help was gladly given.  The looks I get sometimes . . .

It's certainly not relaxing when dodging pedestrians.  In the first place, people (adults and children alike) stepping in front of the cart run the risk of being hit.  To avoid hitting them, I just have to stop pressing the accelerator, and braking is automatic--and very abrupt.  I don't hit the pedestrian, but I am flung forward every single time I have to try to avoid them.  Try riding in your car in heavy traffic without a seat belt or holding onto anything and see how it feels.  It's sometimes painful, but always tiring and stressful.

What's so hard about watching where you are going?  What's so hard about giving the carts the right of way?  If one's fellow customers must be allowed to be careless, might we not at least expect that the employees would show better sense than to consciously and deliberately walk in front of a moving cart, forcing that brutal braking maneuver.  "Oh, excuse me" just isn't the same as pausing a second to let me pass, not when you keep going while I'm thrown around like a sack of potatoes.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Shopping in a cart

In an electric cart, that is, can be a challenge.  For the past year and more, I have had foot issues on top of other, longer standing problems that seem to be related to diabetes.  Walking was so difficult that, even if I could walk pretty well when I entered a store, by the time I was finished, I was crying with pain.  Combine that with low blood sugar, and pushing a shopping cart was just not gonna happen.  The first thing I check for these days is the availability of an electric shopping cart.

You can't believe how many large stores do not have these.  Of course, department stores generally don't anyway, but we (am I alone in this?) have come to expect that big grocery stores and "big box" stores like WalMart and Target will have them.  All too often, it seems to me, there are not enough of these carts.  My local Fiesta only has two for a large store with many food and non-food departments.  My local Sam's Club always seems to be "out." 

I'd like to see more stores have the carts in sufficient supply to meet the demands of the shoppers who want to spend their money in their store.  If it takes some research to figure out the right number, do the research.  If it costs to purchase more carts, use the buying power of your big ol' chain, and get some.  If not, you will lose my business.  I can't shop in your store if you won't accommodate my handicap.

Even when the stores do have the carts, they are not always charged up and ready.  The carts are left in the parking lot, and no employee has brought them in to the store to be recharged.  The carts are in the store, but unplugged.  Go in one door of the store and see that the employee guarding the door has no way to contact the employee at the other door to see if there is a cart available.  Enjoy the lack of concern by the employee/guard who has no clue where a cart might be and acts like he/she couldn't care less.  (Vow that if there were any other place within 20 miles to get that medication, you'd take your business there, while you struggle to walk to the pharmacy at the back of the store.)

I'd like to see more stores develop a cart management policy that parks the carts in a convenient location and assigns specific responsibility to specific employees to see that the carts get at least the minimum maintenance of a brief recharge between uses.  I'd like to see more stores train their employees about the needs of the handicapped to the point that they at least understand (and act like it) that persons with handicaps actually need their assistance.

This is not to say that I haven't seen some really wonderful helpfulness from chain store employees nor enjoyed a pleasant shopping experience with a fully charged and properly functioning electric cart.  I have.  Many times, many places--and sometimes even in the stores which strike me as the worst offenders for lack of availability, courtesy, or assistance.  However, it all just seems to be left up to the whims of individual employees to take care of handicapped customers and not to have any basis in store policy.  Or, if there is a store policy for this issue, it seems to be honored more in the breach than by its execution.

Rusty

It looks like I'm really rusty at blogging. A few months away from the keyboard and all sorts of errors are going to creep in. The last post (It's a Feast) was supposed to be scheduled for this morning. Instead it popped up yesterday afternoon. Grrr!

I think there may be a lot of that happening as I shake off the rust.

I spent some time yesterday re-reading a lot of what I had written in the past. There are some fairly sizable gaps in the past as well, related to storms and Mama's health and "events." I could also see that there have been quite a few changes in my thinking about food over time. More fresh, less canned. Still more creative than referential, but less experimentation with new foods. Even some of the foods that I had "discovered" in the past have disappeared as I revert to familiar vegetables and staples.

In some ways, I have gotten lazy about food. I still don't know the answers to how to live successfully as a diabetic nor how to keep Mama from wasting away without gaining weight myself. I have limited my shopping to the bare essentials, giving in to the physical limitations that have made it more onerous than fun. Age and infirmity have replaced the visceral fire that pushed me to push for a better world.

Boy, do I have a lot of work to do!

I think I better look at my labels again to remind myself about what's important--and get rid of the rust!

Monday, June 7, 2010

It's a feast!

Feeding Mama has its challenges. Her food palette (and perhaps her palate as well) is fairly limited. She likes kid food, familiar food, and country cooking. Some of this is a reflection of the cultural foodways of East Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast. Some of it reflects economics. These days, we also have to factor in age and memory loss. If she only remembers a few food terms, then she can only request (or understand the description of) a few foods or dishes.

It is interesting then to sometimes stumble across something that Mama clearly loves but didn't know she did. Like pizza.

The most fun, however, is to cook something that she likes and see her face light up with delight when she declares, "It's a feast!" Feasts include pancakes, French toast, chicken fingers, and, these days, pizza.

Mama hasn't been well enough to go out to a restaurant for some time. This spring I have started trying to coax her into going inside (as opposed to driving through) to eat, reminding her that she doesn't have to walk (I push the wheel chair) and that she has enjoyed the restaurant before (even though she may not remember it).

My Prince and his daughter came for a brief visit recently. In order to accommodate all the food tastes in the group, I suggested that we take Mama to Cici's Pizza. She hadn't been there in at least a year, perhaps even two. She didn't remember the name or the food until we wheeled in the door--and then she remembered that she and Daddy used to love to go to Cici's when he was alive, that this was one of her favorite places to eat.

Indeed it was. I fetched and she ate. And ate. And ate. Normally she eats really small meals. I sometimes have to work hard to tempt her appetite. That night she ate seven pieces of pizza (excluding the end crusts), one cinnamon roll, one brownie, and five slices of dessert pizza. And laughed and talked and clearly had a great time.

It was, indeed, a feast.

One we will repeat as soon as possible.

Hi, hi, hi!

Last night I experienced the double goodness of seeing the premiere of this season's The Next Food Network Star and the accidental discovery of the new Cooking Channel. Aside from the fun that both of these events engendered, I also realized that I had, for quite a while now, been thinking of things that I wanted to write about here and "study up on" in the realm of food. This morning I was brazen enough to offer a colleague some advice on blogging and then had to chide myself for not taking my own advice.

Clearly, it's time to blog again.

And there is a little more time for blogging right now. No active storms in the Gulf (thank goodness). Mama seems to be doing pretty well these days (more thanks). There are no pending family events, crises, or other activities to pull me in fifty directions (many many more thanks).

So it's time to get to work again on Foodie 4 Thought and to review (for myself at least) my new food learning and the questions I still need answers for. I am soooo ready.