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Creamy Garlic Pasta

Just when I was all prepared to try Chef Kenji Lopez-Alt’s “Best American-Italian Red Sauce” this great sounding Pasta dish turned up on the AllRecipes site. The recipe by Celestial was very simple with only a few ingredients, no meat AND different in the way the pasta is prepared.

Celestial would like us to heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a medium but thick pan over medium heat and add 4 cloves of minced garlic. Stir for a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant but not brown then add 2 tbs of real butter and stir into the garlic and oil mix until melted. Pour in 2 cups of chicken broth add salt and black pepper to taste and bring to a boil.

Add a half pound of spaghetti “… and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes”. Celestial adds that you may have to add more stock if the pasta starts to stick (as I did).

DeSoto Extension Agent

AgCenter Launches Statewide Program For Donating Homegrown Produce Many people in Louisiana do not have reliable access to nutritious food. While food pantries and food banks work hard to provide their clients with healthful options, fresh fruits and vegetables are often unavailable.

That’s why the LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities team developed the Grow a Row to Share program.

“It all started after I received several calls from gardeners asking how and where they could donate produce,” said Cecilia Stevens, local food systems coordinator for the LSU AgCenter in northeast Louisiana. “When I realized there was no system in place to connect gardeners and food pantries, I saw an opportunity to help.”

Grow a Row to Share launched as a pilot program in northeast Louisiana in March 2022. The program connects home gardeners and local farmers with charitable food organizations like food pantries.

The philosophy of “Jubolaism” (my personal opinion and beliefs) is the power of positivity. Intelligent minds when helping someone don’t always expect something in return. Be kind because it’s the right thing to do! Why help someone and expect something in return? I’m sure if the poor soul that needed help could give you something indeed they would.

Many only wish to be praised for their good deeds, which in return makes it egotistical of the person that did the deed. The extremely pure hearted individuals need not adulation for the truth being is it would be jejune, or childish, to give an encomium to what should be a quintessential part of humanity.

Always keep in mind that you may encounter a similar issue that you refused to assist someone with because the person in need wasn’t able to give back for your assistance.

I know that I’m going too deep down the rabbit hole of investigating Italian dishes when I start seeing Italian versions of another country’s dishes. That was the case last week when I came across “Colatura di Alici” on the NYT website and coyingly subtitled “with a sauce from fish drippings”. If not a great dish then I knew I would, at least, have a disgustingly funny column for you AND I’d have fun putting it all together.

Time is one of our most valuable commodities. There are 24 hours in each day, which equals out to 1,440 minutes. We aren’t guaranteed a certain amount of time to live, so we need to make each minute count.

Yes, in order to survive, we have to work to produce an income. In addition to our job, we also have homes to maintain, yards to mow, errands to run, and still find time to eat and sleep.

What we fail to remember is we also need time to pursue other fun activities. In order to maintain a healthy physical and mental life, we need time to play, relax, and enjoy life. That’s when a Time Budget may come in handy.

A Time Budget works similar to a financial budget. It can show us at a quick glance where we are ‘spending’ our time.

Battling the Grumpy Monster

I caught myself being grumpy this past week. It got to the point where I had to sit down and have one of those hard discussions with myself. The end result was every time I found something to complain about, I had to switch my thoughts and name at least five blessings. I’m up to about 355… This led me to wondering… there are days set aside for almost everything. Grandparents Day. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. There is even a Blueberry Pancake Day, a Kazoo Day, and a day set aside for popping Bubble Wrap (yep! It’s the last Monday in January!) But is there a National Day of just appreciation?

Although there is a Celebration of Life Day, it is designed more to appreciate the lives of the people in our life. From my search, I couldn’t find one that is just for appreciating all of the simple joys in life. There should be.

What’s Your Superpower?

We all have superpowers- we truly do. Not the cool Superman strength or Wonder Woman’s invisible jet (wouldn’t that be amazing?) But we all have unique abilities.

My husband’s superpower is Telling Time. You can ask him what time it is and, without looking at any clock, he can tell you within ten minutes the time. It’s one of the many things I love about him.

My dad’s superpower is that he can fix pretty much anything with duct tape and Wd40he’s amazing! I imagine a lot of us have or had dads like that.

Let’s get shakin!!!

That’s right s’mores in the summer, it’s a thing, or it could be. I’ve never been considered completely sane and with it 100° or hotter outside, I probably got ya attention. But seriously if you like them, you like them, if you have ever made them with the kiddos, you know they love them. I grew up in the country and when we were kids out at the camp, we were always by the fire making s’mores!

They are perfect for those nights out by the fire when it’s cool out, camping, and perfect for family time. Well with one of the best kitchen inventions in a generation you don’t have wait until fall to toast that marshmallow! In fact, you don’t even have to go outside.

If you are a faithful reader of this column you will know that one of the main objectives is to keep alive the history and culture of DeSoto Parish. Today’s article is devoted primarily to a historical fact that will be new to some - World War II German Concentration Camps in Mansfield!

The philosophy of “Jubolism “ the power of positivity, when you awaken let this be the day you say I am some body, no matter how many times you may have stumbled in life let this be the day you say it stops here, align your footing broadly stick your chest out, boldly hold your head up high, then step into the world as if you owned it, tell that person that’s looking back at you in the mirror that you are somebody, you will not let no words take away your will to achieve, for you are in tune with your higher self and will nothing or no one bring you down, you are as hungry and ferocious as a starving Lion at its prey, tell yourself I demand perfection and I want settle for less, even if you were to amputate my legs it wouldn’t stop me from finishing the race, it’s quite a accomplishment when one can conquer others but it’s genius when one can conquer themselves, you’ve spent most of your life miserable wanting what you don’t have now spend what life you have left enjoying what you g