Sunday's Plate

When I hear the expression: "Eating healthy,"the first thing that enters my mind is eating healthy what? Healthy is an adjective. It's not an adverb, and it should modify eating and doesn't when one says, "eating healthy." It should be healthily.

As we get the grammar wrongly, we also get the eating wrongly. People unflinchingly say, "I had a great healthy meal at" - and then name a restaurant. This is an oxymoron. Some people think an oxymoron is a self contradictory effect; I think it's a pair of Dummy Tumpkins. One might say, "I had a delicious meal, a splendid meal, a really sumptuous meal..." not the same as a healthy or a "good" meal.

Let's think! Restaurant eating is not a healthy experience. The salt and fat and methods of cooking restaurant food puts it out of the healthy range. Most people eat out at least once a week. That's fine. But when eating out is a daily gig, and worse, a daily gig for children, the problem of high fat and high salt is tantamount to using a tanning bed on your insides every single day.

Yes, Miss Judy loves eating lunch out. Yes, I grew up in restaurants. Yes, I buy liquor store pizza for my grandboys. Yes, I love MacDonald's when I'm traveling. But I also know that this is a treat for the special occasion, and although I celebrate life every day, I'm not going to celebrate at the cost of my skin, my kidneys, my heart or my liver.

So what is the healthiest kind of eating? The healthiest foods are foods which have the least "treatment." The more you process a food, the more it loses its meaning; its reason to be; its ability to nourish and do its job.

The best food is fresh. Fruits and vegetables that are still in their skins are your healthiest food deal. Fresh meat and fish is also healthier than processed. You can't eat raw meat, but cooking foods gently helps. Grains that are whole are better than grains with the good part missing. Whole oats are better than cereal that has been pulverized with sugar and other additives with names so long, the food becomes a non food.

So how do you know what to buy?

Let's look at one of each food.

Let's start with pineapple. Canned pineapple is a convenience. It has a shelf life of about four thousand years. On the other hand, fresh pineapple has a shelf life of about three weeks. When you consider the taste, the fresh pineapple is incredibly delicious, and the canned tastes like can, is ultra sugary, and has the consistency of scrap plastic. Nutrition wise? The fresh pineapple is superior because the processing of the canned variety is loaded with extra sugar. The only processing that will cause the fresh pineapple to be nutritionally challenged is the cutting.

Let's look at corn. Fresh corn is wonderful and actually available all year long. Fresh corn needs one thing - shucking. You steam corn for less than five minutes in a frying pan. Or you can bake it in the oven for about thirty minutes. Canned corn, however, is soaked in sugared, salted water for years. Its poor quality reminds me of floating nodules of soap. When you buy corn in a can, you are paying for canned water with nodules. The nutrition is in the water, so drink the salted, sugared water if you want to retain your nutrients. Frozen is somewhere in between.

Let's look at grain products like cereal, bread, rice, and pasta. When your grain products are made with white flour exclusively, you are using the most processed food available. By moving your shopping list from white to whole grain, you are re-claiming the ingredients best for you. By buying whole grain cereals, you are opting for the least processed. When you buy whole grain pastry flour, you are achieving healthy baking (healthy modifies baking which is a noun.) When you buy whole grain pasta and rice, you are buying a product which has less "treatment" than white pastas and white rice. White pasta and rice need another food to push it through your intestines. If you don't eat the other food like fresh vegetables and fruits, that white rice or pasta just sits there and festers.

With meat, the idea is to keep away from frozen or canned entrees that have been prepared by someone else. Canned meat is a peril to the body and contains little or no nutritional value. Canned spaghetti, ravioli, potted meat might as well be a ticket to an internal tanning bed.

When any package has a long list of ingredients too 'lettery" to read, run for your life. Your food should come without a list of chemicals, additives and preservatives. If your food needs preservatives, you need to ask, "What is it waiting for?"

Buy fresh, buy often, and buy with care.

Friday's Tattler

We had a nice day on Friday. We started the day off with a great pancake breakfast, juice and milk.

Then we awarded the children who had not lost their medals with a gold bead. We will do this every week.

Then we had the Whole School Bee, and Michael, Phoenix and Garrett won. They each got a star for their medal.

Next we went to Ellis Park and visited the horses at Mr. Hancock's barn. He let everyone sit on the pony, and then a giant race horse. We got pictures of everyone, and they will be given out shortly.

We got to feed the horses peppermints, apples, carrots, and soda pop. It was really funny to watch.

Then we moseyed over to the grandstands and got to eat our lunch right next to the track.

The horses ran about 12:50 and we got to watch as they pounded by. It was exciting, and all the children cheered.

We got our picture in the paper at the race track.

Then we headed home for an afternoon of play.

All in all a great day!

Thursday's Thought

Here is something to look at and think about for a lovely Thursday evening. Click!

Wonderful Wednesday

Dog Pack Attacks Gator In Florida

At times nature can be cruel, but there is also a raw beauty, and even a certain justice manifested within that cruelty.

The alligator, one of the oldest and ultimate predators, normally considered the "apex predator", can still fall victim to implemented 'team work' strategy, made possible due to the tight knit social structure and "survival of the pack mentality" bred into the canines.

See the remarkable photograph below courtesy of Nature Magazine.



Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold on the gator preventing it from breathing, while another dog has a hold on the tail to keep it from thrashing. The third dog attacks the soft underbelly of the gator.



Not for the squeamish













Laughter is good for the soul. Have a Great Day!
Later Gator!!!!!!! :-)

Tuesday's Teacher

Correct Time to Drink Water....Very Important

Very interesting ! And Very important. We watch the children, and few of them ever go to the drinking fountain because they have not learned the habit. Water is a wonderful habit and needs to be a big part of every child's day.

Did you know?

Drinking water at the correct time

maximizes its effectiveness on the Human body:

2 glasses of water after waking up

- helps activate internal organs

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal

- helps digestion
>
> 1 glass of water before taking a bath

- helps lower blood pressure
>
> 1 glass of water before going to bed

- avoids stroke or heart attack
>

Please pass this to the people you care about.......

Monday's Tattler

It's going to be another hot day. Summer clothes please - no jeans!

We will be doing our usual Reading, writing and arithmetic Monday through Thursday in the morning, and in the afternoon, Miss Nita is doing a program on clay. I know the kids will love this.

On Tuesday, Miss Amy will be doing a program on wind instruments in the afternoon and the children will actually make a flute.

On Wednesday, Mr. Denny will be tackling magnets.

On Thursday, we will have a visit from a dental hygienist and we will talk about teeth.

On Friday, we have a field trip to the races at Ellis. We will visit Mr. Hancock's barns and see the horses up close. If you can, please send a package of peppermints with your child, or a bag of carrots, or a soda pop. Horses love these things.

Our words for the week are slight and continuous.

We will be enjoying lasagna, ham and cheese casserole, pizza, chicken quesadillas and picnic. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate

Someone asked for my pizza recipe. So once again I'm going to post it, but I will add some suggestions to make the pizza at home with some "I never thought to do thats."

Basic pizza dough is easy. For one regular round large pizza or one regular cookie sheet pizza you will need:

1 heaping tablespoon of yeast
1 cup baby bath warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
3 - 4 cups flour

Note: healthier flours make your meal healthier.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a warmed bowl (rinse with warm water) place your cup of warm water along with your yeast and the sugar and let stand for about 5 minutes.

Add your salt, oil, and stir.

Begin to add your flour with a spoon until you have a glob of sticky dough.

Put a cup of flour on the counter and turn out the dough from the bowl onto the floured counter.

Kneed the dough, that is, roll and twist your dough into the flour, until the dough is not sticky but still remains light to the touch.

Let the dough rest on the counter about 5-10 minutes.

Spray your pan or pizza stone with pan spray.

Roll dough with a rolling pin into a shape resembling your pan. Fold dough in half and lift, and reshape to the pan's or stone's shape.

Onto the uncooked bare pizza dough in the pan, you will need a sauce. There are many sauces to consider:

Plain tomato sauce out of the can
Last week's left over spaghetti sauce
Yesterday's cheese sauce
Any salad dressing - my favorite is blue cheese with Chinese hot sauce
Taco sauce
Gravy
Sweet and sour sauce
or nothing

You will need about 1/2 - 1 lb of cheese to make your pizza really cheesy.

Next, think of all the stuff in your fridge that could add to the taste of your pizza.

Bacon
Lunch meat
Left overs like pot roast, chicken, meat loaf chunked, steak, sausage
Vegetables like squash, broccoli, onion, mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers

Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Saturday's Under the Sun

WHAT A PITY KULULA DOESN'T FLY INTERNATIONALLY - WE SHOULD SUPPORT THEM IF ONLY FOR THEIR HUMOUR - SO TYPICALLY SOUTH AFRICAN.


Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg . Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"


---o0o---

On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

----o0o---

On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."

----o0o---

"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."

---o0o---

"Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

---o0o---

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

---o0o---

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

---o0o---

From a Kulula employee: " Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

---o0o---

"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite."

---o0o---

Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."

----o0o---

"Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

---o0o---

"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.."

---o0o---

And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

---o0o---

Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

---o0o---

Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

---o0o---

Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing:

"We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

---o0o---

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline. He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.

Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said,

"Did we land, or were we shot down?"

---o0o---

After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.."

---o0o---

Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."

---o0o---

Heard on a Kulula flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing.. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."

Friday's Tattler

It was a fun week. We began the week with a nice morning schedule of arithmetic, reading and writing. Then a brief recess followed by a lively music class. Then lunch. We had easy children's dishes this week of spaghetti, Polish sausage, Leigh's lunch or breakfast for lunch, and baked chicken on Thursday and bacon pizza on Friday.

In the afternoons, our "program" has been lots of fun. On Monday, Mrs. St. Louis taught the War of the Angels from Revelations. The children made and angel and then wrote a little sentence about what they had heard.

On Tuesday, Miss Judy taught a class on Pasta. We talked about the many kinds of pasta, how you cook it, how you eat it, and where it comes from, who eats it, and originally how Marco Polo brought it back from China.

On Wednesday, we had a class on Oil Slicks and how this affects animals. Mr. Denny showed the children how nasty oil could be on some plastic animals. Then the children bathed the animals to remove the oil. They talked about what people can do to help the animals. The children loved this.

Miss Dayna talked to the children about homes and families on Thursday, and then the children took wall paper and made a beautiful house collage with Miss Nita's help.

On Friday, we gave all the children who have kept their medals all week a gold bead. The children were delighted. We then had a whole school bee and asked about all they had learned this week. The winners of the bee were: Alexis, Ely, Edan and Jayce. We congratulate them for their fine work.

In the afternoon on Friday, we had story time with Mr. Denny, and an ice cream party. So...all in all a very satisfactory week.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday's Thought

Childcare. It’s not a word; it’s a world. The subject of the world is child; the action of the world is care. As child and care seem to struggle against each other in a never ending series of problems, we need to ask if creating a childcare world in the daily absence of the parent can really work well?

Do we bring enough of a home environment into childcare and if not, without it, can we hope to give children a growing media that will take the place of home during away hours?

Parents are the single greatest assets of childcare – naturally. Why do professionals in the childcare world consistently resist bringing parents into the interior life of the childcare world, and is this a positive for the child?

I think it’s safe to say that without the parent, the child stands alone. Providers often cringe for the child whose parents never attend functions, are remarkably late nearly every day, and never remember anything going on at childcare.

Too often providers will agree the toll this takes on a child is irredeemable. Childcare professionals just can’t shore up the damage of non-responsive parents.

In response to uninvolved parents, some childcare professionals say that childcare can do it better than families. That’s an aberration. It’s also a fiction. Families are the primary foundation of children’s development – not childcare.

At best, childcare can only manage a safe and teaching haven for an at risk child during his hours at childcare, but it will never overshadow home because the home is the natural place for the child, and the child knows it.

These are the never-ending series of problems professionals face in childcare every day. Yet at the same time, caring involved professionals will ask, is the present state of childcare, what we have created for children, really good enough for the early childhood years?

Does the childcare we are providing really meet intellectual, spiritual, physical and emotional needs that positively mirror good family homes?

Considering the structure of today’s childcare, the answers are probably no simply because the structure of childcare does not use the home as a model, does not include parents, and at the heart, is not devoted to the child as an individual but part of a ratio that makes warehousing the blueprint.

The term “warehousing children” is offensive to most day care directors, but look at childcare from a numbers point of view and ask if that term justly identifies a childcare? Eighty, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred children under one roof does not bespeak the kind of individual care most parents want for their very young children.

What is the appropriate model for childcare outside the home? Perhaps it is a smaller more natural setting that includes the implements and environs of the home. Perhaps it is a place where parents feel welcome enough to be longer than drop off and pickup.

When there are no more questions left to be answered about appropriate and childcare, perhaps the childcare world will be a better place for those dear little ones we love most.

Wonderful Wednesday

Whether you are for the health care project or against it, this is pretty funny.

Just a little update from DC on the progress of our national healthcare plan.

Now, let me get this straight......we're trying to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also is exempt from it and hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.

What the hell could possibly go wrong?

Teaching Tuesday

Seeing red: The health implications of meat consumption

Post a commentBy Stephen Daniells, 18-Aug-2010

Related topics: Science & Nutrition, Meat, fish and savory ingredients

Comment: For those parents who think a steady diet of McDonalds is not a worry, read this article.

Headlines continue to raise concerns over the health effects of excessive meat consumption, a situation that is boosting consumer interest in meat substitutes. But what does the science say about meat and health?

From Food Navigator at HERE

In the second part of our focus on meat substitutes, FoodNavigator looks at the risks and benefits of excessive meat consumption. In recent years, high profile studies have linked meat consumption, be it red or processed meats, to increased risks of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Meat

The most attention – and headlines – has focussed on the link between meat intake and cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund published a report in 2007 that directly linked diet to cancer, with alcohol and red and processed meats posing particular risks.

The WCR report echoes studies from the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), which found that high intakes of red and processed meats may raise the risk of lung and colorectal cancer by up to 20 per cent.

The NCI scientists have also reported findings from a study with half a million people, noting that that increased consumption of red and processed meat may have a modestly increased risk of death from cancer or heart disease (Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol 169, pp. 562-571).

The Archives study was described by Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina as “excellent” in an accompanying editorial. Popkin added that the results “reiterate the concerns echoed in other major reviews and studies on the adverse effects of excessive meat intake”.

Hearts and eyes

Only yesterday we reported on new data from Boston-based scientists that linked red meat to an increased risk of heart failure. According to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, an average of 9.5 servings of red meat per week was associated with a 24 per cent increase in heart failure risk, compared with only 1.5 servings per week. The study was claimed to be the first to evaluate the relationship between red meat consumption and heart failure risk in a large cohort.

A significant body of science also supports a potential link between meat consumption and the risk of type-2 diabetes. Indeed, a meta-analysis from Norway and the US last year found that high intakes of all types of meat were associated with a 17 per cent increase in the risk of type-2 diabetes, while similar risk increases were also noted for high intakes of red meat.

Writing in the journal Diabetologia (2009, Vol. 52, pp. 2277-2287), scientists led by Dagfinn Aune from the University of Oslo also reported that high intake of processed meat may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by 40 per cent, based on data from 12 cohort studies.

Australian scientists have also reported links between red meat consumption and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.

According to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (doi:10.1093/aje/kwn393), two portions of red meat a day were linked to a 50 per cent increase in the risk of AMD. On the flip side, the researchers found that consumption of white meat may offer some protection.

Additives or other?

In an attempt to explain the observations and associations, scientists have pointed the accusatory finger at a range of meat constituents and additives. The salt/sodium content of processed meats has also been identified as a potential contributing factor.

In terms of heart health, scientists have proposed that the saturated fat and cholesterol content of red meat may increase the risks of both high blood pressure (hypertension) and coronary heart disease, both of which are risk factors for heart failure.

Another suspect is nitrite and nitrate additives. Nitrites are added to meat to retard rancidity, stabilise flavour, and establish the characteristic pink colour of cured meat. However, about 80 per cent of nitrates in the diet come from vegetables, while nitrites sources include vegetables, fruit, and processed meats.

Observational studies, including data from the third National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) on 7,352 subjects over the age of 45, have suggested that increased consumption of nitrites from cured meat could increase the risk of lung disease.

But the topic of nitrites and nitrates is controversial. Scientists from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the researchers report that the compounds, also found in vegetables and drinking water, reduced heart cell death in the mice following a heart attack by 48 per cent (Vol. 104, pp. 19144-19149).

A recent study from researchers at Michigan State University went as far as to suggest that the compounds may actually be nutritious (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.27131).

Moderation

The majority of the science has focussed on relatively excessive intakes of meat. A balanced diet is promoted by all public health agencies, and that should include meat.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) suggested last year that red meat packs should carry labels advising people to consume no more than three portions a week.

The WWF says it is not telling people to stop eating meat altogether – rather that they should reduce portions or eat it less often.

Monday's Tattler

Good morning! It's another new and wonderful week! I've had computer issues all weekend, so not much was put up here. We had a nice going away party for Miss Leigh on Friday.

Mr. Denny and Miss Nita will be teaching full time now. We are glad to have both of them. Both are licensed teachers. Miss Nita is an artist and a counselor and hails from Owensboro. Mr. Denny is a fireman and EMT. We are grateful to have such well rounded men and women on staff.

This week, you will receive a new piece of paper work: The Flower Box. Inside, you will find our whole week of classes, special events, visitors, and our menu. I hope you enjoy this little publication. Please let us know what you think.

Children should be wearing shorts, t-shirts, tie or Velcro shoes and socks. Please do not send children in long pants or long shirts or sandals. It is much too hot, and we will be going outdoors for recess if we can.

Please do not send food of any kind with your child. We have a restaurant license, and it is not allowed. If your child is eating when you pull up to the school, please let him finish in your car.

We close promptly at 5:30. If I have to pay a teacher overtime, I must pass that along to late parents.

We would love to have wall paper books, paint chip books, and any craft item that has been around your house.

If you have any questions about the week, please see Miss Judy or Miss Amy.

Have a great week!

Thursday's Thought

I'd like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to one of the best teachers we have ever had at the Garden School - Miss Leigh. She came to us as a college student who had never taught and never really worked with young children. The first day she came, she moved slowly with the kids. I was sure she wasn't sure about the whole venture. I knew she would be spectacular if she would only give it a chance. I knew she had that something special. I had known her as a child, and her love of life was just the thing I was looking for.

Leigh came in at a very difficult time - the end of the year. One teacher moving out, and she was expected to move in. She managed to rise to every occasion, treat everyone with respect and friendship, and at the same time, she was able to bond with every child, meet the parents and earn a heap of respect from everyone.

It took about two weeks before she was ready to do every job at the Garden School, produce class after class, meet with the parents, make growing choices that made a difference, come up with innovative ideas, implement them and make them work. There was no job too menial, no job too tough, and no job, in the entire time she has been at the Garden School, which was left undone or which was carelessly done. Her work ethic is top notch. She is an asset to anything she touches.

Leigh is #5 child in a wonderful line of children from a great home in Newburgh. Her parents are the salt of the earth. I've known this family for thirty years and can honestly say that I love them all.

Leigh has taught reading. Not an easy job. Every one of her little people managed to learn to read something. Words, sentences, books. The children LOVED her and all she did for them. They came from her class excited, enthusiastic, proud, and knowing that they could accomplish anything they started...just like Miss Leigh.

She was our brilliant artist! She did so many fine projects with the kids. She painted the backdrops for the plays, made every kind of extra, had a hand in every learning experience. How can we ever thank her for all she has been to us?

Her enthusiasm for every project, occasion, play, tea, Christmas event was outstanding. Even her enthusiasm about lunch was an occasion for celebration every day. You know what that means to the cook!

We will miss her very much this coming school year. We wish her well in her new adventure in Louisville. She has been a Godsend to us, and we know that in everything she does, she will be blessed because her work comes directly from the heart.

Wonderful Wednesday

A friend sent these, and I though they might just make you smile on a hot hot day.

Tuesday's Teacher

Discipline; to some it’s an ugly word and to some it’s an embarrassing word. People who “own up” to discipline often have to stand in the crossfire of anger, criticized and judged as “up tight,” “narrow minded,” and “old fashioned” even when discipline works.

“Never say no to a child” is childcare’s response to the unpopular discipline. The myth surrounding such a profound stupidity is that foolish adults believe children think as adults do and therefore children are on the same level as their parents.

They aren’t. Caring adults have experience, perception, recall and the ability to make wise and careful judgments about the world that bring about good and righteous decisions. It’s called reason and comes along after years of watching other formative adults.

When parents say, “I am co learning with my child,” I wonder if the adult grew up in a pumpkin shell. “Learning,” as William Bennett says, “requires discipline and discipline requires values.”

Values are not acquired in a pumpkin shell. They are learned and taught by thinking people who care about right living.

On the other hand, when children come from homes where the adults view discipline and its rules as a mystery or even a rebel style, children struggle with ordinary things like respect towards people, places and things, they are often lacking in skills, social and mechanical.

If play is the business of childhood, even play is at a loss when rules don’t count. How do children fail to learn the basics and fail to adapt to even a minimal cultural training?

Ask Fenwick; he’s undisciplined, can’t follow directions, listen, sit, line up, use a fork, use the toilet in a user-friendly manner or speak to an adult in a polite way. And worse, he doesn’t think he has to because it isn’t expected at home. Daddy doesn’t.

Fenwick’s play is disordered. After months in childcare, he has no friends; he doesn’t know how to play with anyone. He never initiates play of his own. At most, Fenwick nudges other children’s play, knocking down their buildings, scribbling on their artwork and undoing puzzle pieces.

Sadly, the Fenwicks are often treated as hyper active. Fenwick is not hyperactive; he’s undisciplined because his primary educator is undisciplined and doesn’t play by the rules, and like the child, causes disruptions wherever he goes.

Why does daddy disregard ordinary responsibilities like bedtime, nutrition standards and seat belts? Why does Fenwick watch R rated movies? Why can’t daddy make a childcare payment, pick up, drop off, or return a form on time? When daddy is never quite sure when there is a childcare vacation, an activity, a field trip, a party, or a free day, how is Fenwick able to glean life discipline and the virtue of order?

Why? Because discipline is hard and no one, not even Fenwick, is worth the effort.

No matter how discipline strikes the heart, when adults are disciplined it just seems to work and it seems to rub off on the kids. When adults fight discipline and hide from the virtue of regular order, children suffer a lot.

Discipline is no more the enemy than Fenwick.

Monday's Tattler

So the transition to school begins. Welcome new children! We will start shifting from summer to school schedule today. Children should wear regular shorts, t-shirts, shoes and socks today. We will be in the classroom in the a.m. and in the p.m.

This week we will find out who belongs in what class. There will be some testing today.

If you have a swim suit at school, please take it home. All towels, goggles and other summer stuff needs to go home.

Our theme for the rest of August is "rules." What do we do and how do we do it will be our constant attention. When we learn to sit quietly, use the bathroom properly, sit at a table like ladies and gentlemen, the school year goes so well.

We will be staying in this week because of the temps.

As soon as possible, everyone will get a new handbook, a medical form and a food form. Please read your handbook, get your medical filled out, and your food form.

If you are reading this, please tell your child to say "My mom read the blog," for a treasure box pass.
Questions? See miss Judy.

Sunday's Plate; Making Things Easy

I cook every evening. I make a very nice balanced, nutritious meal that only takes me 30 minutes or an hour if something has to slow cook, but I'm rarely in the kitchen more than 30 minutes. All of our food is fresh. It is never prepared or precooked.

I'm an engineer when it comes to time. I hate wasting time. My motto is get it done like the crow flies - fast and direct and now. I hate chaos and mess. If you are in the kitchen to cook, do it with the fewest possible steps.

So you want a nice dinner of breaded pan fried fresh fish, potato salad and avocado tomato salad? Fifteen minutes tops from cupboard to plate.

First step is find your potatoes and wash, prick, and microwave them for five minutes. 30 seconds.

While they are in the micro, go to the garden and snip your favorite herbs. Trim your herbs and take a slice of pumpernickle and a slice of whole wheat bread and put spices, bread and a 1/4 cup of Parmesan in the food processor until it is crumbs. Put half the crumb mix on a plate. 3 minutes.

Mix an egg and a heaping tablespoon of plain yogurt on a plate until the egg is not discernible from the yogurt. 1 minute.

Put 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour on a third plate. 10 seconds.

Re-up your potatoes and micro for another 5 minutes.

Take your fish and with a fork, dredge the fish in the flour, the egg and then the bread crumbs and leave on a fourth plate. Do all the fish. 3 minutes.

In a heavy frying pan, put about three tablespoons olive oil and heat. 1 minute. While this is heating, cut up a medium tomato into cubes. Cut an avocado in half and pull the pit and put aside for planting.

Put your fish into your hot pan to cook and reclaim your potatoes from the micro. Cut the potatoes into large cubes and let stand on the counter to cool. 2 minutes.

Turn fish. Add cubed tomato to the open avocado and add your favorite dressing and put on a dinner plate. 1 minute.

Put warm but not hot cubed potatoes into a bowl, add mayo, a dab of mustard, and whatever you like in your potato salad. 2 minutes.

Make sure fish is cooked - should be - put potato salad on plate with avocado, put fish on plate and add a little mayo that has been mixed with salsa for a "fish dip." 2 minutes.

Congratulations on a nice meal in fifteen minutes.

Saturday's Under the Sun

I got a sweet treat from Natural Vines Brand Licorice - A Healthier Indulgence the other day, and I can say the kids really loved this candy. Here's some information for parents looking for something special.

The American Licorice Company Debuts All Natural Premium Confection!

From Bend Oregon on July 8, 2010 -

For consumers who are more health conscious and looking for products that don't contain artificial ingredients, the American Licorice Company, one of the nation's oldest confectionery manufactures, has debuted the Natural Vines brand, its new line of premium gourmet licorice. Made with only natural flavors and colors from natural sources, and sweetened with molasses and pure cand sugar, natural Vines contain no trans or saturated fats, no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives, zero cholesterol, and are very low in sodium.

More than ever, consumers are reading package labels and scrutinizing the ingredients in the food they're buying for their families, said Michael Kelly, Manager of Consumer communications at American Licorice Company. "We make Natural Vines with pure, simple, and wholesome ingredients to provide a healthier alternative for consumers looking for something sweet."

The two flavors, Black and Strawberry, contain natural licorice extract and are made from a unique cooking process that delivers a soft, chewy texture and a deep, rich flavor. The bite-sized twists have less than 17 calories each, and come in a convenient resealable bag that keeps in freshness and flavor and allows for easy portion control. These wonderful treats are available online at www.candycabinet.com

The American Licorice Company is a leader in the manufacturing of extruded candy products. It is one of America's original licorice companies from 1914. The also make Red Vines, Snaps, Sour Punch, Super Ropes, Extinguisher, and natural Vines.

Friday's Tattler

We had a blast on Friday!