Emeril Lagasse's in Town

Housewares Show 2010, McCormick Place.

Saw Emeril today at Camerons Products booth.  I was surprised that he wasn't a headliner speaker.

Nice fellow.

C-SPAN Health Care Reform

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/220915

Senator Roland  Burris brings Health Care Reform to the Senator Floor, March 11, 2010.

He includes real people who are  having a problem with their health insurance.

If you lose your job, you lose your health insurance, period.  You have to find an insurance company that will take you on as a customer.  Just because they welcome you into their company, it doesn't mean that you will be covered after you make a claim.  They only bother to check your medical records AFTER you make a claim.  If there is any indication of a pre-existing condition they will drop you flat.  Pre-existing could mean ache, which they interpret as a precancerous skin lesion.

There are over 1,000 reasons for them to deny your claim.

Easy to Understand Health Care Reform

This is an easy to understand version of the Health Care Reform bill taken from:
3-10-10  Speech in St. Louis


President Obama On Health Care Reform Now

“What I've said is we don't need government or insurance bureaucrats controlling your health care. We're going to put you in control.

And we're going to do that in three simple ways:

Number one:

We're going to have the toughest insurance reforms in history.

A patient’s bill of rights

•You can't be denied coverage because of a preexisting condition.

•You can’t be dropped when you get sick.

Number two:

We're going to create a pool for you that will drive down your premiums so that you’ve got leverage, so that you can get a better deal.

Number three:
We're going to drive down costs.

The Congressional Budget Office basically decides on how many -- how much things cost. According to the Congressional Budget Office, our plan passes and folks right now who have to buy insurance in the individual market or small markets because they don't have a big employer that's looking out for them -- they will save 14 to 20 percent on a comparable plan to what they’re purchasing right now. That's money out of your pocket. That's money that right now is going out of your pocket that would go back in if this health care reform passed.”

Spring is in the Air

It's time to start thinking about the garden.  No matter where you live, you can grow something.  Here are a few plants that have refused to die.  I watch them carefully.  They weep if I neglect them.  I just add watch and a kind word, they respond.  Yes, they do!


Now if you have a balcony, look at what you have out there.  Anything interesting from last year?
Even if you think the plants are dead, they just might be sleeping.

Yes, it's true.

Yesterday, this black Bentley was directly in front of a not-for-profit thrift entrance.  This particular store has it's own parking lot, so it wasn't someone going to another building.

I couldn't believe it! 

I asked two of the store's workers whose car it was. 

One of them said that it was probably the owner's car.  ?????????

Can you believe it?  Now people who drive Bentleys are at a thrift store.

Paula Haney is the mama in the Hoosier Mama name.

The owner of the shop, Paula, is ever smiling and very comfortable around apples.

I was asked by the owner of Hoosier Mama Pies to send photos I had taken at the store's opening to USA Today.   Hoosier Mama pie photos for 10 Great pies feature running Jan. 22.

Finished product.

Avoiding soggy bottom fruit pies - Along with starting out with a good hot oven to set the crust we dust the bottom of the crust with a 50/50 mixture of flour & sugar. Around the pie kitchen it is referred to as "crust dust" and is always included in any fresh fruit pies.

Hollandaise Sauce in an Instant

      "Don't throw out those egg yolks," said Misses Paris. 
"We can make the most divine hollandaise sauce.  It will just take a moment, my dear."

"I will just whip up these 2 yolks in a small cup."

"Now, we need a tablespoon of warm lemon juice,

fresh lemon juice. 

You can use the microwave, set it for 10 seconds."     

"Make a double boiler.  Boil water and don't let it touch the bowl.  Add the 2 yolks and warm lemon juice.  Slowly add 1 tablespoon of boiling water, very slowly."                                                    

"I forgot the rest.  I'll look it up. Oh yes, add a stick of butter........  well, maybe half."

HOLLANDAISE!!!

"This looks wonderful, nice, rich and creamy."

Small Dinner Party Tips

When I have people over for dinner I like to organize myself so that when the guests arrive, it's time to socialize and enjoy yourself.

Pick out something fun to wear.

Clean up the house and set the table.

Prepare for tea.

Find your dessert plates that you always say you will use someday.

Write down your menu and don't keep adding things to it.

I'll tell you how the ricotta cheese pie when over later.

Products

ShamWOW! I love it!

I just love my new ShamWoW! People who know how to use it properly will benefit useing it. First, always wet it before using it to get the most out of it. The TV commerical forgets to tell you this. Second, wring it out before and after every use. Third, wash it in the washing machine, but never put it in the dryer.

Fantastik

After cleaning my stove top and all the dials with Fantastik,

I noticed my fingers burning. Use gloves! This product is extremely wicked on your bare hands.

Aquaphor, which is similar to vaseline, is a very helpful cure for the hands that you just messed up using Fantastik.

"Out There" Lincoln Park, Chicago

Alone in the snow drifts.

Venture out.

Stroll in a wintery park.

This day is here once.

Seek beauty in a newly christened world that will only last for hours.