Good 4 U Food

Recipes for Good... Healthy Food

By: Xander - The Food Dude

     Xander brings blend of life experience and culinary twist to his writing. From cooking on television and live demonstrations, to writing Xander cook’s like he feels. A former Chicago native transplanted to Tennessee, His goal has been to experience the fullness of food heritage. He believes that as a people and society, can learn a lot from what we eat. Combining a great life lesson and a easy recipe.  They go hand-in-hand to provide a tasty addition to your day. Xander has to confess that ingredients in a great meal are like the ingredients in a great life are never far apart.

The Law of Expectation

by Xander The Food Dude

     It took me a while to decide what I wanted to write on this month, but it hit me like a bolt of lightning this morning.  Online I saw the headline “Fuel will probably hit $10/gal soon”.  At first I thought the required thought… OH GEEZ !  Then it hit me in another way, I got more than a little ticked off.  I have a friend who is a stock broker.  Not too long ago I asked him why at times they announce gas going up and it goes up in price for us overnight (if not hourly) and in other times it take a week for it to slowly edge up ?

      At the time he conveyed that it really has nothing to do with many things like:  Supply and demand are fine, availability is fine, we have plenty of sources for it, no one is threatening to destroy oil, the middle eastern oil still costs them the same amount per barrel (which for your information is about $3 a barrel cost to the Saudi’s).  He said it is not the cause of the oil companies.  So pretty much I asked is it the fault of the government, to which he replied the government has no role in pricing of fuel.  Ok, I’m thinking that pretty much rules out anyone I wanted to blame.  So who the heck is to blame, man.  He told me of the stock exchange in Chicago, in which stock speculators are, and have been driving the cost of fuel up artificially for the last couple of years.  He said they have been pushing it and will continue to push it as long as they can.  Let’s go back to our supply chain.  Yes, whoever is providing oil is making BILLIONS more than usual.  YES, Oil companies are making BILLIONS more than usual.  And, unfortunately those BILLIONS come from us, so we’re spending BILLIONS more than usual.

     The speculation of future values are driven heavily if not completely on two factors fear of shortage, or fear of surplus.  I know you’re thinking “fear of surplus” ?  Surplus is good for consumers, bad for suppliers.  Let’s use this explanation, the more available a commodity, or the larger the supply, the less the drive to acquire it, so you can’t get as high a price for it.  The more limited the supply the greater the desire to have it, so the more money you can get for it.  Think of past trendy things, cabbage patch kids, tickle me Elmo, PSP, PSP2, etc etc whose limited availability opened up markets for leaches to buy at a reasonable cost and resell on Ebay to the tune of economic rape of consumers.

     This brings us to speculators who are making so much money who would want to stop.  Oil producing companies and gas companies, while not responsible, are not complaining because they make so much more money, and they can honestly say, It’s not us…. It’s them !!

     So who gives the speculators such power…. Easily put… our fear.  Now my thought is that there are hundreds if not thousands of reporters across the world whose primary form of income comes from taking the role of “Chicken Little”  screaming to the world that the sky is falling because all they do is report how gas will cost more and more soon.  In the average consumer we take this as being some level of fact so we accept it as truth and create the law of expectation.  As a brief definition of the law, it basically says this… IF you EXPECT bad things to happen, BAD things will happen, IF however you EXPECT, good things to happen, good things will happen.  In making their contrived guesses about the future cost of fuel, these ignorant “guardians of truth” become unwitting and mindless zombies who stupidly play a role in creating the news they are supposed to be reporting.  In other word when it hits $10 a gallon, tell me then, until then why don’t you quit getting on your evil empire horse and send out a real story.

     I think if we had a hundred or so reporters that sent out this story on Monday “Gas should be $1.50 a gallon soon”, it may not make it to $1.50 by Friday the chances are that the price would start dropping, because we expect it.  While you say this sounds ridiculous, that is the only reason the price rises now with the report that someone in Iran has an upset stomach and they may not be able to report to work at an oil plant even though they play no role in oil production.

     We see oil providers as being evil for not increasing supply, but in actuality they are rather smart.  They earn all the extra money now, without responsibility.  They know as well as some others that this oil bubble (like the housing bubble) is finally going to burst causing the cost to plummet.  If the Saudis increase the amount in supply it would drive down the cost of oil in a huge way and they wouldn’t make as much money.  I’m not saying oil is going to be $1.50 a gallon again, maybe though, but it will be priced more reasonably then now.  So take this as a lesson for every facet of your lives.  The power of expectation is a real thing that can alter and change our lives in many ways.  Expect the good ….. get the good, expect the bad …. Well you then get high fuel costs.

     Next time you’re ready to admit defeat, or give up keep in mind that your mind can do more to help you achieve then you know.  In that same why, improperly used it can do more to help you fail than you know.

     So, until next time keep the power of expectation in mind…. Oh and by the way, “Gas should be $1 a gallon soon…..  spread the word…. Spread the expectation, let’s see what happens…  J  

 Xander

Xander's Recipe of the Month

 

Kickin’ Chik’n Pot Pie

 

 

INGREDIENTS

·   1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat

·   1 cup chicken broth

·   1/2 teaspoon salt

·   1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

·   1 1/2 cups milk

·   3 tablespoons butter

·   1 onion, chopped

·   1 cup chopped celery

·   1/3 cup all-purpose flour

·   2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

·   1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

·   1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·   1 (9 inch) pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie

·   1 egg, lightly beaten

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the chicken meat, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear.
2. Remove the chicken and let cool. Pour the remaining chicken broth mixture into a measuring cup. Let stand; spoon off fat. Add enough milk to the broth mixture to equal 2 1/2 cups. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. In the same pan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Sauté, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in flour until well blended. Gradually stir in broth mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and boils. Add the chicken, vegetables, parsley and thyme. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart deep casserole dish.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Roll out pastry 1 inch larger than the diameter of the casserole dish on a lightly floured surface. Cut slits in the pastry for venting air. Place pastry on top of casserole. Roll edges and cut away extra pastry; flute edges by pinching together. Re roll scraps to cut into decorative designs. Place on top of pastry. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

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by: The Food Dude

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