Homicide by Materialism

In one of the most disturbing and twisted stories of the Christmas season, a man was killed on Black Friday at a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, New York.

There was a crowd of about 2,000 waiting to get in at 5 a.m. As the worker, Jdimytai Damour, was unlocking the door the crowd pushed its way in literally ripping the doors off the hinges. He was knocked to the ground and then trampled to death. One witness had the following to say, "shoppers were acting like 'savages' and when they (Wal-Mart management) were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling `I've been on line since yesterday morning,'...they kept shopping."

A very sad commentary on the rampant materialism in our culture when a man's life is less important than things like a Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV for $798, a Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum for $28, and a Samsung 10.2 megapixel digital camera for $69.

I guess we can call it Homicide by materialism...unbelievable and very sad.

Hawaiian Cooking! Kalua Pork

I haven't blogged in some time but thought I'd talk a little about another passion in my life...cooking. I like things like cutting the lawn, splitting wood, etc. because there is a start, a finish, and you can take satisfaction in a job well done. With cooking you get the same satisfaction with the added benefit of eating it! I guess the bottom line is for me that I love to eat and cook and making meals is a great way for me to express that love and passion to others.

Today I decided to try a new Hawaiian dish and it was fantastic! Another awesome thing about this is you can cook it in a crockpot. Here's the recipe:

• 3 to 4 pound pork butt roast (you can use pork loin for a lower fat version)
• 2 Tablespoons of Hawaiian salt (you can substitue Kosher salt instead)
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Liquid Smoke (I like Wright's and the mesquite gives it a nice flavor, they say Hickory gives a more intense taste if you like the taste)
• One small head of Napa Cabbage

Rub the salt into the pork. Place the pork in your crock pot and add about one inch of water. Add the liquid smoke and cook for at least eight hours. Shred the pork. Cut the cabbage into 1/2 inch slices. Cut the slices to the top of the stalk and discard the upper part of the leaves. Stir fry the cabbage slices for about two minutes with oil and a little teriyaki sauce and a tiny amount of liquid smoke. Combine with the pork and serve with rice.

It's fantastic! For a slightly different taste substitue the salt for 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. It gives a slightly sweeter taste and is even easier to cook. Enjoy!!!