Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. Today I would like to discuss the concept of determination. Even when we face struggles along the way, both in life and in cooking, we can muddle through and achieve greatness.
As an example, I hosted a backyard party on Friday to honor my Kindergartener’s teacher, Ms. Stella, that, because of the rain, turned into an indoor party (see the mayhem and how Ms. Stella’s Mom always knew she’d be a great teacher in the video below). The good news was that it provided an incentive for me to vacuum and clean up (at least the downstairs). The bad news was that after everyone left, I saw that I had left a dirty pair of “accident” underwear soaking in the downstairs bathroom that EVERYONE used! The silver lining was that they were my son’s dirty underwear and not mine…
Now, for many of us who are not comfortable in the kitchen, a party faux pas such as that, might have turned us off to entertaining for quite some time. Because, however, I had made this a potluck with a bounty of delicious foods brought in, the rest of the party was stress free and fun enough to leave that one (though quite embarrassing) overlooked item out of the forefront of my party memories. I was determined to remind myself that everyone had fun, the kids were well behaved, we honored our teacher and that was what was important.
Fast forward to cooking panic the next day: I held the final PWR fundraiser for Little Kids Rock (www.littlekidsrock.org) in my backyard on Saturday and I typically make my sound man a tasty lunch for all his hard work. Because I had been so busy the day before, I hadn’t made anything. Well, as many of us know, a benefit of throwing a potluck was that I got to keep some of the leftovers :-). A leftover grilled and already sliced pork loin from Nicky’s Dad, potato pierogis from Tony’s Mom and salad from Jordan’s Mom turned into a fancy, impressive, gourmet lunch for the sound man, Ed Carine.
Because I re-purposed these leftovers, all I had to do was make a quick little sauce for the pork and I was good to go. I have a reputation to uphold as a food provider under ANY circumstances and I was determined to feed Ed. Thanks, parents!
In closing, if we all keep our eyes on our individual prize, stay determined to carry out our plan to do what we know we can do, we will achieve success.
A special thanks to Parents Who Rock, MFEE and the Montclair community for raising enough funds to start Little Kids Rock in the Montclair School district next year, Ms. Stella,her Mom, David Wish (the founder of LKR in the photo with me) and all the folks who made this weekend filled with inspiring people who make a big difference in this world.
Here’s the EASY TBK sauce for the Pork that can be used for anything, even tofu!
Chipotle Honey Sauce:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup canned chipotle sauce (can get in Whole Foods and many places where Mexican /Latin food is sold-the brand I use is San Marcos)
In a small bowl, whisk honey and chipotle sauce with a fork or whisk until fully combined. Enjoy!
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2 Responses
It isn't very often that you see Kindergarten teachers (or elementary school teachers, for that matter) honored so genuinely. Nice work, Alma.
Thanks, Kathleen ( an excellent teacher in her own right)!