The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1094434
C-4 Wednesday, March 20, 2019 The Press-Dispatch HOME LIFE TO ADVERTISE: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Visit: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Youth First Today by Kristen Melhiser, Youth First, Inc. Enjoy nature, improve your mental health SOUTHERN SHRIMP AND GRITS MEALS IN Monica's MINUTES Share your favorite recipe! www.facebook.com/mealsinminutes Monica's Meals in Minutes PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567 mealsinminutes@pressdispatch.net FACEBOOK MAIL EMAIL By Monica Sinclair My husband and I have tried many restaurants because we are food junkies. One of our fa- vorite dishes is grits and we have had tried it many ways, one way being with shrimp. However, I have never been able to accom- plish cooking grits at home and making them come out right. I'm really hoping this week's recipe will help me change that. It looks extremely easy and fool proof, so here's hop- ing I can do it. It's definitely worth a shot. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth • 2 cups 2 % milk • 1/3 cup butter, cubed • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon pepper • 3/4 cup uncooked old-fashioned grits • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese SHRIMP: • 8 thick-sliced bacon strips, chopped • 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined • 3 garlic cloves, minced • 1 teaspoon Cajun or blackened seasoning • 4 green onions, chopped DIRECTIONS 1. In a large saucepan, bring the broth, milk, butter, salt and pepper to a boil. 2. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat. Cover and cook for 12-14 minutes or until thickened, stirring oc- casionally. 3. Stir in cheese until melted. Set aside and keep warm. 4. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving 4 teaspoons drippings. 5. Saute the shrimp, garlic and seasoning in drip- pings until shrimp turn pink. Serve with grits and sprinkle with onions. Source: tasteof home.com Editor's note: Katiedid is off this week, this column is from April 2015. "I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life." My best friend from college had just finished telling me the story about how she, exhausted from mothering a kin- dergartener and newborn while stud- ying for the bar exam, had been too tired to leave her booth at McDon- ald's. While her children entertained each other, she rested her head on her extended arm, which clutched a now-empty McDonald's paper cup. A kind patron walked by and shoved a few dollars into it. "She thought I was homeless! " my friend said with a laugh. And it was pretty funny, especially for those of us who know how beautiful my friend usually looks and the affluence she comes from. "Don't worry," I told her. "We've all looked homeless from time to time." I rattled off a list of examples. Court- ney Love has made a career of look- ing homeless. Perhaps my friend could drop her whole lawyer angle and go that route. I reminded her that many famous actors and actresses got their start while homeless in Hollywood. Even I myself, as a teenage backpack- er, had looked homeless, spending nights sleeping on park benches, in train stations, on beaches and some- times just on the sidewalk. I'll never forget the look of disgust on the pa- trons' faces at an expensive hotel in Al- ice Springs, Australia, when I sneaked into their pool area to use the showers after a two-week camping trip. To say the water ran dark reddish-brown off my body for 10 full minutes is an un- derstatement. Probably because I took my sweet time. It was hilari- ous to watch the finely mani- cured feet in the other stalls jumping away as my mud bath swirled past them en route to the shared drains. (Hmm, I may have just exposed my sinister side.) My friend and I giggled and moved on to the next conver- sation, but something about that talk stuck with me — because the truth was that for as silly as the conver- sation had been, it really wasn't fun- ny. First of all, homelessness doesn't really have a "look." It comes in all ag- es, sizes and appearances. And sec- ond, my friend is not homeless. Nei- ther have I ever been, nor has Court- ney Love. And of all those many actors who claim homelessness, I'm guess- ing 99.9 percent of them are confusing the term "homeless" with couch surf- ing. Let's be clear: Crashing at your friend's apartment because you can't yet afford rent for your own pad isn't called homeless; it's called your ear- ly 20s. It's so easy to generalize things. We do it all the time, and to be hon- est, it works as a good teaching tool for young children. I tell my son to stay away from all windowless white vans, from all dogs until he asks the owner whether it's OK to pet the pup and from all Sno Balls because — sorry, hot-pink coconut lovers — those things are just nasty. But what happens when we do the same with groups of people instead of seeing them as individuals with in- dividual stories? A few weeks ago, my car broke down. Nothing exposes the jerks of humanity like being broken down on a busy street during morn- ing rush hour. For an hour, people cursed at me and honked their horns, as if all my car needed was a lit- tle J.K. Simmons-type mo- tivation to get up and run- ning again. Oh, well, now that you're honking and cursing, let me dig deep down inside and see wheth- er I can self-mend this broken belt, this broken alternator and this dead battery. Suddenly, my car turns itself back on; the crowd goes wild, and peo- ple rush the street, lifting my car onto their shoulders as they do at the end of "Rudy." Yeah, right. Three heroes saved me from the mid-traffic turmoil. One man stopped to give me a jump, which didn't take. Another man stopped to help the first man push my car off to the side of the road. And a homeless man walked out into the street to stop traffic in both di- rections so my car could make it safely across. These three men took the time to help a stranger in need. I met a lot of awful, screaming, scary people that day. Of all the people I would have felt totally embarrassed to look like, the homeless man was abso- lutely not one of them. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/katiedid- humor. While living in Colorado for 11 years, I had access to vast, beautiful landscapes and often found myself at great peace and wholeness when in na- ture. What is it about nature that is so al- luring and healing to the mind, body, and soul? Is it the beautiful landscapes and life in the flowers, plants, and trees? Is it the sounds of waves crash- ing, birds singing, and crickets chirp- ing? Is it the smells of fresh cut grass, summer rain and fall leaves? There is a great deal of research to prove that exercise is extremely ben- eficial for a person's mental health. Participating in outdoor activities of- ten involves some level of exercise, but choosing to take a walk outside instead of inside on a treadmill also does so much more for the soul. Wilderness Therapy ( WT) is a fair- ly new concept in psychotherapy, but it is a term rarely heard in the Midwest. WT uses traditional therapeutic inter- ventions, but it is not confined to a ther- apist's office. As the name explains, WT takes place in the wilderness where nature provides its own holistic healing. Be- ing in the wilderness naturally brings out our survival instincts; it breaks down barriers, removes us from every- day norms and creates an environment that doesn't allow us to avoid certain problems. With very few WT programs in the Midwest, how can we approach this concept? It's as simple as you think… just go outside! In a world where teens are spending an average of six hours a day consum- ing social media, time away from elec- tronics is necessary. Mental health is- sues are on the rise in adolescents be- cause teens are not able to cope with the pressures of social media or pro- cess the level of information they re- ceive online. I suggest you plan quiet time, slow life down a little, and stop to smell the roses (literally). Being out in nature has a way of slowing us down and re- moving our daily norms. It provides the break we all need, especially ado- lescents who are learning how to cope with the world. Nature offers us the opportunity to reconnect our families and our re- lationships. More importantly, it pro- vides a much needed mental break for all of us. Whether you go walking, swim- ming, camping, hiking, or kayaking, go outside together. Spend that time reconnecting by teaching your chil- dren how to fish, change a tire or plant flowers. The point is to get outside and en- joy what nature has to offer. One of the best parts of nature is that it's free; you don't have to pay, you simply walk out your door. I leave you with this challenge: Take at least one hour this week to go out- side with your family. Increase the amount of time you spend outside each week and create new adventures. Instead of pushing activities on your kids, give them several options so they feel less like they are being forced to do something and more like they are making the choice of what to do. Now go outside and have some fun! This column is written by Kristen Melhiser, MSW, school social worker for Youth First, Inc., a local nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. Youth First provides 55 Mas- ter's level social workers to 76 schools in 10 Indiana counties. Over 38,000 youth and families per year have access to Youth First's school social work and after-school programs that prevent sub- stance abuse, promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success. Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock Looking homeless 21st OFFERS FINANCING FOR: HOME ONLY LAND HOME LAND IN LIEU BUY-FOR USED HOME FINANCING SECONDARY HOUSING VISIT: Apply.21stMortgage.com FAX: 1.877.312.2100 *Certain loan conditions must be met. NO APPLICATION FEES OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS TO APPLY. WE FINANCE CREDIT SCORES ALL * 814 NIBLACK BLVD., VINCENNES • 1-800-743-7004 • WWW.BAIRDVINCENNES.COM HOMES Spring is just around the corner! SAVE $8,000 ON THIS 3 BR / 2 BA PLUS a Washer & Dryer is Included!