In my previous cooking blogs I stressed the importance of preparing garlic and pasta correctly. Many pasta recipes call for the addition of vegetables. If the vegetables are not cooked correctly, it can ruin the consistency and flavor of your dish. It is best to cook all ingredients that are to be added to your sauce ahead of time. Therefore, instead of making another pot dirty, you can use your pasta pot for this task and save time and effort.

Fill the pot to a quarter of the way up the side of its strainer section. Add two teaspoons of salt to the water. Add the vegetables and stir so that they become doused with the salted water. The salt helps them cook properly and brings out the color of green vegetables. Place covered pot over high heat. Do not stray far because as soon as the water starts to vigorously boil, turn down the heat to medium-high heat and remove the lid. The only way to tell when the vegetables are ready to be removed from the heat is to use the same method as with the pasta, intermediate testing, but instead of tasting you merely have to use a sharp knife. When the knife goes into the vegetable, it is time to strain.

Straining is a little different than with the pasta because vegetables can over cook very quickly. Thus, it is important to stop the cooking process by dousing the vegetables thoroughly with cold water. Place the pasta pot by the side of your sink (be sure to put some there to protect your counter top) and remove the strainer section into a thoroughly cleaned sink. Run cold water from the tap all over the vegetables until the top portion is cool enough for you to put your hand there. Keep pouring cold water with your left hand while you gently expose the lower sections with your right hand until you can eventually toss the whole amount around to check for hot spots. When you are sure that all the vegetables are cooled down, you can gently shake them as you would the pasta, making sure all the water is removed, and then leave the pot on the corner of your sink so it can get air but continue to drain into the sink.

The reason that I use my hands to do the above procedure is because a wooden spoon can damage the extremely hot vegetables, but more importantly, a spoon can’t check for hot spots. If you don’t use this method, you could wind up with half of your vegetables cooked just right and the other half horribly over-cooked and mushy.

I was having dinner with a good friend of mine last night and the conversation got around to care giving. Both of us are married to wonderful men whose only fault is that they’ve been ill for many years. Each of us have experienced only had two years of our sixteen years of marriage that have been free of pain or sickness. My husband was sick before we got married and was actually given a death sentence by one of his doctors at that time. That was seventeen years ago.

He’s been through two bouts of the most serious kind of cancer, pancreatic and head and neck, had three major operations, crippling rhumatoid arthritis that lasted three years before it was brought under control, and over forty hospitalizations resulting from complications of these conditions. The extreme chemo and radiation needed to destroy his head and neck cancer eventually left him with so much scaring in his throat that he lost his ability to breath and eat. He had to have a permanent trach put in his neck and can only get his nutrition from a tube going into his stomach.

Every day he has to take care of his trach and tube sites, crush his meds so they can go through his tube, and track his type-two-diabetes, which was a by-product of his pancreatic cancer. This takes a good three hours a day. He does all of this himself with no help from me. I am extremely fortunate in this respect.

To many people, especially his doctors, he is a walking miracle and a constant source of inspiration. For the last year he has been doing great. That’s because this year is the first time that he has been at a normal weight. For many years he was only 117 lbs. At 5’10″ he looked like a walking skeleton covered with skin. His immune system was so compromised that he was constantly coming down with bouts of pneumonia or infection, which meant hospital stays lasting one to three weeks.

Needless to say, all of this has taken an immense toll on me as well. I have always had a major problem with depression. So, when I found out about my husband’s head and neck cancer (seven years ago) I sought out the nearest psychiatrist that I could find to get on an anti-depression. Thank God for Lexipro! It works great and has virtually no side-affects. But even with Lexipro, things got to be overwhelming. With his lack of weight gain and constant hospitalizations, I needed something more. That’s when I decided to get a dog. I needed a true companion so I got a maltese. It was a perfect choice because they adapt to your lifestyle and give you an unlimited amount of love. But the lexapro and dog’s companionship were not the key factor to keeping my sanity.

As my friend and I commiserated together she asked me, “How have you managed to cope so well?” I immediately responded, “My work. Without my art and writing, I probably would have gone mad.” It kept my mind focused on something other than the problems involved with my husband’s bad health. When I had to stay home with him or spent long periods of time up in New York or Boston, which meant time away from my primary work of painting, I had my writing.

For example, when we had to stay in Boston for three months for his radiation treatments, I spent the whole time writing. In fact, “What They Didn’t Teach You In Art School” has the ignoble nick name of “The Sick Book” because it was written entirely during stints in hospital rooms, waiting rooms, airplane trips to clinics, and the three month stay in Boston where I wrote ten chapters alone and developed carpel tunnel syndrome in my right hand.

Thus, my advice to any long term care giver is to develop a serious hobby or skill that you can do anywhere. If you can conduct your work on a computer, which means you can do it virtually anywhere, this may be enough. Especially if you love what you do. But still, sometimes work is not something you can focus on when things around you are so out of control. So you still may benefit from a portable hobby.

In my case it was my art (when I could get into the studio) or my writing that saw me through. Sudoku puzzles also helped. With you it might be reading, crossword puzzles, crocheting or knitting. The most important thing is to find something that you truly enjoy doing and completely absorbs your mind.

My creative muse whether it be painting, sculpting or writing has kept me whole through my whole life. In my first book of poetry, “Shades of Love,” I wrote a people dedicated to her. I share it with you here:

My Constant Companion by JB Berkow

Youare always with me.

In my hours of darkest despair

or in the brightest moments of my life

you are never far from my side.

You have picked me up when I hardly

felt the need to pass through another day.

That is when you gently whispered in my ear

and assured me there were still

so many beautiful things yet to see.

You told me to see them,

explore and experience them,

translate them into my own

personal picture of the universe.

You would never let me shirk from this.

You worked me hard,

sometimes to the point of dropping.

But it was a weariness that felt good

and well-deserved.

No matter what horrors were hurling

themselves around me,

you gave me a reason to face them,

to learn from them, and use them.

In a sense, you are my best friend.

because you bring out the best in me.

You have helped to give me a strong sense of myself

by giving me a purpose to be on this earth.

For always showing me how beautiful

and rich this life can be

and for never leaving me alone,

I will take great care to cherish and nourish you

and help you to grow with me

as you have helped me to grow.

The debt to you I can never repay.

Thank you my beloved muse.

Thank you my goddess of creativity.

If you are preparing your pasta sauce ahead of serving time, be sure to let the pasta cool down before adding the precooked vegetables. Then warm the sauce as usual just before serving.

People making turns from arrow-lanes need to be more vigilant. Did you know that completing a left turn through an intersection takes approximately four seconds? That means, for every four seconds that a driver fails to commence his or her turn, another driver who is stuck towards the end of the line will be unable to get through the light!

How many times have you been in a left turn-lane when the driver in front of the line takes ten seconds or more before he or she begins to realize that the arrow turned green?!? And if that wasn’t bad enough, so many of these absent-minded drivers, when they finally do wake up, move so slow that you think they might be having a stroke mid-turn! As a consequence of all this inexcusable wasted time, at least three people will lose their chance to get through the light. Now I ask you, “Is that fair?”

And sometimes the second or third-in-line turners aren’t much better. You know the ones I’m talking about. They are the ones who wait until there are five car lengths between themselves and the car in front of them before commencing their turn. They’re only going 10 miles-per-hour!!! Drivers who are that afraid of bashing into the car in front of them, have no business being on the road.

These left-turning-idiots need to wake up! They need to keep their eyes on the prize, which in this case, is the turn signal. That way, when it does turn green they will be ready to make their turn double-quick. And all the rest of the drivers in line need to get over their fears and make their turns no more than half-a-car length after the car in front of them. For everyone’s sake, let’s get this show on the road!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I have a very important piece of advice to share with all my readers. I don’t know how many of you know that many left turn-lane-arrows are purposely designed not to go on when there are no cars in their designated lane. Haven’t there been times when you’ve been sitting in a left turn-lane and the main light turned green and yours did not? And it took a whole cycle before it finally did turn green? Well that’s because you did not get into the lane fast enough to activate the signal.

Thus, if you’re heading towards a red-light-arrow, don’t think that you can take all day to get there. This is just another big reason why I despise Red-Light-Crawlers. Besides the fact that they often make you miss your turn all together, they also make it difficult for you to get into the lane fast enough to trip the light!

<img title=”Exaltation 36X24″ src=”http://jbberkowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Exaltation-36X24-225×300.jpg” alt=”Exaltation 36X24″ width=”225″ height=”300″ />”I am moved by music, love and those subtle and yet phenomenal energies that define being and existence for me.  That is why most of my paintings are improvisations and mirror my own subconscious fused with the world.”  Sabzi

Sabzi is one of the many incredibly talented artists that I have the good fortune of representing in my gallery.  He is one of the foremost figurative artists working today.  The foreword to his monograph was written by Carlo Lamagna, the Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at New York University.  In one portion of the ‘praised filled’ foreword, Mr. Lamagna states that “Sabzi demonstrates a highly developed control of composition, orchestrating disparate shapes and scales into harmonious yet provocative explorations of abstract space and time.  Squares, rectangles, arcs and fleeting referents to the “real” hover and intersect in their own moment, seemingly ready to move and shift when the viewer looks away.  Each painting’s elements exist in a perfect tension, held together through a formal yet elastic structure that allows for imaginative interjections that surprise and delight the viewer.  Sabzi’s sophisticated approach to color and use of a dazzling array of painterly effects is clear evidence of his mastery of the medium.”

Even though his childhood in prewar Iran was not financially secure, it was filled with tremendous parental love, emotional support and a lot of cultural influences.  His uncle, a master violinist played at every Friday night sabbath dinner.  After his uncle performed his father would recite poetry by the  tenth century poet, Ferdowsi, who wrote the famous “Iranian Epic of the  Kings.” This had a profound influence on the young Sabzi and his brother igniting a love of music and art that both brothers would pursue in one form or another throughout their lives.  To this day Sabzi gets ready for his painting sessions by playing a ‘tar’ that he made himself.  Sarah Seamark, editor of Art Business News, has described his paintings as “a transubstantiation of music played out in colors and shapes.”

<img title=”025O1658C Passionate Touch 40X30″ src=”http://jbberkowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/025O1658C-Passionate-Touch-40X30-225×300.jpg” alt=”025O1658C Passionate Touch 40X30″ width=”225″ height=”300″ />

Then came the Iran-Iraq war with its numbing violence and upheaval.  By that time he was married to his beautiful wife, Farideh, and had two children, son Ali and daughter Setarch.  Ultimately for the safety of his family he decided to leave Iran.  It was painful to leave his native country especially after founding and running an art school there, but in 1984 he fled with his family to Hamburg Germany.  During this period he spent as much time as possible visiting all the major art museums of Europe.  This exposed Sabzi to the great artists of the world.  Up until then his only exposure to these artists came from shoddy reproductions if and when they could be found.  Seeing all this famous art up close and personal infused him with a renewed commitment towards his own art.

In 1991 he moved to California to be near his brother.  As Ms. Seamark put it, “Sabzi was excited by the dynamism of the American culture.  California proved itself relevant to his work in many ways:  the vivid colors, the people and the intellectual movements of all kind have been the spiritus rector of his paintings.”

I have spent time with Sabzi personally, and I can say that the other huge influence in his work comes from his overwhelming and abiding love of the women in his life, especially his exquisite wife, Farideh.  I’m not sure if it was his Iranian upbringing, the deep love and respect he had for his mother, but Sabzi truly loves and admires women.  He finds them beautiful, nurturing, loving, as well as mysterious all at the same time.  This is a duality that comes through in everyone of his paintings where all the women are seen half in light and half in shadow.

Sabzi incorporates many meaningful symbols in his work.  Cats, which are often seen meandering through his paintings, represent female grace and mystery;  trees and flowers exemplify the nurturing side of women; moons are symbolic of the mystery of women as well as romance between a man and a woman; musical instruments reflect his abiding love of music; and birds of peace fly through many of his canvases portraying his ardent desire for peace in the world.  Thus, to own a Sabzi painting is to own a part of his soul.

To see more of this marvelous artist’s work please visit <a href=”http://www.rosettastonefineartvideos.com”>www.rosettastonefineartvideos.com </a><img title=”Summer Nights44x66″ src=”http://jbberkowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Summer-Nights44x66-150×150.jpg” alt=”Summer Nights44x66″ width=”150″ height=”150″ />

This weekend we took our boat/home to the Bahamas.  We had two couples with us.  One husband decided to treat us to some jumbo stone crabs, but we didn’t have any mustard sauce.  So I threw together some ingredients and everyone went bonkers declaring my sauce better than Joe’s Stone Crab’s famous mustard sauce.

I put it to you.  Here is the the following ingredients that went into my sauce:

JB’s Mustard Sauce

3/4 Cup Real Hellman’s Mayoinnaise

2 Tbl. Coleman’s Dry Mustard

2 Tbl. Dijon Mustard

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Package of Sweet and Low

On April 17 there was a wonderful article in the Palm Beach Post about a very unique individual who unfortunately was taken from us way too soon.  She was a stunning woman who was a dedicated and caring endocrinologist.  Her name was Dr. Osa Nyman.

I first met her when I went to her about my weight problem.  I had gained quite a bit at a certain point and had convinced myself that I had a thyroid problem like both my sister and mother had.  She performed all three tests that determine whether a person has this disorder.  When I returned to her office for a follow up visit and the results of the tests, she emphatically informed me that there was not the slightest indication of a thyroid problem and told me to go on a minimal calorie diet of no more 900 calories a day.  Needless to say, that was not what I wanted to hear.  I wanted a doctor to tell me that I had a problem, give me medication for it, and as a by-product, I would miraculously and effortlessly lose all my weight.  But that was not Dr. Nyman’s style.  She said it like it was in a no non-sense manner.

The next time I saw her was in connection with my husband’s illness.  She became his endocrinologist and helped him to control his diabetes.   No matter the time of day she was always there whenever he wound up being hospitalized   My husband’s case was highly unusual with so many mitigating circumstances that it took forever to get under control, but she never stopped trying.  She was that kind of doctor and that kind of woman.

I will never forget the very first time that I saw Dr. Nyman out of her office.  She entered my husband’s hospital room dressed to the nines with chartrouse crocodile leather heels that matched her chartouse skirt, blouse and jacket, all topped off by a chartruse print scarf that she wore under the jacket collar.  She was truly a breath of fresh air walking into the room!  Like something right out of a fashion magazine.

At first I remember thinking to myself, ‘what right has any doctor got looking like a fashion plate, especially, when the patient and his or her caretaker usually look like hell?’  But then, I began to look forward to hearing the click-clack of her three and a half inch heels coming down the hall and anticipating what perfectly put-together outfit would walk through the door.  I began to realize that the same meticulous care that she took with her patients  spilled over into all facets of her life.  And as we worked together to make my husband well I gained a tremendous admiration for this dedicated doctor.

Our second encounter came when my husband, who had literally been through the mill with his health,

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/emily-j-minor-remembers-a-courageous-doctor-who-569529.html?cxtype=rss_news&imw=Y