So another Christmas is over and all that remains are the toy boxes for the recycling bins, the tree on the curb and the calories on our bodies. Christmas is a time for gatherings and celebrating. It is a time of eating, drinking and playing a friendly game of charades. The adults spend weeks of preparations on gifts, cookies and surprises. The children spend weeks of praying and hoping for the perfect gifts they asked for.
My Christmas was spent as it always is. With my kids, my husband, my sisters, my parents and my extended family which includes cousins, aunts and uncles. I had a wonderful time with my family. We ate, we drank and most importantly we laughed pretty much all night. When I was on my way to my aunts’ house I took a look around me at the cars beside me. They were filled with other families driving to their destinations. It is most definitely an important and special part of the year. Some people make the midnight mass as their tradition; some skip it and head to bed. We go to bed because we know Santa will arrive very early and we want to be well rested for his arrival.
Christmas has definitely changed for me now that I am a mother. I do the preparing; the gifts, the food and the glass of milk for Santa. It is just as exciting for me as it is for my kids. In the morning my kids all ran down the stairs to see if they got what they asked for. Low and behold, Santa delivered. Joseph got his Wii. At that moment he knew that he must have been a good boy because he got what he wanted. He was eager to set it up, and so was my husband. My daughter; got her Hannah Doll and her Moxie girls. She too, ripped open the box to begin playing with her new toys.
If we can just for a minute, bottle up their enthusiasm, their joy, their innocent smiles, then wouldn’t we? The price we paid for their excitement was the money we spent on their gifts. I am sure you will agree that it was well worth it. For that day on Christmas we remain calm, we find a little more patience in our bag of patience, and we smile a little more. It is a very important day, and we know it. We know what the real meaning of the day is, and believe it or not, so do our kids. For that one day we continue with the gift of giving and the realization of good family, and good laughs.
This year is almost over, another few days and we will flip the page of our calendars. I have not yet written down my goals that I plan to achieve for the year because I am still bathing in the previous days of Christmas. I will find some time to sit down and reflect on the past 365 days. I know that they will be good memories and they will bring me smiles. I am just grateful for my 2009 Christmas and everything that went right with it. It was another memory made, another few dozen photos shot and a few more toys added to the basement. The only thing I do know for sure is that it was special, it was a little cold, and it was exactly what I hoped and anticipated. I can whole heartedly flip my calendar on Thursday with a smile on my face and utter the words, “That was fun!”
That’s my peace today.
This is a classic Calabrese desert...fattening as heck but darn good!!!
Tordili
1 cup oil
3 cups white wine
8 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
450 gram honey
Combine oil, wine and salt in saucepan. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in flour and baking powder. Roll into dough and cut into strips, roll like a snake. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Heat oil and fry each piece (oil must cover for about 8 min)
Once ready take honey boil in a double boiler with 1/4 cu water, when it foams, throw the fried tordili and stir around.
ENJOY!!!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Pretty in Pink
On Wednesday night my kids had their annual Christmas concert. In the morning of the concert I was getting ready for work and I heard tears coming from my daughter’s room. I quickly went over to see what was wrong and what the heck Joseph did. It turns out this time, Joseph did nothing, she was upset because she could not find the perfect dress for her evening concert. I immediately began pulling out little outfits for her; nothing was what she wanted. She wanted a party dress; something fancy and beautiful. My daughter’s idea of beautiful is a regular person’s version of “tacky”..lol. She went on to cry and say that everyone was going to be beautiful and Sophia was going to look like a princess and she would not. I have to admit, that got me. I know it is horrible that it took so little for me to fold, but Franco and I could not bare to see her sad little face. So, Franco met me on my lunch at the mall and she chose a perfect little pink dress that was fit for a party.
Let’s fast forward to when she came home with the note that said, “Parents, please dress your children in jeans and a white top for tonight’s concert.” My jaw hit the floor. I asked my daughter if she knew that she was to wear jeans and a white top and she said, “Yes mommy, my teacher told us today but I told her you already bought me a pink dress to wear and she said that it was ok.” I explained to her that she would be the only one at the concert wearing a dress but she did not seem to care. I choose to pick my battles at home because there are just too many possibilities to lose my patience, so I let this one go. I figure, if it did not bother her to wear something different and her teacher said it was ok, then why should I argue with that?
I arrived early at the school, when I saw her teacher she just smiled. I apologized to her for my daughter’s attire and she told me not to worry, that she knew about it and that is was ok. As I looked around I noticed all the kids in my daughter’s Senior Kindergarten class and all I saw was a sea of white tops and blue jeans. I looked at my daughter and I asked her again, “honey are you sure you don’t want me to give you your jeans?” (I brought them in case) She insisted that she wanted to wear this dress and that she didn’t care.
I waited in the crowd for her class to come out on stage, after a few songs her class began to gather on stage. I quickly went to the front so she can see me watching her. All of a sudden, there she was, walking with her hair tied back in a pink bow, walking in with her black patent shoes, and there she was...proudly on the bench wearing her very girly,puffy pink dress. She sat their satisfied with her decision to be the only little person with a different colour.
In life, we want to try to teach our children about confidence, self love and acceptance of themselves. We know that life is difficult and that we second guess a lot of our own decisions and choices. So who was I to tell her that she should care what the others did? My daughter knew that she would be the only one in her class that was different. She knew that she would stand out from the crowd, but she didn’t care. I did. I cared what people would think, “Oh that poor little girl, her mother didn’t know that she was supposed to wear jeans.” Is what I thought parents were saying. Why did I care what others thought when my own daughter did not?
After the concert many of my parent friends smiled at me, and said “Maria-Alicia was so cute, the way she sang, sat and the way she looked.” Then they asked with laughter “Did you forget what she was supposed to wear?” I replied with, “No, I did not forget, and neither did she. She just wanted to wear something festive for the occasion, she decided that a Christmas concert is a special occasion because they are celebrating Jesus’ birthday and she always wears dresses at birthday parties. She decided that she didn’t care to be different; she just dared to be pretty in pink.
That’s my peace today!
Pizzelle
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
In a large bowl beat eggs with sugar. Stir in melted butter and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder, blend into batter. Brush pizzelle maker with oil and drop 1 tbsp of batter, close lid for about 45 seconds. Remove from maker. ****You can make Nutella sandwiches by spreading the Nutella on a pizzelle and topping with another...delicious!
Let’s fast forward to when she came home with the note that said, “Parents, please dress your children in jeans and a white top for tonight’s concert.” My jaw hit the floor. I asked my daughter if she knew that she was to wear jeans and a white top and she said, “Yes mommy, my teacher told us today but I told her you already bought me a pink dress to wear and she said that it was ok.” I explained to her that she would be the only one at the concert wearing a dress but she did not seem to care. I choose to pick my battles at home because there are just too many possibilities to lose my patience, so I let this one go. I figure, if it did not bother her to wear something different and her teacher said it was ok, then why should I argue with that?
I arrived early at the school, when I saw her teacher she just smiled. I apologized to her for my daughter’s attire and she told me not to worry, that she knew about it and that is was ok. As I looked around I noticed all the kids in my daughter’s Senior Kindergarten class and all I saw was a sea of white tops and blue jeans. I looked at my daughter and I asked her again, “honey are you sure you don’t want me to give you your jeans?” (I brought them in case) She insisted that she wanted to wear this dress and that she didn’t care.
I waited in the crowd for her class to come out on stage, after a few songs her class began to gather on stage. I quickly went to the front so she can see me watching her. All of a sudden, there she was, walking with her hair tied back in a pink bow, walking in with her black patent shoes, and there she was...proudly on the bench wearing her very girly,puffy pink dress. She sat their satisfied with her decision to be the only little person with a different colour.
In life, we want to try to teach our children about confidence, self love and acceptance of themselves. We know that life is difficult and that we second guess a lot of our own decisions and choices. So who was I to tell her that she should care what the others did? My daughter knew that she would be the only one in her class that was different. She knew that she would stand out from the crowd, but she didn’t care. I did. I cared what people would think, “Oh that poor little girl, her mother didn’t know that she was supposed to wear jeans.” Is what I thought parents were saying. Why did I care what others thought when my own daughter did not?
After the concert many of my parent friends smiled at me, and said “Maria-Alicia was so cute, the way she sang, sat and the way she looked.” Then they asked with laughter “Did you forget what she was supposed to wear?” I replied with, “No, I did not forget, and neither did she. She just wanted to wear something festive for the occasion, she decided that a Christmas concert is a special occasion because they are celebrating Jesus’ birthday and she always wears dresses at birthday parties. She decided that she didn’t care to be different; she just dared to be pretty in pink.
That’s my peace today!
Pizzelle
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
In a large bowl beat eggs with sugar. Stir in melted butter and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder, blend into batter. Brush pizzelle maker with oil and drop 1 tbsp of batter, close lid for about 45 seconds. Remove from maker. ****You can make Nutella sandwiches by spreading the Nutella on a pizzelle and topping with another...delicious!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
My name is Diana and I grew up in the 80's
You know, I kind of miss my days in the 80’s. I was only a kid but I remember it was kind of a simple way of living. I think kids today have way too many things to do and play with, it makes it stressful. I grew up in a time where “hide and go seek” was a game we played OUTSIDE with the neighbours. I grew up in a time where we had 1 pair of boots that our mothers chose, not us. I grew up in a time when “Toys R Us” was a place we just drove by but never went it.
I was sitting here remembering how much fun I had at home with my sisters. We had a few things to play with and we were happy at that. Our basement only got fixed when we were teenagers but it didn’t stop us from going downstairs to play and run on the grey concrete floors. Cougar boots were the hottest thing to have and do you remember the shoes “big foot”? I had a pair and I absolutely loved them. Do you guys remember Beta and VHS? I certainly do. That was the difference of what movies would be in at the local video store.
There are many jokes and emails regarding the 80’s and the differences of then and now. Unless you really sit and remember it, you don’t really remember it. I remember my trips with my mother to Miracle Mart and Kmart. Do you remember the restaurant at Kmart in Yorkdale mall??? How about the purple, orange and red juices that would fountain in that glass box? How about the Sheraton Mall? I know it still exists, but I do not know anyone that actually still “shops” there.
I am not sure if I think they were better times because that was my childhood, or if it really was better. Our Christmas lights were big, fat and colourful. They were not LED or snowflake shaped; just plain old bulbs that you can change 1 if 1 burnt..not the whole string! We didn’t receive any emails from Santa or dancing elves, we just wrote a plain old letter to Santa to 1 Ho Ho Ho, North Pole and that was it. If we didn’t like a song on our cassette player we had to fast forward it and WAIT to get to the song we liked. We did not have an MP3 or IPOD digital player.
Times were not tough; times in the 80’s were fun. We enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit with our siblings and a friendly game of charades. I liked Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl” and Quiet Riot’s “We’re not going to take it”. Those were the days. The days when saying bitch would never happen on TV. The days that kids greeted their elders with “Good morning sir or Madame.” The 80’s were days of fluorescents, the “20 minute workout” and 33 inch albums. We loved it, we didn’t care that we couldn’t text our friends because we were happy running to their houses. We didn’t care we couldn’t Google information because that meant we were going to the Library to meet our friends. We didn’t care that there wasn’t 24 hour cartoons on TV that meant we were able to do jigsaw puzzles that we would eventually tape the back so we can hang on the wall.
I was born in 1974 and I grew up in the 80’s. I don’t feel that our lives were boring or simple. Our lives were what we wanted, and what we knew. We wore pins on our jackets with pictures of our heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and Jon Bon Jovi. We loved guys with long rocker hair, Levi’s and white t-shirts. Our guys didn’t wear diamonds on their t-shirts or designer jeans, and we still thought they were hot. So if all you kids of today think we were uncool, or deprived of the finer things in life, here is my response to you...”My name is Diana, and I grew up in the 80’s and I loved every hair sprayed, fish nets, cabbage patch dolls, smurfs and WHAM part of it!
That’s my peace today!
Home made fish sticks
6 fillets of sole or haddock
1 egg
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup oil for frying
Cut fish in long pieces. Flour and dip in beat egg. Bread each piece and fry in pan with oil.
I was sitting here remembering how much fun I had at home with my sisters. We had a few things to play with and we were happy at that. Our basement only got fixed when we were teenagers but it didn’t stop us from going downstairs to play and run on the grey concrete floors. Cougar boots were the hottest thing to have and do you remember the shoes “big foot”? I had a pair and I absolutely loved them. Do you guys remember Beta and VHS? I certainly do. That was the difference of what movies would be in at the local video store.
There are many jokes and emails regarding the 80’s and the differences of then and now. Unless you really sit and remember it, you don’t really remember it. I remember my trips with my mother to Miracle Mart and Kmart. Do you remember the restaurant at Kmart in Yorkdale mall??? How about the purple, orange and red juices that would fountain in that glass box? How about the Sheraton Mall? I know it still exists, but I do not know anyone that actually still “shops” there.
I am not sure if I think they were better times because that was my childhood, or if it really was better. Our Christmas lights were big, fat and colourful. They were not LED or snowflake shaped; just plain old bulbs that you can change 1 if 1 burnt..not the whole string! We didn’t receive any emails from Santa or dancing elves, we just wrote a plain old letter to Santa to 1 Ho Ho Ho, North Pole and that was it. If we didn’t like a song on our cassette player we had to fast forward it and WAIT to get to the song we liked. We did not have an MP3 or IPOD digital player.
Times were not tough; times in the 80’s were fun. We enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit with our siblings and a friendly game of charades. I liked Rick Springfield’s “Jesse’s Girl” and Quiet Riot’s “We’re not going to take it”. Those were the days. The days when saying bitch would never happen on TV. The days that kids greeted their elders with “Good morning sir or Madame.” The 80’s were days of fluorescents, the “20 minute workout” and 33 inch albums. We loved it, we didn’t care that we couldn’t text our friends because we were happy running to their houses. We didn’t care we couldn’t Google information because that meant we were going to the Library to meet our friends. We didn’t care that there wasn’t 24 hour cartoons on TV that meant we were able to do jigsaw puzzles that we would eventually tape the back so we can hang on the wall.
I was born in 1974 and I grew up in the 80’s. I don’t feel that our lives were boring or simple. Our lives were what we wanted, and what we knew. We wore pins on our jackets with pictures of our heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and Jon Bon Jovi. We loved guys with long rocker hair, Levi’s and white t-shirts. Our guys didn’t wear diamonds on their t-shirts or designer jeans, and we still thought they were hot. So if all you kids of today think we were uncool, or deprived of the finer things in life, here is my response to you...”My name is Diana, and I grew up in the 80’s and I loved every hair sprayed, fish nets, cabbage patch dolls, smurfs and WHAM part of it!
That’s my peace today!
Home made fish sticks
6 fillets of sole or haddock
1 egg
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup oil for frying
Cut fish in long pieces. Flour and dip in beat egg. Bread each piece and fry in pan with oil.
Monday, December 14, 2009
You come down from the stars
Last night I was unwinding after I put all the kiddies to bed and there was nothing on TV. I was flipping the channels and I found a special on PBS. There was a Christmas concert with Andrea Bocelli. It seemed like the only interesting thing on, so I decided to watch it. There was a song he began to sing that just brought back so many memories to me. It is called “Tu Scendi dalle stella” an Italian children’s’ Christmas song. Besides learning it in elementary school, it was a song my late grandfather would sing to us when we were growing up.
It made me sad. I thought about him and our past Christmas’ with him. He would stand up at the end of the night; all the grandkids would line up and get our Christmas money from him. He was so proud and happy to hand the money to us. This past July, it was 12 years ago he died. He was my maternal grandfather and he was a wonderful man.
This time of year we celebrate with our families but we also remember the people we lost. I am very lucky to still have both my grandmothers alive. I lost my paternal grandfather over 2 years ago. When you lose people you love, it is a very difficult part of life. We know it is something that happens, but when it does, it hurts. My good friend lost her father 1 year ago this month, and I know how difficult it has been for her. Losing a parent is something I just cannot imagine right now in this part of my life.
As we age we hear of people that are ill and they have passed. It is a fact that the older we get, the more people we must lose. It doesn’t make it any easier; it is just a shitty part of life. We put pictures in frames to see them, we go visit their tombs to see them, and we watch videos to remember the good times we shared with them. Life is a journey, and on the way we meet, we love, we learn and we must lose. We must know what it is like to love people that we will eventually say goodbye to.. for good.
Everyday life does go on. We have our children to make us smile and forget about it, but in our weakest moments in life we think of them. In our weakest moments of life we pray for strength from them, and in our weakest moments of life we pray for miracles from them. They are our angels, our protectors. They are our footprints in the sand, the ones that walk beside us in the hard times and the bad times.
Last night when I was watching the program with Andrea Boccelli (besides the fact that it was an amazing concert) and the beautiful touching ballads of Christmas. It brought me much sad and joy when I heard my childhood song. It is only fitting that the English meaning of that song is “You come down from the stars.” I didn’t know then, those many years ago when my grandfather would sing that song to me that it would someday be special, and that it would one day remind me that there is an angel in heaven for me and my family; a person that I love, that once loved me; a man that was once my “Nono”, a man that is now the star shining down on me. We all have those stars in our life, we never forget they are there; we just get reminded once in a while when we are living our own lives, making our own memories, singing songs of Christmas, that one day will be special to someone else.
That’s my peace today!
Almond Biscotti
1 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
In the bowl of your electric mixer combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until blended (about 30 seconds). Gradually add the egg mixture and beat until a dough forms, adding almonds about halfway through. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a log about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Transfer log to baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees, or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Transfer log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut log into slices 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal. Arrange evenly on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool.
It made me sad. I thought about him and our past Christmas’ with him. He would stand up at the end of the night; all the grandkids would line up and get our Christmas money from him. He was so proud and happy to hand the money to us. This past July, it was 12 years ago he died. He was my maternal grandfather and he was a wonderful man.
This time of year we celebrate with our families but we also remember the people we lost. I am very lucky to still have both my grandmothers alive. I lost my paternal grandfather over 2 years ago. When you lose people you love, it is a very difficult part of life. We know it is something that happens, but when it does, it hurts. My good friend lost her father 1 year ago this month, and I know how difficult it has been for her. Losing a parent is something I just cannot imagine right now in this part of my life.
As we age we hear of people that are ill and they have passed. It is a fact that the older we get, the more people we must lose. It doesn’t make it any easier; it is just a shitty part of life. We put pictures in frames to see them, we go visit their tombs to see them, and we watch videos to remember the good times we shared with them. Life is a journey, and on the way we meet, we love, we learn and we must lose. We must know what it is like to love people that we will eventually say goodbye to.. for good.
Everyday life does go on. We have our children to make us smile and forget about it, but in our weakest moments in life we think of them. In our weakest moments of life we pray for strength from them, and in our weakest moments of life we pray for miracles from them. They are our angels, our protectors. They are our footprints in the sand, the ones that walk beside us in the hard times and the bad times.
Last night when I was watching the program with Andrea Boccelli (besides the fact that it was an amazing concert) and the beautiful touching ballads of Christmas. It brought me much sad and joy when I heard my childhood song. It is only fitting that the English meaning of that song is “You come down from the stars.” I didn’t know then, those many years ago when my grandfather would sing that song to me that it would someday be special, and that it would one day remind me that there is an angel in heaven for me and my family; a person that I love, that once loved me; a man that was once my “Nono”, a man that is now the star shining down on me. We all have those stars in our life, we never forget they are there; we just get reminded once in a while when we are living our own lives, making our own memories, singing songs of Christmas, that one day will be special to someone else.
That’s my peace today!
Almond Biscotti
1 cup blanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
In the bowl of your electric mixer combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until blended (about 30 seconds). Gradually add the egg mixture and beat until a dough forms, adding almonds about halfway through. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a log about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide. Transfer log to baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees, or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Transfer log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut log into slices 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal. Arrange evenly on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool.
Friday, December 11, 2009
What? Another recall????
This morning I was on my way to work and I got a call from my friend Sandra. She was livid, she heard on the news that they were recalling the Heinz Mixed Cereal pablum. The company is claiming that this particular crop in the wheat may contain cancer causing agents. She was so upset because this is the cereal she has been giving her son for the past 2 months.
In this day in age you cannot trust anything anymore. Companies are trying to make record making profits. They cut corners and substitute important natural products with artificial products just to make more money. There are recalls in household products, children’s products and in our food. Baby bottles, baby food, baby car seats. I just goggled recalls in Canada today and there was 264 products listed! Can you imagine? We are consumers and we cannot trust any manufacturer anymore. A company like Heinz that claims they triple test their baby food..obviously they do not!
We eat meat, we get scared. We eat chicken, we are worried. We eat baby spinach and we can get ill with e-coli, we buy deli products and we can die of listeria. What is going on? How can we live in a world that we cannot trust? It is not possible to grow our own food, because if we could we would.
Produce growers are now growing “organic” fruits and vegetables and at that, we should take it with a grain of salt. My question is this..shouldn’t everything be organic? Shouldn’t everything we put in our mouths and our children’s mouths be natural? These producers say you need pesticide to help grow the crops. This is not true, you can grow a crop naturally, our grandparents did it...it will just cost more. It is all about the green dollar, and how they can make more of it.
2 weeks ago there was a recall on a specific brand of cribs made in Canada. Apparently a few babies died because they suffocated in the crib. What???? Are you kidding me? How can we as parents ever feel safe? Most of our products are coming from China. China; the country that was putting melamine in their own babies’ formula, just to save money. Hundreds of babies were poisoned and died because of it. A country that made toothpaste with toxicity in it and could have harmed people who have liver and kidney disease. These are the people we are trusting to make our children’s toys, car seats, and baby bottles.
I know we do not live in a perfect world, and I think we are ok with that. I do however think, it is not ok to keep coming back and warning us that what we just fed our child, or what we trust to protect our children in, or what our babies play with and put in their mouths; may be harmful; may cause cancer eventually. There is enough profit being made with these companies to stop cutting corners, stop playing with the idea that something might be safe. I think us as Canadians are fed up with the “what if” of safety, I think we say enough is enough, and I think we ask with complete and utter anger...What???Another recall???
That’s my peace today!
Today I am giving you a natural recipe that my mother used to feed to us when we were babies. We loved it and it seems safe, as long as the milk won't be recalled..lol
Pane e Latte
2 cups milk
1/2 loaf of bread
cinnamon optional
Pour milk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Tear the bread in little pieces and add into the milk until soft. Remove from heat, you may add cinnamon for more flavour.
In this day in age you cannot trust anything anymore. Companies are trying to make record making profits. They cut corners and substitute important natural products with artificial products just to make more money. There are recalls in household products, children’s products and in our food. Baby bottles, baby food, baby car seats. I just goggled recalls in Canada today and there was 264 products listed! Can you imagine? We are consumers and we cannot trust any manufacturer anymore. A company like Heinz that claims they triple test their baby food..obviously they do not!
We eat meat, we get scared. We eat chicken, we are worried. We eat baby spinach and we can get ill with e-coli, we buy deli products and we can die of listeria. What is going on? How can we live in a world that we cannot trust? It is not possible to grow our own food, because if we could we would.
Produce growers are now growing “organic” fruits and vegetables and at that, we should take it with a grain of salt. My question is this..shouldn’t everything be organic? Shouldn’t everything we put in our mouths and our children’s mouths be natural? These producers say you need pesticide to help grow the crops. This is not true, you can grow a crop naturally, our grandparents did it...it will just cost more. It is all about the green dollar, and how they can make more of it.
2 weeks ago there was a recall on a specific brand of cribs made in Canada. Apparently a few babies died because they suffocated in the crib. What???? Are you kidding me? How can we as parents ever feel safe? Most of our products are coming from China. China; the country that was putting melamine in their own babies’ formula, just to save money. Hundreds of babies were poisoned and died because of it. A country that made toothpaste with toxicity in it and could have harmed people who have liver and kidney disease. These are the people we are trusting to make our children’s toys, car seats, and baby bottles.
I know we do not live in a perfect world, and I think we are ok with that. I do however think, it is not ok to keep coming back and warning us that what we just fed our child, or what we trust to protect our children in, or what our babies play with and put in their mouths; may be harmful; may cause cancer eventually. There is enough profit being made with these companies to stop cutting corners, stop playing with the idea that something might be safe. I think us as Canadians are fed up with the “what if” of safety, I think we say enough is enough, and I think we ask with complete and utter anger...What???Another recall???
That’s my peace today!
Today I am giving you a natural recipe that my mother used to feed to us when we were babies. We loved it and it seems safe, as long as the milk won't be recalled..lol
Pane e Latte
2 cups milk
1/2 loaf of bread
cinnamon optional
Pour milk in a saucepan and bring to boil. Tear the bread in little pieces and add into the milk until soft. Remove from heat, you may add cinnamon for more flavour.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Human Race
Lately Christmas songs have been playing on the radio and one of my favourite all time Christmas songs is “Do they know it’s Christmas?” by Band-Aid. I liked it from the day I heard it back in the 80’s. It is a catchy song with great artists singing it. The most beautiful part of the song is the message. “And in a world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy, pour your arms around the world at Christmas time.”
At this time of the year we all do our best to give and donate to charities, hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, just so everyone can have a good Christmas. We are all humans; we all want to do our best to help others when they need it. Over the weekend there was a missing autistic boy is Nova Scotia (I am sure most of you watched it on the news). There was a whole community of people that were searching for 2 days for this missing 7 year old boy. In the bitter cold, day and night they searched. People that did not even know him were pitching in to help. They did find him but unfortunately he did not make it; he died in hospital. The point is, they all pulled together to help find a child that went missing.
When people pool together and join a team together, only good things happen. Things are stronger in numbers. CHUM CITY Christmas Drive is successful every year because of the efforts of all. If only a few people participated then it would not have the same outcome. The Daily Bread Food Bank is able to feed the hungry because people come together and either donate or help to serve the homeless. These are all acts of kindness. These are signs that we do care, we do want the best for ALL people.
“It is better to give than to receive”. This is something we tell our children. We make them understand that giving to someone feels so much better than getting something. I know when I buy something for someone it makes me feel so good when I see their face of excitement when they open it. We were made with a heart, we were made with a soul and we were made with a conscience. We cannot ignore the fact that when people need our help, it is a moral obligation to be there for them.
Over 20 years ago when all these famous rich artists from Britain got together to write, and sing a song for the people of Africa, they did not do it for money, not for fame, but for other people. They sang a song that stuck in the minds of people. A song to remind us that there are people in the world that have less than us; that need us. “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you.” Let us remember and acknowledge that we love all the same, we hurt all the same, we want all the same, we cry all the same and we laugh all the same. We are one; we are humans; we are one race...the human race.
That’s my peace today!
Mixed Mushroom Buschetta
1 cup mixed mushrooms chopped
1 cup shredded provolone
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 baguette
1/2 cup olive oil
Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and add the chopped mushrooms and the onions, saute until cooked. Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, with a brush spread oil on each slice. Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes at 385 degrees. Remove and place cooked mushrooms on the bread, top with shredded cheese, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
At this time of the year we all do our best to give and donate to charities, hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, just so everyone can have a good Christmas. We are all humans; we all want to do our best to help others when they need it. Over the weekend there was a missing autistic boy is Nova Scotia (I am sure most of you watched it on the news). There was a whole community of people that were searching for 2 days for this missing 7 year old boy. In the bitter cold, day and night they searched. People that did not even know him were pitching in to help. They did find him but unfortunately he did not make it; he died in hospital. The point is, they all pulled together to help find a child that went missing.
When people pool together and join a team together, only good things happen. Things are stronger in numbers. CHUM CITY Christmas Drive is successful every year because of the efforts of all. If only a few people participated then it would not have the same outcome. The Daily Bread Food Bank is able to feed the hungry because people come together and either donate or help to serve the homeless. These are all acts of kindness. These are signs that we do care, we do want the best for ALL people.
“It is better to give than to receive”. This is something we tell our children. We make them understand that giving to someone feels so much better than getting something. I know when I buy something for someone it makes me feel so good when I see their face of excitement when they open it. We were made with a heart, we were made with a soul and we were made with a conscience. We cannot ignore the fact that when people need our help, it is a moral obligation to be there for them.
Over 20 years ago when all these famous rich artists from Britain got together to write, and sing a song for the people of Africa, they did not do it for money, not for fame, but for other people. They sang a song that stuck in the minds of people. A song to remind us that there are people in the world that have less than us; that need us. “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you.” Let us remember and acknowledge that we love all the same, we hurt all the same, we want all the same, we cry all the same and we laugh all the same. We are one; we are humans; we are one race...the human race.
That’s my peace today!
Mixed Mushroom Buschetta
1 cup mixed mushrooms chopped
1 cup shredded provolone
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 baguette
1/2 cup olive oil
Heat a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and add the chopped mushrooms and the onions, saute until cooked. Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, with a brush spread oil on each slice. Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes at 385 degrees. Remove and place cooked mushrooms on the bread, top with shredded cheese, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A little white lie
Today was the first storm of the season. I woke up to the sounds of shovelling and trucks salting the roads. It was exciting because it was the first time my twins saw snow. They were still babies last year so they didn’t really “see” anything. The older kids were equally excited because that meant Christmas was near.
My daughter was acting up a little and I reminded her that Santa was watching and that if she was not good, she wouldn’t get what she asked for. All of a sudden I thought of the perfect little white lie...I said this to my little innocent kids, “Did you know that Santa’s Elves are all the little boys and girls who were not good the year before, so this year their job is to make toys for all the good girls and boys.” Lol, I know that sounds mean but let me tell you, they stopped in their tracks. Then I realized that they were frightened by the thought of being kidnapped by Santa so I recovered by saying, “You only help him as an Elf in the month of December and then he brings you safely back home .” So Joseph says this, “Noooo, how come they all have the same hair?” I explained it is because he cuts and colours your hair all the same..lol.
Sometimes it is necessary to tell our children little white lies. It is like the Pinocchio fib. “When you lie your nose grows.” Does their nose really grow? Well maybe if you are Italian..lol..no but seriously, just the thought of their nose growing puts a little fear in them, and sometimes we need that to help us out a little bit. My mother used to tell my older sister that if she was bad she would send her to go live with the nuns..lol..yes, that is when there were nuns walking around the neighbourhoods. She also used to tell us that a girl got pregnant if you kissed a boy...that one we didn’t believe...we took our chances..lol.
In life it is necessary to fib and tell little white lies. Sometimes these white lies help protect people from getting hurt or offended. Like when your husband asks you if he has a gut. You don’t want to hurt his feelings so you tell him he is as handsome as the day you married him..the truth..na...but it was necessary to do.
So this morning I needed my kids to behave. I was getting ready making breakfast, lunches and getting the boots ready at the door. I did not need to have running, screaming children around me, so I did what I had to do to calm the situation. I told a little white lie. I am even thinking of going as far as to “Elf Them” online so they can see what they will look like in their little green suits..lol..but I won’t be that mean. Lol. As parents we sometimes get desperate, we grasp at straws. When they don’t eat we tell them we will call the doctor, when they don’t listen we tell them we will tell their teacher, and when they misbehave we may have to tell them something that is not true. We may have to tell them a little white lie.
That’s my peace today!
Easy roll-up lasagna
1 box lasagna
2 cups cooked sauce
1/2 tub ricotta
1/2 pound cooked minced meat
3 cups shredded mozzarella
Boil lasagna as directed. Drain. Mix cooked meat and ricotta in a bowl. With a large spoon, scoop mixture and spread evenly on the cooked pasta. Roll tightly, once rolled, place in a baking pan and pour sauce evenly and sprinkle mozzarella evenly. Cover and cook for 45 min - 1 hour at 385 degrees.
My daughter was acting up a little and I reminded her that Santa was watching and that if she was not good, she wouldn’t get what she asked for. All of a sudden I thought of the perfect little white lie...I said this to my little innocent kids, “Did you know that Santa’s Elves are all the little boys and girls who were not good the year before, so this year their job is to make toys for all the good girls and boys.” Lol, I know that sounds mean but let me tell you, they stopped in their tracks. Then I realized that they were frightened by the thought of being kidnapped by Santa so I recovered by saying, “You only help him as an Elf in the month of December and then he brings you safely back home .” So Joseph says this, “Noooo, how come they all have the same hair?” I explained it is because he cuts and colours your hair all the same..lol.
Sometimes it is necessary to tell our children little white lies. It is like the Pinocchio fib. “When you lie your nose grows.” Does their nose really grow? Well maybe if you are Italian..lol..no but seriously, just the thought of their nose growing puts a little fear in them, and sometimes we need that to help us out a little bit. My mother used to tell my older sister that if she was bad she would send her to go live with the nuns..lol..yes, that is when there were nuns walking around the neighbourhoods. She also used to tell us that a girl got pregnant if you kissed a boy...that one we didn’t believe...we took our chances..lol.
In life it is necessary to fib and tell little white lies. Sometimes these white lies help protect people from getting hurt or offended. Like when your husband asks you if he has a gut. You don’t want to hurt his feelings so you tell him he is as handsome as the day you married him..the truth..na...but it was necessary to do.
So this morning I needed my kids to behave. I was getting ready making breakfast, lunches and getting the boots ready at the door. I did not need to have running, screaming children around me, so I did what I had to do to calm the situation. I told a little white lie. I am even thinking of going as far as to “Elf Them” online so they can see what they will look like in their little green suits..lol..but I won’t be that mean. Lol. As parents we sometimes get desperate, we grasp at straws. When they don’t eat we tell them we will call the doctor, when they don’t listen we tell them we will tell their teacher, and when they misbehave we may have to tell them something that is not true. We may have to tell them a little white lie.
That’s my peace today!
Easy roll-up lasagna
1 box lasagna
2 cups cooked sauce
1/2 tub ricotta
1/2 pound cooked minced meat
3 cups shredded mozzarella
Boil lasagna as directed. Drain. Mix cooked meat and ricotta in a bowl. With a large spoon, scoop mixture and spread evenly on the cooked pasta. Roll tightly, once rolled, place in a baking pan and pour sauce evenly and sprinkle mozzarella evenly. Cover and cook for 45 min - 1 hour at 385 degrees.
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