Giving real thanks

Sick and tired of hearing the news of wheezing Wall Street, the greedy Big Three, lazy politicians on Capitol Hill, and the latest scandal about some sleazy pin-up girl?  Here’s a great reason you have to be thankful if you’ve come up empty this year:

Donating to charity is recession-proof.  That’s right; the monies given to charitable causes around the holidays will not recede along with the jobs at GM.  A woman interviewed by CBS radio news this morning explained that people still give to charity, and have planned on doing so all year long with an idea of how much they want to spend during the holidays.  According to Salvation Army research, donations don’t decrease because people’s budgets are stretched thin. 

This means that even through our whining about high gas prices, we have been aware that there are people who are far less fortunate than we are.  The cans of green beans and corn, along with packed pumpkin for holiday pies, will not dwindle in food banks because we’ve taken a hit on our stock portfolios.  National translation?  We’re not as jaded as we thought we were.  We still give a shit about people going hungry, about abused animals, about children with cancer, and about research for cures for a variety of ills. 

What’s more, the net of people who traditionally give the most has widened in surprising ways.  Two years ago, John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20 did a segment that aired in December on charitable donations during the holidays.  According to ABC research, the people who donate the most usually have the least to give (proportional to their income), and it made all folks in the 35% tax bracket look like Ebenezer Scrooge.  The profile of the average person who donated the most monetarily was a Latino (or Hispanic) individual, who regularly attended church services, worked at least one full-time job, had children, and who took public transportation to work.  The segment of the population who gave the least, in proportion to their income?  White, upper class individuals who made more than $250,000 a year.

That has apparently changed.  Since 2007, more people who fall into higher tax brackets have been regularly making larger monetary donations, as well as spending more volunteer time with organizations they feel are deserving.  Did Stossel shame richer people into giving?  Maybe, especially if they watched that episode.  And even though we have been alerted that people with incomes over $250,000 will be taxed more, we apparently don’t let it affect our donations.

When public service announcements were first aired drawing attention to the animal victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, charitable donations skyrocketed – and animals were adopted (and reunited with owners) by the thousands.  Typically animal rights organizations have to shake the Donations Tree much more frequently than other charities, because once the storm has passed, people forget that animal shelters are a year-round endeavor, not a natural disaster venue. 

But nothing has affected the way we give in 2008, and how much we give, as much as the home mortgage crisis.  We are very aware there are whole families who are homeless, as well as their pets.  The month of May in 2008 saw an increase in pet shelters of 25% alone, and shelter operators attribute it to families who simply couldn’t keep a pet because they’d been foreclosed on their homes.  Entire families now live in their vehicles in parts of the country – and because we were alerted to how bad the situation is for people who’ve had to foreclose, we’re donating to charities like the Salvation Army and Goodwill, city homeless shelters and church food banks instead of buying gifts for ourselves.

Feel better?  If not, then here’s a list of some great organizations that benefit from even $10.00.  I don’t pull for any one particular organization, but these are reputable and won’t be using donated funds for massages in Rio.

• www.heifer.org, an organization that helps people learn animal care, husbandry, and sharing, in order to feed entire villages.  This’ll make you feel not so guilty when you’re carving into a Thanksgiving turkey.
• www.theanimalrescuesite.com, dedicated to animal rescue.  Even rabbits get help.
• www.salvationarmy.org.  “There but for the Grace of God go I…”
• www.opgratitude.com, a non-profit out of California that puts boxes of sundries and holiday cheer together for soldiers overseas, entirely through donations and volunteer time.  Last count, there were over 25,000 boxes ready to be shipped – and are sitting in a warehouse in L.A. because they’re out of postage funds.
• www.foundation.cancer.org, the charitable foundation of the American Cancer Society

But if these aren’t what you’re looking for, you can always search online for a charity or charitable institution that means something to you – and truly give thanks for what you have.

Change Can Happen….But Not Soon Enough

Trying to make sense of all the news after this historic election has been like trying to use a basketball net as a sink trap.  Between Sarah Palin’s ramblings in front of Republican governors, where she was whisked away from the microphone by an embarrassed Rick Perry, and the nauseating rollercoaster ride of the Dow Jones, it’s been mind-boggling.  Who will Obama pick as his cabinet members?  When will the government and Henry Paulsen confess to needing more money for the Great American Bail-Out?  I find myself wishing The Shrub would just resign already and let Obama take the wheel from here on out, all the way to January 19, 2017. 

But Bush won’t go noiselessly, and apparently neither will his dog, Barney.  He clomped a Reuters White House reporter who stupidly went straight for Barney’s face to pet him without speaking first to him.  This idiot deserved the bite from Barney – I wouldn’t get near a Scottie without first getting it to wag its tail and investigate my closed hand.  http://scottishterrierdogs.blogspot.com/2008/11/video-of-scottish-terrier-barney-biting.html

And aren’t you glad you’re not living in Montecito, California?  Look what happens when you mix single-digit humidity with Santa Ana winds:  http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/11/14/nytfrontpage/20081114pod_index.html

I feel badly for those people who lost their beautiful homes in a beautiful part of the country. 

Oh, and I’ve confirmed that there’s a special place in hell reserved for the Georgia teenagers who used a kitten as a football.  One of his legs was amputated as a result, but he’s doing fine otherwise.  I’d adopt him in a heartbeat, but my cat Mao would kick my ass from here to San Diego and back.  In other words, I wouldn’t subject a three-legged kitten to a jealous bruiser like him, not after what he’s been through.  He is adorable, though – know any softies who might want to adopt him?  http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/13/waugh.ga.cat.used.as.football.wjxt

But this blog isn’t about extending grim karma out into the universe.  I’d rather think that change has happened, all for the good, with

• the election of Obama to the Presidency.  Finally, a President who can actually think for himself and string together a coherent sentence
• the American government will finally get real about what kind of debt we’ll owe after 2008, now that it’s public that it low-balled the bail-out estimate
• Barney will gladly greet people who greet him first, and the Reuters reporter won’t try that same stunt with the Obama dog
• Montecito residents can afford homeowner’s insurance and will rebuild, creating jobs for people who are desperate to work in California
• that sweet kitten will be adopted by someone with a huge heart, someone like Sandra Bullock who has a propensity for adopting pets with physical problems; his adoption is guaranteed after showing the video on CNN.  He will be loved and cared for the rest of his days, bless his little heart.  At the very least, I hope that seeing this video will give someone a reason to not kick the cat when they come home from a bad day at the office.

Change CAN happen, even if it is slow to arrive.

The Thanksgiving Table

 

Wow

             Thanksgiving:  In short order, I have cut to the chase and written down my entire Thanksgiving menu for this year for all of you who are bored with your regular recipes.  If you want to be a copycat, I am truly flattered!!  -The recipes are being posted early, in case anyone wants to have time to get to the store before the day itself is upon us.  I’ll talk about being grateful for what I have more towards the actual day. 

 

I wanted to do a different turkey this year, so I am cooking a Moroccan bird.  If you’re copying this, here’s the best piece of advice I can give someone:  Make your preserved lemons now, so that they have time to sit around and, well, preserve.  It won’t be a Moroccan turkey without them, and pickled or dried lemons are NOT the same.  Preserved lemons are typically made at least a month in advance, but you can cheat with two-week-old lemons, or even one-week-old lemons in a pinch.

 

 

Preserved lemons:  Cut the ends off 6 whole lemons, and blanche for 1 minute in briskly-boiling water.  Dump the water and let them cool a little, then cut into quarters lengthwise.  Cut out the strip of pith down the cross-section, and remove all seeds.  Place in a bowl with 2/3 c. kosher salt, and toss.  Not all the salt will dissolve, but this is okay.  Place everything in a jar with a lid that seals tight, packing them down, and top with the juice of two more lemons.  Cover everything with ¼ c. olive oil, seal tightly, and place in refrigerator.  Shake or spoon things around inside the jar every few days.  They should be perfect by Thanksgiving if you make them now.  They’ll keep for about 6 months.

 

 

Dindon aux olives (Moroccan turkey with olives):  If you truly hate green olives, you can leave them out of the cooking process and add them to the platter when you present the turkey.  Pre-heat the oven to 475º.  Make a tent out of heavy-duty aluminum foil for the bird and roaster, one that can be crimped down to avoid any heat or steam loss.  Place 2/3 c. olive oil in the bottom of a turkey roaster (NOT an aluminum foil roasting pan – too dangerous when loaded with entire bird and drippings), and swirl to coat bottom evenly.  Rub down your bird with kosher salt in the sink and make sure not to overlook the two body cavities.  Rinse and pat dry, and place the turkey into the pan.   Add to the bottom of the pan: 1 chopped onion, 2 pieces preserved lemon, 4 cloves smashed garlic (smash with the bottom of a weighted drinking glass), 6-8 cracked green olives, and a few handfuls of chopped cilantro.  Place inside the bird’s main cavity: 4 pieces of preserved lemon, 1 bunch of washed and dried cilantro, ½ tsp. ground saffron threads (a mortar and pestle work well), 4 cloves smashed garlic, and 4 or 5 cracked green olives.  Ignore the other cavity by the neck.  Sprinkle bird minimally with kosher salt and a few grindings of black pepper.  Now go back and use anti-bacterial cleaner on your hands and sink.

 

Place your bird into the oven and let it roast at 475 for 15 minutes.  Then turn the heat down to 325.  For the first quarter of the turkey’s cooking time, let it cook with no tent.  Baste, and tent for the next (second) quarter of the cook time.  Crimp the foil tightly so that nothing escapes the pan.  At the beginning of the third quarter, add ½ tsp. ground saffron threads to the drippings, baste, and leave the tent off.  Baste once more during this time.  Baste at the beginning of the fourth quarter and baste two more times before pulling the bird out.  It should have a slightly yellow tinge to it because of the saffron, but that’s just fine.

 

 

Gravy:  If you choose to make gravy out of these drippings, add turkey stock rendered from boiling the giblets and neck, and commercial chicken stock.  Use the gizzard and liver if you insist (I don’t, but it’s not giblet gravy unless you have the actually giblets in there).  I use the smashed cloves of garlic from the pan and the bird cavity, and I put in two of the cooked pieces of preserved lemon into the gravy as it cooks, then remove them before pouring it out into a gravy boat. I even use the cilantro from the cavity if there’s any to coarsely chop.  Gravy goes fast and any leftovers will go fast, too, so I wind up throwing in everything I’ve got laying around into it to make more.  I use all the giblet stock, all my pre-fab chicken stock, all the drippings (minus most of the oil), the bag of ersatz gravy mix that comes with the bird, and I always, always buy packets of gravy mix, just in case something goes wrong (burned roux, lumpy gravy, even knocked-over gravy all over the kitchen floor).  In any case, you’ll have awesome lemony, garlicky, saffron turkey gravy that will be a huge hit.

 

 

Remember thinking Wondra flour was a cheap cheat for cooks who didn’t know what they were doing in the kitchen?  I happen to know what I’m doing in a kitchen, so it’s embarrassing how many times I’ve made lumpy gravy.  I use Wondra now.  Introduce it well and thoroughly into some of the turkey stock, and it will thicken anything, with zero lumps.  Add a little cream or milk, about ½ cup, and salt and pepper.  Get someone else whose palate you trust to taste the gravy – you’ll have dined off the smell at this point – and adjust the seasonings accordingly.  Bon appétit with the turkey and gravy!  It’s really something special.

 

 

“Real old” cornbread dressing:  This recipe is from my friend Michael’s grandmother, who got it from her mother, and so on and so on.  I think it dates back to the Civil War (notice I didn’t write “Civil War Cornbread Dressing” – it’s way more politic to write “real old”), and it’s historic.  I’ve jazzed it up, though, probably to the dismay of Michael, but to my great delight, because the basic recipe is so good.  Before you start on it, make a pan (cake pan-sized) of cornbread at your convenience and use no sugar.  

 

 Break up a pan of cornbread and add half a bag of commercial cornbread stuffing mix.  Lighten everything up with 2 or 3 torn-up biscuits, maybe a few torn-up heels of old white bread, or even some saltine crackers.  You’ll be eyeballing everything, but don’t worry – it’ll be fine.  Throw in what is old, not moldy, and don’t use whole-wheat bread – it doesn’t taste good with cornbread. 

  

Cook 8 oz. traditionally-seasoned ground sausage.  Add to this one chopped-up onion and two stalks of chopped celery.  Cook everything together until the onions caramelize a little bit.  Pour everything over the bread, including the pan juices, and add 1 c. finely-chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley and 2/3 c. finely-chopped fresh sage.  Heat 4 cups of chicken stock and pour over everything.  It should be “juicy”, so if you need a 5th cup of stock, put it in.  You can’t have enough liquid for cornbread dressings!  Add salt and pepper to taste (about a teaspoon of salt and ½ tsp. pepper), taste to see if you need to add more sage (either fresh or dried at this point), and then add 3 beaten eggs.  Pour into a greased pan and bake at 350 about 40 minutes. 

 

Spinach-avocado-grapefruit salad:  I’ve lived in California for about 12 years now, so I’ve discovered some interesting ways to use avocados.  This salad is unusual, even weird to some people, but it works and is a nice departure from the same-old same-old.  Allow 3-4 pieces of grapefruit and the same of avocado for each person.  Peel your grapefruit and remove the pith with a paring knife.  Slice in between the section membranes and pull each piece out of the center.  Make sure no seeds are present, and place on top of a bed of fresh baby spinach.  Add the avocado slices last (and make sure you add them right before you serve it; otherwise, they turn brown and yucky), pour on the poppy seed dressing, and toss very, very gently, leaving the avocado pieces intact.  Good luck in pairing a wine with it – I think I’d serve it with ice water.

 

Poppy seed dressing: 

3 T. chopped onion
2/3 cup vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. salt
2 cups vegetable oil (NOT olive oil)
3 T. poppy seeds

 

In a blender, blend 3 T. chopped onion and 1/3 c. white vinegar until smooth.  Add the 1 c. sugar, 2 tsp. dry mustard, 2 tsp. salt, and another 1/3 c. of vinegar.  Add the oil in a thin stream until the mixture is thick, and add the poppy seeds last.

 

 

Alternative root slaw:  Grate up a package of peeled sunchokes (about 2 cups), and grate an entire bulb of celery root, about 3 cups.  Add 1 c. grated carrot, and dress immediately.  Mix together: ½ c. mayonnaise, ½ c. light sour cream, ½ c. milk or buttermilk, ½ tsp. salt, 3 T. fresh thyme, a few grindings of black pepper, and ¼ of a grated onion.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  You’ll find this slaw soaks up dressing more than regular cole slaw, so you might have to make a little bit more dressing.

 

Green bean casserole:  I don’t know why I’m putting this in here, but you never know – someone may need the amounts.  Mix together 3 cans of drained French-cut green beans with 1 can of drained mushroom pieces and 2 cans of cream of chicken soup.  Add a scant 3/4 c. of chicken stock.  Mix well.  My friend Michael’s trick is to add ½ a large can of fried onion pieces to the wet ingredients.  Add the other ½ of the can to the top of the casserole about half-way through the baking period.  Isn’t it 30 minutes at 350º?  Shout out if I’m wrong.

 

Connecticut cranberry chutney: Given to me by my lovely friend Anna Hauer Zelinsky.  Boil ½ c. white sugar and 1 c. brown sugar in 1 c. water and dump an entire bag of picked-over cranberries into it.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the cranberries all pop.  Take off heat and add ½ c. chopped dried apricots, ½ c. golden raisins, ½ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground cardamom, ½ tsp. grated nutmeg, and 2 tsp. orange zest.  Stir well.  Add 2 T. dark rum and ½ c. coarsely-chopped pecans.  This is all mine; where’s yours??   What do you mean, share?!? 

 

Pear crisp:  Core and cut up 8 pears of your choice and toss with ½ c. sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 2 T. flour.  Pour all into a semi-deep baking pan (like a lasagne pan).  With your fingertips, work together 1 c. brown sugar, 1 c. flour, and 1 softened stick of butter until it’s crumbly.  Strew the streusel (!)over the top of the pears, and bake at 350º for 35-45 min.  This is great with cinnamon ice cream or pumpkin pie ice cream.

 

Maple coffee:  I have been introduced to Cohas maple coffee, roasted in New Hampshire.  I’m ordinarily not a fan of flavored coffees, but I’m convinced now that the flavors of coffee and maple are so unique, and so uniquely suited to each other, that I can’t say enough good things about them.  The coffee beans are roasted with maple syrup, and the result is aromatic and very pleasing.  If you don’t want to buy some from www.cohascoffee.com, try this:  add 1 tsp. maple extract to fresh coffee grounds before brewing (1 tsp. per whole pot of coffee; ½ tsp. per half-pot), and provide maple syrup as a sweetener for the coffee.  Alternatively, whip ½ tsp. maple extract into heavy whipping cream with a tablespoon or two of superfine sugar for a twist on traditional Chantilly cream, or what the Viennese call “Schlagobers” on their coffee.  To die for.

 

Whatever you do and wherever you are, have a very happy and restful Thanksgiving.  If you have any questions about anything, email me at: caroline91201@peoplepc.com.

 

 

Worriers Anonymous

It wouldn’t be the same without me mouthing off about either John McCain or Sarah Palin the day before the election, right?  Wrong.  I’m not going off on either one, and I’m not making predictions, other than it’ll be a nail-biter.  I’ll instead tell you why I’m nervous, excited, and a little worried. 

1.  Voting machines.  Yeah, the lines are long, and people are enormously patient this year; but what if Joe Voter waits 5 hours to vote tomorrow, only to have his ballot disqualified because the machine didn’t read it correctly or broke down altogether?  Talk about being pissed off.  I wouldn’t blame him if he went mental on the election officials at his precinct.

2.  Polls.  Polling sites like Real Clear Politics have accurate polling – of people who own land lines.  Virtually none of the 18-35s have been polled because they all own cell phones, and therefore haven’t been asked how they’ll vote.  These young whippersnappers have become the collective wild card of the election.  There’s no telling how many votes they’ll cast.  Bottom line: we won’t know anything accurate until it’s all over. 

3.  Pundit fears.  The talking heads are wringing their hands over whether the 18-35s will even motivate to vote.  Just as James Carville said “it’s the economy, stupid,”  so say I:  they’ll vote, you freaks.  Students are every bit as busy as working folks and nowhere near the Slackazoids they were 15 years ago.  I can’t begin to count how many politically-active and thoughtful people I know who are college students – and they’ll turn out in droves tomorrow.

4.  Toss-up states.  Those pesky toss-up states, like Missouri and Ohio, where voting machines are squirrely, will have surprising returns.  My bet is placed on North Carolina being the most problematic.  (At least I’m on the West coast and stand a better chance of learning who’s been elected before midnight than my peers in the East do.  See #1 above.)

5.  Inner racists.  These assholes answer polls one way and then vote another.  It’s the worst kind of racist to be, as far as racists go: sneaky, conniving, unproductive, deceitful, just plain wrong.

6.  The Undecideds.  More and more, I’m convinced voters who are undecided won’t vote.  More to the point, if you can’t decide who you’re voting for the day before this particular election, you’re retarded.  It’s not like these two candidates are strikingly similar in their platforms and views.  Not only are the Undecideds still waffling, they’re more apt to vote for the candidate who doesn’t accurately reflect their views (Time Magazine, 10/11/08).  I guess they can contemplate having their name then legally changed to “the Stoopids,” but they can’t decide on that, either.

And P.S.:  why is it that almost 25% of Texans think Obama is a Muslim?  Still, to this day?  When even John McCain set the record straight at one point in his campaign about Obama?  Why do Republicans literally make up all these things about their opponents?  Communist, Socialist, Muslim, terrorist…it’s like a 21st-century re-write of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  The average conservative in this country couldn’t identify a Socialist from a Sunkist if their life depended on it.

Enough.  Go vote.  Have faith.  Be happy.  And as Bill Maher eloquently put it on the last installment of his show, “…and with the grace of Allah, Comrade Obama, along with his Nubian armies, will usher in a new age of Socialism and gay marriage.” 

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