Cooking Demo at Barton Healthcare

Yesterday, I went to Barton Healthcare in Zion, Illinois. I made a triple berry crisp prepared 3 different ways for entertaining! After I prepare the demo, my ghost writer, Molly, publicist, Annie, and I are going to be sitting and talking with each of the residents to get their favorite memory/story and recipe from their lost loved ones. We each heard some beautiful and incredible stories. We met one woman who was 100 years old and her parents were Polish Royalty. Another woman, who was 92 years old, used to pick mangos off of her mango tree in Cuba and bring them in the house for her mother to make fresh desserts with. Then there was a woman, who lived through the depression, whose family owned goats and the kids would milk the goats for the mother to make homemade ice-cream. And finally, we met a woman who grew up on a farm and her mother would make homemade pasta by laying sheets of pasta on the backs of chairs to let the pasta dry out.

All of the stories were filled with so much detail and history. Getting these stories made me so proud of what I am doing. If we don't write these stories and recipes down, the will inevitably, be forgotten when our loved ones pass away. Also, I have really believe that food tastes so much different when there is history behind it. For example, when I make my mother's spaghetti bolognese, it reminds me of her and the times that we shared together. I can visually see her making the sauce and working hard to make the pasta delicious. That always made it taste amazing because it was made with love. I remember grocery shopping, sitting in the kitchen and talking while cooking, setting the table, and having dinner with the whole family. When you go to a restaurant and order spaghetti bolognese, it usually tastes delicious too but you don't know the history of the food and how the recipe came about. These stories have changed the way that I view food.

I would like to say a special thanks to Molly, Annie and Sarah from Zapwater and the whole community at Barton Senior Residences of Zion. Barton offers individuals 65+ an affordable assisted living option that promotes a lifestyle of active independence. With unsurpassed services and amenities including private apartments, restaurant-style dining for three meals a day and full activity program to engage each resident and their individual interests, Barton Senior Residences of Zion provides seniors with a comfortable and secure place to call home. Barton Senior Residences of Zion is located at 3500 Sheridan Road in Zion, Illinois.

Pictures:

Ingredients for Topping

Mixed Berries

Pretty ways to serve at a summer BBQ


Residents at Barton who attended the demo

87 Year Old Woman Named Rose

My cousin just sent me a link to an article written about an 87 year old woman named Rose. Rose went back to college at 87 years old to learn, have fun, and meet new people. She had some great advice that I thought I would share. As we know too well, life is short!


"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets".

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with

regrets."


Thanks Rose for making me realize that I shouldn't take life for granted. Everyone, have FUN this weekend and do something different!!

Do you have an aha moment?

Mutual of Omaha is the proud sponsor of life's aha moments. They are looking for people to submit their aha moments at: http://www.ahamoment.com/

What is an aha moment?
"A moment of clarity, the aha moment is a defining moment where you gain real wisdom - wisdom you can use to change your life." (www.ahamoment.com)

What is your aha moment?

I submited my aha moment to the website at: http://www.ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/9906
To read my aha moment, see below.

Food is often said to be “the way to a man’s stomach,” but for me, Emily, food is a way to celebrate life. On January 23, 2006, my mother, Renee (56), lost her life to a long, hard-fought battle against breast cancer. In addition to being the life of the party, whose smile, laughter, and joy spread sunshine to all those she met, she was also a fabulous cook. During her lifetime, my mom created two cookbooks titled “Whip Me, Beat Me, Eat Me.” The origin of the books started in my mother's kitchen where she would cook dinner Monday through Thursday for our family. Every Sunday night, she would prepare a multiple course home cooked meal for the family, often leading to many guests, friends, and neighbors coming to share in the meal. She also looked at food as a way to share community, and spread comfort and joy to others.

With my mom gone, I've struggled like so many others to move on from losing a loved one. But, in the darkest hours, I found comfort in her food. After meeting so many others that have lost loved ones, and while cooking dinner one night for my husband, I realized that so many people have found comfort through food. The sense of smell, memories and feelings that come back bring up so many emotions, and I wanted to do something with that.

With that said, I decided to walk in my mother’s footsteps by creating a cookbook (but not just any cookbook). One that honors memories and recipes of lost loved ones. I decided that if this helped me, it had to have helped a lot more people and I wanted to hear their stories. I am in the process of putting together a book filled with stories and recipes from people all across the country and of every race, gender, culture and age. These recipes will then be turned into a cookbook titled, “A Blending of Bittersweet Memories.”

The book will highlight the recipes and stories of people that have lost loved ones, the lessons they’ve learned, and the food and recipes of those that have passed on. I created a web site for people to visit www.bittersweet-memories.com to share their recipes and stories(stories just need to be 500 words, with recipe directions). A portion from the proceeds from the book will benefit a breast cancer charity.

In my aha moment, cooking a recipe of my moms for my new husband, I decided to dedicate my life to my mother's memory and help people grieve through smell and food. I honestly hope to give them comfort, as this whole process has given me some.

North Shore Magazine - May 2010

North Shore Magazine did a feature on "A Blending of Bittersweet Memories" in their May 2010 issue. It is on page 10 and is a lovely article written by Jeff Cockrell. I would like to thank Jeff for the beautifully written piece.
Click on the above image to make it bigger to read.

20 Things To Know When Someone is Greiving

"20 Things To Know When Someone is Greiving" is going to be a book by Alicia King. It is a book about grief. A collection of what to do and say when you don't know where to start. Full of beautiful ways to honor someone's memory or reach out to someone who is suffering a loss. The book shares ideas for what to say, how to help, ways to pay tribute, and what NEVER to say to someone who is grieving.
Alicia just got a book deal with Turner Publishing's Trade Paper Press. Her book will be part of their Good Things To Know series and will be out by Christmas 2010. She recently featured "A Blending of Bittersweet Memories" in her blog.
To learn more about Alicia and things to know when grieiving, check out her blog and twitter page at:

http://dosanddontsofgrief.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/thegrieflady

And, I may be quoted in the book ;)


Below is something that I shared with Alicia. It is an after loss credo that one of my mother's friends gave to me after she passed. It really hit me and I thought it explained perfectly how I felt. I pass it on when the devastating loss of a loved one occurs.

The After Loss Credo
I need to talk about my loss.
I may often need to tell you what happened
Or ask you why it happened
Each time I discuss my loss, I am helping myself face the reality of the death of my loved one.

I need to know that you care about me.
I need to feel your touch, your hugs.
I need you just to be with me.
(And I need to be with you.)
I need to know that you believe in me
And in my own ability to get through my grief
In my own way. (And in my own time.)

Please don’t judge me now-
Or think that I’m behaving strangely.
Remember I’m grieving.
I may even be in shock.
I may feel afraid. I may feel deep rage.
I may even feel guilty. But above all, I hurt.
I’m experiencing pain unlike any I’ve ever felt before.
Don’t worry if you think I’m getting better
And then suddenly I seem to slip backward.
Grief makes me behave this way at times.
And please don’t tell me you “know how I feel.”
Or that it’s time for me to get on with my life.
(I’m probably saying that to myself.)

What I need now is time to grieve and recover.
Most of all, thank you for being my friend.
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for caring.
Thank you for helping, for understanding.
Thank you for praying for me.

And remember, in the days or years ahead,
After your loss – when you need me
As I have needed you – I will understand.
And then I will come and be with you.

Barbara Hills LesStrang

Senior Lifestyle Corporation & Barton Healthcare

Great News!! I am going to do cooking demonstations at 6 senior assisted living homes in May. Five of them will be at Senior Lifestyle Corpoation communities and 1 will be at Barton Heathcare. At these events, I will be cooking one of my favorite dishes and then talking with the residents and getting their bittersweet memories of their lost loved ones! I am so excited to sit and and listen to their favorite stories and recipes. Here is the schedule:

Tuesday May 4th
Barton Healthcare in Zion, IL
*not open to public

Tuesday May 11th
Lincolnwood Place in Lincolnwood, IL

Monday May 17th
Lake Barrington Woods in Lake Barrington, IL

Wednesday May 19th
Autumn Green at Midway Village in Chicago, IL

Friday May 21st
Autumn Green at Wright Campus in Chicago, IL

Tuesday May 25th
The Breakers at Edgewater Beach in Chicago, IL

Some of these are opened to the public. Please feel free to come and watch me do a cooking demonstration. And remember, bring your favorite bittersweet memory and recipe!!!

Pioneer Press- North Shore Suburban Newspaper

Today I had an interview and photo shoot with the Pioneer Press. The Pioneer Press is the newspaper for the North Shore suburbs of Chicago. I featured a dish called Summer Squash Casserole. The article will be availabe in print and online on Thursday May, 27th.
Here is the recipe for the dish! It is delicious, easy, and a great compliment to any summer BBQ entree.


Summer Squash
8 summer squash, washed and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
3 cups of tomato sauce
3 onions, sliced
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In medium saucepan, saute onions in oil until translucent. Set aside.
Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish.
Lay squash in baking dish. Sprinkle onions on top of squash.
Pour tomato sauce on top of onions. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons of sugar.
Top off with parmesan cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Serve and enjoy!