My 100th Post-- Count the Cost

One of the world's largest suppliers of rice and cotton, Olam International,said in a Bloomsberg TV interview 2/14/11 that corn prices will escalate to a record, pushing up food inflation costs and thus increasing hunger. They believe that the climate around the world is changing and that will cause massive disruptions. Corn is involved in much of the food we eat- animals feed on corn, drinks contain corn fructose and the owner of Montana Bread mentioned that when corn prices are high, wheat fields are instead used to plant corn, causing less supply and higher prices for wheat. Now add higher fuel cost to all this, count on your food costs to go up. Look what I read last night in "American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism 1865-1900" by H. W. Brands. We can learn from the industrial giants. Andrew Carnegie (the steelmaster)"...obsessed over cost because it was the one part of his business he could control. Carnegie never wanted to know the profits...He always wanted to know the costs...Carnegie's genius ...was his talent for organization." John D. Rockefeller, creator of the Standard Oil empire, was also "...relentless [in his] pursuit of efficiency." It's time to count the costs- know what it costs to make a meal verses eating out and then work on the efficiency of cooking in quantity with cooking co-op. That is capitalism at it's best!

Presidents Need Wisdom

Happy President's Day! I love history and this country is so blessed that just the right leaders and Presidents have been at the right place at just the right time to guide our country through many stormy "seas" of opinion and need for action. In Sunday school, we are still in the 1st chapter of Daniel. We discovered Daniel was given wisdom to solve dilemmas and that wisdom is needed when there are shades of gray. Just like our political leaders today, we adults need wisdom to deal with the daily dilemmas we face. And we parents need to exhibit right thinking in our family settings. So last week, Ron came to our office for a high priority meeting. He outlined the new regulations coming down the pike in our industry. As he was introduced, we found out he graduated from Williams College undergrad and Georgtown Law School. I went up to Ron later, thanked him and commented on his education. I found out he went to Woodberry Forest for high school. So I asked what his family did about mealtime as he was growing up. He shared his mom was a maid and his father a chauffeur. He said they regularly ate meals at the dinner table with the TV turned off! I respectfully ask that you conduct your own test for one month- either cook the meals yourself or recruit help through a cooking co-op to solve the dilemmas we face in education, soaring costs of food, obesity... just to name a few. You have just enough time to get organized for the month of March. Bring March in like a lion... hum.. Daniel and the lion's den!

It's Truly All About Food

WOW. What a week-end! It started well going out to eat with long time friends that we don't get to see much after my son's high school b-ball team beat their arch rival. Then Saturday night the men of the church fixed a beautiful and delicious Valentine's dinner followed by challenging games like each couple trying to gift wrap a box with your left hand. Then in Sunday school, we started the 1st chapter of Daniel. Guess what? It was all about food- the Lord blessed Daniel, had him eat veges and in "matters of wisdom and understanding" the king found Daniel "ten times better" than all the other wise men of the land. Since we had left overs, we had a another great meal after church- we looked like a crowded Last Supper. Then I made a healthier Brunswick Stew for my son's b-ball coach's family who's wife just had major surgery and will be out of the kitchen for a while. I used quick cooking barley instead of the hash browns. Taste good and healthier and I'm thrilled at my creative twist. Then, Lisa(cooking co-op expert and friend) and I surprised our 5:30am tennis gang with a beautiful bouquet of candy bars and home-made french toast to remind them not to forget Valentines. Maybe the guys let us win a few more games, we had fun talking around the table, and our week is off to a good start. What wisdom we gain by sitting around a table with family and friends and enjoying communion! Amen.

How American Mothers Could Be Superior

Interviews with the "Tiger Mom" continues as we hear her marching orders about how she chooses her children's daily activities. In talking with a business school professor who specializes in behavior decision -making, he said the down-side of this kind of up-bringing is a lack of creativity and innovation. One thing we know about Bill Gates, Billy Jean King, Katie Couric to name a few- the importance of the dinner table and the family meal in their lives. American mothers could be superior if we get back to this basic. Just this week, I spoke with Betsy. She started her first cooking co-op after reading the Richmond Times Dispatch article, "Cook for a night, Eat for a Week" in Feb, 2009. She is still loving the way it orders her and her family's life. She says she wants to "shout it from the rooftops" the benefits of cooking co-op. She shared with her 11th graders that she knew what her dinners would be for the next month. They wanted to see her menus and they too are fascinated with the cooking co-op concept. Food costs are on the rise and in this jobless recovery, families, like our government need to find creative ways to cut costs. the time for this up-rising in the kitchen is NOW!

Super Bowl Recipes and Bribe Your Athletes

First, try my Brunswick Stew recipe under the Recipe tab here on my website. This is cooking in quantity. It's best cooked the day before, fish out the chicken, cut up the chicken, put back in your slow cooker and it's ready for your family and friends the next day. Next, go to the Helpful Resources tab on this website. Follow these clicks: youvegotsupper/ Browse Recipes/ Turkey/ Double Decker Turkey, Bacon and Havarti Sandwiches. This draws rave reviews from husbands and teenage sons. Just find a round loaf of bread- Montana Gold in Richmond, VA makes delicious round loaves- cut a wide hole in the top, tear out the bread inside and layer the ingredients. And food can be a great bribe. To add a focus factor to our son's rec league basketball game today, we promised him pizza if he had a good game. Well, he really had a "goal" to shoot for- he made 20 points and his team won by 3 points against a top team. Incentives work!

"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior"

This article was in the Wall Street Journal this week-end. If you are interested in better parenting skills, this article will give you "food" for thought. Chinese mothers believe "academic achievement reflects successful parenting" and if children do not do well in school, the parents "were not doing their job." Chinese parents believe "nothing is fun until you're good at it." To do well, it takes work and practice, practice, practice. I very much believe a vital part of successful parenting is regularly having family meals in your own home with TV, phone, video games off. And the discipline of planning, shopping and cooking your dinners exhibits to your children a degree of discipline you also expect of them. The Chinese think "rote repetition is underrated in America." The rote repetition of dinnertime is a start. Did anybody watch college basketball this week-end? Under Dean Smith, UNC players were expected to always make their free throws. Today, there is no one in the ACC with a worse free throw % than UNC. No one wants to practice. And free throws, dinnertime, and absolutely nothing is fun until you are good at it. Parents- practice starts with us. Let's do our job!

Try Adventure in the New Year

A couple of definitions for adventure: A thrilling experience; to run risks. Our family did that over the Christmas break. Our oldest daughter went down-hill skiing for the first time and loved it despite frigid temps. The rest of us went 8 hours away to Georgia to visit a family we had never met. Our daughters are great friends that met at camp and we loved their daughter. So off we go to a family farm to deer hunt, enjoy picnics and all sorts of delicious food, sift through dirt to find Indian pottery, see and learn history and be blessed with wonderful fellowship. The original part of the house dates back to the late 1700's and this farm has been in the family since the 1800's. I have never been deer hunting but I took my camera and a book and climbed up a deer stand for 2 hours and enjoyed the beauty and fresh air. I didn't see a deer but my son did! We took a risk this family might not like us but what a thrilling experience we had enjoying the outdoors, new experiences and especially making new friends. So why not run a risk that your cooking might not always be perfect, but try a cooking co-op adventure, make new friends and have a weekly plan for making dinner more than mealtime.