Maureen De Long
Bio
A small business owner, chef and caterer; former restaurateur, hospitality educator and veteran with a penchant for writing.
Stories (6/0)
Finding your village
What they say is true. It does take a village to raise a child. In most cases, this village of helpers includes family, friends, neighbors, doctors, teachers, and other community members. But when you are not like most cases, and your child is a micro preemie born 4 months early at a little over a pound, you soon learn it is imperative to assemble a larger, more specialized village of a support team to help you guide your child to reach his potential.
By Maureen De Long2 years ago in Education
Planting Seeds of Joy
Drained and wilted like a neglected flower, both my physical and mental health were showing signs of the abuse. The doctor warned that if I didn’t reduce the amount of stress in my life, I would definitely be checking out early. Whether self-inflicted or bestowed, I became entwined in a labyrinth of responsibility that was incarcerating. Years of caring for an aging parent with a myriad of health issues and medications; raising and helping to educate a child with special needs from his premature birth; and running a business with a husband was just too much for me to handle. At the end of the day, all I could do was plop myself into an easy chair in front of the tv and drown out my worries with a few glasses of discounted wine while unconsciously munching on salty chips or pretzels. Flipping through the news channels only added to the stress as the top stories exposed the harsh reality of our world where corruption, greed, and violence rule. This volatile combination started deteriorating my health by elevating my blood pressure and making me swell up like a balloon. I was worn out. Without “Joie de Vivre”, why go on? I just didn’t care anymore.
By Maureen De Long3 years ago in Motivation
Lost: $US 24 Billion
“Mein Damen und Herren”, “Excuse me,”… the senior flight attendant announced in her sing-song Swiss German accent, “ladies and gentlemen--” the passengers broke into the anticipated cursory applause. Smiling with pursed lips she paused, “On behalf of the inflight crew, we thank you for flying with Swiss Air and take pleasure in being the first to welcome you to Geneva. Whether your travels bring you here for business or pleasure, we hope you will enjoy your time in Geneva.”
By Maureen De Long3 years ago in The Chain
Perfect Game Food
As a chef and caterer, I've never had much time for leisure activities, so football is rather difficult to understand unless you have a relation to it. No one I'm close to gets it either. Soccer or as the rest of the world knows it as "football" seems more interesting to me. It's not quite as violent, and is easier to grasp, even in another language. Food is my game, and also find the flavors of the world more satisfying. I don't know why we haven't embraced the meat pie as a serious contender for party food here in the States. Not only are they are absolutely delicious when prepared from quality ingredients with care, the varieties are almost limitless. The flaky pastry the pie is encased in allows for you to eat the meat pie with your hands, like a hamburger. For a larger party, you may consider making miniature pies so your guests can enjoy a variety of different fillings like the traditional mince pie (made with ground beef, not the sweet mincemeat most people think of); steak and potato; classic chicken; chicken and leek; chicken curry; Canadian pork pie; green curry vegetable or a spinach and feta.
By Maureen De Long3 years ago in Feast