Thursday, June 16, 2011

Grilled Cheese a la Teddy

In my house, the unfamiliar is just scary when it comes to food and my kids. My oldest especially finds comfort in repetition. Since he is a big fan of toast, we call grilled cheese sandwiches "cheese toast". We have toast, cheese toast, french toast, garlic toast... you get the trend here, right?

Tonight, grilled cheese a la Teddy. Somehow, if one of the kids has their name in the dish, it makes it much more pleasing. Today, we start out with a mixture of mozzarella, colby-jack, cherry tomato's and some greens. Both the tomato's and greeens were fresh from our home garden. I used beet tops, but spinach, kale or any green would do.




I can hear some of you right now, "grilled cheese??", yes, grilled cheese. With the addition of fruit (tomatos) and veggies (greens) it is a great way to get the extras into your kidlets! Now, I don't go crazy with the veggies, because son number 2 will have a cow if he finds too much stuff mixed in his grilled cheese.




I am lucky, to have this eager guy to try out this creation... and he loved it! Son number 1, not so much, but he ate half. Husband gobbled it up! Over-all... a big success!



Next time, maybe I will shove some brussel sprouts in there... or not!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The time is always right to do what is right. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

When do you stand up and be brave, and when do we step back and let someone else take control, or responsibility? Wed night was one of those moments for me, and I stood back and let someone else take control. Now, I am questioning if I should report an incident to campus police.

During a film in class Wed night, when the Professor was out making copies, a student decided to answer her phone. Loudly, she held an extended conversation with a coworker, interrupting everyone's film experience. After not hearing the man across the room asking her to take it outside, he elevated his voice and added some profanities. THAT got her attention, and she let the fullness of her fury rage verbally into him. After demanding he treat her like "an 'effin lady", threatening to take out her mace, and hurling multiple insults at him in regards to HIS rudeness, she stormed out of class to finish her "important" phone call.

The young "lady" came back after a few minutes, hurled a few more insults and light threats, and then the Professor returned. No one said a thing. No one informed the teacher of the very uncomfortable incident that had occurred seconds earlier.
No one reported the inappropriate behavior with her verbal threats to campus police either.

I feel WE the class, and myself personally, have let the bully win. Why was I too afraid to report this incident, or at the very least try to speak some common sense to this girl? Perhaps she didn't realize how loud and intrusive her conversation was? How have I become what I cringe at when I watch the news, that is, a onlooker, afraid to get involved?

The most ironic thing is we were watching a documentary on Charles Hamilton Houston, a black lawyer who helped play a role in dismantling the Jim Crow laws, a role model for one and all on "doing the right thing". Houston put right before his own safety & comfort, and led the way for others to have the courage to follow. In my fear, I didn't see the lesson right in front of my eyes.

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday, March 4, 2011

My local bux

Went into my favorite Starbucks today. I worked there a few years ago, when I returned to the company after a small leave. I returned as a part-time barista after being a manager for 13 years. It is a great little store, in a great neighborhood.
BUT... the store is not (according to the manager) performing as well as it should. They are currently number 94 out of 95 stores.
I can tell you one reason... today, I went in and purchased a Grande Americano and a Cheese Danish, warmed please.
Do you want to know what it cost me? $1.38 or something really close to that. Why? The manager likes me, and gave me his discount. Now, I always try to refuse, but he just waves his hand and ignores me. The problem is, several of his shift supervisors do the same thing, and a couple of the baristas too. Now, if they are doing it for me, they MUST be doing it for others. These things add up, not to mention, it just isn't the right thing to do...Sigh...