I Thee Command

There were a couple of interesting headlines tonight on "Yahoo! News"and "Politico."

The first one, from Yahoo: "Big Speech: Obama Wants Control of Health Debate." Really? Barack Obama wants control? Who would've guessed after taking over the car companies and the financial sector, he would want control of the health debate, too?

And from Politico: "Under Fire, Obama Shifts Strategy: Obama will detail his health care demands in a major speech." Demands? What are we, hostages? (Don't answer that...)

Here are my demands, as explained by a man who knew both tyranny and liberty in his life, Thomas Jefferson: "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

I know we've all been told those creaky old Founding Fathers are so quaint and out of touch. (After all, as I've been told, wasn't the Constitution really more of a guess-timate than a bedrock document of principle?) In 1802, Jefferson said this, "Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." Aren't little old men cute when they're uncanny prophets?

I was always told the people we sent to Washington were there to serve US. If President Obama has a list of demands, he should get in line. There are 320 million of us who are supposed to be ahead of him.

Maybe a little pick-me-up is in order. Here's a simple recipe from my grade school years -- on days they served Yummy Cookies, EVERYONE brought extra lunch money.

LIBERTY YUMMY COOKIES

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups Karo light corn syrup

2 cups peanut butter

1 small box of Corn Flakes

Bring the sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat and add peanut butter (careful, it's HOT!) Let cool a few minutes. Grease a sheet pan with butter. Pour corn flakes onto sheet pan, then pour peanut butter goo all over the corn flakes. Press mixture firmly into the pan (I find it helpful to butter my hands lightly before I start...) Cool, and cut into squares.

It's like being in the sixth grade all over again...

Sheepish Confessions

So a dear friend comments to me -- not on my blog, mind you, but to my face -- "Why do you give out all these dessert recipes if you're a diabetic?"

My answer: "There are reasons I am diabetic. My pancreas is tired. And I have a treasure trove of wee tasties that deserve to be passed on to the benefit of all mankind." (...most of which happen to be very sinful...)

While I have diabetes, it does not have me. These days, with a little juggling, I can eat almost anything as long as I starve myself of proper food, have plenty of advance notice, and ingest said tasty treats in miniscule portions. Life isn't perfect, but as the great Spencer Tracy would say, "It may not be much, but what's there is churce."

To prove I actually eat something besides cookie bars, here's a recipe for some proper food -- it's what people at my church call a perfect food storage recipe. It's simple, it's a one-pot meal, and I actually won a prize for this at Preparedness Night.

CHICKEN TACO STEW

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 (16-oz.)can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16-oz.)can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16-oz.)can corn, drained

1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (28-oz.) can tomatoes

1 (7-oz.) can diced green chilies

1 packet taco seasoning

1 teaspoon cumin

2 or 3 cans chicken breast(I know! but you have to use it in SOMETHING!)

chopped cilantro, optional

Heat oil in a dutch oven and add onion; stir until the onions are translucent (for those educated in California, that means "see-through"). Add black beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, tomatoes, green chilies, taco seasoning, and cumin and stir with a really big spoon. Drain canned chicken and add in the last five minutes of cooking. Spoon into bowls and garnish with a healthy dusting of chopped cilantro.

I got extra points for including the cilantro out of my garden. If I had a cow and could make my own sour cream, I might have run away with the big prize of the night, a huge wheat grinder that looked like it came out of the opening credits of Kate and Leopold (in unison now, girls: sigh for Leo...!) I was thrilled with the cookbook, however, because I never win anything, except, of course, the love of Mr. Adams and the young lad and lass, which makes life ginger-peachy and so worth whatever I have to do to keep on living.