Columns

Try This Amazing Life Hack For Ungrateful and Picky Eaters

Every family has a picky eater, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. I was the picky eater in my family, and I developed several tricks for making my plate look like it had less food. Then I grew up, discovered the salad bar at college, and never looked back.

I managed to produce my own picky eater but I wasn’t concerned. I knew he’d grow out of it just as I did. In the meantime I gave him a multivitamin and moved on. But I know a lot of moms worry about picky eaters, or get frustrated with them. I understand that-I really do. I also know that we all get frustrated when our kids complain about the meals we serve. The meat tastes yucky, the mashed potatoes are touching the carrots, no one is feeling the meatloaf tonight. I cannot take credit for this amazing trick to solve this age old issue-I must defer to my friend Kristi.

The cedar tree lined campus of the Mansfield Female College, the first female college west of the Mississippi River, doesn’t seem to the logical place for the ghost of a Confederate soldier but there he resides roaming the halls of the once tranquil college administration building which is now a Museum.

The Mansfield Female College opened in 1855 by Reverend Henry Coleman Thweatt of Virginia and the Reverend William E. Doty of Caddo Parish, La. The Rev. Thweatt served the College as President for many years and is even said to be buried on its campus. MFC offered a wide range of subjects including the Normal Department, which is now called the Teaching Department, English Literature, Fine Arts and a vast array of other advanced subjects. Students from many states attended such examples being Mrs. Ella Earle Sheppard from Mississippi, Mrs. Fern Lemming from Pennsylvania, Mrs. Mabel Williams from Arkansas, and many others.

Mac and Cheese

While most of us make macaroni and cheese the easy way by using the Kraft Blue Boxed long-time favorite I think we all know that the truly best is the oven-baked that Mom made. I love it but have tried and tried to re-create it and, as readers of this column know, have failed miserably. Many times.

The truth about beauty, ones beauty isn’t judged on how their physical appearance looks but it’s that what is within is how beauty is measured, for if one is beautiful outside but not as beautiful inside it can make you ugly, not from a physical standpoint but from a character standpoint, for the most beautiful smile can hide the saddest heart, if a car is beautiful on its outside but the inside is no good than it is no good, if a tree is full of leaves but the inside is hollowed and rotten it will eventually fall, love itself comes from within not outward, so when you’re beautiful inside it makes your outer beauty even more attractive, there are many of us that will look at others that may not have the satisfaction of knowing how beautiful ones physical appearance may get them an abundance of material things but those who are so beautiful from within is adored by others, not only for how warm their hearts are but also for the kindness of the words they speak and it’s nothing more b

Yes, with all this wet cold weather it’s time for a hearty bowl of Vietnamese Fish Soup …. Gaaack! Yep, I know AND I don’t mean a good Louisiana Courtboullion over rice. This is an actual whole fish boiled in a thin broth. I was astonished to find that it sounded a whole lot like a tongue-in cheek recipe I found a few years back called “Fish Head Soup” and featuring my nauseous pictures. Soooo, please suppress the gag reflex and read on.

Let’s get shakin !! As most of you know it’s CRAWFISH SEASON, most southerner’s favorite season. When you think crawfish surely you think of corn, potatoes, maybe mushrooms, garlic, and lemons. I think of the drinks I’ll be having with them if you know what I mean…all jokes aside, I think of family and friends coming together peeling crawfish, laughing, and having a good time.

I’m Catholic, which means no meat on Fridays during Lent! What a coincidence that crawfish season is in full swing during the 40 days of lent! Growing up many Fridays during lent meant a crawfish boil. My parents would invite all our family and friends over and we would have a boil.

Most history buffs occasionally venture off into areas they know little about but that is one way to gain additional knowledge. Early medicine and early doctors of DeSoto Parish are today’s topics. Of course there are plenty of doctors that would know more about early medicine than this writer but have you seen any of them take the time to write about it?

Medicine as we know it today is almost solely a 1900’s and 2000’s development. Until the early 1900’s there were only a few drugs and most of them came from plants. Aspirin, quinine, morphine and it derivative of paregoric, either and chloroform all were plant based. In early times and even to some measure today illnesses were personal. When a person was sick they were referred to as “indisposed, confined, under the weather or puny”. Early obituaries usually referred to the deceased as “God took them to their rewards or they were called home to Jesus”.

The Meatloaf That Keeps On Giving

The actual name of the MyRecipes dish was “French Onion Meatloaf ” but I figured with a title like that no one would be curious enough to read my column. Besides the onion haters would gag and not even think about giving something sounding like that a look. I think my title sounds a little more interesting and it’s actually pretty descriptive, too.

Let’s get shakin’ Well, we have now laid Mardi Gras and Carnival Season 2023 to rest. A lot of us are gearing up for lent! With Easter and Spring right here around the corner.

Gardens are being tilled, diets are being altered to remove/work off some of that winter weight and everyone’s ready for Spring and Summer.

My favorite time of year is the southern Spring (my allergies would disagree) but I live for the blooms, fresh planting, everything turning green again, and amazing vegetables and fruits beginning to sprout. No matter if you grow them yourselves or buy from friends, a roadside stand, or the market. There’s nothing like fresh vegetables.

Jazzing up Mardi Gras

Let’s get shakin’ Next to Mardi Gras one of the biggest festivals in the Big Easy is of course Jazz Fest. Personally, I’m not a fan of New Orleans Mardi Gras, it’s just too many people. Don’t get me wrong I love New Orleans! I even once owned and lived in the famous Octoroon Mansion on Royal St. next to the Cathedral (yes it was haunted.)

The history, the nightlife, and of course THE FOOD. Arguably some of the best food you can find. If there’s anything I love more than food (and of course a good stiff cocktail) it would be music. Well, Jazz Fest got ya covered. From Jazz to Blues, Country, to Pop, and top 40, they’ve got it all.