Beauty Doesn't Do It Anymore

 

 

It's a dangerous fall from a steep cliff, ending in a life (liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) altering collision.   

 

The fall from that cliff had been coming. I saw the signs, we all did. From the moment that narcissistic bigot took his pseudo-regal trip down that escalator, to all of the lies, disrespect, and bigotry, to the growing support he garnered, the signs were all there. And each was a step towards that cliff.

The not one, but two impeachments where his cultists proved there would be no accountability. Another step.

 

A denied pandemic, increasing the death toll, shooting after shooting after shooting with no gun reform. Step.

The packing of the courts and especially the Supreme Court by those not qualified, who lied at their hearings, and under circumstances denied (with malicious intent) to the preceding administration. Step.

The deadly attempted coup. The denial of the insurrection, the continued lack of consequences. Step. Step.

 

It was two Supreme Court decisions that were the final push. For the first time in our history, this Supreme Court is taking away rights. The ability to trust, just as the forefathers did, that no matter the personal beliefs, we would all work fairly and honestly, conduct ourselves with dignity, strive to build and strengthen a more perfect union has been proven a myth. 

 

And the full and complete loss of what was clearly naivete, that is the life (liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) altering collision. A sense of security, the collateral damage.

Over the past few years, I've developed some strategies to keep me from being too disheartened. Limiting (not head in the sand denial, but limiting) news intake, playing brain exercising games, reading, writing, and recipe development, feeding others, food is love, all necessary temporary distractions. 

 

 

 

Grilled Raspberry Mustard Chicken

 

 

But for comfort, reassurance some level of peace, I've turned to beauty for that. There's something about nature that taps into a place of serenity, brings joy, evokes a smile.

I plant my outdoor pots, watch the plants grow, the flowers bloom. I wait for the trees in the back yard to green, look forward to the rustling of the leaves. Wait for the Lilacs to ping their tiny buds open in harmonious unison, and smell their fragrance whenever I'm near. I anticipate each morning, seeing which Day Lillies will burst open, then close again at night, as others show their colors the very next day. I go out in the yard and bring some of that beauty indoors, what I call my yard bouquets.

 

 

 

But beauty doesn't do it anymore.

 

We all know the treasonous head of the cult party will run again. He's going to run on his despicable additions to the Supreme Court. He's going to run on that court's decision to strike down NY's attempt to keep their citizens safe by enacting a sensible gun law. He's going to run on that court's decision to strike down Roe v Wade, something all of his additions to the court agreed not to do. He's going to run on a threat made by Thomas (a clearly compromised "jurist") that reproductive rights and gay rights are next. And he's going to run in a climate of gerrymandered districts, voter suppression, voter purging, and limited access to the polls by targeted groups.

 

I did have some scintilla of hope that trump would be stopped by indictments, if not on federal charges, then maybe in the states of Georgia and/or Arizona for his election fraud. But shockingly, it seems that being arrested doesn't disqualify you.

 

Two months ago, a man in jail in Indiana, awaiting trial for the vicious murder of his (cancer stricken) wife, won his Republican primary (he did later withdraw). 

 

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters."  Anyone remember that quote? Prophetic, I guess.

 

I have fallen from that cliff of naivete, no longer disillusioned by the belief that we, as a nation, and those we elect to represent us, pledge allegiance to the constitution. Or to the belief that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is meant to be guaranteed for not just a few, but for all.

We are just days away from the 4th of July. Those who lived in our country then were living in the most significant time in our history, the birth of an independent nation.

 

"A republic, if you can keep it."

Those of us living in our country now, are living in the second most significant time in our history, the real and present danger of the death of an independent nation.

Grilled Raspberry Mustard Chicken       

                                                ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

2 lg boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing

1 TBSP stone ground mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp honey

Directions:
*Cut each chicken breast into 3 fairly evenly sized pieces. Place into a gallon sized plastic bag.

*Whisk together the dressing, mustard, garlic, and honey. Pour into the bag with the chicken. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least two hours up to overnight.

*Preheat the grill to medium hot, about 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade, place on the grill, close the grill and immediately lower the grill to medium.

*Grill the chicken for about 4 minutes, turn each piece 1/4 of the way around and grill for another 4 minutes. 

*Flip the chicken over, grill the other side for 4 minutes, turn each piece 1/4 of the way around and grill about another 4 minutes. Make sure the chicken is completely cooked through, there is no red, and the juices run clear.

The Power of Thirteen: Secret Subject Swap

 

 

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This month 5 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

 

 

 

 

 

My subject is: This month I celebrate my 13th anniversary. Tell me about a 13th something you've celebrated.

It was submitted by: Sarah of What TF Sarah. 

 

I start each Secret Subject Swap challenge post with the same paragraph. As you can see above, I say "Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This month . . ." Today I feel like I need an intro do-over. It should start more like this:

 

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap, the one where I'm stumped.

 

I've been running these challenges for years. Lots of years. In fact, this is my 121st Secret Subject Swap and never before have I not been able to answer a prompt seriously, twist it to meet my needs, or use it to write a piece of fiction. This one though, IDK.

 

I mean, there are some obvious responses, like having celebrated my boys' 13th birthdays. As superstitiously unlucky as 13 is, that birthday, the start of the teenage years, is a milestone, both for the newly minted teenager grasping onto ever increasing independence, and for the naive parent thinking that surviving infancy and toddler-hood was the tough part. I'm sure we had a birthday party and cake, probably a sleep over and some mayhem, but there isn't really any unique story for me to tell you here.

Same goes for our 13th anniversary. Although it not being on Passover that particular year, as it often is, would have been a bonus for our cake loving selves.

 

 

 

Although I don't have any memorable and interesting 13th celebrations to share, there are some events that have happened on the 13th that are noteworthy. Not only because they seem to have conquered the bad luck reputation of the 13th, but even more so when the 13th's curse is doubled just by landing on a Friday, like it did last month. I'll get back to that.

Starting with, I'd be remiss not to mention that Hubs' birthday is on the 13th. We've celebrated that more than 13 times, the 13th one being no more or less memorable than any other.

And my Baking In A Tornado FB page was created on the 13th of August, two months after I started this blog, and it's been the opposite of bad luck, it's been a joy. The dynamics of that page changes, but there is a core group of readers who stay in touch with me there, share both the page and the blog promotions. Every one of them are now exclusively non-bloggers, which means that they don't do it for any kind of reciprocation. They like to interact with me, support me by reading my page posts and blog posts, looking for nothing in return except for about 10 minutes of enjoyable (I hope) reading a week and a yummy recipe to try. I know they're reading this post now, thank you.

 Root Beer Float Cookies

Back to my mention of last month's Friday the 13th. It was a bittersweet day, but a meaningful one. It was the proclaimed trump reinstatement day. Well, according to the delusional Q crew, anyway.

 

The day was bittersweet for a few reasons. First, because leading up to that day we've seen the delusional Q crew grow and thrive. With that growth has come an emboldened attitude, stance, and aggression, building to what feels like a march to a civil war. Or a second, bloodier, coup attempt not only in the Capitol, but in all of our communities. People wearing masks are targeted. Physically. And threatened. All while our voting rights, districts, and oversight are being manipulated. Systematically. State by state. Putinesque.

 

Part of why they've been successful, and therefor emboldened is that so far we've allowed all these assaults on our way of life to continue unchecked. 

When the twice impeached traitor told public servants to ignore subpoenas, there were no repercussions. When members of congress illegally stormed the secure SCIF, there were no ramifications. When they lied under oath, nothing. Verbally abused testifying Capitol police, refused to wear a mask when hiding from the insurgents, screamed verbal assaults at other members of congress, nothing. Hatch Act violations, Emoluments Clause violations, detouring troups to trump properties . . . Nothing, nothing, nothing. Of course it's getting worse.

I wrote a blog post back in 2012. A tongue in cheek piece of humor about having a cold. Someone who deliberately named him/herself "Liberals Deserve to Die" found that post last month and tried to leave some sick, ignorant comments on it. I was going to post them here, but I see no point in deleting them from comment moderation only to publish them on this blog after all, so I'm providing a link to them in a post I made on my personal FB page, you can go HERE to read it if you want.

 

If you did read them, you understand that I'm not exaggerating the level of vitriol and danger to those of us with a heart and a brain.

 

But that day last month, Friday, August 13th came and, of course, there was no coronation or magical reinstatement. There were plenty of really funny memes and tweets about it, but it was hard to laugh. Because despite this day having passed, the delusion remains, the march to autocracy continues to gain strength, and the danger that has trickled down to our communities continues to exacerbate.

Sorry Sarah, not something to celebrate like your 13th anniversary, but a day that symbolizes the strengthening, viable assault on our freedom at this moment in time. Yes, we sidestepped the "reinstatement," but it was never about that anyway, it was about further coalescing the Q crew. It has become a day in our history that's rife with dire warnings and flaming red flags that we cannot (continue to) dismiss. And a day that shines a spotlight on our conundrum: do we continue to meet lies, delusion, aggression, and treason without a united, proactive, strategic resistance?  

Or will this particular 13th become the turning point that the future of a once civilized society needs it to be?

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Wandering Web Designer

Climaxed

What TF Sarah  

Part-time Working Hockey Mom 

 Root Beer Float Cookies   

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 3 1/2 dz):
1 stick butter, softened

1 stick margarine, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 TBSP root beer

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

3 oz box root beer instant pudding mix

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 squares (2 oz each) vanilla bark

 

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Coarsely chop the vanilla bark.

*Cream the butter, margarine, brown sugar, and root beer. Once incorporated, beat in the eggs.

*Carefully at first, beat in the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Last, mix in the vanilla bark.

*Drop onto the baking sheets by scant tablespoons. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to set on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before removing.

It is Here. And I Am Afraid

 

 

It is here. And I am afraid.

I'm not just traumatized by the last consequential November 3rd, and every chaotic day since then as the dems sat on their hands and shook their heads and clicked their tongues as the trump party publicly dismantled the heart and soul of this country piece by piece.

I'm not just afraid as an American. I'm not just afraid as an inhabitant of a planet under environmental attack. I'm not just afraid as a liberal in a conservative state. I'm not just afraid as someone who believes in the democratic practices of a constitutional republic. I'm not just afraid as someone who believes in human rights and expects compassion and humanity from those entrusted with molding the future of this country. I'm not just afraid that there's no stopping the power hungry insane man currently put in the White House (by nefarious outside forces), and all of those who usurped all semblance of morals and values at the first taste of power in order to keep him there.

Although I am certainly afraid of all of those things. 

 

Independence Cake 

 

I'm afraid as a Jew. I grew up both revulsed and indignant at the seemingly never ending stories and clips and pictures of the Nazi atrocities we saw year after year in religious school. I felt attacked, emotionally assaulted. The response to my aversion was always the same "we must never forget." 

 

Listen, I've been to Yad Vashem. It is humanizing, humbling, overwhelming, mortifying. Forget? Of course we will never forget. 

 

And then, a few years ago, I heard the "president" of this country say that those men in Charlottesville, carrying torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us" were very good people. I guess we've forgotten.

And I'm afraid as a woman. Where do we, where can we, possibly maintain any standing in a country where credibly accused rapists and molesters not only walk free, but are elevated to the highest stations of power? We are on the precipice of losing the right to make our own reproductive decisions. But even more than that, I'm afraid it's going to be open season on our sexual safety.

And I'm afraid as a mother. How can I expect young adults, not just mine but all of them, to thrive in a country where bullying and persecution have replaced common decency? Where, if you are viewed in any way "different," not just your rights but your very safety is in jeopardy? Where dissent is not fodder for discourse but justification for retribution?

I'm afraid that evil brought a bazooka to a fist fight with good, and all that is righteous is bleeding out on the floor. Along with the last vestiges of hope.

 

Overly dramatic? Read Mein Kampf. Then replay the past 4 years of trump quotes. He's not even innovative, he's just following the play book. And don't forget what Barr (Hermann Goring) and McConnell (Heinrich Himmler) have done to advance that agenda. And how far they've gone to not only suppress our constitutional right to vote but to lay the groundwork for delegitimizing this election in order to turn a potential loss into an authoritarian power grab.

November 3rd. It is here. And I am afraid.

 

Independence Cake         

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:   

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups canola oil

2 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp red food coloring

1 tsp blue food coloring

1/4 cup red colored sugar

1/4 cup blue colored sugar

1/3 cup raspberries, if large, cut in half (if you're using frozen, drain the excess liquid)

1/3 cup blueberries

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

2 TBSP white chocolate liqueur (can substitute milk)

 

OPT: additional raspberries and blueberries to garnish

 

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.

*Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, beat the oil, eggs, vinegar and vanilla.

*Beat half of the dry ingredients into the large bowl, followed by half of the buttermilk. Repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the buttermilk.

*Divide the batter in half (about 2 1/3 cups in each half). To half of the better, add the red food coloring and red colored sugar, to the other half add the blue food coloring and blue colored sugar.

*Pour the red cake batter into one of the prepared pans. Sprinkle with raspberries. Pour the blue batter into the other prepared pan and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the blueberries.

*Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the center springs back to the touch. Remove from oven and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, remove from the pans and allow to cool completely.

*Using a grease spatula, mix together the marshmallow creme and the liqueur (or milk). Place the blue cake onto a serving dish. Spread with about 1/2 of the marshmallow creme mixture. Top with the red cake. Drizzle the remaining marshmallow creme mixture over the top and down the sides. Decorate with additional berries. Refrigerate to set.

Independence: Use Your Words

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.
I'm using: independent ~ please ~ tea ~ working 
They were submitted by Jennifer of Sparkly Poetic Weirdo.

                          
Independent. I keep getting stuck on that word so I guess that means I want to talk about it, figure out a way to get my feelings about independence into words. 

I never realized this before, but independent has situational meaning. I'm not just talking about multiple definitions, but it has always had positive associations for me. My point of reference is that of a woman living in a free country and having grown up in some changing times (progress) for women. Independence has always been aspirational, inspirational. But at this moment in time, the connotation, for me, has changed.

Let's start with the dictionary meanings. First is liberated, as in living in a democratic republic, not controlled by another country. My home, Boston, had a little party involving tea, if you recall your history, that had a little something to do with that. It's also the kind of independence we gain personally as we make our own way in the world, begin working and living on our own.

Another definition is being open minded, independent as in able to think things through based on your own morals and values without giving undue purchase to outside influence. This is a form of independence that we are born with, is to some degree knocked out of us (through training and through peer pressure) but which we ultimately come back to as we mature.

A third meaning is self-reliant. This one is very important to me as a woman. There was a time, not so distant, when women couldn't vote, didn't go to college or work, were expected to cook and clean and obey. There is nothing wrong with a couple dividing responsibilities according to any criteria they choose, but that wasn't always a conversation or an agreement. Women were, and still are, stuck in unhappy and often abusive marriages, unable to extricate themselves. This self-sufficient form of independence can be a matter of safety.

It's the final connotation of independent that I grapple with. This final meaning of the word is associated with being separate from others. I'd always thought of this in positive terms, encompassing the other meanings of the word, being free, being open minded and being self-sufficient, not requiring association with others to define self. It also speaks to character. When you are truly independent of others, reaching out is an active choice as opposed to necessity.

But now, at this moment in time, I see this dissociation, this disconnection from others as a threat, to us as individuals but mostly as members of society, it's begetting a collective narcissism.

Before I explain, just let me say that this is not about coronavirus. What I'm talking about here has been in process long before we had even heard of covid-19. We have not had to, and more and more were not, leaving our homes to shop for food, to purchase clothes, to buy cars, to bank, to vote, to eat from a restaurant, to work, even to renew our license. All can be accomplished online and brought right to our doorsteps. Brick and mortar stores were disappearing. Malls, a place that fostered social interaction, were already becoming ghost towns. I can see a time coming when there are no grocery stores, just distribution centers (at least one local chain already has one) from which our only option is to place our orders online and pick them up or have them delivered. I, for one, need to pick out my own proteins and vegetables. Not to mention the threat to creativity. I can't find new foods by going online and typing in "tomato," bringing up canned tomatoes and soups. I want to peruse the aisles, touch and smell vegetables or fruits I'm unfamiliar with, possibly stumble on a product that inspires me. The decreasing ability to interact when shopping (all shopping) feels mechanical, stifling.

Grilled Crispy Cod Sandwich 

Customer service now consists of pressing buttons in a "trained monkey" response to a computer generated voice, which can either result in a satisfactory outcome, or a frustrating failure which we may have no other choice but to live with. We don't have to look someone in the face or even use our voices to communicate and now, more and more, we just plain can't.

This form of independence has manifested itself as a division in our society, feeling very caste-like, there are winners and there are losers. Manners are now as extinct as full sentences. No more "please" and "thank you" because, outside of our personal circles, we no longer have that kind of relationship with each other. The further disconnected we become on a personal level, the less we see each other as having value (or even rights), the more we lose our humanity, our compassion, and, to go back to the meanings of independence, our open mindedness.

Although "independent" has always been a word of strength and of personal growth, we seem to have swung the pendulum too far. I don't advocate going back to being controlled by another country, of being less woke, or of being unable to change our situation based on our needs, but I do believe that this level of independence from our community and our society will not serve us well. Independence can be liberating. It can also be confining.

Humanity is born of engagement. Progress comes from leaning in. We benefit more from alliances than just allegiances.

Here are links to all the other Use Your Words posts:
Spatulas on Parade 
Wandering Web Designer
On the Border  
Part-time Working Hockey Mom 
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo 
Climaxed 
Follow Me Home 

Grilled Cripsy Cod Sandwich      

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

NOTE: This sandwich can be made quickly using frozen fish sticks and/or pre-made Cole Slaw, but is best made using my Crispy Cod Fingers recipe and my Smoky Slaw recipe.


Ingredients:
1 TBSP butter
2 slices bread
1 slice American cheese
1 slice smoked Provolone cheese 
1 TBSP Thousand Island dressing
1 piece lettuce
3 - 4 hot Crispy Cod Fingers, you can substitute cooked fish sticks
1/4 cup Smoky Slaw, you can substitute any Cole Slaw

Directions:
*Make a grilled cheese: place the cheese slices between the bread slices. In a hot skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Place the sandwich in the pan and cook until the bottom has browned, flip over and cook on the other side.
*Carefully open the sandwich. Spread the Thousand Island dressing on one side, then place the lettuce on the dressing. *Top with the Crispy Cod Fingers, then the Smoky Slaw and finally the top of the sandwich. Cut in half and serve.

Independence

Every 4 of July, for many years now, I’ve made red, white and blue jello.  This jello is not what I’d call difficult, but it takes 6 hours.  You’re not working on it all 6 hours, this thing isn’t brain surgery, but you do have to commit yourself to it.  Each layer needs to set before you can gently put on the next.  If you don’t wait long enough between layers, they will bleed together.  If you don’t work with the gelatin correctly, that layer will gel lumpy instead of smooth.  It’s never perfect, but what is?
 
Teaching kids, at home and in school, is supposed to be a long term commitment. They learn best in layers, each one the foundation for the next.

Red, White and Blue Jello

 

 

When Older Son was in Middle School, he had a Student Teacher for Chemistry.  She was teaching something about balancing chemical equations and Older Son didn’t get it.  Older Son was a good student with good grades but he was struggling with this concept.  He stayed after school with the Student Teacher but she just repeated what she had said in class.  I e-mailed her asking what we could do to make sure that Older Son masters this part of the curriculum.  Could we come at this information from another angle?  She answered that this is how she teaches.
 
This is what I came to understand:  If they’re not learning, you’re not teaching.
 
It had been a long time since I had been in school, but I sat down with Older Son’s book and papers and studied.  Once I figured out the lesson, I explained it to him in a very visual way, using props. The next day in class the students corrected each other’s homework.  Few were able to do it, but saw that Older Son had done his.  The Teacher wasn’t happy, but many circled around Older Son, who explained it to his classmates in the way that he was able to understand it.
 
Teaching is difficult.  But here’s the thing, so is learning.  When my kids were little and they misbehaved, I used to take a toy away from them.  I’d put it on top of the refrigerator for a while.  They could see it but they couldn’t have it until they understood the behavioral changes that needed to be made.  I remember trying to talk to my Mom on the phone one day and not being able to because the kids were disruptive.  Mom asked “Can they go play for a little while so we can have a short conversation?”  “No”, I answered “at the moment all of their toys are on top of the refrigerator”.
 
What happens when the toys spend too much time on top of the refrigerator?  Did one of those layers not set before you applied the next?  If they’re not learning you’re not teaching; even if you're utilizing the expertise of others it’s ultimately on you.  So, no matter what, you’re gonna keep walking into that brick wall because you know this; it may come at a price, in some cases a much higher price than you ever thought imaginable.  But, in the end, the reward is Independence . . .for all.
 
Happy 4th of July, everyone.

Red, White and Blue Jello

                                         ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe


Ingredients:
2 pkgs red jello, dissolve each (separately) in 1 cup boiling water, then add ½ cup cold water
2 pkgs blue jello, dissolve each (separately) in 1 cup boiling water, then add ½ cup cold water
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin dissolved (together) in ½ cup cold water
2 cups milk
¾ cups sugar
2 cups sour cream mixed with 2 tsp vanilla
 
 
Directions:
*Prepare 1 of the red jellos as indicated above and pour into a 9 X 13 pan.  Put in refrigerator until set (about 45 minutes).
*While red is setting, put milk in a pan and heat but don’t boil.  Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
*Remove from heat and add the dissolved unflavored gelatin.  Wisk in and let cool a little on counter.
*Wisk in the sour cream and vanilla mixture.  Leave on counter.
*Once red jello is set, carefully top with a layer of 1 ½ cups of the white mixture.  Refrigerate until set (about 45 minutes).
*Repeat with blue layer, then white, then red again then white again and finally the last blue layer.
*Allow final layer to set before cutting.