Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 103

National Monte Cristo Day

Warning! If you are dieting, stop reading now. Just look away.

I am a sucker for fabulous local eats when we travel. Thus, in France, a Croque-Monsieur always lands on our plate at some roadside bistro… along with a glass of wine. The thick Béchamel sauce with toasty cheese on top delights the tastebuds.

The Monte Cristo provides a scrumptious twist on that classic that turns the luscious Parisian grilled ham and cheese sandwich into a French toast delicacy… crispy on the outside and melty yumminess inside! If you are new to this, brace yourself. It’s love at first bite.

Super Simple Monte Cristo

Traditionally, these are served sprinkled with Confectioners’ sugar or powdered monkfruit or other sweetener, but that is optional.

For each sandwich:

2 slices sourdough or other sturdy bread

1 T each: Dijon (or country-style) mustard and mayonnaise

¼ lb sliced ham (plus ¼ lb sliced chicken or turkey, if desired)

¼ c shredded Gruyere cheese (or Havarti)

Butter

1 lg egg, beaten with 2-3 T half-and-half cream and a pinch of salt, pepper, & ground nutmeg in a shallow dish

Spread 1 slice of bread with mustard and spread the other slice with mayonnaise. Top with ham (& poultry if using) and sprinkle with cheese. Top with 2nd bread slice and press down a bit. Melt butter in skillet over med heat. Dip sandwich in egg mixture, turning to coat all sides (as in preparing French toast). Place sandwich in skillet and cook 2-3 minutes on both sides. Serve hot, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and/or drizzled with melted jelly, if desired.

KISS Tips: To fancify, trim crusts off the bread slices. To serve as tapas portions, trim away crusts after filling sandwich; then slice diagonally into quarters before cooking. These are delightful served with a melted currant (or other) natural all-fruit jelly or even a 100% maple syrup for dipping.

National Stepfamily Day

I say it often, and yet not nearly enough. I feel especially blessed.

One of my great blessings is to be part of an incredible blended family.  When I officially became a stepparent, I had no idea how it would change my life. (And yes, despite the now adult stepchildren’s insistence that it’s not true, I proudly self-dubbed myself the Evil Stepmother. Come on! Theatre gal here, and I gleefully play all the witches!)

In truth, learning to handle both triumphs and challenges makes us all stronger and better people. As a stepfamily, we also grow in our capacity to love and be loved. It’s truly fantabulous.

When Adam and Caiti got engaged to be married, the Parents’ Table at the party featured 4 couples. Yup. They both have birth parents and stepparents. I remember thinking how truly blessed we all are. Many young people feel fortunate if they still have one parent. When we gathered last Thanksgiving, the picture formed a perfect one for National Stepfamily Day. Our little Granddaughter has 8 Grandparents (and turned my Mom into a Great Grandmother) … plus Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins… all thanks to the great Stepfamily.

Whatever your family is, was, or could be, cherish the moments. Remember and celebrate the love. Always.

International Day of Democracy

On this, the International Day of Democracy, I thought it might be interesting to take a brief look at the term and some thoughts on it. The term comes from the Greek words “demos” (the people) and “kratia” (power or authority).

By various definitions, we can see this spelled out:

“Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.”“Democracy is a society in which the citizens are sovereign and control the government.”“Democracy is a system of government in which people choose their rulers by voting for them in elections.”

By various “thinkers” over the centuries, we can see how democracy is considered:

 

“Republics decline into democracies, and democracies degenerate into despotisms.”

— Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

Greek philosopher

 

“Democracy is the road to socialism.”

— Karl Marx (1818 – 1883)

German sociologist and political theorist

 

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865)

16th President of the United States

 

“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.”

— John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963)

35th President of the United States

 

Whether one believes our nation to be on an incline or decline, most agree that we are in deep trouble. We replace unity with divisiveness, work ethic with entitlement-thinking, and public servants with lifetime politicians.

We need to be better than this. We are better than this. Plenty of world history offers to guide us away from making poor choices that let a government control us. When freedom wanes, life includes unimaginable challenges that are often incomprehensible. Once freedom is lost, it is rarely regained.

(Photo by D. William)

National Live Creative Day

“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.”

— Albert Einstein  (1879 – 1955)

German-born theoretical physicist; developed the theory of relativity

Everyone has a spirit of creativity! Some put more or less effort into it, but we all have it. This is the official day to celebrate that creative spirit. Paint a picture. Make a mud pie. Arrange some flowers. Sing a song (Sure, sing it out loud and not restricted to the shower!) Do a puzzle. Dance to set your spirit free.

We can also celebrate someone else’s creativity. Visit a museum or gallery. Read a book. Listen to music. Watch a celebrated movie. Walk around a neighborhood and see the beautiful ways that people have designed their homes or landscaping.

Creativity is also the way we innovate. We solve problems. We think about “things.” Creativity is actually pretty hard to avoid. And this is a good thing!!

International Chocolate Day

Cacao beans are native to Central and South America. However, chocolate is easily one of the world’s favorite flavors. Thus, there’s no surprise that chocolate ranks its own international day of celebration. From chocolate bars (invented in England and perfected in Switzerland) and chocolate biscotti in Italy to Tim Tams (in Australia) and Austria’s iconic Sacher-torte, chocolate capture our flavor imagination like no other. Some like it natural (which is bitter) and others prefer varying degrees of added sweetness. If chocolate holds a special spot on your happy tastebuds’ list, then today is your day to indulge.

For me, of course, I must share a recipe… or two.

Chocolate Balls

In the 1990’s I remember thinking that this Super Simple recipe was yummy. However, I now do not cook with things like sweetened condensed milk, nor sugar.

1 14‑oz can sweetened condensed milk   1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c coconut   1/2 tsp baking soda     Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Mix milk, chocolate chips, coconut and soda.  Spread in a greased 9 x 9″ baking pan. (Yes, “greased” meant with Crisco.) Bake about 30 minutes.  When partially cooled, cut into 36 squares. Shape into balls and roll in confectioners’ sugar.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour; makes 3 dozen.

 

In 2018, I gleefully shifted gears to this Super Simple No Bake Chocolates:

2 c dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (or broken chunks of fave dark chocolate bar)

2 c flaked or shredded, unsweetened coconut

Coarse sea salt

Melt chocolate chips in coconut oil-sprayed or rubbed microwave bowl on high at 20-second intervals, stirring in between. (Let final stirring complete the melting!) Stir in coconut. Use small spoon to scoop little mounds onto wax paper or parchment-lined plates. Sprinkle with sea salt. Refrigerate 30 min. (Store any unlikely leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer to avoid total disappearance.)

KISS Tips: Add your own flourishes to these gems. For example, I always divide the mixture up and add coarsely chopped almonds to some… chopped dried cranberries to some, and finely diced ginger to others. Simply top your variations with a nut, seed, raisin, cranberry, or ginger nugget to indicate the variations.

National Day of Encouragement

September 12th marks the day that is annually dedicated to uplifting people around us and making a positive impact. Yes! We can all do this. Encouragement is FREE! Let’s give some away!!!

President George W. Bush signed the documents making September 12th the official National Day of Encouragement, a fitting follow-up to the horrors of September 11, 2001. Everyone needs encouragement and not just after suffering great loss and destruction.

When I published my 2019 book Encouragement: How to Be and Find the Best, it was because I truly want people to be able to live with as much contagious enthusiasm as possible. (It remains my favorite piece to share with others, whether in paperback, digital, or audiobook form.)

Personally, I have been blessed with encouragement and surrounded by many wonderful Encouragers during my life. I like to remember that this taught me a great many wonderful and practical life lessons, many of which I share through my social media articles and on my GoodLiving123.com website.

I suggested my book could be enjoyed for amusement or personal growth or to help someone else who may need encouragement, perhaps desperately. I also thought it might be read to simply polish up some good living skills that may have become a bit rusty.

We do get rusty. We forget to ask how someone else is faring. Or we overlook some indicator that a personal struggle is underway. Sometimes sharing a hug or a few positive words can help someone know that they can make it… they can get through one more hour… one more day.

Whatever your personal style may be, try to give someone else a boost… today and every day. Recognize the Encouragers in your midst and draw the closer. Remember the solidarity in a stack of pencils versus one pencil.  We can easily snap a single pencil in half.  With a bunch of pencils, fragility vanishes.  Encouragers build our strength in much the same way.  Every word of encouragement adds another pencil to our arsenal.

Then there are the Discouragers.

These folks seem focused on being the nay-sayers.  They “know” all the reasons something can’t be done, why we do not have a chance, why our plan will ultimately fail.  They assuredly stack the odds and facts against us.  They diminish our confidence.

With every word and look of discouragement, they take pencils away from our stack.  They make us more fragile. They add rust to our hearts and minds. None of us needs more rust.

What is most frustrating about a Discourager?  They often tend to erroneously think they are Encouragers.  They frequently try to correct us and tell us why we should do things their way.

Life is not always easy.  It comes packed with ups and downs, turmoil, and challenges.  When we are better prepared, we can meet/face the woes with greater grace, courage, and terrific tools to overcome.

We can rediscover the natural confidence, self-esteem, and poise with which we were born.  We can achieve greater goals; we can genuinely feel better about ourselves, our lives, and our futures.  And perhaps, most importantly, we can take other people along with us to find or rediscover their own “happy place,” their greater success, their ability to positively blossom.

Does all this truly matter?  I believe it does, and in an enormous way, if we want to lead happier, more fulfilling lives.

We can all overcome discouragements.  We all deserve encouragement.

We all know Encouragers.  We all know Discouragers.

We can all grow to be more encouraged and more encouraging.  We can all learn to avoid, dismiss, or deal with discouragement and Discouragers.

If you’ve ever faced a time when your choices, your path, your circumstances, or your life felt chaotic, out of control, pointless, or even hopeless, get ready now to find the tools you can use to not feel so low again.  We can’t always control our circumstances.  Life can hit us in some devastating ways.

But we can do better.  We can feel better.  We can bounce back more quickly.  We can grow in strength and ability.  We can become the people we were meant to be.

Too many people struggle with discouragement.  They need a little encouragement… perhaps just a few sincerely, thoughtful words.  They need a little shot of confidence.  A boost.  We can all help.

We need stay rusty no more. We can bounce back more quickly. We can grow in strength and ability. We can be happier… more fulfilled… thriving… empowered.

Bust some rust today!!!

Grandparents Day

Yes, this is a real holiday. It was initially proposed back in the 1950s and finally became a federal holiday by proclamation signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. Celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day each year, there is no need to send cards. Just share the love… the love of people for people… family for family… and Grandparents can also share it with the children of their children.

Long before we can become Grandparents, we all have Grandparents of our own. If we are especially fortunate, we get to know them and the joy they can bring into our lives. I was blessed with marvelous Grandparents and even got to know a Great Grandmother.

Though we are never sure that we can live up to the legacy set by our own Grandparents, we can always strive to do our best. And we have been blessed with Granddaughter Adaline…. Due to be joined in just a few weeks by Granddaughter Ayla.

Regardless of the family structure in your life as a child or as an adult, celebrate Grandparents Day today. Being a “Grand” can truly be grand.

(The photos include my sister Deborah with Grammy and Grampa Burnham and cousin Barbara in 1953,

with my sister Deborah and Grampa Gulumian in 1958, my Great Grandmother Rowe, Mom, Grammy Gulumian, and I in 1975, and Ron, Caiti, Adam, and I with Granddaughter Adaline and Frankie in 2021.)

Yummy!

On this day I celebrate the simple, but always endearing crab cake. I prefer them meaty and moist, with barely a touch of breading. They always go like hot cakes! Serve them as appetizers, entrees, or atop salads, jazzing up the sauce with as much horseradish as your personal preference enjoys.

Crab Cakes

1 lb lump crabmeat

2 lg or x-lg eggs

1/3 c mayonnaise

¼ – 1/3 c finely chopped green onion

1 T Dijon mustard

¼ c breadcrumbs, plain or seasoned (or crushed pork rinds, if you’re leaning toward keto)

Combine ingredients; season with sea salt & pepper to suit your taste; form into 6 mini patties.

Place on cooking spray-coated sheet of heavy-duty foil; put on grill preheated to 350°F (medium). (Or cook in a sauté pan.) Cook 3-4 minutes per side. Serve atop salad or with split, toasted mini rolls spread with Mustard Sauce, adding a slice of ripe tomato and lettuce or fresh baby spinach leaves.

Mustard Sauce:

3 T mayonnaise

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T prepared horseradish

1 T fresh lemon juice

Stir ingredients together and drizzle over crab cakes. (I do love the sauce and usually double the amount.)

Renewal

“Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.”

— Sarah Ban Breathnach (1947 – )

American author

 (Photo by Steven Buissine)

Happy Anniversary!

 

Today I celebrate 22 years of marriage with Sir Ronald. We complete each other. As with all couples, we’ve been through a lot together. I am delighted that we are very much in love and are still each other’s very best friend. May we keep living, laughing, and learning for another 22!