Author: Suzy Taylor Oakley

Chili weather

Suzy Taylor Oakley food

Dear Teri,

Just for you, here’s the chili recipe I promised the other day. I know you’ve been waiting for it.

I started with Chef Jeff’s recipe and made a few modifications, and I think it’s just a little better than the original.

It’s so quick and easy to make, and the best part is that you dirty up just one pan (plus your knife and cutting board, and maybe your garlic press, if you use one – I do). Who can beat that at cleanup time?

Or maybe the best part is that it’s made with ground turkey instead of ground beef yet still is extremely flavorful, even when you use the leanest turkey you can find.

Spicy Turkey Chili
Suzy’s version

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1½ pounds lean ground turkey
1 to 1½ cups yellow onions, diced
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
8-12 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 medium tomato, diced, and 1 can mild diced tomatoes with green chilies (such as Rotel) OR 2 cans Rotel
1 small can tomato paste
1 can black beans, undrained (mash with a fork or leave whole)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups organic chicken broth (or more, depending on how thick you like it)
1 cup grated smoked Cheddar cheese (optional) (plain Cheddar is great, too)
1 bunch scallions, chopped (optional)

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in medium pot with heavy bottom over medium-high heat. Add meat and stir with wooden spoon to break up. Cook, stirring, until meat is browned and cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

Transfer meat to strainer to drain.

Set pot over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, onions, bell peppers and garlic. Cook 6-8 minutes. Return turkey to pot and mix well.

Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and cook, stirring about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, beans and broth. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Taste for flavor and add salt and pepper if needed. Keep warm on stove until ready to serve.

Serve topped with cheese and scallions. Chef Jeff says cornbread goes great with this chili. Click here for his original chili recipe (I also tried his S’more Bread Pudding. It was a little runny, so I’ll have to keep trying).

The great pumpkin

Suzy Taylor Oakley baking, food

It’s fall recipe time again!

Summer used to be my favorite season, but now I think autumn is my favorite. When the weather turns cooler, high school football starts and the leaves start falling, my thoughts turn to the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to watch Food Network, get some great meal or dessert ideas, find the recipes online, go to the grocery store or farmers market for the ingredients and come home ready for action. In fact, for this first recipe, I didn’t even have to leave the house. I had everything on hand already (or close enough that a couple of substitutions didn’t hurt). Of course that’s because it’s from the queen of such things — Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee.

Yesterday I made her Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Citrus Glaze, with a couple of variations. I love to bake from scratch, but I just couldn’t resist trying this quick and delicious cake. In fact, I believe it will be on our Thanksgiving table next week (sorry, Mom, no pumpkin roll with frozen yogurt this year – unless you ask me really nicely).

So here’s Sandra’s recipe, with my notes in parentheses. If you’re rushed this Thanksgiving (and who isn’t?), it’s a wonderful alternative to baking a cake or a pumpkin pie from scratch (and it’s pretty, too. Oh, how I wish I could take beautiful food pictures like Whitney can). The orange glaze gives it just the right kick, although you could certainly leave off the glaze or make a plain glaze by using water or milk instead of orange juice. But it wouldn’t be nearly as yummy. And a healthier alternative to the vegetable oil would be apple sauce, although I didn’t have any Saturday morning. You could also substitute a couple of egg whites for some of the whole eggs, and I’m sure it wouldn’t suffer much.

Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Citrus Glaze
Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

Cake:
6 eggs
2/3 cup oil (or apple sauce)
1 cup canned pumpkin pie mix (I used plain ol’ canned pumpkin)
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice (I mixed my own – cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg)
1 box moist spice cake mix
1 box moist yellow cake mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Butter and flour 12-cup bundt cake pan. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, pie mix or canned pumpkin, water and pumpkin pie spice. Beat until well blended. Add cake mixes, and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to bundt pan and bake 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Invert cake onto a cooling rack.

Glaze:
Orange food coloring (or combine red and yellow)
1 pound powdered sugar
1/3 cup orange juice, no pulp
3 teaspoons orange liqueur (I substituted 1 teaspoon orange extract)

Whisk powdered sugar, orange juice, orange liqueur or extract and food coloring in a saucepan on low heat for 5 minutes or until sugar melts (I didn’t do this – I just whisked all the ingredients together). If glaze seems too dry, add more water or orange juice to reach right consistency. Drizzle over cake.

This next one is a recipe I just had to try, even though I suspected I wouldn’t like it (quite the opposite of when I was a picky eater many years ago).

It seems that nowadays everyone has a recipe for pumpkin soup. I never was much of a pumpkin fan (until my mom got a wonderful, easy pumpkin cake recipe several years ago – I guess if you mix in enough sugar, fat and cinnamon, I can go with it). But I have managed to eat – and even enjoy – pumpkin bread, muffins and even pie on occasion.

But pumpkin soup? Well … we’d have to see. I can usually count on Bruce to eat my mistakes, or when they’re not mistakes, at least the things I determine are weird. Like Alison, I’m not one to throw out perfectly good (and by that I mean not spoiled) food.

But even Bruce thought it was weird. He said it was better, but still odd, after it cooled to room temp. I ended up adding lots of cinnamon, a little molasses and a good bit of sugar to make it more pie-like, but the jury is still out. (He is downstairs eating a bowl right now – cold – because he is even worse than I am about wasting food.)

So you tell me. Is this as weird as we think? I mean, seriously, pumpkin, onion, celery, nutmeg – and hot sauce??? Strange. (I did like the relish, however. I didn’t think I would. Go figure.)

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish
Rachael Ray’s Thanksgiving in 60

Soup:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 fresh bay leaf
2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning OR 2 teaspoons ground thyme
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
6 cups chicken stock
28-ounce can cooked pumpkin puree
2 cups heavy cream (I used whole milk)
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Relish:
1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped

¼ red onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped (I used orange-flavored Craisins)

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons honey

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat medium soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add oil and melt butter. Add bay, celery and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook 6-7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate into broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit, then add cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: Combine all ingredients.

Serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

Please let me know your thoughts on pumpkin soup. And if you have a pumpkin soup recipe that is more traditional, send it my direction.

Next time I’ll share my wonderful new chili recipe. It’s soo easy, and so delish. It was a major hit at a recent farewell party for a former co-worker. Can’t wait to share it with you.

Until then, as Paula would say, love and best dishes from my house to yers.

Just checking in

Suzy Taylor Oakley family, work

I’ve started using that phrase with my mom lately – “just checking in.”

For the past 20-something years, I’ve called home once a week or so, even if there was nothing special to talk about. Since Dad died, Mom and I started talking a little more often but still not every day. But since Bruce got sick again nearly two years ago, Mom and I have talked every day, with a few exceptions (usually when I’ve fallen asleep early and forgotten to call). Mom just wants an update on my sweetie; she worries about him nearly as much as I do.

Lately Bruce has been better but still is not as healthy as he should be, so daily updates to Mom are not quite so urgent. But now we’re in the habit of talking every day – praise the Lord for free long distance!

So now when I call just because I’m supposed to, sometimes all I have to start the conversation with is, “I’m just calling to check in.” Sometimes I’m so tired I can barely talk, but I still have to talk to my mom. I just couldn’t end my day properly without it.

And lately I haven’t been posting here much because of so much going on in my life, but I wanted everyone to know I’m still here. I would like to post more, but I do come home tired from my new job (my new job that I still love, love, LOVE!). Learning an entirely new industry has its stresses, but it’s a good stress; I’m expanding my brain.

But that brain is tired, and blogging takes thought and effort. And even though I miss posting as often as I used to, I just can’t keep up the pace. So for now I’m …

… just checking in.

50 years ago today

Suzy Taylor Oakley family
Dort and Ben, Christmas 1960
Dort and Ben, Christmas 1960

Benny Lee Taylor and Dorothy Jean Taylor were married Nov. 7, 1958, at Unity Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark.

Yes, Taylor was my mom’s maiden name. No relation, so save all those jokes some of you are thinking up right now (you know who you are).

But in the spirit of levity, I’m using this photo from Christmas 1960 because I couldn’t find the wedding picture that I thought I had. I’ll post that pic later. These big events sometimes sneak up on me.

Yes, I realize that Dad has been gone for nearly 11 years, but these things are worth marking, don’t you think? Even 39 years is a huge deal nowadays for a couple. Besides that, you wouldn’t be reading this blog if not for that event so long ago.

Hooray for Ben and Dort! And, Mom, have a day filled with wonderful memories.

Out with the old, in with the new

Suzy Taylor Oakley debt-proof living, God, money, volunteering, work

I left my extremely stressful job last week and started a new one Monday. I don’t have a lot of time for detail this morning (groceries to buy, lawn to mow, fall flowers to plant, football to watch, etc.) but did want to update those of you who still check my blog occasionally.

I don’t want to disparage my former employer, so I won’t mention the name, but just let me say that my new company is a breath of fresh air. Or maybe I should say I can actually breathe at my new job – and take lunch breaks, and go home after eight hours. I loved the people I worked with at the other place, and the new job is somewhat a career switch (going from publishing to investments), but the new company is an extremely efficient, well-organized place to work. They seem to know what they’re doing.

The main thing is that I want to serve people by helping them with their finances (and I want to work at a place that doesn’t cause me insomnia).

I have been a volunteer with Crown Financial Ministries for the past few years, and that’s a little different from what the investment firm does, and yet the same. It all boils down to being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

So here’s to my new employer and 40-hour weeks!

Same hospital, different patient

Suzy Taylor Oakley Crohn's disease, family, God, health, medical, work

After so many months visiting Bruce in the hospital and having to make trips back and forth, the shoe was on the other foot this week.

Monday morning I went to the ER after telling a co-worker, “I feel kinda funny.” After having a couple of weird little symptoms over the weekend (that I hadn’t told Bruce about) and the co-worker telling me I looked “really flushed,” I decided to get checked out.

After a few tests I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse with mitral valve regurgitation. They did some tests Monday and kept me overnight for observation, and today was the TEE (transesophogeal echocardiogram). That test was done after the cardiologist heard a heart murmur during the regular echocardiogram but decided to get a better view by making me swallow an ultrasound transducer. Let me tell you, that was not fun.

I didn’t tell the second doc (the one who explained the TEE yesterday and performed it today) until right before the procedure that I have a strong gag reflex (I can’t even clean wet hair out of the shower drain without gagging – it’s not pretty). He had mentioned that some people have trouble swallowing the transducer. You have to gargle this viscous numbing solution for a few minutes, then swallow the solution, and if that doesn’t quite do it, they spray more numbing stuff down your throat. After the third spray I threw up the viscous gel stuff (I’ll spare you the details – let’s just say there’s a reason they don’t let you eat for several hours before a procedure like that). The doc said he had had patients who had trouble with the stuff but the throwing up was a first for him.

So he had to put me under – or at least he tried, I was told later. (One thing I did forget to tell him is that not only did I inherit the gagging thing from my dad, I also inherited the need for stronger drugs than most people require – Dad once woke up on the operating table during back surgery.) They give you an amnesia-inducing sedative, so I don’t remember, but apparently I was alert throughout the rest of today’s procedure. Let me just say that I’m really glad I don’t remember, although my sore throat is a constant reminder albeit a really good excuse for frozen yogurt when we got home this afternoon.

The bottom line is that many people live with mitral valve prolapse with no problems. The TEE showed more damage to my valve than they were expecting, but after one doctor (the one who did the TEE) brought up the real possibility of surgery (the scary, crack-open-your-sternum kind of surgery), the original doc said he just wants to monitor it closely. I have another echocardiogram scheduled for December, then he’ll see me every six months. I intend to seek a third opinion, however, just to be sure.

One of the lessons here is that early detection is extremely important. I had ignored a couple of things going on with me over the weekend, but when I got to work Monday and had the strange lightheaded feeling, I decided not to ignore it any longer. Ironically, those symptoms don’t seem to be related to the heart valve problem. I don’t believe in coincidences, so the other symptoms, however minor, may have saved my life – maybe not this week but down the road. (The link I provided above says mitral valve prolapse isn’t dangerous, but I also have the “regurgitation” part, in which blood leaks back into the chamber and can cause other problems.)

Bruce was telling the doctors that with his Crohn’s disease we’ve learned a big lesson about ignoring symptoms. In 1998, he nearly died before I could get him to see a doctor. When I finally told him I was taking him to the hospital, they discovered the disease that has taken so much out of him these past 10 years, and especially the past 20 months.

But I told him it’s because I read too many magazine articles about people who ignore little things until it’s too late. Monday morning I just finally decided to stop ignoring the little signs, even though they turned out to be “merely” stress related. Bruce and I joked yesterday that my job, which has caused me an extreme amount of stress in the past 11 months, may have saved my life. Who knows? It may be true.

But as I often say, I think it was “my guardian angel working overtime.”

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us.

Bravo, Harding University

Suzy Taylor Oakley environment, inspiration

As the editor of three weekly newspapers, I get dozens of news releases a week. Most of them are via e-mail (thank God), but, even though those don’t waste paper (or kill trees, as I refer to it), sometimes I just hate sorting through the backlog in my inbox. And, to be honest, I delete some of them after a quick skim.

This one was a wonderful exception. Because Harding University is in Searcy and outside our circulation area, I knew we wouldn’t run it in any of my papers, but I asked the university’s PR person for permission to reprint it in full here. She wholeheartedly agreed.

September 18, 2008

Go Green initiative progressing at Harding University

SEARCY, Ark. – Green is the new black and gold for Harding University. On April 22, Earth Day, the University announced an initiative to “Go Green.” Environmental efforts have made such rapid strides that every day is now an earth-friendly day on campus.

To formally oversee these efforts, the University formed an environmental stewardship committee, which is chaired by Dr. Jim Carr, executive vice president of the University. Students, faculty and staff can contact this committee with questions, requests and ideas by e-mailing gogreen@harding.edu.

Carr stated, “I am personally very excited to chair this effort at Harding. We are going to do our best as a committee to mobilize the entire University community to be good stewards of our limited resources and to preserve the terrific environment we have been given on our campus, in Arkansas and in our beautiful country. Our progress in just six months has been nothing short of remarkable. We have already recycled thousands of pounds of paper, aluminum and plastic and have made plans to plant hundreds of new hardwood and pine seedlings in our area.”

According to Greg Tatera, committee member and director of Facility Services, a high level of excitement is also evident among students on campus. He said, “It’s been a long time coming. There’s been a lot of momentum building behind this, and we’ve seen huge strides for the program.”

In an effort to promote conservation, the University cafeteria no longer offers trays. Food Service Director Judy Hart reported that this simple action saves nearly 600 gallons of heated water per meal period, reduces food waste by 20 percent per consumer, and helps prevent cleaning agents from polluting the water supply. The University saves more than $83 per week on water, electricity, sewage and chemicals.

Additional environmentally friendly initiatives abound on campus. Danny DeRamus, director of Physical Resources and environmental stewardship committee member, said that since installation of programmable thermostats, “The price of usage has stayed the same, even with the addition of buildings over the last several years.”

New or recently renovated buildings such as the Ulrey Performing Arts Center and Center for Health Sciences are fitted with thermostats that can only be shifted two or three degrees at a time. This saves energy costs by decreasing the workload for air conditioning and heating units and has also cut down on the number of maintenance calls. Furthermore, the new Center for Health Sciences is the first building on campus to reap energy benefits from a motion detector-based lighting system.

Since its recent inception, the recycling program has expanded from three trial containers to more than 200 bins across campus. Paper recycling is available in nearly every office, and the University will soon collect used ink cartridges and cell phones, old batteries, and discarded CDs and DVDs.

An upsurge in the number of recycled goods picked up from campus illustrates eager participation in the new program. The University has recycled 2,417 bags, or 49,000 pounds, of materials since May 15.

Tatera is encouraged by the success of the recycling program, but he further hopes that this new emphasis on environmental stewardship will reach beyond recycling. He said that students and faculty must learn to rethink usage as well. Perhaps professors can offer more information online instead of copying handouts. Social clubs and campus organizations should ask themselves whether it is necessary to print 200 fliers to spread the word about an event.

Tatera sees environmental stewardship as a mandate. “We have to be good stewards with what the Lord has given us,” he said. “This is what we can do. This is what we have to do.”

-HU-

This kind of stuff makes me want to stand up and cheer!

Go green. Go, Harding!

Hate vs. Hate

Suzy Taylor Oakley God

This morning my co-worker was talking about the protesters on the street corner a block from our office. She had seen them on her way in.

Apparently they were serious about their “mission,” because they were still there when I drove home this evening. Traffic was heavy, so I inched up slowly over the course of three red lights. That gave me plenty of time to read their signs. Once I made it through the green light, I had to fight tears and nausea all the way home, after overcoming the urge to roll down my window and say something that might be perceived as equally hateful. I just couldn’t think of a loving and gentle way to say what I was thinking, especially because it would have had to be loud (so they could hear me) and fast (as I drove directly past them).

I turned on the radio, and they were the topic on the local talk show. These protesters are famous. They have come from a congregation in another state to spread their hate. I’m not going to be more specific because I don’t want anyone using a search engine to find them through my page. They have, in my opinion, received enough publicity by spreading their hateful, sickening messages.

Their signs listed many of the things God allegedly hates. Some of the lifestyles and particular acts mentioned on the signs are, yes, deplorable — things directly addressed in the Scriptures. But to make signs with these hateful words, to TRAVEL TO OTHER STATES with those signs, to stand on a busy metropolitan street corner and espouse these views … well, that takes a lot of hate. Most of these signs were professionally made, not something scribbled on a piece of poster board with a permanent marker. They spent good money on their signs.

These people are professional haters.

On the other side of the street were the people who hated the first haters, although it was a bit difficult to be sure that all of that side of the street was against the first group. They, too, talked about things God supposedly hates. Things you eat, things you wear (He hates polyester?), things the other people stood for. The people on that side wished, via their signage, that the people from the first group would cease producing offspring, among other things. The kindest thing the people in the second group said in their signs was, “Girl in purple shirt is cute.” This was a sign held by a boy who looked to be about 13. He was displaying his sign to the group across the street — the first group of haters. Yeah, he really understood what was going on. Who knows, he may have just stumbled upon the situation and decided to chime in with his own opinion; his sign was handwritten, as were most of the ones on his side of the street.

But the saddest part, I think, is that the people on the first side of the street had their CHILDREN out there holding those signs. Little children, much younger than 13. One little boy looked to be about 7. His sign not only talked about certain people God allegedly hates, but it depicted a particular act that God hates. Can you imagine making your child stand on a street corner and hold such a sign? To make him hold such a sign, wouldn’t you have had to explain to him what the sign depicted? Fortunately, the people on the sign were stick figures; maybe that helped a little.

Here are a few things I think God hates: self-righteousness, name calling, pretending we speak for Him when we haven’t a clue what we’re talking about (ironically, just writing this makes me vulnerable to the same accusations).

Jesus condemned self-righteousness. Here is a short commentary on some of the things He said in the Sermon on the Mount.

Even some of the words Jesus spoke in this sermon are misinterpreted by those of us who follow Him. We twist things to fit our view of the world, to make us more comfortable, to help us feel righteous. But as Paul said in Romans 3:10, “No one is righteous — not even one.” No human has the right to condemn or judge another. Only God, the Righteous Judge, holds that authority.

Freedom of speech is one of the greatest privileges we have in this country, but unfortunately it carries with it the freedom to spread hate and misinformation. This is abuse of that freedom, pure and simple.

Misrepresenting what He wrote to us has dire consequences. Heaven help us all if we fall into that trap.

The good news, even if we want to hate these haters, is that Jesus died for them just as he died for us. On our own, no one is righteous — not even one. We ALL need a Savior — every last, self-righteous one of us.

Give

Suzy Taylor Oakley inspiration, reaching out, volunteering

Jimmy Pritchett, the homeless coordinator for the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock, wore this shirt Saturday at the Homeless Outreach Event, which he co-chaired.

Pretty much sums it up for me.

I believe I’m required to let you know that this photo is technically the property of Central Arkansas Newspapers. I took it on my own but later decided to write a story for the papers I edit, so, because we used it in two of the three papers I’m responsible for, my employer now owns the rights to the picture.

think. pray. live.

Suzy Taylor Oakley friends, inspiration

I’m always stealing links from Sarabeth’s blog (this is the second time this week) but she finds some really good ones, so I don’t think she minds. This one is from Quinn Cummings (who is also listed under “Blogs I visit” at right — you’ll have to scroll). I read Quinn because she’s hilarious, but this one is more thoughtful. I hope it makes you pause, too — especially as we stop to remember what happened seven years ago today.