Just Do One Thing

Bloggers around the world have been asked to participate in the 2009 Blog Action Day today. We have been asked to dedicate today's blog to Climate Change.

Grams is not an expert on Climate Change. Sure, I've listened to Al Gore speak about global warming. I watched An Inconvenient Truth. I'm aware of efforts to save endangered species. The only remaining flock of Whooping Cranes winters near my home in South Texas. Grams has been aware of ecology and somewhat informed about climate change since I was in my teens many years ago. I was a sophomore in high school when Earth Day was first celebrated.

The challenge to blog about Climate Change made me stop and think about it. It seems that a chain of events has already been set in motion. It's clear to anyone who is paying attention that the change has already started. We're all hoping that it's not too late. If we start again today, can we change the inevitable or is climate change a forgone conclusion? Isn't the problem too big? Will I be able to make a difference? What can one person or one family possibly do about Climate Change?

Grams certainly doesn't have all the answers. But I know that one person and one family can make a difference. Here's what Grams and Grandad already do.

1. We have replaced our disposable, one-time use paper napkins with washable reusable fabric napkins. They don't add anything to the laundry we're already doing and using them saves a few trees.
   
2. We have our own green bags that we keep in my car so we can use them whenever we shop. I even have two little ones that fit in my purse for anytime I just run in to pick up one or two items.
3. We keep our air conditioner set on 78 degrees in the summer and in the winter our heat stays at 67 degrees. Since South Texas is hotter than the face of the sun, this is the biggest sacrifice we make, but it also saves us a bunch on our utility bill.
   
4. Grams has replaced disposable plastic storage and sandwich bags with reusable containers.
5. Grams buys fresh produce instead of canned goods. There's less waste with no containers to dispose of.
6. Grams buys local produce whenever possible. It's healthier, it's good for the environment and it supports local farmers. The fact that is tastes better is an added bonus.
   

Grams hasn't quite mastered the art of unplugging all the appliances that are not in use, but I pledge to work on that one next.

None of these things are hard or expensive or that big of a deal ... but they make a small difference. And that's what it's all about. If everyone will just make a small difference, just change one or two things in your own home, together we can make a difference globally for Climate Change in a positive direction.

Grams Made Hamburger Stew

This is my version of a stew that my mother-in-law used to make. I use fresh vegetables where she used frozen or canned. It's one of our favorite winter weekend meals.

1 lb. Extra-lean ground beef
4 large russet potatoes, cut into chunks
1 onion, sliced
1 lb. Carrots, pared and cut into chunks
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz.)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in stew pot or dutch oven.

Add all other ingredients. Add two cans of water (use the tomato sauce can). Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes and carrots are done, about 30 minutes.

You may also add a can of corn and/or a cup of rice when you add all the other ingredients. We like it better on the second day when we reheat it.

We're Really Good at Halloween

My neighborhood is really good at Halloween. No, I mean it. We're really, really good at it! And we've been good at it for a long, long time.

The Halloween frenzy started innocently enough. Years ago, when the neighborhood was new, there were not many children. In fact for a long time it seemed like ours were the only ones ... not literally, but it did feel that way for a while. As more people moved in and the younger couples started having babies, the Halloween festivities grew.

On Halloween night we would block off the street and there would be carnival games in every driveway. Kids could bob for apples, go through a spook house, toss bean bags, etc. There was even a costume contest. Some years, after the kids were put to bed, parents would meet at the corner and have wine and cheese to wind down.

These photos are from Halloween around 1987 or so. The kids in these photos are in their late twenties and early thirties now. Some of them come back and bring their own kids now. The old carnival has evolved to a huge party at my next-door neighbor's house. Everyone brings a covered dish. We usually have hamburgers and hot dogs and we eat dinner before the trick-or-treating begins. In addition to all the Halloween candy, there are homemade popcorn balls and decorated cookies.

Neighbors bring lawn chairs, ice chests and our own bag or basket of candy. Kids trick-or-treat by walking from person-to-person around the driveway. Then they head out, accompanied by a few adults, to knock on doors around the area.

In our neighborhood, trick-or-treating often continues well into teenage years. We love that and we embrace it. Teenagers, with fangs and fake blood run through the neighborhood, toss water balloons and spray silly string at each other. And ... some of them still trick-or-treat. It's good clean fun and I love the fact that they're not too grown up to participate in the festivities. Most of the adults and parents are sitting outside and everybody is keeping an eye on everybody's kids. My kids embraced Halloween well into their high school years.

Several years ago when our baby left for college (that's him bobbing for apples), we felt that it was important to keep doing the activities we had always done. For the first few years, Grams made a covered dish and around sundown on Halloween we would head next door to participate in the neighborhood festivities. But, Grams soon discovered that it's just not the same and I didn't really enjoy Halloween any more. I missed my kids and I would get a bad case of the blues when Halloween came around. Grams soon concluded that this was one of the areas of my life where adjustments were called for. So for the past several years, Grams and Grandad have opted out of the neighborhood festivities and gone to the movies. That way I don't have to resist eating any Halloween candy and I don't get the blues. With just this small adjustment ... Grams made it!

Grams Made Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is one of our favorite recipes. It's good enough to make for company and it travels well for covered dish dinners. You can make it more or less spicy by using hot or mild enchilada sauce. You can also use green or red enchilada sauce for variety.

12 corn tortillas
2 cups cooked, de-boned, shredded chicken breasts (rotisserie chicken works great)
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 greed or red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch strips
2 cans Enchilada Sauce
4 cups grated Mexican mix cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until the slice start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

When ready to assemble, preheat over to 350 degrees. Dip 6 tortillas into sauce, one at a time, to soften, and use them to line the bottom of a 9" x 12" casserole pan.

Top this layer with all of the shredded chicken. Next layer half the cheese. Top with the other 6 tortillas dipped in enchilada sauce.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the casserole and top with the remaining grated cheese.

Bake until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, or both if desired.

Mothers and Friends

I had lunch with two good friends and former co-workers today. I hadn't seen them in a couple of months and it was great to spend an hour visiting, swapping stories and laughing. All three of us are moms with children of varying ages. We have stayed in touch since leaving our common employer more than three years ago.

Our children range in age from 10 to 30 and among us we have 5 girls and 2 boys. But we always have the best time talking about them and sharing our motherhood stories.

Isabel has two extremely precocious daughters who are in elementary school. I love the stories she tells about them. They are both so smart. The things they say make me think that both of them are smarter than your average bear.

Today Isabel related that recently she was very angry and yelling at the younger of her girls. After a while, her daughter looked at her and said something like "Mommy, some of the people inside of you are ugly and I don't like seeing them."

Then the fun really started. We spent the next several minutes laughing uproariously while suggesting alternate names for Isabel's other personalities. My favorite was Carlotta and we laughingly suggested that next time she's angry she might remind her daughter that she doesn't want to see Carlotta.

Joanne went on to tell us about how her son recently went alligator hunting. A couple of weeks ago when she asked me if I had any recipes for alligator I thought she was joking. She reported that the alligator skin is being tanned so he can have boots made, although it may be a long time before he can afford the custom-made boots. And, since she now has an alligator head in her freezer, she has set aside a specific part of her freezer just for her son's wild game. That way not only does she not have to eat it, she doesn't even have to see it. Let's just say that her son is a major contributor to the gun ownership statistics in Texas.

We talked about how great it is when your kids finally get old enough and mature enough to stay by themselves for short periods of time. Isabel reported that her girls are now old enough that she occasionally leaves them for very short periods of time like to run to the pharmacy. I told her a cautionary tale of my two children dialing 9-1-1 because they thought our neighbor's house was being burglarized. It turned out that they were having their windows replaced and the people "breaking in" were the contractors. We all still laugh about that and my neighbor says they absolutely did the right thing.

I think the bottom line is that mothers don't have to keep a sense of humor ... but it helps. Mark Twain summed it up well.

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." -Mark Twain

Grams Made Tropical Ham and Pineapple Kebobs

This recipe is great for dinner and it makes a beautiful "party food." Even kids like it.

3 Tablespoons brown sugar (I use brown sugar Splenda)
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 pound full cooked ham, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple, drained
2 medium green peppers, cut into 1 inch chunks
24 medium mushrooms, cleaned
Salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, vinegar, oil, soy sauce and mustard. Thread ham, pineapple, green pepper and mushrooms alternately on skewers. Lightly oil grill and heat to medium high heat. Grill skewers, basting liberally with brown sugar mixture, 8-10 minutes, turning and basting until nicely browned and glazed. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

The Truth About Texans

A 1997 television commercial for Frost Bank, titled The Code, features a young boy standing in front of a corn field talking about what it means to grow up as a Texan. It goes something like this --

"I'll be as hearty of mind as I am of body. I'll be a straight shooter and a square dealer. My family name will be sacred and my word will be as good as any contract. I'll remember the Alamo. I'll stick by my friends and I'll eat more chicken fried steak."

Grams is proud to be a Texan. I was born in the piney woods of east Texas and have lived on the coastal plains of South Texas most of my life.

For a good part of my early life we lived with my granny in a little house that was described as being at the corner of plumb and nearly -- plumb out in the country and nearly in the creek. Now, Grams is a typical suburban housewife.

When you grow up in Texas you learn early about the Texas mystique. Every middle-school student in Texas is required to take a full semester of Texas History. And honestly, I should be embarrassed to tell you that I was an adult before I realized that everyone in the USA doesn't actually study Texas history. Imagine that!

Texas is where Colonel Travis drew a line in the sand before the battle of the Alamo. It's where "Remember Goliad" became the battle cry for freedom after Colonel Fannin and his men were massacred. Once a sovereign nation, Texas entered the union by treaty rather than by annexation. The dome of the Texas Capitol is the only state capitol that is taller than the dome of the United States Capitol.

And Texas is big. How big? In square miles, it's 268,601, second only to Alaska (which is at least partly ice). In population, there are an estimated 24,326,974 Texans, second only to California.

Texas is so big that it has five distinct areas, each very different in ethnicity, culture, topography and climate. It's is the land of charming small towns, quiet back roads and three of the ten largest cities in the USA. There are places in East Texas where you would swear you were in the Old South. Driving across the Panhandle you might think you're in the high plains of Nebraska. And there's no place like the Texas Hill Country, where every Texan loves to go to float the river and get away from it all.

Texas has many more dubious distinctions. We're famous for counties where dead people cast votes in presidential elections. We own more guns than any other state in the union ... two for every man, woman and child. And it's legal to carry a concealed weapon, if you have permit. It's the home of Dealey Plaza where JFK was assassinated as well as the home of the Enron debacle. And, yes, George W. Bush is a Texan.

Texas is home to ranchers, roughnecks, astronauts and scientists. We've got NASA, the Riverwalk, the Dallas Cowboys, the San Antonio Spurs, Galveston and Padre Islands and the old Spanish Missions.

We have world-class medical centers and we lay claim to the best cancer treatment center in the world. Our universities are second to none. Almost one quarter of the oil produced in the U.S.A. comes from Texas.

Everyone knows that the women of Dallas have their own style. And, those ladies down in Kingsville, home of the King Ranch, have a look of their own, too. Texas women are known for their big hair and their big hearts. Western wear is appropriate for Saturday night and Sunday morning. Cowboy boots can be worn by women and men with jeans, dresses or tuxedos.

High school football is our game of choice. There's not a better sports rivalry anywhere than the rivalry between the fighting Texas Aggies of Texas A&M University and the Longhorns of the University of Texas.

And our food is uniquely ours. We have our own kind of barbecue and we don't put beans in our chili. Tex-Mex is our brand of Mexican food. We like our steaks chicken fried. And, oh by the way, we drink our tea sweet with ice ... and we start drinking it when we're still in diapers.

Porch sitting is an art in Texas. There's nothing better than sitting on your porch watching a blue norther bring a bit of cool air after a long, hot Texas summer. And if you don't happen to have a porch, just pull up a folding chair in the garage and watch from there.

We're flag-waving patriots. Our kids still say the pledge of allegiance every morning in schools across our state. There are 23 major military installations in Texas and we love and support the men and women in uniform. We're proud to be Americans and we're proud to be Texans.

And, yes, we have our own way of saying things. We say "howdy" and "y'all." We might invite you to "come in and sit a spell" or tell you we were "just fixin' to" do something. If we don't believe what you're telling us we'll tell you "that dog won't hunt." We "run with the big dogs" and live in a place than can be "hotter than the hinges of hell." And if you ask for directions don't be surprised if they sound something like "turn left at the Dairy Queen and keep going until you get to the place that used to be a Wal-Mart." And a someone pretending to be something they're not might be referred to as a "drug store cowboy" or "all hat and no cattle."

Contrary to what you may have heard, all of us don't ride horses, wear boots or carry sidearms. Most Texans don't want to secede from the union. And, hey, some of us even voted for Obama. But hush, don't tell anyone, we don't want to spoil our image.