Oh my goodness!

Three words--Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt! It's sublime! I'm in rapture! Most people either love or hate rhubarb--there's no in-between. I've always loved it. My beloved grandmother, Mamaw, used to feed it to me served over vanilla ice cream. I was an adult before I ever tried it in a pie. I like rhubarb pie, but I still like it Mamaw's way best.

As I've gotten older, I've evolved a bit, as to be expected. I don't care much for flavored yogurts, as I find them too sweet. Instead, I usually eat plain yogurt with a bit of honey or some fresh fruit. Last week, I decided to try something new--cooked rhubarb mixed in plain yogurt. It was wonderful! So tonight, inspired by a post over at Poor Girl Eats Well on making blackberries and cream popsicles, I decided to whip out the old Cuisinart ice cream maker and give it a whirl. Oh my goodness! Delicious!!!

I would love to be able to publish some organized recipe here, but there really wasn't one. Simply cut up fresh rhubarb and place in a sauce pan with a little water to keep it from sticking. Cook over medium heat, stirring as the rhubarb slowly starts to break down. Add sugar to speed up this process, and create more liquid. The amount of sugar depends on how sweet you want it--so add to taste. Cook until the rhubarb is no longer slices, but more the consistency of apple sauce. Chill well. Mix the cooked rhubarb into plain yogurt (again the proportions depend on your taste) and either eat as-is, or add to an ice cream freezer and make a frozen treat!

Whose job is it to raise the children?

Mrs. Q had a guest blogger yesterday who wrote about having children with food allergies and the issues this raises concerning school lunches (Food Allergies) The issue arises as to whether it is the responsibility of the school to provide alternative lunches for children with food allergies and/or ban the allergens from the school to protect just one student with allergies. One parent writes that her autistic 8-year old (not potty-trained, btw) has gluten allergies and the school refuses to provide special food for him, despite the fact that he qualifies for the free/reduced lunch program. Other respondents state that it is the responsibility of parents to provide these specialized lunches, regardless of financial qualifications.

I bring all of this up because it contributes to discussions I have had with many people since I became a teacher eight years ago. Whose job is it to raise the children? I have taught in two rural school districts where many parents had abdicated the responsibility of instilling basic manners and life skills to the schools themselves. I have heard horror stories from other educators of children sent to kindergarten who have not yet been potty trained because the parents can't be bothered and expect the teachers to do the job for them. I also refer to the episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution in which the principal at the elementary school and Jamie had to teach the children how to use knives to cut their food in the cafeteria.

What is happening in this country? Are we becoming (or have we already become) a nation of screen-staring, convenience food-swilling zombies? Is the world of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 coming to reality? Why is no one willing to take responsibility for his/her own actions/requirements?

Mother's Day Treats

It's farmers' market season again, and just in time for Mother's Day! That means I'm keeping busy this week baking goodies: butterfly and flower cookies, blueberry scones, coffee cakes, and blackberry cobblers. It really helps that I freeze extra fruit at the end of the season to use the next spring as we start up. Otherwise, it would be another month before I had any fruit pies to offer!

I'm wondering, should I make pocket pies this week (think homemade Pop-Tarts)? Should I do peanut butter cookies?

At least I don't have to make jam this week as well! That will come soon enough, however, especially as I'll pull last season's frozen strawberries and pears out and make fresh jam.

On a personal food note, I can't wait until we have some decent fresh veggies in the garden! We'll have lettuce this weekend, and hopefully broccoli in a week or two, but I'm definitely getting antsy! I've been cutting some fresh asparagus, but the family is burning out on that a bit. Oh well!

Sunday Night at the Movies

We went to see Avatar last night. As promised, it was amazing. However (and you saw this coming, didn't you?), I was a little troubled--scratch that, a lot troubled--when what was a totally amazing and visually stimulating movie with a rather positive underlying message about ecology and connection with nature took a turn to become a stereotypical shoot-em-up action/war movie.

What was most disturbing was the fact that there were a lot of you children there. During the first two hours of the movie when it was entirely plot driven, these children fussed, and most made at least two trips to the restroom. However, once the battle scenes kicked in, they were entranced. This movie had a lot of violence at the end, and that was what entranced these children. They couldn't follow a simple plot line, but once the shooting started, they were enthralled.

What is happening with us? In some ways, I tie this in to some of the issues Mrs. Q addresses in her blog "Fed Up With School Lunch." She talks about her students' limited attention after the nutritiously poor cafeteria lunch--is the behavior I witnessed at the movie connected to this same nutrition deficit? I mean, granted, most of the kids were munching down on popcorn or candy, but I don't know what they were fed before they arrived (I can only assume highly-processed fast food).

So this is my question: Which has more to do with the limited attention span of our children? Television/media or diet?