Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, February 09, 2022, Image 12

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Dawson County news., February 09, 2022, Image 12

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Newspaper Page Text4B I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, February 9,2022 February kicks off American Heart month By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com This February is American Heart month, and the Department of Public Health is encour aging community mem bers to set health goals to maintain a healthier heart. According to a release by the DPH, heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, and there are sev eral risk factors that con tribute to heart disease. “Most middle-aged and young adults have one or more risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being a smoker or overweight,” the release said. “Having more than one risk factor increases your chances of developing heart disease.” There are many ways to strengthen your heart health, the release said, including being more physically active, main taining a healthy weight, eating a healthier diet and managing stress. “Make heart health part of a self-care routine,” the release said. “Just 30 minutes a day is all you need to make your heart a priority. Heart disease is preventable and focusing on improving heart health is important.” In order to help com munity members improve their heart health, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has released a calendar, giv ing simple tasks to com plete each day throughout the month of February that combined together can help strengthen par ticipants’ hearts. “Don’t worry about making changes all at once, use the month of February to start with small steps to meet your heart health goals,” the release said. In support of American Heart month, the DPH encouraged community members to wear red on Friday, Feb. 4. For more tips and infor- mation on how to improve your heart health, visit the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute American Heart month page at https:// www.nhlbi.nih.gov/edu- cation/american-heart- month or go to the DPH healthy living page at https ://phdistrict2. org/?page_id=8053. 28 Days Toward a Healthy Heart Try one of these tips each day for a month, then keep up the momentum and make your favorites part of your regular routine, #OurHearts are healthier together Day 1 Call a friend and join the #OurHearts movement. Day 8 Get your blood pressure checked. Day 2 Make a heart- healthy snack. Day 9 Walk an extra 15 minutes today. Day 15 Swap the sweets for a piece of fruit for dessert. *5 Day 22 Call a relative and ask about your family health history. Day 16 Stress less. Practice mindful meditation for 10 minutes. Day 23 March in place during commercial breaks to get your heart going. Day 3 Schedule your annual physical Discuss your heart health goals with your doctor. Day lO Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity today. Day 17 Head to bed with enough time to get a full 7-8 hours O I II Day 4 Sport red today for National Wear Red Day. Day 11 Plan your menu for the week with heart- healthv recipes. Day 5 Squat it out. Do 1 minute of squats.. •s Day 6 Make today a salt-free day. Use herbs for flavor instead of salt. Day 18 Add a stretch break to your calendar to increase your flexibility. * Day 24 Get a tape measure and find out the size of your waist. Day 25 Ask a family member or neighbor to join you for a walk. Day 12 Reduce stress using relaxation techniques. Day 19 Eat vegetarian for a day. Day 26 Fill half of your lunch and dinner plates with vegetables. Day 13 Give the elevator a day off and take the stairs. Day 20 Share a funny video or joke that makes you laugh. Day 27 See how many push-ups you can do in 1 minute. nhlbi.nih.gov/heartmonth Day 7 Visit Smokefree.gov to take the first step to quitting smoking. Day 14 Protect your sweetheart's heart: Plan a heart- healthy date. Day 21 Dance for 15 minutes to your favorite & Day 28 Pay it forward and tell a friend about The Heart Truth' heart National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute M heart TRUTH* Warm memories of those simple Sunday mornings RONDARICH Columnist It is a small country church in which we assem ble most Sundays for wor ship. From the midst of those who gather there, a simple faith cloaked in humility rises up. Mountain people are ‘umble’, as the Appalachian folks saith, because none of us ever had enough to be haughty about it. These Sunday mornings are powerful to me. It reminds me of the saints of my childhood. Those peo ple who survived on prayer, goodwill, vegeta bles from summer gardens and a fattened hog killed after autumn’s first heavy frost. I think often of Miss Irene. Her husband Mr. John Nix had been dead for years by the time I remember her as rail thin, white headed and slightly hunched forward. I was about nine or 10 when I saw my daddy take her gnarled hand in his and gently ask her, after one church one Sunday, “Miss Irene, how you doin’ today?” Solemnly she replied, “Well, Ralph, I ain’t doin’ too good. I’m hurtin’ somethin’ awful but I decided I can have my aches and pains in the House of the Lord, just as good as I can have ‘em at home.” It is the anthem of the Appalachians: the righ teous believe in a power mightier than I or my meek-hearted kinfolk. The renegades like to claim they’re in charge of their own destiny but, sooner or later, every knee bows. At least it does where I come from. In this tiny country church, people dress in their best and gather to sing hymns drawn directly from the scriptures we read in the beautiful King James language. “They Shall Walk With Me In White” holds theo logically to the vision of John the Revelator. It is easier to understand the song than to read the book of Revelation. The songs are full of promise and all are sung in shaped note harmonies focusing on bass, alto and soprano. While many songs are written by legendary men like Albert Brumley, G.T. Speer, Cleavant Derrick and Luther Presley, one of the songs we favor is called “A Child Of The King” written by Cindy Walker who was a prolific song writer of country songs in the 1940s and 1950s. This remarkably moving song may be the only religious one she ever penned. Every time we sing the song, I think of Miss Walker’s biggest hit: “You Don’t Know Me” which was recorded by many but were notably hits for Mickey Gilley, Elvis Presley and Michael Buble. It is an achingly touching song of a secret love with a lovely lyric, “You think you know me well but you don’t know the one who dreams of you at night.” Legend says that Miss Walker was inspired to write it because of an unre quited love for Bob Wills, the king of country and western swing. Goodness, though, “A Child of The King” is a gem: “Once I was clothed in the rags of my sin. Wretched and poor and lonely within.” What an admirable writer she was. When sweet words of prayer ring up, I think often of Daddy. Whenever he was called on to pray, he dropped to one knee and prayed with such humility that his words were edged in tears. His phrases ring back to me now, “bless those, oh Lord, who are heartbroken over the homegoin’ of loved ones and those who is our duty and privilege to pray for.” And always he ended by saying, “dear Lord, we bow our unworthy heads and give you the honor, the praise and the glory for it all.” He prayed in a lyrical, poetic way. Some people seem sur prised that we don’t go to a fancy city church and that we happily worship in this little country church in the Appalachian foothills. We adore it. It’s a salve to our world-weary souls and a brotherly/sisterly love that we cherish might ily. It is blessed home to us. Florida Rich is the author of What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should). Visit www.rondar- ich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter. Recipes for a Romantic Valentines Day dinner for 2 fs.' ADLEN ROBINSON Columnist Valentine’s Day is Monday, and that usually means a night out for a romantic dinner. But why not plan a romantic dinner for two at home? This menu is a snap to prepare, can mostly be prepared ahead of time, and totally delivers on flavor. Who doesn’t love a good filet mignon? Potatoes are a natural pairing—making twice baked potatoes has the added bonus or being made ahead and then you can just pop them into the oven before dinner. My Greek salad is refreshing and flavorful. Just make the dressing ahead, top the greens with the salad ingre dients, and then toss with the dressing right before serving. It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without something sweet. These cupcakes do not disap point. Wondering what to do with the money you saved from not eating out at a restaurant? Splurge on a good bottle of red wine, of course. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! Most steak houses sear steaks first, and then finish them in a hot oven. You really want to use a cast iron skillet here—noth ing conducts heat like these workhorse skillets. Don’t worry about the sugar coating for the steaks—the sugar helps cara melize the sear and your steaks will not taste sweet. A ther mometer is essential—you don’t want to overcook your steaks. Filet Mignons for Two 2 (4-to 6-ounce) filets mignons • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to serve • 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper, plus more to serve • 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or other high heat point oil) Let your filets sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugar, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture over the outside of the filets. Add the oil to your cast iron skillet and heat until very hot. Lower the heat to medium and then add the steaks. Cook about 5 min utes per side, and don’t move them while they are searing. Now, place the skillet and steaks into the preheated oven and cook until the temperature is 140-degrees. Remove the steaks and wrap the steaks in aluminum foil for 5-10 min utes. Serve with a little sprin kling of salt and pepper. Twice Baked Potatoes 2 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean • 1/4 cup sour cream • 2 tablespoons milk or cream • 2 tablespoons butter • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese or gruyere, shredded • Pinch of salt and pepper • 2 teaspoons chives, minced (plus more for garnish) Preheat the oven to 400-degrees. Bake potatoes on oven rack until very tender and cooked through, about an hour. Remove from oven and cool until cool enough to handle. Slice potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh, while leaving a 1/4-inch border to hold the fill ing. Mash the potato filling with the sour cream, milk or cream, butter, cheese, salt, pep per, and 2 teaspoons of the chives. Divide the mixture evenly in the potato shells. At this point you can cover the potatoes with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to cook them. Just bring them to room temperature for about 30 minutes before cooking. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Place on baking sheet and cook pota toes for about 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Garnish with more chives. Greek Salad • 2 1/2 tablespoons red- wine vinegar • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1/2 teaspoon dried orega no • 1/2 teaspoon garlic pow der • Pinch of salt and pepper • 3 cups Romaine lettuce, torn or chopped • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved • 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and chopped • 1/4 cup red onion, finely minced • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved • 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled In a small jar, add red-wine vinegar, olive oil, dried orega no, salt and pepper. Shake to combine. Toss together lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, kalamata olives and feta cheese. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Right before serving, toss the salad with the dressing. Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting • 3/4 cup flour • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 3/4 teaspoon baking pow der • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 2 eggs, at room tempera ture • 1/2 cup sugar • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1/3 cup avocado oil • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract • 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line muffin tins with liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa, bak ing powder, baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla extract. Add half of the butter milk. Add the flour mixture, stir ring just until combined. Lill the cupcake liners just halfway. Bake 18-20 minutes. Insert toothpick to check for doneness. Cool in pan on a rack. Buttercream Frosting 1 cup butter, softened 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt Using an electric mixer, beat butter 2 minutes. Add the pow dered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low 30 seconds. Raise to medium-high, and beat for 2 minutes. Add the salt and beat for a few seconds. When cupcakes are cool, frost.