Join me at the South Beach Seafood Festival!!

South Beach Seafood Festival is being held the weekend after my birthday and I was fortunate enough to win tickets!

Follow this festival on FB and let them know I recommended you to do so...maybe I'll get a VIP upgrade and I'll write about it on my southbeachannie blog....Join me!!

Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/SOBESeafoodFest

Thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday!!

Absurdist Times

Today I saw a news video of a woman being beat to a pulp in front of her child by a burglar, Paula Dean is being called a racist, and a young man who leaked something most of us suspected is fleeing for his life as a national security threat.  However, the Kardashians are doing fine and keeping some balance in their lives with a new baby named North.

I don’t understand anything anymore.

As a teacher, I guided my students in choosing their words.  What Paula Dean uttered was strictly forbidden in my presence.  It harms anyone who utters it.  It demeans others and our minds.  There are many words that have that power.  Words are things and have an effect.  We must be careful how we wield our weapons.

Paula was wrong.

Zimmerman is facing the fire for his actions.  Is it any wonder?  It is wrong to hurt children, much less kill them.  What else needs to be said?

We are living in an angry society.  What will we do with such rage?

Back in the mid-nineties I read how we are being monitored in Wired magazine.  What’s new?  If you want to talk about something personal, don’t do it on a cell phone, email, or blog.  Really?  Someone wrote about Big Brother a long time ago, smell the coffee….

I grow tired of people posing like they are supermodels on FB.  What are you selling?  I miss down to earth reality…If you don’t want people in your business, keep your mouth shut!  Really, what are you selling?

Anthony Weiner might make a great mayor someday.  What the hell was he thinking when he was online?  There is no privacy and there are multitudes of opportunists.  Who are these women who spoke up about Tiger and Weiner?  Are they real or like the imaginary girlfriend that football player had?

There are too many rats in this cage…they are turning on each other!!

"Real" Health Insurance

This morning, I went shopping and ended up getting an assortment of fresh fish, fruits and vegetables.

 

 Of course, I added some Sub-lingual B-12, mouthwash, gentle enough for children shampoo and an assortment of nuts. As I was checking out, I thought of how this was my "real" health insurance. It has become a habit to go to where I have been informed by former distributors that the fish is fresh. Getting organic apples and celery has become a must due to pesticide issues. All natural supplements and gentle "greener" cleaners are increasingly important. It seems like everything that is in my cart and kitchen is an ode to health and clean living. Who would have thunk it?

However the oc·ca·sion·al Chili Cheese with Onions Hot Dog (CCO) at Arbetters in Westchester will always be an indulgence.  Seeing how people age and develop dependencies on medications has opened my eyes to the importance of what we put into our bodies.  Just listen to some of the side effects on any drug commercial on TV.  This is getting serious!  Not that I'm afraid of aging or the inevitable end of all living beings, but the journey can be a more pleasant one if we are cautious and caring with ourselves.


 

Sunday Morning Calalloo

When I was nine years old, I read a Reader’s Digest quote stating that according to the Chinese, each time you try something new you add 78 days to your life.  As the child I was, I believed I found the secret to living forever!!

So, here we go, try this…Calaloo:

Servings: 6

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

·  4 cups vegetable stock
·  Red pepper flakes
·  6 cups collard greens or kale, chopped
·  4 cups okra, chopped
·  Coconut Oil
·  Coconut Milk

1. Combine all ingredients except coconut milk in a large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

2. Simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until veggies are nice and soft.

3. Puree soup using an immersion blender (you could do this in a conventional blender but be careful not to burn yourself!).

4. Add coconut milk, stir to dissolve. Enjoy!

Redecorating? Try this site...

Resuming a Vegetarian Lifestyle

For about a week or so, I’ve resumed my vegetarian lifestyle from 20 years ago.  It feels good!  I was thinking about writing about it yesterday as I made delicious potato soup with celery, garlic, onions and malanga for creaminess.  It was so wonderful, nutritious and comforting…no one eating it would miss meat at all.

After only experiencing life for one month, my little body rejected milk.  My mother had to puree vegetables and fruit for me to consume.  I grew strong and resilient to the woman I am today.  However, I’ve always faced problems with diet.

Many times in my life my body has rejected meat.  I either feel better reducing my animal protein intake or ultimately avoiding it completely.  Somehow, it feels healthier and more comfortable for me.

My body has been going through a major healing experience.  An injury has forced me to get chiropractic and massage therapy.  I have also added a supplemental fruit and vegetable program to my daily intake.  The mixture of these changes and my mental focus on being healthy has brought me back to my vegetarian life style.

It is amazing how every change catapults other changes ultimately allowing the true nature of balance and health surface.

In Memory of My Mother...

Yolanda Rodriguez-Figueredo-Reyes  

January 15, 1925-June 17, 2012

She was proud to have shared the same birthdate as Martin Luther King Jr. and would have enjoyed knowing that she left the same day Rodney King passed.  Social activism and martyrs were high on her list as were the Kennedy clan.  Much of my political and worldviews were influenced by her and the books she had me read.  “Las Fuerzas Morales” was high on her list on how to live an upright life, never be a fake or hypocrite.  

Mother’s style, intelligence, stubbornness, graceful graciousness and art of conversation were second to none.  She knew about twenty ways to set a table and had fashion sense enviable of Diana Vreeland.  She had close friends of all nationalities, races and genders. During law school, she befriended Fidel Castro and he wrote her a personal note when she requested her transcripts from New York during the sixties.  It said, “Come and get it!”

Among her many interests, mother loved to paint miniature landscapes, arrange flowers, make gourmet meals, decorate, and write long elaborate letters in divine penmanship and go to the theatre.  She loved artists and intellectuals as well as good music.  One of the most important pieces of information you could ever share with her was what your interests were.  

The last couple of months of her life were precious to me.  I visited with her everyday to enjoy her views and conversation.  The greatest nugget I can share reminds me of something Maya Angelou could have said.  “Allow people to be who they are!”  I plan to apply this advice generously and invite you to do the same.

Adieu, Grande Dame, Ma Mere!