A lot of casserole, sauce, and gravy recipes call for canned "cream of..." soup. Unfortunately, many condensed, canned soups can be high in fat, sodium, and other unhealthy ingredients. Fortunately, it is easy to make your own. This section will teach you how. Cut up 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of butter, and add it to a small saucepan. Allow the butter to melt over medium head. Add 3 tablespoons (22.5 grams) of white flour into the butter. Stir it briskly with a fork or mini whisk to combine. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it turns thick. Stir it with a whisk until the flour mixture dissolves and everything turns smooth. If your recipe calls for another type of condensed or "cream of..." soup, you can use a different type of stock. You can also dissolve some bouillon in cup (120 milliliters) of water. For a healthier option, use low-sodium chicken stock. To make cream of mushroom: cook some chopped mushrooms along with the butter. Add the flour and a spoonful of sour cream. If you are looking for a healthier soup base, use low-fat milk. You could also try a non-dairy milk if you are vegan or lactose-intolerant. How much salt and pepper you add is entirely up to you. If you are looking to restrict your sodium-intake, consider using less salt, and adding other spices instead. This soup is meant to be used as a substitute for canned, condensed soup in dishes such as casseroles and gravies. If you want to serve it as an actual soup, you will need to add about 1 cup (240 milliliters) of water. You can store this in the fridge for a few days, but it will taste best while it is fresh.

Summary: Use homemade condensed soup instead of canned condensed soup in your recipes. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, and cook until the mixture thickens. Pour in cup (120 milliliters) of chicken stock. Stir in cup (120 milliliters) of milk, then simmer until it turns thick. Take the saucepan off the burner, then add salt and pepper. Use the condensed soup in your recipe.

Artists often create works to comment on major historical events, and this can give you a window into their unique perspective. In contrast, powerful institutions and people throughout history often commissioned artists to create pieces that endorsed their agendas. This affects the intended audience of the art piece who was meant to see the art. For example, Pablo Picasso's Guernica (1937) was created in response to the bombings during the Spanish Civil War. It's filled with anti-war symbolism. Picasso said of the artwork: "Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war against brutality and darkness." During the Renaissance, the Roman Catholic Church relied a lot on commissioned art as a means of promoting their cause and asserting their power. If you're looking at a painting, knowing what genre it belongs to can be helpful. Genres are essentially categories that are used to classify art. In painting, the established and well-known genres are landscape, portraiture, genre paintings (which are paintings of scenes from ordinary life), history, and still life. John Constable's The Hay Wain (1821) is a famous Landscape painting that led to the resurgence of landscape painting in the 19th century. Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer is considered to be a masterpiece of portraiture. Judith Leyster's Carousing Couple (1630) is a great example of a genre painting. History paintings depict a moment in a specific historical narrative. Vasily Surikov's The Morning of the Streltsy Execution (1881) is a very intricate history painting example. Lastly, still life paintings are of inanimate, commonplace objects. Van Gogh's Sunflowers (1889) is a bright and sunny still life example. Art movements were surges in popularity of certain ways of creating art. An art "school" is basically just a group of artists, sometimes all in the same region, who all have a similar style or subject matter. Knowing a little bit about these can help you understand why an artist might have made certain choices. For example, painters in the Egyptian school of art had certain rules that they had to follow like the size of any figure they drew was supposed to vary based on the social status of the person they were painting. They also couldn't use more than six colors, and each color symbolized a different aspect of life or death. Impressionism, one of the largest 19th-century art movements, is defined by short, loose brushstrokes that are intended to capture the quality of light. Learning a bit about the artist who created a piece can help shed light on it in a variety of ways. It can help you understand why they made certain artistic decisions, or chose to make the work at all in the first place. For example, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo had limited mobility after fighting off polio and enduring a bus accident in her early life. Her pain and struggle manifests in several of her pieces.

Summary: Understand the historical context of the time when the art was produced. Find out the genre of the painting. Learn about the art movements or schools that influenced the piece. Read up on the life and perspective of the artist.

People who have kleptomania face a hard reality. They have to deal with the anguish of their disorder but also the very real possibility of being arrested and jailed. They should talk to a doctor if they can't stop shoplifting. Most people who have kleptomania don't seek treatment because they are afraid of being turned in, but the truth is that health care professionals usually do not report thefts to the authorities. Talk to a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist for help and advice. Or, discuss the problem with a general practitioner and ask for help or a referral. If the person is a loved one, encourage him or her to get help. Explain that you are concerned for the loved one's well-being and that there are effective ways to treat kleptomania. Be clear that you understand they cannot resist through willpower alone. There are no tests like X-rays or bloodwork to diagnose kleptomania. Doctors will instead do a complete examination of the patient's medical and personal history, though tests may be involved to rule out certain physical causes like brain injury. Instead, expect a range of questions about family and personal history, behavior, and other medical conditions. The doctor may ask about what sort of situations trigger episodes or review a list of situations to see whether they lead to an impulse to steal. The doctor may also ask about the impulses themselves and how they make the patient feel. There might be more detailed psychological questionnaires, too. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, lists kleptomania as an impulse control disorder with a number of specific criteria. To diagnose kleptomania, a person will need to display these criteria to the exclusion of other possible causes. Officially, at least, these criteria are what will decide whether a person can be diagnosed with kleptomania. People who have kleptomania will have engaged in a pattern of stealing behaviors for a few months or even several years. The person has a "recurrent" inability to resist the urge to steal things, which aren't needed for personal use or for monetary gain. The same person experiences feelings of increasing tension immediately before a theft. They also feel pleasure, gratification, or relief after the theft. The person doesn't steal for revenge or out of anger or as a result of a hallucination or delusion. Finally, the behavior can't be explained by some other mental condition like a conduct disorder, manic episode, or an antisocial personality disorder. The condition may present along with other conditions, such as ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder, or alcoholism, so it may not be the first diagnosis that someone receives. Try to be patient as you seek help for a loved one with kleptomania. If you think you may have kleptomania, then share your suspicions with your doctor and/or therapist.
Summary: Talk to a doctor. Expect a range of questions. Assess according to the DSM-5. Keep in mind that diagnosing kleptomania can be complicated.