It is nearly impossible for me not to read something-whether it be book, magazine, browsing the internet, poetry, whatever. So it saddens me (though rarely surprises me) when studies surface telling us America doesn’t read so much.
I came across an article on MSNBC back in August of 07 titled “Poll: 1 in 4 Adults Read No Books Last Year“. When I first read it, I thought, not too surprising. But thought later…no wonder illiteracy (and just plain disinterest) is so high in this country when we got Britney Spears, Branjelina, reality T.V. shows (have you ever seen Beauty and the Geek? Jesus!) spreading like bacteria in the brain.

One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.
The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn’t read any, the usual number read was seven.

“I just get sleepy when I read,” said Richard Bustos of Dallas, Texas, a habit with which millions of Americans can doubtless identify. Bustos, a 34-year-old project manager for a telecommunications company, said he had not read any books in the last year and would rather spend time in his backyard pool.

Hey, I know fiction has been on the downside for a bit, in a bit of a slump, but reading only four books in a year? That seems incomprehensible to me. For those of you who have stopped by my blog you know this. There are books everywhere-four a week, even.

“Fiction just doesn’t interest me,” said Bob Ryan, 41, who works for a construction company in Guntersville, Alabama. “If I’m going to get a story, I’ll get a movie.”

The NEA released a study in 2007, “To Read or Not To Read”. What they found was ‘Americans are reading less, Americans are reading less well, and that the decline in reading has serious civic, social and economic implications‘. Programs are sprouting up such as The Big Read (NEA) in an effort to get people to pick up a book and ‘restore reading to the center of American culture’. I want to be optimistic and say, Yes! This will work!  Then I think, as long as we have people saying “I get sleepy when I read” and other such things, we’re not going to get very far.

There appears to be several cases, within the past year or so, where women who are (or had been) taking oral contraceptives such as Yaz, Yasmin and NuvaRing- a flexible ring containing hormonal contraceptive-have had serious complications, some leading to death. One of the more common reasons for death among the women taking these contraceptives is blood clots.

Some of these women, or their families, are taking action against the companies that make the oral contraceptives. One woman in Maryland is suing Bayer because she ended up with a major bloodclot and had to be hospitalized and is requesting the pills be taken off the market.

She was sent home but a few hours later got so sick, she could hardly breathe. She took a cab to hospital where a pulmonologist found the real problem. Blood clots in her lungs.

“He said ‘You have the largest clog I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of practice.’ He said I was very lucky that it didn’t break up and kill me by going to my brain or heart,” said Green.

The woman’s lawyer “represents about 65 Maryland women suing Bayer over YAZ and Yasmin. There are about 3,000 such lawsuits across the country.”

Now, not to sound blase about the whole thing, and these situations are indeed tragic, but YAZ’s website clearly states there are risks associated (specifically with blood clots) in taking YAZ and oral contraceptives in general:

OCs can be associated with an increased risk of several serious cardiovascular side effects, including blood clots, stroke, and heart attack.

They even highlight it on this website. And Seasonique website. And, on the Ortho-Evra patch website. Apparently, you have a 60% chance increase for stroke and blood clots while using this contraceptive.

I have never been able to use oral contraceptives because of certain health issues, but I don’t know that I would. There are other birth control options besides oral contraceptives. They are by no means risk-free, but no type of birth control is truly risk-free.

What do you all think about these people suing various oral contraceptive companies for ‘wrongful death’ or ‘misleading the public’, when side effects are clearly stated on websites, commercials, etc.?  Isn’t it our responsibility to inform ourselves, as patients, about the risks of prescription drugs, etc.? Finally, what have your experiences been if you take The Pill? Anything out of the ordinary/very serious?

True, Christmas is over, but it’s still snowing like crazy in most places across the US, some of you snowed in. So, before you start digging out, and if the kids like to help in the kitchen,  give these cookies a try. It makes the house smell so good! Besides, do you really need an excuse to make cookies?

Although, given all the news on nutmeg lately, perhaps I shouldn’t be telling you to make these cookies. After all, this recipe has a total of TWO WHOLE TABLESPOONS of nutmeg in it (more or less, depending, if you use the grated or ground) . Wouldn’t want you to get high off it or anything. Hey,  just don’t eat them all at once.

Here’s what to do:

Giant Nutmeg Cookies

Ingredients

* 1-1/2 cups shortening
* 2 cups sugar
* 2 tablespoons freshly grated nutmeg or 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup molasses
* 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the 1/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Shape dough into 2-inch balls by using a 14-cup measure or scoop. Roll balls in the sugar mixture. Place balls 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake in the preheated oven about 13 minutes or until tops are cracked and edges are firm (do not overbake). Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Makes about 24 cookies.

To Store: Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: About 24 cookies
(Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens)

So, as you pick out the random pieces of wrapping paper (or vacumn up fairy wing glitter that exploded everywhere, ahem) from the carpet, take a break and grab some of these cookies straight out of the oven with a cold glass of milk. They’re awesome.

A little tip on storage: I made these cookies last Sunday and they are still moist and chewy today. How, you say? Stick a few slices of bread in with the cookies, wrap them in foil in airtight container. I also hear a halved apple, peel side down, works just as well. Check out this site for more tips on cookie storage.

Spanish rice holds a lot of memories from my childhood. It was a staple at family gatherings, along with the deliciously greasy chorizo sausage. It was a dish my full-blooded Spanish grandmother and great-grandmother made and had many variants. Sometimes it would just be chicken breasts with saffron rice, sometimes chorizo was added, but no matter how it was made, it was always delicious.

I can vividly recall my great-grandmother cooking in her kitchen, the smell of chicken and saffron powerful and permeable, the very walls soaking it in. Even now, when I get a whiff of the spice, I think of her in the kitchen, of my grandmother pulling out a special birthday rice dish.

It’s a tradition I have carried on and brought into my home. I have made quite a few alterations to the recipe, however. Somehow, I don’t think Mrs. Dash is an authentic Spanish spice….

Is there a certain traditional dish that has been passed down in your family? Did you do anything to modify it?
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The following recipe makes A LOT. It’s enough to feed a small party of guests. If you have a small-ish family, be sure to halve it. There will be plenty of left overs. It would make a great New Year’s party dish. You can find saffron at most grocery stores these days. The chorizo sausage I use is imported from Spain and there is only one place in town I can find it. However, most co-op/ grocery stores carry at least one brand of it. This site is a good place to grab some.
Spanish Rice
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 additional cups water
big pinch saffron
1 tsp paprika
1 large onion
1/2 cup parsley, preferably fresh
2 Large tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cloves garlic
4 chicken thighs/breasts
1/2 lb. or more chorizo
3 cups rice, dry

Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Salt and rub chicken with paprika. Put in oven and bake until done. Cut into pieces and remove to platter.
Prepare chicken broth from bouillon paste per directions. Add saffron and 1 tsp paprika. stir till boils. Set aside.
Brown chorizo in olive oil in large skillet or paella pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove to platter. Leave chorizo grease in pan.
Add onion, parsley and chopped garlic to skillet. Cook 5 min. Add dry rice to pan along with tomatoes. Cook till rice starts to brown.
Pour broth into skillet. Stir until it boils.
Transfer to dutch oven or a 5 qt casserole dish, scattering half of chopped chicken on bottom of pan, the rest of chicken and chorizo stirred in rice. Scatter garlic cloves on top.
Add additional 1 1/2-2 cups water if needed.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When rice is done, remove from oven and let cool. Serve with sour cream. Serves 6-8.
Enjoy!

Originally posted at the Mothering Blog

It is the week of Christmas. Things are starting to get a little hectic around here. We have our extremely fake, blue-tinseled, non-organic, non-eco-friendly, pre-lit tree up.  A string of Chrismas lights are aglow along the door frame. Our house is full of Christmas cheer. There are some presents under the tree-though not to be opened till Christmas Day! I even made two batches of Nutmeg Cookies. We ate some, they were very tasty, and we didn’t get high.

But did you know that Christmas time is full of danger and horrifying TV specials???!

This post over at The Stir claims some classic Christmas specials, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Christmas Story (among others), are too scary for today’s kids. What??! I heartily disagree, as does just about everyone who commented on said article. Even my 6-year-old disagrees! We’ve been on a steady loop of Rudolph/Frosty/Santa Claus is Coming to Town and all other classic Christmas movie/TV specials. She even announced to me: “I am 6 years old and I AM NOT AFRAID! Not of the Abominable, not of anything!!!!”

I’ll admit that some of those old movies are a bit weird, but whatever! Let the kids watch the Christmas specials! They don’t even compare to what’s on your basic news channel these days! Maybe we all need to relax a bit, eh?

How did it get to the point where the Yukon Cornelius toy from “Rudolph”, in an effort to be ‘politically correct’, ended up brandishing a knife instead of the original revolver as portrayed in the movie? If we’re talking about being politically correct, is a knife so much better than a gun?

Why do we have such a culture of fear, especially in regard to children? How did it get to the point where we can’t (or won’t) let our kids do anything (like playing outside by themselves, for instance) for fear of something awful happening to them?

What happened to just letting kids be kids?