New Blog Venture

So, as you may have noticed, Becky’s solo venture has resulted in a serious paucity of entries on East of Mina. I plan on still using this site for all things personal (there may be an up-tick in posts after baby arrives) but I have also decided to try my literary wings in a new sector of the blogosphere as a guest political writer for R.J. Moeller’s blog.

I’ll be posting there once a week in 4-part series on various topics and I would love to have you check them out/subscribe. Here’s the introduction, explaining my project, and my first article on Immigration.

What I like about RJ is his desire to spark conversations by engaging different viewpoints, while remaining rooted in his faith. He just did a podcast with liberal comedian, Adam Carolla; feel free to check it out.

CSD

What’s a Good Question?

This comes from Scriptorium Daily. Worth the read, especially for everyone who teaches anyone anything…

“What’s a good question? That’s a good question.

A good question evokes curiosity by exhibiting curiosity.”

Easy Creamy Rice Pudding

This isn’t a quick recipe (rice has to simmer for an hour) but it’s simple and super yummy — my husband’s favorite dessert.

Place 1 cup white rice (I prefer short, chubby grains) and a 1/2 gallon 2% or whole milk in a pot. Add 1 cup sugar and a cinnamon stick (optional). Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour, stirring frequently.

Whisk together 3 eggs, a 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp vanilla. After the rice has cooked for its hour, slowly add the egg mixture and stir gently until completely combined, about 2 minutes. Pour into a 9″x13″ glass pan and cover in plastic wrap; chill for several hours to overnight. When cool, remove plastic wrap, sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and re-cover in fresh plastic wrap.

Enjoy!

A Blessing of Unicorns

Some people collect stamps. Coins. Elephants. Beanie Babies.

I collect the names of groups of creatures. Odd, yes. Useful, no. Entertaining, often.

There are the typical, well-known ones: a Pod of Whales, a Gaggle of Geese, a Pride of Lions.

Some are especially fitting: a Crash of Rhinos, a Prickle of Porcupines, and a Smack of Jellyfish.

Beware the Murder of Crows, Mobs of Kangaroos, and the Shrewdness of Apes. And don’t rain on the Elephants’ Parade.

Feel free to join the Convocation of Eagles, the Congress of Ravens, or the Parliament of Owls. Appropriately, Larks form Exultations, Hummingbirds Charm, and Jays Scold.

There are Musters of Peafowl, Coteries of Prairie Dogs, and Romps of Otters. Sharks swim in Shivers, and Gnats form Clouds;  Clowders of Cats, Sleuths of Bears, Cetes of Badgers.  Ferrets have Businesses but Martens get Richness.

My all time favorite is a Blessing of Unicorns. The verdict is out on Dragons, but I’m partial to “Doom.”

Any you care to add?

C.S. Doemner

Life Imitates Art

Remember when restaurants used to boast that their food was “Just like Home-made”?   It seems a tide has turned, and now home cooks are boasting that their food is “Just as good as the Restaurants.”

You can find recipes for Panda Express’ Orange Chicken and Mrs. Field’s Cookies.

I noticed myself falling into this trend when our friends brought over pretty, swirled, butter cookies with sprinkles. I had only seen them sold at Vons and similar stores, and so, exclaimed, “These taste store-bought! …and I mean that in the nicest way!”

A few days ago, we bought hoagie rolls and my husband made sandwiches with two kinds of deli meat, two kinds of cheese, and enough veggies to satisfy a whole colony of rabbits. My son gave  his approbation by saying, “This tastes like Subway!”

I suppose it’s a product of a culture that turned fast food from a luxury into a necessity. And, with increased competition in the prepared food industry, there really are some yummy things available out there that require a large number of fresh ingredients to duplicate. Not to mention, fewer people have the time or desire to cultivate the skill necessary to create gourmet foods at home.

Tonight I’m making enchilada casserole. I’m cheating by opening a can of enchilada sauce.

C.S. Doemner

Pick Your Own

As a kid, I went strawberry-picking for a field trip. I remember standing in the hot fields, looking over at neighboring farms, seeing the manual laborers, and thinking: “They’re getting paid. We’re paying to do this. How does this make sense?”

And yet, now, I have a nostalgic desire to crouch amid crops with a hot sun on my shoulders and pick my own food. More importantly, I want to take my son to do it, too, so he can think to himself, “This is insane. We could buy these same berries in an air conditioned grocery store for half the money and none of the labor.” And maybe one day he’ll have a similar desire to take his kids out.

Turns out there’s a website with a list of farms in Southern California in case you too want to pay someone to work in their fields:

http://www.pickyourown.org

 

Enjoy!

CSD

Meal Plan

In case you need some ideas…    Sample Meal Plan