All grocery stores must recycle their store-brand plastic water bottles.
OR ELSE: We won’t buy them, drink tap water, refill our own.
All grocery stores must collaborate with beverage manufacturers to create a deposit/recycle system for any which plastic bottles.
OR ELSE: We only buy drinks in glass bottles or cans.
All beverage vendors must institute refillable(plastic) bottles/jugs.
OR ELSE: We only buy glass, cans, or cartons, especially milk.
Door Dash Company must establish a beverage delivery service that also returns our empties.
OR ELSE: What else? Duh! It’s a BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY!
All detergent companies must stop liquid detergents, as the plastic canisters generate unnecessary plastic waste.
OR ELSE: BOYCOTT liquid detergents!!!
All soap/shampoo/body wash and other hygiene articles producers must provide “infusion bag” style dispensers with reusable nozzle to reduce plastic waste.
OR ELSE: We only use bar soap and make our own beauty supplies.
All condiments such as mayo, mustard, ketchup, salad dressings, etc. must be available in glass bottles or squeeze tubes or infusion bags.
OR ELSE: We mix those up ourselves.
All plastic container/bag/bottle manufacturers must find next-to-zero waste packaging solutions, materials that can be disposed of with minimum damage to the environment.
OR ELSE: See all the above.
All food/beverage/restaurant franchises must use paper straws, paper cups, paper containers or other biodegradable packaging/serving ware.
OR ELSE: We don’t buy and cook our own dinner for a change.
All organizations/schools/communities putting on events must prohibit plastic bottles, plastic dinnerware, and plastic cups. Use water cooler, paper cups, wood utensils, porcelain, or edible containers.
OR ELSE: Organizer(s) must personally separate out the plastic refuse and either reuse or take the plastic to the recycling station.
All consumers (WE) must responsibly and conscientiously participate in plastic recycling, which means taking OUR empties back to the store or recycling station. (REMEMBER THE ALAMO . . . , I mean, PLASTIC BAGS?)
OR ELSE: We don’t deserve what was in the plastic bottle in the first place.
CONSUME LESS!
A Celtic village was unearthed in Ascholding (near Munich) as a result of a construction project. The remains/artifacts were dated ca. 300 BC. Soon the site will be buried under concrete and asphalt for a new Edeka grocery supermarket.
This is just a small example of what they call “Flächenfraß” (=urban sprawl; literally, gobbling up green lands) in Germany. The “development” (add an industrial complex of 12 buildings, a super-hypermarket, a fire station, a kindergarten, plus at least 6 private home constructions) happened within only 3 years. Insanity! This village of 1000 people has doubled its weight and jumped into the Munich Metroplex over night.
Pasta rule the world. As the story goes, Marco Polo “discovered” the frilly, shapely, or stringy noodles in China and brought them to Europe in the 15th century. This is still a good story, yet the idea of making dough-to-boil from durum semolina seemed to have existed in Italy since the 13th century. Regardless, Chinese or Italian, pasta rule my cooking world too.
Fettucine by Edda
Everybody cooks pasta once in a while. But very few people make their own. Count me into that group. I just don’t have the time to hang fettucine up to dry like my friend Edda (picture on right). A store-bought packet of Barilla (insert your favorite brand here) would do it for me. Good for you, if you grow your own tomatoes to cook a fresh sauce. I don’t have the luxury to be so purist yummy. But if you, like me, get real happy with quick-and-easy recipes, here are three of my main staples from the pasta season.
Pasta Bolognese (1 lb meat, 1 lb pasta) for 6 Persons
Fry in a saucepot on medium heat in 2 Tbs. olive oil:
½ large (or 1 medium) onion, diced, for 7 minutes to glaze; then add
1 jalapeño pepper, diced, cook together a bit more; add and brown
1 pound of lean chuck (turkey, chicken, pork, beef, or 2 cans of tuna), while stirring regularly; add
Bolognese
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp. salt (or to liking)
½ tsp. oregano (go easy, rather less)
1 tsp. basil
After meat-spice mix is browned (ca. 15 min) add
1 jar of marinara pasta sauce (24 oz./680 g)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz./426 g)
cup of frozen veggies (optional)
and let this slowly bubble for 15 min, stir frequently. In the meantime set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Follow package directions for cooking pasta.
Finishing up the sauce in 5 minutes:
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. fresh grated pepper
2 Tbs. capers (or chopped olives)
1 swig of fresh sweet cream (optional)
½ cup of red wine (optional)
Here come the flavor makers:
Chop up EITHER fresh parsley OR cilantro OR rosemary to add to your sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Parsley will give you a rather northern European flavor, cilantro a Mexican/Oriental reminiscence, and rosemary the totally Italian/Mediterranean experience.
Serve the steaming sauce over the hot pasta (spaghetti, fettucine, fusilli, penne etc.) and sprinkle Romano or Parmesan cheese on it. Bon appetite!
WAIT: We are not done. You made enough sauce for 2 meals. Fill half of the sauce into an airtight plastic container and freeze that portion for later use. Because next week we will be making . . .
Hit-the-Spot Lasagna for a Party of Eight
Lasagna must not be complicated at all. The great advantage: it is baking independently while you are free to entertain your guests with appetizers and stories. I adapted a recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook for non-boil pasta. At first I had trouble with the pasta getting cooked all the way through. But I have learned a little trick. Preparation time 20 min; baking time 1 hour.
Here is what you do:
Grease a 9 x 12 inch glass/ceramic casserole with olive oil; pour ½ of a 15 oz. can tomato sauce in the form and distribute evenly across the bottom. Heat up the oven to 350F.
Ingredients:
1 pound of your homemade Bolognese sauce
1 can of tomato sauce (15 oz.)
1 packet of no-boil pasta for lasagna
1 container ricotta cheese (15 oz./425 g) mixed with
1 egg (& chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, optional)
3 cups of shredded cheese (mozzarella, Colby, cheddar etc.)
LAYERING: Put a layer of non-boil pasta over the tomato sauce at the bottom of casserole. Spread a layer of the ricotta/egg mixture (ca. half of amount) over the pasta. Then cover the ricotta with half of the Bolognese sauce, top it off with a layer of cheese.
REPEAT: lasagna sheets, ricotta mix, Bolognese sauce, shredded cheese
TOP OFF: Finish with a layer of pasta sheets, “paint” that with the remaining ½ can of tomato sauce, sprinkle cheese over it. Finally, carefully pour a cup of water around the edges of casserole to raise liquid to about half height. Casserole should be evenly filled close to the brim.
BAKING: Bake the lasagna covered with aluminum foil for 30 min, remove foil and bake for another 30 min. Take it out and let it rest for 15 min. Serve with a fresh mixed salad.
Bon appetite!
Carbonara Noodles for Any Day
Spaghetti Carbonara, a toss up of pasta with egg/cream mixture, apparently happens when you mix scalding hot pasta with the raw egg, which in itself “cooks” the eggs done. But I have never been so fancy. I will start with any kind of boiled noodles and roast them straight out in a skillet. (I have pasta left over from the Bolognese 2 days ago.)
What you need:
¼ stick of butter
½ onion, finely chopped
cooked pasta noodles, enough for a large skillet (ca. 4-5 cups)
2–3 eggs, whisked with
½ cup of sweet cream
1 cup of frozen veggie mix (optional)
1 cup of shredded cheese
2 stalks green onions, chopped
5 sprigs cilantro (optional)
salt & pepper to liking
Sautee the chopped onion in a large skillet until glazed, add the pasta and (optional) frozen vegetables to be heated through, pour the egg mix on, continue to shuffle, add herbs, cheese, salt & pepper, keep shuffling until egg is set. Serve immediately with a nice mixed salad.
Wow! Pretty good guessing, and what imagination you have! But nobody got it quite right. Here is what you said:
I can’t figure it out! I must know . . . What is it?? 🙂 — Julie
Easy, you found your daughter’s nickname, short in the central pattern inside the circle. (You can send me one of your photos instead.) Happy Mother’s Day — Cecilia
P.S.: Shaffiq thinks you saw the word ‘pray’. As a way to get closer to God. He also prefers one of your photo art.
No idea. Here I am in the 18th century last weekend. — Russ
The bark of a tree with somebody’s old initials carved in it? That’s what jumped to mind. Love your blog. — Kate
We have no idea, though it looks like a moon-surface. Could also be old asphalt. Anyway, we will wait for your denouement. What’s the writing? – Herzlich, S+N
Ne, keine Ahnung, help me out — Roswitha
STELLAR ANSWER (but late): I would like to think that you captured a message from some interstellar spaceship, but I suspect the image is more mundane than that. Perhaps it is just a reflection on a street or sidewalk of some object from a car or house. It is very regular-shaped and almost looks like it has writing on it. — Rita
So I will help you all out. Here is the answer! The unknown pattern was from a heavenly “cyber” reflection on a Sedona sandstone table. Congratulations, Cecilia & Kate! Watch out for your prizes in the mail. You too, Rita!
This article is for entertainment purposes only. Author is not responsible for diagnosis or therapy misadventures, but hopes that the information might be somewhat helpful. For solid proven advice, go to www.chadd.org
You just got your diagnosis, which you long suspected, that your third-grader has ADHD. First, sit back, relax, and relocate your sense of humor. You are in it for the long haul. ADHD won’t go away from pills or therapy.
Hyperactivity, attention problems, and control issues will wax and vane, but ADHD may also spark a technical or artistic talent through hyper-focusing ability. Instead of dreading the battles with your 10-year-old “wind-up toy,” there are a number of things you can do to help everybody survive.
One decision will ultimately be up to each parent: drawing the line between the child’s artistic individuality and common sense interventions. Potentially, your son might be another Albert E. or a Steve J. But can you stand by long enough to find out?
As a parent, you may sometimes feel like a challenged lion tamer or a useless parrot, not really like a “natural” authority figure. Perhaps you may lose your temper just as often as your five-year-old—all while your child is simmering in frustration with you (“nobody understands me”). Here are some ideas to manage your daily family life. ALTHOUGH all of this may sound authoritarian (yeah, avoid letting the child run the show), we need to be aware that the ADHD child is not doing tantrums on purpose. ADHD makes them lose control via short-circuited neurons and developmental lag.
Sounds strange, but it is effective: Turn the child’s bedroom door lock inside out to prevent him from locking himself up and going ballistic in a tantrum.
Post the rules of the house and the work/play timetables conspicuously in important locations. Then, as a parent in crisis, all you have to do is firmly point at the rules, not yell. The child will understand.
Invent achievement games based on hit lists (good behavior points) and sh** lists (bad behaviors). Simply the act of grabbing a pencil to note down a “yell” or “potty word” or “argues”, may redirect the behavior. No doubt, the hit list will do its own desirable modification by dangling a child-selected carrot. BUT: Change up the game every several weeks. ADHD children get bored quickly.
De-clutter the child’s room, the fewer toys the better. Allow building blocks, coloring pencils, and creative materials. Simplify the house, remove unsafe contraptions, tools or toys. Your child may be as inquisitive as she is clumsy.
Organize clothing and school materials in bins that are labeled or color-coded. This will help the child learn cleanup methods and avoid arguments about not knowing “where to put that stuff.”
Limit TV time stringently and use favorite shows as a bait to get homework done. Sometimes it takes that emergency of a show “coming up at 6:30” to write the book report. Limit electronic game time and the Internet. Why? Overuse of electronic contraptions will ultimately reprogram your child’s brain. And you don’t want those cartoons brandished on her memory.
Enroll the child in a karate class or other physical activity. Karate is great because it emphasizes precision of moves, mind over matter, listening to instruction, politeness and waiting your turn. Sports are time wisely spent and the kid shakes off the excess energy. Sportspeople also learn to play by rules.
Try out a medicine, definitely! Maybe the first dosage might not be an instant success, but it would be tragedy to have all involved suffer more frustration than necessary. It is entirely possible to maximize the benefits and minimize the dose.
Consult with a therapist who helps sort out your family baggage with a clear mind. Emotionally charged parents may view persistent “ridiculous” behaviors as “incurable,” whereas a third party can bring some sense into these dynamics.
Consider neuro-feedback therapy, to help the child sort out his or her impulses. ADHD children can’t read their own minds (limited executive function), but neuro-feedback helps them visualize that. The drawback: It’s expensive. After a certain age (10 years old) children learn to better manage their feelings.
Pick the right school—a highly structured one—as partner. You don’t want your child flounder from frustration or ridicule but have him/her supported on diverse learning behaviors. You don’t need a state plan for some simple accommodations (let the child work standing up, allow more time, etc.).
“Make” (or “gently force”) the child to progress with skills that they hate the most. Yes, that sounds awful, doesn’t it? Encourage him on piano practice, reading, all that “boring stuff” that wiggly kids shirk from. There is proof that neurons and abilities can be newly formed through persistent habits, as quoted from a Lumosity e-news: “…evidence suggesting that the brain’s abilities are in fact malleable and plastic. According to this principle of neuroplasticity, the brain is constantly changing in response to various experiences. New behaviors, new learnings, and even environmental changes or physical injuries may all stimulate the brain to create new neural pathways or reorganize existing ones, fundamentally altering how information is processed.”
Giving up on ADHD is not an option. The natural disposition of distractibility will always be there, but the behaviors can be self-modified so that the cognitive efforts become an automatic skill for success.
Keep your calm in crisis and preserve your sense of humor, parents! Dealing with ADHD requires relentless patience. No, you are not living with a “dog too old to learn new tricks.” He will learn it! Just takes longer. Have faith, and you will be the happier for it.
Train the child to form habits and routines for good behavior. These automatic habits will relieve the child’s brain from constant “executive decision-making stress” because the socially acceptable behaviors can be recalled automatically.
When there is one ADHD person in the family, all members are affected by it. Especially the early school years can be a trial and upheaval for family harmony. Use your smarts to navigate your social system for the benefit of all. It’s a lot of work and requires foresight. You might feel that you are creating your own, home-made institution around the symptoms to keep your family in balance. But the rewards will be great.
Rosemary spuds is simply the best potato recipe. Just be aware to back up one hour from serving time, put a tray of these into the oven and forget about them until dinner. The recipe is for 2 pounds of spring potatoes.
Wash, brush, and quarter the small potatoes. Put them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle juice from
1 large lemon over potatoes, add
2 cloves of grated garlic,
2 twigs of rosemary, snip it with scissors
2 or more tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper to liking
and mix the seasonings thoroughly in. Bake the Rosemary Potatoes at about 400 F for 50 minutes or more. I like to get the skins a little toasty and crunchy. These potatoes are a true delight for all ages.
Wash, brush, and quarter the small potatoes. Put them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle juice from