Don't miss Small Business Saturday

I don't know what inspired American Express to designate tomorrow as Small Business Saturday, but I hope their inspiration flows to American shoppers for this holiday season. Small businesses can't compete with big box stores for Black Friday-type shopping extravaganzas, but here are a few things we do better than the big chains.

First, for every dollar you spend at a locally owned business, nearly 70 cents stays in your local community. If you spend that same dollar at a big box store or a franchised operation, just over 30 cents stays local. So if you want to do something to boost your local economy, shop locally.

Second, small business owners typically support local groups and causes. They sponsor kids' sports teams, participate in community events, donate to charity drives. They take the overused term "giving something back" and turn it into a way of life.

Third, in an age where every city offers the same chain stores and restaurants and hotels, locally owned businesses add a flair and vibrancy to a city and its culture. In Omaha, one need look no further than the Old Market District to see the veracity of this claim. You can find a Gap or a Cheesecake Factory anywhere. But where else can you find something on par with our Flatiron Cafe or M's Pub? Where else is there a Souq's boutique or a Lotus?

There are times in life when we want the reliability of a chain franchise. Sometimes, you just want to walk through the door and know that you can get exactly what you've gotten before. But for the holidays this year, how about trying something a bit out of the ordinary?

Unchain your life this holiday season; shop locally.

Hiding Behind Children: The most insidious form of hatred

Given the news of late about suicides among gay teens, about gay bashing taken to levels I can hardly imagine, about taunting and bullying young people for something that is outside their control, I have been giving some thought to a precept I hold dear: free speech. Let me start by saying that I freely admit to being a political liberal. I always have been and doubtless always shall be.

I support the rights of those who disgree with me to air their opinions in public. What I find troubling is the hate speech that inflicts irreparable harm to those in its crosshairs. Think about the hate speech of the 1950s and '60s, aimed at people of color and at Vietnam War protestors. While it is not fashionable today to spew vitriol at people of color (although we all know it still happens every single day), it is, however, fashionable in some quarters to fire away at gay men.

As all thinking people do, I abhor the actions of the Fred Phelps' followers who protest at the funerals of servicemen and women. I abhorred them in the 1980s when they protested the funerals of gay men in the Kansas City area. But I'm curious why the Supreme Court is hearing the case against them now, after three decades of horrific behavior aimed at gay men.

Still, protesting in public is as American as the proverbial apple pie. I support the rights of people to protest, to voice their opinions in public. What I do not support is wrapping your bigotry in the blanket of protecting children, like the candidate for New York's governor's office did this weekend. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/11/AR2010101103038.html)

If you are a bigot, then out with it. Spew your hatred, inflict your pain. But don't you dare claim you're just protecting the children.

How about an apple muffin?

If you can stand another apple recipe, try this one for apple muffins. It's the best I've found -- especially now that I've tweaked it to my own liking.

3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or use 1/2 applesauce instead of the oil)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmet
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk (I use half-and-half)
1 large egg, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Macerate the apples for 45 minutes. (Translation: toss the apples, sugar and oil or applesauce together and let it sit.)

Preheat the oven to 350. Test your oven temperature; some ovens can be as hot as 400 and still bake these perfectly. Mine works best at 350.

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the milk and egg into the apple mixture until smooth. Then stir in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Add the nuts.

Fill regular or oversized muffin tins three-quarters full. I sprinkle a few chopped walnuts on top before baking. If using regular sized tins, bake for 20-25 minutes. If using oversized tins, bake for 30-35 minutes. These muffins don't get very brown, so test them with your finger or with a toothpick. Be careful not to burn them on the bottom.

Cool on wire racks. And enjoy!

Apples and cranberries make this recipe great

Today's recipe is for apple cranberry bread. You can use dried cranberries or fresh/frozen. Either work well. The fresh cranberries pack more punch.

Apple Cranberry Bread
2 cups peeled chopped apple (I prefer Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp oil
1 egg
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I use at least twice this much; I love cinnamon)
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat over to 350. Grease a standard loaf pan.

Combine apples, sugar and oil. (If you let this sit for about 30 minutes, the apples will be more tender in the batter and more flavorful in the bread.)

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to apple mixture, mixing just until dry ingredients are moist. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Spread batter in pan.

Bake for one hour. Makes one loaf.

If it's fall, it must be apple season

Around these parts, we wait all year for locally grown apples. From Nebraska City to Mondamin (Iowa), from Omaha to Hamburg, you can find the best apples on the planet right here. Right now.

So to kick off apple season, how about a few apple recipes. Here's one for today.

Apple Doodles
2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely diced peeled tart apple
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients. Sir half into the creamed mixture. Stir in the apples and walnuts. Stir in remaining flour mixture.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 3 in. apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 13-15 min or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

It's a dog's life

Sitting on the back porch, watching the world go by. Barking now and again when a neighbor dog walks by. Playing ball, playing tag, chewing on sticks. A fresh drink always close by; someone to open the back door on command.

People stopping by to say hello. BFF dogs coming over. Sure, there's a perimeter that requires patrolling, and there might be a person or two that seem a tad unreliable and who might induce a warning bark. Small price to pay for the joys of a fenced-in backyard.

This is my dogs' life. What could be better than that?

Let's promote small businesses in Midtown

At our meeting last night, several members of the Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association's board of directors commented that what we need in Midtown Omaha is more retail. The conversation was sparked by talking about a proposed pharmacy just a few blocks away -- and the consensus that with 18+ pharmacies already in the neighborhood, we probably don't need another. But we do need retail.

As a small business owner, I think what we need are retail stores that are locally owned. All we need to do to see an example of how these small businesses can drive an economy is to look at Omaha's Old Market. While there are a couple of chain restaurants in the Old Market, there aren't any chain retail stores (at least, I don't think there are). These small businesses -- and the combination of shopping, dining and entertainment -- help boost the entire city's economy. What could that combination do for Midtown?

We have a number of small businesses in Midtown, of course, but they are primarily service-oriented. Even at the new Midtown Crossing development, most of the commercial space is devoted to service businesses.

What would it take to draw retail to Midtown? How can we encourage small and locally owned retail operations in our neighborhood?

I know the people who stay with us at The Cornerstone would frequent those businesses, just like they frequent our neighborhood restaurants and bars. While that wouldn't be enough business to support a retail store, I think the trend here is clear. People who are attracted to this type of neighborhood clearly want to spend their money as close to home as possible.

There are lots of groups being formed under the banner of a "Buy Local" campaign. So far, I haven't seen any of them do anything significant to encourage small businesses to open their doors and then grow. What can they do to encourage this type of business? What can the city do?

The money is here. Now bring us a way to spend it close to home.