Latest news with #MaryMatthews
Irish Independent
24-07-2025
- Irish Independent
First summer camp for Traveller children in 18 years a huge success
This year marks a historic milestone for the Traveller community in Co Louth — the first Traveller-run, all-Traveller children's summer camp in over 18 years. Organised by Louth Traveller Movement (LTM), this camp was a celebration of culture, community, and connection, bringing Traveller children together for a week of fun, learning, and friendship. This summer camp proudly follows in the footsteps of the late Mary Matthews, a dedicated Traveller woman who sadly passed away in July 2024. Mary was the last person to run a summer camp for Traveller children in Louth, as well as a homework club and a crèche. Her camp ran for over 10 years, and for nearly two decades since, there has been nothing like it — until now. Her legacy inspired this new chapter, and LTM honour her memory with gratitude and pride.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Why are salt and pepper the top seasonings?
It's a pairing so perfect that their names have come to symbolize dynamic duos. They're a staple from restaurant tables to kitchen tables. Customers entering Eggy's Diner might not yet know what they're going to order, but you can guarantee waiting for them at every table is the quintessential Yin and Yang of the spice world -- salt and pepper. Vince Henry skips the salt. "It would have to be a really bland meal for me to salt up something, I don't use salt too much," he said, adding that he leans on salt's zesty counterpart. "Just always been in the habit of using pepper. It gives it that little snap without really spice." While he keeps it simple, Chef Mary Matthews embraces the vast flavors and colors these two seasonings offer. "I am a salt and pepper nerd," Matthews said as she surveyed roughly a dozen different salts and peppers from her kitchen cabinet. Matthews teaches at the Way Cool Cooking School in Eden Prairie. Why are salt and pepper the top seasonings? "Rumor has it we do as the royals do," said Matthews. Food historians say that King Louis XIV was a picky eater who shunned most spices, except for two. "What he did always have at this table was salt and pepper," said Matthews. Salt had long been a table staple going back thousands of years, but spices like pepper were considered a luxury during the Louis XIV's reign in 17th century since it came from southeast Asia. "And as that spread through nobility, it spread through Europe and it spread over to the age of discovery and here (in the U.S)," said Matthews. The contrast in color is echoed in their uses. Salt enhances flavors, tenderizes meat and brings out moisture. Pepper adds warmth, depth and some spice. How can we best use salt? Matthews highlights three steps. First, use salt as your preparing the meal to take moisture out of the food and make it easier to cook and season. Next, season as you're cooking while making sure to taste the food along the way. Lastly, finish the meal with a coarser salt to make the flavors pop. Matthews uses salt flakes in particular as she's plating a meal. "That doesn't mean to add a tablespoon of salt three different times to your meal, but just adjusting and tasting as you go," she said. How can we best use pepper? "If you want a milder pepper flavor, I recommend using a white ground pepper, or green pepper corn because they're fresher," she said. "Also, invest in a grinder since grinding pepper yourself will better bring out its oils and aroma." If you could add a third seasoning to the group to make it a trio, what would you add? After joking that it would be like asking her to pick her favorite child or pet, Matthews said pick a seasoning you would consider your "signature move." Options that come to mind for her include cumin, coriander, paprika and garlic powder. Each add a new dimension of flavor, but it's fair to say salt and pepper's destiny will remain as a duo.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats Voting for Trump's Immigration Policy Should Be Ashamed, Says Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo
Mary Matthews, Gal Pal Productions On a recent weeknight, I got home from work after a long day as a member of Portland's City Council. At 28, I'm one of the youngest councilors in Portland's history. I came from grassroots organizing, anti-hunger policy work, and I'm the first city councilor to have experienced homelessness. I am also the only immigrant currently serving. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take Between everything happening at the federal and local level, it was a hard week. I put on my sweats, kissed my cat, turned on the fairy lights, and laid on the couch to doomscroll (as is my tradition). That's when I saw a video from Attorney Martinez, an immigration attorney who has more than 2 million followers on TikTok, about the Laken Riley Act. The bill would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to detain and deport undocumented immigrants accused of a crime before they've had a trial. Out of curiosity I looked up how my representatives voted. I assumed, as most did, that I shouldn't even have to check: The one Republican representing Oregon would vote in favor and all the Democrats would vote no. Right? Wrong! A junior Democrat, Janelle Bynum, whose seat we had worked tirelessly to flip from red to blue, had voted in favor of the bill that would strip undocumented immigrants of due process and increase racial profiling. My jaw dropped. In response I made a TikTok informing Oregonians about how their newly elected Democrat had failed immigrants. That video went viral. Seemingly countless comments flooded in from constituents who'd been unaware of Bynum's vote. Some of these people said they had written letters for her campaign and knocked on doors to get out the vote. They did everything 'good Democrats' are supposed to do, only to end up with a representative who voted similarly to her Republican predecessor. From Janelle Bynum to John Fetterman, Democrats are suffering from an identity crisis. Too many members of our party are guided only by feckless centrism and an allegiance to norms and bipartisanship that cannot withstand the rise of fascism in the United States. In response to my video, I received an influx of praise from Oregonians, grateful to anyone for speaking out. I also received backlash from well-connected party insiders and politicians, displeased that I wasn't 'holding the party line.' To the old guard, 'holding the line' means massaging the egos of powerful people within your party, even when they vote to harm vulnerable communities. These politicos finger wag at young leftists, and insist our leaders allow us to sacrifice certain communities to keep their seats, even as our institutions crumble before us. With fascism on the rise, Democrats need a new vision for holding the line. Say goodbye to decorum as usual. Democrats are accustomed to doing things by the book, legally and performatively. For fear of coming off as too hardline or unreasonable, the party capitulates to the status quo even as the status quo hurtles us toward authoritarianism. An unelected billionaire performed what many of us understood to be a Nazi salute on the world's highest stage. The veneer of civility has been stripped away. Republicans aren't following the rules; they're wielding raw power to overwhelm any obstacle in their way — and Democrats need to match them in approach. Democrats love following rules. So let's encourage the party to use them to their advantage! This is the time to wield every parliamentary tool possible. Just a single 'no' vote can hamstring the Senate's fast-track approval process. Grind the Senate to a halt with quorum calls. Block unanimous consent. Filibuster till you fall asleep standing up. The right-wing agenda is intended to inflict harm; Democrats need to do everything they can to slow it down. Senators, pause your book talks. Cancel dinner plans. You were elected to serve your country and the stakes are as high as they get. Take the same energy and force you leveraged against student protesters who were begging for an end to genocide in Gaza and use it against Trump's cronies as they take over the US Treasury and the Department of Education. When South Korea's President Yoon tried to institute martial law, lawmakers in that country scaled walls and fought soldiers. Follow suit. Chain the doors. Chain yourselves to the doors. Physically obstruct them in every way possible. The party has to stop endlessly dissecting messaging and start fighting for the working class. To address messaging without addressing the material needs of ordinary people is to create a marketing campaign without a product. It is no longer enough to say, 'The other side is really bad, so vote for us because we're slightly less bad.' Democrats have to produce a vision for a better world that does not include capitulating to the whims of billionaires and tech oligarchs. Give people hope, and then prove to them that hope is not misplaced. After taking a stand, I've been asked if I'm worried about my career prospects. But I didn't run for city council as a stepping stone to the next big thing. I thought this was the right place for me to be at this moment in history. Questions about career prospects reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of what we're experiencing. Taking cautious votes to save your seat in two years assumes we'll still have a democracy in which to run if we don't take a stand now. I'm under no such illusions. Democrats need to put everything on the line to protect that future. Speaking out has shown me that I won't be in this fight alone. Thank you for giving me courage. If you'll be brave, I will be brave too. Editor's note: In an email to Teen Vogue, Rep. Bynum's spokesperson Koray Rosati said, 'Rep. Bynum is focused on passing legislation aimed at reducing costs, growing jobs for the next generation, improving her constituents quality of life, and winning back the House. Anything outside of that is a distraction from the work HER constituents sent her to DC to do. Follow her lead.' Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more Teen Vogue immigration coverage? The School Shooting That History Forgot I Was Kidnapped After Coming to the U.S. Seeking Asylum Ronald Reagan Sucked, Actually The White Supremacist 'Great Replacement Theory' Has Deep Roots
