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Life in the Forest Touches the World

May 27, 2008

Had left over ground beef tortilla soup this evening after my husband grilled our first steaks of the season yesterday. Isn't that traditional for Memorial Day weekend? You need to be careful reheating the soup because it has a tendency to stick.

Some traditions die slowly or never. I mentioned yesterday that many in the U.S. are attempting to move Memorial Day back to its original date. This would make the remembrance not as convenient for a three day weekend, but proponents believe it would re-emphasize the sacredness of the day remembering our war dead.

A friend said to me earlier this week that Memorial Day weekend has become the start of the summer despite the official June 21st start date. Is it also the start of being officially able to wear white? Growing up, no one wore white shoes or clothes before Memorial Day (maybe medical staff before the days of cool, colorful medical outfits?) I don't remember when I stopped caring. Does anyone care anymore?

We live in the middle of 100 acres of forest (not all ours, but we are lucky) and it's hard to see another home from ours. So, the major exchanges we have usually involve wildlife. This weekend, the ground hog rolled out her babies. They looked a lot like these baby ground hogs on YouTube. The turkeys were also roaming in the forest and I saw an honest-to-goodness mink by our creek last week. It's been a wildlife week.

Memorial Day Remembrance

May 26, 2008

If you want to feel a wash of patriotism and love for America, don't miss the annual Memorial Day concert in Washington, D.C. Put it on your celendar now for next year. My husband and I watch most years and it never fails to move me as the country remembers our slain heroes.

About.com's Robert Longley traces the history of Sen. Daniel Inouye's (D - Hawaii) quest to return meaning and history to the celebration of Memorial Day, and once again, our congress is not interested. Preferring bar-b-ques and a three day weekend, Sen. Inouye's Memorial Day bill has, once again in 2007, been relegated to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will likely remain without ever being debated on the floor of the Senate. I can't find evidence that he reintroduced the bill again in 2008, but I am inclined to forgive him since he remarried yesterday.

Sen. Inouye has always interested me because my Uncle Dick, my father's brother, served with him in Europe. I believe they spent time together in war hospitals. Sen. Inouye lost his arm and my uncle battled polio. So, for years and years, we received a Christmas card with a personal note from Sen. Inouye. A bright spot in the annual celebration, the card was a connection to exotic places and to the war we had hoped would end all wars.

While Uncle Dick served in Europe, my eighteen year old father, a Marine, fought at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Later, another Uncle served in the Korean War and my husband served in Germany as a radio operator during the Vietnam War. My family has always been lucky. Our men always came back. So Veteran's Day has always wrought the most memories. Not everyone has been as lucky as we have been.

My Dad and Uncle have died now, but they led long lives following the war. Unfortunately, many fallen heroes will not. But our nation will pause for a moment of remembrance on Memorial Day. Said President George W. Bush:

"'No words are adequate to console those who have lost a loved one serving our nation. We can only offer our prayers and join in their grief,' Bush said. 'We grieve for the mother who hears the sound of her child's 21-gun salute. We grieve for the husband or wife who receives a folded flag. We grieve for a young son or daughter who only knows dad from a photograph.

"Suggesting ways in which Americans can honor the sacrifices the holiday recognizes, Bush said people can join a moment of remembrance that will be marked across the country at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. At that moment, Major League Baseball games will pause, the National Memorial Day parade will halt, Amtrak trains will blow their whistles, and buglers in military cemeteries will play 'Taps.'

"Bush also encouraged people to participate by placing a flag at a veteran's grave, taking family members to the battlefields where freedom was defended, or saying a silent prayer for Americans who died in service to their country."

_{Image © Elvis Santana}

More About Military Service and Employer Requirements

• We Serve Those Who Serve: USERRA Requirements.
• Books About Management and Leadership: Lessons From the Military.
• More Lessons from Military Management and Leadership.
• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights in a Nutshell.
• Guide to a Career in the Military.
• Handling the Military Deployment of an Employee.

Ground Beef Tortilla Soup

May 25, 2008

Today's recipe started out as a simple tortilla soup and, as always, I experimented with herbs and spices. Most tortilla soups use chicken; while I like chicken, it is not my main meal favorite. I think this version is my best batch yet and hope you agree. I think it is ready for prime time. Note that many believe that shredded American cheese makes a creamier soup and freezes better, but my husband and I prefer the taste of cheddar even though it combines less well in the stock.

Ground Beef Tortilla Soup

1 lb. ground chuck or ground round
1 cup chopped onion
3 quarts chicken stock
5 garlic cloves, chopped or put through a garlic sieve
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cilantro
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 12 ounce cans creamed corn
1 29 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup cornstarch
1 cup cold water
broken up tortilla chips (prefer Estilo Casera - El Milagro Mexican Kitchen Style Salted Tortilla Chips, available in the Mexican food section of my local Meijer, not in the chips/pretzels, etc. section)

Suggested garnishes: sour cream, chopped green onions, chopped fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped fresh cilantro, salsa, Monteray Jack cheese, garnishes as desired, and in any combination.

While browning the ground chuck or round and sautéing the onions and garlic in the same pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pan. Add the salt, ground pepper, cumin, cilantro, and cayenne pepper to the boiling stock. Add the creamed corn and the tomatoes and bring to a boil again.

Turn the heat down and slowly add the shredded cheese so it dissolves in the stock. Keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Mix the corn starch in the cold water until it is dissolved; then add the mixture to the soup slowly, constantly stirring.

Let soup simmer for ten minutes, then add the ground beef, onion, garlic mixture and simmer for five more minutes stirring frequently to keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

When you think of chicken stock, I use 2 quarts of the packaged stock you find in the soup aisle of your grocer. The third quart I make with premium chicken stock

To serve, break up tortilla chips in a bowl and top with the soup and your selected garnishes.

This soup should serve 6-8 people as a main course with a green salad.

I have experimented with this batch by freezing part of the soup and I'll let you know what I think when we eat the defrosted soup.