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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
March: time to look alter azaleas and start your vegetable garden
•0 %
Tim Lewis
Garden
Columnist
to some of these.
Azaleas may need prun
ing attention this month.
Very little pruning is needed
with azaleas, however, other
than routinely taking out
dead or inferior wood. The
ideal time to prune is while
the plants are in bloom,
for the pruned branches
can then be used in flower
Victims of domestic violence need to move out, seek support
QUESTION: I have
a friend who is a frequent
victim of spousal abuse.
How would she go about
dealing with her husband’s
problem?
DR. DOBSON: The
principles of “Love Must
be Tough”
offer
the best
response to
an abusive
husband.
They begin
with a rec
ogni t i o n
that behav
ior does
not change
when
m ,«
Dr. James
Dobson
Focus on the Family
things are going smoothly. If
change is to occur, it usually
does so in a crisis situation.
Thus, a crisis must be cre
ated and managed very care
fully.
From Scratch: Check out Hillbilly Housewife Web site
If you’re serious about sav-
mg money
w hile
feed i n g
your fam
ily well,
there’s
a Web
site that
you don’t
want to
miss.
It’s
called
Hillbilly
Charlotte
Perkins
Staff writer
Housewife, and it’s filled with
useful information, as well
as being fun to read, having
a blog and a frefe newsletter.
Bon Appettit, Y'all is new cookbook filled with great recipes for Southern cooks
Special to the Journal
If you’re already look
ing for a good Mother’s
Day gift for your favorite
cook,Virginia Willis has
written a book on southern
cooking called Bon Appettit
Y’all: Recipes and Stories
from Three Generations of
Southen Cooking.
Published by Ten Speed
Press, it will reach the book
stores in early May at a cost
of $35.00.
For a sneak peek, here’s
an excerpt dealing with a
southern favorite, catfish.
Fried Catfish Fingers
Kids and calcium
cent of children and ado
lescents in the United States
are overweight, according
to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
“The key things are that
most children older than 8
don’t get enough calcium,”
said Dr. Patti Patterson,
professor in the Texas Tech
Health Sciences Center
Department of Pediatrics.
particularly true
and worrisome for adoles
cents.”
Most older children and
adolescents in the United
States do not achieve the rec
ommended intake of calcium,
according to the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
Only 10 percent of
American teenage girls
arrangements indoors. Be
careful not to remove any
healthy branch tips at this
time or you will remove the
developing flowers buds.
When azaleas and camel
lias have finished bloom
ing, they might benefit
from a dose of acid fertil
izer, often found under the
name “Azalea and Camellia
Fertilizer.” Generally, about
3 to 4 pounds per 100
square feet of area should be
applied.
Look out for petal blight
of azaleas. It shows up as
tiny freckles on the blooms
white specks on colored
flowers and brown specks
on white flowers. Blooms
quickly collapse as if scalded
with hot water. Damage can
be reduced by the applica
Spring
is almost
here, and
there are
a lot of
things to
be consid
ered by the
aggressive
gardener. I
would like
to devote
this article
After moving out
and making it clear that the
woman has no intention of
returning, the ball moves to
her husband’s court. If he
never responds, she never
returns. If it takes a year,
or five years, then so be it.
He has to want her badly
enough to face his problem
and to reach out to her.
When (and if her husband
acknowledges that he has
an abusive behavior pattern
and promises to deal with it,
negotiations can begin.
A plan can be agreed
upon that involves intensive
Christian counseling with a
person of the wife’s choos
ing. She should not return
home until the counselor
concludes that she will be
safe and that the husband
is on the way to recovery.
Gradually, they put their
relationship back together.
If the word “Hillbilly” con
jures up images of cooking
on a pot-bellied stove or get
ting water in a bucket from
an outside pump, you’re in
for a surprise, because this
is a reader-friendly, com
pletely charming, and even
faith-based site that’s about
cooking good things for less,
and breaking the prepared
food habit.
The emphasis is on low
cost cooking from scratch,
and the creator, who sim
ply identifies herself as
Susanne, knows what many
cooks across the country are
facing.
with Country Remoulade
1 cup whole-grain Dijon
mustard
1 large egg white, lightly
beaten
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 pound catfish fillets, cut
into strips
1/2 cup white or yellow
cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups peanut oil, for fry
ing
Coarse salt and freshly
ground black pepper
Country Remoulade
(below), for accompaniment
Line a plate or baking
sheet with paper towels and
set by the cooktop.
In a large bowl, stir togeth-
incorporate enough dairy in
their diets.
A possible contributing
factor to these statistics is
that soft drinks and juice or
fruit drinks have replaced
milk as today’s drink of
choice.
Children and teenagers
would benefit from replac
ing sugary soft drinks with
low-fat milk. Adolescents
need three to four servings
of dairy each day, Patterson
said.
A serving of dairy is equiv
alent to one cup of milk,
three to four cheese cubes
or one six- to eight-ounce
container of yogurt, accord
ing to the National Dairy
Council.
During the three- to four-
FOOD&.HOME
tion of a fine mist spraying
of a common foliar fungicide
such as Daconil, Captan,
Maneb, or Zineb.
Daffodils have been
splashing the countryside
with color but are on the
decline now. If you have
them in your yard, you may
consider feeding them with
a little bone meal (phospho
rus) to ensure quality blooms
next year. Be sure to let the
strap-like foliage die natu
rally after flowering is com
plete. Resist the temptation
to mow them down. Then
dig, divide, and store bulbs
in a cool, dry place until
time to replant in the fall.
Or, just leave them alone
and they will .bloom again
next year.
Now is a good time to
QUESTION: Many of our
friends have begun to home
school their children with
seemingly positive results.
My wife and I are consider
ing this possibility as well
but aren’t quite sure. What
are your views on this edu
cational option? What would
you do in my shoes?
DR. DOBSON: This
is a subject on which my
mind has changed dramati
cally over the years. There
was a time when I sub
scribed wholeheartedly to
the notion that early for
mal childhood education was
vital to the child’s intellec
tual well-being. That was
widely believed in the sixties
and seventies. I no longer
accept that idea and favor
keeping kids with their par
ents for a longer time. Dr.
Raymond Moore, author of
“Many of us,” she writes,
“ are feeling the squeeze at
the supermarket these days,
and all of us are feeling it at
the gas pump.”
She points out that the
official USDA cost of food
has risent to SSOO a month
for a family of four eating
thriftily, and that also that
many American families
have what seems like “an
insurmountable mountain
of debt.”
So the site is about cutting
costs while having good food
- and that includes every
thing from simple ground
beef casseroles and h ome
er the mustard, egg white,
and hot sauce. Add the fish
and toss to coat well. Cover
and marinate in the refrig
erator for 1 hour.
In a shallow dish, com
bine the cornmeal and flour
and season with salt and
pepper. Pour the oil into a
heavy-bottomed saucepan,
deep fryer, or Dutch oven,
filling it no more than one
third full. Heat the oil over
medium heat until it reaches
to 350°F on deep-fat ther
mometer.
Remove the fish from the
marinade and season with
salt and pepper. Dredge the
fish in the cornmeal mixture
to coat both sides and shake
off the excess. Carefully add
year period of adolescence,
boys and girls develop 40
percent of their total life
time bone mass, according
to the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
If a person’s bones do not
fully develop by the time
they’re an adult, the per
son could be at an increased
risk for bone fractures and
osteoporosis later in life,
Patterson said.
Studies have shown that
low bone mass may be a
contributing factor to frac
tures in children, according
to the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
High calcium intakes were
associated with a protective
effect against fractures in
adolescent boys and girls.
divide and transplant peren
nials. Rework the beds, add
ing organic matter and fer
tilizer.
Be planning your veg
etable gardens now also. Soil
preparation is critical to the
success of your crops. Deep
tilling, which breaks up
hardpans and improves tilth
and permeability, is a good
pre-plant practice. Forming
a fine seed bed is also very
important to the germina
tion of the planted crops.
Beets, carrots, leaf let
tuce, mustard, turnips, col
lards, kale, English peas,
radishes, and related crops
can be sown in March. You
may even take a chance and
plant an early tomato plant
or two, as long as you make
arrangements to cover them
“School Can Wait” and an
early leader of the home
schooling movement, had a
great influence on me in this
regard.
The research now
validates the wisdom of
keeping boys and girls in a
protected environment until
they have achieved a greater
degree of maturity. Not only
do they benefit emotionally
from that delay, but they
typically make better prog
ress academically. That’s
why home-schooled indi
viduals often gain entrance
to the most prestigious
universities and colleges in
the country. What parents
can teach young children in
informal one-on-one interac
tions surpasses what their
little minds can absorb sit
ting among 25 age-mates in
a classroom.
You asked what
made convenience foods to
appealing snacks for kids
and even “copycat recipes”
for treats you may love, but
know you’re spending too
much on.
“Everything here is free,”
Susanne writes, “provided
by God’s grace.”
We recommend that you
visit this site at www.hillbil
lyhousewife.com.
In the meantime, here’s
one of their recipes to try.
Cafe’ Latte Mix
1/2 cup instant coffee
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup instant non-fat dry
the fish to the oil, a few
pieces at a time. Cook until
golden brown and crispy,
about 2 minutes. Remove
with a slotted spoon to the
prepared plate. Taste and
adjust for seasoning with
salt and pepper. Serve with
remoulade.
Country Remoulade
Remoulade is a cold
French sauce made with
mayonnaise, mustard, pick
les, capers, and various
herbs, and is very similar to
American-style tartar sauce.
It’s important the onions
and celery are very finely
chopped. It is a dip, not a
salad.
continued from Page iC
An increased number of
childhood fractures were
found in children who avoid
ed drinking milk, according
to the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
“It’s really important that
people get enough calcium
during that growth spurt,”
Patterson said.
Parents can help their
children develop strong
bones and muscles by lim
iting snack foods such as
cookies, chips and soda.
Instead, parents should
make sure their children eat
a well-balanced diet which
includes green leafy vegeta
bles, fish, calcium-fortified
orange juice and calcium
rich cereals, Guthiel and
Patterson said.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 ♦
on cold nights and remove
the cover early enough the
following morning to prevent
a disastrous heat buildup.
Even if you are successful at
this, you are unlikely to pick
a vine-ripened tomato any
sooner than your neighbor
who waits a few weeks to
start his. The key here is soil
temperature, which you are
unable to manipulate.
Prune raspberries and
blackberries this month,
while it is easy to see which
canes are dead. These canes
are the ones which bore
the fruit last year, and they
should be removed. A mulch
of pine straw, hay, or wood
chips will keep the berry
patch easier to manage.
Transplant raspberries
and blackberries now. When
I would do in your shoes.
If Shirley and I were rais
ing our children again, we
would home-school them at
least for the first few years!
QUESTION: Would
you speak to the impact of
what has been called, “the
absentee father” - especial
ly during the tougher years
of adolescence?
DR. DOBSON: It is
stating the obvious, I sup
pose, to say that fathers
are desperately needed at
home during the teen years.
In their absence, mothers
are left to handle disciplin
ary problems alone. This is
occurring in millions of fam
ilies headed by single moth
ers today, and heaven only
knows how difficult their
task has become. Not only
are they doing a job that
should have been shouldered
milk powder
1/2 cup powdered coffee
creamer
2 teaspoon vanilla
This recipe has to be
powdered in a blender. The
vanilla makes things clumpy
because it is a liquid, and
the heaviness of the sugar
makes it sink to the bottom
while the coffee creamer
rises v to the top. Blending
the mixture, takes care of all
of these problems. Measure
all of the ingredients (even
the vanilla) into a blender
container. Put the lid on.
Process the mixture for
about a minute, or until it
To cut the celery, first cut
the stalk into even, manage
able lengths. Then cut into
very thin matchsticks, line
them up like little soldiers
and slice across in thin cuts
to make small perfect dice.
Makes about 1-3/4 cups
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain
Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon freshly
squeezed lemon juice
1 stalk celery, very finely
chopped
2 to 3 green onions (white
and pale green parts only),
finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped <
Shrimp-$11"
Catfish-$10"
Friday & Saturday - spm -10 pm
I*7B Exit 194 * 987.8877
DAVID OVERTON JEWELERS
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478-987-1392
found along meadows and
the edge of the woods, be
sure to dig as much root as
possible as this will reduce
transplant shock. Both pre
fer partial shade and well
drained soil, but require
little attention once estab
lished.
Tim Lewis is a Georgia
Green Industry Association
Certified Plant Professional,
gardening writer, former
Perry High School horticul
ture instructor, and former
horticulturalist at Henderson
Village and Houston Springs.
He and his wife, Susan, own
and operate Lewis Farms
Nursery located on Hwy 26
two miles east of Elko, where
he was born and raised. He
can be reached at(478)954-
by two, they must also deal
with behavioral problems
that fathers are more ideally
suited to handle. It is gener
ally understood that a man’s
larger size, deeper voice and
masculine demeanor make
it easier for him to deal with
defiance in the younger gen
eration. Many mothers raise
their teenagers alone and do
the job with excellence, but
it is a challenging assign
ment.
Dr. Dobson is
founder and chairman of
the board of the nonprofit
organization Focus on the
Family, Colorado Springs,
CO 80995(www.family.org).
Questions and answers
are excerpted from “Solid
Answers” and “Bringing
Up Boys, ” both published by
Tyndale House.
COPYRIGHT 2008
is all powdery smooth, and
the texture is even. This is
actually a lot less work than
it sounds like, and the tex
ture is so impressively pro
fessional, that you may want
to blend all of your coffee
mixes from now on. Store in
a container with a good lid.
Makes 1- 2/3 cups.
“This is very similar to
Straight Up Latte, avail
able for $3.50 a box from
Folger’s.” Suzanns says, “
Mine is a tiny bit stron
ger, and a little less sweet.
I think it tastes better than
the store-bought stuff, but I
am a little biased.”
fresh chives
1 clove garlic, finely
chopped
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
Coarse salt and freshly
ground black pepper
In a bowl, combine the
mayonnaise, mustard, lemon
juice, celery, green onions,
chives, garlic, and hot sauce.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and refrigerate for 1
hour to blend the flavors.
Taste and adjust seasoning
with salt and pepper, if need
ed. Store in an airtight con
tainer in the refrigerator for
up to 3 days. Serve chilled.
Prime Rib
Seasoned to Perfection
-75 Exit 136 *987-8877
kfli.tri
3C
160165
60180