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COOKING FROM LOVE: QUICKIE ITALIAN CHICKEN WITH PASTA AND BROILED CAPRESE TOMATOES

Finished meal of chicken and pasta, broiled tomato caprese.

Fixing a meal quickly can be done, but it is not my preference.

Today was just one of those days when groceries were being delivered sooner than expected and I had about 45 minutes to prepare a meal of my husband Russ’ choosing. Shortcuts were necessary. So, I didn’t take notes on quantities in order to give you precise amounts. I used what I had available, and with ingredients I knew he’d eat.

But before I tell how I made it, I need to vent. If anyone ever asks me about what I disliked intensely during the months of Coronvirus fears, other than the expected answers such as socializing and getting my hair done, I would say it’s being so concerned about keeping my husband and I safe, that I didn’t do my own grocery shopping. I am one of those rare (apparently, as my friends have noted to me) people who enjoy grocery shopping. If the watermelon isn’t the right color, the cantelope mushy, or the romaine lettuce spines are ribbed in pink, I am not buying them. I’d do without first. I’m just as choosy about meats, poultry, or cheeses.

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – MAY 2020

Russ, wearing mask made by Theresa Mulconry.

I look for the joy every day. Some days it’s as easy as putting on my favorite oldies station and diving into making a scrumptious dinner or dessert. Some days it becomes the moments when I read about selfless volunteers, or kids chalking rainbows onto sidewalks, New Yorkers clapping for hospital staff during shift changes, and sometimes it is by watching entertainers perform from their living rooms or on their driveway while neighbors dance or just listen.

Until the world is at a stage where COVID-19 isn’t ravaging bodies or depriving those who shelter-in-place of their ability to earn a paycheck, visiting with friends, eating out, or even getting our hair done, then I will continue dedicating my Hotel Happenings & Program Promotions column to some of the positive news I am sent or see for myself. There are many news outlets that share “good news” stories of bravery and random acts of kindness, so I won’t repeat those.

COOKING FROM LOVE: CHICKEN POT PIE

Finished chicken pot pie. You can see it’s chock full of chicken and veggies.

Chicken pot pie is like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer on a blustery day that your mom wraps around you to quiet the chilled air. Chicken pot pie is comforting love, and yet, I can’t recall the last time I personally cooked it. I’ve had enough bad versions in restaurants — the dough wasn’t cooked through or there was a scarcity of filling amid a soupy, flavorless broth –so I knew what I didn’t want it to be. What I did want is to appeal to my husband Russ’ preference for a denser stuffing, and in these days of not being able to do a spur-of-moment run to the grocery store, I had to use what I had available.

Not everyone will have the time or ingredients I have, so as I go, I will share possible substitutions. If you’ve read my cooking blogs, you know I don’t measure, but I made a point of taking notes as I went to give you a close approximation. As always, adjust to your taste.

COOKING FROM LOVE: SPANISH-STYLED CHICKEN, RICE AND BLACK BEAN DINNER (and an ITALIAN WHITE WINE)

Spanish (dark yellow) rice with chicken and a side of black beans (2)

Cooking for a picky husband is always challenging, especially during COVID-19 when I am doing my best to work with ingredients still in my pantry/freezer/refrigerator. He’s a Midwestern born-and-raised meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, but in trying to restrain his desire for red meat, I try to mix in chicken dishes, and to expand his tastes with international flavors. With all this is mind, my meal for the day was a Spanish-styled chicken, doctored black beans from a can, and Spanish yellow rice. (Reminder: I don’t measure, but will try to give you an idea of what I do.)

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – APRIL 2020

Animal Rescue Relief in Atlantic City checks out donations from Caesars Entertainment

COVID19 has overtaken our lives. Hotels, restaurants, theme parks have closed. More industry jobs than I can count are lost, temporarily or permanently. Each day my email box is loaded with stories of facts and gloom, but there is also hope for our future. There are charming and funny parody songs, stories of heroes on the front lines, whether a grocery store or an understaffed, overworked, undersupplied hospital. We all know the little things in life (finding toilet paper, eggs, and sanitizer) have become priorities, while balancing suddenly having to be a parent, a remote worker, teacher, and guardian of safety protocols even when errant family members or friends choose to dismiss concerns as needless or hype.

COOKING FROM LOVE: Moroccan Couscous with Mixed Veggies

Mixed veggies atop couscous.

I heard quickly from some of you that the bacon or some of the other items in my Mediterranean-styled Green Beans aren’t on your diets, but at least some of you have already shared ways to make substitutions or eliminate any items that won’t work for your individual health plan. Great! That is exactly the right thing to do.

But because I know many of you are veggie-lovers comme-moi, here is an easy dish I made today. My sweet hubby had to have two teeth extracted on an emergency basis yesterday, so I am pampering him with soft foods and dishes just to keep him happy. What that means, is that I can prepare dishes for myself about which he might not otherwise be overly enthusiastic.

Moroccan couscous, an easy and quick side dish.

Russ does love this Moroccan couscous, and I can occasionally sauté some chopped veggies into it or turn it into a salad side, but this combo was designed for me.

The couscous can be purchased at most grocery stores. I always have some on hand. The veggies I stocked up on during my last (and now infrequent during shelter-in-place restrictions) grocery run. You can use any, or all, of my suggestions, and don’t hesitate to embellish with your own spices.

COOKING FROM LOVE: Intro & Mediterranean-Styled Green Beans

I didn’t know we were poor. I just knew that growing up in a multi-household of amazing cooks (and bakers) that there were two rules: you never know who may show up famished, so be able to stretch your meal, and never let anyone leave hungry.

Sometimes I’d walk into my grandma’s Coney Island, NY kitchen where she and my Aunt Fanny would be stirring big pots of chicken matzoh ball soup or layering a black-and-white speckled enamelware roasting pan with stuffed cabbage, just in case unexpected relatives and friends happened to pop in… and they always did. The women in my family didn’t just cook. They cooked from love with limited budgets and unlimited imagination.

From the time my dad’s sister, Aunt Golda, guided me through making my own apple pie tart at the age of five, I have always baked and cooked. I have cookbooks, but mostly I just cook with what ingredients are on hand. I visualize the ingredients melding together, and then set about making that materialize. Between the sumptuous Eastern European dishes created by my mom’s and dad’s families, and later the exotic influences imprinted upon my mom as we lived and travelled internationally, I grew up experiencing the “throw a bit of this, a dash of that, smell, taste and be sure there is color” philosophy. When my mom returned to work, I was 11 and responsible for choosing what I would cook and then making the family meals.

TIME TRAVELERS’ TRILOGY TEASES FLORIDA’S HISTORY WITH FANCIFUL PLAUSIBILITY

This Florida Time Travel Series captivates the imagination and reveals facts about Florida that likely few know other than historical or geological researchers.

16,500 years BP (Before Present time), a bald stranger wearing tight dark blue pants and turtleneck, black boots and black cape appears suddenly before an ancient Indian chief and his son. Before the stranger from 2338 CE (Common Era) departs in the same gust of cool swirling air, he imparts knowledge of wheels and wagons: practical tools to advance their progress as a people and as the first step in preparing them to counter the lethal invasion of Europeans in 1492. That stranger, whom the natives think of as a god, materializes multiple times in later centuries, each time dispensing knowledge for making tools, and techniques and languages for the betterment of diverse ancient tribes. However, not all time travelers proved to be as magnanimous.

Time travel topics have always tantalized my imagination. These were whimsical what-if stories that begged for suspension of known science; yet armed with a cozy couch and a glass of wine, made for delightful sojourns of the mind.

Then I read the Florida time travel trilogy written by John Charles Miller, a Tampa, FL-based author, groundwater geologist in the United States and Latin America for more than 40 years, and an avid birdwatcher with his wife, Mary.

The three books of alternate history (there’s that what-if premise)– Citrus White Gold, The Gatherers, and Deep Florida, are embedded with rich dialogue, colorful characters, articulated technology, and graphic depiction of how events and Florida’s native population’s history might have plausibly impacted today’s Florida. The stories are absorbing, thought-provoking, stimulating fun.

I am awed by John Charles Miller’s proficiency at dialogue to reflect the locations and timelines. His In-depth descriptions of a place or event compelled me to research their veracity, for no reason than just wanting to know if this detail was fact or fiction. Each instance was a factual pivotal moment of Florida history meticulously woven into the stories’ narrative. So, not only did I spend many hours of enjoyable time reading, but I learned about Central Florida, where I live.

Each book can be read on its own, but I encourage you to read them in succession.

HOTEL HAPPENINGS & PROGRAM PROMOTIONS – FEBRUARY 2020

No, you can’t ride this turtle during this Glapagos cruise

Booking a cruise for your meetings or social group, or maybe for family members and friends? Check out the promotional packages being offered by AdventureSmith Expeditions. Booking dates vary, as do the promotional incentives. For a Feb. 28 deadline, many packages are available. 1* Save up to $350 per person on the Hawaiian Seascapes cruise aboard the luxurious 36-guest Safari Explorer small ship. Snorkel among coral gardens and a sea turtle habitat, stand-up paddleboard, kayak and sightsee on skiff tours. 2* Grandparents paying two full adult fares can save 25% on rates for grandchildren by booking Exploring the Sea of Cortez: A Living Sea & Desert Isles cruise. The ships are the 100-guest National Geographic Venture and National Geographic Quest. 3* Save $500 per person on Alaskan family cruises: Alaska’s Glacier Country, Alaska’s Glaciers & Whales, Alaska Fjords & Glaciers and Whales, Wildlife & Glaciers. The ships are 90-guest S.S. Legacy and 84-guest Safari Endeavour. 4* Save $400 per person on the Belize & Guatemala Wonders—Rivers, Reefs & Cultures aboard the 66-guest Safari Voyager. 5* Save $1,250 per person on an Inside Passage Sojourn small ship cruise aboard the sleek 76-guest Chichago Dream. This experience focuses on Alaska’s nature, history and First Nations culture.

WHEN A SHOOTER TARGETS YOUR GROUP: RUN, HIDE OR FIGHT?

What if you were in the target zone of this shooter?

The headlines have become all too numbingly familiar: mass killings at schools, airports, churches, offices, restaurants, arenas and public streets.

What if fight or flight aren’t your only solutions?

What if you could prepare yourself to spot dangerous behaviors, strategize how you’d narrow the chances of being caught unawares, and might save both yourself and others during unexpected, volatile, life-threatening scenarios?

It’s about understanding behavior patterns and looking at anomalous behavior outside of the normal baseline. It’s about profiling behavior, not people and identifying behavioral indicators consistent to a potential threatening environment.

All of the above are possible according to two experienced lawmen who addressed the Greater Orlando (FL) chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) luncheon held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.

Director of Education & Life Safety for the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) Mark Herrera’s keynote presentation was aimed at mitigating threats to employees or meeting groups, but the practical information would be as applicable to individuals.