Child Hunger, Seen At Midnight

Grocery shopping in Lubbock comes down to two options: Walmart and Market Street. I would always choose Market Street over Walmart (for a miriad of reasons far beyond just their free samples), but the prices at Market Street are really through the roof. Although, I would prefer never to shop at Walmart, it is kind of my only option here.

So on Sept. 15th I made my usual bi-monthly grocery shop hull. I walked into what felt like a zoo. Cash registers ringing; hustling people with carts full of diapers and white bread. Although I am used to busy Walmart's, that day it was truly mania. I accidently rammed my cart into fruit displays and clothing racks. After waiting in a lengthy line I made small talk with the cashier. I was curious if there was some kind of 'Walmart Blue Light Special' I was unaware of. She told me; "Don't shop here on the 1st or the 15th of any month, people just got their paychecks and their hustling for groceries."

That statement got me thinking. I have never lived paycheck to paycheck. I have never gone hungry. Yet, so often I forget how many Americans live in a state of daily rationing and day counting. I ran across the article below that I found especially intriguing. It discusses how busy Walmart's are at midnight every month when food stamp cards are activated with cash. Pretty sobering article. I have entirely too much to be thankful for, including daily bread.

Check out the Article Here

America's Foodiest Town

I loved eating at resturants in Boulder. There was a delicious and unique resturant for every culture in the world. Lately I keep telling people that Boulder is the best food place in the nation. I used Top Chef to back up my claim (two of the last Top Chef winners were from Boulder. coincidence? I think not), now I can back up my claim with Bon Appetit. Check out this article that declares Boulder as the Foodiest place in America:

America's Foodiest Town

Some of my personal favorites in Boulder are; Pasta Jays, Salt (a new place: totally fantastic with all locally grown flavors), Shepra's (a Himalayan restaurant), BJ's, and The Original Pancake House.

Cheesecake Experiment

I have never made cheesecake before. Although I have thought about making cheesecake before, I quickly learned that just doesn't cut it. I know Marshall likes cheesecake; so I thought it was only fitting to cook him up a gooey cheesebirthdaycake. I combined two recipes and made a somewhat substantial, yet completly fixable, mistake along the way (I will point it out so your don't end up with a tasty yet totally 'cement' crust).

Crust
12 ounces, weight Storebought Gingersnaps
½ cups Chopped Pecans
6 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt

Filling
4 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each; room temperature
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs; room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

You also need a springfoam pan. It is a fancy pan that makes the cheesecake pretty in the end; totally worth it.

To Make Crust
-You gotta crush those gingersnaps into tiny pieces. This step always produces my imminent 'KitchenAid envy'. Yep, whenever I have to mix, chop or blend I covet those people with brightly colored KitchenAids complete with random attachments (ie., a sauerkraut slicer. If only I were lying). But instead of wallowing in my elbow grease and pity; I got out a giant zipperlock bag and had an instant arm workout. I broke up all the little gingersnaps into itty bitty pieces.
-Chop up pecans in little pieces too.
-Dump brown sugar into the mix.
-Melt that butter and pour it in too; mix it all around.
-Line your springfoam pan with this sweet mixture; placing it up the sides too.

My Critical Error
Whatever you do, do NOT, I repeat, do NOT put caramel all over the crust. While it sounds delicious in thought; it may or may not almost break the teeth of your guests. One of my classic 'good intentions & bad delivery' moments. But DO put caramel on top of the finished product. Superb.

To Make Filling
In a bowl, combine the sugar and cream cheese and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix until smooth. Take a taste and dump it into the crust. Smooth out the top.

Put it into a 350 degree oven for no less than 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Let it cool for 30 minutes; then do something creative for the topping. I poured on half a jar of Smucker's caramel sauce. You could chop up candy bars or sprinkle on some more pecans. Totally up to you. Enjoy!

One of My Favorite Questions:

Last year my Sunday school teacher asked me a question I found extremely intriguing. It was:

"Would you be mad if someone spit in your face?"

I didn't even need to process such an inquiry; I immediately stated, "of course I would be."

His reply; "No, you would be wet. You decide if you will be mad."

Ahhh....onset immediate conviction. Such a true statement about the power of my reactions to whatever is going on around me. I have a choice to be mad, irritated, or simply wet. I ponder this question frequently when I consider my man-made and seemingly silly entitlements that I create all around me.


Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.