A Life Cut Too Short

My lovely daughter, Riki L. Warner, would have been 42 years old today. We’re coming up on eight years of her passing. We continue to wonder what would have been had her medical care team met her needs and better served this young mother who left behind three beautiful children and a loving husband. I suppose we never should ponder such questions.

The top image features my necklace with Riki’s picture. The compass rose, given to me by Lynn, not only represents my occupation and passions as a geographer, but I love that it sits next to Riki as she was my north, my south, my east, my west, my working week, and my Sunday rest, so the W.H. Auden poem goes. The Zuni turquoise inlay ring represents the drum, so important in our (Native) ceremonies and prayers.

The past two weeks have been those of family gatherings and celebrations. On September, I had the honor of officiating my nephew’s wedding in Southwest Colorado, and then this past weekend, I officiated my grandson, Shawn to his bride Gracie. Shawn is Riki and Jonathan’s middle child. His empathy for others shines as his super strength. My sister, Eileen, joined in the celebration which took place in Southwest Missouri. Yes! We had a busy week.

I will have to write about the first wedding later, but my focus for this is to highlight Riki’s son, Shawn. This would have been a major event for Riki to see her son married. Shawn and Gray have known each other since middle school. Similar to Riki and Jonathan who met in 6th grade and had been married 12 years when she passed from a heart condition that doctors did not take seriously, because, “She’s very young and may grow out of it.” Who says that. We found out later that she should have had a defibrillating pacemaker. I now share some lovely pictures of the wedding. Here’s Riki with Shawn as a sweet child.

Jonathan sat next to this picture for the ceremony. I thought it such a great tribute to Shawn’s mommy. Shawn’s brother, Korbin, my eldest grand child was the best man, and gave a lovely speech to his brother and new sister-in-law at the reception.

Everyone felt Riki’s presence at the wedding. Her children made her proud on this beautiful day. Sammy and her friend Darrell distributed the bags of bird seeds on the chairs for the recessional. That was fun, and my sister Claudia made the bird seed bags.

Maybe it’s not everyday that a grandma gets to officiate her grandson’s wedding. My son, Stevie, took his nephews to his special barber for their wedding haircuts the day preceding the wedding. My sister gave me tremendous emotional support and great suggestions. Riki’s “Village” was there to celebrate Shawn and remember their dear friend, Riki. I am so grateful to those young families.

Stevie and Dianna entertained Eileen and me, after the reception, with hilarious talk and Stevie’s rendition of Tony Montana from Scarface! Who knew this bittersweet celebration could be joyous and sad at the same time? We make the best of our situations everyday while we greatly miss our Riki.

This time last year, one of Riki’s school friends wrote to me on messenger. Joey told me that he thought about her in so many different situations. The greatest gift Joey gave to me was to say, “Thank you for bringing Riki into this world.” Such a kind and beautiful thing to say to a grieving parent. Riki, we miss you everyday.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Travels with Eileen

My featured image is one taken on the patio next to my building on campus, which is two years old. The dear dragonfly landed on wet concrete, lost his life, but left a lovely image that one can enjoy when sitting on the table next to it. The dragonfly lives on…

This long read functions as my trip diary. My summer began on May 13, 2023. The graduate school has its ceremony on the second Friday in May, so the next day, I headed to Colorado, to celebrate Mother’s Day. On Monday the 15th, my sister, Eileen, and I boarded the California Zephyr to head to San Francisco. I love riding the train, which I do quite often. It was my sister’s first time on the Amtrak. The train departed at 4:10 pm, and away we went. Before we embarked, I mixed a cocktail for us to have a toast to our journey. We settled for paper cups since I had no access to proper glasses.

Some of the beauty seen along the way includes the magnificent Colorado River, fabulous geological structures, and brilliant colors. I care not for the rafters on the Colorado that insist on showing the Zephyr passengers their breasts and butts! None too impressive.

We had lovely meals on the train, as per usual. The meals come with the roomette, which is for two passengers. One of my favorite things about train travel includes permission to self to sit and enjoy the ride. I usually bring a book for the return ride, but my sis and I talked the whole way, both directions. I love meal times, too! There are four to each dining table, and when one’s party is two, one gets to meet two other people to be dining partners. This was my 10th train trip on the Amtrak system in the U.S., and I still think that the most friendly people ride the train. At least those remains my experiences in the dining cars and in the observation cars.

We arrived in Emeryville 24 hours from embarking in Grand Junction, CO. Passengers heading to San Francisco must take a bus across the Bay Bridge to get to the City. We lodged into our hotel by 6:00 p.m., cleaned up, and went hunting for our first dinner in SF. Not far from our hotel, at the entrance to China Town, we found a lovely Asian bistro, called, NOMA. Great staff, and great food. Here’s a glimpse:

We turned in early for a big day on our first, full day. I like to travel with a bit of food, just in case, so we made coffee in the room, and we ate energy bites that I made for the trip. One little “bite” has oatmeal, raisins, cinnamon, honey, and almond butter. Mix all the ingredients and form into spheres about the size of a golf ball. They taste delicious, and just one makes a great breakfast with a hot beverage. That gave us energy for a long morning until lunch.

Our hotel was not too far from Pier 1 on the Embarcadero, so we went the opposite direction on Bush to head toward The Golden Gate Bridge on the opposite side. We walked by retail spaces, auto repair and sale garages, beautiful homes, and tourist attractions. We walked past the homes on Nob Hill and the area surrounding Lombard street. We checked on the prices of those homes for sale. Even the most “simple” homes were priced at 9 million! We marveled at the gardens (a.ka. “yards”) in front of the homes with fruit trees, wild growing rosemary and fennel, and tropical plants. Once we gazed at the Golden Gate Bridge, we began to descend the many stairs toward the Palace of Fine Arts.

Travels with my sis, Eileen, proved to be a most marvelous time, because she is curious and interested in her environments of flora and fauna. We loved the beauty of the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. From there, we could see most of the peninsula that is San Francisco. All this walking, and a little bit of foraging on the edible flora, we became hungry, so we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf.

One of my favorite things about the Wharf is the Maritime Museum of once active sea-going vessels, such as the Balclutha, which was closed for “safety concerns.” Years back, I attended several Sea Shanty Sing-alongs, but those were not happening this time either! Of course, we enjoyed the sea lions at Pier 39, too. On to the food…

Fisherman’s Wharf’s fame lies in its many food and local memorabilia. We found one of my favorite open-air fish market/dining places that serves clam chowder in a sourdough boule hollowed out to make a bowl for the chowder. Delicious! Then we wandered over to Ghiardelli Square to chocolate. Most of it was closed for remodeling, so we just saw the small retail store selling the famous chocolates. The walk prepared us for the Hotel Buena Vista for Irish coffee and a most friendly bartender!

After the coffees, we headed to Columbus Ave to visit City Lights Bookstore, as I do on every visit to SF. As per usual, City Lights Bookstore was a haven for readers, and the second floor dedicates itself to the Beats and their literary progeny. We found some books, some by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the father of City Lights. Sadly, the clerk that waited on us was one of the most sour individuals I’ve ever met! I wondered why he was so rude and dismissive. What is a person like this doing in this haven for literature? I thought maybe he was having a rough day, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Nope! We returned two days later only to find the rude guy waiting on us again. He was pleasant to look at, but he, apparently, has a black heart! On to purchase dinner…

After City Lights and a picture-taking opportunity of Vesuvios (Featured in Mike Myers, So I married an axe murderer) we found Molinari deli with the most beautiful assortment of Italian cured meats, locally made mozzarellas, in-house made bread, and many delights.

We procured a lovely supper of meats, cheeses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, bread, and wine to enjoy on our hotel’s roof top. Oops! I failed to mention that we stayed at the Orchard Hotel near the entrance of China Town. It has a lovely roof top with tables, chairs, and views of San Francisco! We took our lovely dinner to the rooftop where we enjoyed a chilly evening with great food and wine.

We had leftovers, which we enjoyed at the train station in Emeryville while we awaited our east bound Zephyr on Saturday morning. We retired to bed after a day’s walk of 12 miles, great food, and breath-taking sights. On to Thursday’s adventures…

Early to rise, and after a small breakfast of my energy bites (1 cup oats, 1/2 cup honey, 3/4 cup raisins, 1 cup almond butter, all mixed and formed into a golf ball sized sphere!) and coffee before heading to the Embarcadero, Pier 31, to board the vessel that took us to Alcatraz.

My main interest in visiting Alcatraz was to honor the “Indian” occupation in the 1970s. We were protesting the generations of erasure pursued by congress. We are still here! From Alcatraz, one can only imagine the gorgeous vistas from this place of imprisonment for crimes ranging from theft of fewer than $100 to murder, all in the same place. Yes. People should be held accountable, but some who have done worse are still walking free.

Back to Pier 31 by noon, we were ready for finding food! Luckily, The Ferry Building is near Pier 1, and though it was a bit of a walk, it was worth it! The Ferry Building, now the Ferry Building Marketplace, was built in 1898. While it had some decades of decay, it stands in a state of continual renewal and reimagining. It hosts vendors in an enclosed “farmers’ market” style of booths ranging from caviar to fungi, and all foods in between. For two foodies, it was hard to settle on one cultural food choice, so we combined different taste profiles. For some reason, I didn’t get pictures of our meal, only our desserts: cheesecake with caviar and Aztec chocolate with marshmallow! Yum!

After lunches, desserts, and drinks at the Ferry Building, we headed out for more walking. We ascended the steps to Coit Tower, walked around in surrounding neighborhoods and headed back to the hotel after we took pictures with the Transamerica Building.

Since Eileen’s husband is a rabid Denver Nuggets fan, we had to find a place to watch one of the playoff games, and we found an Irish Pub with the game. We ate corned beef and cabbage with a nice Guiness while we watched the game. The Nuggets went on to become world champs!

After 9 miles of walking, we retired to sleep eager for our final, full day in San Francisco.

Friday, being our final day, we opted for public transportation since the cable and street cars are moving museums. First we went to the Castro District. Sadly, the theater was dark that week. We walked around, and had a snack.

Then we rode the street car back to a point to catch the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf, for some memorabilia. After much walking and site seeing, we headed to Columbus Ave. for our final big meal at the Mona Lisa, known for their Sicilian Caviar, which is garlic baked in butter and olive oil. I can just imagine how we reeked!

We returned to our hotel, packed our suit cases to prepare for our return trip, and fell into restless slumbers for an early morning departure on a bus from SF and across the bay to Emeryville to board the California Zephyr east bound.

When we arrived in Emeryville, we learned that the train would be six hours late. That’s okay. I love the train! Since we were in for a long wait, we savored a nice breakfast of leftovers from Molinari and Boudin Sourdough, and I made bloody marys with tomato juice from the snack stand. It was a great feast! Is this a travel or a food blog?

We boarded the Zephyr and recounted the great stories of our adventure. Eileen is the best of travel companions. We compliment eachother’s travel styles. She does research on prospective experiences, and I fly by the seat of my pants! Here are some of our final sites.

Thank you for coming along on our trip!

Remembering Riki

Today, I pay tribute and remembrances on what would have been my daughter Riki’s 41^st birthday. As we near the seven-year anniversary of her passing, I observe that losing a child to death at an early age tends to stay fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday. Riki made such an impact on those around her, and her tight friend group, “The Village” continues to honor her on her birthday. The Village, also, continues to offer emotional supports to the children left behind by the premature death of their mother, my daughter.

I loved watching Riki connect to people. She always paid special attention to those who were, perhaps, less fortunate. At her funeral, during reflection comments, a man stood up to tell about how she made him feel special when he met Riki for the first time. Many told similar stories. What made her special? She loved to laugh, and she had a quick and clever wit. Riki loved to engage in deep discussions with her friends. Before “google,” she would call us for answers to questions in these deep discussions. Mainly, the call would be for us to affirm her points of view.

Riki knew how to make moments special even in the most mundane of tasks. She directed nutrition in school food programs. Riki loved to prepare and share food with friends. Her children consider her “the best cook ever!” On Wednesdays, Riki used to prepare a “taco bar” for the Village. This year’s “Riki Celebration” will feature a taco bar for friends and family paying tribute to her memory.

I took the day from work to pay tribute. My 92 year old mother and her 85 year old husband are visiting. My mother and I took the day to prepare a lovely meal of grilled steak, asparagus, caprese salad, and fresh cucumbers. We offer a toast to my daughter and my mother’s great granddaughter, Riki. We prepared foods loved by Riki.

We could have enjoyed a lovely meal at a local restaurant, but Riki loved to cook and bake, so Mother and I prepared a meal that Riki would have loved: steak, asparagus, caprese salad, and fresh cucumbers. A nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon rounded out the meal, and we had a lovely slice of peanut butter cake for a crowning glory to the “good eats!”

As Indigenous tradition would have it, at least for my tribe/nation, we sing songs and give thanks to Mother Earth and the Creator for what we have and for what we love. We built a roaring fire to which we gave sage and tobacco. We felt Riki’s presence. It was a great honor to be Riki’s mother. She gave all to those who were around her.

To that point, I received a lovely note from one or Riki’s high school friends. Joey thanked me for bringing Riki into the world, and he shared in honor in knowing her. That lovely note came at just the right time to give me a great blessing. Thank you, Joey.

Remembering Riki

My featured image illustrates the loveliness of our daughter, Riki. We lost her, nearly six years ago, to a stroke at the young age of 34 years. She would have been 40 on September 27. She had lived with atrial fibrillation for 11 years, and a new doctor took her off her medicine “to see how she’d do!” I had later read that taking someone off this particular heart medicine could lead to stroke. The new cardiologist simply listed Riki as a “non-compliant patient” to avoid any law suit. Left behind were three young children, a husband, and a loving family to ponder, “why?”

Riki was a leader. She exercised her voice to support and advocate for those who did not have a voice. She was a devoted daughter, sister, mother, spouse, and friend. She loved her work as a school nutrition administrator. Riki was full of energy, and she loved innovation in meal preparation and addressing life’s challenges. Some called her, “bossy,” because strong women scare those who do not have the confidence to put themselves “out there!” She worked hard, played hard, and loved hard, and that’s what made Riki unique and beautiful.

If my daughter learned anything from me, it was to gather friends and family to socialize around stories, laughter, music, and food. I learned even more from her about the stewarship of great friends. She hosted her “village” every Wednesday for a “taco bar.” She loved to cook, and she cooked fabulously. Her friends loved all that Riki was. One of Riki’s dear friends, Danika, began a tradition of making Riki neck garlands out of the peppers from the garden. A few years back when “the village” was celebrating Riki’s birthday, I was gifted with the chili necklace. I dehydrated the hot monsters, and I use the pepper flakes, very sparingly, in recipes calling for some heat. About a week ago, Danika did it again! She sent a chili garland! The chilies are bright and lovely, and the flakes proved to be quite potent! Behold, the color! I call the chili flakes, “Danika’s Chili Blend,” or simply, “Danika.”

Today, Riki’s boys work for Danika, Riki’s best friend, in the kitchen, at a local pub/restaurant. The 18 year old just started college, and the 17 year old is a senior in high school.

What we know is that she was a beautiful, unique, loving, and thoughtful person. Most of all, Riki loved her children and her spouse, Jonathan. They miss her dearly. We were lucky enough to get a visit from Jonathan and Sam, Riki’s only daughter, this past weekend. The “boys” have jobs, so were not able to make the trip. We honored Riki with meals around the table, as was her practice, and stories of her life.

While we tend toward daily thinking about our time on earth with Riki, we rejoice in that we see her so heavily in her children. While I know that our son-in-law will likely find love again, we see her influence in him, too, and we know that he keeps Riki in his heart.

We will celebrate her birthday this evening with one of her favorite dishes: Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. One of the most lovely things is that she and her brother, Stevie, had a very close and loving relationship. He will likely celebrate his sister with a fire and tobacco blessings (from our Indigenous teachings). I look forward to the pictures that he sends when he has a fire. Come to think of it, we will have a fire, too.

Love to you, Riki.

Time with the Grands

The featured image is the hand of our lovely granddaughter, age 12. She is quite artistic, and she has lovely hands.

The U.S. Holidays seem to center on the fall and winter months. That means we look for ways to gather, at a distance, and partake in each other’s light. I do not have to tell you that the pandemic challenges of 2020 did change the way we interact with one another. While we continue to weep for those who lost their battles with the virus, we must cherish one another and do all we can to stay safe and care for those we love.

We spent some lovely time with three of our four grandchildren. Number three grandson went on a beach trip, so this is what we received from him.

With the other three spending one week of their holiday break from school, and also bringing a friend, we had three teens and one pre-teen in our house for a week. The tradition of their spending the holiday break has lasted a decade. We keep thinking that the soon-to-be 18 year old and the soon-to-be 17 year old “boys” will no longer want to do this, but we have been fortunate.

The week-long visit tends to focus on a very long, at least five evenings, game of Monopoly. Grandson number two took all our properties on the fifth day. Also, to give the kids some responsibilities, we asked them to pick on evening to prepare a menu and meal. This blog celebrates our evenings of meal choices and preparations by the grands plus one.

First night:

Granddaughter number one chose sushi for her evening. Her menu: Sushi (California rolls) and shrimp tempura. Grandpa wanted Inari (bean curd pockets) sushi, so we helped with that part. I did not get pictures of the tempura, but it was delicious. We have an excellent Asian market where we live, so we purchased tempura batter mix. The other items were purchased there, too. Here she is preparing a roll in which she added sushi-prepared rice, imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, carrots. She found it hard to keep up with the demand of the sushi lovers.

Second night:

This day happened to be our wedding anniversary, so Grandson number two wanted his meal to be special. His girlfriend came along for the week and bunked with our granddaughter. They chose chicken broccoli alfredo from a recipe that, said girlfriend, brought along. This grandson likes my homemade bread, so he asked me to bake some that day. I did. These kitchen helpers cooked chicken thighs, and then cut the meat away from the bones and sauteed the meat with onions and garlic. Then they added broccoli and cooked a little while longer. Once the penne pasta finished cooking to al dente, they added it to the meat. The final ingredient, as I remember it, called for whipping cream and parmesan cheese to be added and stirred until creamy. Here they are.

I had my serving of chicken broccoli alfredo with a crisp chardonnay from the Brix cellars in Upstate New York. After dinner, we played more Monopoly.

Third night:

Grandson number two chose steak, baked potatoes, and grilled asparagus for this night of preparation. The university, which employs me, has a meats department from which I purchase beef and, on occasion, lamb, when they have it. I wanted to assure good cuts of meat for this evening’s meal. Grandson #1, first marinaded the steaks with Daddy Hinkle’s marinade, that he learned from his father. His grilled steaks turned out fork tender. He prepared the asparagus in foil packets on the grill. It tasted buttery with a hint of lemon, and the potatoes came out with creamy flesh. I served the children sparkling grape juice, and I had my serving with a dark red cabernet.

We had s’mores for dessert prepared over an indoor grill:

Besides eating their prepared meals, the week consisted on shopping and playing Monopoly. The game began on Sunday the 27th and ended on New Year’s Eve. Grandson #2 won, and we each took our losses with great consternation. Over that past ten years of playing this game with them, I have never won. I do not possess that killer instinct when it comes to games and acquiring properties. In this game, I managed to have one full set of properties on which I put houses. Here’s what the game looked like before #2 wiped out the last three players before me.

Alas, it became time to store the holiday decorations, which consisted of a colored light on the hibiscus and a small Precious Moments Nativity with a few of my edits.

Luckily, the hibiscus, which I moved in from the front patio, served as a decorative tree with its four to seven blossoms per day. We had a wonderful time, though we greatly missed grandson #3. He did love his trip to the beaches of Mexico, however.

Thank you for reading.

Eating Together – At a Distance

I took the “featured image” as “The Guys” began an evening fishing trip on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York, not far from Lake Erie. My memories of floating in that lake on my back with my head submerged just enough to shut out the sounds of the world with only my breathing noticeable, is one of my most healing experiences – ever. This photo, taken with my cell phone, illustrates the colors of peace and serenity at a time that I needed it most, having lost our daughter six months earlier that year, 2016.

Here we live in 2020 during a pandemic. We continue to stay connected with friends and family through calls, virtual meetings, and occasional visits to the back deck. I admit, my usual practice was to invite large gatherings for food, stories, drinks, music, and such. I love to be around people!

Sorry about the random pictures! I’m trying to get used to the “new” format of WordPress! Not sure I like it.

As we navigate the new way of being in community, with others, the onus falls on each of us to practice safe distances. Rather than abandon my social life, I continue to look for ways to engage with my friends, families, and others by opting for outdoor interactions with no more than two to three people. We can be at a safe distance on my back deck or my front patio that way.

Serving food can be a challenge. How can I assure the visitors to my deck for patio that I am practicing safe hygiene practices in my kitchen? I wash my hands, a lot!, and wear a mask when preparing food to share. Also, I use plates fresh from the dishwasher! Instead of my usual cloth napkins, I use paper napkins.

I went to a birthday party last June. My friend staged the party on her concrete driveway. Each of us provided our own chairs, dinner services, drink, snacks, and glasses or cups. The friend provided cakes from a professional caterer. It was a great time for people who were feeling isolated. Look at the cakes.

I thought the distancing for the party demonstrated a rather safe way to interact. There were face masks worn, though the picture shows none. Notice the chalk markings to indicate six feet!

In the meantime, we must be creative to keep our connections with one another without exposing ourselves and others to the COVID-19 virus.

So, what have I cooked lately?

Experimenting in the kitchen, especially during this pandemic, gives me great pleasure. Sure, we like to eat, and we have to find ways to make our meals fun, even if we change places where we take our meal. We like the patio in the front of the house for breakfast. We sit with our hibiscus with our morning eggs and coffee (or whatever else we’re having that morning!). In the evening, we sit on the back deck. We enjoy watching the birds, listening to the sounds of the evening: birds chirping, cicadas making that familiar crackling known as crepitation, and dogs barking. Interestingly, if you listen closely, you hear the hum of car engines, children emoting, and leaves rustling. What a better way to take a meal.

The experiments in the kitchen still surprise me. Nine times out of 10, they are tasty and fun. We have a great Thai food restaurant. My favorite dish is basil fried rice. It’s almost too hot with Thai chilies, even when I order “mild.” I have made the rice at home. The one thing that I’ve not done well is topping the fried rice with the egg that’s been “poached” in about three inches of hot oil. The egg white comes out crispy crunchy while the yolk stays runny and creamy!

Based on my tasting and listing what I think are the ingredients:

1 big bunch of fresh basil, one quarter of an onion, two cloves fresh garlic, one or two Thai or other hot chilies, one-half red pepper, all sauteed in sesame oil on medium high heat. Once the vegetables have properly sweated, add a bit of fish sauce and frozen green beans or peas and carrots. Now add the rice and fry some more with added soy sauce. Top it with a poached egg or fry it in butter, over-easy. The extra flavor from the restaurant comes from “poaching” (actually deep fat frying) the egg in hot oil. The egg should only be in the hot, deep oil less than one minute. The egg pictured here was steamed in butter, and I let it get a little crispy on the bottom.

We enjoyed it very much.

Thank you for reading me.

A Few of My Favorite Cooks

The lovely stained glass sits in my window, and I love the way it washes me in color when I stand by it with sun rays streaming in. Color can be quite soothing.

I love to cook, bake, and create in my kitchen. By the same token, I love the foods coming from the kitchens of family and friends, so I thought I’d dedicate this post to the many creative cooks in my life. I’ll begin with my mother. She is 90 years old, and goes to the kitchen to cook everyday, three times a day. My siblings and I want her to slow down by emphasizing that we do not want her to put on the full-blown meals, as is in her nature. Here are her beautiful hands. She was a nurse for five decades. She retired at 80.

She does cook for her husband and herself daily, which is great for cognitive support. Growing up, I remember her greatest meals were those with fresh ingredients. Our hometown has a vegetable and beef farm by day and a drive-in theater by night. In the summer, Mom would go out to the “truck farm” and get beef to roast and fresh cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes. She’d bake the roast until it browned evenly with the crispy ends. She sliced the cucumbers and onions, and marinated them in vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper, a simple marinade. She’d slice the large beefsteak tomatoes and laid them out on a plate for serving. So the menu consisted of roast been, cucumbers and onions in a simple vinaigrette, and sliced tomatoes. We ate the tomatoes sprinkled with salt. Dessert was cantaloupe or watermelon; when they were in season. Dad would bring home sugar beets that had fallen off the railroad car, and he would bake those for a sweet fall or winter dessert. The sweetness of a baked sugar beet is just like having pie! Here are some sugar beets I grew a few summers ago. Beets were a source of sugar to a long time until a Cuban embargo focused the sugar power in the fields of Hawai’i’s cane fields. Seriously, if you ever grow these, they make a wonderful dessert roasted. Back to my story…

We visited my hometown about four weeks ago. Mother made this lovely cake for my sister’s dinner (distant) gathering. I marvel at Mother’s persistence in creating something beautiful and tasty for her family. Here is her strawberry angel food cake.

Now, you should know that my list of favored cooks is quite extensive, and I will miss someone, I’m sure. Our son, Stevie, and late daughter, Riki, have cooked or baked some most memorable meals. Of course, I’ve written about Stevie’s meat pies and his fabulous bread. Riki made killer chicken and noodles, complete with homemade noodles. She baked fabulous bread, too. Sadly, we lost Riki nearly five years ago, but her memory continues to bless us.

My friend, Kathy, makes this wonderful appetizer, called, French Quarter Dip. It possesses the most wonderful combination of sweet and savory for a cracker.

Here’s Kathy’s recipe:

French Quarter Cheese Dip

Kathy Sexson

8 oz cream cheese

1 Tbs grated onion

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ c. packed dark brown sugar

¼ c. butter (1/2 stick)

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. prepared mustard

1 c. chopped pecans

combine cream cheese, onion and garlic, mix well shape into 6” mound on serving place. Chill, covered, til set.

Combine brown sugar, butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and pecans in sauce pan. Cook till butter melts, stir. Uncover cheese mound, pour pecan mixture over top. Chill covered till ready to serve. Serve with crackers.

Kathy’s Low Country Boil leaves memories, too. I remember the first time we witnessed and participated in the dinner. I wondered about plates. Kathy said, “no” it’s served on the table with paper.” Then, I remembered the wonderful crayfish boils that I had had in New Orleans, so it did not seem odd at all.

Shrimp Boil AKA Low-country boil

From Kathy Sexson

16 c. water

¼ c old bay seasoning or crab boil seasoning w/ quartered lemons (I use latter)

2-3 tsp ground red pepper

2 lb. cooked smoked sausage, (I grill it first), cut in 1 ½” chunks

2 lb. tiny new potatoes, halved if large

10 small onions, peeled, about 3 lbs. ( I use the little bitty ones that come dozen or so to mesh bag)

5 ears fresh corn, shucked and broken into halves or thirds

2 lbs. fresh or frozen large shrimp, in shells

¼ c butter, melted (optional)

Optional ingredients:

¼ c snipped fresh herbs, such as thyme, oregano, and or basil (optional – I don‘t bother with this)

Cocktail sauce – you can use little bowls for this or just pour on table J

Bottled hot pepper sauce

in large pot combine water, seasoning, and ground red pepper. Cover and bring to boil. Once boiling, add sausage, potatoes, onions and corn. Return to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimp. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turns opaque. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes.
Carefully (duh) drain in large colander. Dump on da table. No forks or plates allowed! If desired, combine melted butter and herbs and drizzle over food. Serve with cocktail sauce and hot pepper sauce, and drawn butter (add few drops of olive oil to butter to keep from solidifying.) makes 10 servings.

Note – this recipe forgives easily, so be creative. If you like one thing more than another (i.e. shrimp or sausage) add more.

You can serve on table on newspaper, but I prefer to get one of those, large, WATERPROOF picnic table cloths for a buck.

Here, we are pictured with the blues band, The Nighthawks, from Washington D. C. They were in town to give a concert at the zoo. Good times!

My Friend, Mary L.’s Quick Pie From Scratch!

After finishing a lovely meal on a cozy winter evening, one of our friends said, “I wish we had a pie!” Luckily, our dear friend, Mary Lake, was at table, too. She’s one of the best pie-makers in the world! Mary and I bet, those around the table, that we could produce a pie from scratch in 30 minutes. The race was on! The stopwatch began counting the time. Mary got busy making her famous oil crust, and I set to getting the apples ready. Fortunately, I had several quart jars of canned apples from the previous summer’s windfall of crispy, sweet apples. I dumped a quart of apples in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of quick tapioca, cinnamon, 3 tablespoons sugar, and a pat of butter. Here’s Mary’s crust recipe:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

Dash of salt mixed in flour – put flour/salt mixture in a bowl.

½ cup of vegetable oil (Mary likes corn oil for its nutty flavor. I use sunflower oil.)

5 tablespoons buttermilk (Make some with milk and vinegar if you have no buttermilk on hand)

1 glass pie plate. It must be a clear, oven-proof pie plate.

With a fork, emulsify the oil and buttermilk until well blended.

Add to flour mixture

Stir with a fork until all flour is well-moistened

Divide, and put half of the dough on a square sheet of parchment paper. Shape into a round, flat disc without handling the dough too much. Place another square sheet of parchment, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Once the dough is the size of your glass pie place. Shape to the pie plate. Repeat for the top crust. Once the top crust is rolled out, place the fruit in the pie plate with the bottom crust. Settle the fruit in to the crust, and then place the top crust. Shape the edges of the pie crust, cut air vents with scissors, and sprinkle crust with cinnamon sugar.

Place your pie in the microwave oven for 12 to13 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat your conventional oven to 400°. After the time sounds for the microwave, remove the pie from the microwave, and place it into your conventional oven for 12-13 minutes, or until the crust is browned.

Mary and I put our apple pie on the table in 35 minutes. The microwave oven gets the fruit cooking and thickened. This shortens the time in the conventional oven, and prevents burned edges. Starting the pie in the microwave only works for fruit pies. Do not try with custard pies.

Here is a picture of a mince pie with the oil crust. You can see that the crust if tender and flaky. The cinnamon sugar mixture gives the crust a beautiful glow.

I knew if I began to write about my favorite cooks, I would leave someone out of my story, but let us say that other writing will be devoted, further, to more of my favorite cooks. I will leave you, now, with one of my favorite breakfasts: Egg taco with Dalgona coffee.

The egg taco is a small 1-egg omelet with green chilies. I fry/warm it in a small cast iron skillet, 6.5 inches (16.51 cm), which is the perfect size for one corn tortilla. Use a little bit of butter so that the skillet does not stick. Cook one side of the egg, and lay the tortilla to begin to warm. Flip to cook the other side of the omelette. All this works best with a small lid to steam the egg.

The coffee, all the rage these days, is simple. Use 1 teaspoon instant coffee, 1 teaspoon coconut sugar, and 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon milk. Whip into a froth. Pour over 1/2 cup milk (on ice or steamed milk). Pictured here, I have used steamed milk. Yummy, and it’s low calorie.

Thank you for reading!

Time with Family and Yearning for Home

My featured image is my sister and brother-in-law’s backyard. They have the pleasure of enjoying a splendid view of the San Juan Mountain Range every evening as they wind down from a day’s work. I’ll tell you about our fun meal a little later in the post.

Social distancing surely interferes with many things, but I’d rather be safe and healthy. Also, writing about fun things does not mean that I am not feeling the pain of my community and the world right now. I’ve been working from home since March 16, 2020. I am doing quite well working from home. I sit at my desk. I teach virtual classes. I meet in project committees. When the workday is finished, I create new recipes. I modify recipes from magazines. I tend to my garden. I clean the house, but not as often as when I entertain, which is none right now.

About a week ago, we ventured out to my home state (Colorado) and enjoyed mother nature with my 90 year old mother, my brothers and sisters, cousins, and nieces and nephews. We were quite aware of keeping our distances, too.

Colorado is a lovely state, but it has been over-run by people who come, in droves, to enjoy its beauty. Dare I say that the landscape continues to change from the caravans of cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, and hoards of people. Some of them respect the natural beauty, and some just run over it. I suppose we enjoy at whatever capacity we allow ourselves.

We talked, hiked, cooked, ate, drank, built fires, told stories, laughed, and looked for places to gather wood. We grew up in these mountains, and our Father taught us to love the land, though his people were displaced from it and onto reservations so that settlers could have the lands. (A nasty part of U.S. American history).

We camped for four days. Then we returned to the valley. I worked, distantly, and had time for visits in the evening. I was in Mountain Time, but had to continue to orient myself to Central Time, as that was my work day times.

My mother likes to do all the cooking when we visit, but I had so much food from the camping menus, that never was prepared, because everyone else brought food for as many days. So, one night I prepared a, sort of, taco salad that featured ground beef, Fritos, salad mixes, and Catalina dressing. In spite of a weird sounding combination, it remains to be a tasty dish. I think I got the recipe from some Mormon women back in the 1980s. We did have an important celebration, however.

My mother turned 90 on June 7, but we were all unsure of gathering. Though we were greatly cautious, we did celebrate with lunch-time mimosas. My friend, Mirta, sent a giant bottle of sparkling wine, and we had some good orange juice. Here’s my Mother:

As I was beginning to assemble the mimosas (orange juice and sparkling wine), I was aiming to make each one in each flute separately. My sis said, “Mix them in this crystal pitcher!” That sounded great! Who knew that one should not stir the mixture! Well, it all bubbled over, and the countertop was awash in mimosa! Anyone else’s countertop would be questionable about cleaning it up from there, but mother is immaculate! While I think this is an embarrassing photo, you deserve full disclosure! My husband took the shot of us “cleaning” up the mess. Undoubtedly, a blow to my credibility!

We consumed the mimosas with cheese, grapes, and bread – a most satisfying “lunch!”

As previously mentioned, my sis has an incredible backyard. She and hubby invited us to a lovely dinner of chicken wraps. Her hubby grilled skinless chicken breast, and then she had sliced them into strips. She presented a vegetable course of avocado, arugula, shredded carrots, shredded cheese, bacon bits, and thinly sliced cucumbers. We wrapped the chicken and vegetables in a tortillas, and consumed great quantities. She accompanied it with white wine. I forgot to take picture. We gathered, again, the next night for a Charcuterie, one of my favorite ways to eat!

We knew this charcuterie/cheese board needed to be good, because my mother is a picky eater. She does love snack-type foods, though. Here we have the menu:

I know I’ve written about similar menus previously, but I love the beauty of combining the color and flavors of these foods. For example, about 10 years ago, we ate in an Italian restaurant in San Francisco. On the menu: Sicilian Candy. What is that, you ask?

Take a small baking dish. I prefer cast iron for this. Place garlic cloves, butter, and olive oil and bake, covered with aluminum foil, until the house if fragrant of the ingredients. I think it was about 50 minutes at 350 degrees (176.667 C). Covering it with the foil assures a slow bake without burning the butter. It spreads like butter on bread!

The rest of the menu is quite self-explanatory.

My sis added dried apricots, and mother added a delicious strawberry angel food cake. Fun was had by all, and we had red wine with the evening as we watch the sunset shadows play on the San Juan Mountain Range to the south. You would have loved the serenity. Thank you for reading.

Nature, Meditation, and Cooking

I hope you like my featured photo. I took it on my way home from Nebraska in 2017. We had traveled there to witness the total solar eclipse. Of course it was incredible, and luckily, the sun set that day with a spectacular view in Western Kansas.

I have a list of topics on which to write in my series of blog posts. One thing I thought of was the joy of camping. My Father used to take us camping when we were young. Of the seven children, all of us continue to enjoy nature and all it has to offer us. My best memories of camping with my father and siblings were the nature lessons on edible plants, astronomy, mushroom hunting, and fishing. Cooking what we caught and gathered was the best part, and eating all of the food we prepared was the bonus. My father used to sing to us while he cooked our camp meals. Today, our camp sites are a place for gathering (Pre-Corona Virus times), conversing, and enjoying each detail of the natural world around us.

My Father’s favorite and best meal was, “Sheepherder’s Delight.” Basically, it is a one-pan meal, and was cooked over an open fire. It was a favorite of Dad’s for camping trips since it was a staple meal for sheep herders who lived in the mountains of Colorado with during the summers, as was my Father’s life as a young boy. Today, when my family goes camping, we prepare the meal the way Dad did, but when we make it at home, we change it a bit. Here’s my Father’s recipe for Sheepherder’s Delight prepared in one large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven:

1 pound (0.45 kg) of bacon. Cook until crisp. Remove cooked bacon, and set aside. Cube two to four potatoes, depending on the number people that you will feed. Figure about one small potato per person or two people for a large potato. Place the potatoes in the hot bacon grease, and fry until soft with crisp edges.

Next, open a can of prepared baked beans, pork and beans, or beans in tomato sauce. Pour the beans over the potatoes, and add the cooked bacon. I don’t have a picture of it, but it’s best served after a hard day of hiking, fishing, mushroom hunting, or what ever you do to enjoy nature. We have a slightly different take on Sheepherder’s Delight when we’re at home. We change up the ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (453.592g) I’m sorry if my metric measurements are not quite right. I look them up on the web for the conversions. Cook the ground beef with some diced onions, salt, and pepper.

Prepare the potatoes for oven baking. I cut mine into strips, and toss them with salt, pepper, some oil, and some malt vinegar. Bake the potatoes in an oven set at ~365 degrees Farenheit (185C). Bake until brown and crispy at the edges.

While the potatoes are baking, finish cooking the ground beef. Drain of any extra fat. Then you’re ready to add the canned baked beans, pork and beans, or with what you’re familiar. It should look like this.

Now, to assemble this wonderful comfort food, bring the potatoes out of the oven. Arrange some of the potatoes on your plate. Then serve the bean-meat mixture over the potatoes. We make this for camping trips. We use one pan by cooking the potatoes first. Set them aside while you cook the meat. Add the beans, and serve over the potatoes. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product until I had but one bit remaining.

Another thing we do to enjoy nature is hike up to my Father’s fire circle. It’s in the same mountains of his childhood and that of his children, grandchildren, and the “Old Ones,” our ancestors. The Fire Circle is a place to drum and sing our songs, and honor our beloved ancestors. The hike to our sacred fire circle is about two miles from the main forest service road. We pass stands of quaking aspen trees, scrub oak, pinon pine, and Ponderosa pine trees. The fire circle overlooks a canyon where my people hid when the U.S. government was removing them from their ancestral lands to reservations in the 1800s. It is a very sad time in American history, that is not taught in the schools today. Here’s a glimpse of those lands. Our grandson enjoys his time there.

Speaking of “Indian Removal,” there is the reality that the people were moved away from their hunting and gathering grounds, so there was no way to raise their food. So the government provided commodities, food surpluses, which included white flour, powdered milk, lard, and a variety of canned meats and vegetables. The food was highly processed, and we can trace obesity and diabetes back to this down turn in our physical health and food sovereignty. Having only white flour, dry milk powder, and lard, fry-bread was born, out of necessity. Though it is a symbol of a bad time for my ancestors, we use it today to symbolize that we are resourceful, and we are still here! Here I am frying bread at my Father’s fire circle. My grand nephew was learning how to roll out the dough. It’s never too early to teach the “younguns” as my brother would say. He was the one hauling the cast iron Dutch oven up to the circle. The elevation is ~8,000-plus feet above sea level. The beauty contributes to the meditative state in which we find ourselves when we visit this place.

It was a good day to be alive and a good day to honor our ancestors while celebrating the children.

Thank you for reading.

Dense Foods and Other Interests

No matter where you are on this planet, we share similar circumstances of staying at home because of a pandemic. I am quite fortunate to have my job as an educator at the university. We are working at home! I sit, perched, on a tall stool in my kitchen participating in virtual meetings and virtual teaching. My favorite place in the house continues to be the kitchen. This is my creative spot. I get great vibes in my kitchen environment. Before the pandemic, people gathered in my kitchen, though it’s quite small for someone who loves to cook. We have lived in this house only since the previous May. My former house had three ovens for my baking, and it had more room, but a similar kitchen space. I have but one oven and cooking range in this house. I am not deterred, however. I manage to cook at least once a day, but usually two times. We will sample a few of my dishes of late but first, a digression.

Another great thing about this house is that it has magnificent windows! I have placed bird feeders and bird baths in my back yard with great views of the birds, and my yard list is growing quickly. My featured photo, though blurry, is a Carolina Wren that frequents the feeders and bath. I heard a barred owl last night. That’s a new one for me, now that I live on the east side of the 100th meridian. Now, for the food.

Yesterday morning for breakfast, we had avocado toast topped with Brisling, a.k.a. bristling, sardines, packed in two layers. We came upon this idea from the chef and food scientist, Alton Brown. I’m not crazy about his method, so I changed it up a bit.

One ripe avocado serves two open faced toasts. I use dense, seed bread, toasted.

Mash one ripe avocado. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and mix with fresh lime juice.

Mix two tablespoons (225g) of Sherry Vinegar (I prefer that from Spain. Not sure if it comes from any other place!) in with the sardines, being careful not to break up the tiny, delicate, nutrient-packed, North Atlantic fishes!

After you toast the bread, assemble your food. Spread the avocado mixture on the toasted bread. Then lay the sardines side-by-side (head to tail, though there is no head!) on the bread. It is a nutrient-dense breakfast, and you will be set for a full morning! We had a nice cup of coffee with our toasts! Here’s the picture.

Speaking of dense foods, here’s a cake with a dense crumb! First, I must tell you a back story. Back in the 1970s, when slow cookers first arrived on the kitchen scene, one of the manufacturers produced a cake pan for the slow cooker. It makes these wonderful, little dense cakes, which work best for chocolate cakes. I don’t think white cakes do too well, unless you’re wanting a pound cake!

I was in the right place at the right time when I received the cake pan. At an estate sale auction, a man had given the winning bid for a kitchen and housewares lot. He looked at the cake pan with a puzzled expression on his face. I asked him if he knew the identity of the thing in his hand. He said, “No!” I told him that it was a cake pan. He said, “Here, take it!” The rest is history.

There is a recipe for a chocolate cake which uses mayonnaise. That makes the perfect, dense, chocolate cake. Usually, I cut the cake in two so that I have a two-layered cake. In baking/cooking this cake you are “flying blindly,” because you cannot look at it. Your sense of smell will tell you when it’s done, which is usually about 2.5 to three hours with the slow cooker set on “high.” You could likely do the same cooking process with a tin coffee can, assuming you won’t find this cake pan.

This is the cake pan and how it fits into the slow cooker:

Here’s the recipe:

Butter and dust with flour one cake insert for slow cooker (or that tin coffee can), and set aside.

For the Cake:

2 cups (250g) of all-purpose wheat flour

1.5 cups (300g) white sugar

6 TBS (36g) cocoa powder

1 teaspoon (5.69g) baking soda

1 teaspoon (5.69g) salt

Mix all the dry ingredients to blend. Then add blended wet ingredients.

1 large egg

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup (236.59 mL) hot water (not boiling). This activates the baking soda, salt, and egg as the leavening agents.

Add vanilla to taste. Pour the batter into your cake pan or coffee can.

Bake, covered, in your slow cooker on high for 2-3 hours. I usually check after 2.5 hours.

Once you take it out of the cooker, invert it on a wire rack to cool. Slice through at the equator of the cake for a two-layer cake, and frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s yummy!

Finally, I have to tell you about a virtual cocktail party that I had, recently, with two of my co-workers. We had made it a practice to meet up after work on Fridays to share a drink and a snack previously. In this new format of social distancing, we decided to have a virtual cocktail party. I will only give their initials. “T” was having jelly beans and a glass of Bourbon. “M” enjoyed a shot of vodka and some fresh tamales, made by a friend. I “went all out” and enjoyed Icelandic caviar atop a corn biscuit and sour cream. Usually, I would have baked small corn muffins for this, but I found these wonderful little corn biscuits on sale. I chased it with a small shot of vodka in a chilled glass. We talked about work for a while, but mostly the conversations centered on the future of our lives with family, work, and other social and familial worries. The important thing is to stay connected one way or another with out meeting face-to-face with those you esteem and love. Cheers to you!

I think we will emerge strong from this pandemic. Remember to distance from others, wash your hands, and don’t touch your face! Thank you for reading.

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