Heh.  I can’t remember where I read this, but I would so give credit if I could.  Announcement:  this is a resolution-free zone.  Goals, yes.  Resolutions, no.  Next week, I’ll get serious about goals for the year.  By then the resolutions will have been filled away for another 12 months.

And a serious toast . . . to your health, happiness, strength, and peace in 2008 and beyond.

So why this sudden Osmond resurgence? I think I know why.

Because the world has gone craaa-zy. Before heading out to bid this year good riddance a fond farewell, here’s a quick re-cap. We can skip the parts where Paris was in and out of jail and Britney was, hmmm, Britney. Let’s just take a look at fourth quarter craziness.

In October, the Mommy Wars escalated in a tif over the ethics of vegetables. Is it wrong to secretly smush them and hide them in the kids’ brownies? Can you go so far as to lie tell an untruth about it? And never mind that the smushed veggie recipes seemed to have been “borrowed” without giving credit.

In November, the early seasons of Sesame Street were released on dvd. They are rated “adults only.” Among other reasons, Cookie Monster exhibits addictive behavior. To sugar.

In December, the Surgeon General announces that Santa needs to lose weight. He’s a bad role model. And the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas agrees. They have pledged to lose weight before their July confab. Piling it on, one Australian department store instructed its Santas to no longer say Ho Ho Ho since this might offend some women. Can you picture a buff Santa saying Ha Ha Ha?

Now just in time for year end if you thought it can’t get any more bizarre, Britney Spears’ little sister is pregnant at age 16. And that’s not the bizarre part. The really, really bizarre part is that Mama Spears had a book deal that’s been put on hold. Her book on parenting was coming out for Mother’s Day. Please tell me there’s a punch line in there somewhere.

The “wholesome” 70’s and the Osmonds are looking pretty good right now. Retro (and veggie-free) treats sound even better. If the food police show up, tell them the white stuff is cauliflower.

Crispy PB & Chocolate Bites

Makes 64; about 15 minutes hands on; ready in 45 minutes

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3/8 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
• 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 cups (about 5 oz) mini marshmallows
• 3 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate candies, such as M&M’s

Spray an 8″-square baking dish with butter-flavor cooking spray. Set aside. Spray a large sauce pan with butter-flavor cooking spray. Melt the butter over very low heat. Add the peanut butter, chips, and marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are melted, about 4 minutes. Add the cereal and candies, stirring to coat.

Press the mixture into the prepared dish. Cut into 1″ squares when cooled.

Per square, approximately 28 calories; 1.4 g. fat; 3.4 g. carbohydrates; .1 g. fiber; .5 g. protein

And the real reason is?  I have been overwhelmed by l-i-f-e.  See?  There’s the problem.  You are now thinking, “So what?  Who hasn’t been?  ‘Tis the season to be overwhelmed!”  And you would be right.

For me, it’s been getting the cookbook to the printers, proofing, approving, and packing.  No, not packing the cookbook.  A long “girl’s” weekend in New York City to see the lights and the Rockettes, to shop and eat and look at store windows got sandwiched into the work schedule.  (I use the term “girls” loosely as we are all closer to Medicare than college.)  Now I’ve lost all possiblity of any sympathy.  That wonderful weekend was followed by finishing the last two newsletters and starting to ship the cookbooks.  Now it actually is about packing the cookbooks.

But it’s the season to be overwhelmed and stressed, so here’s a quick 25-minute supper idea that also makes a wonderful gift-from-the-kitchen for anyone you know who would appreciate the gift of time.

 Better-Things-to-Do Stew

Serves 4;  5 minutes hands on; ready in 25 minutes

• 12-oz package frozen soy crumbles or 1 lb ground beef, (5% fat), browned
• 1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 (1 oz) envelope taco seasoning
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 Tbsp onion flakes

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan or deep skillet.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Garnish with grated cheddar cheese and finely diced onion, if you like.

Per 1-1/4 cup serving, approximately 318 calories; 4.7 g. fat; 42.3 g. carbohydrates; 12.4 g. fiber; 23.1 g. protein

Serve with a green salad, including some spinach, and a pan of cornbread.

With cards to write, presents to wrap, shopping to do, decorating to finish, and a school program or two to attend, this is the season where the days are short in more ways than one.  A quick supper in a bag may be the most appreciated gift of all—extra time wrapped up in a holiday package.  To make a gift-from-the-kitchen, combine the last 5 ingredients of the recipe in a small decorative jar.  Pack this in a gift bag with cans of corn, pintos, and tomato sauce and a package of cornbread mix.  Tuck in a copy of the recipe and add a ribbon or two. 

Reservations.

Six of us are headed to the buffet in a beautiful, old San Antonio hotel.  We’ll get dressed up and drive downtown.  Someone else will do the planning and cooking and cleaning and flower arranging.  Someone else will worry about oven space and fret over how to keep everything warm.  Someone else will wash the dishes.  I’ll miss it all.  Well, not so much the dishwashing, but the rest from the run to the wholesale florist to the after-dinner Frisbee football on the playground at the end of the street.

Through the years, the planning has gotten easier.  I learned to say “yes” when someone asked, “Can I bring something?”  The list of must-haves kept growing until there isn’t much menu planning left to do.

One year we had two sweet potato dishes alongside the mashed potatoes.   Don’t ask.  (Here’s a tip.  Put the mashed sweet potatoes in a large baking dish.  Make a ring around the edge of the pan with the streusel topping.  Fill the center of the ring with marshmallows.  Bake.  Two groups satisfied with one dish.)

To satisfy two camps we have both homemade cranberry orange relish and the cranberry stuff out of the can.  But I draw the line at opening both ends of the can and sliding the “sauce” out with the little can lines still intact.  (Isn’t this an everlasting food, sort of like Peeps?)

The Thanksgiving memories add up over the years, such as the year we discovered The Stuff, the Cranberry Orange Relish quest, the year of molded butter, the broccoli and Cheese Whiz concept, and the year we lost my nephew’s fiance.  (We found her.)

We’ll make other Thanksgiving memories.  This will be known as the year we ate out.  And in time this holiday will find its way to another generation of hosts.  We’ll ask, “Can we bring something?”

What’s that I’m hearing?  Grumbling?  Doubt?

According to Charles Courtmanche, a doctoral student in Washington University’s Economics Department, since we walk more and eat out less when gasoline prices rise, every $1 increase in the price of gasoline equals a 15% reduction in the level of U.S. obesity.

In fact, according to Courtmanche, about 13% of the rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to falling gasoline prices in those years.  Courtmanche (who is just as cute as a bug and younger than my favorite pair of jeans) goes on to suggest that a bigger federal tax on gasoline might be a way of addressing the U.S. ”obesity epidemic.”  I’m guessing he personally stays so slim from running.  As in, from the crowd gathered at the filling station.

Soooo, next time you’re filling up at the pump and those little numbers are whirling by so fast it makes your head spin, just remember how much healthier we all are.

 Right.

As we were driving into Dallas, we were consulting by cell phone to choose a place to meet everyone for dinner.  The consensus of the group was a restaurant that is often described with statements such as “But their food is good.”  Note the italics.  Or “They really do have great food.”  Again, the italics.

In other words, this place is not known for its atmosphere.  Well, actually it is.  Eating there is a bit like subscribing to Playboy for the wonderful, thought-provoking articles.

We’re greeted at the door by a wave of noise, perkiness, and silicone.  But then we were expecting that.  So it’s on to a table for eight and menus to check out the “good” food. 

Decidedly not green.  Out of 12 side dishes, only two had any connection to the color green—other than a price tag.  There was coleslaw.  I didn’t see it, but I’m pretty confident in guessing that it was awash in mayo.  There was a dinner salad that could generally be classified as green if a few bits of Romaine amidst the iceberg count.  That was pretty much it.  You could choose from fried potatoes, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, signature spuds, potato salad, mac & cheese, corn with peppers, baked beans in a sicky sweet sauce, and fried apples.

Now we’re very pretty flexible and we had agreed to this place, so it is clearly a night for Sometime Food.  I decided to order what was the most appealing and savor the moment.  Chicken Fried Chicken, Roadhouse Spuds (a smashed up version of a loaded baked potato), and a dinner salad with blue cheese dressing.  On the side, of course.  (Heh.  Why I worried about that I don’t know.  Old habits, I suppose.)

The food arrived on platters.  No.  They don’t serve family style.  Every order arrived on its own platter.  And filled it up!  The boneless chicken breast was about 10″ long and 5″ wide.  Once I got over the horror movie visions of a chicken large enough to have a breast this size, I computed that this was about four servings of chicken.  On my plate.  Also gracing the plate was well over a cup of the smashed potatoes or two big servings.

Self-talk is called for here:  “This is a Sometime Food night; I certainly don’t have to eat all of this; just enjoy a little and move on.”

But at first bite, there was another problem.  It was wonderful.  Absolutely wonderful.  Perfectly crisp and savory with the flavors of my most favorite fried chicken.  The potatoes were rich and decadent with a blend of flavors that has become a baked potato tradition for good reason.

I managed to stop eating with over half the food still on the platter, but only because I signaled our server to whisk it away.  She wanted to know if there was anything wrong with the food.  How in the world would you answer that?  No, the food was wonderful.  Yes, there was way too much.  I settled for “Not at all.  That’s just all I want right now.”

Would we go back?  That’s hard to say.  The atmosphere is truly awful if you want to talk to, not yell at, your dinner companions and you aren’t crazy about servers that sit down at your table and reach over you to fill someone else’s water glass.  Then again, “they really do have great food” if it’s a Sometime Food kind of night.

So what is “good” food or “great” food?  Cheap, fast, healthy, comforting, delicious, adventuous, fresh, pretty, indulgent?

Have a “great” food day.

 At 5:33 p.m. yesterday, the Reuters folks in Washington reported:  “Researchers surpised so few kids take vitamins.”

But only 58 minutes earlier, the Reuters folks in New York had reported:  “Dietary supplement use widespread among U.S. youth.”

So if 31.8% of kids, from infancy to age 18, take vitamins and minerals, is this good news or bad news?  Or is it good news that just isn’t good enough?  Or maybe it’s bad news that could have been worse?  Or maybe it was a slow news day on the health front?  Or . . . ?

Forget the Centrum Silver.  I’m looking for the aspirin and googling Santorini.  That’s my opinion.

This week’s newsletter had two recipes with very specific roots.  One, Cannellini and Italian Sausage, was from a favorite blog, Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes.  Her recipes are terrific; and even if they weren’t, her photography is so beautiful that I would probably keep trying them over and over again anyway.

The other was from Nicaraguan-born Julio Ramirez who was the executive chef at Fishwife in Pacific Grove, California.  Corn Island Tilapia with Cranberry Salsa is a big favorite of ours.

No doubt both of these talented recipe developers should be credited, but I often wonder, ”What if they don’t want credit?”  When working with a recipe, I convert to healthy fats, reduce the amount of fat and processed carbohydrates, adjust cooking techniques so the recipe is quick enough for weeknights, adjust portions to be in line with USDA serving size, and reduce the heat to make the recipe kid-friendly.  Maybe they wouldn’t want their names associated with this new version?  For now, I just stick with “inspired by,” “adapted from,” or “a version of’”; but I’m open to suggestions.

And then there is that annoying little scrap of paper in my Coming Soon folder.  It reads, “what about bkd migas?”  No recipe, no website, no nothing.  It’s just a thought, but where did it come from?

The freelance food writer worked seven days a week, from six to 16 hours every day, to prepare; he started getting ready in March.  By the time his extreme locavore month ended on September 15, he calculated that in addition to his time he had made a substantial financial investment.  On average his cost per meal–for one person–was $120.

Perhaps when the first tornado to hit Brooklyn in 120 years roared through the city, he should have taken that as a sign?  But you have to admire his determination and his sense of humor.  And his family’s patience.

“Marijuana use for those who don’t have frequent family dinners (five or more a week) is six times more likely for teens 12 to 13, three times more likely for teens 14 to 15 and twice as likely for teens 16 to 17.”

If that isn’t enough, this month the Journal of the American Dietetic Association issued new findings on the effect of family dinners on lifelong healthier eating habits.

Still wonder if it’s worth the juggling and rushing?  This one might surprise you.

MSNBC reports that young people, ages 13-24, were asked, “What makes you happy?”  And the answer wasn’t sex, drugs, or rock-n-roll.  Not even money topped the list.  The top answer?  Spending time with family.  Not that they would ever tell you that!

What were the family dinner traditions as you were growing up?  Did you have a stay-at-home mom who would have dinner on the table?  How do you manage the family dinner hour now that it’s back to school?