I am a true blue believer in Mary Poppins-ish wisdom. For
instance, when she sang,
”
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,
”
she wasn’t really talking about cough syrup.
I am a true blue believer in Mary Poppins-ish wisdom. For instance, when she sang, “Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” she wasn’t really talking about cough syrup. The eccentric nanny meant that a good attitude and some fun would make tiresome jobs seem just a little easier.
And for her, music made that happen.
A young man who wrote to The Dispatch recently feels the same way and wants to ensure that music programs continue to be funded. His letter mentioned some lessons learned from playing a musical instrument: manual dexterity, teamwork and a good work ethic.
In my grammar school days, music was a black clarinet with perpetually splintered reeds, played on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the cold metal barn on the back lot of San Ysidro School. The door would close with a hollow bang as we filed in. In winter, we’d be bundled up, blowing visible breaths in the unheated building. I have a picture of me, playing my clarinet in a puffy yellow jacket with a ski hat on my head.
Like the pastor who remembers whether you were at church or not, Mr. Yip knew without a doubt whether we had practiced since our last session. I could try to bluff, but he knew. Nevertheless, we clarinet players would get out fresh reeds, pucker up, and try to play the new music selection in concert with the sputtering horn section, the over-enthused drummers and the twittering , high-pitched flutists who always seemed to have practiced more.
Mr. Yip praised often, whether our playing merited it.
Though I never became a concert, or even a smooth, clarinet player, I loved those hours away from book time, out of the classroom … free. And I developed an appreciation for live musicians that continues today. I love to watch musicians play and I appreciate their passion and talent and the hard work that I know went into their music.
We need music and art and P.E. in school. Some children will never be very successful at academic subjects. And even if they are, music, art and P.E. allow their brains to tap into another niche for a half-hour or an hour – to create, to use color, to produce something beautiful, whether it’s a sound or a piece of art or a healthier body.
And it’s important that this happen while children are in grammar school because that’s when they are willing to try anything.
Children need reading, writing, science, math, history and the myriad subjects they learn now. They also need time out of the classroom and the chance to create and experiment.
To those who believe otherwise, I am supported by Mary Poppins, who would succinctly say, “children need fun … spit, spot … on your way.”
• Beach Street beans: This recipe is from Kathy Begley who owns the Beach Street Restaurant in Watsonville with her husband, Paul. It was printed in the Farm Connection. These beans put vegetables and protein into one delicious dish that has been a hit at many potlucks.
Bishop’s Beans
1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans
2 links Kielbasa sausage (sliced in rounds, then quartered)
3 lbs. sliced mushrooms
1 cube butter
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 tsp. pepper
Salt to taste
Cook cut beans with 1/2 an onion in lots of water, rapidly boiling and salted, for 4 minutes until crisp and tender. Drain. Sauté mushroom, garlic and onion in butter. Cook Kielbasa until light brown. Combine mushrooms sauté, Kielbasa and beans, stir and enjoy.
• Summer soup: I got an e-mail from Rob Jensen, suffering from an annoying summer cold and in need of a good soup recipe. This seemed perfect. The truth is, this soup would be good any time of year, but summer’s bounty makes it particularly mouth-watering. If you can’t find Italian black kale, use green kale. This recipe is from Biba Caggiano, host of Biba’s Italian Kitchen and owner of the restaurant Biba’s in Sacramento.
Ribollita
Twice-cooked Florentine Vegetable Soup
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 lb. black or green kale
3 carrots, peeled and coarsely diced
3 celery stalks, coarsely diced
1 large boiling potato, peeled and coarsely diced
1/2 small cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
Green leaves from 1 bunch Swiss chard, coarsely chopped
3 cups chopped, canned Italian plum tomatoes with their juice
1 1/2 cups cooked white cannellini beans with their cooking liquid
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 thick slices, day-old crusty Italian bread, broken into chunks
2 additional tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Heat 1/3 cup of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is pale yellow and soft.
Add the garlic and parsley and stir for about one minute.
Remove the kale leaves from the stalks and wash them well under cold running water. Add the kale to the pot together with all of the other vegetables, including tomatoes and beans. Season with salt and pepper, then add just enough water to cover all vegetables by about 2 inches.
Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pan. Cook for about 90 minutes, stirring from time to time, until vegetables are soft, almost mushy.
Turn the heat off, stir the bread and remaining olive oil into the soup and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use. (The soup is even better if prepared a day in advance, so the flavors will combine and the soup will thicken.)
A few hours before serving it, put the soup back on low heat and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve hot with a few drops of olive oil on top.
Tip of the Week:
Green onions should be stored unwashed in a plastic bag in the
refrigerator for up to five days. For a quick garnish, slice the green part lengthwise, then snip with scissors into small pieces. It’s just the thing to garnish a salad or a plate of beautiful food.
Notes from Jenny’s Kitchen
• For true nuttiness, sesame seeds should be toasted before using. Either sauté in a dry skillet over medium heat or toast in a 350 degree oven, just until seeds turn golden brown.
• If stored airtight in a cool, dry place, all sugar can be kept almost indefinitely.
• Vanilla is a natural refrigerator refresher. After cleaning your refrigerator, put a few drops of vanilla on a cotton ball and set it in a cup at the back of a refrigerator shelf. The next morning, all will smell sweet.
End notes: “Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the body.”
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Happy cooking!
