[Mn-at-large] Weekly Update: Teamwork makes the dream Work

Mon Dec 10 01:45:00 UTC 2018

>
>From: NFBMN-News <nfbmn-news-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of NFBMN
>President via NFBMN-News
>Sent: Sunday, December 9, 2018 7:17 PM
>To: nfbmn-news at nfbnet.org
>Subject: [Nfbmn-news] Weekly Update: Teamwork makes the dream Work
>
>
>
>Greetings, fellow federationists,
>
>Randi and I traveled to Rochester yesterday for their annual holiday party,
>where we were hosted in fine style over a prime rib dinner. We were able to
>see a few friends we hadn't seen in ... two weeks, and we got to catch up
>with others we hadn't seen in a year. I offer my sincere thanks to the
>Rochester chapter for their warm hospitality, and I appreciate the time I
>was able to spend with our members there. In addition, Jan once again
>provided me with a stack of delicious recipes which you will find at the
>bottom of this update.
>
>Teamwork is essential to what we do in the Federation, but so are the
>memorable moments that exist between the work we do. In that spirit, it
>would be irresponsible of me not to share the following:
>
>Jan Bailey, the president of our Rochester chapter, is no stranger to
>entertaining. She hosts the state board meeting once a year, and she also
>hosts the chapter holiday party at her house. She puts out card tables and
>TV trays, and she expands her dining room table to its largest size in order
>to accommodate everyone who comes. Since most places are used for seating,
>Jan finds space where she can, so guests placed a few plates and pans of
>dessert on the washing machine until the appetizer table could be cleared.
>
>While finishing our appetizers, including a delicious cream cheese and feta
>spread, we heard a tremendous crash from the other room., after we made sure
>that everyone was safe and whole, we explored the house and discovered that
>a pan of deep dish apple brownies had managed to clatter, still fully
>covered and upright, down between the front of the washer and the folding
>door which covered it.
>
>Geometry is a fascinating thing. The triangle of the folding door and the
>washing machine had a rectangular pan right in the middle of it, and there's
>only so much one can squash a triangle when there's a pan in the way. We
>couldn't open or close the door because of the pan, and there was no way to
>lift the several pounds of deep dish brownies up, both because it was heavy
>and because the door stopped half an inch above the floor. We couldn't wedge
>anything under the pan and lift it up because the washer was three feet
>tall, and the door itself wouldn't come off its track so we could liberate
>dessert the old-fashioned way.
>
>What was a group of federationists to do?
>
>After several minutes of fiddling with different solutions, Randi finally
>decided to squeeze behind the door, climb onto the washer, and lower
>herself-up-side down-toward the brownies. Meanwhile, Wanda and I wedged our
>fingers under the door and under the brownie pan, lifting it about an inch
>so Randi could get a grip on it. Her arms were just a bit too short, though,
>so Dave, another member, held her feet so she could slide down the rest of
>the way-still up-side down, mind you. She hauled on the brownie pan, Dave
>hauled on her feet, and dessert was saved.
>
>Those brownies were delicious. I only wish we had pictures of their rescue.
>
>I appreciate all the work we do in the NFB of Minnesota, whether it's
>advocating in congress or hitting the streets to educate the public. It's
>vitally important, and it's why we exist in the first place. There's
>something remarkable, though, about having an experience like The great Bar
>Rescue of 2018 with people you care about. It brings us closer together, and
>it reminds us that we're not just colleagues. We're friends.
>
>
>
>New Website Difficulties
>
>Over the past month or so, we switched our website to a new hosting
>provider, and we changed the code in which it is written. While this is a
>great thing and will make writing web content easier, I have heard some
>people are having difficulty getting to www.nfbmn.org <http://www.nfbmn.org>
>. If this is happening to you, you can press control+F5 on your computer or
>tap the reload button on your mobile browser. If that doesn't solve the
>problem, you can also clear your browsing history and cache, then revisit
>the website.
>
>If you have saved our old website in your bookmarks or favorites, you will
>want to update it to www.nfbmn.org <http://www.nfbmn.org> . We are no longer
>with TCQ, so old bookmarks and favorites will no longer work.
>
>Our new website is going to open up a lot of possibilities for us, and it's
>not going to crash at critical times like it did twice this year already. We
>just have to get past the growing pains of switching over.
>
>
>
>Legislative Priorities
>
>At the board meeting on Tuesday, the board recommended appointing a
>committee to select legislative priorities for our Day at the Capitol, as
>we're still waiting on a few important pieces of information regarding last
>year's initiatives. If you have recommendations for the committee to
>consider, please let me know, and I will pass them on to the committee.
>Legislative advocacy is a crucial part of what we do, and I encourage your
>input.
>
>
>
>Member Spotlight
>
>If you would like to be featured in an upcoming member spotlight, please
>send me a brief bio or a few notes about you, and I'll be sure to include
>you in a future update.
>
>This week we get to know Randi Strunk, rescuer of the brownies and one of
>the most athletic people I know.
>
>Randi was born and raised in Nebraska and attended college at the University
>of Nebraska Lincoln-go Big Red-where she earned a bachelor's degree in
>psychology. She served as president of the Nebraska student division, and
>she helped build chapters on the NFB Corps. She currently works at Target,
>where she has been employed for seven years as a lead accessibility
>consultant.
>
>Randi enjoys fantasy sports and cooking, and she works all the calories off
>from one of them by racing triathlons. In April, she completed her first
>Ironman where she swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles, and ran a marathon back
>to back. She's planning to race another soon.
>
>
>
>Dates to Remember
>
>*       Jan. 8, 2019, 10:00 AM: State Board Meeting, Minneapolis
>*       Jan 16, 2019: Day at the Capitol, St. Paul
>*       Jan. 28-31, 2019: Washington seminar, Washington DC
>*       May 18, 2019: Semiannual Convention, Minneapolis
>*       July 7-12, 2019: NFB National Convention, Las Vegas, NV
>*       Oct. 25-27, 2019: NFBMN Annual state Convention, St. Cloud
>
>
>
>Recipes
>
>How about a little bonus content? Here are recipes for just a few of the
>amazing dishes we enjoyed yesterday at the Rochester holiday party.
>
>
>
>Dill, Feta and Garlic Cream Cheese Spread
>
>Submitted by: Bronte Getter
>
>Prep Time: 15 Minutes
>
>Ready In: 4 Hours 15 Minutes
>
>Yields: 24 servings
>
>
>
>2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
>
>1 (8 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
>
>3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
>
>2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
>
>
>
>In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend cream cheese, feta cheese, garlic,
>
>and dill with an electric mixer. Cover, and refrigerate at least 4
>
>hours.
>
>You can easily cut this recipe in half.
>
>
>
>BROWN RICE ALMOND DRESSING
>
>Makes 8 servings. Preparation time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: less than 40
>
>minutes, plus rice.
>
>
>
>1/2 cup slivered almonds
>
>2 tablespoons butter or margarine
>
>1 medium tart red or green apple, cored and diced
>
>1/2 cup chopped onion
>
>1/2 cup chopped celery
>
>1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
>
>1/4 teaspoon thyme
>
>1/4 teaspoon white pepper
>
>3 cups cooked brown rice
>
>
>
>Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 1-1/2- to 2-quart baking dish with cooking
>
>spray. Heat butter or margarine in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high;
>
>add almonds and cook 2 minutes or until golden. Add apple, onion, celery,
>
>poultry seasoning, thyme and pepper; continue to cook 4 to 6 minutes or
>
>until vegetables are softened. Stir in rice; cook until thoroughly heated.
>
>Spoon into baking dish; cover tightly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
>
>White pepper is hot (we're Minnesotan), so you can lower the amount or leave
>it out altogether.
>
>
>
>Prime Rib Recipe
>
>One standing rib roast, 3 to 7 ribs (estimate serving 2 people per rib),
>bones cut away from the roast and tied back to the roast with kitchen string
>(ask your butcher to prepare the roast this way)
>
>Salt
>
>Freshly ground black pepper
>
>
>
>1 Remove roast from the refrigerator, loosely wrapped, 3 hours before
>cooking. Roasts should always be brought close to room temperature first,
>before they go in the oven.
>
>Cookbooks often call for the excess fat to be removed. By "excess" fat they
>mean any fat more than an inch thick. The fat is what provides the flavor
>and what you are paying for with prime rib, so you want to leave it on. Your
>butcher should have removed any excess fat.
>
>If your butcher hasn't already done so, cut the bones away from the roast
>and tie them back on to the roast with kitchen string. This will make it
>much easier to carve the roast, while still allowing you to stand the roast
>on the rib bones while cooking.
>
>2 Preheat your oven to 500°F, or the highest it will go (our oven only goes
>up to 450°F). Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over the roast.
>
>3 Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure
>it doesn't touch a bone. (Some meat thermometers require that you poke a
>hole first with a skewer, and then insert the thermometer.) Place the roast,
>fat side up, rib side down in a roasting pan in the oven.
>
>4 After 15 minutes on 500°F, reduce the heat to 325°F. To figure out the
>total cooking time, allow about 13-15 minutes per pound for rare and 15-17
>minutes per pound for medium rare. The actual cooking time will depend on
>the shape of the roast and your particular oven. A flatter roast will cook
>more quickly than a thicker one. So make sure to use a meat thermometer.
>This is not a roast to "wing it". Error on the rare side.
>
>                          Roast in oven until thermometer registers
>115°-120°F for rare or 125°-130°F for medium.
>
>Check the temperature of the roast using a meat thermometer a half hour
>before you expect the roast to be done. For example, with a 10 pound roast,
>you would expect 2 1/2 hours of total cooking time (15 minutes at 500° and 2
>1/4 hours at 325°). In this case, check after 2 hours of total cooking time,
>or 1 hour 45 minutes after you lowered the oven temp to 325°.
>
>Once the roast has reached the desired internal temperature, remove it from
>oven and let rest 20 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, before carving.
>The roast will continue to cook while it is resting.
>
>5 With a knife or scissors, cut the strings which attach the meat to the
>bones. Remove the bones (save for making stock for soup. Then, using a sharp
>carving knife, slice meat across the grain for serving, making the slices
>about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
>
>
>
>
>
>WARM CINNAMON PUNCH
>
>
>
>1 (64-ounce) can pineapple juice
>
>1 (64-ounce) can cranberry juice
>
>2 cups water
>
>1 cup packaged light brown sugar
>
>3 cinnamon sticks
>
>1 Tablespoon whole cloves
>
>
>
>Combine the pineapple juice, cranberry juice and water in a large electric
>
>percolator. Place the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves in the
>
>percolator basket. Perk for 10 minutes or longer. Pour into mugs.
>
>
>
>To prepare on the stovetop, combine the pineapple juice, cranberry juice,
>
>water, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves in a large saucepan and mix
>
>well. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally. Discard cinnamon sticks
>
>and cloves, and ladle into mugs.
>
>
>
>Makes 30 (6-ounce) servings.
>
>
>
>Have a great week,
>
>Ryan
>
>
>
>Ryan Strunk, President
>
>president at nfbmn.org <mailto:president at nfbmn.org>
>
>www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org>
>
>www.nfbmn.org <http://www.nfbmn.org>
>
>(612) 872-9363
>
>Live the life you Want.
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