Oh boy. I don't know why it takes me so long to actually sit down and write this thing. Probably the same reason I don't jump out of bed in the morning, I am a procrastinator.
I have to say I think the happy thoughts thing works. I do seem a bit more up and the things that bug me were a little easier to take last week. Someone also gave me a really happy website. I do not mean to say that it is like just full of sunshine and so over the top with positive stuff that you would think it to be a joke. Here is the location. She just seems to have a healthy outlook on life. I am told that the health bars are great and easy!! Also a few years back Liz and I tried our hands at making cheese and it is nice to find others who do those things maybe it will inspire us.

A blog or two ago I wrote about a dream I had. Someone left a comment. I thought it was hysterical. It was left by brusselsprout? This sounded familiar, but I could not place the person. So I did a search on brusselsprout. All I could find was a conspiracy theorist in West Bend Ind. It was not so funny any more. Was it for real?
Turns out it was my big brother John (B)Russell(sprout) Hughes.

That was very funny. I am glad the mystery is over. I started this post weeks ago. I cannot think of what the purpose of this was so I will end it and start another.

Remember Happy thoughts!!

sunshine

Do we all have a correct view of who we are? I think of myself as very objective even when it comes to me. Although this past two weeks I am questioning my abilty to look at myself the way others may see me.

This started from many things. The biggest being that it suddenly occured to me that a few people in my life do not see in themselves what I (and I assume the rest of the world) see in them. For example someone who is offering advice on health, yet they do not realize that they are always having health issues. Or someone who talks about serenity and keeping centered and they come across as anything but centered and calm. Naturally for me I started to think what is wrong with everyone? Am I the only clear person out there. Then I remembered one of those wise offerings from an elder in my life many years ago, "what seems to bother you in others is what is bothering you.". Could it be true? Am I not what I think?

I started to pay closer attention to myself and what I got back from others. It is true I am not the happy go lucky person I think I am. The person who nothing bothers,the one who sees the positive in things nor am I always as clear as believe myself to be.

So I am going to try and correct the problem. I could take the easy way out, and just accept my perceived persona. The problem is that I do not think that I am really that negative and I do not want to be a down sort of person, although I do get off on complaining and whining!! As of now a more positive and up person I will show to the world.


To kick off my new attitude I would like to happily share an old family recipe for corn bread. We call it Spider Cornbread.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups white or yellow cornmeal
2 Tbs. sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 cups buttermilk or soured milk preferred or regular milk
Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]



Directions:

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder and mix well. Melt butter in a 12 inch black cast iron skillet with oven proof handle in a preheated 400F. Beat eggs well and beat in 2 cups buttermilk. Then combine with dry mixture to moisten well. Remove skillet from oven, tilt pan to evenly coat the butter in the pan. Pour in the cornmeal batter and immediately pour on the remaining cup of buttermilk. Do not mix in. Return to oven and bake about 30 minutes or until top is pale golden and tester inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake. Serve hot, cut or scooped from the pan with additional butter. Note: stone ground cornmeal will have a different texture than other types of cornmeal. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, cornbread may be baked in a 9 x 13 pan. The name "spider" refers to the type of pan, an old cast iron pan with "feet"



Spider Cornbread serves/makes 6

Enjoy yourselves!!! I'll write again soon!
Phil

I had a dream last night. There was this party in the basement of a building. It was dark and to get in you needed to know someone. Everyone was standing around eating Whoopie pies, french fries, fried chicken and twinkies. Everyone was laughing and having a ball. But there was a feeling of unease. Then it happened the police came barging through the door, it was a raid!!. We were all brought down to the station and booked for eating the Bad Fats!! We were given government issued pamphlets on healthy eating and released on personal recognisance.

This dream was based on the recent ban on use of trans fats in California. The ban itself is not what was nagging at me it is the Government deciding what we can and can not eat. I for the most part am and always have been opposed to the use of hydrogenated oil and other trans fatty acids. Back in the day those who did not use Crisco or margarine were food snobs. After all it was a cheaper alternative to "natural" fats. I guess now the healthy people are running things in CA. And we all better shape up.

Again my gripe not with the use of trans fats, but in making laws that tell us what is right. Why must congress bail out the banks? I for one do not understand the whole money game. It would seem to me that the right thing to do if millions of people are not able to make their monthly payments and the banks are failing that maybe we could meet in the middle. Are lower profits better than no profits? Is allowing Joe to pay 7% on his loan and keeping his home better than taking his home and selling at a loss?

I don't know if I am just paranoid or what, but are we being controlled by our government or some other force. Could it be mind control by big business? Does big business own government? It is kinda weird when the little things that come into our heads through education and daily life. Is school just another big ad. So many things run through my mind in the course of a day. This trans fat thing, gas prices, the banking issue, the election, right and wrong....

It is all the same. How can we make more money to buy more things or control more things. I am worried that natural and organic will soon lose their meaning once big business gets involved and everything will be natural and organic hence everything will cost more and natural may mean the use of something that is not all that good but still falls under the government guidelines thus tricking us once again then a law will be made to say what exactly it all means and.... Do you get my point? Do I get my point?

There is an ad out there with the tag line that has something to do with Do the right thing. I think it is for State Farm Insurance. Now these people are not dumb. If they can get people to do the right thing they will pay less in claims. If the ads are so catchy that we are to believe that State Farm is doing the right thing then they will become our insurance company. But what is insurance? Paying money to some entity in case something goes wrong. It seems to me that things cost a little more to fix when an insurance company is involved. And aren't many of the wealthiest people connected to the insurance industry. Of course that just happens and they wouldn't take more than they should because that wouldn't be the right things.

Ok I am rambling now. I will stop, but one last thing. When you ride your bike do you wear a helmet? Did you 20 or 30 years ago? How many lives have been saved with helmet use? Who makes all the money from helmet sales? Would we save more lives if we wore helmets when in a car? Could that be the next law, helmets must be worn when in a moving vehicle!!???

Whoopie Pie recipe submitted from Carol Roberts
1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup sugar, 2cups flour,1tsp baking powder,1tsp baking soda,1tsp salt 6TBL cocoa, 1cup milk, 2 egg yolks, 1tsp vanilla

Mix all. Scoop onto cookie sheet into equal "blobs"
bake 375 for 10 - 15 minutes

Filling
1/2 cup shortening, 2cups powdered sugar 2 egg whites (Beat till stiff) Add 1 tsp vanilla. Beat together until white and smooth.
Enjoy, behind closed doors?

Les Moore

I cannot believe that it has been a 2 months since I have written on my weekly blog. It is hard to think of what has gone on in the past month, or what will be going on for that matter. I will just start with my recent thoughts.
One would think that leading a simple life would be easier than living a complicated life. I don't think this is true. There are numerous venues devoted to teaching us how to live simply, magazines, television, books and radio. Simple living is big business. I have always tried to keep it all simple in my life. It is getting to me!!
I left work the other day and saw a bumper sticker that said Less is More. That brought me back to my youth. The time when I was forming who I was to become. My goal was not to have the big house, money and vacations. It was to have what I had as a child...nothing!!!
That is how I felt then. We did not have a large new house, a beautiful car, I can remember only 2 family vacations and many of my clothes were hand me downs with some strangers name on the waistband. I did have 8 brothers and sisters, grandparents and aunts and uncles who lived down the street, a bike, a paper route and most of all a sense of community. This is what I wanted for my family. As the years went on I worked at this. My brothers would say that it was a cop out. That I believed in these things because it was an excuse for my financial failure. Maybe it was. I didn't know how to make a decent living and have a family, without having someone that was not a family member raise the children.
I have been at it for over 25 years now. Life has been lived simply. And I am not having fun anymore!!! That is not exactly true. I do have fun and enjoy much of my life. But how do I enjoy it more with less? It is BS. I know that money can't buy happiness, but how do you buy freedom. Whether it is being busy with my business or working for someone else there is always an obligation to be fulfilled.
Maybe the key is to slowly go into the simple life. It is strange that when you are in a certain kind of space related "things" show up everywhere. For example when you are interested in a new car all of the sudden they are everywhere. Or you hear of a "new" food and then it is on every menu all the magazines and TV shows. The truth is these things are always there and when we focus on ourselves we see that we are not alone. That others are like us. This sometimes gives us a sense of security other times it is proof of the brainwashing of all of us by big brother and you know that all of the conspiracy theories out there are probably true. Ok ok I know where am I going?
Last week Liz had a friend staying with us. I am struggling with the "How do I make this life work" thing. Simple, but how. I go to bed and in the bathroom is an old book on the window sill. Living the Good Life by Helen and Scott Nearing. Oh yeah I thought that was the answer 15 years ago. Back to the land. Live off of what you produce. I love this thought and have always wanted to do it. But aren't there bears in the outdoors, would I need to use a gun? Could I really cut myself of from it all. Some would say that I have cut myself off from the rest of the world. I think that I do live off what I produce. Wholly cow without even knowing I am on my way to living the Good Life.
I am running out of time so I am just sort of closing this. But I will offer a quick and simple recipe for life. The Half and Half. Fill a large glass (16oz)with ice pour 3/4 full with lemonade and ice tea till full. Add a wedge of lemon,a sprig of mint and sit back and enjoy the good life.Phil

American Cheese

On the way home from work this morning I stopped at my favorite spot, The Black Bean Cafe, and got a breakfast sandwich. It was delicious. When I worked in Exeter I would stop at the Great Bay Campground Citgo and get one. They epitomize breakfast. There are so many ways to have them too. The classic is sausage. egg and cheese, bacon and egg, egg no meat, scramble the egg, over hard,over med,over easy (not to be eaten while driving!)..... For the daily E/A (short for egg amuffin sandwich)it should be on an english muffin and always the cheese has to be American.

The reason for the american cheese is the melt. It is like having a cheese sauce on your sandwich. Many people disagree with the american cheese thing. The thinking is that american cheese is not real cheese. I want to make it clear that that statement is not always true. There seems to be a muddled explanation of american cheese. Cheese food, cheese product, processed cheese, cheese spread, and Kraft. I think that the use of all of these words is what makes it difficult to figure out. While the first american cheese came from the combination of cheddar and other cheeses to produce a creamy textured and smooth melt today it is hard to find an american cheese that is american cheese. I believe that the desire to make everything the same is the reason for this confusion. When Kraft started promoting their cheese products it was rare that we would question what this was. We just knew it was easy to work with to get the desired results. Now adays we seem to be a little more aware of what we eat. The big companies went after money at the expense of taste, slowly changing the original product to something unrecognizable, yet we love it. For an interesting "discussion" on the subject go to Accidental Hedonist.

In any case The Black Bean uses the deli american cheese. It is white and usually Hoffman's sharp. The salespeople say it is cheddar. It is not the cheddar I know, but I like to believe it is cheddar. I do try to watch what I eat, from a natural perspective and more recently how much and often!!. Slowly I am leaning to organic products, but cost still gets into the way of always choosing. I also think that it is becoming such big business we have to watch out for what is and isn't even if labeled so. Perhaps slowly we will not know what labeled organic, natural or pesticide free means. Similar to how no one seems to really know what american cheese is.

When I began to write about the attributes of the breakfast sandwich I felt the importance of the american cheese to its greatness. I still believe that it is the ingredient that holds this sandwich together. I have tried cheddar, provolone and swiss. They do not work. Nancy has tried to take it to another level and made them with veggie sausage, whole wheat english and soy cheese and her eggs, of course. The results, cardboard between cardboard. This sandwich was meant for real american cheese. I will make them with cheddar for others, but will still have them the right way myself.

PS What about cheddarella?

I don't know where to begin. Since the last time I blogged there have been a few things happening. The biggest of which is that Liz has decided to stop Friday night dinners. This makes her very sad, but it was getting to be to much for her. I am certainly glad that I will not have the worry any longer. They were a great thing and a lot of fun for her to do, but not enough payback for all the effort. Her thought now is to do them on a monthly basis. We will see.

We had our second open mic of the season. It went really well. I would say even better than the first. There is a lot of talent in our schools as well as in the neighborhood. I guess this one went on a little longer than some expected. I left just before the end of the first go round. They didn't wrap things up till after 11:00!! Sorry to all the parents that did not get a call from their offspring to let them know what was going on. Sarah says that she is planning another for June, sometime after graduation.

Speaking of graduation. Marshwood's is June 14th. Sarah will be graduating and going to UNH in the fall. UNH's graduation is May 24th. My daughter Kate will be graduating with honors then. Oh yeah I better put up a sign that we will be closed on Saturday for this!!! Unless you would like to cook breakfast? two through college and two to go. Megan will be home for the graduation and we all look forward to seeing her and catching up with what is going on in NYC.

I have not written lately because I have been getting caught up in just reading other blogs. One that I have enjoyed is Vanilla Garlic and from there he has other places to go.

It is weird to read or even just peek in on strangers lives. I wish that everyone would write where they're blogs originate from. The personal blogspots are the most boring though. I suppose if you are family you would be interested in know what your grandkids are up to (unless you are my parents!). But knowing that little Betty said "Sky go boom" is not all that interesting. Unlike reading about Garret's cat Mace getting lost for 5 minutes?



I think that will do it for now. Till next time.

Hip Hip Horray we are open!!!!

It is the eve of the Black Bean Cafe re-opening. We were able to sit down with Phil for a few minutes and finsh off an interview we started last year!! A lot has happened since then, but Phil and family are excited to jump back in and get things rolling.


So how does it feel?

Crazy, we are all so excited and scared. There is so much riding on this and we have been away from it for what seems an eternity, can we do it?


Of course you can. You did it before, why would you be so nervous?


We were all so much younger before!! It is hard for us to believe that Owen was only 2 and Eliza 10, never mind Liz and I.
It is scarier this time because the expectations are different. We established ourselves and now even though we are just down the street the setting is very different. When we set out to do this it was going to be a simple move. One party moves out another cleans, repairs, paints and moves in. It was in no way that simple.


Can you elaborate on that, like why not?

Oh gosh where do I begin? Niether party left when expected, I was hoping to be out by 12/14 and hoping they would be out by 11/1 then 11/14 then 12/1 then 12/5 then...
For me there was the landlord not keeping his word about the price then wanting a temporary lease for 24 days then an ice storm and a week later a snow storm then the Holidays.
Well we both seemed to get out by the end of December. Then it was how long will it take to re-hab Mayo's? She took everything right down to the light bulbs. I would like to say if it wasn't nailed down she took it, but she even did that. She did leave a leaky hand sink, and urinal!! The walk in was left behind minus all of the inards. (One of my favorite things that Police chief Duchane said was, that she probably owned the compressor motor and coolant!) Then of course there was the sink fiasco (again a Rollinsford PD moment, I being accused of stealing,the police taking someones word and then helping to remove the items in question from my premises. When shown proof of ownership it was no longer a police matter!). But we still thought 3 weeks. How naive. Three months and lots of money later we are opening.


What is it like?

Liz and my plan to marry the two places didn't pan out as well as we would have liked. It turned out that the major pieces of furniture and counter would not fit or were just to hard to move. All said and done we are delighted with the final outcome. Tthe old Bean is still there and will be found in the food and company, we hope. Uh it is getting late and I have to get up early, it is Sticky Bun day tomorrow.

Ok. Thank you for takin some time this evening. Your hours are the same?

Yes, Tues -Fri 7-4 and Sat and Sun 7-12. Hey i gotta get to sleep. See ya and thanks for doing this.

No promblem. I will see you at the Bean in the am!!!






Blogger: I want to start off by letting you know how honored I am that I am here to talk with you.
Phil: The honor is all mine.
Blogger: How exactly did you get here?
Phil: I am not sure what you mean by that? Did I walk or drive?
Blogger: No no no. You are 46 years old father of 4 children and owner of The Black Bean Cafe. Was this a long time dream of yours or something that just fell into your lap?
Phil: Oh I see. When Liz and I first "got together" we always talked about having some type of eatery. We met while working at Bob's Clam Hut in the late 80's, so the restaurant business is what brought us together. I could never quite figure out what kind of place I wanted or how to make it work. The last three jobs that I had helped me to realize that I could actually do it. They were Ceres Bakery, The Loaf and Ladle and Flynn's News. Then in October of 2003 this opportunity presented itself to us. We jumped and have been jumping since December 2003.
Blogger: So would you say that you are livin the dream?
Phil: On a good day I would. This is something that we have always wanted and it is what we have always been warned about. It is my life. It is all consuming. Push come to shove I cannot imagine being anywhere else.
Blogger: What is your favorite food to eat?
Phil: I don't really know that I have a favorite. Tonights dinner at home was pasta with a red sauce and sausage. It reminded me of Sunday dinner at Nonnies. That is what I look for when I eat. A memory.
Blogger: Is this what you have always wanted to do?
Phil: Not sleep, worry all the time, not know if anyone is going to come in for coffee or lunch and not spend time with my family? That is what I have always wanted to do.
Blogger: You have a little sarcasm in your voice? Where does that come from?
Phil: See above.
Blogger: Moving right along. The Black Bean Cafe is in a small town in southern New Hampshire. Do you have enough of a customer base to make it?
Phil: You know it is weird, but since we opened people seem to come in. At first it was a good mix of Mill people and towns people. It was a place for parents to come with their kids and the mill workers to meet over a cup of coffee lunch or snack. I think that in the beginning we did not really have a clear picture of what we wanted to do. My thought was a cafe that was more like an old fashioned coffee shop. Liz's idea was a vegetarian restaurant. With those two thoughts we opened.
Blogger: And????
Phil: And we had a wide variety of baked goods and a limited sandwich menu. Soup was a natural addition. Then a hot entree seemed a smart addition. After the first year I think that we had established ourselves as a lunch spot not only for locals but for "out of towners" too.
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We are back with Phil from the Black Bean. We started this interview with him in April. It is now Nov. 9th.

So Phil what has been going on?

Phil: I think the last time I talked to you was in April, right?