Excerpt from the Market Newsletter originally published on 21 July, 2010. View the full newsletter for all the photos and links.
I'd like to break from my usual theme of good fresh food in the sunshine and share with you an idea for keeping in touch with those loved ones -- seniors or not -- who for one reason or another you don't actually connect with as often as you should. Get some postcards and put the person's address and a stamp on them. Store them somewhere handy and pick a time each month to send one -- the first of the month or every Monday or on payday, or even a random event like whenever you have a math quiz. When that time comes, take a prepared card, write some personal news on it -- the weather, a garden report, a grandchild's drawing -- and drop it in the mail. That's it. You can write longer letters or send pretty greeting cards, but the beauty of a postcard is that it fills up quickly (you're supposed to be sending them frequently, so there won't be a lot to say). It's the contact that counts, the fact that you thought of them, not the content. I used this system to keep in touch with my grandfather when he went into a nursing home, and not only did it free me from feeling guilty for neglecting him, but it was a nice tangible reminder for him when his memory got a little weak.
And if you find you like to send postcards, you might be interested in Postcrossing.
...
Cooking, and reading about cooking
...
In keeping with this week's senior theme, here are a couple of recipes for... let's just call it smaller households; what I think of as "singles and doubles."
Chinese barbecued Cornish game hen
1 Cornish game hen
sauce:
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth
Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Add the hen and turn until it is coated with the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Place the hen in a small roasting pan. Reserve the marinade. Roast the hen in a 350F oven for 1 hour, basting with the marinade twice.
From: Fearless cooking for one / Michele Evans. 1980.
Oven barbecued chicken breast
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup catsup
1 T cider vinegar
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper
1 tsp chili powder
dash liquid hot pepper seasoning
1 large, whole chicken breast, halved
In a small saucepan, combine the onion, garlic, catsup, vinegar, Worcestershire, water, brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, and hot pepper seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until it reaches a barbecue sauce consistency, about 20 min. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375F. Brush the breast halves generously with the sauce and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake, basting frequently with the sauce, 30 min. or until chicken is tender and done.
From: Cooking for two today / Jean Hewitt, Marjorie Page Blanchard. 1985.
