2018-06-01

Orlando Advocate | May 25 - 31,, 2018
8
Food Health &Wellness
Easy Italian Pasta Salad
I’m blessed to have grown up
in a pretty diverse Southern city.
My neighborhood consisted of a
melting pot of different ethnic &
religious groups, gays & lesbians.
The church I attended was
no different. Although it had a
particular denomination, I think
anybody could join no matter your
lifestyle, beliefs, etc. The people
were lovely. But all that diversity
made for some very entertaining
moments.
I could seriously write a comedy
series on all the different “characters”
in that place. Today, we’re
going to talk about Miss Mary for
a second.
Miss Mary was a fiery, Catholic
Italian grandmother with a thick
New York accent. You never knew
if she was gonna cuss you out (yes
in church) or say “Come here dawlin
give me a hug. You’re so thin
are you eating?”. You also never
knew if she was really angry or
just talking loud and passionately.
She had this younger guy named
Paul that helped her out a lot.
She would cuss poor Paul out
as if cussing had points. Like seriously
yall, I never knew you could
string all the cuss words into one
sentence until I met Miss Mary.
She is the real MVP in my book!
For the most part, Paul would
Author: Divas Can Cook
Serves: Serves 8Ingredients
ITALIAN DRESSING
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red bell peppers, minced
1 tablespoon white onions, minced
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons salt
¼ -1/2 teaspoon black pepper
bare her brutal insults out of
respect, but once in a blue moon,
he would snap and let her have it in
his own heavy New York accent.
I’m seriously laughing while
writing this thinking about the
time she blasted Paul to hell and
back, for not getting her wheelchair
up the ramp correctly and
then in that same breath said: “Oh
and happy birthday by the way.”
Every day after church we had
lunch. Miss Mary would always
bring the most delicious looking
authentic Italian pasta salad. The
bold fragrance of garlic, basil and
onions would fill the room and
people would rave about how fresh
it tasted.
I never got the try Miss Mary’s
Italian Pasta Salad.
Why?
Well, one day I loaded that
Italian pasta salad on my plate, I
was so happy and ready to give my
taste buds a party! That’s when my
sister said, “You’re gonna eat Miss
Mary’s pasta salad? You know she
eats out the bowl right?”
@#*$@#*$^ !!!
@*#^$@#^$!!!!!
Oh well, from that point on I
was left to admire the beauty of
that Italian pasta salad. Man, was
it torture to my greedy, foodie-kid
soul seeing all that fresh basil,
pearl mozzarella, pepperoni, peppers,
and olives and not being able
to touch it. Cause your girl, don’t
do that shared eating business.
At. All.
Nowadays, I make my version
of that gorgeous Italian pasta
salad that looks just like Miss
Mary’s. I’m not sure if it tastes
the same, but my oh my is it
GUUUUUUUUD!
It has a sense of elegance about
it and would be great for a bridal
shower or wedding. One guy said,
“This is pasta salad for adults!”
Ha! I’d have to agree, although
my little Ethan loves it!!
What I adore about this Italian
pasta salad is that you can
taste ALL of the ingredients. The
homemade Italian dressing is bold,
yet it doesn’t overtake everything
like the store-bought versions
tend to do.
You can seriously taste the
sweetness of the tomatoes, the
tartness of the olives and banana
peppers, the coolness the pearl
mozzarella, the spiciness of the
pepperoni, the savoriness of the
fresh basil..mercy.
To have so many bold players,
it’s a surprisingly light-tasting
pasta salad! Everything gets along
so well.
Make it. You deserve it.
HEALTH TIP: GUIDING YOUR
CHILD’S NARCOLEPSY
Narcolepsy is a lifelong
disorder in which a person experiences
abnormal sleep patterns
where they fall asleep suddenly
and most often at unusual times.
The causes of Narcolepsy are not
yet fully known nor well understood.
Although people are not
born with Narcolepsy, generally,
symptoms become apparent before
early adulthood with children as
young as three years old having
been diagnosed.
What are the signs of Narcolepsy
in children?
A child with narcolepsy may
suddenly fall asleep or lose control
of muscle function while eating,
playing, or simply walking
down the street. Narcolepsy is a
condition of excessive sleepiness
that may considerably impact all
aspects of a child’s life including
social and academic functioning.
Children with narcolepsy may
experience the following:
Constant excessive daytime
sleepiness
Ongoing struggles to stay awake
Falling asleep at unusual times
and locations that may be unexpectedly
sudden in the form of
sleep attacks
How should you help control
your child’s Narcolepsy?
Faith
According to The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, here
are some suggestions for dealing
withyour child’s condition:
Make sure your child has a consistent
sleep regimen, he should
go to bed and wake up at the same
time each day.
Short, scheduled naps may help.
Check with your pediatrician.
Exercise or any physical activity
may help stimulate your
child. Avoid repetitive, sedentary
activities.
Talk to your pediatrician about
medications that may help control
narcolepsy, and follow the prescription
carefully.
Keep an eye on your child while
he’s engaged in any activity that
could be dangerous, like riding a
bike, swimming or cooking. Avoid
these activities at times when the
child is usually tired.
If you are concerned that your
child may have excessive daytime
sleepiness and other associated
problems suggestive of narcolepsy,
you can start by speaking
with your pediatrician about your
concerns. Further testing can be
arranged to determine whether
narcolepsy may underlie your
concerns, which might prevent a
delay in diagnosis and help your
child during this critical period of
development.
Ephesus
3 cups rotini pasta, prepared al dente *
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup black olives
¾ cup pepperoni, diced
3 tablespoons banana peppers, diced
¼ cup red bell peppers, diced
½ cup green bell peppers, diced
½ cup fresh basil leaves (use small leaves)
½ cup Fresh Mozzarella pearls
parsley
Instructions
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a glass jar.
Shake well to incorporate the ingredients. Store in fridge until ready to use.
Refrigerate overnight if possible. (flavor increases greatly overnight)
To prepare the pasta, place the cooked and cooled rotini pasta in a large bowl.
Stir in tomatoes, black olive, pepperoni, banana peppers, red bell peppers, & green bell peppers
in a large bowl.
Pour on the desired amount of dressing and toss to combine. ( I use it all!)
Stir in basil and mozzarella.
Add parsley for more color if desired.
Refrigerate overnight if possible.
Toss and serve!
Notes
I cook my pasta until al dente and then immediately rinse with cool water.
Feel free to up the amount or decrease the amount of any pasta salad add-ins!
We are living in a time
when the work of the Lord is far
more popular than truly living
for the Lord. There are plenty
of churches that meet and come
together to talk about God and the
Bible, but many of them are shells
of their old selves. Back in the
day, they used to build families,
but now most of their families
are breaking up.They used to put
their children’s well being before
their own but now most of their
children have departed from the
faith.They used to call out sin and
stand against it, but now they hide
and harbor sin, secretly.Though
they defend the faith and what they
believe when it comes to unbelievers
and doubters, they have truly
lost their love for God and for His
way of doing things.
Christ is calling for these pastors
to repent and have their congregations
refocus on what was once
important. Even though they stand
against those that teach frustration
of God’s grace, they still lack
the zeal for God that they once
possessed.Their first love or first
zeal for God was when their own
desires were not their focus. Sadly,
this is the condition of many modern
churches.The church was once
an extension of the family, but to
many, it has become a replacement
for the family. Just as Christ
spoke to the angel of the church in
Revelation, He is speaking to the
pastors of churches today. Repent
or else you will be operating a
church that is absent of the light
of Christ.
Rev. 2:7 He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches;To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst
of the paradise of God.