You got up on this side of the grass. Rejoice!

What can be done each day to make you feel grateful that you got up on this side of the grass? Look around you.

Did you wake up in a warm bed, next to someone you love, perhaps?  Be grateful that you have a place to live out of the cold and grateful that someone shares it with you.

Lingering over a cup of coffee or tea with your breakfast means you have food to eat.

Did you go to work today?  You are among the lucky ones who have a job.

During your day did you see the flowers you planted?  Be grateful you have vision with which to look upon their beauty.

Did you speak with family members during your day?  Lucky you, to have a family who cares about you.

We take too much for granted until those things are not there anymore.  Think about what many of us have gone through in the last few years: loss of jobs, loss of homes, loss of self respect because of these tough times.

What matters in your life?  Your spouse, your children, your health, your neighbors and neighborhood, the people who make your life pleasant to live all make an impact on how you feel.  Every day someone does or says something to make you smile, to make you feel good or makes your day a little brighter by some small act of goodwill. When you think about those people, it's time to return the favor by thanking them in some way.

A simple act of gratitude like writing a thank you note or actually telling each one how much you appreciated something they said or did would make this world a much nicer place.

And G-d knows, we need a nicer world than the one we have right now.

Childhood food memories

My husband and I were having lunch and eating some salmon mixed with onions, mayonnaise, and capers. As we were eating I asked him if he remembered his mom making salmon croquettes.  He did and I remember my mother making them, too.  They were made with onions, an egg and fried until crisp.  It was a delicious memory.

Then the memories of food our mothers made started flooding in.  My mom made mashed potatoes with carrots, butter and milk or eggs.  Warren's mom made them without the carrots.

There were two things we utterly disliked that both our mothers made.  One was called "Kasha varnishkes".  Our recollection was that it was made with bow ties (a pasta) and groats and probably something else to keep it together.  Yech, disgusting, we both thought.  But the really gross thing we both remember was something called "Putcha".  I don't even know what it was made from but the smell was obnoxious, disgusting and made me want to vomit.  Whenever my mom made this, my brother and I didn't even want to be in the house.  Warren couldn't stand it, either, when his mother made it.  We both remember our mothers delighting in making this.  But Warren, my brother and I never could stay in the house, much less the same room where this stuff was being served.  Even thinking about it now, I get that "Yech" feeling!

We talked about going to the bakery.  I used to walk to the Revere Bakery in Cary Square to get a challah, some Russian bread which I always watched going through the 'slicer' and occasionally picked up a couple of "half moons".  Yum.

The Revere Bakery was next to Goldstein's Market which was next to Eddie the Butcher.  My mother would go in there where the cases were practically empty.  She would ask Eddie for a chicken and he would go in the back and cut it up for her.  Then, he's grind her some meat for hamburger.  All the good stuff was in the back, never in the cases.

On Saturday mornings, we'd go down to the Revere Smoked Fish Company to buy some lox pieces, the stuff they discarded when slicing the beautiful pieces, (probably 59 cents a pound then) and she'd buy some "lox wings" to make a savory soup with potatoes and onions, and she'd get some whitefish, sable fish, kippers and smoked mackerel.

Warren and I had a good time reminiscing about our childhood food memories.  But my very favorite memory is what my Gramma Gertrude used to make for me every morning.  She lived downstairs from us and I used to sleep there to "keep her company".  Every morning she would make me a "finekochen", a scrambled egg mixed with cottage cheese.  My G-d, I loved that and I loved her..... a lot.  What a sweet and loving memory.

I'M A FOODIE

I'm a Food Network junkie. I can't seem to get enough of the crazy shenanigans that go on every time I tune in. And I'm tuning in A LOT. I'm becoming ONE with the chefs. I can roll Bobby Flay's name off my tongue faster than a gulp of water. Or Mario Batali or Cat Cora. I love Flay's show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Iron Chef America, Giada at Home, Rachel Ray. I watch in utter amazement as these very talented chefs create incredible, edible masterpieces off the top of their heads. How do they keep this stuff straight?

But it's not just the cooking gems. I love Unwrapped with Marc Summers. All those familiar food stuffs from when I was a kid..........so that's how it's made! And Diners, Drive-Is and Dives with Guy Fieri....what a job!

And then there are the challenges with food chefs and pastry chefs from around the country vying for nice big money prizes. I watch them work while under the scrutiny of the judges sitting and watching their every move. Even my heart starts to race as the clock ticks down to the end. Oh, the pressure!

The thing is, most of the food cooked is stuff I wouldn't eat. Let's face it, the food isn't all that heart healthy. They're using lots of butter, cream, oil, bacon and that's just stuff I don't use in my cooking. I don't even fry. The fact that I eat mostly vegetarian accounts for my feeling that these foods look good and probably taste great but I wouldn't get near them. Besides, I do Kosher only so putting together some of the ingredients that they do is not in the cards for me.

Nevertheless, I am mesmerized by the action, the enthusiasm and the presentations. And, frankly, I have noted some cooking tips and recipes that I can play with for my own kitchen. I loved the contest to see who became the Next Food Network Star. My guy didn't win but the competition was fierce and really interesting.

So I am hooked on the network and hope that someday one of the shows will be strictly vegetarian and one will be strictly kosher. It could happen!!!!