Newspaper Page Text
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA1 JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 7. 2016 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Love
your leftovers
This year, it was pre
dicted that Americans
would spend a total of
over $6 billion on food
for the Fourth of July.
With all that money
spent on food for just one
day, it would only make
sense to save any and
everything from your
family gathering, back
yard barbeque or picnic at
the lake. To avoid letting
harmful bacteria get into
your body from already
prepared foods, there are
many things to remember
in order to make the most
of your money and safely
save all those leftovers.
The most important
question to consider is how
long a food sat out at room
temperature. Discarding
perishable foods that have
been sitting at room tem
perature for two hours total
is the safest rale of thumb.
If the food is in an environ
ment 90 degrees or over,
it is recommended that it
be discaixlcd after just one
hour, as higher tempera
tures help bacteria multi
ply at much higher rates.
Leftovers from restaurants
should be taken home to
be refrigerated immediate
ly, since the time the food
sat out at the restaurant as
well as travel time it spent
in the car on the way home
counts towards the “two-
hour rule.”
When chilling and stor
ing leftovers, make sure
the temperature in your
refrigerator is 40 degrees
Fahrenheit or below. For
large containers of warm
food, divide leftovers into
smaller containers for
quicker cooling or, for pots
of soups and stews, cool in
an ice water bath and stir to
cool quickly before refrig
erating. Label foods with
the date it was cooked so
you know how long they
have been in the refriger
ator, and keep containers
closed tightly for better
quality.
Safely reheating left
overs in an oven requires
a temperature that is 325
degrees Fahrenheit or
higher. When reheating
in a microwave, cover the
food but allow an open
comer or vent to let steam
escape. Stir food midway
through cooking time to
rid of cold areas where
bacteria can survive.
Reheat precooked foods
such as hotdogs and deli-
style meats before serving
to young children, older
adults, pregnant women
and others with potential
ly weakened immune sys
tems to reduce the risk of
contamination.
For large gatherings, keep
warm dishes in chafing
dishes, slow cookers, on
warming trays or on steam
tables to keep food above
By Morgan Langford
140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serve cold dishes in small
bowls in containers of ice
to keep them at 40 degrees
or below. Keeping warm
dishes warm and cold
dishes cold is essential in
preventing bacteria from
multiplying in the foods
you worked hard to pre
pare for Independence
Day, or any other holiday.
For breakfast lovers,
the following Cinnamon
French Toast casserole is
a great way to use up left
over hotdog and hamburg
er buns or barbeque loaf
bread:
What you’ll need:
1/4 c. butter or margarine
3 cups of cubed leftover
bread
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 eggs
IV2C. reduced fat milk
syrup, if desired
What you’ll do:
Pour melted margarine
or butter into a 9x13 bak
ing pan. In a small bowl,
mix together the brown
sugar and cinnamon. In a
medium bowl, beat togeth
er the eggs, milk and vanil
la.
In the bottom of your
9x13 baking dish, layer
with half of cubed bread.
Sprinkle half of your
brown sugar/cinnamon
mixture over the bread.
Layer the second half of
bread on top of this.
Pour the egg mixture
over the entire dish and
then use the rest of the
brown sugar/cinnamon
mix on top. Drizzle lightly
with syrup, if desired.
Cover and refrigerate
overnight for best results,
or for two-to-three hours if
serving the same day.
When you are ready to
bake, cover with tin foil,
and bake for 30 minutes
at 350 degrees. Remove
the tin foil and continue
baking 15 more minutes.
The casserole should be
browned and set.
Optional: while warm,
sprinkle the top with nuts
and/or powdered sugar and
serve with fresh fruit.
For more information on
food safety, contact Morgan
Langford at the Madison
County Extension Office.
Morgan Langford is the
Family and Consumer
Sciences extension agent for
Madison and Oglethorpe
counties.
Beardsley
• • • continLied from page 4A
change by re-electing the people committed to the status quo.
Yet the owners of the status quo—Democrats and Republicans
— perpetuate the insanity unleashed by Citizens United that
makes sure their message is the dominate message voters hear
and aided by congressional districts shaped to favor one party
or the other.
The American two-party system is broken. The great illusion
is that many Americans believe that by electing a new presi
dent will change the system — that installing a Democrat or a
Republican in the Oval Office will produce a government more
responsive to the public.
Hopefully, more Americans will abandon the parties and
declare themselves independent, because neither political party
is ready to put the people before the moneyed interests.
Mark Beardsley is editor of The Commerce News, a sister
paper of The Madison County Journal.
Lessons learned from my first real vacation
Last month, my significant
other and I went on a cruise
to the Bahamas to celebrate
our birthdays and his college
graduation.
We had taken short week
end trips by ourselves before
but we’d never taken a week-
long vacation without our
families. In the time leading
up to that week and the days
after, I learned many lessons
about planning a vacation
from the adult perspective.
Lesson 1: Passport appli
cations can be stressful. I
already had my passport but
my boyfriend did not. I got
the paperwork together and
filled out. The only issue
is finding a passport accep
tance facility that doesn’t
require an appointment and
is open on the weekend.
Since my boyfriend works
as a teacher, he is busy the
whole week and unable to
go to process his passport.
Every place I called either
told me they weren't open
when he was available or
I needed to schedule an
appointment for a month
away. Long story short, the
only place I could find that
worked for my boyfriend’s
right schedule was the Ath-
ens-Clarke County Library
and I definitely thank them
for being both open on Sat
urdays and not requiring an
appointment.
Lesson 2: Just because you
can bring packs of soda on
Guest
column
picsby
jessical @
gmail.com.
By Jessica Brown
the cruise ship doesn’t mean
you should. We thought
we’d save money by carry
ing our own twelve packs
per Carnival rules. You have
to carry them from your drop
off point, onto the already
crowded shuttle to the termi
nal and then through securi
ty. They also have to open up
the packs and inspect each
can which takes up more
time. In the end, was it worth
it to bring on two twelve
packs? Probably not. We
drank one so we had to carry
a twelve pack back off the
ship with us. Sometimes it’s
easier to just pay for soda
onboard than deal with keep
ing up with it yourself.
Lesson 3: You can’t con
trol the weather. Nothing is
ever going to go perfectly
on vacation, and cruises
are no exception. We were
met with a tropical storm
brewing which caused not
so great weather a few days
on the ship. We were unable
to go to one of the ports
because of bad weather, and
that really upset me. I had a
wonderful day planned with
already purchased excur
sions that sadly had to be
refunded. We were stuck on
the ship, sulking with the
rest of the guests. We found
other activities on the ship
to keep us busy and ended
up having a pretty good day.
Weather is unpredictable so
you just have to roll with the
punches.
Lesson 4: Being the care
taker for another person is a
lot of work. Normally I am
just taking care of myself, but
on the ship I was responsible
for my boyfriend’s wellbe
ing as well. He had gotten
sunburned and dehydrated
so I constantly applied aloe
vera to the places he couldn't
reach. When he felt sick at
three in the morning I was
searching through the med
icines I had brought to find
him something that would
help. It even went as far as
me going up to the Lido deck
at four in the morning in
my pajamas to retrieve some
ice water. When your partner
can’t sleep, you can't sleep.
I definitely owe my mom so
many thank you’s.
Lesson 5: Packing is an
intense process and unpack
ing is even worse. You aren't
just packing the clothes any
more, and when you’re a
kid sometimes your parents
pack for you. As an adult it's
not just picking out random
outfits. You pack your coor
dinated outfits plus several
backup outfits in case one
gets dirty. Then you’re pack
ing your toiletries, your boy
friend’s toiletries, medicines,
miscellaneous but important
items (like flashlights, pon
chos, waterproof pouches
etc), and electronics. Oh, and
there are also the carry-on
bags. For two people to go
away for a week it certainly
seems like we packed up
half of all of our belongings.
It took several days to ini
tially get packed just for it
to be unpacked on the ship
then repacked to get off the
ship. Finally, you get home
and you're just so exhaust
ed from all the packing and
unpacking that it takes you
a couple of days to finish
unpacking and get situated
again.
There are many more les
sons that I learned about
being an adult on the trip,
but the most important are
the lessons on having fun
and spending time with the
person you love. Sometimes
things don’t go as planned.
Sometimes the stress to get
to the vacation seems unbear
able. In the end, it’s all worth
it for the memories you cre
ate.
Jessica Brown is the staff
photographer for the Barrow
Journal, a sister publication
of The Madison County Jour
nal. You can reach her at
picsbyjessical @ gmail.com.
Public meetings held in the county
Public meetings held in
Madison County include:
•Madison County Board
of Commissioners — an
agenda-setting meeting is
held on the final Monday
of the month at 6:30 p.m.
in the government complex
on Albany Avenue in
Danielsville. A business
meeting is then held on the
first Monday of the month
at 6:30 p.m. at the same
locale.
•Madison County
Planning and Zoning
Commission — the first
and third Tuesdays of the
month at 6:30 p.m. in the
government complex.
•Madison County
Board of Education —
the second Tuesday of
the month at 7 p.m. in
the library at the Board
of Education Professional
Learning Center.
•Madison County
Board of Tax Assessors —
meets the second Thursday
of every month at 5:30 p.m.
in the conference room
of the Madison County
government complex in
Danielsville. The public
is invited to attend all
meetings of the board of
assessors.
•The Madison County
Industrial Development
and Building Authority
— the third Monday of
the month at 6 p.m. in the
public meeting room of the
old county courthouse in
the center of Danielsville.
•The Madison County
Board of Elections and
Registration meets on the
first Tuesday of each month
at 5:30 p.m. in the Madison
County Government
Complex. Entrance to
the meeting room may be
made through the side door
at the corner of Mosley
Drive and Albany Avenue.
•The Madison-
Oglethorpe Foster Parent
Association — meets on
the fourth Thursday of each
month from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. at Riverside Baptist
Church. The meetings
always start with a potluck
meal. Anyone interested in
foster care is welcome to
attend.
•The Madison County
Recreation Department
Board — meets quarterly
(January, April, July and
October). The board meets
the third Tuesday of those
months at 6:30 p.m.
•Danielsville City
Council — holds
monthly work sessions
the last Monday of each
month beginning at 7
p.m. Regularly scheduled
council meetings are held
on the second Monday of
each month beginning at
7 p.m.
•Colbert City Council
— the first Monday at 7
p.m. in Colbert City Hall.
•Carlton City Council
— the first Tuesday at 7
p.m. in Carlton City Hall.
•Comer City Council —
the first Monday following
the first Sunday of the
month at 6 p.m. in Comer
City Hall.
•Ila City Council — the
first Monday at 7 p.m. in
Ila City Hall.
•Hull City Council —
the fourth Thursday at 7
p.m. in Hull City Hall.
•The Madison County
High School Governance
Team — the second
Monday of every month at
5 p.m. in the high school
media center.
•The Madison
County Middle School
Governance Team — the
second Thursday of the
month at 4 p.m. in the
school media center.
•The Colbert
Elementary School
Governance Team — the
second Thursday of each
month at 2:30 p.m. in the
school’s media center.
•The Comer Elementary
School Governance Team
— the third Thursday of
each month at 7:30 a.m. in
the school media center.
•The Danielsville
Elementary School
Governance Team — the
first Thursday of the month
at 7:30 a.m. in the school
media center.
•The Hull-Sanford
Elementary School
Governance Team —
the third Thursday of the
month at 2:45 p.m. in the
school media center.
•The Ila Elementary
School Governance Team
— the last Tuesday of
each month in the school
conference room at 7:30
a.m.
•The Pilot Club of
Madison County — meets
on the fourth Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m.
at the Senior Center in
Danielsville. Guests are
welcome.
•The Broad River
Watershed Association
— meets at 7 p.m. on
the second Tuesday of
each month at the BRWA
office on the square in
Danielsville. Call Victor
Johnson 706-795-2184 for
more information.
•The Madison County
American Legion Post 39
— meets the last Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m.
at the American Legion
Building on Crawford W.
Long Street.
•The Sherwood Forest
Neighborhood Watch
committee — meets
the first Thursday of
each month at 7 p.m. at
Danielsville City Hall.
•The Madison County
Library Board of Trustees
— meets quarterly on
the second Thursday in
January, April, July and
October at 4:30 p.m. in the
public meeting room of the
Madison County Library
on Hwy. 98 West. These
meetings are open to the
public.
•The M.A.R.T. Team:
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Coalition, fourth Tuesdays,
4 p.m., at the Madison
County Health Department.
•Parent Talk Sessions:
fourth Tuesdays, lunch and
learn, 1 to 2 p.m., in the
Madison County Chamber
board room; dinner hour
from 6 to 7 at the Madison
County Health Department.
RSVP by fourth Monday at
706-795-2131.
•Madison County
Women in Business
— meets the fourth
Thursday of the month at
11:45 a.m. at the historic
Danielsville courthouse in
the center of Danielsville.
The Madison County Journal is your source
for local news. Call 800-795-2581 to subscribe.
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