Spring Forward! - Country Cousin

March certainly did come in like a lamb this year - a very fleecy, wooly one, and cold at that, compared to the moderate winter we started the year with. Spring will officially arrive in less than two weeks, but meanwhile, the storms keep coming and the snow keeps falling, despite some wonderfully mild temperatures and sunny days between storms.
The snow on the evening of Monday, March 6 created some incredibly decorated trees, and the decorations stayed on for much of the morning. Absolutely stunning!

PICKED ON
Am beginning to feel a bit picked on. During the last few snow storms I’ve driven the half-hour trip home in nearly blinding snow and driving winds ... and then the snow stopped almost immediately after the car was parked for the night.
On the bright side, that meant there wasn’t  lot of snow to clean off in the morning. On the realistic side, if I’d delayed that trip home for another half hour, there would have been no snow at all to clean off.
Also on the bright side, must commend Marinette County Highway Department and most of the town road crews for keeping the roads in such good winter driving condition despite the repeated onslaughts of snow, sleet, and whatever else it was that came falling from the skies.

LOSE AN HOUR
Don’t know what it is about getting older, but the more years that pass the shorter the hours seem to get, and Saturday night we lose another one. Go to bed at midnight and before the pillow hits your head an hour is gone.
Yep! Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend.
Getting out of bed will be a bit harder for most of us until our bodies figure out what’s happening. The alarm clock says 7 a.m., but the internal clock still thinks it’s 6 o’clock and needs another hour to sleep.
One fellow on the web says he doesn’t mind moving clocks ahead that hour. He never drinks before noon, so it comes an hour sooner that first day.
Another said Daylight Savings Time is like  the government cutting off the bottom of a blanket and sewing it to the top and then telling us ,”see its longer now”. The sad thing is, some of us  believe that!

HERE COMES THAT RABBIT
Lent is moving right along. Easter will be here on Sunday, April 9, which is only four weeks off. If you haven’t done any Lenten soul cleaning, there’s no time like the present to start. You’ll have a far happier Easter.
Encourage your kids (and yourself) to read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Everyone should do it every couple years. It seems to be new every time.

ON THE SOAP BOX
LEGAL DEFENSE
The April 4 elections are coming up fast, and the most important race on most ballots, in some cases the only one, is between Justice Dan Kelly and Milwaukee County Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz for a 10-year term on Wisconsin Supreme Court. The outcome is vitally important to everyone in the state.
Conservative judges are also more likely to base their decisions on the law as it is written, while decisions of liberal judges are too often based on their own personal convictions, and what they wish the law actually said. Justice Kelly is recognized as a conservative, and anti-abortion, while Judge Protasiewicz is a liberal and openly pro-abortion. Kelly, while on the Supreme Court previously, ruled against over-reaching orders from the governor and other regulations that were never approved by our legislators.
Since Wisconsin’s highest court is currently quite evenly balanced, outcome of the April 4 balloting will almost certainly affect its decisions for at least the next two years, very possibly for the next 10 years.
With so much at stake, some of the campaigning, at least against Justice Dan Kelly, has become very misleading, and sometimes downright vicious.
A game app on my cell phone that I used to enjoy playing regularly started repeatedly running ads claiming Kelly “doesn’t care about us,” because as an attorney he defended ministers who had committed sex crimes against young girls.
Find those ads offensive on several fronts, chief among them being that the liberals who pay for them assume most of us are stupid enough not to know that here in America, being accused of a crime doesn’t make you guilty of it. We are all supposed to be considered innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
Sometimes ministers, teachers and even politicians, mobsters and others are innocent of the crimes they’re accused of.
Everyone charged with a crime is entitled to their day in court, and mostly they need an attorney to defend them. If they cannot find a defense attorney the court system gets clogged up. Eventually, a judge may assign an attorney to handle the defense. Whether assigned by a judge, or hired as part of being in private law practice, the defense attorney is legally and morally obligated to do the best possible job he can for the defendant he represents.
For justice to work here in America, and in fact anywhere in the world, attorneys must be willing to defend the accused to the best of their ability, and let judges and juries decide their guilt or innocence.
If Dan Kelly did that, more power to him!
Don’t forget to vote on April 4!

TIPS TO DIET FOR
Many of us use Lent as a time for dieting, partly because we may be needing to make a few sacrifices anyway, and partly in hopes of looking better in summer garb, when bulges can no longer be disguised by bulky sweaters and sweatshirts.
Some diets are painful, but there are tricks to help the pounds evaporate with little effort.
Juice is supposed to be a diet aid, but fact is, many fruit juices are high in calories and carbs. By mixing half and half with plain or sparkling water, you can cut up to 85 calories per glass. And be sure it’s fruit juice, not a fruit drink, unless it’s sugar and fructose free.
Keep active. Walk or work while you talk on the phone or watch TV.
Read labels. Supposed “diet” foods and drinks can contain huge amounts of carbs and even calories but little or no nutrition. Snacks offering low numbers of calories “per serving” may not make it clear that a single bag, can or bottle often contains more than two servings.
Diet gurus advise drinking green tea before exercising to boost the fat burning benefits. (Caution: Those with high blood pressure should not do this.)
Using olive oil in place of butter is healthier and may help you eat less. Skip all hydrogenated fats, and this generally includes margarine. Butter and coconut oil (which is solid at room temperature) are better choices.
Olive oil is full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats which lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol. It’s rich in antioxidants, which may help reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, like Alzheimer’s. Season olive oil with garlic, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasonings, etc. and dip in nice crusty Italian bread. Drizzle small amounts on veggies before roasting or stir frying; add it to dressings and marinades.
High-fiber ground flaxseed, available in health food stores, can help curb your appetite, eliminate calories, and prevent certain types of cancers. Sprinkle it on cereal, cooked or otherwise, add it to yogurt or muffin and bread mixes.
Drink lots of water. If your youngster tends to be super sized, offer water to quench thirst, fruit juice or soda only as a special treat.
When preparing salads or snacks, chop carrots, celery, cabbage, green peppers, zucchini, or other veggies somewhat coarsely instead of shredding or slicing them. You’ll do more chewing and eat less of the main course.

SPICE LIFE
If your plans include some spring cleaning of the spice cabinet you’ll appreciate this tip. These hints have been offered here before, but they’re worth repeating.
When you buy a spice, herb or seasoning packet that you like to have on hand but don’t use often, date the container with a magic marker. Then you’ll know when to toss the remainder and start over fresh. No sense spoiling good ingredients by trying to season a dish with spices that are past their prime. When in doubt throw it out is probably a good rule here.
They all lose flavor with time, herbs more quickly than spices.
The folks at McCormick’s have prepared a handy little chart on the shelf life of various seasonings. They also included the information that if you have any of their products (except for black pepper) in one of those rectangular red and white tins, it’s 15 or more years old.
Guess who still has some of those?
Also, if any of their spices list a Baltimore, MD address it’s at least 15 years old.
That’s well beyond any of their recommended spice life spans.
Only salt and vanilla seem to have unlimited shelf life. And they don’t need to, since those things, along with pepper, are used most regularly.
They recommend that for best flavor whole spices like cloves, peppercorns, etc. should be used by the time they’re four years old. Ditto for extracts with the exception of the long-lived vanilla.
Ground spices will last three years.
Poppy and sesame seeds keep their savor for about two years, but most other seeds are usable for at least four years. That includes celery, anise and fennel.
They say herbs should be used in one to three years, but give no hint as to which kinds last longest. You can always do the sniff test. If there’s no aroma, or worse, a sort of dusty, musty smell, it probably won’t taste very good either.
If you still can’t bring yourself to toss it, bring some water to a simmer, drop in a pinch, and sniff again after a few minutes. That works only if you haven’t forgotten what it’s supposed to smell like in the first place.
Seasoning blends and mixes last only a year or two.
Ever open one of those seasoning mix packets that you know has been around way too long and found the contents caked in the bottom of the package?
True to my mingy nature, tried using one of those once and had to throw the whole dish out. It not only wasn’t good, it was downright bad. Rancid. Some mixes do contain oils and old oil can be really nasty. It takes a while, but old onion soup mixes go bad too, even if the package has never been opened. So do some salad dressing mixes.

COOKIN’ TIME
Enough about yucky stuff. Time to talk about good things. Whenever we’re lucky enough to be invited to join sister-in-law Ruth and her family for Sunday dinner there’s always something good on the table. Something good going on around it too. She and Bill long managed to preserve the Sunday dinner tradition for themselves and their married daughters who live somewhat nearby.
Though it entails long drives, almost every Sunday for many years they would gather around a nicely decorated table, join hands for Grace, and then enjoy a family meal. Everyone was included, even the infants. Their son lives many states away so he and his family usually can’t make it, but they’re in the family thoughts and prayers. Compared to that family warmth, the best restaurant meal simply doesn’t cut it!
RUTH’S PEPPER STEAK
Because she was a busy lady who worked long hours at a very responsible outside job, Sister-in-Law Ruth always liked to minimize kitchen time with quick and easy recipes that pack a lot of flavor, and now that she’s retired, she still does. This is one of their family favorites. Serve it over steamed rice. Only a dessert is needed to complete a very healthy and satisfying meal.
2 pounds beef sirloin steak
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 green peppers
1 can whole tomatoes, 16 ounces
1 beef bouillon cube
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 can mushrooms, 4 ounces
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Cooked rice
Have the rice cooked or at least cooking before you start. Cut meat into thin strips, about 1/8” thick by 2”, preferably across the grain. Seed the peppers and cut into strips. Melt the butter in a large heavy frying pan. Stir in the garlic powder. When it gets sizzly, add the meat and stir fry until it all changes color. Add the onions and pepper strips and fry until the onion becomes translucent. Add the tomatoes, bouillon cube, soy sauce, sugar, salt and mushrooms. Stir the cornstarch into the cold water and then stir that into the mixture in the pan and continue cooking and stirring until it makes a gravy. It’s done. I like to add a bit of black pepper, but that’s a matter of taste.
HOT TUNA SALAD BAKE
Remember good old Tuna Casseroles? Back in the day of year-round meatless Fridays they were mainstays at our house. This one is absolutely no penance at all! Don’t let the mayonnaise throw you. This is very good, very economical, and a great Lenten meal. Serves six. Pop some scrubbed potatoes into the oven to bake before you start mixing up the casserole and they’ll be done at about the same time. Broccoli or Brussels Sprouts provide perfect harmony on the plate. If you want to get really carried away, add some pickled beets.
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can tuna, 6 to 9 ounces
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 hard cooked eggs, sliced
1 cup crushed potato chips
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 1 1/2 quart casserole mix everything except the potato chips and eggs. Stir in the egg slices gently so as to leave them as intact as possible. Then crumble the potato chips over the top. Bake for 25 minutes. You can substitute canned french fried onion rings for the potato chips if you prefer. You may also want to add a bit of salt. The original recipe called for half a teaspoon but we find it plenty salty without.
CREAM CHEESE COFFEE KUCHEN
Bake a sample of this now as a test-run for Easter Brunch.
You’ll love it!
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups packaged biscuit mix
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup fruit preserves, any flavor
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9” round cake or tart pan. Mix the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar and almond extract. (Works best if the cheese is at room temperature.) Set aside. Mix the baking mix, milk, 1/4 cup sugar and butter until a soft dough forms. Pat in the bottom and 1” up the sides of the pan. Spread on the cream cheese mixture. Carefully spread the preserves over this. (If they‘re too thick warm in microwave until the jell softens.) Sprinkle on the almonds. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is set. Let cool for 20 minutes. Then carefully remove from pan. Refrigerate any leftovers.
HELP WANTED
It’s happened again. I’ve lost one of my favorite Barbecue Sauce recipes. It’s made with, among other things, butter and hot coffee. It was more a savory sauce than sweet. Think it also contained chili powder and garlic. If anyone has this recipe I’d sure like to taste it again!
Also, due to health problems of a family member I’ve been introduced to the difficulty of preparing food that’s both salt-free (or very low salt) and tasty. If you have any hints, tips or recipes that you’re willing to share they’d be much appreciated.
            The Country Cousin
Thought for the Week: Author Laura Peyton Roberts said it: “Sometimes when I pray, it feels like God is all around me - so close, that when I’m done, I almost hate to say amen. Saying amen - in a way, that’s almost like ending a call...like hanging up, you know? It feels like God just evaporates out of the room. So that made me think...wouldn’t it be great if we could leave a prayer off the hook? Just leave it off the hook forever. Then whenever we stopped to listen, God would be right there breathing.”
She has a point. And another thing. Maybe when we’re done praying we should just go quiet inside and listen for a bit. Maybe God has something to say too, and we should give Him a chance.
(This column is written by Shirley Prudhomme of Crivitz. Views expressed are her own and are in no way intended to be an official statement of the opinions of Peshtigo Times editors and publishers. She may be contacted by phone at 715-927-5034 or by e-mail at shirleyprudhommechickadee@yahoo.com.)