Living
8N
orfolk Daily News
Friday, June 4, 2010
Paper checks soon to be
no more for recipients
Sandwich
a grownup meal
Grilled cheese has long
been a children’s lunchtime
favorite. This grown-up
version substitutes buttery
Gouda — first made in Holland more than 800 years
ago — for sliced American
singles. A tasty layer of sauteed veggies smothered in
bechamel sauce completes
the gourmet transformation.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
olive oil
1 large red bell pepper,
sliced about !-I-inch thick
1 red onion, sliced about
!-I-inch thick
6 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced about !-I-inch
thick
Salt and pepper
8 tablespoons butter, at
room temperature, divided
8 ounces fresh spinach
leaves
1 shallot or small yellow
onion, minced
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cayenne
pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 slices rye bread or 4
seeded rye rolls, split
8 slices Wisconsin Gouda
cheese
Roasted peppers, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat an oven-safe skillet
over high heat. Add olive oil,
red pepper and onions. Saute
three minutes. Add mushrooms and saute additional
three minutes. Season with
salt and pepper. Place skillet
in oven and roast 15-20 minutes (can make and refrigerate the night before).
Heat a saute pan over
medium-high heat. Add 1
tablespoon butter, a splash
of water, spinach and a pinch
of salt and pepper. Cook just
until spinach is wilted. Reserve.
For bechamel sauce: Heat
saucepan over medium heat.
Add 1 tablespoon butter and
minced shallot or onion. Season with salt and pepper;
stir for about three minutes,
or until translucent. Add
flour and stir to coat. Stir in
the milk, a little at a time to
avoid lumping. Add nutmeg
and cayenne and bring to a
low simmer, stirring often to
keep from sticking. Cook at
least 10 minutes; stir in mustard and let stand off heat.
Heat skillet or saute pan
over medium heat. Butter
one side of each bread slice
or roll and place 4 slices, butter-side down, in pan. Top
with slice of Gouda, 2 tablespoons spinach and ½ cup of
peppers-onions-mushrooms.
Top with 2 tablespoons of
the bechamel sauce, another
slice of Gouda, and a slice of
rye, butter-side up. Grill to
melt the cheese and toast the
bread to golden brown, flipping sandwiches once.
Serves four.
DEAR SAVVY SENIOR:
I’ve heard that the government is about to do away with
paper Social Security checks
and make direct deposit mandatory. Is this true? I’ve always
liked getting my retirement
checks in the mail. Besides, I
don’t have a bank account for
direct deposit. What can you
tell me?
CONCERNED SENIOR
Paige Blackman (center), who recently completed the
eighth grade at Christ Lutheran Elementary School,
was recognized during the Norfolk Morning Kiwanis
Club’s 26th annual Outstanding Student Banquet. Congratulating Paige on being selected as her school’s 2010
outstanding student were Duane Reimer (left), club president, and John Burns, who chairs the club’s outstanding
student committee. Paige’s parents are Curt and Lisa
Blackman.
Students play tug-of-war during a track and field day for
Madison Public School students.
Readers invited to submit photos
Readers are invited to submit photos for “Picture this” by mailing the
photos and caption information to Picture This, Norfolk Daily News, Box 977,
Norfolk, NE 68702. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope if
you would like to have the photo returned. Photos can be submitted through
our Web site, which is norfolkdailynews.com. Photos are also posted on our
website.
It is true! Paper Social Security checks will soon be completely retired and replaced
with
electronic
payments.
Here’s what you should know.
Mandatory E-payments
In an effort to save money,
the U.S. Department of the
Treasury recently announced
that beginning March 1, 2011,
all new enrollees for Social Security, Supplemental Security
Income, veterans, railroad retirement and federal civil servant retirement benefits will be
required to receive their payments by direct deposit either
into a bank account or a Direct
Express Debit MasterCard.
And existing beneficiaries, who
currently receive their government benefits via paper check,
will have until March 1, 2013, to
switch to electronic payments.
About 85 percent of federal benefit recipients already
receive their payments electronically. Switching all beneficiaries to paperless payments
is expected to save the government around $300 million in
the first five years and $125
million each following year. It
costs $1 overall to cut and mail
a check but only 10 cents for a
Ice cream sundaes ideal for
both young and old tastes
This sophisticated sundae
from Hannah Miles’ “Sundaes
and Splits” has serious adult
appeal. It takes its inspiration
from the classic Italian dessert,
tiramisu.
The mascarpone-based ice
cream is rich and creamy, but
not as sweet as most ice creams.
The sponge cookies get a generous soaking of coffee and coffee
liqueur, though you also could
use chocolate liqueur.
***
Traditional recipes for making ice cream call for chilling it
in the freezer to firm it up after
it comes out of the ice cream
machine. But for this recipe, it
is best to assemble the sundaes
immediately after the ice cream
comes out of the machine. This
ensures it will be soft enough to
work with.
Tiramisu Sundae
Start to finish: 2 hours (time
will vary depending on speed
on ice cream machine)
Servings: 4
The Associated Press
Ice cream sundaes aren’t
just for the kids anymore.
For the syrup:
1 tablespoon instant coffee
granules
1/3 cup boiling water
1/4 cup coffee or chocolate
liqueur (such as Tia Maria or
creme de cacao)
For the mascarpone ice
cream:
9 ounces mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup creme fraiche or
sour cream
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered
sugar, sifted
8 sponge finger cookies
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate
chips
Cocoa powder, for dusting
In a small bowl, dissolve the
coffee granules in the boiling
water. Add the liqueur and set
aside to cool.
To make the ice cream, in a
medium bowl mix together the
mascarpone cheese, creme fraiche and heavy cream. Stir in
the powdered sugar. Churn in
an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
To assemble, break 4 of the
sponge finger cookies into
pieces and arrange some in
the bottom of each of the sundae dishes. Drizzle with a
little of the coffee liquid until
moist. Sprinkle a few chocolate
chips over each, then dust with
cocoa.
Place a spoonful of the mascarpone ice cream into each
dish and level the surface with
the back of a spoon. Arrange
the remaining sponge fingers
on top and drizzle over a little
more of the coffee liquid. Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips,
add a dusting of cocoa powder,
then top with the remaining ice
cream, leveling the surface.
Dust the top of each sundae liberally with cocoa powder and
serve immediately.
Nutrition information per
serving (values are rounded
to the nearest whole number):
724 calories; 575 calories from
fat; 64 g fat (37 g saturated; 1 g
trans fats); 209 mg cholesterol;
26 g carbohydrate; 9 g protein;
1 g fiber; 183 mg sodium.
What works best on grill?
Food Network Kitchens
Q: We plan to do a lot of grilling this summer, but we’re tired
of burgers. Any ideas of what
else works well on the grill?
A: This year think beyond
the standard burgers and sausage when you fire up the grill.
Meaty fish like salmon grills up
beautifully, as do whole fish and
skewered shrimp. Vegetables
like ears of corn, sliced summer squash, Portobello mushrooms and onions are naturals
on the barbie. You can even grill
hearty lettuces like romaine.
Just quarter hearts of romaine,
brush with olive oil, sprinkle
with salt and grill until softened
slightly and grill marks form.
Same goes for fruit like pineapple rings, peach halves and
bananas. Grilling intensifies
the flavors in produce, and softens it just enough to transform
it into a real treat.
On a related subject, with
summertime temperatures rising, being well hydrated is key
to staying healthy. For a supercool refreshing quencher, spike
your water with slices of cucumber, lemon and orange.
The Clean you expect,
The Service you deserve!
• Carpet • Furniture
• Walls • Ceilings • Floors
• Car Interiors • Janitorial
• Commercial Cleaning
Jim Miller
Savvy Senior
direct deposit. The Treasury issues about 135 million benefit
checks annually.
Government Debit Card
If you don’t want your government benefits direct deposited in your bank account,
or if you don’t have a bank account that your payments can
be deposited into, you’ll need
to get a Direct Express Debit
MasterCard. This is a prepaid
debit card that was introduced
by the Treasury Department
in 2008 as an alternative to the
10 million or so Americans who
still get a paper Social Security
check each month.
How it Works
With a Direct Express Debit
MasterCard, your Social Security and/or other government
benefits will automatically be
deposited to your card’s account on your payment day
each month.
Your card can then be used
to get cash from ATMs, pay
bills online and over the phone,
make purchases at stores or locations that accept Debit MasterCard and get cash back when
you make those purchases, and
purchase money orders at the
U.S. Post Office. The money
you spend or withdraw is auto-
matically deducted from your
account.
You also need to know that
there’s no cost to sign up for the
card, no monthly fees, and no
credit check required to enroll.
There are, however, a few
small fees for optional services you need to be aware of,
like multiple ATM withdrawals. Currently, cardholders get
one free ATM withdrawal per
month, but additional monthly
withdrawals cost 90 cents each
not including a surcharge if you
use a non-network ATM.
Another important feature
is security. Your card is PINprotected, the money in your
account is FDIC-insured, and
if the card gets lost or stolen it
will be replaced with consumer protections if it’s reported
promptly.
How to Sign Up
To learn more about the Direct Express Debit MasterCard
program or to sign up, visit us
directexpress.com or call 877212-9991. And to sign up for Social Security direct deposit, call
800-772-1213 or go to ssa.gov/
deposit. Also see Go Direct (godirect.org, 800-333-1795), a national campaign sponsored by
the U.S. Treasury Department
and the Federal Reserve Banks
that provides information on
direct deposit and a variety of
easy, safe ways to sign up.
Send your senior questions
to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443,
Norman, OK 73070, or visit Sav
vySenior.org. Jim Miller is a
contributor to the NBC “Today”
show and author of “The Savvy
Senior” book.
Tree Tips
By Donna Christiansen
Master Tree Steward, Plainview
ReTree Nebraska
Hopefully, by now, you all have heard about ReTree Nebraska. But if you’re not familiar with the program, here are
some details.
ReTree Nebraska is a cooperative effort currently led by
the Nebraska Forest Service; Nebraska Statewide Arboretum; University of Nebraska Rural Initiative; University of
Nebraska-Lincoln Extension; University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agronomy and Horticulture; and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL.
WHAT’S THE IMPETUS behind the program? In recent
years, there has been a steady decline of community trees
from severe weather; drought; poor planting practices; poor
species selection; fatal diseases (elm disease and now pine
wilt); and older trees now nearing or passing their average
life span. The loss of these trees means a loss of benefits and
a reduced quality of life in our communities, prompting the
ReTree Nebraska program.
The primary goal of ReTree Nebraska is to work in partnership with people across Nebraska to foster the proper
planting and maintenance of one million new trees over a decade. Five of the program’s 10 major goals follow:
1. BECOME A PRIMARY source of public information for
the various tree-planting and care programs already functioning across the state.
2. Significantly increase the planting of high-quality,
large-growing, long-lived trees in communities in order to
plant more trees each year than are removed.
3. Significantly increase the diversity, quality and average
canopy cover of most Nebraska community forests.
4. Engage professional arborists and other green industry
professionals to help improve and expand high-quality tree
care.
5. Increase Nebraskans’ knowledge and understanding of
the value of trees and the importance of properly planting
and caring for them.
SINCE ONE OF the goals is to increase species diversity
in community forests across our state, ReTree is announcing
“Good Trees for the Good Life.” The 2010 list of 10 trees that
grow well in Nebraska, but are often underutilized, follows:
concolor fir, Black Hills spruce, Shantung maple, Miyabe
maple, Kentucky coffee tree, northern catalpa, bald cypress,
bur oak, chinkapin oak and hybrid elms (‘Accolade,’ ‘Cathedral,’ ‘Frontier,’ ‘New Horizon,’ ‘Pioneer,’ ‘Triumph’ and ‘Vanguard’).
This is just a partial list of some of the underutilized trees
you can choose from. If you would like more ideas, visit an
arboretum site near you. To find these sites, go to the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum’s website: http://arboretum.
unl.edu/plantinfo.html. Also at this site, you can find more
information about various trees and shrubs.
IT’S IMPORTANT WHEN buying trees and shrubs that
you know their origin and whether they are hardy for your
area. Also remember to do a little planning so you have the
right space and the right tree or shrub for that space. You
need to know how large the young tree you plant will be
when it is mature.
With all of your help, we can reach the goal by 2017 of one
million new trees that will be properly planted and maintained now and for future generations. In order to reach this
goal, we need everyone to report the trees they have planted
at www.retreenebraska.unl.edu.
For more information about trees, shrubs, hardiness zones
and how to get involved, visit the ReTree Nebraska website.
You may also contact me at 640-4553 or rdchristi@plvwtelco.
net.
379-0357
1118 Riverside Blvd.
Norfolk, Nebraska 68701
www.servicemastercleanofnorfolk.com
67373
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