All posts by Monna

Oct 13
0

Making Dried Beans

By | Recipes | No Comments

Seriously. So. Easy.

Ok, this post goes along with my fresh hummus recipe. I really don’t buy canned beans anymore unless I’ve not planned well and need something in a hurry. It’s just so much cheaper to make them from scratch and they taste amazing. I also use my crockpot for beans because I can leave it on, then go to bed or leave the house and I come home to food that’s already cooked. Nice.

By the way, when I make garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) for hummus, I usually don’t season them at all while they’re cooking.

Here’s how you make beans from scratch –

Beans from Scratch 
Ingredients
1.5 to 2 lbs of Beans – black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), black eyed peas etc. 
1 T lemon juice
Seasonings – paprika, turmeric, bay etc. 
Salt (DON’T put this in till after the beans are cooked!)
1 inch piece of Seaweed – helps to break down bean sugar – (check your health food store)
1. Rinse beans thoroughly. Place in bowl with lemon and cover with several inches of water to soak overnight. This helps to break down those complex beany sugars that make you sing the tooty bean song after you’ve indulged in beans. 
OR
Place your beans in a large pan and cover with water. Bring water to a rolling boil and shut off the heat. These beans will only need to soak for 4 hours and this method is supposed to be even better at breaking down the complex sugar to reduce digestive issues.
2. After soaking, pour off the water and rinse beans again. Then, place in crockpot and cover with water. 
3. Add desired seasoning – minus salt. Adding salt before the beans are done will leave you with tough or undercooked beans. 
4. Cook beans on low for 6 hours OR on high for 4 or more – depending on the beans. Use common sense or check your crockpot book for wisdom. Big beans = more time, little beans = less. 
5. Once your beans are cooked, add salt to taste. 

If you don’t have a crockpot, you can buy one here or just put your beans right back in the same large pot you soaked them in, cover with fresh water and cook them. Cooking time varies per bean but usually between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours. You usually want your bean to still have some shape when they’re done so keep an eye on them. Same rules apply regarding seasoning and salt.

Oct 12
0

Finding Culture in Phoenix, the Sunnyslope Art Walk, part 1

By | Local Phoenix | One Comment

We all have been given gifts in life. I have been blessed with my share – for which I am truly grateful. But as those of you who know me would doubtless agree, none of those talents are in any way related to handmade art or even simple crafts. My mother was and my four sisters are, actually quite incredible in this area. Somehow, the art gene (non-singing one) skipped me. BooHoo. Here’s the last attempt I made at doing something handmade with my 4 year old. According to the websites I visited, like this one, a very simple project (what-EVER Martha Stewart!). Here’s how ours turned out…

It was supposed to be a beautiful little ball of felt. Ours looked like 
animal intestines.
It should come as no surprise that I distinctly prefer enjoying the art of others, rather than slogging through a project whose result I’m bound to detest in the end anyway. This weekend, I did just that! My family and I got a little exercise and culture enjoying the Sunnyslope Art Walk and we had a wonderful time seeing the work of people who definitely have the art gene.

Since I met too many to introduce in a day, this will be a “to be continued” post. I have no financial connection to these artists – they’re just people whose stuff I enjoyed! ***Also, for those of you who are new to blogging and links, you can contact these artists by clicking the underlined titles of their businesses or the underlined items they create. Help contribute to the local economy and spend your money locally!***

So here, without further ado, is the art of some people who are incredibly gifted!  Let me introduce – (alphabetically, no favoritism).

Artist No. 1 – Christine Boerner – Genius creator of Chocolate Art, A.K.A. The Baker’s Daughter

Christine Boerner, The Baker’s Daughter

Christine grew up under the tutelage of her parents, Karl and Stefanie Boerner, owners of Karl’s bakery. Then she spent several years in Europe becoming a master of her craft. Chocolate lovers everywhere know that good chocolate is, in itself, a work of art. Not only is Christine’s art edible, she uses only the finest quality ingredients to make it. For those of you who are not lovers of chocolate (read: CRAZY people), you can still see the beauty of her work below. She was also recently featured on Channel 10. Currently, you can find her chocolate at Karl’s bakery on 7th Street and Dunlap and she’ll be celebrating the opening of her own store – next door – on October 30.

Ummmm… chocolate

Artist No. 2 –Kate Rowan Carey, owner of A Blissful Life. In her own words, “purveyor of lovely little treasures for your home and body”. And her creations, which range from darling little cloth flower barrettes to trivets to (my favorite) cloth coffee cuffs, are perfect for adding a bright spot of color to your home. One of the best things about Kate’s work is that it is sustainable in the sense that it is reusable. Having a party and need decoration? Check out one of her cloth banners. Does your daughter (granddaughter?) love playing princess? Do your part to save the planet and buy one of these little cloth crowns instead of the plastic ones.

Ms. Kate Rowan Carey, owner of A Blissful Life

Artist No. 3 – Purvi Desai, the beauty behind Zaaina Skincare, found at Central Slope, herbal infusions and reclaimed studio

 
 Purvi Desai with her own line, Zaaina Skincare

Ms. Desai spent 10 years utilizing her finance degree by working for Fortune 500 companies before taking a decidedly different path. Zaaina Skincare makes products specifically balanced for different skin types, free of nasty stuff like parabens, artificial fragrances, dyes or chemical preservatives. In fact, Zaaina products are made from my favorite things – herbs. Purvi uses essential oils like tea tree and lavender to preserve the products safely and naturally. This also means they smell amazing. The product ingredients are available both on the packages and on the website and there’s not a weird chemical among them. Check out the label on the skincare you’re using and consider a switch to something natural (and locally made!).

Zaaina carries products for men, women and babies. You can visit them on their website www.zaaina.com or become a fan on their facebook page under Zaaina Skincare. You can also find out more about Central Slope at their website or by becoming a fan on their Facebook page.

Central Slope, Herbal Infusions and Reclaimed Studio, 
located south of Dunlap on Central Avenue

Artist No. 4 – Robert Lievens of Fallen Wood Turnings
Mr. Lievens does exactly what his business name suggests – finds fallen wood and turns it into works of art. He’s become so known for his work that people often bring wood to him from locales around the nation. We used to frequent the Downtown Phoenix Public Market instead of the Roadrunner Park Farmer’s Market, and Robert would often be there. So fascinated was I by his knack for highlighting the most beautiful aspects of the wood he uses,  I would stand and stare at the incredible things he’d crafted out of trees lost to our crazy Arizona storms.

When my younger sister bought her first house, I knew I wanted my gift to her to be something of beauty. I chose a sun catchercreated from wood and pink agate from Robert’s collection. He is also a knowledgeable and friendly person and spent some time showing me some of his photography (multi-talented guy!) on a camera he recommended to me. (As you can tell, I’m in the market for one!)

Mr. Robert Lieven and one of his windchimes

Robert Lieven’s work includes jewelry, bowls, ornaments, bells and windcatchers. If you are interested in adding a beautiful, touchable piece of art for your home or garden, this is the place to get it.

Stay tuned for more artists tomorrow!

Oct 08
0

Book Review: The Help, Kathryn Stockett

By | Book reviews | No Comments

I’ve spent the last week reading a book I borrowed from the friend of a friend. I became so engaged in the story that I thought of it every day until I could get back to it again. The book is called, The Help. Kathryn Stockett’s book of historical fiction, set in Mississippi during the early days of the 1960’s, doesn’t focus much on the dangerous physical brutality of the Civil Rights movement. Instead, she sets out to tell the story of the tenuous relationships between the white women of Jackson, Mississippi and the black women who served them every day.

The Help gives us a glimpse into the lives of Southern women, black and white, who were raised to follow a certain set of unwritten social rules related to race. One of the main characters, Skeeter, has a burning desire to become a writer. Her first attempt is a secretly and anonymously written collection of stories by the black women of the town who serve the white women, many of whom are Skeeter’s friends. As she gathers the stories, she soon learns that the connections between those serving and the served are not nearly as clear cut as she’d believed. Her own bonds with the white community begin to change as she finds the courage to follow her own convictions, buoyed by the strength of the women whose stories she’s writing.

The book, published in 2009, received positive reviews like this one in The Washington Post and this one at The Huffington Post. However, other reviewers like this one in the California Literary Review and this blogging mom raise concerns about a white author telling this story, intimating that Stockett’s characters rely too heavily on stereotypes. They draw comparisons between Stockett and Skeeter and their similar backgrounds and career choices and criticize Stockett’s use of vernacular when writing the dialogue of the African American women.

While I understand those comments, I feel that Ms. Stockett has written a story worth reading. First, it does something that made me choose history as a major in college. It brings dates and events to life by telling the STORY of the kind of people who lived them. Not only did I feel a real connection to the women in those pages, I gained a deeper understanding of a social situation I’m not unfamiliar with since I  live in Arizona, a border town hot with immigration issues.

Kathryn definitely knows how to write a story that touches the emotions. I laughed out loud more than once. I cried, I felt guilty. And, I alternately admired and feared for the courageous women who sought to tell their story. When I put the book down, I had that satisfying sensation I get after feeling my mind and heart have been stretched in a new way. Most importantly, Kathryn has written a good story. Unfairly “vernacular-ed”or not, it has the possibility to engage readers in a topic they might never have considered otherwise.

This review is a little late since the book came out last year but I was busy with a three month old at the time.  I’m guessing some of you are as behind in your reading as I am! If you haven’t already read it, take the time to check it out. Especially some of you dear friends whose eyes glaze over when I talk passionately about history. THIS is why. It’s just someone’s story – and it is as worthy of reading as yours is.

If you have a favorite book, add it to the comments list! I’m back on the reading wagon.

Sep 29
0

Storytelling: The Funeral of a Stranger

By | Honest Mothering | No Comments

It’s taken me a while to write this post because it involves my doing something pretty out of the ordinary – which turned into a learning experience for my oldest daughter. She was not  yet four.

On a beautiful, spring morning in March (you have to remember that March IS spring in AZ), we were on our way to go “thrifting” when we saw the overflow parking lot of a nearby church filled with several hundred motorcycles. It was an amazing sight. I turned into the parking lot so we could check them out safely and find out why they were there. We learned they were Patriot Guard members, an honor guard escorting the memorial procession of a motorcyclist who’d been killed in a brutal car accident  weeks earlier. While we were taking this all in – the call came to follow the funeral hearse. We watched quietly as the entire procession of motorcycles passed us. Then, the person in charge of the processional yelled at me and motioned for us to follow.

And, then, things got a bit out of the ordinary. Not wanting to be rude or explain, I just followed, thinking I would discretely pull out of the line within a few blocks. While I coasted in line, my daughter asked me to define “memorial”. I explained that it is a special service to remember a person who has died and to tell his family he will be missed. My oldest thought about this carefully for a moment, then said, “Mom, can we go to the memorial service?”

This is how we ended up at the burial of a person I’d never met. As we drove, we talked about how he died and how his family would miss him. It really struck me how connected we all are. I’d never met this man but I knew from experience the loss his family was feeling as they said goodbye. My heart was wrenched for them and I shared their grief. Since my daughter knows my parents and brother have died, I figured she’d get some of it but I couldn’t really tell how much she grasped of this subject. We followed the motorcade all the way to the Arizona National Cemetary, where the cyclist was honored with a veteran’s funeral.

As we left, she said, “Mom, can we sing the Barney song?” Thinking that it was an intense event for a little girl and that she was ready to change the subject, I sang it with her. When we finished, my eyes filled with tears because she said,

“That’s how I say, ‘I love you’ to that man who died.”

I guess she got it after all.

 Sweet peas are such lovely, delicate, dear little blossoms,
and – a symbol of goodbyes, departure. Seems appropriate…