Crisis Thinking

It was the middle of the night when I was jostled out of a deep sleep. (I was a teen, then, living at home). The smell of something burning reawakened my senses to a reality that was simply not right. What was that toxic odor? The odor was not a familiar one. It was 2:00 a.m. No one should have been 'cooking', at that hour, anyway. Of that I was certain. 

The acrid smell was more terrifying than I could have imagined as I opened my upstairs bedroom door to be greeted by an dense cloud of smoke on the other side. I ran downstairs to see what was happening. Was my family o.k.? As I approached the living room, the offending 'fire pit' was on its way outside, having been dislodged from its location, in the living room, by my very tall, younger brother. A monumental tragedy had been averted. The upholstered sofa continued its smoldering journey outside. No one was hurt yet no one had thought to call the fire department. A lighted cigarette had fallen onto the sofa where it had burned a hole, deep inside and began to gather uncontrollable energy for its unleashing. My dad had fallen asleep after having worked the night shift for the railroad. What could have happened, did not.  His own attempts at putting out the smoldering fire had failed. Inside the soft underbelly of the sofa, the fire raged until my younger brother's quick thinking brought it all to a close, outside. 

It was decades later when fire came calling again. This time I was a big girl, a wife, pet owner, mother of 3 and a home owner with a EPA fireplace needing its ashes removed. (I had done this for years and knew the drill by heart.) We had been heating our house for 20 years using firewood. It was vastly cheaper then heating with electricity. The cost savings were monumental. Living better electrically as the saying goes had no meaning in the 21^st century. The chimney always received its yearly, seasonal cleaning and monitoring, for signs of wear, tear and parts replacement, as required. The company we used were pros and safety was their mantra. On this particular Saturday, and later than normal, I collected the 'cold' ashes from the fireplace, but spilled them during transport, to the outside bin. With dustpan in-hand, I began the cleanup. With a slight film of ash still remaining on the mat outside the door to the garage, I began to vacuum the tiny particles of fine debris that lay deep inside the mat. Within seconds, dense smoke filled the room where the vacuum had been plugged. A live particle of ash had ignited a fire deep within the vacuum cleaner, resulting in smoke enveloping the adjacent room. Would the rest of the house be next? I unplugged the vacuum quickly and tossed it outdoors. (All animals were safe, outside.) The smoke was confined to the one room, with all windows and doors opened for fresh air. The smoke alarms went off, doing due diligence, as they were expected to do. Though the alarm company called, the fire department was not needed. The 'volunteer' rural fire car arrived anyway. People do panic in circumstances such as this, I knew. These professionals simply wanted to check. I was always so careful but not careful enough that morning. Quick thinking had averted a worst case scenario. 

On the same day, miles away, on a well travelled secondary road, our youngest son was dealing with his own crisis. While driving home from an appointment, he'd heard a rattling sound coming from inside/outside the car. Not much on taking chances, he spoke with his oldest brother, by phone, relaying his concerns about the unusual noise emanating from within the metal structure of the Volvo wagon. He pulled over to the side to examine the car, front to back, but saw nothing. He walked around again, just to be sure. Still nothing. Keeping to the side streets, as his brother had suggested, where speed limits were lower, our son continued on his way. It would be safer that way until our mechanic could solve the mystery. As he approached the intersection, the 'volcano erupted' from the front of the car, sending the front driver's wheel, with its accompanying nuts and bolts, cascading up into the air like a well-rehearsed ballet of falling debris. The action movie came to a halt, moments later, as all four lanes of traffic stopped to watch the catastrophic event unfolding before them. What could they do? It ended as quickly as it had begun, a bizarre roadside event. The car was driven to the curbside, a few feet way, where the shock of what had just happened was immediately on public view: a three wheel mangled machine, with no one hurt.  Traffic resumed and life returned to the intersection, once again.

At the body shop, later that day, we saw the entangled, peeled back remains of the driver's front end, a reminder of a tin of sardines that had been peeled back, most of the way. People could have died that day. ... A simple mistake in basic tire service, at a well respected garage, had caused the near disastrous event that could have taken lives. Adhering to a strict code of 'preparation' at home and on the road, while taking nothing for granted, aids in optimizing positive outcomes during emergencies, large and small. ... Being emotional never helps. ... Thinking quickly and rationally always does.

Coming soon: The ozone layer,  fluorocarbons, sunscreens and 'villainous' fat!

Being Aware and Careful, While Paying Attention

As I waited for the commercial to finish, I thought, when does it end? Our seeming relentless need to upgrade, in a moment's notice, is a frightening scenario. Where is the money coming from? When does need supersede want? When does it stop, even momentarily? There is no money tree out back. 

We are inundated with the 'cry to buy'. The incessant need to upgrade to appease ourselves while the manufacturer and retailer laugh all the way to their respective bottom lines makes fools of us all. This forever-dance called shopping will be our undoing. With part-time jobs the new reality for many of us - wanting full-time work - when do we start saving for that house of the future, for that investment, when work is done and our bodies are slowing down? What is the plan? ...

Our personal devices are getting smaller and more compact, with more design features than we could have ever imagined in a lifetime. We live in an incredible high-tech world, unlike anything that has ever existed, enabling us to wear our personal devices, with their ensuing histories, wherever we go. Our high-tech wrist watches, a mini-computer incognito, is our on-the-spot library tool. Is it an invitation to a steady diet of EMFs, identity theft or a serious threat to safety? This clothing accessory, in plain view, comes with a 'hazardous label' attached. Where are we going with all of this? When will small be small enough, cute enough? What is the daily cost to health?

The overuse of certain fingers, on one hand, can be associated with the age-old ligament problem called carpal tunnel syndrome. With the continual use of certain fingers and the constant downward motion of our neck, are we advancing towards a new and crude form of ligament degeneration/arthritis, later on? These incredible portable devices are central to the functioning of our personal and business lives. It is fact. What is next? Is our vision also being affected as we continually view tiny script on these futuristic message boards? And are we forgetting those yearly eye exams or are those tests only for 'old' people? Are we stressing our bodies more and aging differently even though the calendar says we are not there yet?

Listening to music has changed into a solitary moment that never seems to end, wherever we go! ... Once upon a time, ear phones were monstrous hearing apparatus, attached to our heads. These amplifiers of sound were on our ears, not in them. Are we now exposing ourselves and our developing children to a new health risk of the future: hearing loss? Does a momentary lapse of volume control, in a cute little ear piece, done repeatedly, over time, harm our sense of hearing, sooner? In advancing old age, hearing loss is expected. Is this 'weakness' now being hastened? Does being momentarily distracted while wearing these tiny hearing gadgets pose a threat to our safety, too? Being unaware of the environment, as we walk to the store, listening to our music, can pose a danger to life. We have heard countless stories, in the news, of people being distracted with terrible consequences the result. (We are unaware of our environment because our personal devices are distracting us.)

Momsey used to live in a time where the black landline telephone was the only way to reach out and touch someone. Leaving a message did not exist, either. Now, we can reach out to the world, in an instant, as we carry our gadgets with us. We are all on-the-spot photographers, videographers and film directors. There seems to be no mechanism to shut off our incessant need to access information or connect to real or imaginary people. ... Distraction seems to be our newest troubling trait. ... Are our children and grandchildren now the recipients of a new generation of distracted caregivers? Will one-on-one ever be the same? While visiting the food building at the Toronto CNE, (Canadian National Exhibition) this past summer, my husband and I were seated next to a family of four who had just sat down to have lunch. Suddenly, each member of the family began using their personal devices. Who were they calling? What appointment had they missed? Why were they here if they were not plugged into each other? Where are we going with this? 

The other day, my editor, the 24-year-old-dynamo called Lucy, remarked that we are devolving as a society. I listened, saddened by her youthful commentary, wondering. Is she right? We are ever so connected, yet socially isolated, all at the same time. How can that be? We are inundated with all manner of products to buy as we watch the small screen, or the motion picture extravaganza on the big screen. We hold our cell phones, tightly, while engaging in conversation, ever so mindful that someone might be calling. Could it be the president, a CEO or Steven Spielberg? Are we losing the ability to write? Handwriting and the postal system are becoming relics of a bygone era. Has looking into the eyes of a co-worker, loved one or the family pet been replaced by simply 'talking' to them on the small screen. It is disconcerting. Maybe, Lucy was right.

Sourdough, Rice and Pasta: New Frontiers

Sourdough and day-old white rice. Are these foods now modern day contemporaries in today's kitchen? Since the series on starches, grains and fermentation began, I am forever changed. Sourdough, the 'health' bread in our lives, along with rice and pasta, too, have become dietary allies. ... What was O.K., is no longer. What wasn't healthy, now seems to be. ... Life can be so strange, at times.

Gluten is our modern day nemesis, I slowly began to realize while researching fermentation, starches, and the modern loaf of bread. But it did not start out that way, however. ... Gluten has been a part of the bread making  process from the beginning and was treated with respect, back in the day. Today, in the guise of bread, buns or doughnuts, gluten's presence can now be 'sharply' felt - if shown no respect. The gut - not the mouth - seems to be the place where our health begins. 

 

While industry justification can be made for gluten's inclusion in some so-called 'healthy' multi-grain breads for that soft light feathery crumb texture, the rise in gluten intolerance and celiac disease should have brought about gluten's removal as 'an extra in the movie called bread', long, long ago. ... Is anyone listening, anymore?

It would seem that modern agricultural, with its companion milling, processing and baking methods have put us here. But wait. A look inside the eye of the storm would also show us that gluten lies deep within the belly of many other products, born without it, yet somehow needing its help, along the way. Why are wheat flour, corn syrup solids and other modified starches found in sausages, deli meats, tomato sauces, salsas, alongside the worst of them all: glucose-fructose? Why? There is no sanity to adding gluten into food. Is its purpose to aid and abet the bread in its appeal to us, the trusting, naive consumer? But gluten's adverse health effects are widely known by now. Oh-My.

In the making of bread, time is a critical element, for flavour and texture, of course, but most of all - for health. Time's significance seems to have been seriously misjudged and overlooked. Its mission  helps to alter gluten's deleterious effect on us as the dough is allowed to rise, proof before baking. ... The industrial machine responsible for bringing bread to the marketplace is trimming time and employee shifts, speeding up the proofing/baking process while adding a host of additives to mask the deficiencies of this modern bread. 

 

Reformulating recipes to get baked products to market, quickly, seems to be the name of this sinister marketing game. ... Since 2500 B.C., an ancient bread called sourdough has been available. Until now, I was not aware of its significance to health. Could this baked product be the truth we've been looking for? Never has sourdough meant so much, it seems to me. When bread was made properly, there was no gluten intolerance. Now fast tracking its creation has called into question the viability of this centuries old baked food called bread. Yes, bread is real food. 

Sourdough is the bread with a tale to tell, the unvarnished truth in the story about starches and fermented foods. ... (Our middle son loved it - decades - ago when I began buying it on occasion. Did he know something I did not, back then?) ... What sourdough bread has is a healthy reputation brought about by a mixture of small amounts of flour, water and yeast - called a poolish, a biga or starter - being left at room temperature for hours, perhaps days, to start the process of leavening or fermenting and the addition of more flour that leads to sourdough bread, the greatest taste thrill ever. Though sourdough is generally a more costlier bread in the bakery, its health rewards are well worth it. The gluten strands in it slowly break down into their basic component parts called amino acids, during its proofing and rising stages of development and while in the oven, too. These digestible strands are now compatible to our digestive system rendering sourdough bread suitable for gluten free diets, I discovered. Who knew? 

 

Our bodies are trying to tell us something when they struggle to function. When bread making processes are greatly shortened, we all suffer the consequences of this miscue even of we are unaware. The internal delicious world of bread needs time to work its magic and become the star it is meant to be, without all the preservatives and the drastically shortened time in which it is created. Then we have day old rice, another remarkable ally in our diets. 

 

Rice that is 12 hours 'old' then reheated has incredible amounts of resistant starch helping us to maintain  health and a healthy weight while aiding in fat burning, too. The list of rice benefits is endless. The body absorbs less starch, hence fewer calories. Bananas are like that - starch resistant - as they help to control hunger, too. All of this means fewer calories, not absorbed. Who knew? The same theory applies to day old cooked pasta. Starch absorption is reduced by 60%. Wow! What an revolutionary idea! So cooking the pasta or rice in the morning for dinner, makes so much sense. Decades ago, I learned to love 'frying' leftover pasta, in a bit of oil, on low heat till 'done'. It was my favourite meal of all! 

The lesson in bread-making is simply a matter of time, waiting for things to develop and evolve. Has sourdough's magical, methodical and mystical brew with its resultant health benefits been grossly misunderstood? ... (Momsey now knows!!)  Then we have rice and pasta, whose case for exclusion in our diets have been widely known and accepted. We can have all three. The beneficial properties of rice, pasta and sourdough have been there from the beginning but in our haste to eat quickly and without thought, we have come to this rocky road of health. We must learn to slow down where it matters - in the kitchen. Take time. Be patient. Health will be ours to inherit. 

I began a solitary journey, months ago, when Lucy, my  24 year-old editor, said she was making sauerkraut with a schedule that defies the imagination. ... The floodgates to discovery were opened. It would seem to me that years ago we were eating gluten free. We simply did not know it, at the time. Then the recipes changed slowly and without much consumer consultation. With Thanksgiving coming soon, Momsey will be using sourdough bread as the basis of stuffing. I will be replacing  breadcrumbs I have used with  a new and improved homemade variety using sourdough. The news is great. ...

We have come full circle. Gluten-free, day-old rice or leftover pasta never tasted so good or felt so yummy. Our bodies were right all along. Maybe, just maybe, we can have it all. It just has to happen at  home, in the kitchen,  at the right time, with a bit of thought and beginning on Monday. Oh so yum.