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Cooking Rice Elegantly!

Wednesday, April 11th, 2018

What if Colonialism had not happened and we gradually moved to a world community – discovering new ideas, ways of doing things, different foods that we are used to eating and cooking, etc. instead of developing a society which claimed some foods and ways of cooking as superior and some to be shunned.?  What a rich and very fantastic place this would be.

What if today we shun that Colonialism and come together as a one world community giving and sharing what we have with others on an equal basis.  Mine as just as good as yours and yours as just as good as mine.  What an incredibly rich place this would be and the knowledge which circulates using the new technology would facilitate an awesome life.  Instead that technology is used to manipulate, persuade, lie to, and we are all the poorer for it and enamored forever in war, brutality, white supremacy, nazism and its cousins, and so much more that destroys us and totally damages our children.

Assuming this first, we look for greatness in societies and cultures and discovered a way of cooking rice that is great.

I didn’t much care for rice, but then I only knew white rice which took 7 minutes to cook and had a skim covering on top that looked like and probably was talc powder. Hope I’ve missed the cancer that kind of rice is rumored to cause and that I discovered organically grown rice in time.  Now, today, with my new found knowledge,  I buy organically grown rice and I am careful whose organically grown rice we buy.

Problem with that was in the cooking.  It would take a long time and I could never count on the rice being great.  Sometimes it turned out in a sensational way and sometimes it was not something you wanted to eat – either too hard or too soft.

A friend came over to show me how to cook this rice and we put on a cooking show for our Bettina Network Hedge School guests.  This now very close friend is not someone who my mother would have allowed into the house as my playmate, nor would she have been a part of the many “play dates” I was taken to as a child.

Those who joined us for dinner were in my Bettina-Hedge-School-Home to learn special cooking skills and so thy were invited into the kitchen to help prepare the dinner.

Rice was the main dish since that was the reason for my very-skilled-at-cooking friends’ presence.

She started by putting what to my eyes and sensibility was a very large amount of butter in the glass corning pot in which we were going to cook the rice. I winced as I saw all of that butter.  (It actually was three tablespoons – but if you try this you should use your own judgment and your own taste.)

She let the butter melt and bubble awhile and then added the rice.  She cooked the rice in butter for several minutes and then added water, a little salt – Himalayan salt, turmeric and I added a dash of cayenne pepper (because every dish I cook has a dash of cayenne).

We put the top on the pot and in about 15 minutes we had the fluffiest rice I have seen.  And the tastiest.  I think I will give up potatoes and take on rice.  Well, maybe I will just add rice cooked in this way as another food I can add to my menus.

Everyone at dinner thought the rice was spectacular.

A SUGGESTION:

If you are vegan, you might want to start this rice in coconut oil, or some other kind of oil with a high smoking point.  I would not use the famous Olive Oil because it goes rancid quickly in heat.  We only use Olive Oil for cold dishes like salad dressings, etc.  As a society we have become so accustomed to what we call th “Mediterranean diet” which is anything but, that we assume Olive Oil is a universal oil and we try to use it in everything.  So much so we have become accustomed to the taste of rancid olive oil and assume that is normal.

Enjoy!

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Everything talked about in this blog and in any other blog in the Bettina Network, inc. is the opinion of the person who wrote the blog and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Bettina Network, inc. It is the property of Bettina Network, inc. and/or the person who wrote the original blog.
Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you. Please also tell us if you want your name as your byline or if you want your article to appear without your name.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

 

 

 

 

What is Bettina Network, inc. – i.e. Publications

Sunday, March 25th, 2018

Bettina Network, inc. has several areas within its corporate structure.  Bettina Network Hedge Schools is one – to refresh your memory or read about the Hedge Schools see https://www.bettina-network.com/blog/archives/3428

Also included in Bettina Network, inc. are its publications: Bettina Network’s Blog and Bettina’s Menu of Events.  Both described below.  If you have questions don’t hesitate to email us at bettina-network@comcast.net 

2.) Bettina Network’s Blog

is a conglomeration of conversations which take place around the breakfast table in one or another Bettina Network Hedge School/homes.                    

-or-

A Member or Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community sent us information which they would like disseminated to a large audience,

-or-

something happens which just strikes our fancy and we want to share it with all of you.

– all will go immediately to Bettina Network’s Blog.

Bettina Network’s Blog covers a wide range of topics —- With points of view you generally won’t find other places — you never know what will appear next — and that comes from the diversity within our corporation.  An article could come from one of the  Bettina Network Hedge Schools; members of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community; or our own quirky people who work for the Corporation; or from those who volunteer to help us achieve our goals to “make this a better world one small step at a time”.

 

3.) Bettina’s Menu of Events

provides a rich, curated list of activities that will keep you busy,

entertained,

will add to your intellectual knowledge base,

and help create and expand your store of wisdom.

Use the “Menu” before your next stay in a Bettina Lifestyle Home!

Bettina’s Menu of Events also includes reviews of everything, critiques of events, places, restaurants, happenings and more.

To use Bettina’s Menu of Events you must be a member of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community.

As a member you will receive a password, which allows you access to Bettina’s Menu of Events, among other benefits.

Besides getting events to attend during your stay in a Bettina Network Hedge School you can also add events you find of interest so others can share what you found.  Some of our best events have been added to Bettina’s Menu of Events by members of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community.  We encourage you to search the world for just that perfect event to share.

……And so we grow.

You can interact with us by:

CALLING: when you next need reservations either for yourself or from visitors coming from other cities, states, countries who would benefit immensely from spending their time away from home in a Bettina Network Hedge School.

Our homes are wonderful places to stay – some reach the appellation of exquisite.

Not much can compare to what we offer.

Our rates range from $110 through $495/night. In other cities the rates also vary depending upon what is offered.

Call if you are moving, changing your lifestyle, settling an estate – we are able to sell furnishings, jewelry, automobiles, stocks, bonds, etc.

Call if you have a home and want to join Bettina Network, inc. as a Bettina Host Family sharing your knowledge with guests who come from around the world. If your home is not currently ‘exquisite’ we have people who will work with you to make sure you are on a par with everyone else in the network.

Call if you have a home you want to donate to Bettina Network Foundation, inc. that we can use to house those who are in need and so continue to expand our training and more, recovering someone who might not find their way otherwise.  Yes, we do offer a tax deduction through Bettina Network Foundation, inc. a 501(c)3 corporation.

Call if you just want to talk to get acquainted and know more about who we are, what we do and where we are going.

And in the future, coming as soon as our resources allow – Bettina Network’s Research Library.

Sincerely,

All of us at Bettina’s Bettina Network, inc.

P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238

1-617-497-9166 (or) 1-800 347 9166 (toll free within the U. S. and Canada)

-or-

email: bettina-network@comcast.net

blog: bettina-network.com/blog

Bettina’s Menu of Events can only be accessed by members of Bettina Network’s Lifestyle Community via their personal password .

Check out our web site for more information at www.bettina-network.com .

We are an exciting company which also includes Bettina Network’s Blog – Bettina’s Menu of Events – Bettina Network’s Sales – Bettina Network Research Library and Bettina Network Foundation, inc a 501(c)3 corporation.

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Bettina Network Hedge Schools***

Thursday, February 19th, 2015
Thirst for learning is unquenchable

The thirst for knowledge is unquenchable!

What are Bettina Network Hedge Schools?  How do they work?

A Bettina Home is a part of the Bettina Network Educational Institute.  We take homes into Bettina Network, inc. because they have something to contribute to our learning; they are full of many amenities not found elsewhere; the knowledge they contribute is sometimes in the mainstream, but most often personal history and experience you can’t find or learn from the history books.  As a Bettina Home they are also Bettina Network Hedge Schools.

A Bettina Home/Bettina Network Hedge School, is a place where you can stay while visiting a particular city, country, village either on other business or vacation or a historical review of the area and you want to add to the experience of the trip; or you can travel to a Bettina Network Hedge School just for the experience, knowledge and wisdom it adds to your life.

The family in residence offers their life-experience, a workshop, knowledge of art, architecture, prayer, spirituality, health, cooking, or whatever is their specialty.  In Bettina Homes/Bettina Network Hedge Schools, those specialties change as the family lives and grows and experiences life from different perspectives.

Bettina Network Hedge Schools are patterned after the historical “Hedge Schools” of Ireland, which were one of the things Mary Daly was interested in establishing.  With everything else she did for the betterment of women, men and children, she did not get around to establishing her closely held love for the idea of Hedge Schools.  To Mary it was a way to teach feminism without the interference and regulation of current educational institutions.  They are the same for Bettina Network, inc. although we are not limiting the Bettina Network Hedge Schools to feminism.  We include all the world’s knowledge, experience, religions,  spirituality.

While we have chosen the idea of Irelands’ Hedge Schools for Bettina Homes, many countries around the globe have had and still have versions of the historical Hedge Schools – most particularly where women are not allowed a formal education, or to be educated at all in anything, except maybe a few home crafts, which they learn by doing.

What were Hedge Schools?  They were clandestine schools.  Places Catholics in Ireland went to learn what was illegal for them to learn under the then existing Penal Laws. These laws forbade the teaching of Catholic catechism as well as all education for Catholics.  They were held in inaccessible caves, tiny huts, behind hedges, in groves of trees, or wherever time, space and a bit of knowledge could be passed on.

In the Hedge Schools in Ireland, all those many years ago, the schoolmaster went from house to house to teach and impart knowledge to as many as possible.  They were constantly being hunted down for what they were doing and had to be hidden by the local populace.  Almost like the Underground Railroad, some houses, which protected the teachers in these schools, had walled off places in the home where they could hide when those searching them out showed up.

In Bettina Homes/Bettina Network Hedge Schools the students travel from house to house, instead of the “Hedge School Masters*” traveling.  Although we have a few ‘have knowledge will travel’  Hedge School Masters*” who travel from house to house to hold workshops and lead other learnings at Bettina Network Hedge Schools, we are looking for more.  Not all Bettina Network Hedge Schools have traveling ‘Masters*’.  Most are places which welcome those thirsting for knowledge and wisdom and the “Hedge School Master*” lives in and owns the house.

We are looking for knowledge that is not readily accessible. Or that has become skewered by vested interests.  It is also a place to learn  a story from those who actually lived the times – which may be different from accepted history.

The Hedge Schools of old taught Latin and Greek, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, history, spelling, writing, arts, crafts, etc.  And the teaching was done by the poorest and most ragged people who had no homes and who taught under shelter of the hedges.  In todays world we would look down on such people and consider them lazy, shiftless, ignorant because we don’t look beyond the outer trappings.  These “Hedge School Masters*” of old haggled for purchases in Greek, or discussed theories in Latin, and were generally very highly educated both in the traditional knowledge of the world and the wisdom which comes from having lived such harsh lives. They were known as “hedge school masters*”.  We are known as “Bettina Network Hedge Schools” and some of our “Hedge School Masters*” may look a bit like the hedge school masters of old.

We don’t give degrees or other accolades to show one’s achievement in particular areas.  We do spread knowledge and share experiences with those who serendipitously stay in a Bettina Home.

What are the other parts of this company?  The Bettina Network’s Blog shares information and knowledge culled from the talk around the breakfast table in Bettina Homes.  Bettina’s Menu of Events spreads information about events which we consider ‘in the Bettina Lifestyle’. The Bettina Home/Bettina Network Hedge Schools share and spread knowledge, experience and wisdom to as many people as we can reach. The Bettina Network Foundation, inc. works to eliminate homelessness.

We are connecting a community of people.  We are sharing what we have and weaving a net so we have some protection from falling through into the morass of homelessness, of ignorance, of isolation.  The Bettina Network Hedge Schools  provide ways for you to travel and learn as you travel.  We provide not just a room for the night; or a meal for a part of the day; but permanent places to pass on to others some of the history now being dropped and/or changed as well as some of the learning being skewered and mis-told by those marketing for money.  We also pass on the arts and crafts of the world with workshops on creativity, cooking, sewing and how to live authentic lives. – being able to ignore those outer trappings we seem to see first and sometimes only.

There is nothing wrong with money – let me quickly add – just something wrong in the way we are moving to intensify its home with just a few and to make it scarce among the many.

The Bettina Hedge Schools are just another way the Bettina Network, inc. is coming together to help others in their quest to bring all of our money, the way we spend it and our talents together to benefit each other without having to stop to spend enormous amounts of time and resources unsuccessfully trying to cure problems we created in the first place, by the way we have lived on this planet.

*Since today we recognize the title of “Hedge School Master” as sexist – we are changing that title to “Hedge School Facilitator”.

Want to join us?  Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools?  Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

*Copyright applied for

*Trademark applied for

*Patent applied for

A New House in the Bettina Network

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

copyright 2010 The Bettina Network, inc.

In CONCORD, MA. – This home is for all of you who love American history and want to explore some of its beginnings and important early events. Not to mention those who love music, outdoor activities, small festivals with meaning, historical sites, really old homes and especially those looking for a bucolic-quiet-pastoral-retreat getaway.

This “new” home to the Bettina Network dates back to the 18th century. It has all the modern conveniences, but the home, as it was originally built, is still intact. There are many fireplaces in this home, which have not been fancied-up and ruined – they work and are wonderful to sit in front of during those cold, snowy, wintry days. Breakfast, with bread baked from scratch, home-made yogurt, granola and more keep you enjoying your stay and particularly appreciating the family and how they extend themselves for you.

If you love walking around and looking at construction from the 18th century; in a home with old beams and floors in tact; BUT you also want your Wireless, your satellite TV and your modern bath; – AND you enjoy having breakfast at a table facing a large picture window where you can look out over a garden with birds and other small animals frolicking, eating, playing – this is the ideal place for you.

Have you thought of visiting Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the Old Manse, North Bridge, Orchard House, Wayside Minuteman National Historical Park, Estabrook Woods – stop thinking about it and make reservations to stay where it will take only minutes for you to reach so many wonderful places full of national memories and historical events. You will still be only 20 miles from Boston/Cambridge and a short drive to the highway to take you to the ‘city’. You can hike, bike, boat, fish, skate, go horseback riding, visit and swim in Walden Pond. In winter you can go snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and in any season sit outside your room on the grass where you can read Henry David Thoreau’s Novel “Walden, Or, Life in the Woods” in authentic territory.

It is also a place to have a lovely wedding, birthday party, anniversary celebration or small meeting. A colonial farmhouse – furnished in a style which maintains the integrity of its origins. It is full of music, a grand piano and other instruments. To the musicians among us – avoid those anxiety attacks, don’t stay where you are away from your music, stay where you have a small vacation from your music, but access to other musicians, musical events and music lessons which you can give or take.

What more can we say!!!!!!!! It is a Bettina home with an authentic Bettina family.

Call us for more information and to make reservation.

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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE about Bettina Network, inc. try www.bettina-network.com

IF YOU ENJOY OUR BLOG, USE OUR SERVICES TO BOOK ACCOMODATIONS WHEN YOU TRAVEL!

1-800-347-9166 inside the U. S. or 617 497 9166 outside or inside the U. S.

A New Bettina House in Washington D. C.

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

copyright Bettina Network, inc. 2009

Each new addition to the Bettina Network is more exciting than the last.
This house, which will now welcome some of Bettina’s bed and breakfast guests is in Takoma Park, MD.  Just 1 block from the D. C. line; a short walk to the metro, restaurants, easy access to the beltway and in 10 minutes you can be at the Capital, on the National Mall or?
Takoma Park itself is a fantastic area to visit!  It is a small town with a population of about 18,000 people.  It is northeast of Washington, D. C. and was a place of retreat during the Washington D. C. summers because its high elevation eliminated mosquitos and malaria so prevalent in the city.  It was the world headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, which has a college, hospital and radio station in Takoma Park.  It is also a Sanctuary City. Sounds like another city we know – Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA.
Your home away from home in this location is wonderfully furnished with its own private entrance.  You have a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen – all to yourself.  In the bath there is a jacuzzi and treadmill – to keep your energy level up while making those great and difficult business decisions.
The bedroom has a king bed with luxurious linens, and lots of comfort.  In the living room there is a Shiatzu Massage Chair to welcome you home after a long day of meetings, or touring, TV with cable, wii games, sofa, desk, wireless internet, fax machine, telephone and more.  In the kitchen you have laundry facilities so you don’t have to worry about running out of clothes, and the kitchen is fully furnished with lovely porcelain, crystal, pots, coffee, tea, etc.  Everything has been newly renovated just to welcome guests.
A lovely way to travel, especially in and around the nation’s capital, which can be a hectic place on its best days.
The rate for this self-contained space is $175/night including breakfast – which you can make yourself, join your host family for conversation and networking, or ask for a tray brought to your apartment so you can enjoy breakfast in bed – or take a different option each morning of your stay!
What more could you want!!!  Lie back, read the Bettina Blog, learn about Takoma Park, visit Washington, D. C., take care of your business there and head out of the city for a quiet evening retreat away from the hectic city.  Or…. head home for a quick nap, refreshing shower and back to Washington D. C. for a night on the town – it is close enough to make that possible.
Add much depth to the rest of your life with this serendipitous exposure to people you wouldn’t meet otherwise and you don’t have to go out of your way to Network via Bettina’s.
Shopping? You will find many unusual items in Takoma Park to take home – how about antique kimonos!  There are wonderful places to eat, parks to stroll, plays to take in and more.
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Learn More About How We Use Your Donation!

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Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

This is a curated blog so you cannot write your responses at the end of each entry. TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG email bettina-network@comcast.net or info@bettina-network.com

TO LEARN MORE try www.bettina-network.com

 


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