Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 49

Pepperoni Pizza Dip!

For National Snack Day, let’s munch down on a little Pepperoni Pizza Dip. Super Simple and soooo satisfying. (The picture is how it looks heading into the oven. Sorry… no picture of how it looked when we took it out of the oven because it disappeared very fast.)

Pepperoni Pizza Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¾ c mayonnaise
1-2 T thinly sliced green onion
½ c finely chopped sweet onion (microwaved 1-2 min)
1 T fresh (or lightly dried) mixed Italian herbs
½ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¾ c pizza sauce
2 T finely chopped sweet bell pepper (any color, but green for contrast)
½ heaping cup of finely chopped pepperoni (see note)
½ – ¾ shredded mozzarella cheese
Cream the mayonnaise into the cream cheese thoroughly. Then mix in all the onions, herbs, and cheddar cheese. Spread in 8” square (or other) baking dish. Spread sauce over the top. Sprinkle with bell pepper, most of the pepperoni (saving 2 T for garnish), and the mozzarella. Garnish with reserved pepperoni. Bake at 325°F for 25 – 30 min. Serve with crostini, tortilla chips, or toasty pita chips for dipping. Makes 8-10 servings.

KISS Note: Before cutting up the pepperoni, spread them in a single layer on a triple layer of paper towels; top with another layer or 2 of paper towels and microwave on high for 1 min. This takes the greasiness out and keeps all the flavor!

Problem Solving 101

“A positive attitude may not solve every problem, but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience.”

— Grant D. Fairley (1959 – )
Business consultant & author

Road to Success

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

— Mario Andretti (1940 – )
Italian-American professional racing driver (1 of only 3 to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, the World Sportscar Championship, and NASCAR)

National Pig Day

With 675 million pigs in the world, on every continent except Antarctica, pigs earned their own special day. National Pig Day is not just to celebrate bacon, ribs, ham, and all the other goodies pigs deliver to help sustain humans. This is a day to learn about an animal most of us simply take for granted. There are hundreds of breeds, most of which have descended from the Eurasian wild boar.

 

 

We’ve heard all the stereotypes… a messy room is a pigsty, or someone sweats like a pig. In truth, pigs are very clean animals. They wallow in the mud to stay cool, as they are not even able to sweat. They would much prefer a lovely swimming pool, and they are good swimmers.

 

 

Many people know that pigs are clever and very intelligent. They make great pets and can be trained and taught tricks. Pigs are born with the intelligence of a 3-year-old human toddler and rank as the 5th smartest animal, smarter and more trainable than any breed of dog. They have excellent memories and can even play video games better than some humans. (Who tried this to know?)

 

 

After a pregnancy of 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days, a female (or sow) can produce 10 piglets in a single litter, each weighing about 2.5 pounds at birth. That weight will double in the first week, but they are born able to walk and run. Pigs can run as fast as 11 miles per hour!

 

A mother pig sings to her babies while nursing. Pigs constantly communicate with each other via more than 20 distinct grunts and squeals. However, pigs have poor eyesight, but their sense of smell is 2,000 times more sensitive than ours.

 

Few animals are more social than pigs, and they are known to form close bonds with other pigs and humans too, which has helped make them easy to domesticate. They also enjoy belly rubs. Like humans, pigs spend 1/3 of their day sleeping. And they dream. They also like sleeping nose-to-nose with one another.

 

As adorable as they are, I am unlikely to stop eating pork products. That said, I am a believer in open-range, healthy living conditions for all the creatures that are raised to feed us. We all need to say, “No” to factory-farmed pork, along with beef, chicken, etc.

 

 

I will close with some information that I had previously been unaware existed. For decades, pig heart valves have been successfully being used to replace heart valves in humans. So, celebrate the process called xenotransplantation.

Here’s oinking at you!

National Leap Year Day

True… a person turning 100 years old today only got to officially celebrate 25 birthdays.  This is also National Frog Legs Day. But, of course! A couple of silly one-liners seem in order. Sooooo…. What do athletes wear on Leap Day? Jumpsuits, of course.  And what do you call a talking kangaroo? Unbe-Leap-able.

In seriousness, early Egyptians had a leap year in their calendar. Early Roman calendars had an entire leap month from time to time to keep in line with astronomy. Julius Caesar pushed for the Roman calendar to have 12 nearly even months and a leap day every 4 years.

Regardless, we all get one extra day this year. So, what shall we do with it? For me, this is a day welcoming a couple of dear friends coming for their first visit with us in the North Carolina mountains.

I’ll close with a cultural tidbit: One ancient Irish tradition allowed women to propose marriage on Leap Day. Allowed. Words like “allowed” feel so incredibly archaic in such a context. Yup. Such “allowances” and rules were definitely created by boys. (Men do not feel threatened by women.)

Encouragement Lives!

24 years ago today, I was on the eve of a Leap Year Day surgery. Following a diagnosis of Stage IV ovarian cancer, I was given 3 months to live. If I didn’t wake up from surgery in the hospice ward of Mass General, I had signed off to let the surgeon use my body for experimental treatments that might help save other women after I was gone.

God and my sturdy fleet of guardian angels were with me. The diagnosis was false. What I had was going to “take me out,” but it wasn’t cancer. The successful surgery gave me a renewed lease on life. Not everyone gets to wake up to such a positive result.

Whether or not we face critical life-and-death situations, sobering diagnoses, or any of Life’s other “foul balls,” we all have crosses to bear and challenges to face. I was blessed to have my parents with me, my sister Deborah literally at my side before and after surgery, and an amazing circle of supportive friends and colleagues. Life and experience have taught me that not everyone is as fortunate.

And yet, everyone needs someone, even if it is just some ONE, to be positive… to be with us, to believe, to assure us that we are not alone, and to encourage us with every possible prayer and loving thought. I hope that those in your life who uplift you know how precious they are to you.

The dozens… or perhaps even hundreds of stories I have heard over the years from people who did not feel the warmth, comfort, and strength from someone supportive became the impetus for me to write one of my books.  2019’s “Encouragement: How to Be and Find the Best” is all about unlocking positive, life-changing skills and learning to team up with people who are true encouragers and not discouragers. I have been deeply humbled by the outpouring of love and gratitude that continues to come my way from people who have read that book.

Whatever you may be going through, you can do it. As long as there is breath in your body, do not ever forget that.

“A person who tells you that you are not good enough knows that you are better than they are.”

— Cathy Burnham Martin
Author, voiceover artist, and dedicated foodie

Participate!

 

“We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”

— Thomas Jefferson 1743 – 1826)
3rd president of the United States; diplomat, architect, and philosopher
(in his papers at the Library of Congress)

 

This is true for both primary and general elections. We humans like to complain… er, uh, express our opinions. However, if we fail to vote, we should also fail to criticize. Just saying…

Say ‘No’ to a Destiny of Self-destruction

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
American statesman; 16th President: 1861-65; assassinated following Civil War

Chow-der Down!

Let’s celebrate National Clam Chowder Day with a simple discussion of the Great Chowder Debate. Some insist it must have a clear broth base; others want it creamy and thick. Some add tomatoes; some stick to onions and potatoes. Everyone is right. Chowder is perfectly adapted to anyone’s texture and taste preferences.

The word “chowder” comes from “chaudiere,” a French word for an iron soup kettle. Originally, New England clam chowder was made in such a kettle, and was a simple, clear broth chowder… just clams, onions, salt pork, potatoes, and pepper. Gradually, people started adding crumbled hard biscuits to thicken the broth. Then came additions that include milk or cream, celery, butter, bacon, corn, salt, paprika, parsley, thyme, and carrots.

 

Tomatoes, a staple in the Manhattan chowder, were late comers to the clam chowder party. After all, tomatoes were viewed as poisonous before the mid-1800s.

 

 

 

 

 

Serve it plain or garnished. Try au natural or topped with a flaky pastry. Clams in shell or out.

Go for clam chowder any way YOU like. Red, white, clear, or creamy.

 

Regardless, the big, hard-shelled Quahogs remain the preferred clam of choice. That said, steams have also won prizes for chowders in recent years.

If you have favorite tastes and concepts, today is no day to “clam up!” Share the yumminess with your friends and family. Chow down!

Perspective

 

“We don’t see things as they are.  We see them as we are.”

— Anais Nin (1914-1977)
French-born American novelist and dancer