I've been reading a book called The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (Wharton School Publishing, 2004) by C. K. Prahalad, a well known management consultant and overall business thinker. The author's premise is intriguiging: we can eliminate poverty by empowering the poor as consumers who are dedicated savers with deep entrepreneurial instincts and who decidely desire to participate in improving their lives (as opposed to the popular depiction of the poor and sitting around being lazy and waiting for a handout). Prahalad goes beyond the well known concept of the grameen bank and steers us straight into full on capitalism.


Skeptical? Me, too. I have to confess that I had no idea what Prahalad was talking about - it all seemed so counterintuitive. The poor are poor precisely because they have no money. What are they going to buy? Who on earth would actually market to them (other than, say, purveyors of alcohol and pay day loan places)?


Shows you what I know. I managed to squeak through my MBA classes without developing a firm grasp on the finer points of economic theory (I'm more of a decision support girl) so I was relieved to discover the book's case studies detailing the ways that a construction supply company in Mexico, a housewares concern in Brazil, and an eye care practice in India (among others) are using unique methods of community development and financial control to raise the standard of living among poor consumers, as well as provide jobs in the community and a handsome return on investment for business owners.


And, by all accounts, their efforts are working. Their customers are among the poorest people on earth and yet each of these organizations is thriving by recognizing and treating the poor as a market unto themselves and in the process raising the standard of living by providing useful good and services in ways the communities are able to absorb financially.


This is definitely food for thought. Lots of thought. I'm not through with the book so I don't know if Prahalad will address my biggest concern - increasing the consumerist nature of the global population as a whole. I believe in the human right to a basic standard of living and I'd guess I'd like to see another book about how to convince the richest billion or so people decide they don't need as much stuff and using the money for investment is a better idea. I won't hold my breath.


In the meantime, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid is some great summer reading. May not be the most typical beach book, but it's certainly got me hooked.

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I decided to add the little PSA above in response to the many requests I've received over the past two weeks for guidance and recipes. I really didn't mind answering the notes - they were mostly very sweet - but the process started to take a lot of time. I'll remove the note after hard core canning season is over, although I might put a directory to the left directing users to key recipes. Really organized bloggers do this, but I'm sure you've already figured out where I fall as far as organization is concerned.


In fact, as if to prove it, I need to report that the blueberry pie filling still hasn't been completed. I've frozen the berries so that I can try again later in the month. Part of the problem (and it isn't really a problem) is that, unlike her brother, the Little Diva would rather do just about anything than sit in her high chair. For the first time in my life I understand the dreaded "children underfoot". The Boy Wonder would happily sit in the kitchen with me playing and singing songs - I became quite adept to chopping fruits and vegetables through endless verses of "The Ants Go Marching" and the ABCs - but she's having none of it. So I'm getting more clever about nap time usage, particularly now that the acute sleep deprivation of the immediate post-partum months has diminished.


While it's harder to explore new canning frontiers, the tried and true are becoming easier. Pickles? Jam? No problem - six pints in a jiffy. Maybe this is another reason for the need to explore new dinner menus since that's the cooking I do when we're back to full strength parenting.


Who knows? Anyway, here's a super-fast recipe for something that's technically a spread, but I've been using it in all kinds of ways for quick meals all summer: Combine well in a medium bowl an 8 oz. brick of neufchatel cheese, a 4 oz. can (drained) of tiny shrimp, a quarter cup of finely diced onion, and one teaspoon of lemon juice. That's it. If you can make it the night before you want it, so much the better since the flavors will meld together, but immediate use is fine, too. I've used this lately as an omelet filling, a bagel spread, a tomato stuffer, a tortilla filling (with a bit of tomato or tomatilla salsa), a crepe filling, a celery stuffer, as as the basis for a casserole and lightly melted as a veggie topper, and as a mushroom stuffer. I've also been wondering if chevre could stand up to a similar treatment, but haven't tried it yet.

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Do you remember the volunteer squash I talked about a ways back? Turns out it is a squash - a pumpkin to be exact. There are four baby pumpkins of varying sizes throughout the largest vine I have ever seen in person. The thing spreads six feet by six feet easily and reaches up the garden support a good three feet. This pumpkin means business. Unfortunately, I have also discovered a good case of powdery mildew. So far, the only treatment I've been able to uncover is a broad spectrum fungicide, a solution to which I'd rather not resort. I've read in a few places (and, really, if you can't believe what you read in the Internet, what can you believe?) that using 5 tablespoons of baking soda in a gallon of water works well when spritzed so I'll at least try that as a stopgap. Can't hurt, right?

We've been in a period of transition here at Hot Water Bath and I noticed the other night that a great deal of my cooking is reflecting the changes we're experiencing. It's not just my cooking (today I had six inches cut off my hair and am now sporting a lightly layered bob) but that seems to be the area that has become most noticeable, primarily because meals - especially evening meals - are one of the few times that the whole family is gathered together. We live by the "Cook's Choice" rule, meaning that whoever cooks gets to decide what the rest of us will eat.

Since I'm the most frequent cook this means that I usually get to decide what we have for dinner. Much of the time, this is great. Lately, though, I've felt the burden of routine and have been actively trying to put new and different dishes on the table. I'm crediting this urge to the aforementioned transitions that are affecting effecting (oh, bother) impacting all of us.

We started the week with bulgogi, a Korean beef dish, that we wrapped in Boston lettuce leaves. This was a hit with everyone, especially the Boy Wonder - largely because every food he encounters is immediately classified (and not always correctly) as a Finger Food or a Fork Food. And this was finger food he could cozy up to. The basic marinade can be used on beef, pork, chicken, seafood or veggies but I'm given to understand that beef is traditional. And, since what I had thawed was lean ground beef, that's what I used with the marinade/sauce instead serving as cooking liquids. To make bulgogi start by browning one pound of ground beef in a very small amount of oil or broth. As it browns, add in two largish cloves of garlic, minced and two tablespoons of minced ginger (I use the tiny holes on my box grater for this). When all of the meat has browned, pour over three tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of white granular sugar. Off the heat, stir in a quarter cup of sliced scallions. That's it - super easy. (If you want to use something other than ground beef, stir all the seasonings together and use as a marinade for thinly cut meats and vegetables. After marinating, cook quickly over medium-high heat.)

Serve with separated and washed Boston or green leaf lettuce leaves. I had a dish on the side that also had bean sprouts, shredded radish, and minced cucumber as add-ins.

Fast, inexpensive, filling, and very tasty. Excellent for busting out of a culinary rut, to boot.

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