Sweet Potato Awareness Month

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Chef Diane

My mother loves sweet potatoes.  When I was growing up she used to tell me that she take two hot sweet potatoes to to school every day, one in each pocket, to keep her hands warm on her long uphill walks to school each morning in the snow, then eat the potatoes at lunch. I should have realized that growing up in the south, on the beach, there were no hills or snow to hinder her daily walks, however it wasn’t until recently that my aunt, her sister, told me that she never had to walk up hill in the snow with sweet potatoes in her pockets to keep her hands warm.  But she does however love sweet potatoes.

Every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas she cooks them, puts them in a dish and tops them with marshmallows and bakes them until they are golden brown.  All she adds to the potatoes are butter, and the rest of the family is not as fond of that, but my mother isnt concerned, that means more for her.  I love them with pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon, they are delicious that way, and no leftovers.

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Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and beta carotene and antioxidants. They are also a good source of fiber as well.  Actually, the sweet potato is not a potato at all, but a root. I have noticed more use of the sweet potato, especially in the form of fries at local restaurants.  At thanksgiving when my father fries the annual turkey, he also uses the mandarin I gave him and slices up sweet potatoes and fries them as chips.  They are just like Lay's potato chips, only better!  I also have friends who will bake a sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin pie for their thanksgiving dessert.

November is Sweet Potato Awareness Month; this is a perfect time to celebrate with many different delicious dishes.  They are not only good, but good for you.  So this November, bake, fry, or make a pie out of some sweet potatoes.  Below is a recipe for sweet potato pie from southernfood.com to get you started in the month long awareness of this root.

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

4 ounces butter, softened

2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

Preparation:

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended.

Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.

Makes 2 pies.

2012 Daylight Savings Time Ends

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By Terry Orr

So do yourself a favor before going to bed tonight – Set all your clocks back one hour as daylight savings ends at 2 AM Sunday morning.

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Also Change Batteries in your Smoke Protectors!

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It is Cliché' Day

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By Diane Forrest

I was raised to always tell my host that I enjoyed my meal.  Not only did I let them know that I enjoyed it, I added a little something extra to my thanks.  I said it so often; I never even thought anything of it until one night at my mothers.  After clearing the table, I told my mother thank you for my dinner, I enjoyed it, then I added my "it was delicious and nutritious."  After that remark my son and his wife broke into laughter, as he reached for his wallet and handed her a dollar bill.  A questioning look from me received an explanation that they had made a bet that I would add my delicious and nutritious phrase, and there was a slight concern after there was a long pause after I said delicious. However, after it was spoken, a dollar was passed to his wife, and I was aware of my cliché'.

A cliché' as defined by the dictionary, is a phrase or expression that is over used outside of its original context.  Some examples of a cliché are:

• The check is in the mail;
• Come hell or high water;
• Damned if you do, damned if you don't; and
• When pigs fly.

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I remember watching Bill Cosby when he put on a one man performance.  He was talking about his brother, Russell.  He was with his brother, as his mom was berating them over something, and his mother let out the phrase…I’m just sick... to which he brother replied...and tired!!!  While his mother was not amused at him finished her sentence, she realized that she must have used that cliché' more than once.

Another phrase I hear alot is "all fair in love and war."  I hear this alot because it is used in the movie It's a Wonderful Life, a movie that I watch alot.  George says it to his mother to which she replies. .well I don't know about war.

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Another type of cliché’s is used alot in movies, such as in horror movies, when the young girl goes into the basement in the dark, or kidnapping the love interest in a movie. In fact there are several cliché’s found in movies and television shows, that you almost know what is going to happen before it does.

Today is Cliché' Day.  So if you don't have a good one of your own, you can try this site, that will help you with the perfect cliché' http://www.westegg.com/cliche/random.cgi .

Sadie Hawkins Day

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By Diane Forrest

Have you ever considered how lucky you are to have ever gone on a date, gotten a kiss, even married?  The courage it takes to make that first contact is overwhelming!  I have been reading some recent articles about how to meet people, and how to ask for phone numbers, or dates, where to meet people.  Even with all the modern technology in the world it still requires someone to take the first step.  When I was growing up, I was forbidden to call a boy.  That is just something a girl didn't do.  We were just supposed to sit by the phone and dream that at any minute it would ring, and it would be your true love on the other end.

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Today with the use of non-published phone numbers, and cell phones a person is required to ask for contact information, and that can be terrifying for some guys.  So much so that the opportunity may be lost if the courage isn’t summoned.  Ladies have no fear, today is your lucky day.  Today is Sadie Hawkins day.  The day when it is perfectly acceptable, even expected for you to make the first move.  Sadie Hawkins was a fictional character in a cartoon strip called Lil' Abner.  Andy Capp, the author of the strip from 1934-1978, wrote about a hillbilly town called Dogpatch,  that had several residents, one named Sadie Hawkins. She was declared the "homeliest gal in all them hills" .  When she had reached the age of 35, she was still unmarried and her father worried that she would remain a spinster and live with him for the rest of her life.  This thought worried him, so he devised a plan.  In desperation, he called together all the unmarried men of Dogpatch and declared it "Sadie Hawkins Day". Specifically, a foot race was decreed, with Sadie in hot pursuit of the town's eligible bachelors—and matrimony as the consequence. If a woman caught a bachelor and dragged him, kicking and screaming, across the finish line before sundown—by law he had to marry her.  This race first appeared in the comic strip in 1937, by 1939 it was so popular that it was being practiced at college campuses all across the nation.  It was a day for women to ask me out for a date, which was unheard of in 1939.

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Today is Sadie Hawkins day...so if you are single, get the nerve up and ask a man out on a date, or just get the nerve up to ask him for his phone number.  You never know…could be the start of something great!

November Cancer Awareness Overview

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By Terry Orr

What Is Cancer?

Cancer is the general name for a group of more than 100 diseases. Although there are many kinds of cancer, all cancers start because abnormal cells grow out of control. Untreated cancers can cause serious illness and death.

How common is cancer?

Half of all men and one-third of all women in the US will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. The risk of developing many types of cancer can be reduced by changes in a person’s lifestyle, for example, by staying away from tobacco, limiting time in the sun, being physically active and healthy eating.

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Each month, we try to identify key health-related topics to share with you.  Cancer is one of those health-related topics too large to be adequately covered under just one heading. So, throughout the year – nearly every month has more than one cancer-related topic of the month.  November has five such – and they are:

• Lung Cancer Awareness Month;
• Carcinoid Cancer Awareness Month;
• National Family Caregivers Month;
• Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month; and
• Stomach Cancer Awareness Month

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Each of these will be topics will have separate articles posted during the month.  The Big “C” has probably touched all of our lives – I know it sure has mine as my Grandmother and Dad both died as a result of cervical and renal cell respectively.  In addition, several family members and friends have had one form or another of Cancer.

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Educating ourselves and family members about Cancer, symptoms, treatments, care, giving our love and support are critical items in helping others.  There are several support groups available to assist you and your love ones in dealing with these terrible diereses and strong recommend seeking their help.

To learn more about Cancer, I recommend the National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov) – they have a list of all types of Cancer that includes the following types of information:

• Definition of the type of cancer;
• Estimated new cases and deaths;
• Online booklet information;
• Treatment, Prevention, Genetics, Causes,
• Screening and Testing;
• Clinical Trails;
• Literature;
• Research and Related Information; and
• Statics (including fact sheets).

From the good folks over at the National Library of Medicine – The most common cause of cancer-related death is lung cancer.

The three most common cancers in men in the United States are:

1. Prostate cancer
2. Lung cancer
3. Colon cancer

In women in the United States, the three most common cancers are:

1. Breast cancer
2. Colon cancer
3. Lung cancer

Please take a couple minutes to review some of these links – bookmark as appropriate.  Thank you!

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References and Links:

• http://www.cancer.org/?gclid=CLKjxKuYqrMCFQqe4AodzScAqA
• http://www.choosehope.com/cms-category/calendar-of-cancer-awareness-months
• http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/index
• http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/cancer
• http://www.cancer.net/all-about-cancer
• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancer.html
• http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Aboutcancer/AboutcancerHome.aspx#.UJE6ScWHKSo
• http://www.cancerquest.org/
• http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@epidemiologysurveilance/documents/document/acspc-031941.pdf
• http://cancercontrolplanet.cancer.gov/
• http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/
• http://www.nfcr.org/
• http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/alphalist
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002267/

National Deviled Egg Day

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Chef Diane

I found this great book, so I bought a copy for my mother.  She gave it back to me though, since she already had a copy.  The title of the book?  “Being Dead is No Excuse”, The official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral.  Being from the south, one of the main things we do is take food places.  We take food when welcoming a new neighbor, new baby, if there is someone sick, or if there is a death.  There is one dish you are sure to find at a funeral gathering, and that is deviled eggs.  They are quick to make, and very tasty!  Many people have special plates to serve them one, like the one pictured above.  I have three deviled egg plates, and have given them to my mother as well.  These plates allow the egg to sit in a hollowed out area to prevent them from sliding around and squashing the other eggs.

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One of my favorite meals is sliced ham, tater salad, and deviled eggs.  Although my deviled eggs and tater salad seem to taste the same, I still fix them both together.  You just take a boiled egg, remove the shell and cut in half.  Then you take the yolk out, careful not to break the white, and put the yolks in a bowl.  six boiled eggs will make a dozen deviled eggs.  One you have the yolks in a bow, add a heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise, a squirt of mustard, a little pickle relish, sweet or dill according to your preference, and a little salt and pepper.  Mix it together, if it is a little dry, add more mayonnaise.  Then spoon into the egg white shells, you may also sprinkle a little paprika on top for added color.  Then put them on your special plate and stick them in the refrigerator to allow them to set, or just eat them right away.

Today is National Deviled Egg Day.  According to punchbowl.com, deviled eggs originated in ancient Rome, the term "deviled" didn't appear until the 18th century when it was used to describe highly seasoned, fried, or boiled dishes. By the 19th century, the word "deviled" was used to describe hot seasonings in general. Today, not all deviled egg recipes are spicy, but a little cayenne pepper or hot mustard can always give them an extra kick.

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So today, boil up a few eggs and devil them, you can eat them as an appetizer or a side dish, or even the main course.

World Communications Week

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By Terry Orr

“Communication is the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information by speech, signals or writing.”

Means of communicating were rather simple when I was born: post cards; letters; telegraph; telephone, sign language; smoke signals (didn’t work to well in the city); radio and the beginning of television; of course – telewoman (big smile) and best means face-to-face.  Sixty some years later each has improved and digital communications is leading to way to new and improved means of communicating with others.

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Last year at this time - Cherie Burbach wrote in her article on World Communication Week: Communication problems can affect every area of our life, from our jobs to our friendships. You might think that "better communication" just means talking more, but the reason definition has to do with effectiveness. This includes listening, paying attention to non-verbal clues, and speaking clearly so that both your intent and message is obvious.

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While our tools and methods of communicating have vastly increased over the past few years – our ability to effectively communicate has become more challenging and often finding ourselves less effective.  While I am here sitting in Bob Evans finishing my breakfast writing this article and wondering just how we got ourselves into this rut of being poor communicators in general. Here are some thoughts to consider:

• Short Hand;
• Abbreviations
• Lack of understanding between generations;
• Lack of patience;
• Audiences have dramatically changed;
• We have gone from local to regional to national to global environments;and
• Diversity.

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Dennis Rivers at NewConverations.Net recently updated his “A Guide to Listening,, Self-expression, Creative Question Asking, Gratitude, and more” is available for free in PDF format and contains lots of good information. Dennis focuses on seven communication skills challenges and a brief description of each follows.

Communication Skills Challenge One: Deep Listening. Listen more carefully and responsively, acknowledging the feelings and wants that people express in word and mood. Actively acknowledging another person’s experience does not have to mean that you agree or approve.

Communication Skills Challenge Two: Explaining your conversational intent and inviting consent by using one of 30 basic conversational invitations such as, “Right now I would like to take a few minutes and ask you about… [subject].” The more involvement a conversation is going to require of the other person, the more you will benefit by sharing your conversational goal and inviting the conscious cooperation of your conversation partner.

Communication Skills Challenge Three: Expressing yourself more clearly and more completely how to express yourself in a way that gives your listeners the information they need to:

Understand (mentally reconstruct) your experiences more fully

Empathize with what you are experiencing.

One good way is to use “the five I-messages”: What/how I …

Observe;

Am feeling;

Because I interpret/evaluate/need, and now I;

Want to request; and

Envision/hope for from request.

Communication Skills Challenge Four: Translating your criticisms and complaints into requests for action and explaining the positive results of having your request granted. Do this for both your own complaints and the complaints that others bring to you.  Focusing on the positive outcome shows respect to the recipient of a request as having a positive contribution to make, and shifts focus from past mistakes to present and future successes.

Communication Skills Challenge Five: Asking questions more “open-endedly” and more creatively.

“How did you like that movie?” is an open-ended question that invites a wide range of answers. “Did you like it?” suggests only “yes” or “no” as answers and does not encourage discussion. Sincerely asked open-ended questions can open up our conversation partners.

Communication Skills Challenge Six: Thanking: Expressing more gratitude, appreciation, encouragement and delight in everyday life.  In a world full of problems, look for opportunities to give praise. Both at home & at work, it is the bond of appreciation that makes relationships strong enough to allow for problem-solving and differing needs.

Communication Skills Challenge Seven: Adopting the “living-as-continuous-learning” approach.  Make the practices described in challenges 1 through 6 important parts of your everyday living and learning. Pay attention to each conversation as an opportunity to grow in skill, awareness and compassion.  Work to redefine each of your “opponents” in life as a learning and problem-solving partner.  Assist the processes of change in your world by personally embodying the changes, virtues and styles of behavior you want to see in others.

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So let’s all take a few minutes, catch our collective breaths, reflect on the helpful ideas listed above and start working to communicate better in all areas of our lives.

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References and Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

http://notesdesk.com/notes/business-communications/types-of-communication/

http://www.creativedisplaysnow.com/articles/history-of-communication-from-cave-drawings-to-the-web.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_communication

http://friendship.about.com/b/2011/11/03/november-1-7-is-world-communication-week.htm

http://newconversations.net/