Words in the Week: Quote from Pancho Villa

I love to drink tea.  I really love to drink tea that has a quote on the string that attaches to the tea bag.  Most quotes I find at the end of my teabag are from philosophers or famous writers, not Mexican Revolutionary generals, so I was interested to see such a quote from Pancho Villa.

To me, Pancho Villa's life is immortalized and alive in the famous country song Pancho and Lefty that Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard once sang together.  In the song it says that "no-one heard his dying words," and yet here is another version of his last thoughts. 

The quote speaks of our human nature and desire to have something of value to say while we are on this Earth, no matter who we are.

Recipe: Bison (or beef) Swiss Steak

This meal is a recent favorite of mine, and is, as always, my version.  Simple to make in a crock pot and satisfying at the end of a long busy day makes this recipe healthy, fast to put together, and very tasty.

2 lbs Bison cubed steak or round steak
1/4 onion, minced
1 zucchini chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 stalk celery chopped
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch of savory
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Beef Bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

• Cut the meat to fit appropriately in your crock pot or roaster.
• Drizzle oil in your cooking vessel.
• Season meat and place in cooking vessel.
• On top of the meat place onion, zucchini, carrot, and celery.
• Pour the can of tomato sauce over all vegetables and meat.
• Add garlic powder, onion powder, and beef bouillon cube; sprinkle savory over the dish.
• Cook for desired time in your crock pot or 45 min to 1 hour at 350 degrees in your oven until meat is done.
• At approximately 15 minutes before serving, place the cabbage on top of the meat and vegetables and place back into the oven or cover in the crock pot.
• Serve hot with rice or desired side.

When I cook I use approximations and like to add a little here and a little there. Please feel free to try your own approximations and additions.

Words in the Week: Only time will tell

Change seems to be climbing over the horizon.  But then, isn't change always there, making its way into the open? Instead of guessing and predicting what the change will be, I'll take the advice of Jimmy Buffet.  It will be here soon enough.

"Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
Only time will tell is there a message in this song
Will it ever make sense will it ever ring a bell
Only time will tell"
-Only Time Will Tell, Jimmy Buffett

Foto Friday: Hockey

Our son has started to play hockey.  The season runs from October to March and they practice for an hour two times a week.  I'm amazed that a four year old can stay focused for a full hour, let alone keep interest in a sport for six months!  He started out barely able to stand up on skates, to participating in several games with a couple of tournaments yet to come.  As for what the future holds for hockey and our four year old, only time will tell.  For now he asks everyday if he has hockey and says, "Next time I want to make a goal!"

Words in the Week: National Mentoring Month

January is National Mentoring Month. 

Currently I work part time for a non-profit agency that provides mentors for children, so we have been celebrating mentors and what they mean to our agency and the children they serve.  It's a good time to remember the mentors that have been influential in our own lives, and to consider being a mentor to someone else. 

Here is a quote in celebration of being a mentor:

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction."

- Media Critic John Crosby

Please visit www.nationalmentoringmonth.org for more information on being a mentor.