Author Archives: patty

Gotta Get Me Some!

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Dearest Boo,  what a roller-coaster day today is.  Thirty-five years ago today Omaha had it’s largest tornado ever.  And, the most amazing part is that only three dearly loved people lost their lives.  According to the article in the Omaha World Herald newspaper “In the 1970s, the weather service issued warnings on fewer than two of every 10 tornadoes that occurred, said Harold Brooks, research meteorologist at National Severe Storms Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma.  Today, the weather service succeeds in warning the public about seven or eight of every 10 tornadoes, Brooks said.”   I know that when the sirens go off you sometimes get frustrated at the frequency, however, once you experience a tornado like the one in 1975, you count your blessings that we are getting the warning.

At that time we didn’t have “spotters” who are able to quickly phone in the information or Doppler radar that detects air movement, allowing meteorologists to pinpoint areas of intense rotation or weather computer programs that are more sophisticated and display in nearly real-time what is happening in a storm.  At that time the only “advanced” help the gentleman working at the National Weather Service office in north Omaha was working with was rejiggered surplus military radar left over from World War II.  He said  that all he could see on the screen were differences in precipitation — where rain or hail was heavy, where it was light.   He further compares the changes in technology to the difference between a Model T and a Lamborghini sports car.

At that time your dad and I were working at the Med Center.  The warning sounded at about the time we were to get off work, so we headed out to the parking structure where our car was parked.  We had to take an underground tunnel under the street to get to the four story parking structure.  Our car was parked on the top story, so that was when we were able to see what was happening to the weather.  The sky was a dark gray, almost black, but there was not rain so we were able to see pretty far into the horizon.  Looking to the west we were able to see the tornado and the debris and destruction in it’s path.  From this vantage point we were able to see at least four miles on the horizon.  It was the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my life.  However, the scariest part for me was the fact that is did not appear to be moving either to the left or the right.  It was growing larger, not larger because the tornado was filling up with “stuff” like in “The Wizard of Oz”.  It was growing larger because it was moving towards us!  Lord help us – the only thought that crossed my mind was that I was going to die before I became a mother.

The skies opened and the freezing cold rain started to pour down upon us.  It was raining so hard I was having trouble catching my breath.  Your father decided that we should get into our car and drive to our duplex.  That seemed to be not the smartest thing we should be doing at this point.  First, we could just run back down the stairs and get into the underground tunnel.  Pretty safe place I was thinking.  Second, and most important, this was not a smart idea as our duplex was located between the Med Center and the path of the tornado.  I thought that if we got caught in the tornado, the tornado would win and win big!  If this happened today I am pretty sure I would tell your father to have a nice trip and I would run like a crazy woman back to the tunnel.  However, thirty-five years ago I was a stupid, young woman in love and I followed my husband where ever he went.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Once we were in the car we could not even see past the front of the car, as the rain were coming down so fast and hard.  And still your father drove on.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  I have never prayed so hard in my life and if I could have gotten down on my knees to do so I would have.  The winds were so strong our car was rocking back and forth.  We could see nothing, so I was sure that the tornado was ready to toss us aside like a used toy.  Purely by the grace of God we made it home and to the safety of our basement.

That night we were blessed to know that all of our loved ones made it safely through the storm.  The worst damage anyone experienced was broken tree limbs in their yards.  We compounded the idiocy of our lives further the next day by driving to and through the damaged area.  The path was ten miles long, destroying about 300 homes, damaging another 4000 homes, and was on the ground about 45 minutes.

Four years ago my brother Al died.  He was so young and just starting his life with his two young sons.  He was a very creative and talented man.  I still have the wooden goblet he made for me while in high school.  However, I am sure that he would tell you his best creations were his two boys.  When I look at his oldest son I can see so many of my brother’s mannerisms that I find myself just looking/watching him and drifting back in times when we were all younger.  The youngest son, on the other hand, has my brother’s dry wit.  He can just whip out these great observations and one liners that you have a hard time believing would come from this young soul.  They are a wonderful combination of my brother.  And a big thank you to your Grandmother for stepping in to raise them.  Not an easy thing to do after thirty years of not having that responsibility.

Also today, drum roll please, is your Aunt “Izzy’s” birthday.  Growing up I would have never thought that I would say it, but she has turned into a strong, capable, independent woman.  She did an amazing job of raising your cousin Patrick, with very little financial and emotional help.  Now she is able to kick back and enjoy the life of being a doting grandmother.  This is a role that she was created to play.  At the drop of a hat she is there with her support and love.  It is wonderful that she is just a short drive from them, so they are able to grow up knowing her and experiencing her unconditional love.  All grandbabies need this type of grandmother.  We sister/aunts tease her almost too much, but she is a good sport and takes all our jabs.

I knew that I wanted to make her something special to celebrate her day, but what oh what?  She has some dietary restrictions that hampered my decision.  Nothing that would need refrigeration as it had to be shipped.  Nuts – out; chocolate – out; pepper – out; remember to check to be sure the ingredient was not processed in the same plant as peanuts……….head scratching time.  I know that she loves to be able to share with her fellow co-workers, so I wanted to make something that she could take to work and would be something that they could easily eat on the run.  Teachers just don’t have enough hours in the day!  I came up with four ideas and could not settle on one, so I did the smart thing.  I made them all!  That is where my smart stops, as I totally spaced out getting pictures of the finished goods.  Rats…………….!  What I made was Lemon Poppyseed Muffins, Orange Crescent Coffee Cake, Boo Bread (your all time favorite) and Cinny Sticks (mini Cinnamon Rolls on a sucker stick).  The Boo Bread was your favorite, but to be honest I would have to pick the Cinny Sticks.   Any food on a stick is just so gosh darn cute that it is automatically a winner.

Since I don’t have pictures I will post the bread dough recipe that I used for the Cinny Sticks and the Orange Crescent Cake. I was able to get about 40 Cinny Sticks and one 9×13 pan of Orange Crescent Coffee Cake.

To make the Cinny Sticks I cut the dough in half and made those into cinnamon buns.  I used 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/2 stick softened butter and 1 1/2 T of cinnamon for the filling.  I made sure to roll it up tight and then rolled it to be long and thin.  Then I cut it into 1/2″ slices and place it into my mini muffin tin.  Once it finished baking I pushed a sucker stick through each roll.  Ta-Da!

The other half of the dough I cut in half again and rolled each half into a circle.  The filling for the coffee cake is 1/2 stick softened butter, 1 c sugar and the grated peel of one orange.  I then spread half of the filling on each circle, cut into six triangle shape and rolled up into a crescent.  Place the rolls into a greased 9×13 pan in two lines the length of the pan.  Just thought of this, but it would also be very pretty if you would use a cake pan and place the rolls into the plan like petals of a flower.  You can drizzle on the coffee cake, while it is still warm, a glaze of 2 1/2c powdered sugar and the juice of one orange.  Anyway…………along with the dough, Joy Rising!

Yummy for Your Tummy Dough

Prep  Time: 15 minutes; 2 1/2 hrs for the rising

Bake  Time: 8-10 minutes for mini Cinny Sticks;  25-30 minutes for Coffee Cake

Source: Lisa Poulsen

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 2 c milk
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 1/2 c oil
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 6 c flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 pkgs instant, rapid rising yeast
  • 1/2 c warm water

Filling for Cinny Sticks:

  • 1 stick room temperature butter
  • 1 c light brown sugar
  • 3 T cinnamon

Filling for Orange Crescent Coffee Cake:

  • 1 stick room temperature butter
  • 1 c sugar
  • grated peel of one orange

Glaze for Cinny Stick:

  • 1 c powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2T-3T milk

Glaze for Orange Crescent Coffee Cake:

  • 2 1/2 c powdered sugar
  • juice of one orange

Directions:

  1. Stir milk, sugar, oil and salt until sugar is completely dissolved.
  2. Add 2 c of the flour and beat well.
  3. Add 2 eggs and stir in completely.
  4. Dissolve the packages of yeast in the warm water.  Let “bloom” about ten minutes.
  5. Add yeast/water mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir in.
  6. Mix in the remaining 4 c of flour.
  7. Sprinkle small amount of flour onto either a pastry board or counter and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky (more flour may be added if dough is sticky).
  8. Put dough into a greased bowl and let rise until double (about one hour) in a warm place.
  9. If making just the Orange Crescent Coffee Cake; divide into six pieces and roll into a circle.  Spread each circle with one-sixth of the filling and cut each circle into 8 wedges.  Roll each into a crescent shape and place into pans.  Cover and let rise at least one hour more in warm place.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Pour on glaze when rolls are still warm.
  10. If making just Cinny Sticks:  divide into fourths  and roll out into a rectangle shape.  Spread with one quarter of the filling (you can double the filling if you want “oozy” filling). Starting at one end of the longest side, roll the dough into a snake-like form.  Pinch and seal the edges so that the roll will hold it’s shape once it’s cut.  Cut each roll into 1/2″ slice and put into the muffin pan.  Cover and let rise at least one hour longer in a warm place.  Bake 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Invert pan onto counter or pastry board and insert sucker stick into each roll.  Glaze when cool.

Do-Dah, Do-Dah

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Dearest Boo,  today is the annual Kentucky Derby.  In years past we would sit down and watch it, because of your love of horses, but today conflicts have won the day.  Something had to give and it was watching the Derby.  Oh well……at least we have our memories.

And memories of the Kentucky Derby always bring forth the memory of our Gourmet Derby Dinner.  We were members of two “gourmet” groups.  I am not sure which group was first, but I do know that they were with two different beginnings.  You would call one “The Fancy Schmancy” Group and the other was “The Drinking Group”.

The Fancy Schmancy Group had five other couples, where the host couple planned the entire menu and gave different courses to the other couples along with the recipes.  The host couple always had the main entree and was responsible for any alcohol that would be served before, during or after the meal.  With their being six couples, this big responsibility was your’s only twice a year.   The other ten times you just made a recipe that was given to you.  It was stress-free time for you, as you did not have to figure out what to prepare, find the recipes (making sure that the one you will prepare can be practically finished before which will allow your time to be devoted to the guests and free up your kitchen for any last minute needs for the other courses), divide out the meal to the other couples, clean your home, figure out a “table-scape”, decide what music to having playing to help set the mood, coordinate with the other couples to find out what types of serving dishes/utensils they will need, clean out the refrigerator so that when the other couples open it up you won’t be embarrassed at what “surprises” they might encounter, come up with/and make the favors the other guests will take home as a memory of their fun evening, and remember to breathe and have fun.

The Drinking Group was almost the exact opposite.  This group had four other couples and began with the men deciding to have a group where they did the entertaining/deciding/and preparing the meal.  Awwwwwwww-right!  Now we are talking!  Your father loved to entertain – and by entertaining I mean he loved having couples over every Friday and Saturday.  He loved parties where he was responsible for nothing, but got the pleasure of sitting at the head of the table and accepting compliments for the evening.  How nice that once a month I was able to relax for the meal.  That lasted maybe for two months and then it reverted back to me.  Oh well, truth be told I did love it and was a bit of a control freak.   I wanted to be the one making all the plans when it was at our home.  I wanted to be in control.

One time, when it was our turn for The Drinking Group, the date was the same as the Kentucky Derby Run for the Roses.  Of course, I instantly knew that I wanted to do a Kentucky Derby theme.  It was perfect for us.  The Derby was all about horses and we were about horses.  We all rode, we had horses, we had a horse farm, we had riding gear….perfect, perfect, perfect.  I cannot remember what we had to eat, but I do remember our “decorations”.  Two days before the “big event” I drove the truck out to the barn and loaded the back up with saddles, bridles, helmets, blankets, stirrups, and, the “piece de resistance”, the fiberglass, life size horse.  Everything was easy to load and bring back into town to our home.  The horse, however, was another story.

Problem, it was mounted to the roof of the barn one story off the ground.  I knew that I could not ask your father for help, he would be appalled that I wanted to do this decoration.  He was the proud owner of this “horse” by means of the barter system.  He did some work for a gentleman who made fiberglass objects for his living.  This gentleman then gave your father this “horse” as his payment. I had to push that from my mind, I was a whack-a-doodle on a mission.  I must have this horse for our dinner party!  With some fancy talking I was able to get the young man who worked at the barn to scramble up on the roof, unhook it from it’s stand, and lower it to the bed of the truck.  I was there to help lower it into the bed.  Easy peasy.  Then we strapped it to the truck and off I drove the ten miles back into town, praying the entire trip that the cross winds on the highway would not be too strong to blow it out of the truck bed.  Oh heck!  Let’s be honest – I was on a mission.  I wanted that horse for the party, I needed that horse for the party, I would have that horse for the party!  Pretty sure I never even gave it a thought about the cross winds blowing it out of the truck bed.  There is a saying that “God takes care of babies and idiots”.  Well, He certainly took care of this idiot on that date.  The horse and  made it safely into town and into our yard, not without a lot of odd looks from our neighbors and friends I encountered on the way.  Good thing that cell phones were not popular at that time, as I am sure your father would have heard about my escapade long before he came home.  I knew that it would be much better if your father came home and saw the horse in place in the front yard.  It would be much easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission.

Next problem, how to get it out of the truck bed all by myself.  I could not risk asking for anyone’s help.  The fewer people that knew about this the better.  Somehow I was able to get the horse out of the truck and into place in the front yard.  The only thing lacking was the garland of roses that would hang around the horse’s neck to add as much of a note of reality as I could.  This was easy, as I had been working on that for almost a week in secret.  Well, the actual making of the garland was not easy, but the idea was easy.  I could not find a piece of styrofoam large enough for me to carve out the horseshoe shape in town, so I had to drive three hours away to Omaha where they had large craft stores.  While I was there I purchased about fourteen dozen artificial red roses to cover the styrofoam.  Once I had all the supplies and the carving of the shape was finished, the covering it with roses was the easy part.  It looked perfect!  And once it was on the horse it was truly perfect!  I don’t remember your father’s reaction, so maybe he was used to my idiot schemes and it did not phase him one bit.

The dinner party was a success, everyone had a good time and they all loved the horse scape throughout the living room, dining room and kitchen.  It helped that all the other couples were “horse people”.  I went to bed that night flush with my success and slept soundly the night through.  That, however, was not the case with one of the couples who were at the party.  They were our neighbors and fun loving pranksters.  The next morning, after your father finished his round of golf, we set about the get the horse back to it’s rightful home.  Your father told me to take the front of the horse, as it was the lighter end, and he went to the back side.  Our plan was to lift it up, strap it into the bed of the truck and your father would safely drive it back to the barn.  Once there he and the young man at the barn would get it back onto the roof.  Okie dokey.  We got ourselves into place and on the count of three I was to lift the front end and your father would lift the back end.  I heard “one, two, three, oh shit!” from your father.  Oh come on!  It wasn’t that heavy.  I handled it down into the truck by myself from a height of six feet, certainly the two of us could lift it up three feet.  What took me a few seconds to realize was that his “oh shit” was not just an expression some failure of the task, but was actually what was real.  It seems that our fun loving friends had gone around the neighborhood after they left our home with a five gallon bucket “collecting” dog poop from all the other yards.  They then emptied it onto the ground beneath the horse’s bottom, making it all look very authentic.  Somehow, neither of us noticed this added bonus to our landscape until your father stepped directly into the five gallon mound of poop.  Hence, his “oh shit!” remark.  Not a good ending to a wonderful party.  Oh well, at least it was not me in the poop!

This is one of our latest and your favorite Italian meals.  Braciole  (pronounced  “Brah – zhul”) was what you requested for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day.  Leftovers?  Gone.  Joy Rising!

Braciole

Prep  Time: 30 minutes

Cook  Time: 3 hrs  (2  1/2 hrs are simmer time for the beef rolls)

Source: Anne Burelle   (www.foodtv.com)

Ingredients:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely diced pancetta  (Italian bacon)
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • Kosher salt
  • Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups day old Italian bread, crusts removed, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
  • 1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, sliced  (you can omit)
  • 1/2 pound spinach, stems removed and cut into chiffonade  (to cut spinach into long, thin strips)
  • 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 1/2 cup grated provolone
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 2 pounds top round, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices (about 12)
  • jar of your favorite pasta sauce/marinara sauce
  • grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish
  • chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
  • special equipment: toothpicks

Directions

  1. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the pancetta and bring the pan to a medium heat. Cook the pancetta until it gets brown and crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions and crushed red pepper and toss to incorporate with the pancetta. Season with salt, to taste. Cook the onions until they are soft and very aromatic, about 7 to 8 minutes.
  2. While the onions are cooking, in a large bowl, combine the bread and the milk. Toss to combine and let sit until the bread has absorbed the milk and is very soft. Use your hands to get in there and really squish everything together. Reserve.
  3. Add the garlic to the pan with the pancetta and onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, to taste, and saute until the mushrooms are soft and have let off their moisture, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the spinach.
  4. Add the onion/mushroom mixture to the reserved bread and stir to combine. Add the pine nuts, provolone and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and stir to combine. Taste to make sure that the mixture is delicious and season with salt, to taste, if needed. Set aside.
  5. Lay the beef slices between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and gently pound with a meat mallet to flatten and even out the slices. Put about 1/4 cup of filling on 1 end of each of the pounded beef slices and roll up. Secure the rolls with toothpicks. Repeat this process with the remaining beef and filling.
  6. Coat a large, wide pot with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Season the beef rolls with salt, to taste, and brown them on all sides. When the beef rolls are brown on all sides, cover with your pasta/marinara sauce.
  7. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the beef is very tender and flavorful, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
  8. Remove the toothpicks before serving.
  9. To serve, arrange 2 or 3 braciole on each serving plate. Halve 1 or 2 rolls to expose the stuffing.
  10. Spoon on some of the sauce and garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped parsley.

Mangia!

Happy Earth Day Mother Nature

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Dearest Boo,  today is the 40th year in celebration of Earth Day.    This is a picture of some of the tulips in our front yard.  I can hardly wait for the black ones to open.  They were planted last fall, so I am waiting with bated breath as I have no idea what they will look like.  Tulips are so beautiful and delicate and gentle looking.  If only their flowers would last longer, they could be the most perfect flower.  The pink tulip is the most soft pink color, with ivory color marbled throughout.  They are like the Goldilocks of the flower kingdom – not too elegant, not to romantic, not too big, not too small, not too bright….tulips are just right.  It’s like looking at a plate of fresh cookies hot from the oven, while you are in your favorite sweats.  They just make me think of home and comfort.  They are just perfect in their simplicity and beauty.  When I look at a tulip I feel at peace.   I think that when the tulips are in bloom the people of Holland and Pella, Iowa must have their own slice of Heaven.

Today I am thinking a lot about your dad’s cousin.  It is so sad to hear news that someone that you have always felt was so strong, so larger than life, is having health issues.  It just stinks.  He is a man who is a great communicator, someone who loved to talk, loved to make you laugh, loved to argue for the sheer joy of arguing now is having difficulty with his speech.  When he was a teacher he did it with great joy and love and it showed.  So many of his students enjoyed (as much as students can enjoy) his classes and the respect he showed to them.  He has always been a champion of education and teachers and the very important job they do in preparing our young people to go out and conquer the world.  Giving them skills they would need in their everyday life.

I remember our vacations together to Minnesota for our fishing week.  Our first trips were in the mid-1970’s when CB radios were the rage.  Oh, I wish I could remember what our “handles” were, as I am positive that they were very clever and funny, because we were and still are very clever and funny people! (Update – Stuart remembers the names!  Lowell was “Yellow Dog”, Stuart was “Big Blue Heron” and your father was “Auggie Doggie”)  Lowell, Edie, Suzan, Stuart, and Teddy (their dog) were the lead car.  In the second car was your dad and I and his dog, Doc.  On the drive to Park Rapids, Minnesota, we would listen to the truckers and visit over the CB with each other.  They have always been my favorite people to travel with for vacations.

One trip I remember we were talking back and forth and Lowell was commenting about the awful smell outside.  We were driving through farm country, so awful smells outside the car was not that surprising.  We rolled down our window, but we did not notice any smell.  That family must have some powerful noses to smell this tiny, minuscule smell!   This went on back and forth for at least twenty miles with their car wondering what was wrong with us that we could not smell the stink.  Suddenly, their car pulled off the highway quickly – and before we could react all four car doors opened and they all tumbled out of their car.  We had no idea what was happening.  One minute we were talking on the CBs, the next minute they were all out of their car shouting and pointing.  What in the world was going on??  It seems that Stuart discovered what was the cause of the smell.  Teddy had had diarrhea all over the back section of their station wagon!  Once we were able to control our laughter, we got together to clean up their car – but, if memory serves me correctly – Stuart and Suzan made the rest of the trip to Minnesota in our car.

We always stayed at the same resort at Bottle Lake, Wambolt’s, pictured above.    When I first saw this “resort” I was sure that it was something directly out of “Deliverance” and I searched the woods to see if one of the river men were there for us.  I knew that I could hear the music “Dueling Banjos” coming from somewhere.  The cabin we stayed in did not have indoor plumbing, so we shared the outhouse with almost the rest of the resort. Lowell and his family had the largest cabin and it did have indoor plumbing.  The shower was located in the middle of the living room.  They did not have to walk through the pitch black to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  One year the cabin next to their’s had bats flying around inside.  I remember going to the store on the grounds that the resort owner’s operated.  In their store they had bait, mostly worms, some groceries and tons of candy.  Stuart was in seventh heaven.  He was flying on a sugar high the entire week.   Suzan was just thrilled each and every morning to have her giant bowl of cereal.  Bottle Lake was not full of fish, but it was full of leeches and Stuart was a leech magnet.  Anytime that child would get near the water his body would be covered with those black, slimy, squiggly things.  To see them all over his precious little face was more than I could bear to see.  The more I freaked out, the more leeches that child would find.  Ick, ick, ick.

The cabins all had screened in front porches that were the width of the cabin.  It was wonderful to sit out there early in the morning to see the fog lift off the lake or late at night to hear the choir of frogs.  It was so quaint and something from another world.  Seeing as I was a city girl, this new world took me some time to process and learn how to relax.  At night we were gently lulled to sleep with the cooling breezes from the lake.  That was when I felt like we were in Mayberry and I fell asleep wondering when Andy or Barney or Opie would make their appearance.  It was maybe the middle of the first night, when I was just letting my guard down, when a blood curdling scream woke me up and sent me to the floor quivering in total fear!  I had never heard anything like that sound and was sure that some poor woman was being murdered by those awful river men.  Once your father was able to control his laughter he explained to me that the sound I heard was that of the loons calling out to one another.  Good gravy!  How would I ever sleep with that sound?  The next day, however, I was able to confirm the saying “he who laughs last, laughs best”.

Your father was the, and I am sure still is, very structured and regimented.  He has set bathroom times and was very regular.  The only time his schedule would be off was when he would be excited about fishing and then he was miserable.  Luckily, Edie knew this and brought along a remedy for him to use.  Prune Juice.  The first night we had dinner and were sitting around the table playing cards.  Your father was pacing and was so uncomfortable.  Edie was so happy to be able to offer a solution.  He poured a large glass, sat back down at the table, and chugged the juice within ten minutes.  Back out into the kitchen he went and refilled his glass.  We all sat in rapt attention as he chugged the second glass.  As we all stared at him, his face suddenly drained of color, and he jumped up from the table.   Luckily, we were playing cards in Lowell’s cabin so he did not have to race to the outhouse, but unluckily for us the bathroom was just feet from where we were sitting.  Much later he emerged from the bathroom totally wiped out.  The prune juice truly did the trick!  It was then that I started to realize that medical school did not do much in training doctors about foods/diets/nutrition.  Your father had no idea that prune juice would help his problem or that it would work as fast as it did or that drinking 32 ounces in one 30 minute time frame was not one of his smartest moves.

I will be forever grateful to Lowell for introducing me to my all time favorite meal.  Fresh fried walleye and fried potatoes and onions.  The nights that we were able to have walleyes that were treated to this meal was as close to Heaven on Earth that I can imagine.  There is just something so perfect, so right, so simple with eating fish that is right from the lake, just mere hours after it was caught.  It practically melted in my mouth.  Although we eat plenty of fish now, nothing will ever compare to that experience.  That meal was total satisfaction!

Oh that lovely note, in keeping with the Earth Day theme we had a spinach salad for dinner.   A sustainable meal that did not hurt the Earth.  Joy Rising!

Spinach  Strawberry  Salad

Prep  Time: 15 minutes

Cook  Time: 7 minutes

Source: www.recipezaar.com    #35547

Ingredients:

  • 8 c fresh baby spinach, about 8 oz   washed
  • 2 c sliced fresh strawberries, about 8 oz
  • 1/2 c slivered almonds
  • 1/4 c granulated sugar
  • 1 T water
  • 5 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1  1/2 tsp poppy seeds  (optional)
  • 3 tsp finely chopped fresh chives  (optional)
  • 3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Prepare salad by placing spinach in a large bowl.  Set in refrigerator to stay cool.
  2. In small saucepan, combine almonds, sugar and water.
  3. Cook over medium-low heat for 5 – 7 minutes or until sugar is almost completely melted and nuts are golden, stirring occasionally.
  4. Spread almonds on a large plate or sheet of foil.  Let cool and then break into small bite sized pieces.  This can be made up to three days in advance and kept in an air-tight container.
  5. Make the dressing by adding the remaining ingredients (except for the strawberries) into a small bowl and whisk until blended.  Or you can put into a jar with a lid and shake like crazy.
  6. Remove spinach from refrigerator and add the sliced strawberries and toss lightly to mix.
  7. Add dressing and toll gently until spinach and berries are lightly coated.
  8. Place servings of salad onto a plate and sprinkle on the almond bits.

NOTE:  only make enough salad that will be eaten at this one time serving, as the salad will get somewhat soggy if kept for another day.   Or you can not dress the salad.  Just place salad on each plate and allow everyone to add their own dressing.  This way you will be able to keep the spinach/strawberry mixture for another day to two.