The Press-Dispatch
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Sweet's Column By Barb Sweet My So Called Millennial Life By Stephanie Hayes DELICIOUS DELICIOUS MEATLESS BAKED ZITI MEATLESS BAKED ZITI By Jennifer Vallee Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent. This is the time when many Christians make the sacrifice to forgo meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for them. This season ends with Easter Sunday and can be difficult for some to find meat- less recipes when they are used to a more carnivorous diet. Growing up in Haubstadt, I could always tell it was the Lenten season, because we would be served cheese pizza almost every Friday. The school's pizza was delicious, but not many people want to eat the same thing every Friday for 6 weeks, so I have searched for a few recipes to give your meals this season more variety. My first offering is a delicious meatless baked ziti. It sub- stitutes mushrooms in place of meat in this dish to fulfill your palate's wish for a heartier meal. Speaking of substitutions, I almost always have one or two, even in new recipes. For instance, any of those of you that are not foregoing meat this season, you can add a pound of browned ground beef or browned Italian sausage to the recipe when you add the spinach and mushrooms. I am not a fan of ricotta and will be substituting a mix of Parmesan and cottage cheese in the future. Don't be afraid to modify recipes to your tastes and preferences. Recipes are hardly ever set in stone. Do what tastes good to you. This recipe will serve 12 people. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • Olive oil cooking spray • 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta • 1 tablespoon olive oil • ½ (8 ounce) package fresh spinach, chopped • 1 (4 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced • 1 (15 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese • 1 (8 ounce) package crumbled goat cheese • ½ (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese • 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. 2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add zi- ti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. 3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute spinach and mushrooms in the hot oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add to ziti. 4. Add ricotta cheese, goat cheese, and 1/2 of the mozzarel- la cheese to the ziti mixture; combine thoroughly. Mix in spaghetti sauce and transfer to the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. 5. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven until bubbly and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Source: allrecipes.com Welcome, class, to zeitgeist compe- tence hour. Today's term is "vibe shift." "Lady, what? " you say. Vibe shift is the phrase of the moment. It's a trend about trends coined by a trend forecaster and brand consultant named Sean Monahan. He has sliced the last two decades into phases based on fashion, music and poli- tics, predicting what's ahead. Vibe shift is less about the exact shoes we'll wear and more about a sensibility and, well, vibe. A piece from New York Magazine's The Cut sent the concept viral this week, warning of an impending vibe shift. The story by Allison P. Davis dives deep if you want to spend the afternoon Googling "normcore" and "Red Wing boots" and neighborhoods of Brooklyn. That's one problem with trend fore- casts. There's a world out there full of people who do not live in the cultural epicenters of New York or Los Angeles. Most of us will never party in a Williams- burg warehouse. We might be from, say, Tampa. We might party at Applebee's. We might wear aging plastic flip-flops. Still, the idea feels right. A fter years of pandemic fears and restrictions, political division and canceling each other, we're not going back to the way things were. We are burned out, due for a new collec- tive energy. Monahan told The Cut he predicts a move away from stern culture wars, toward the unkempt, party-hearty essence of the early 2000s. I fear for low- rise pants, yet celebrate se- quined going-out tops. Look, this is information for cool people. Most of us are not cool. We are going to jobs, school pickup and Target, while pondering uses for ground beef on a Tuesday. We are not vibe-shifting until the vibe trickles into that very Target. Personally, I decided to wither on the vine when they tried to take my skinny jeans. But we could use new energy. What, exactly? Is this the era when we give up the lies? I'm not talking misinformation. I'm talking malls. For instance, cities run red with "food halls," which we can all agree are food courts with a disappoint- ing lack of Sbarro. If the vibe is shifting backward, should we return to suffering malls? While we're at it, should we start using hotels and cable again? Perhaps the new vibe is to admit we've all been had. Speaking of 24 separate subscrip- tion fees, how about a forensic account- ing vibe? In the wake of the Great Res- ignation, the new vibe must include detailed financial ex- planations, not simply, "I feel happier with less! " I want re- ceipts, QuickBooks spread- sheets and grocery dossiers. I want tutorials on "How To Quit When My Rent Is $4 Tril- lion and My Landlord Is Miss Hannigan." The accompany- ing fashion can be green eye- shades and sleeve garters, that's fine. The early 2000s were fun, except for the ruthless tabloid stuff. A return to kindness and propriety would be love- ly. What about a modern Victorian vibe? Let's bring back visiting dresses and feather plumes. Let's speak only of the weather and recent sewing projects. Let's present callers, such as, Lady Fizzlefeld of Hornswoggle Manor. Let us corre- spond by letter sealed with wax, not via social media. This! This is the only ac- ceptable vibe shift! It's safer than low-rise jeans, anyway. Stephanie Hayes is a columnist at the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Follow her at @ stephhayes on Twitter or @ stephrhayes on Instagram. The only vibe shifts I will accept To enter the Birthday Club, fill out the form at www. pressdispatch.net/birthday. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free six month Press-Dispatch subscription. FEBRUARY WINNER And the winner is... Oraletta Earles from Petersburg. Ora- letta won a six-month subscription to The Press-Dispatch. Congratulations! THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Bradley Segert ........................... Petersburg .............3/2 Rhonda Robinette ......................... Otwell ................3/2 Connie Miller .............................. Winslow ...............3/3 Brad Burkhart .......................... Petersburg .............3/4 Tina Bastin .................................. Otwell ................3/4 Joyce Whitman ........................ Oakland City ...........3/5 Brandon Schultheis ................... Petersburg .............3/7 THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR The Press Dispatch PIKE COUNTY'S NEWS NETWORK 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg 812-354-8500 • www.pressdispatch.net Hi stars and welcome to the big stage all lit up in bright colorful lights and dec- orated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of March 3-9. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. BIRTHDAYS March 3-Rachelle Childree turns 32; Bill and Caroline Perry celebrate 21 years. March 4-Brandon Butze turns 33; Ja- na Meyer turns 57; Eddie Richardson turns 58. March 5 -Aimee Meyer Radford turns 40 ; Jason Roach; Maggie Stilwell turns 36. March 6 -Ben Mathias; Byron Doug- las; Tammie Nelson English turns 63; Jim and Nancy Johns celebrate 57 years. March 7-Alice Braunecker turns 52; Trea McCandless turns 61; Amanda Jean Everett; Adam and Donyell Lemond cel- ebrate 13 years. March 8 -Emily Marie Green turns 14; LaNisha Ann Head Burgess turns 28; Stacy Hale Wheatley turns 54. March 9 -Linda Culbertson; Terry Mc- Gregor. May all our stars have a really great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who need that card, visit, phone call and that daily thought of them to have a better day. And also those that are going through surgeries, treatments, tests of all kinds, those with allergies, and the aches and pains of everyday life. Thinking of, Coony Hayes, Tim, Angie and Sue Ellen. EVENTS March 2-Ash Wednesday March 8 -Winslow Beautification at 6:30 p.m.; Economic at 7:30 p.m. at the Snyder Community Center. March 10 -Petersburg Lions Club meets at 6:30 p.m. March 13-Daylight Savings Time starts- set your clocks ahead one hour. March 14-Winslow Town Hall at 6 p.m. March 17-St. Patrick's Day March 20 -Spring Equinox Winslow senior citizens are meeting on Monday and Tues- day at the Community Center. Petersburg seniors meet in the courthouse basement. Send postcards and notes of interest to: Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598. Winslow Patoka River was up from the last weather alert that brought most of us rain, snow, sleet and freezing temps. The river, at last look on President's Day, were in parts over its banks. At Riverside Park, the boat ramp and north bank, and the field there were ponds of water, even though Miller's Field sets higher. For the south road out of Goosehill, the ditches were almost full and the Patoka was over its banks, but not too bad yet. Some roads had spots of mud from too much rain, from begin until the end of this week, we had almost the same. Ken- tucky had a tornado watch on the 22nd, but all clear by noon. There were strong winds on Monday, as we took a drive to check out our area of Twin Pitts and Pike State Forest, a few trees had fallen. Log- town Road needs to have gravel laid, so the school buses don't get stuck in the mud. The weather forecaster had said the word "gulleywasher," and Tuesday starting at 6 a.m. to noon, it rained so hard we had streams, ponds and lakes. We will get even more rain in the eve- ning. Thursday should bring snow, sleet for most of the day. The temps rose from the 30s to the low 60s, but after the rain its in the cold again. But not the zero degree mark. Are your trees budding yet? Our one tree, a type of maple, has a start on buds. Girl Scout cookies are here and if you don't have your cookies, the Girl Scouts might be sell- ing them in your area, so keep a look out. Kyana is selling, taking order for her school fund- raiser of cookie dough, chocolates, pretzels and more. She will be here over the weekend so I can see what to order. Norm has picked up his guitar, he has several, and has been putting his tunes together and trying to fine tune a few. His sound is unusual, but it makes a great tune. Some of the tunes have words. He gets better everyday and like everyone else, he does have a bad day also. It's nice to have an extra hand when you're on ice or mud and need that lit- tle extra help to get to dryer ground. It's also nice to hold his hand when we are walking. He helped prepare the veggies for a roast and wow, did we have a lot of veggies. We enjoyed every morsel and shared our supper with Laura. We almost didn't see the Daytona 500, because of the winds blowing, but we got to see the many cautions and a rookie, Austin Cindric, win. Will March come in like a lion or a lamb is what we will be looking for. Since March is the windy month, will we see stronger winds? Or, have we already had the March winds these past few weeks? The lights are about to dim for this week. Keep an eye on family and friends. Slow down and see all the wonders in your area. Always smile, wave and say "hi" to everyone you see this week. Dr. Ben Stillman, DO, provided a free educational class to the community on Thursday, February 24, to educate the public about hypertension(high blood pres- sure) and cardiovascular disease. "Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world, and the number two cause of death is stroke," Stillman said. Local Primary Care Provider talks heart health By Sherri Sebella Dr. Ben Stillman, DO, pro- vided a free educational class to the community on Thurs- day, February 24, to educate the public about hyperten- sion(high blood pressure) and cardiovascular disease. With hypertension being one of the strongest risk fac- tors for almost all different cardiovascular diseases ac- quired during life, Dr. Still- man discussed the keys to leading a healthy life. Stillman spoke to the group about how hypertension af- fects people on a daily basis. "Hypertension is a very com- mon diagnostic," Stillman said. What is hypertension, and what are the risks of hav- ing hypertension, were just some of the topics Stillman addressed, during his edu- cational class held at Main Street Presbyterian Church's Kiefer Hall. "Heart disease is the num- ber one cause of death in the world and the number two cause of death is stroke," Still- man said. "Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in the United States, and strokes are number five here in the United States. It is so important, that a 1963 de- cision was made that Febru- ary would be American Heart Month. We want to address hypertension as this is a lead- ing risk factor for heart dis- ease and stroke. February is a month where we talk about a lot of cardiac issues." Stillman spoke that both heart disease and hyperten- sion are related to vessels and cardiac health. Blood pressure plays a pivotal role in cardiac health according to Stillman. "A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80," Stillman said. "A reading of 140/90 is abnormal. If peo- ple catch high blood pres- sure sooner, it may prevent long-term effects. If the one number is high and the other is normal, it is still treated as high blood pressure. Elevat- ed blood pressure over time causes damage to the kid- neys, heart and liver. With those who have low blood pressure, oxygen will try to divert to the most important organs and other organs suf- fer." Those with high blood pres- sure have more increased risks of diabetes, heart dis- ease, obesity, and symptoms can also be related to alcohol and tobacco use, according to Stillman. "We treat these issues through medication and life- style changes, Stillman said. "It should not be about just prescribing medicines. I feel that is not fixing the under- lying issues. We need to im- prove our diets and focus on healthier options, along with limiting salt intake, eat- ing plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, increasing lean meats, and decreasing car- bohydrates. Over time, small changes develop into good habits. You also need to in- crease physical activity. Brisk walking, swimming, bike rid- ing, and I am also a big ad- vocate of water exercise for those who can only do low im- pact exercise. Overall health is key to cardiac health and 30 to 60 minutes a day, five days a week. The best way to im- prove cardiac health is with medications and lifestyle changes, that you can do on your own." Stillman was recently ap- pointed to the active medical staff at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center. He began seeing patients at Petersburg Family Medicine in August of 2020. For more information, call 812-354-3458. C-2 Wednesday, March 2, 2022 The Press-Dispatch