State of The Union Drinking Game 2008 – 1/28/2008

I will not go into politics, this is not what this blog is for.  But I have to admit to needing to have fun while watching the State of The Union speech because let us face it, it is tedious, dull, and irritating.  And that is for every President that served in my lifetime so no political persuasion is safe here.

Thankfully I came across a great set of rules for a drinking game that coincides with the speech for a particular year. Since I have small kids and need to keep a clear head, I prefer to have a six pack of A&W Diet Root Beer rather than waste $8.00 on Yeungling (not to mention in past years/pre-children I was floored after drinking 3 beers in under 30 minutes).  Also if you do not want to drink at all, french fries or veggie sticks is another good fun alternative to getting blotto. 

Those who do not have a television hooked to cable or satellite, you can watch on C-Span. 9pm EST.

Last Minute Addition (8:38pm): If the rules from drinking game is too much, a pared-down version from the Rachel Maddow Show is available here. 

Great Menu Planner

I had a conversation with my significant other in which he was concerned about the lack of variety at the table.  Primarily because I make one-pot meals and the kids were getting sick and tired of the same ‘ol same ‘ol, unless of course it is Mac ‘n Cheese (shells only, aged cheddar, thank you).  Never got the hang of the American Old School rule of choosing a recipe from each of the following categories: 

• Meat/Poultry
• Starch/Bread
• Vegetable
• Dessert  

 Growing up, when my family was not doing one-pot meals, we just pretty much stuck to the meat/poultry and vegetable, and forego the starch and dessert.I have no sense or organizing a menu and a grocery list that goes with it and right now I feel like a deer in the headlights. In scrambling for some menu ideas (tons of recipes in cyber-space, but no complementing food stuffs to go with them), I stumbled across a great PDF file from Menus 4 Moms. Not a heck of a lot of space to write in your intended meals, but it has a grocery list, and it is a good start.  I plan on trying to set something up for a week and see how goes. 

CSA, Exactly What Is It?

Received a message on one of my professional forums that I subscribe to in which someone asked what is a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture. In general, I think I do relatively OK in explaining, but I found this lovely YouTube video from Food Network that explains it best.If you are interested in possibly joining a local CSA this year, you can check out Local Harvest to find one near you. 

A CSA In Harlem!

Wow!  My mother sent me this listing from Local Harvest of a CSA in Harlem, New York!  Park Slope CSA in Brooklyn  is also another CSA (this one I knew of its existence). 

In NYC it is quite common for CSAs to make deliveries (community gardens are not enough). But here is the kicker.  These CSAs accept food stamps!  I have never heard of such a thing and frankly, this option should be more widely available and publicized. If our all-wise-and-ever-know-it-all government would get on the bandwagon and encourage more CSAs to do the same we just might start a wonderful chain reaction of getting more support for local farmers,  farms that want to go organic, educate the public (in all socio-economic classes) about healthier food choices, a decline in the obesity rate, decline in hypertension and diabetes…I think you get the idea…