How do you define Comfort Food?

What do you think of when you think of the term comfort food? Does it bring up memories as a child or some new tradition in your home? Comfort food is a term used to describe food that gives you something more than nutrition. When people are sick, chicken soup is the dish that brings them comfort. There are actual reasons why chicken noodle soup actually helps a person recover quicker. In fact, there is research dating back to the tenth century when physicians made notes about the curative properties of chicken soup (it’s fascinating . . . Google it!).

Comfort food is different based on the time of the year and an individual’s geographical location, as well as age. Most people tend to think of comfort food in the fall and winter months. I asked my husband what he considered comfort food and he said slow-cooked, country style steak and mashed potatoes. He is a true Southerner. Other Southern comfort foods include cheesy grits and apple pie. In the north, people tend to lean toward mac and cheese and chicken pot pie.

Personally, my choice would be slow cooked chili beans over cornbread, and almost any soup (easy recipe follows). What is your definition of comfort food? If you have a long standing family favorite recipe, please share it!

****
Easy Chili Beans over Cornbread: Make a pot of chili beans and a pan of Jiffy cornbread. Pour some chili beans over cornbread. Sprinkle with cheese. (My husband likes sour cream on his.)

Help Allegacy Spread the Word…Don’t Wait!

By Donna Hennessey (dhennessey@allegacyfcu.org)

Allegacy Federal Credit Union has been raising money for breast and ovarian cancer for more than a decade.  Why? On a statistics level, 1 in 2 men & 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime: Breast cancer is the most common cancer (excluding skin cancer) and the 2^nd leading cause of cancer-related death among women. Ovarian cancer is the 5^th leading cause of cancer-related death among women.

At Allegacy, these diseases have already hit home, more than once. Ten years ago, three of our co-workers were diagnosed with breast cancer and our CEO lost a close friend to ovarian cancer. It was then that we decided to focus a portion of our community outreach and fundraising efforts on awareness, education and early detection of these diseases.

Our community is fortunate to have an organization such as Cancer Services Inc. with a mission “to enhance the quality of life for those living with cancer and to provide the gift of life through education.”  100% of donations to Cancer Services Inc. (www.cancerservicesonline.org) stay in our community which is why we’ve made them the beneficiary of our annual “Don’t Wait” Golf Tournament. In ten years, we’ve raised close to $500,000 for the organization, including $50,000 at last week’s 10th anniversary tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club, which drew nearly 200 golfers. The tournament is run solely by Allegacy staff members and pays for itself through vendor, community and individual contributions.

Allegacy’s commitment to the cause does not end there.  In addition to our golf tournament, we created “The Park” at our 10-acre headquarters campus, for survivors, their families and anyone who has been touched by breast and ovarian cancer. We are also a presenting sponsor of the Komen NC Triad Race for the Cure.

You can do your part by getting regular checkups, especially that annual mammogram, and telling co-workers, friends and family “Don’t Wait!”

What’s your passion…..

I’m three weeks out to my half Ironman in Wilmington, NC. I’m a little scared even mentioning the race here because now I’ve got to do it! I have my full body wetsuit and am monitoring the ocean temperature, hovering at 65 degrees. All I have to do is get out of the water and I can do the rest of the race, heck, all I have to do is get in the water-that’s the hardest part, once you’re in then you have to swim! Sink or swim.

My friends tell me that I am crazy, why do I do this? I do it because it’s a passion of mine. I love working out (ok, so maybe I am crazy) and pushing my body to the limits, love it so much to squeeze myself into a sausage casing and look like a total dork, to popping blood blisters between my toes during a marathon.

I have a friend that goes away on scrapbooking retreats! SCRAPBOOKING RETREAT! They go to a monastary and scrapbook for the weekend. I hear this and go back to highschool inclinations – I’d be jumping out the windows of the convent in the middle of the night to get away! But that’s her passion, she may not understand my blood blisters, I don’t understand going away for a weekend with the girls and scrapbooking, I mean, especially when there are bars and spas within driving distance!

So, what’s your passion? Is there something that your friends will call “crazy?”

Salad for Breakfast

I’m one month into my salad for breakfast phase. I read that starting your day with salad is a quicker way to rehydrate the body and as an athlete now that it’s getting cold, I’m never sure when I’m heading out the door. With lighter fare in my body along with hydration, I’m quicker out the door on a moment’s notice. As a Mom, I’m quicker to the bus with the left behind lunch box. So over 30 days into it, well?

What a difference! I feel great! I used to start the day with the big bowl of steel cut oats and then lagged around while my system worked through that, now I eat the salad and there’s no dip in energy. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice. So how did I get a salad down at 6am? Surprisingly it went down just well. I put in the chickpeas, cheeses, chia seeds, even with regular dressing then wash it down with some 100% fruit juice and follow with dessert in the form of yogurt! I feel good and put all the whole grains in at lunch then eat a light dinner.

I’m using the old adage – eat like a king at breakfast, apprentice at lunch then pauper at dinner. Your lightest meal should be before bedtime, not first thing in the morning. If only I could forgo the coffee. Why not try stuffing yourself with a full salad followed by juice and yogurt and tell me after 30 days how you feel? Do you have any strange morning habits that your friends think are crazy?

Bald Sour and Free

By CStratton

I never knew October was such a diverse month. Having just found out how many festivities it has, I feel shorted that I haven’t celebrated the multitude of celebrations scheduled on the tenth month of the year.

Forget Halloween. Let’s experience “Be Bald and Free” Day on today, October 14th. Yes, liberate all those bald men who can now charge through Reynalda Village on a horse shouting, “I’m freeeeeee”, just like Braveheart sans the flowing locks. Just don’t celebrate “Take Your Teddy Bear to Work and School” on the same day even if the calendar schedules them together.

Then there’s “Create a Great Funeral Day”, the same day as “Haunted Refrigerator Day” on October 30th. Could the first holiday be a preparation for the second holiday? If you looked at my refrigerator and sampled some of my leftovers you might be wanting to plan your funeral.

Some other pairings like October 15th could create some interesting scenarios. There may be a reason “National Grouch Day” and “Get to know About Credit Day” are together. Sales associate might not want to participate in “Get to Know Your Customer” Day ont that same day. They’ll find a potential customer in a bad mood after she discovers she has little or no credit. She might not even be available to get to know as she’s nowhere near a shopping center. She’s home, cutting up all her credit cards. At least in retail sales I’d recommend inserting “Get to Know Your Customer” before “Get to Know about Credit Day”.

Of course the stroke of genius is “World Menopause Day” It’s pretty scary to think of how many women are going through menopause at one time. Luckily, some wise (Latina?) female calendar planner slotted this day with “National Chocolate Cupcake Day”

One last word of warning on these calendared commemorations; unless you love family feuding be careful to avoid celebrating all of the special days on October 25th. For some reason holiday planners scheduled “Mother-in-Law Day” and “Sourest Day” together. Go figure!

“We’re still having fun . . and he’s still the one!”

How many years have you been married? (October 20, will mark 30 years of marriage for my husband and me – wow, time flies!)  How are you investing in your marriage? What could you be doing? What is the best thing you’ve done for your marriage in the last year?

Peter Frampton, Donna Summer, The Embers, K C & the Sunshine Band were all playing on the radio that year. The year was 1976 and I met a long-haired young man who would become my husband three years later. Now, after 30 years of marriage, I can still say he’s my best friend and I’m looking forward to the next 30 years. In fact, “He’s still the One.”

Marriage is not easy, even under the best circumstances. It takes effort, planning and investment. The Piedmont Triad area is blessed to have one of the greatest writers on marriage living right in Winston-Salem. Dr. Gary Chapman has written countless books that encourage and strengthen married couples. If you are married or are thinking about getting married and haven’t read one of his books, don’t walk – RUN to your nearest bookstore and begin investing in your marriage today by putting his suggestions into practice.

This year, as part of celebrating our 30th anniversary, my husband and I will participate in a marriage study at our local church, Hillsdale UMC, in Advance. We look forward to being with other couples who want to invest in their marriages and we look forward to learning new ways of strengthening our relationship. Even after 30 years of marriage, we have plenty to learn and we want each new year to be better than the year before! 

What will you do to invest in your marriage this year? Is your community of faith planning something to encourage marriages? Sharing your ideas will encourage others and give them ideas about ways to invest in their marriage.

Happy Anniversary Tim!  “We’re still having fun . . and your still the one . . . “

What happened?

I thoroughly enjoyed watching on the news this morning that they bombed the moon. I tell my boys that they are sending a rocket into to the moon to create a plume of dust to test for water. “Why?” “So we can see if we can live on the moon.” We all watch expectantly as the news anchors talk up the bomb hitting the moon. This will be something like “one small step” or Mars Rover, this is exciting! The computer simulations look better than any of the PS12 games we’ve played. The scientists talk excitedly about the rocket and we all watch expectantly as it hits the moon. We all look, we didn’t see a thing. The news anchor says, “What happened?” All the scientists are high fiving each other as they go around the room , put on their coats and tell each other well done. The boys and I are still staring at the screen, “Did they do something?” They ask. Trying to make it dramatic, the news then goes out to the people who spent the night on the lawn of the observatory waiting for what to us looked like nothing. Of course the first person they interview is dressed up as Data from the Star Trek series and as we watch him act the part, I think, “Brilliant.” I tell the boys to get dressed for the school, “We bombed the moon, wasn’t that cool?” They look at me strangely, “Did the moon shoot back?”

Gotta love morning television as I watch the news anchors trying to make something that was totally anticlamatic interesting. Ever watched one of those shows, something that roped you in but proved to be a bust? Anyone remember Al Capone’s vault?

Getting Hitched at the Super Walmart

I just read a story about a couple getting married in the Lawn and Garden section of the Super Walmart. Awww! I can just see the beautiful ceremony now. The bride walking down the aisle as the loudspeakers play the Muzak we love so much in the Super Walmart. Wedding guests were given captains chairs and folding lawn chairs at a discount. Flower decorations were potted plants available for sale later. The flower girl tossed discount coupons and glitter from the Crafts department. The bride and groom wrote their own vows one including the words, “I’ll love you from the first markdown to the last clearance sale.” There were tears in the eyes of the mother of the bride, luckily there was plenty of tissue in Health and Beauty along with makeup to repair her face after the ceremony. Parents held their children tight because we all know that there’s something in the Super Walmart that makes children misbehave. The reception consisted of food samples lovingly prepared by employees before the party retired to the K&W for the wedding reception. It is rumored that the couple is planning a late honeymoon during Black Friday, sleeping overnight to be the first through the door for all those post Thanksgiving bargains. What a beautiful story ! We wish them all the luck in the world. Have you heard of any other strange weddings taking place?