Easy peas . . .

My husband has a strict rule that there must be vegetables at every meal and no one leaves the table until the vegetables are eaten. It is a good rule but there are often times when children and adults get bored with the same old vegetables showing up. When I grew up, the ongoing vegetable du jour was carrots. It was actually a treat when we got canned spinach which I know I couldn't stomach today after having prepared fresh spinach.

The vegetable rule keeps me thinking and creating and this one is pretty well-received even with the addition of mushrooms.

Easy Peas . . .
1 pound package frozen peas (weight doesn't have to be exact)
8-10 fresh mushrooms (depending on size), sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion powder

Melt the butter in a cooking pot and saute the garlic until tender. Add the mushroom and continue cooking and stirring until they are hot through. Add the peas, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir and cook to heat through and combine all the ingredients. Taste for seasoning and serve!

Picky eaters? You can reduce the amount of mushrooms and finely dice them to keep the flavor but hide the obvious fact of their existence!

A solution to choosing wedding gifts?

I had to laugh when I heard the latest presidential fund-raising scheme. It seems there is a site where one can go and donate money to the current president's re-election fund in place of giving wedding gifts! That is really over the top and egotistical to think that newly-weds (especially in this economy) would be thrilled to get a note saying a monetary donation was made in their name to an election campaign instead of gifting them with something they could use to start their new lives. Perhaps, there are a few that might think it is a great idea but pieces of paper don't help a young couple get a start on housekeeping.

People, however, might say that donating to the re-election of the current president is an ongoing gift to couples starting out as it will continue all the policies and laws he has enacted and wants to enact given another four years in office.

Let's see . . . we have unemployment and no jobs for college graduates who also have student loans to pay off now. We have several executive orders overriding Congress and one of them legalizes almost a million more people to work in this country without documentation while we current have millions of citizens in desperate need of a job. Our medical care hangs in balance with a pretty liberal Supreme Court at the helm. Our borders are not being protected and our border guards are either murdered or jailed just by doing their job. Our religious liberties are being threatened. The attorney general is pretty particular about who he will or will not stand up for and it doesn't look like conservative well being is on his list.

Yeah, given all the last almost-four years have given us, I'd rather have a set of towels for a wedding gift then a voucher saying that someone gave money to any political party in my name.

Eat your vegetables but watch where you grow them!

When we  married, we purchased our first home together. There was a long patch of ground by the side of the garage in the front yard. My husband put in some raised flower beds and in between and around the area, he planted squash and tomatoes. It helped with our budget and we never once had a thought enter our heads that somewhere, some time, this might be considered an illegal activity.

A family in Michigan found out it was against their city ordinance and the mother was served a notice and could have faced up to 93 days in jail . . . for daring to raise vegetables in the front yard. Like us, she had raised beds and you could see it was a work in progress and well-kept up. Fortunately, the uproar reached the ears of the city and the charges were eventually dropped against this one family. The ordinance still stands, however.

You have to wonder about the mind set of elected officials that find a need to invade every single aspect of our personal lives and demand their imprint of how we should conduct our homes and activities. With all this talk about being eco-friendly, and green this and green that, you'd think the ordinance would state that everyone should grow a percentage of their yard in vegetables. I wonder what their stand is on fruit trees?

Rules, Age, and Reading . . . some quotes to ponder . . .

"Rules are just helpful guidelines for stupid people who can't make up their own minds."
-- Seth Hoffman

"You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there."
-- George Burns

"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity."
-- Christopher Morley