What Makes the Difference?

OK, so here is my latest rant, and it's a little sensitive.  I have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to observe community behavior related to the families of two men who have committed similar crimes.  Both families have lived in and been involved in the community for years.  One family is older - children in their teens/twenties; the other has children much younger.  One family was very much "mainstream", while the other could be called "different".  One wife has a job outside the home, the other does not.  In both cases, the arrest was a shock to the community and to the people who (thought they) knew the family.  In both cases, the men had either been questioned and investigated or had been caught committing their special crime several years prior to their arrest, so one would assume that the wives were aware of what was going on.

So here's my question:  What makes one wife and family more sympathetic than the other?  What causes the community to basically shut out one of these families and draw together to help the other?

Arroz con Leche

Each year, the Girl Scouts celebrate "Thinking Day."  This is when all Girl Scouts are supposed to think about their sister scouts all around the world and consider how things are different for girls in different countries and cultures.  Each troop is expected to put together a tri-fold board with facts and photos about their country, create "SWAPS" to represent their country, and prepare a food or beverage that would be typical to that country's diet, and present it all at the Service Unit's Thinking Day celebration.  This year, our troop presented Costa Rica.

The dish we prepared was Arroz con Leche - rice with milk - basically Costa Rican rice pudding.  We found it so delicious, that it is now a regular recipe in our house.  It is very simple, but beware!  This recipe makes enough to feed a large crowd.

2 cups rice
4 cups milk
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 ounces butter
1 cup raisins

In a large saucepan, cook the rice in 8 cups water for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer.  I salted the water.)  Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 1/2 hour.  I find this is best served warm.

See?  Easy!  Now invite all your friends over and give this a try!

Cheeseburger Macaroni

The other day, child number 1 asked (pleaded?) for some of that stuff that comes in a box - you know, with the big smiling hand?  Now I just don't do boxes as a general rule, so I told her that we'd come up with something.  Knowing basically what I wanted to do, I searched for recipes to see what others in my situation had done.  I found some awesome sounding recipes that just didn't measure up to her expectations (I plan to try a few of them later, when she's not watching).  Most of those involved some sort of spice or tomatoes, both of which are generally not in her diet.  Several recipes went something like this:  1 pound ground beef, 1 box cheeseburger macaroni mix . . . wait, really?  You call that a recipe?

Here's what we came up with, and believe it or not, it ended up smelling and tasting very much like the end product of that boxed mix - exactly what she was looking for.

1 pound ground beef
Garlic powder to taste
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (or use the real thing)
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
and (yeah, I know)
1 box mac and cheese - prepared according to package instructions

Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle the garlic powder over the beef as it browns.  Rehydrate the onions with very hot water and dump them in with the beef.  Stir and break up the chunks.  When the beef is cooked through, stir it into the prepared mac & cheese.  Over low heat, stir in the milk and shredded cheese.  When the cheese is melted, the dish is ready.  Add more cheese if your dish is not sufficiently cheesy.  Serve it up with something green and enjoy!

Now, how did I end up with a kid that LOVES that smiling hand stuff?  Maybe it's because I never buy it . . .