Foodie - Jicama

“The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth.”  Frances Moore Lappe

In the third stage of my life journey I am aspiring to be a Foodie – one who embraces the enjoyment of good food and wine!  The taste buds are sensory receptors for flavor.  I don’t strive to be Julia Child reincarnated.  I am pursuing culinary tastes and learning – how to cut a mango, how to eat jicama, how to make flavored vinegars and dressings, how to chop an onion, how to use a mandolin, etc.

So follow me on my ‘Foodie’ journey…..

   


Jicama – Mexican turnip with taste closer to an apple

Wash and peel the jicama with a vegetable peeler.  Use a sharp knife to halve from the top to bottom and slice the jicama into small sticks, discs, chunks or wedges. 

Dip – combine the following:

½ C reduced-fat sour cream

Zest and juice of 1 lime

½ teaspoon chili powder

2 scallions, finely chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Transfer dip to serving dish surrounded by jicama sticks.  Yummy!!

 

 

 

 

 

In Memory of Papa

July 16th commemorates the 112th birthday of my maternal grandfather, Rutherford Birchard Hayes!  He was born o July 16, 1902 in Green Ridge, Missouri. He served in the Army during WWI at the young age of 21 and was stationed in France.  He retired in 1967 from the Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Company after 39 years of service.

He was a caregiver to his first wife who died after a long illness from tuberculosis.  They had one daughter, Nadine Hayes Sands.  He married Nellie B. Thompson in 1927, and they had one daughter, Ruth Barbara Hayes.  I always thought it was intriguing that my mother and grandfather had the same initials.

Fond Recollections of my Papa:
I was blessed to get his blue eyes from the gene pool!!  And my dimples, well he told me to tell people that is where the angels kissed me.

He always had life savers stashed away in his suit coat pockets for distracting this fidgety little girl during church.

Piles of sand and gravel surrounding a cement mixer - he was always constructing a porch, patio or sidewalk.  Those mounds of sand and gravel provided hours of fun.

Lots of summers spent fishing and swimming at Gardner Lake.  He purchased a wooden boat and dubbed it “Duffy-Pen” for my brother and me to troll around on the lake.  Fourth of July he purchased an array of fireworks for a display over the water.

Fall fun attending the American Royal Parade and Rodeo.  He and my grandmother would get us out of school early for an afternoon of roping and barrel races.  It was so much fun, and I enjoyed this event with my own daughter.

Christmas – my grandfather retired from Procter & Gamble and growing up there was always a picnic basket with a ham, fruit, Cracker Jacks and a box of Russell Stover’s candy.  He and my grandmother would always purchase one big ticket item for us – portable stereo, small television, electric blanket or dressy winter coat.  My grandfather could make the best mashed potatoes and pumpkin/pecan pies all from scratch.  YUMMY!!

My grandfather lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on November 19, 1973.  He was 71 and I was 21.  He was a vital part of my life, growing up living next door.  He wasn’t a perfect person, but he was a person that shared his bounty with others – family and friends.  I decided one day to glean his good traits and carry them forward into the generations to come “Be ye kind one to another”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freedom and Independence

On July 4th, the United States celebrates its 238^th birthday, declaring our independence from Great Britain.  The Declaration of Independence gives the three examples of “unalienable rights” of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, being given to all human beings by their Creator and for which governments are created to protect.  Over the years, many individuals have sacrificed their lives, families and futures to protect these rights.

On this Fourth of July, we might celebrate our freedom and independence by participating in various activities:  barbecuing, congregating with loved ones, attending a parade or watching fireworks and enjoying our precious free time.  But July Fourth is also a time to reflect, take stock and appreciate the deep freedoms we enjoy every day in our country.

Freedom quotes:

“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation and freedom in all just pursuits.”

“Freedom is never dear at any price.  It is the breath of life.  What would a man not pay for living?”

“This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope.  So it was in the beginning.  So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.”

The New Colossus   by Emma Lazarus (1883)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles.  From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips.  “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”