You're Different...I'm Better

Since when did “you’re different” translate to “that makes me better than you”?  There is this whole political thing going on right now, with ideas and beliefs being thrown around left and right, so maybe I am a bit more sensitive to it these days, but I think politics is the effect not the cause.

Take a good look around at people; pair them up in any grouping you want, skin color, income level, gender, you name it, put any two people together and their differences will be greater than their similarities.  You will never find someone who thinks just like you on every subject.  And I’m thinking – at least where I am concerned – that’s a good thing.  

Now we do tend to hang around with people who are similar to us, in our thinking and beliefs, that just makes us more comfortable, and I am okay with that.  It isn’t a lot of fun to be continually on the defensive trying to justify what you’ve just said, or to have someone constantly questioning you or your motives.  But what I don’t understand; we seem to lack the ability to allow someone to think differently, not enjoy what we enjoy, find pleasure in something we deem a waste of time, without somehow translating in our minds, “I’m better than that”.

 

Okay, don’t read here what I am not saying.  There are certain beliefs that are based on The Truth and I will defend them to my death.  And there are certain behaviors that are not just unacceptable, they are wrong.  Again, I will always stand on those things being wrong and may very well tell you so.

I remember my husband telling someone “you better believe something strongly enough to be willing to defend it, otherwise it isn’t worth believing”, and I couldn’t agree more.  There is nothing wrong with preferences, beliefs, taking a stand, holding a ground, putting up a fight for a just cause, or defending the truth.  In fact I think more of us should be doing that.

Let’s just try to remember that our preferences, beliefs, and the stand we choose to take, the truth we know so well and desire to defend; those things don’t make us better than someone else.  If I have come to learn something, by way of research, instruction, or the grace of God, and you have not yet grasp this knowledge, it isn’t because I am above you.  And if you have discovered something amazing and I don’t see it yet, you’re not just that much better than me, we are just different.  You don’t think the same way I do and I don’t think the same way you do…isn’t that what makes life interesting?

"Foodie Friday": Ode to the Sweet Potato

The first sweet potatoes I ever remember having were ones my mom would make at Thanksgiving or Christmas.  They were out of a can, she would mix in brown sugar and pineapple (if Daddy wasn’t looking) and cook them in the oven until warm a gooey.  I liked them, sort of, but they were never my favorite.

Fast forward to my first years of marriage and everyone, including me, was making the “Sweet Potato Casserole” with cooked, mashed sweet potatoes, full of brown sugar, and a crusty pecan topping.  That was much better, but only because we had it once a year.

But sweet potatoes are so much more than this. These yummy, nutritionally dense, feasts for your taste buds, tuberous roots are more versatile than you might think.  Those of us who live in the southern part of the US like to claim this jewel of the potatoes as our own, but they are grown and eaten in many parts of the world.  It has been my pleasure these last few weeks to cook and bake some wonderfully delicious foods made with sweet potatoes.  I want to share a couple of recipes with you in my first installment this year for; “Foodie Friday”

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

From Southern Living December 2011

YIELD: Makes 10 to 12 servings

 HANDS-ON:25 Minutes

 TOTAL: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes

 Ingredients

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

 4 large eggs

2 1/2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add sweet potatoes, and beat well.

2. Stir together flour, next 3 ingredients, and, if desired, cinnamon in a medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (12-cup) tube pan.

3. Bake at 350º for 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Sweet Potato Pound Cake Loaves: Prepare batter as directed; pour into 2 greased and floured 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Bake and cool as directed

Sweet Potato Cornbread

From Southern Living January 2012

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

HANDS-ON:15 Minutes

TOTAL: 50 Minutes

 Ingredients

2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

5 large eggs

2 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes)

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter into a lightly greased 9-inch square pan.

2. Bake at 425° for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

 Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

¼ cup honey

3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 garlic cloves, minces

Garnish: fresh rosemary

Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray; toss together sweet potatoes and 1 tablespoon oil in pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until sweet potato is tender and roasted, stirring after 30 minutes.

Whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, honey and next 5 ingredients in a serving bowl. Add warm potatoes, and toss gently. Cool. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Of course my sweet husband will tell you that there is not many things better than a roasted sweet potato with a little bit of butter and salt.  I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we have.

The Doldrums of January

I have often found January to be the most difficult month of the year.  Yes, there is the new beginning it brings, but unless you happen to be born in January, it can seem to be the longest month of the year.  The days (daylight) are shorter, and it is all too often cold outside…at least where I live, so going outside to “play” isn’t a lot of fun.  Unless of course it snows, then I am out there for sure.

So a few years ago I decided to do something about the doldrums of January and figure out a way to make the month count.  Perhaps you don’t suffer from my lack of contentedness with January, or maybe you figured out a long time ago how to sail through this lethargic month, but in case you do and haven’t here are a few suggestions for making the most of the dreaded (at least I used to) month.

With the above stated “new beginnings” that seem to arrive with January it is a good time to so some most likely overdue spring/fall cleaning.  Yeah, I know, wrong time of the year, but at least for me it is a much better time.  In the spring I want to be outside with all the beautiful flowers blooming and the sun warming my face.  In the fall I also want to be outside because the hot weather has subsided and there is a crisp freshness to the air.  So, all those closets that have sat getting in disorder, collecting dust and clutter, are now being cleaned.  And it feels good.

I have several subscriptions to food magazines and I often use their recipes each month.  The problem is the magazines take up an awful lot of space and by the end of the year my cabinet is full.  In January I go through and pick out all the things we enjoyed eating, go on the web and make copies of the recipes to put in my cookbook/notebook (I have 4 large ones).  Then I give the magazines to a friend to use.  I have good intentions (every year) of doing this throughout the year and not waiting, but then what would I do in January.  Besides, it can be fun going through and remembering the first time my family tried a new dish, and sharing my magazines is really cool.

Because it has finally really gotten cold, I find myself looking in my clothes closet and realizing too many things I never wore last winter.  So it is a great time to get them out, decide if they are things I really want to keep, or find a great place (like Miracle Hill Ministries http://www.miraclehill.org/) to donate them.  Sometimes I can’t believe the amount of clothes I have!

I have a much longer list of things that get neglected over the year and January gives me a little extra time to get them done.  Before I know it, January has flown by and spring is just around the corner, calling my attention to things outside my home.

So now I am grateful for January.  I do love the trees, bare of leaves, silhouetted against the dusk sky.  I love knowing that it could snow any day now.  And I really appreciate the chance to accomplish some very important things that need doing in the doldrums pleasantness of January.