What the Hell is Couscous

Walking through the organic food aisle in the supermarket I came across Couscous. I instantly thought of the dreaded Quinoa “challenge” and thought well at least it’s only a small 10 oz box. Cue the culinary challenge. I tossed a box in my cart (after all, it was only $1). At home I did a quick Google search and learned “Couscous is made from semolina, which is the hard part of the grain of hard wheat. Water is used to bind two different sizes of the husked and crushed semolina.” Verdict- this was delicious, my household loves couscous, and wondered why I only bought one box. Bon Appetit!

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 mushrooms (sliced)
  • ½ onion – minced
  • 1 clove garlic – minced
  • 1- 1/2 cups homemade chicken broth
  • 1 box of couscous
  • Shrimp
  • Green beans
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Heat butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.  Add the broth to the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil. Add couscous. Stir to combine. Cover pan and remove from heat. Set aside until liquid has half absorbed (approximately five minutes). Added green beans and seasoned raw shrimp. Mix well and stir until shrimp are pink. Garnish with basil and serve.

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The Question

What is the most important challenge women face today ?


Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

 

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Excerpt from a Career Journal: A Crisis Intervention Specialist

 “God is always on time and knows what you need. It is we who are impatient and indecisiveness.” I found those words on a faded post-it and they made me smile, pause, and reflect, as it was stuck to the following entry

Publish in an open access journal | Emerald Publishing

“Last week I got a call from a homeless shelter for women. I was surprised because the lady held my application since October, which was more than six months ago. Perhaps she came across it while cleaning out the file cabinet? Nevertheless, I know I originally withdrew my application for a Crisis Intervention Specialist. Yet six months later I find myself singing a new tune. I could use the extra cash. Although it only pays _____ an hour, it will help with my car note. I also have now realized it’s good to have the following on my resume “Works effectively with persons of mental illness, and with persons of substance abuse related issues. Efficient in providing harm reduction counseling and advocacy.” as I apply for graduate school and move forward in my social services career.

I started my training at the shelter today.  Just listening to the advice given during training, I know this is not the gig for me. My passion leans more toward working with children and families. Children are NOT allowed in the shelter. We were informed if we see a child, we should call Child Protective Services whether the child appears to be in danger or not. Before I could get into my feelings, she informed us that CPS often will not show up.  Talk about the gaps in our system.  Yet ____ words echo, “You may not interact with children, yet you can see the mothers which they come from, and maybe find out what happened to their children.” She informed me that many of the women who they refer to as “clients” are at the shelter because of drug abuse, mental illness, and/or domestic violence relationships. She also complains while training us that there needs to be a better transition between prison and release. Hell, I say we need to embrace these women when they are young.

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Advice from a Horoscope

Today is an 8 — Keep generating income. Unanticipated variables could complicate things. Find a short-term solution that can buy time for a more permanent solution. Experience pays.

95706961-AD99-429C-B19C-9295A7B300DEPositively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

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Am I in 1930s Mississippi?

Donna Grethen / Op-Art

I wish I could say this article “Jury Duty in Seattle: Am I in 1930s Mississippi?” surprised me entirely. Perhaps my perspective may have been changed if I too knew the title of the 11-minute video jurors watched, so that I too could watch it and decide for myself if it helped one overcome years of unconscious bias (though I highly doubt it). Nevertheless, I do believe this it is a conversation we should still be having in 2020. Babb touched on something important when she stated “Race wasn’t the only demographic out of whack. My six-person jury comprised an engineer, two people in management, two researchers and myself, a minister and writer. Three of us, or maybe more, had graduate degrees. These are all individuals of middle and upper class who can afford the time off work.” That revelation speaks volumes to me as it is clear most cases jurors will see will be felony cases, which are often lower class, uneducated, citizens of color who cannot take time off from work to judge their peers. Babb echoed my sentiments when she stated “One of my fellow jurors had previously worked at Costco, and he said he never would have asked for time off for jury duty, nor would he have been able to afford to take the time off without pay.” Babb asked readers if her experience was typical. I would say it is. My questions are: “How do we fix this issue? Do we offer a higher financial rate for siting on a jury? Do we offer court after hours and/or on the weekend so it can fit in with the average working person’s schedule?” What is a solution to this problem?

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