Change of Pace Cauliflower . . .

Cauliflower is either a love it or hate it type of vegetable. Personally, I like it raw and crispy, steamed, or braised in a little olive oil and butter. This is a favorite way my family likes to see this vegetable show up at the dinner table.

Front and Center Cauliflower
1 head of fresh cauliflower
1/4 cup butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. They don't have to be too small, just manageable on the dinner plate! Steam the cauliflower over water with 1/4 cup of cider vinegar added. This infuses a bit
of a tang to the cauliflower. Steam until just done. Remove from heat and cool a bit.

Place the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan.

Combine the flour and dry ingredients in a large, plastic bag and shake to mix well. Add the cooked cauliflower and shake to dust all the pieces with the seasoned flour. Now turn the heat on under the oil and butter. When it is bubbling, add the cauliflower and gently stir around until it is warmed through and getting tinges of brown. Make sure all the flour is 'baked' in and no white patches are evident. You might need to add a bit more butter/oil.

Serves four to six people as a side dish. Remember, if you have favorite herbs or spices, you can create your own version of the flour mixture. If you have some croutons in the cupboard, crush a few and scatter the crumbs over the hot cauliflower just before serving.

Lou Pritchet's unanswered letter to the president . . .

By Lou Pritchett, Procter & Gamble

A LETTER FROM A PROCTER AND GAMBLE EXECUTIVE TO THE PRESIDENT* THE LAST SENTENCE IS THE MOST CHILLING
Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an
Acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest
Rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize Him as the foremost leader in change management.. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to
Be known as "partnering."
Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years; made corporate history. 

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
Any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive
Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
Visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
Growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
Don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned
Yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to
Publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail..

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
Crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
Country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system
With a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
Capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
That lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
Living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics
Against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from
Challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
Opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both
Omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything
You do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the
Limbaugh's, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Becks who offer opposing,
Conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
Probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett
*
*
This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it.
Big surprise. Since it hit the Internet, however, it has had over
500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for
good men do nothing.. It's happening right now.

U.S. Government - take note!

"We the people are the rightful masters of both
Congress & the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution,
but overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

Abraham Lincoln

Respect is only for some?

The world, today, bends over backwards to be totally 'tolerant'. In their efforts, however, it is usually pitting one side against the other. When differences of opinion crash into the fast food industry, you have to pity people who want someone to change their opinion in favor of yours otherwise you want to make them hurt. Just such an event is unfolding over the popular Chick-Fil-A restaurants. The company was founded by Christians, they enbrace Christian beliefs, and they are being villified because they believe in traditional marriage. Last I looked, we are supposed to live in a democracy and have freedom of speech and belief yet in order to make one faction happy, the other side has to bend to their agenda . . . or else.

"Guilty as charged" was the response from Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy when asked about his company's support of the traditional family unit as opposed to same-sex marriage.

Now, Chick-fil-A isn't staging any overt warfare against anyone's choice of lifestyle. Their restaurant is open to everyone who wants to enjoy a quiet meal there. If people object to the fact that the owners believe in traditional families, then they have the Democratic choice to not eat there. From what the news has reported, the opposition to traditional family units plans a 'kiss the same sex' day to take place in Chick-fil-A establishments. Seems they are opting to exhibit unseemly behavior in front of children in the restaurant by doing this. For me, I object to overt cuddling, kissing, and pawing in a public place by any couple.

For me, I'm defending a company's right to have their own choice in how they live their life. They should be respected for that just as same-gender couples are now protected under the law. The argument over all this doesn't belong in this scenario. You want to enjoy a good meal, do so. You want to protest, go the legal route.

I heard that Wednesday, July 25th is support Chick-Fil-A day. We plan to splurge and have lunch there . . . not because we want to disrespect people's choices in life but to show respect for a business that strives to give back to the community as well as provide a great product.

Living Proof Gun Restrictions Aren't the Answer . . .

You almost have to laugh when other countries decide to critique the United States on agendas that aren't even working in their own countries. You have to wonder if they are actually keeping tabs on the fallout in their own nations when they make remarks about us. The President of Mexico has recently given us 'counseling' over the recent shooting in Colorado. I enjoyed the article I found posted under the link included below. Here is a brief quote from the article:

"While ignoring the inconvenient fact that part of the reason why 63,000 people have been slaughtered in Mexico since 2006 is because Mexican citizens aren't allowed to legally own guns and defend themselves against ruthless drug cartels purchasing guns in bulk from China and Latin America, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is lecturing the United States again about how we need to reform our "mistaken" gun laws. "

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/07/23/mexican_president_us_gun_laws_are_mistaken